Ch.180Report on the Downfall of Charity (22)

The rising smoke collapsed, unable to maintain its form. It poured itself into every street and alley. As waves of smoke and darkness rolled in, screams rippled through the air.

To make matters worse, the distinctive fog of Venelucia began creeping up. A local specialty that could rise from ankle to knee height the moment you looked away.

The smoke from burning asas grass mixed with the fog, clinging to people like sticky spider webs.

Warning. Terror. Frenzy.

People did their best to flee, hide, and guide one another. But there were more who were swept up in confusion than those who kept their wits about them.

Kain’s horse galloped through the chaotic streets.

Perhaps because of the fog, the sound of hoofbeats rang out with surprising clarity. People quickly cleared a path on both sides, allowing Kain to ride along the open main road.

“Hiyah!”

Kain deliberately raised his voice. It served both as a warning to citizens and to calm his horse. Though bred as a warhorse from birth, even it would naturally be frightened in such an unprecedented environment.

Kain gripped the reins tighter, stroking the horse’s neck to soothe it while glancing sideways from the corner of his eye.

He was certain. Something was running alongside him.

It had a wolf-like form with darkness rippling instead of a mane, its body made of writhing smoke.

Its eyes glowed red like burning coal, and its gaping mouth spewed darkness.

– Yes, wise one. Are you satisfied? Is this what you wanted? The city burns and people kill each other. You don’t know where Leonardo is, and you wander the streets.

– Look, see the waves of burning ships approaching the island in flames. This is your achievement.

Kain ignored it. The wolf puffed itself up even more. What had been the size of a stray dog was now as large as a small cow.

– Admit it. You are powerless and weak. Are you really an agent of the Security Bureau? To have your identity exposed not once but twice! You’ve been lucky to get by each time!

– How long will this continue? While Liliana Brynhildr, the Empire’s Sword, overwhelms countless enemies with her superior skill. While Maria the Inquisitor purifies darkness with holy fire.

– Where were you? What did you do? At best, you merely endured stubbornly until even your achievements were stolen by the Knight of the Scabbard?

– This time will be the same. When the beasts of the apocalypse pour down, as always, that person will fall from the sky! You’ll be left panting in exhaustion, head bowed, waiting for someone else to solve everything!

– When will you ever accomplish even one person’s share?

The wolf grew even larger. The darkness in the streets deepened. Clothes damp with smoke, fog, and sweat hung heavily.

– Look. Look at me. I will help you. I can show you where Leonardo is. I’ll give you the power to cut him down in one stroke. Won’t you save the innocent with me? Before good people, those who’ve taken up swords in terror without knowing anything, stab their neighbors and families! Look!

Like the sea parting to reveal the seabed, shadows retreated to both sides. At the end of a dark, gleaming straight line, Leonardo appeared.

Kain could see the guards standing by his side and the Black Phoenix priests in robes. He saw hostages kneeling, sobbing as they were held by the neck.

And a man. A man sitting in a chair, trembling as he looked up at Leonardo.

The wolf cut in front of the horse. The horse seemed completely unaware of it. Only Kain could see it.

– I will guide you. Follow me. Just ride down that path. Just keep riding as you are! Just take a step. Ride down that straight path!

Another head grew from the wolf’s back and neck. Bat wings sprouted from its back—single wings. Its elongated tail transformed into a snake, hissing.

The corner of Kain’s mouth turned up.

“Yes. Thank you.”

The wolf let out a howl of delight.

But soon it became confused, then gnashed its teeth and let out a ferocious roar. It was louder than hundreds of magpies screaming in unison to drive away a single crow.

Kain had slowed the horse’s pace.

The horse, already quite tired, gladly accepted its rider’s direction. The galloping horse slowed to a walk, then snorted softly as it gradually came to a stop.

Due to momentum, it took a step or two more, but when Kain dismounted completely, it whinnied in satisfaction.

The wolf ran back, growling in disbelief as it faced Kain.

– What are you doing!

“Thank you.”

Kain didn’t even draw his sword. He stood still, tapping his staff on the ground.

The three-headed wolf, now standing on two legs, looked down at him. But Kain regarded it with the same indifference as if it were a child’s doodle on a wall.

“Leonardo doesn’t have enough asas. The current amount can shock the city, but it’s not enough for what he wants.

Soon a strong wind will blow. A seasonal wind carrying warmth. The locals call this wind, as warm as body temperature, ‘the hot embrace.’ That wind will cleanse Venelucia.

This means if the people here can endure, the poison will dissipate on its own. The people of Venelucia are organized and unified, but they can only be so under the orders of the Doge and the Supreme Council members.

That’s why he took nobles and influential people hostage. To create confusion and paralysis. But he couldn’t do the same with the Doge’s family. The guards would be too vigilant. So he’ll try to threaten the Doge directly.

Therefore, Leonardo and his gang are at the Doge’s residence.”

Realizing things had gone wrong, the wolf growled. A threatening signal. Kain pointed his staff at the wolf.

“You know your kind well. Listening to you makes everything seem so easy. Your words gain power because you don’t tell complete lies, but mix in truth. Yes, I cannot summon holy fire. I’m not a warrior worth a hundred men like Liliana. But.”

Kain wore a mocking smile.

“Why should I know how to do all that?”

– What?

“Why should I care about my shortcomings? I already have more than enough to do with what I can do well.”

– What can someone like you possibly do!

Kain didn’t answer. Instead, he moved forward. The shadows grew thicker, making it impossible to see even a step ahead, but that didn’t matter. He had already seen what he needed to see.

“What can I do, you ask?

He walked, feeling his way with his staff. It caught on a low fence. A trampled garden. Pots were overturned and leaves torn away.

There was a rose with its head torn off. Kain pulled up the stem. He wrapped the thorns around his hand. The pricking sensation made his jaw tingle, and the scratching feeling sent shivers down his spine. But Kain didn’t stop. He wrapped the thorny vine around his hand and stood facing the shadow.

“Not listening to the words of apparitions.”

He clenched his fist tightly.

The expected pain shot up his arm and struck his head. He gritted his teeth and widened his eyes. The thorns piercing his hand, the sensation of blood flowing between his fingers, the tears flowing from his eyes down his cheeks—all reminded him where he was. What this place was. What he truly was.

Pain had guided him here.

The monster screamed as it was torn apart. There was nothing left to confuse his eyes and ears. All he could see was fog mixed with more fog, but that wasn’t all.

He saw a fountain made of pure white marble. It wasn’t the mermaid statue Master Vito had mentioned. It was a golden lion statue roaring with its front paws raised on a white column.

Kain mounted his horse again. Without hesitation, he called “Hiyah!” and set off. The calm horse stepped forward vigorously, following its rider’s guidance.

Though it had been a long time since he’d left, Kain still remembered the important places. The various statues that served as landmarks were essential knowledge.

Darkness posed no problem. He had memorized these paths thoroughly, both physically and mentally, as he needed to navigate them as easily in the moonless night as in broad daylight.

Among these places was the Doge’s palace. Though called a palace, due to Venelucia’s limited land, it wasn’t particularly grand or ornate.

It resembled more of a wall surrounding a vast square. But Kain’s destination was behind the palace—the residence where the Doge and his family lived.

The horse advanced through the asas smoke. People intoxicated by the mind-altering grass fell to their knees, screaming. Those with weapons threw them down, and thieves dropped their sacks full of stolen goods.

“Demon! Demon!”

Leonardo’s men charged forward with cutlasses drawn. Their eyes were already rolled back, and their mouths dripped with saliva. They might have developed some tolerance, but they hadn’t awakened from the drug’s effects.

Kain threw his cutlass. The whirling blade embedded itself precisely in a chest. He easily retrieved the knife from the fallen pirate’s body and threw it again. The excited horse neighed loudly. The sound of hooves striking the stone path was deafening.

To Leonardo’s mercenaries, it appeared like a horse bringing nightmares. Emerging from writhing shadows, it charged forward bearing darkness. The rider above flashed his eyes and threw knives.

“The hunt! The hunt! The rider! The demon rider!”

The horse leaped forward again. The mercenaries dropped their weapons and fell. They covered their heads, trembling in fear, praying that the demon rider wouldn’t take them, that the terrible thing wouldn’t claim their lives, even after the ringing hoofbeats had faded from their ears.

* * * * *

“Ugh…”

The staff maker. Traitor. Womanizer. Handsome man. Francesco wept. He couldn’t even remember how long he had been in this position.

He couldn’t tell whether what was attached below his waist was legs or wolf jaws gnawing at his body. Every time he moved his swollen hands, the rope binding his wrists stung. The bindings seemed to tighten more with every movement.

Bella quietly sobbed beside him. She leaned against Francesco’s body. Yet even so, she struggled to untie the staff shop owner’s knots. But her fingers lacked strength, and she failed repeatedly.

Moreover, her gaze was fixed on the room.

Her vision was still blurry, and her stomach queasy. It was difficult even to stay conscious with her sight constantly spinning. But Bella endured somehow.

When they had arrived at the workshop, everything had seemed fine. But men appeared from nowhere, quickly subdued the guards, and dragged her and Francesco away. When the sacks were removed from their heads, they saw Leonardo the Charity before them.

‘Where is this…?’

It was a grand, spacious room, but she couldn’t tell where. She saw Francesco groaning beside her, held by the neck, and people in various attire struggling while being restrained. They were familiar to her as a noblewoman.

And that old man sitting in the chair, trembling with rage and fear, was clearly the Doge. The Doge tried to rise, but each time, a knife would move toward his throat, forcing him to sit back down.

“It seems you don’t take my words seriously, sir.”

Leonardo, holding the knife, tapped documents on the desk.

“Don’t you understand? Venelucia is already finished. The Demon King has come. Only I, the hero, can drive away the shadows. How long will you continue to increase the sacrifices!”

“How dare you, a pirate who stole and sold others’ undergarments!”

The Doge shouted defiantly, but that was all. Leonardo’s men beside the Doge beat him mercilessly. They knocked him from his chair and trampled his arms and body. Before the fallen Doge, priests with deeply pulled hoods held out small plates.

Plates with burning asas grass.

People convulsed from the potent smoke. Each struggled, recalling their nightmares. The Doge was somehow enduring, but he couldn’t stop his tears.

“I have no choice. Listen carefully, everyone. The one who caused this disaster is the Doge himself. The Doge and his family have fallen into wicked sorcery and overturned this city with fear!”

Leonardo shouted.

“What you see are all illusions. The Doge here is a monster. He disguises himself as a weak old man, but he’s actually worse than the Demon King!”

“That’s a lie!”

Someone shouted. But the cry didn’t last long. One of the priests struck his head with a club.

“Purified!”

Leonardo’s men shouted.

“Wake from your nightmare! I am Leonardo the Charity, the hero who defeated the Demon King! I will free you! Don’t be deceived by illusions! The one who brought you here is the Doge. You were captured by monsters!”

And then it truly seemed so. Bella saw the large hand gripping her body. She saw the Doge’s greedy face, larger than a boulder, smiling lecherously. Francesco saw something different.

– Come with us.

– Just you need to come.

– Hurry.

“Ugh, uuuugh!”

His former comrades, who had writhed while burning at the stake, were crawling up toward him from below.

– Why just us?

– Why not you?

– You sold us out, didn’t you?

– Traitor.

“No, no!”

Francesco cried out. The charitable hero heard his scream.

“Here are the devil’s minions!”

The Doge’s wife and children were dragged out by their hair. What had clearly appeared that way now looked completely different. The heads of those creatures held by the neck were fish, with human lower bodies. Their pale, blank eyes seemed to stare at everyone. Even their opening gills and scales, still glistening with moisture, were visible.

“I will punish the demons and save this land! Watch carefully, everyone. Here is the death of the Demon King’s puppets!”

It didn’t make sense. Francesco was confused. Leonardo was clearly threatening the Doge. He was pressuring him to stamp some unknown document.

But now when he blinked, the Doge appeared as a monster, and Leonardo looked like a true hero. A brilliant light seemed to shine upon him.

‘What’s the truth?’

Francesco was gradually losing himself. His wasn’t the only such experience. Everyone captured there was confused. Was the Doge really a monster? Was Leonardo truly trying to help them? But weren’t his men the ones who had captured them?

“Do you want salvation? Do you want help? Do you wish to escape this confusion?”

“Yes!”

“Yes, we do!”

The charitable hero shouted.

“Then believe in me! In me! In me who has risen valiantly for Venelucia! I will break your illusions, the demon wearing the Doge’s skin!”

The priests simultaneously set down their plates. Being made of metal, they didn’t break, but the asas smoke spread throughout the room. In the empty room appeared a hero wrapped in light and a fish-human monster wearing the Doge’s clothes. An ugly, filthy, sticky, and utterly lascivious monster.

“Kill…”

Someone’s voice.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

The warrior of light raised his cutlass high. The fish-human, drooling and having wet himself, raised his arms while gasping. But Francesco, and Bella too, strangely couldn’t speak.

Lightning struck.

Everyone ducked at the ear-splitting sound. Those with bound hands tried to bury their heads in their chests. Those bound completely opened their eyes in shock.

“Aaaah!”

Something stood there. A staff in one hand, a cutlass in the other. With eyes burning red and a hideous form made of undulating smoke. But Francesco thought this figure looked quite familiar.

That’s why he also saw that the figure’s right hand was dripping something like water. It seemed to be because of the thorny vine in its hand.

“Leonardo the Charity.”

The shining hero gritted his teeth. His eyes looked ready to pop out.

“In the name of the Venelucia Supreme Council, I arrest you.”

The evil spirit charged, brandishing staff and sword.