Ch.402EP.83 – The Knight’s Compass Has No Needle (1)

I’ll clearly state that the clowns were strong.

Though they had undergone body modifications, those who wielded formalized martial arts could truly be called one-man armies.

And there were dozens of such individuals.

They were well-trained and appeared accustomed to coordinated combat.

If they wanted to, they could easily take on two or three knight orders.

However…

KWANG!

Their misfortune was that this only applied to the “average” opponent.

…He swung a person without hesitation.

PUEONG!

Swinging a human weighing roughly 85kg with all his might.

The fortunate thing was that this human was well-trained and didn’t break easily.

KWADUK!

Another clown who was struck by the clown-whip staggered.

Though unable to withstand the impact, the clown was tenacious.

He drew his sword against his comrade.

SEOGUK!

The clown achieved his goal.

He cut down the whip that was coming at him again.

Unhesitating swordplay.

Cutting down even his comrade without hesitation was quite…

“-admirable. You’re next.”

KWAJIK!

Ihan’s fist struck the clown’s face, and the clown collapsed without even having time to react.

…No, let me correct myself.

HWOOK!

He was appointed as the new whip.

KWAJIK!

Ihan swung the clown more forcefully than before.

Wasn’t he full of malice?

If so.

KWANG!

The first whip, or rather the clown, would likely be much sturdier.

Sure enough.

KWANG! KWANG! KWAANG!

He was sturdy.

Even when struck with greater force than before, he didn’t break easily.

A remarkably trained body.

It meant he was a warrior who valued physical training like Ihan, which was quite fortunate.

However.

SEOGUK-!

“Don’t you have any camaraderie?”

“……”

Once again, the clowns cut their comrade.

This time they precisely severed a leg, leaving Ihan holding only a shin in his hand.

Ihan threw it to the ground, deeming it useless.

“…Cruel bastard.”

A clown’s mutter.

But Ihan snickered.

“Who’s calling whom cruel?”

If the opponents had been human, if they had been worthy of respect, Ihan wouldn’t have resorted to such methods.

He was an intellectual who had learned ethics to uphold.

But.

“The foundation of body modification is alchemy. Since No. 3 himself is an alchemist, that’s only natural.”

PEOK! PEOK! PEOK!!

“But how does No. 3 create enhanced humans? Someone once asked about this. What’s the method for creating modified humans?”

KWAJIK!

“That woman said, ‘I can’t tell you the secret. An alchemist’s recipe is more precious than life, but I can tell you about the [ingredients]. I need healthy people, as it takes 30 humans to invest in creating one enhanced human. Especially [pregnant women] with strong vitality are good. They can cover for two people.'”

“……”

“…When I heard that story back then, I thought, ‘Ah, I must definitely kill that bastard No. 3 when I get the chance. It would clearly benefit the world.’ But unfortunately, he’s still alive? And what’s more infuriating is that he’s still doing this enhanced human nonsense?”

“……”

“With that in mind, let me ask you something. After becoming stronger by taking the lives of living people, have you ever once prayed for the victims?”

“……”

“Right, I thought not. And that’s…”

HWOOK…!

“—the reason you’re not treated as humans.”

KWAJIK!

He swung the devil in human form once more.

* * *

While Ihan was engaged in battle underground, the others fled.

They weren’t cowardly escaping to save only themselves.

– [Both of you take this gentleman and the soldiers and quickly go up to the surface. It would be best to get as far away as possible.]

Because he had directly advised them to do so.

Because mysteriously, only they could hear his voice.

At first they thought it was an illusion, but both Giovanni and Corin heard the voice, and realizing it wasn’t an illusion, they immediately urged Diogenes and the soldiers to head to the surface.

“To think you’d come all the way here. It’s quite something to see.”

“A man not even in his 50s talking like he’s seen it all!”

“How embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing my ass! You should tell people where you’re going! Why do you go around getting stabbed!”

“Hehe, I have nothing to say to that.”

Corin grumbled irritably while carrying his reunited master on his back.

But an undeniable sense of relief was evident, and Giovanni shook his head, saying he was a person who couldn’t be honest.

“Giovanni, to think you’d come all the way here.”

“I just happened to come.”

“You’re not going to say you came to rescue me?”

“Would you believe me if I said that?”

“No, absolutely not.”

“I thought so.”

“Still, I’m grateful. To think you’d bring such reliable reinforcements.”

“I didn’t bring them. I’m merely receiving help myself.”

“Hoho, I see.”

As they exchanged reunion greetings, they found themselves on the surface.

The incredibly clear air welcomed them, bringing an unparalleled freshness.

It was a bit hot, but the smell of grass reminded them they were alive.

“Haah…! How moving.”

Diogenes, feeling ten years younger just from breathing the surface air, closed his eyes to savor the moment.

…For exactly two seconds.

“Then we should quickly do what we can. Corin, my disciple. Prepare to evacuate people immediately.”

“??”

“Don’t just stand there stupidly, hurry. And soldiers, please help too. You need to save your families as well.”

“What?”

“How frustrating!”

The conversation had flowed smoothly when talking with the knight, but why were these people so frustrating!

They had no sense and their ability to grasp the situation was severely lacking.

However, Diogenes decided to calmly explain rather than get angry.

What’s important now is to gather as many people as possible.

“Let me explain simply. First, a large amount of hell magic is currently ‘maturing’ beneath the lord’s castle, and this matured hell magic is like a powder keg that could explode at any moment. Second, the one artificially generating this hell magic is a being from hell, commonly called a demon. Third, this demon, Count Deniro, and the Black Moon are in a cooperative relationship, planning to use the entire Florentia domain as a sacrifice to ‘evolve’ the demon. In other words!”

TAK.

“-We’re all going to die.”

“……”

“Do you understand? Do you need evidence? Then what we just saw should be evidence. The corrupted lord, the suspicious circus troupe, and the sense of crisis you all feel is the evidence!”

“……”

“If you understand, move quickly! If you want to save your family and friends.”

“!!!”

The soldiers, who weren’t stupid despite their lack of awareness, moved urgently.

However, unlike the soldiers.

“……”

“Why are you just standing there?”

“I don’t particularly feel like saving them.”

“What?”

Corin merely maintained a defiant posture.

For good reason.

“-Those stab wounds, they were inflicted by people who hate the Light of Radiance, right?”

“……”

“The lord or the Black Moon, whoever it was, must have instigated it. You must have been a nuisance to them, so they ordered someone to stab you. And they thought they’d face no consequences. …Am I wrong?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Hmph, it’s simple. I spent the past week looking for you and couldn’t find a single clue. That’s the evidence.”

Corin, who had been searching for traces of his master despite pretending not to worry, answered with gritted teeth, and his tone revealed intense contempt for people, or rather, the citizens of Florentia.

“How is that evidence?”

Yet Diogenes remained calm and asked in return.

As if curious about what his disciple considered evidence.

“The fact that ‘nobody knows’ is evidence in itself. Master, you may be weak in holy power, but you’re still a priest of the Florentia church. Such a person naturally stands out and attracts attention. Yet everyone claimed they hadn’t seen you. This is evidence that all citizens cooperated to pretend not to know about you. So.”

—It can be seen as “collective ostracism” to hide the person who stabbed you.

Corin’s expression showed a loss of faith in humanity.

Although Diogenes hadn’t responded, Corin was already convinced that his conjecture was somewhat correct based on Diogenes’s reaction, and he made no attempt to hide his anger toward the citizens of Florentia.

“Those stupid idiots, ungrateful bastards. After all you’ve done for this city, helping during epidemics, solving food shortage problems, and this is how they treat people! Just because the church’s influence has weakened and the Grand Temple has committed sins?! What kind of people are they!”

Corin shouted with an intensity he had never shown before.

And then.

“Let them all die for all I care! Why should we save such ungrateful murderers? They deserve to be fried in hell’s sulfur fire!”

Corin hated people.

Those who stabbed his master and defended evil.

“They say ignorance is not a sin? But refusing to learn despite being ignorant is a sin. And they need to know. They need to understand what sin they committed by persecuting the Light with their own hands!”

“Hoho, kid. Unlike your lack of tact, you’ve become quite good at running your mouth. You can finally pull your weight.”

“Master!”

“Don’t shout. I know what you want to say.”

Diogenes didn’t scold his disciple, nor did he deny his words.

Yes, it was as he said.

He had been betrayed.

“…As you said, while I was tracking the lord’s activities and traces of the demon, some ruffian stabbed me in the stomach. What did he say? That he had done the right thing?”

“!!”

“And there were some residents who witnessed this, but they ignored me. Whether they didn’t want to get involved or they simply disliked me.”

“Then….”

“Listen to everything before you shout, you fool. I too… am inevitably human.”

“…What?”

“I resented them.”

“……”

“…Trapped in that dark underground for a week, writhing in pain, I kept thinking. I resented those who turned their backs on me. I was angry, I hated them. No, honestly, I still resent them.”

“……”

“There’s a teaching in the temple’s doctrine. Forgive even those you hate. Forgiveness is the greatest virtue. But I couldn’t do it. Perhaps my cultivation isn’t deep enough for such virtue, kuhehe….”

KUGUGUNG-!

The ground trembled.

It seemed the underground battle was intensifying, and at some point, the ground began to split.

As if it could collapse at any moment.

Even in such a situation, the master and disciple didn’t stop their conversation.

Because this dialogue would determine their direction.

It was a moment of deciding the path of their lives.

And so Diogenes spoke.

“Corin, I too have no heart to forgive them. But that doesn’t mean I can just watch them die. This is not because I forgive them, but because I know it will only lead to an unfortunate outcome. We cannot turn this world into ‘hell’ just because we resent people.”

“…Damn it.”

“I’m sorry for being a frustrating master.”

“Huu….. It’s fine. When were you ever not frustrating?”

Though acting irritably, Corin ultimately took a cooperative stance, and Diogenes nodded.

“Please guide the citizens, I’ll prepare the holy law.”

“Holy law?”

“I plan to call for reinforcements.”

“What reinforcements do we have to call?”

“We do. Reinforcements that can only be summoned through holy law.”

“No, what nonsense, wait. Don’t tell me…!”

Corin, realizing what Diogenes intended to do, wore an expression that questioned whether it was possible.

“If the reinforcements I’m thinking of are those ‘reinforcements,’ it seems impossible? The temple already said that holy law won’t work no matter how much you activate it.”

“Perhaps the desperation was insufficient.”

“…This is maddening.”

Despite Corin’s grumbling, Diogenes grinned.

One must at least try.

To save everyone, to lighten the knight’s burden even a little.

So…

“-I activate the great holy law, <Gate of Avalon>.”

It wouldn’t be bad to rely on a miracle.

Like a true priest-.