episode_0179

The bandit leader must have realized that his words had further piqued my interest, and he belatedly looked at me.

But I already smelled something bad. Since I was the target of people telling me to kill him because I couldn’t talk about it anyway, I used my faith without hesitation.

“Now, let’s see what you’re thinking?”

“What… billions!”

First, to facilitate memory retrieval, the subjects were knocked out. He openly applied a guillotine choke, but he was already exhausted from protecting himself against Sirocco’s storm, so he could not resist much and just passed out.

“Don’t do anything foolish and stay calm. If you show any signs of doing something, the cute spirit in front of you will play with you.”

“Hehe.”

Sirocco smiled sweetly when he was told it was cute, but it must have been a huge fear for the bandit who had just witnessed two living hells.

“Phew… then.”

Again, I treated my faith as I had been taught. Last time, we failed due to the defense system put in place by an outstanding person named Akasha, but this time, the bandit leader did not have such a thing, so we were able to easily look into his head.

***

“You’re here.”

The bandit leader bowed to a man, using an honorific that was inappropriate for his position. It was a face I had never seen before, but the sword the man was wearing at his waist was a sword I was familiar with.

“Is work going well?”

Demon sword. He also possessed a much more sinister-looking magic sword than those I had met, and without even pretending to be greeted, he took out his business first.

“Yes. As you said, we are working on it slowly… little by little.”

“Yeah…? As you know, security is the most important thing in this job. This is something that should not be discovered by anyone, including Potera.”

“I will keep this in mind.”

“If the Holy Knights of Potera, as well as other adventurers, mistake this place for an ordinary ‘bandit den’ and come to subdue you, make sure to bury the ‘altar’ and hide it forever.”

“…Yes.”

“It is much more important than your life. If you think you’ll get caught, just keep quiet and die. Keep in mind that if you go against the wishes of the Great One, you will not be at peace even after death.”

“Would it be possible?”

“Okay. Are there enough offerings for the altar?”

“There is no need to worry about that. Even though they are bandits, they have been running around here for a long time, so they are good at capturing people.”

“…Okay. I’ll tell you once more, make sure you never get caught by the Paladin of Potera. What he hates the most is shaking, including Stella.”

***

I tried to explore additional questions from what I had heard through the conversation, but my memory suddenly stopped here.

“Holy shit.”

Cursing words naturally came out. I hurriedly examined the body of the bandit leader whom I had knocked unconscious.

“Keuuu us

He must have just fainted, but he died with black stains all over his body, including his face, foaming at the mouth.

It seemed like a trick was used so that if anything happened to him, he would automatically commit suicide.

“…Hey.”

“Yes, old!?”

I sighed as I looked at the only bandit I had left alive.

“Ha….”

Now there was no choice but to dig up information from the remaining bandits.

The problem is that this bandit, like the leader, may have been conspired to do something. Or, unlike the boss, it’s a problem even if this guy doesn’t know anything.

“What is an altar?”

“Altar…? Even if you suddenly ask me something like that… I have nothing to answer.”

Just look at his eyes and he was telling the truth. In order to be sure, it would be right to search through your memories, but it is also impossible to act hastily because of what just happened.

“…Tell me everything you know about your boss.”

“Do you mean the boss? In fact, no one knows much about the boss. This is the person who appeared and subjugated our Sanchae, who was originally in this position, just three months ago and took over the position of leader…”

“The new boss? Since when did you guys start banditry?”

“Well… it must have been over 6 years, I’ve been here for 4 years.”

“I am proud of the fact that I have accumulated money for 4 years.”

“Ugh….”

I combined information from his words and the leader’s memories and began making my own guesses.

In my memory, the person who plotted with the leader had a magic sword. In other words, it means that Akasha is behind it.

The ‘great man’ mentioned probably refers to him.

And the unfamiliar word, altar. It’s not that the altar is a problem, but it’s not something that should be found in Sanchae, a den of bandits.

“Have you always done anything suspicious, boss?”

“Nothing particularly suspicious… Oh, come to think of it, I often went into the hostage camp alone.”

“Hostage? These bastards really captured people and released them for ransom, right?”

“S-sorry…!”

“You should apologize to the people you caught. Anyway, what’s so suspicious about entering the hostage camp alone?”

“No, that’s because it’s a place you usually always have to go in with a group of people. There are also cases where he goes in alone and gets angry with the guy inside, so he releases him and runs away…”

“There is, and again?”

“Tsk… If you want to have fun, it has become a custom to go in together and have fun.”

“Crazy bastards.”

“Of course, if the boss wanted to enjoy it quietly alone, there is no one to disobey and it is not strange… but he is usually very restrained in that way.”

“Where is the hostage camp?”

“Well, that’s the cave over there.”

I entered the cave without delay. The foul odor that wafted out as soon as I entered was so complex and disgusting that I couldn’t even fathom its cause.

“Ha… these bastards.”

There were not many people locked up in iron cages. Four or five at most. However, the fact that they were all young children made me frown.

“…It’s easy for young children to be kidnapped and held for ransom…”

“Shut up before I rip you off. Don’t talk nonsense unless I ask a question.”

“…….”

“Please help me…”

I could not put off rescuing the children as they heard a young voice crying for salvation in a voice a little louder than that of a mosquito crawling.

Leaving the search for the altar behind, I rescued all the children and returned to where Wayne was.

“What, those kids?”

Wayne expressed his doubts when he saw the children I brought with him, but it didn’t seem like he was asking out of genuine curiosity. Because the expression on his face was very cruel.

I just nodded without giving a specific answer, as it was obvious that I could tell by linking the two things, bandits and mischievous children.

“Have you finished your errands?”

“No. Actually, I was only going to scold the bandits, but this time, they got involved again.”

“That guy? Are you talking about Akasha?”

“Yes. So I guess I’ll have to search the main base a little more. I found those kids in the meantime, but I couldn’t leave them alone.”

“Ah… I understand. I will take care of you.”

“Okay. It won’t take long. If I’m late, I’ll ask you to prepare for camping first.”

“Don’t worry, come back.”

The hostage camp where I returned after leaving the children with Wayne still had a gloomy atmosphere.

I thought it was an atmosphere created by those who had been caught here and suffered harsh things, but there seemed to be something that couldn’t be explained by that alone.

“Damn, why is the structure so complicated?”

“…….”

“What are you talking about? I guess they did this to prevent the hostages from escaping anyway. Those guys are like dogs.”

For a while, I searched through the narrow and wide camp. The deeper I went, the more ominous the feeling became. I felt like I could reach my destination if I went a little further.

“…is this place.”

At first glance, it was an ordinary wall, but it had a suspicious vibe. I couldn’t help but notice that it seemed like a threat to the faith within me.

Quang!

If you wrap your faith around your fist and pound on the wall, it will easily collapse. What was beyond the wall was a sight far beyond my expectations.

“You crazy bastards….”

Fresh blood splattered all over the walls and floor, and the horrific torture devices that seemed to have created such a scene.

And on the altar placed in the center of the room, the upper body of a boy who could hardly be described as human.

Yes. It was only the upper body. The boy, covered in blood, could not close his eyes even after death.

“Huh…!”

The bandits who followed behind also wondered if this was a sight that had gone too far. Given the circumstances, it seemed like the leader had secretly been working here with young hostages captured through banditry.

“I can’t watch you anymore.”

Of course, even if this is the leader’s arbitrary action, it does not mean that the bandits below are without guilt. Whatever it was, it was bandits who captured the children.

“Gagging!”

The last remaining bandits were soared upward by Sirocco’s wind. He hit his head on the ceiling and died.

“Ha….”

I sighed. The faith within my body warned me. The dangers of rituals performed at altars.

The outcome was different from the demonic sword commotion. The demon sword still doesn’t quite understand what Akasha’s plan is, but this incident feels like it’s awakening its body.

“The intention is to erase humanity’s faith…”

The power of God comes from faith. Given the circumstances, Akasha may have done this because she also knew this fact.