Ch.420Joint Work

“What are you guys?”

I tilted my head as I looked at the church forces pointing their spears and swords at me.

For a moment, I wondered if Gwinel had betrayed me and led me into a trap… but that was an unreasonable suspicion.

Even with dozens of Paladins and hundreds of soldiers, they would be nothing more than a force I could slaughter as easily as wringing a child’s neck.

Probably, with the tremendous commotion in the slum district, the city’s security forces had been dispatched.

“Make any suspicious moves and we’ll attack immediately! Put down your weapons!”

“Identify yourself! What purpose did you have for committing such a massacre? Answer!”

They shouted with loud voices while trembling like frightened dogs.

At least the Paladins at the front had the courage to shout, while the soldiers lined up behind them wore expressions suggesting they were seriously contemplating whether desertion or combat would offer better survival rates.

“L-look at all that blood…! How many people did he kill…?!”

“The advance party said entire alleys were flooded with blood…! At least hundreds of people…?”

“My God, hundreds of people…? Has the ‘Headsman’ returned?”

Hmm… the Headsman has indeed returned?

He’s right behind me now. Just his head.

“What’s with that monstrous mask…? Is it some heretical symbol?”

“Menes save us…!”

The soldiers whispered, trembling with their weapons as they felt fear at my appearance.

Like children who had collapsed foaming at the mouth after encountering Satan Claus.

Of course, since Satan Claus only harvests naughty children, innocent children have no reason to fear him.

Besides, I’m not that kind of monster anyway.

This could end as a light misunderstanding if I explained properly.

From their perspective, not knowing the circumstances, they would naturally mistake me for a crazed killer who had just dismembered hundreds of people, but I was merely half-eradicating a drug organization at the request of Archbishop Gwinel.

“Massacre? You seem to misunderstand. I am—”

Just as I was about to reveal my identity by removing the hood covering my head,

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

A desperate scream comparable to a woman in labor echoed from behind me.

Oh great, did he wake up at this timing?

The sack I was carrying began to thrash wildly.

Hush, having reunited with his departed comrades, was screaming with joy from inside the sack!

“W-what is that screaming?!”

“Did he commit kidnapping as well as murder?!”

The Paladins’ demeanor grew even fiercer. Now they seemed ready to launch a preemptive attack if I so much as twitched a finger.

Hush, perhaps having fainted again, fell silent after his long scream.

This is really annoying.

I sighed, pulled back my hood and removed my mask.

As I detached the purification device from my face, a terrible stench of blood and entrails hit my nose like a hammer.

“Haah… I am Haschal de Median, honorary Paladin of the Church of Elpinel. You’ve probably heard my name?”

“Huh…?”

Black hair, blue eyes, and mixed-race features.

The Paladins lowered their guard as they recognized these now-famous characteristics.

“Haschal…? Could it be, Haschal the Winter Assassin…?!”

“Black hair and blue eyes…! No doubt! It’s Lord Median! The Knight of Radiance!”

“Weren’t you guarding Elmaine Stardolf? Why would someone like you do this…?”

Their fighting spirit instantly diminished.

It wasn’t out of fear of my reputation, but rather they seemed to no longer consider me an enemy. A very desirable reaction.

“I’m in the middle of eradicating a drug organization spreading narcotics in Holon’s slum district at Archbishop Gwinel’s request. Here, I have certification to prove it.”

I took out the certificate written by Gwinel from my pocket and handed it to the Paladin at the front.

He flinched momentarily as I approached, but quickly composed himself and accepted the document, reading it carefully.

“Hmm… this is indeed Archbishop Gwinel’s handwriting with his official seal. However, according to this document, what the Archbishop requested was not eradication but infiltration and investigation…?”

The Paladin’s eyes trembled slightly as he glanced at the sea of blood behind me.

He also took a quick look at the dripping sack.

“Ah, well… these guys turned out to be larger than expected, so I couldn’t just let it slide quietly. They even had a mage, and the Headsman Heinz and Kellogg of Rest? Those kinds of guys showed up.”

“H-Headsman! My God, is that true?!”

He looks ready to jump out of his skin.

“You know him? He was causing trouble with just a scythe, so I cut off his head and put it in here. I also captured one of his subordinates as a prisoner. I was going to hand them over to Archbishop Gwinel.”

“How impressive…! The murderer our church has been tracking for ten years…!”

Taking Heinz’s head seemed to be quite an impressive achievement to him, as the Paladin’s eyes now held nothing but admiration, like someone meeting their lifelong benefactor, instead of instinctive aversion.

I briefly explained to him what had happened inside.

I couldn’t tell him the core details that should be reported to the Archbishop first, but I could at least make him understand that the corpses in that sea of blood weren’t innocent slum dwellers or pitiful addicts, but enemies who deserved to be slaughtered.

—-

Afterwards, I met with Archbishop Gwinel, who had been in prayer, and reported what I had discovered.

“Council of Dream Utopia?! You’re saying those heretics have appeared in this city again?”

“Yes. There was some conflict during the investigation… but thanks to that, as you can see, I was able to bring definitive evidence.”

I laid out some of the drugs I had collected as spoils, identification tags engraved with the Council of Dream Utopia’s symbol, and scriptures I had taken from Heinz on the table.

Of course, I didn’t forget to show him the heads of the Five Swords members.

“This face…! Though it’s hard to recognize, this is definitely Headsman Heinz! Even Kellogg of Rest and Crusher Navis… What remarkable achievements! I’m truly impressed.”

Gwinel tapped Heinz’s head while smiling broadly despite his surprise.

I knew you’d like it, you weirdo.

“Do you know who these people are? This woman with a hole in her head was named Radeli, and this prisoner foaming at the mouth is called Hush.”

“I don’t know them.”

I thought they might also be infamous since they were part of the Five Swords, but the Archbishop reacted as if hearing the names for the first time.

What, were they just token female members or something?

“I see. Anyway, their leader and key executive, Kist Amon, has apparently left Holon. I’ve already destroyed all their armed forces, and the remnants are presumed to be hiding in the underground facility I mentioned earlier. Isn’t this a good opportunity?”

“Hmm? By opportunity, you mean…?”

I leaned back on the sofa in the reception room and smiled slightly.

It was time to do some talking.

“It wouldn’t be bad if I handled everything alone… but wouldn’t that reflect poorly on you, Archbishop? It might tarnish the reputation of the Church of Menes. People might criticize the Church of Menes for doing nothing while blasphemous heretics established themselves beneath Holon. Of course, you were simply exercising caution, but as you know, ordinary people only see the surface of matters and fail to understand the detailed circumstances.”

Archbishop Gwinel nodded slightly in agreement with my words.

To be frank, it was indeed the church’s fault, and despite my expression being full of elitism, the fact that he agreed suggested the conversation was going well.

A character closer to a politician than a devout priest or righteous warrior.

This kind of personality was actually easier to deal with. All I needed to do was maintain his dignity while presenting information that would be mutually beneficial.

“That’s why I’ve returned like this. I’ve already dealt with most of the dangerous ones, so wouldn’t the Church of Menes forces summoned by the Archbishop be sufficient to clean up the underground den? It might take me days alone, but with the church’s forces, it wouldn’t take long to exterminate them.”

When would I ever have time to search that vast place by myself?

I’ve already destroyed their armed forces, and the truly dangerous leader and Kist are absent, so it would be much more efficient to leave the rest to the Church of Menes.

Incidentally, I could also gain some goodwill from the Church of Menes.

“If you destroy the core of the Council of Dream Utopia like that, others will praise rather than criticize you, Archbishop. You could explain that your lack of visible results until now was because you were waiting for the opportunity to eliminate them all at once, lulling them into a false sense of security.”

“Indeed! What an excellent idea. As expected of the Empire’s First Sword!”

Gwinel tapped the armrest of the sofa and smiled broadly.

I’m not sure what being good with words has to do with being the Empire’s First Sword, but he seemed very pleased with my suggestion.

—-

After that, everything proceeded smoothly.

Gwinel summoned the inquisitors and ordered them to bind the betrayer priests I had identified and throw them into the underground prison, then mobilized all the church’s forces to raid the Council of Dream Utopia’s underground facility.

The purge continued until noon the next day.

Our party also participated in the operation according to our agreement with Gwinel.

Everyone needed to leave evidence of their cooperation.

Bels and Lacy crushed heretics’ skulls with delighted faces, while Lilliez blessed our allies from behind.

The rest of our companions slaughtered enemies they encountered while half-playing around.

I watched the scene from behind while smoking a cigarette.