Ch.126Amidst Destruction (2)

*

“Ha, that bookworm runt seduced the hero Silvia? And into bed, no less?”

Eric frowned and clicked his tongue as if he’d just heard a terrible joke.

To be fair, even Alice herself wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes.

But surprisingly, this was undeniably true, so Alice nodded and spoke.

“Well, that’s not wrong, but it’s not like he seduced her with his body. I think they must have developed some feelings for each other.”

“So they’re fucking. Ha, I didn’t see Ash that way. He’s more impressive than I thought.”

“I did explain that part, but let’s not be so explicit about it.”

“Why not?”

“It feels awkward. Like we’re gossiping about my little brother’s sex life.”

“What little brother? He was your fiancé.”

“…”

“I guess since you’ve known him since childhood, it might feel that way.”

Eric slowly crossed his arms and fell silent.

After pressing his lips tightly and letting out a deep sigh through his nose, Eric began speaking in a low voice.

“Well, I know you wouldn’t make up such an absurd lie. So the armor and weapons you need are for you, Silvia, and Ash.”

“Exactly.”

“It’s not impossible to get them, but…”

Eric began massaging his eyebrows with his thumb and index finger.

Apparently, with the blacksmiths and weapon shops gone, this wouldn’t be an easy task.

“This isn’t business, Eric. It’s not about profit or loss. If there’s a way, we have to do it no matter what.”

“Even if I’m a thug and a criminal, I’m not stupid enough to misunderstand the situation. I know the world might end.”

“Right…”

“There is a way, but the problem is… it’s impossible for me.”

“…Is it a cost issue?”

“No, it’s a life-or-death issue.”

Alice could guess the situation from just those words.

It seemed clear that some band of thieves or group of robbers had monopolized weapons in this chaos.

This was common whenever turbulent times arrived.

Alice sighed and said:

“That’s how popular uprisings always go.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“What did I do?”

“Thanks to you, commoners could flex their muscles a bit more, since you took down all the oppressive nobles.”

“How is that my fault?”

“Well, considering how those bastards abused their power, I can’t entirely blame you.”

“…”

Alice felt no guilt whatsoever.

Imprisoning corrupt nobles wasn’t particularly done to empower commoners, and even if that had been her intention, she certainly never wanted or intended this madness that had even blown away the Papal Office.

Originally, even if commoners rose up and went all the way, things would usually end with the overthrow of the regime, not with an entire city turning into a hellhole like this.

Criminal organizations might take over a city, but usually some balance and order would be established.

What made the situation this bad was clearly the fear and madness brought by the name of the Demon Lord.

“If a band of thieves is ruling the city by force, your organization should have taken control instead.”

“Our organization was essentially the starting point of this chaos. Naturally, we were thoroughly crushed as an example.”

“So you let these rootless bandits take over the city?”

“No, they have their own roots. Plenty of them, actually.”

Roots among thieves?

Alice had no interest in the history of criminal groups, so she quickly moved on.

“What’s their armament level like?”

“Ha, is this the time to be picky?”

Eric grumbled a bit, but Alice pressed him.

“Ordinary weapons won’t do. We’re going after the Demon Lord. We need the best weapons, the best equipment.”

“Well, you have a point…”

Eric nodded.

“The best weapons… Well, obviously nothing like that exists, but the quality shouldn’t be too bad. As I said, they have their roots.”

“They won’t just give them to us.”

“Who knows?”

Listening to Eric’s curt voice, Alice looked at her empty hands.

It seemed that conflict would be unavoidable to obtain weapons and armor.

However, Alice currently had neither weapons nor armor.

All she had was a body that could recover infinitely.

“A band of thieves formed by untrained civilians can only have so much ‘roots’.”

In other words, she could easily get what she needed.

“That’s not the case. They’re well-trained, almost like a paramilitary organization. What they do is absolutely insane, but…”

Eric smiled wryly as he looked at Alice and continued.

“I told you. They have roots.”

Alice let out a disbelieving laugh.

A criminal organization that professionally trains its subordinates?

If such a thing existed in this city, she would surely have known about it.

When the world was still intact, Alice would have taken them down long ago.

Alice shrugged and said:

“Who the hell are they anyway?”

In response to her question, Eric slowly raised his hand.

Then, pointing at Alice with his fingertip, he said:

“The Goddess Church priests who beheaded the Pope.”

*

Alice walked with confident steps through the ruins of collapsed buildings.

The streets, once bustling with carriage wheels and footsteps, were now filled with thick dust and ashes.

Though she’d heard that thieves were rampant, she hadn’t encountered any yet.

It meant that even armed outlaws avoided walking these streets.

However, the only danger Alice had encountered while walking was at most a rusty nail.

The streets were literally deathly quiet.

“Ha.”

Alice let out a hollow laugh.

During her days hunting corrupt nobles, she had seen countless territories in disarray due to neglect.

Yet, in none of those places had she felt this kind of atmosphere.

Even where citizens were dying in droves, where cruel villains tormented people in place of neglectful lords, there was never a place with such quiet death hanging in the air.

What could these evildoers, who killed innocents and plundered their belongings, these fallen ones who had forgotten their devotion enough to behead the Pope, possibly fear?

“It really feels… like the end of the world.”

What they feared was not threat but despair.

The powerless and innocent had died, the evil and selfish had despaired, and priests who had forgotten their devotion had become the most powerful band of thieves.

Not a blazing inferno of a hell, but a quietly sunken, endlessly silent, heavy hell.

Alice’s footsteps, walking through the center of it all, thundered loudly with anger.

As she walked, Alice eventually discovered a camp built on an open space at the edge of the city.

There were two soldiers standing guard at the entrance, supposedly trained temple knights, but they merely stood there with lifeless gestures, heads bowed, swords stuck in the ground as they leaned on the handles.

Such weapon maintenance would normally earn severe reprimand, but apparently no one was scolding them for such behavior.

But why would it matter?

If the Demon Lord’s revival was real, everyone would die anyway.

That thought must be why no one stopped them.

Alice, seemingly unconcerned with hiding herself, walked boldly while muttering:

“This is truly… ridiculous. Commander.”

Alice recalled Eric’s words.

Priests who rebelled against the Pope for concealing the Demon Lord’s revival became enraged and killed her, then beheaded and desecrated her already dead body.

In an instant, the priests forgot all faith and devotion, scattered in all directions, killing confused citizens and endlessly plundering.

There were even madmen who, as if to release their suppressed sexual desires, raped indiscriminately regardless of age or gender.

And the one who gathered these scattered priests and temple knights into the current organization was none other than the former Inquisitor Commander.

Alice’s former superior, Inquisitor Commander Ovid.

“…”

She didn’t understand.

Why he had done such a thing.

Was it to prevent chaos from reaching the citizens, or did he still harbor desire for that insignificant position even in this chaotic situation?

Although he wasn’t the one who beheaded the Pope, the fact that the head of the Goddess Church’s largest armed force, who had a duty to protect the Pope, was breaking bread with those who had beheaded Her Holiness could hardly sit well with Alice.

“…No, it doesn’t matter.”

Alice muttered quietly, clenching her fist.

Her mechanical heart began to beat with a rhythmic thump-thump sound, almost alien in its regularity.

“What he’s thinking, what his circumstances are, why should I care?”

All that matters is that they have weapons and equipment.

“These apostates.”

In truth, while Alice had held a considerable position within the Goddess Church, ironically, she wasn’t particularly devout despite her status.

She had sought refuge in the Goddess Church because she had lost her hometown and had nowhere else to go.

And she had volunteered for the terrible experiment that put this damned mechanical heart in her chest only because she was consumed by vengeance.

But to Alice, it was pathetically laughable how these “devout” priests who had always looked down on her had so easily thrown away their faith and efforts toward goodness just because of the approaching doom.

Golden holy power swirled and burst forth between the fingers of her tightly clenched fist.

Holy power.

Evidence that the Goddess’s power still remained on this earth, that this world had not yet perished.

Those fallen ones had probably all lost it by now.

Alice let out a deep sigh and widened her eyes.

Even in broad daylight, the golden light in her pupils emitted a clear radiance.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Oh, shit! A woman, a woman!”

The two guards on duty shouted like monkeys.

Alice, wrinkling her face in disgust, gradually quickened her pace and soon began to run.

“What? She’s coming!”

The guards, sensing something was wrong, raised their spears and swords.

Perhaps because of their commotion, figures began to emerge one by one from inside the camp.

Finally, one of the guards seemed to recognize Alice and opened his eyes wide.

“Wait, could it be!”

“Ah! Holy—”

Alice’s fist struck the abdomen of the guard holding the spear.

As the armor caved inward and dug into flesh, the guard screamed.

Alice’s fist was completely mangled from that single attack, but it didn’t matter.

When her fist returned, leaving a golden trajectory, it had already completely healed.

The sword-wielding soldier shouted and slashed at Alice’s body with a wide arc.

Alice’s body was cut in half diagonally.

However, before the severed part could fall, Alice’s body had already reattached itself.

Alice grabbed the stunned soldier’s chin and smashed her fist into his forehead.

The soldier, who wasn’t wearing a helmet due to the heat, had his forehead cave in.

Alice threw aside the limp soldier and shouted:

“Alice Goldfield, Papal Inquisitor of the Goddess Church.”

For the Pope,

To save this world,

To punish these wicked apostates.

“In the name of the Goddess, I will purify everyone here.”

Into the camp filled with her confused and panicking former colleagues, Alice boldly stepped forward.