Ch.126126. Leap and Preparation (3)

“What’s the reason for keeping me alive?”

Today, unusually, no screams echoed through the Holy Nation’s detention center. Though it appeared to have been cleaned thoroughly, stains on the walls remained untouched. Blood had seeped into the stone as if it had always been one with the rock, rippling with the shadows.

“That’s entirely the Hero’s will. I wouldn’t know. I have no intention of interfering with your life or death. Of course, if even one person had died because of you, I believe the Hero would have unhesitatingly agreed to your execution.”

Bishop Andre shot a cold glance at the homunculus sitting on the floor, bound by holy relics. Natalie had returned to the form of a black-haired girl.

“Tell me what orders you received.”

“You won’t get anything from me. Even if you torture me, it’s the same. I will never tell you the information you want to hear.”

The homunculus was intelligent. Not just a fool with brute strength, but much more difficult to deal with. The bishop shook his head. Torture? The Hero wouldn’t want that, so it was out of the question. Besides, this was a monster in the form of a girl. He wouldn’t have hesitated to torture it.

“Very well. I have nothing to ask you.”

Bishop Andre replied and rose from his seat. Natalie looked up at the rising bishop with a puzzled expression. Questions that yield no answers are meaningless. Since there was no immediate threat, the bishop decided not to waste his energy. This wasn’t the time to be hung up on this.

“There are people worried about you. I’ll let you see their faces briefly.”

The bishop helped Natalie to her feet. Natalie looked down at the noose binding her wrists. It was made of old rope that seemed like it would tear with just a little force. Yet somehow, she felt she shouldn’t tear it.

“People worried about me? What do you mean?”

Bishop Andre deliberately ignored Natalie’s question and began walking. Like livestock with a nose ring, Natalie quietly followed the bishop. As they walked through the long underground corridor, Natalie imagined killing him and escaping. Could she kill him? What if she killed this man and fled? Should she move according to the instructions in her head again? Would they contact her again? Would they tell her what to do? No, from the beginning…

“I wouldn’t think about removing that noose if I were you.”

…Can I kill him?

Bishop Andre’s gaze cut through Natalie’s like a blade. A chill penetrated deep into Natalie’s lungs, choking her breath. A surprise attack would be useless. This man had the skill to slit one’s throat in the moment the attacker thought they had succeeded.

“Don’t think about resisting. I don’t want to have to make excuses to the Hero.”

At the bishop’s voice, Natalie temporarily abandoned thoughts of escape. The corridor was long. And Natalie was like an arrow that had been shot. Whether it hit or missed, a shot arrow couldn’t turn back. The archer couldn’t tell the arrow to go this way or that after it was released. So the arrow, once shot, didn’t know where it should go.

“This way.”

The bishop spoke to Natalie, who stood dazed at a fork in the path. There was a staircase leading up through a narrow passage. The bishop placed his foot on the first step and looked at Natalie. A piercing white light, different from the dim light of the underground, waited at the end.

“They said they wanted to at least see your face and talk to you. They could have just ignored it, but they passed the interrogation and even wrote statements. All for a friendship that lasted barely two months.”

Natalie blinked. The bishop’s words didn’t quite register in her mind.

“Why don’t you see their faces and talk to them?”

In the room Natalie entered, Eugene and Cora were sitting frozen at a desk, waiting for her. Seeing Natalie’s expression, which was no different than usual, they greeted her with expressions half relieved, half bewildered.

“How can you look so normal after what you’ve been through?”

“Are you hurt anywhere? You suddenly disappeared and made us worry.”

Eugene and Cora’s words, respectively. Natalie just looked at the two in confusion.

“…Why are you two here?”

“What kind of question is that? You have to pay the price for disappearing without telling us.”

Eugene, whose mouth jutted out like a frog’s, said this as he placed his hands on the desk.

“Come on, tell us what happened. Skip the parts you don’t want to talk about, just the general outline.”

The Holy Nation wouldn’t have done this to extract information. The two didn’t seem to have any use for such information either. But Natalie couldn’t easily begin speaking. Eugene and Cora didn’t rush her and waited patiently.

“…”

And watching them, Bishop Andre quietly left the interrogation room. Behind him, he could hear Natalie’s voice cautiously beginning to speak.

==

“I thought they had been cutting their tails and escaping quite well.”

The Pope spoke with a voice mixed with admiration, disgust, revulsion, and sighs as he read the report. It was early afternoon. The lengthening day was still casting bright sunlight into the Pope’s room.

“We’re finally getting close to the root of those bastards.”

“It was terrible. But by pulling without cutting the roots, they showed us the path deeper in. Though some who didn’t need to die were sacrificed.”

Bishop Andre shook his head regretfully. During the years of pursuit, many inquisitors had been lost. Those who remained were people who didn’t particularly seek reasons or meaning in death. The inquisitors didn’t advocate for the convenience of the dead, but they didn’t find the task of carrying bodies burdensome either. That was because they didn’t consider death to be anything special.

“…If it leads to their true form, they would gladly accept it.”

“Were the bodies properly recovered? I suppose the number of those who need to be placed in the church’s underground has increased again.”

The Pope’s words were dry and bitter. With each coffin that piled up, the cigarettes the two men smoked increased.

“The attack in the Kingdom of Kairos… we can’t conclude that they failed. Their goal wasn’t to kill the Hero or destroy the magic tower.”

The bishop stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. Cigarette smoke lingered in his exhaled breath.

“Yes. Those madmen really seem to think they don’t care about the Hero or the magic tower. As long as they can bring calamity to this land, that’s all that matters.”

“I don’t understand why they’re so obsessed with destruction. From their actions, it doesn’t seem like they think destruction is the end.”

A worried look settled on the Pope’s face. The world’s movements were unsettling. There must have been another reason why the devil worshippers, who had been tightly wrapped up until now, suddenly unveiled themselves as if they didn’t care if everything was revealed, but the Pope and the bishop couldn’t guess what it was.

“The more this happens, the more grateful I am for the Hero. To think of capturing someone alive in such a chaotic situation.”

“…Well, it doesn’t seem like the Hero intended to keep that creature alive for that reason.”

What does intention matter? The Pope, suppressing a frustrated sigh, picked up another cigarette.

“I never thought not knowing the Hero’s whereabouts would be this frustrating. I hear Isis has locked herself in and hasn’t come out.”

“I haven’t specifically put surveillance on her. I trust that child and the Hero. She asked for time, so I’m just acting according to that request. Of course, we can’t neglect monitoring the calamity and the devil worshippers.”

The conversation broke off. The room was filled only with the sound of the Pope puffing and exhaling smoke. The Pope threw his half-smoked cigarette into the ashtray and spoke again.

“Continue tracking. They’re much larger than we expected. Forget about trying to wipe them out completely and just keep an eye on their movements. This might not be an opponent we can handle with just the Holy Nation’s power. We might need to recognize them as a threat equal to the calamity.”

The Pope glanced at the bishop. The bishop sipped his coffee as if he knew nothing.

“I’m telling you not to do anything crazy on your own. Understand?”

“Yes, yes. I understand.”

The Pope, wondering if the bishop was really listening, stroked his increasing wrinkles and sighed demonstratively at Bishop Andre.

“Is the homunculus’s restraint device working well?”

“Don’t worry, it’s being well managed. Currently, it’s impossible for her to remove the restraints.”

Bishop Andre’s eyes gleamed.

“If she tries to contact the outside or attempts to remove the restraints, we should actually be grateful. I don’t think that monster is that stupid. Also…”

The bishop recalled Natalie’s expression when facing her colleagues. If it helped defeat the enemy, there was no reason to refuse.

“She doesn’t seem likely to try to remove them either.”

“If you say so, then that’s how it is. I’ll stop asking.”

The Pope cut off the conversation cleanly. He wasn’t the type to worry unnecessarily.

“So, where is the Hero now? I know they haven’t been moved into the Holy Nation, but…”

“I agreed not to disclose the exact location. Even telling me was the maximum courtesy that could be extended to a monarch of a nation. You must be curious, but I have no way to tell you.”

Bishop Andre gave up immediately. If that was the request, it meant the Hero absolutely didn’t want to be disturbed.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to keep pulling at the roots. We must pull when they bite.”

The Pope was about to caution Bishop Andre against being too hasty but decided against it. There was a limit to what the Pope, who had never been to the field, could command. Leaving bloody work to those who had bloodied their hands before—the Pope knew this well.

“It would be fortunate if the calamity is the end.”

If not, he didn’t really want to think about what might be waiting beyond.

==

The sensation of the hilt touching my hand whenever I gripped the sword felt unfamiliar. It wasn’t because it was new. It felt as if I were holding a sword for the first time, like an unfamiliar sensation rising from my palm.

“The third stage of opening is not simply a matter of handling power.”

The Holy Sword sitting beside me said. I was still struggling, unable to properly cut even a single straw dummy. The dummy continued to exist on my sword path. My sword path kept twisting, and as soon as I cut, the dummy would regenerate.

“You’ve already realized that you’ve transcended the realm of power.”

The reason the Holy Sword hadn’t presented the conditions for the third opening was simple. There could be no convenient conditions for a power that could cut stars and collapse worlds.

“There is no other way but for you to reach that place yourself.”

Again, the sword came down. Again, the dummy existed on the sword path. Though I felt no physical fatigue, I sighed as I thrust the sword into the ground. I needed to change my perspective for a moment. After staring at the cross-section of the dummy for a long time, the Holy Sword approached me.

“Ilroy.”

I raised my head at the Holy Sword’s call. The Holy Sword wore a hesitant expression.

“What is it?”

“Would you like to die by my hand once?”

What kind of sudden nonsense is this?

Unlike my bewildered expression, the Holy Sword’s eyes were serious. I flinched as I watched the Holy Sword’s fingertips move toward the sword hilt at his waist.

“Let me cut you once.”

I had a feeling that something had gone seriously wrong.