Fanaticism and Superstition (4)

Just as Loen tightened her grip on the sword to arrest the bishop’s gang.

BANG!!

A sudden explosion.

The church interior was instantly filled with thick smoke.

Someone had detonated a smoke bomb.

Whether smoke bomb or magic, its effect was certain.

“Argh!!”

“Damn, who did it!!”

Unable to see even a hand’s breadth ahead, crowds in the church fell into panic.

The church interior became chaotic in an instant.

“Where’s the entrance, ugh!”

“M-move!”

People lost their sense of direction, floundering to find exits.

In the process, they tripped over each other’s feet, bumped shoulders, and tangled together.

‘Are they trying to prevent the bishop’s group’s arrest?’

Loen instinctively shouted.

She was so urgent that she called the knight commander by his real name.

“Seraphine! Psyche! Luthers!”

No more words needed. They would understand sufficiently.

Loen immediately began casting magic.

Just then, she saw a blurry silhouette charging toward her through the smoke.

She started to swing her sword but hesitated – seeing up close it was an ordinary citizen, she stepped aside and let him pass.

“Body Amplification, Penetrating Sight.”

Raising all bodily senses to their limits while simultaneously casting magic to see through fog, Loen immediately assessed the surroundings.

First she turned her head to check the church interior.

Where innocent people and Bishop Marcus’s group were mixed.

“Barrier!”

Her companions were already performing their roles.

The knight commander gathered priests including the bishop, while Psyche whipped her tail to gather terrified young girls in one place. Seraphine quickly deployed a barrier around them.

A necessary precaution, as someone might kill them to silence witnesses.

“Loen! Behind!”

At Seraphine’s warning, who had also brightened her vision with Penetrating Sight, Loen turned her head.

She’d already been sensing an eerie killing intent.

The killing intent was directed solely at Loen. She sensed three presences. Given their skillfully concealed auras, likely assassins.

‘Assassination attempt amid chaos.’

Through crowds running about, three men approached targeting Loen precisely. Their faces utterly ordinary but eyes unusual.

Her thoughts accelerated to extremes.

Beam magic like Mana Bullet won’t work. Too many people.

Explosion magic likewise. Essentially all ranged magic excluded.

She quickly filtered appropriate magic for the situation.

Immediately imbuing concentrated properties to minimize spread range, rapidly casting magic.

The distance with the assassins narrowed further.

Exchanging glances, they began running faster.

Just as Loen raised concentration and fixed her gaze on enemies.

Bump!

“S-sorry… can’t see ahead…”

A citizen fleeing through smoke bumped Loen’s shoulder as he passed.

Focusing on enemies ahead, she couldn’t avoid him.

In that split second her posture faltered.

“For freedom and cause.”

Enemies murmuring their motto softly kicked off the floor and charged.

‘So they were Partisans…’

A memory flashed through Loen’s mind.

There had been people inciting crowds in the square earlier. She’d watched carefully sensing something amiss, and indeed.

Their true identity was Partisans infiltrating the city.

Loen’s gaze moved quickly left and right.

Closest enemy on left. She immediately counter-charged leftward.

To seize initiative.

CLANG—!

Swords collided with violent metallic sound.

Loen’s eyebrow twitched momentarily.

The opponent’s sword wasn’t cut.

‘At least 5-star grade.’

No lesser enemy, even coating weapons with mana, could withstand Loen’s mana sword.

The assassin moved.

From sword-locked position, he moved his left hand behind, drawing a dagger to stab Loen’s flank.

Additional attack targeting an opening.

Meanwhile, distance with enemies charging from other directions narrowed further.

She needed to handle the immediate opponent before being surrounded.

Loen counterattacked. Extending left hand forward, “Release.”

Thought and action occurred within split second.

Just before the assassin’s dagger reached her flank.

BOOM!!

Mana exploded from Loen’s palm, piercing straight through the assassin’s abdomen.

“Gurkk.”

Light faded from the assassin’s eyes.

Two assassins remained.

No time to confirm the fallen enemy, Loen shouted. Enemies were already within reach.

No time to hesitate.

“Judgment, Barrier.”

“Die!!!”

A gray spear formed in midair. It struck downward, piercing the rushing assassin from head to toe in straight line.

He died instantly, skewered like a kebab.

Just one remained.

The last assassin’s sword collided with the barrier.

In that moment, Loen’s eyes widened.

Slash—.

‘A barrier cut so easily?’

Sinister black aura flickered on the assassin’s sword. Loen finally understood. A darkness attribute user. Mana imbued with extinction property was the cause. Even so. For a barrier to be sliced through so easily like tofu. This was at least 5-star upper rank.

Immediately after.

The assassin displayed unexpected behavior.

After cutting through the barrier, he suddenly lunged to tackle Loen. A sudden movement.

Their bodies entangled before she could react.

They rolled on the floor.

Proving this wasn’t his first close-quarters combat.

The opponent quickly flipped over, mounting Loen.

Squirrel-like nimble movement.

Just as he raised his sword high, about to strike downward, and Loen was about to activate her artifact.

BOOM!

A sky-blue flash struck him. His body flew violently sideways.

“GAAAGH.”

A dying gasp erupted from his mouth.

The surprise attack was Psyche’s physical charge.

Watching the situation, she’d rushed like an arrow to ram the assassin.

Like being hit by a warhorse, his body flew through air and crashed horribly against an interior pillar. Thud.

Before he could collect himself, Loen, still lying down, simply extended her hand and shouted.

“Judgment.” CRACK! A gray spear pierced his body and the pillar.

The final assassin dropped his head lifelessly, impaled by the spear.

No more killing intent was felt.

Only then did Loen exhale.

“Haah…”

It took less than a perceived minute to handle all assassins.

Everything happened in an instant.

What trouble right before an arrest.

“Current Flow.”

Just then, Seraphine cast magic pushing smoke out of the church.

Finally the church interior brightened. Then the knight commander shouted.

“Everyone freeze!”

Vision returning, the resounding shout quickly calmed the chaos.

People were shocked discovering assassins’ corpses, but the group’s fierce aura prevented major commotion.

“Miss Loen, are you okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine. Thanks for helping.”

Loen took Psyche’s hand and stood.

“Hehe.”

Psyche puffed her chest as if having accomplished something.

Smiling slightly, Loen dusted herself off and glared coldly toward the church entrance.

Even amid chaos, several people were seen trying to sneak out.

Apparently not fully grasping the situation. Where do you think you’re going?

Loen warned coldly.

“From now on, anyone showing movement to exit the church will be considered traitors without delay.”

All movement ceased.

After all, traitor was an even more frightening word than heretic.

Herding people deeper into the church,

Loen’s party maintained vigilance preparing for additional ambushes.

Judging the situation ended, they gathered near the church entrance to share opinions about the incident.

“Was nobody trying to harm the bishop’s group?”

“No. Maybe because of the barrier, nobody approached that side.”

At Seraphine’s answer, the knight commander stroked his chin.

“Then the assassins’ sole target from the beginning was Miss Loen.”

He continued.

“Something felt odd. From the start, compared to Partisan numbers attacking our corps, knights and mages were unreasonably few. They seem to be plotting something different. We need caution in many ways.”

Loen nodded.

She thought similarly.

After brief conversation, Loen glared at the bishop and said.

“For now, let’s take them to the lord’s castle.”

“Yes.”

“Alright.”

“Yes!”

Bishop Marcus and his group who accused innocent people as heretics.

And Partisans who attempted assassination as soon as truth was revealed.

Demons, traitors, Partisans, Solar Church…

Western chaos seemed far deeper and more complexly entangled than expected.

Therefore, they needed to interrogate these people for more information.

After verifying and releasing ordinary people through cross-examination,

Loen’s party bound everyone remaining and took them to the lord’s castle.

The Haven lord’s audience chamber door opened roughly.

Loen’s party barged through.

The lord and his retainers stared at Loen with round eyes.

“I-Inspector…”

“Eep.”

Striding to the lord, Loen silently stared at his young face.

‘Younger than expected?’

The lord appeared at most fifteen or sixteen.

Trembling with fear, he looked less like a lord and more like a frightened puppy.

Loen couldn’t hide her surprise.

She naturally expected the lord would be deeply involved.

But the young lord before her… clearly appeared a mere puppet manipulated by others.

‘No wonder the bishop ran wild openly in the city square.’

Seeing the lord and fidgeting retainers beside him, Loen quickly grasped the situation.

“He’s totally a kid, isn’t he?”

“Shh. Speak quieter.”

Psyche’s whisper echoed in the audience chamber. Despite the sudden rudeness, the young lord could only open and close his mouth without words.

His pupils remained fixed solely on Loen looking down at him.

Loen spoke.

“Pleased to meet you, Count Leus. Imperial Inspection Corps Senior Investigator, Loen Franz. Matter at hand…”

Her voice resonated throughout the audience chamber.

Originally planning to question the lord’s complicity… she decided to modify her plan.

“I wish to use the castle’s dungeon to interrogate Bishop Marcus and his group.”

The lord anxiously glanced around at his retainers, then answered with trembling voice.

“V-very well…”

Drip.

Drip.

In the dark, damp dungeon. Water droplets echoed eerily along stone walls.

“Uugh…”

The young priest with severed legs groaned and opened his eyes with difficulty. Wh-where is this?

Through foggy consciousness, he remembered his identity being exposed and being dragged to the dungeon.

Then he’d fainted.

The priest trembled with fear, shifting gaze to his missing legs.

Those red eyes of the woman who cut his legs without hesitation!

That eerie gaze wouldn’t leave his mind.

But what terrified him even more…

Was a more fundamental and eerie sensation beyond comparison to the pain of limb amputation.

‘As if the soul itself was disappearing…’

A sensation of my very existence being erased from this world. A terrible sensation beyond any description.

Just then.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Regular footsteps echoing on cold stone floor grew closer.

These footsteps? N-no way? It was unmistakable. Her footsteps.

Terrified, he frantically flailed his arms but only produced clanking sounds.

No escape route or method.

“N-no…”

Click. The sound stopped.

The priest, eyes tightly shut, tremblingly opened one eye slightly.

“!!”

In darkness, beyond iron bars… two red lights shone.

In retrospect, he feared this woman more than the demon he’d contracted with.

Having once been a devout priest, he knew better.

Power to annihilate the soul itself. Something close to divine authority that even demons couldn’t possess.

Clank, creak—.

She opened the prison door, entered, and stood directly before the priest.

“I’d like to have a little conversation.”

A coldly subdued voice.

Neither anger, contempt, nor any emotion – emotionlessness itself.

Looking into her eyes, the priest realized to his core.

That wasn’t a gaze looking at a person.

The priest desperately nodded up and down.