Ch.72Storm’s Eve…? (1)

BANG-!

As if now accustomed to it, I tore off the door of a building and quickly checked for any signs of life inside.

The interior was filled with the thick scent of blood, but as if the smell was just my imagination, nothing existed there.

“Sigh, this place is empty too.”

Another wasted effort made me automatically let out a deep sigh.

It had already been a week since I started attacking and destroying the Apostles’ bases.

During that time, I had destroyed fourteen bases in total. It was a considerable number, but far fewer than I had expected.

Starting from the fourth day, the Apostles began evacuating one by one, taking only their altars with them.

And the Apostles’ withdrawal wasn’t limited to just their bases.

“The number of Apostles following me has greatly decreased, while their vigilance has significantly increased.”

“It seems they have no intention of fighting anymore.”

Perhaps it was because I killed all the Apostles I encountered to prevent information leaks.

After repeated battles with no survivors and no information gained, it seemed they had decided to avoid conflict altogether.

‘I thought they would either increase the number of Apostles they send or dispatch stronger ones. I didn’t expect them to just retreat.’

To be honest, it was my misjudgment.

With little time left until the last day of the festival, I had expected the Apostles to try to eliminate as many variables as possible.

I thought they would work harder to remove threats as they became more dangerous. But their response was the opposite.

They chose to ignore any variables as if time was on their side.

I wondered if they might be summoning an Evil God, but according to the contents of the plan, that was impossible.

‘Then is it confidence in their weapon powered by Bloodstone…?’

I hadn’t discovered much about the Bloodstone.

Most of the Apostles I met only knew what the Bloodstone was, but almost none knew its purpose.

The only information I had obtained was from Ansel and Hamlin, whom I had encountered on the first day.

‘They said the Bloodstone’s purpose was for a weapon bestowed by the Evil God…’

However, even they didn’t seem to know exactly what the weapon was.

When I tried to ask for details, they just replied that they had never seen it and didn’t know what functions it had.

‘Maybe I should just infiltrate the royal palace…’

After a week with no significant results, it was inevitable that my impatience would lead me to consider extreme measures.

“Sigh… I’m worried.”

Just as another deep sigh escaped my lips, Mochizuki Kitsune, who had been exchanging information through Shikigami, came with good news.

“It seems the Hero has successfully recruited numerous adventurer guilds in the kingdom. And the sword is being steadily forged as well. There are no signs of an attack, she says.”

“It’s easier in some ways since everything has gone quiet. Still, tell her to be careful just in case.”

After speaking to Kitsune, I turned my gaze outward and spread my spiritual perception widely.

My senses, sharpened after my Rebirth, allowed me to observe the situation of an entire district, if not the whole kingdom.

Thanks to this, I could tell that the atmosphere in the kingdom was not good.

The festive energy that had filled the entire kingdom when I first set foot in Gagap was rapidly cooling.

This cooling wasn’t simply because the festival was coming to an end.

With the highlight of the festival approaching, more people should have been gathering and the excitement should have been intensifying.

So the cooling atmosphere had to be due to something else.

All communication with the outside world cut off.

Sudden changes to the festival schedule.

Continued disappearances of people.

And finally, the traces left from my battles with the Apostles.

No matter how hard the Apostles tried to cover up these incidents with the backing of the royal palace, there were limits.

And now that those limits had been exceeded, most people in Gagap were noticing the changes.

‘It seems they don’t even care about hiding it anymore.’

According to the common information Leon had gathered from adventurer guilds, disappearances were accelerating.

Not just adventurers, but merchants and tourists were all confirmed to be disappearing.

In simple terms, while they had been somewhat cautious about kidnapping people before, now they were converting people into Bloodstones without any hesitation.

At least I had slowed this acceleration by destroying their bases.

That could be considered an achievement in its own way.

“Sigh, I’ll keep moving for now. There might still be places they haven’t evacuated yet.”

Despite everything, if there’s a chance for results, I have to continue.

* * *

Time passed quickly again.

Leon’s group had successfully persuaded not only the adventurer guilds in Gagap but also numerous dwarves.

Now that people in guard uniforms were openly dragging people away, even the dwarves holed up in their forges couldn’t ignore it.

The dwarves didn’t think the king had orchestrated all this, but they seemed to believe something had happened to him.

This was relatively good news for us, who had been wondering how to persuade the dwarves.

But if there was good news, there was also bad news. Or perhaps it was more like no news at all.

The silence came from Arges, who had entered his forge to make my sword and still hadn’t responded after two weeks.

Arges, who had demanded that no one enter his forge, still hadn’t emerged.

And thanks to the Apostles who were now openly kidnapping people, my job had also changed.

“Someone help me…!”

“Ha, everyone’s too busy running away. Who’s going to help you!”

A girl screaming as she fled and an Apostle chasing after her.

No matter how weak an Apostle might be, an Apostle is still an Apostle. A girl who wasn’t even fully grown couldn’t shake off an Apostle’s pursuit.

“Got y… Kuhek.”

“Huh…?”

Having rushed over from the moment I heard the scream, I cut off the arm of the Apostle who had grabbed the girl’s shoulder, and in the next moment, I severed his neck.

Since he wasn’t a strong Apostle, he couldn’t even confirm what had happened to him before his head fell off.

After confirming the Apostle’s death, I shook the blood off my sword and shifted my gaze to the girl.

“If you go that way, there should be a shelter set up by the adventurer guild, so head there.”

“Y-yes…!”

The girl, momentarily flustered by my words, quickly began running as if following an order.

This could be attributed to the effect of my high charm.

“It’s convenient when they understand with just a word.”

After confirming that the girl was moving well, I took my eyes off her back and looked around.

With no one walking the streets and only the smell of blood lingering, it was enough to evoke an apocalyptic world.

No one would imagine that these streets had been bustling with festival activities until recently.

“I didn’t expect things to get this bad… I’m more than a little worried.”

I briefly looked in the direction of the royal palace. The palace remained locked and silent.

There was no way to know what the king was thinking or what had happened.

“Sigh, I should head back for now.”

After letting out a deep sigh, I returned to where my companions were gathered.

Of course, that didn’t mean it would clear my complicated thoughts.

“That’s why I said we should attack right now!”

“Do you know what they’re plotting? It’s better to wait for support from outside…”

“How do you know what will happen to our king in the meantime!”

At what could be called our operation base, loud voices continued to exchange without stopping.

It was good that Leon had recruited the adventurer guilds and dwarves, but differences of opinion had arisen because each group had different goals.

There were mainly two opinions.

One side wanted to storm the royal palace right away and drive out the Apostles.

This side included those who harbored hatred toward the Apostles and those concerned about the Dwarf King’s safety.

The other side wanted to wait for support from other kingdoms.

They argued that while we didn’t know what the Apostles were planning, it was significant enough to consume an entire kingdom, so we should proceed with caution.

“Please, let’s talk calmly…!”

“Shut up!”

“Be quiet!”

The conflict between the two opinions showed no signs of narrowing, and Leon, who had gathered them, couldn’t mediate anymore.

“Still in this state?”

“Ah, Master… The differences in opinion are too severe… They just won’t compromise.”

Leon’s expression as he looked at me was filled with deep fatigue.

It seemed he had been struggling, caught between these groups while I was outside dealing with Apostles.

“I’ll try to calm them down first.”

With those words, leaving behind Leon who gave me a trusting look, I stood between the groups who were shouting and fighting.

Seeing my sudden appearance, both sides fell silent for a moment, and I didn’t miss that opportunity.

“We’re heading to the royal palace tomorrow. I won’t accept any objections. Whether you like it or not, we’ll have to fight tomorrow anyway.”

“Master…”

My words were more like an announcement, and the Hero’s gaze at my back was filled with a sense of betrayal.