国产午夜亚洲精品AⅤ

Chapter 319

Leverier Lanche had initially intended to make Olivia the next Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights. It was likely that he had already envisioned the future Holy Empire. Unfortunately, his fall from grace had necessitated that he adopt a different approach to achieve this vision, by forming a secret religious society.

Leverier Lanche’s fall had sparked backlash within the religious community, regardless of the actual circumstances surrounding it. As a result, he still wielded influence within the religious circles, and that influence was growing.

By leaving the Temple Adriana had, in fact, put herself in greater danger. Leverier Lanche was using her as bait to draw in Olivia, and Olivia would not be able to refuse, since Adriana’s life was at stake.

Unlike in the tournament finals against Radia Schmidt, there was no option to forfeit. With Adriana as a hostage, Olivia would have no choice but to become Leverier Lanche’s puppet.

Night had already fallen. I looked at Radia Schmidt, tied up in Eleris’s shop, her head hung low.

Radia Schmidt had used the dangerous power, Berserk, during the finals, and had continuously tried to persuade Olivia to return to the embrace of the gods. In the end, though, Olivia had forfeited the match.

Even to me, it seemed like a poorly thought-out plan.

Moreover, Radia Schmidt had continuously told Olivia during their bout that something even sadder would happen if she didn’t return to the fold.

I had initially dismissed it as the ramblings of a madwoman, but it was clear now that she had been warning Olivia that Adriana would be harmed if she didn’t comply.

Blood is thicker than water, as they say.

Radia Schmidt, who did not want a fellow member of the Church of the Five Great Gods to be harmed, had resorted to something dangerous in a desperate attempt to change Olivia’s mind. And she had tried to kill me because she believed I was the one who had led Olivia astray, and also since I wasn’t a believer in the Five Great Gods.

She had judged that it was better for me to die than for Adriana to be harmed.

This was how the day’s bizarre events had unfolded.

Adriana was in danger, and I needed to act quickly.

“Where is Leverier Lanche?”

“...”

It might already be too late to stop the Revolutionary Forces, but the Nameless Monastery, which had been formed after Leverier Lanche’s fall, still only had a relatively small following. If we didn’t crush them immediately, things could spiral out of control.

Radia Schmidt believed I was an extremely dangerous and evil being, the depths of which she couldn’t comprehend. She was unwilling to speak, probably because she believed I would kill Leverier Lanche.

But if she didn’t talk, there were ways to force her to.

Tears welled up in Radia Schmidt’s eyes. “Please... please...”

She began to sob, but unable to articulate if she wanted freedom, she was unable to answer.

“Just... kill me...”

She was begging for death. Despite knowing we wouldn’t grant her a peaceful death, she still saw it as her best option.

“Please, please... a clean death... please...”

Revealing Leverier Lanche’s location would be a great betrayal, and she couldn’t bear that. But becoming a vampire was also unbearable.

That’s why Radia Schmidt was begging for death in the face of evil. I squatted down in front of the bound and weeping Radia Schmidt.

“Why are you crying?” I gently wiped the tears from Radia Schmidt’s cheeks. “Why do you consider this a betrayal? I don’t understand.”

“...”

“I am Ouen’s Champion, and thus, all my actions represent Ouen’s will more than anything. More so than Leverier Lanche, who, after being ousted from the position of Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights, created a secret organization within the Church of the Five Great Gods out of a lust for power. Aren’t my actions more aligned with the will of the gods?”

Radia Schmidt’s sobs grew louder at my twisted logic.

“The gods are omnipotent. Even if you think I’m an evil being, if I wasn’t meant to hold Tiamata, I wouldn’t have become its master. Whether I meet a miserable end, or a greater hero emerges to take Tiamata from me, all of it would be part of Ouen’s plan. Isn’t that right?

“The gods are omnipotent, and since I am a part of the plan of such an omnipotent being, my actions must be more in line with the will of Ouen than someone like Leverier Lanche. Isn’t that right?

“If my actions are the will of the gods, then this has to be Ouen’s will. The Nameless Monastery is heretical. So, it must be eradicated.

“Come on, senior. Don’t cry. There’s no reason to cry. Everything is unfolding according to the will of the gods. You’re not cooperating with an evil and unknown entity; you’re cooperating with Ouen’s Champion. How is that betrayal?”

I cupped Radia Schmidt’s face in my hands and smiled at her. Despair was etched into her eyes.

“Senior, you’re finally on the right path. You’ve just taken a wrong turn and gotten lost for a while. This isn’t betrayal.”

In her heart, she was trying desperately to deny it, but she also desperately wanted to believe them.

‘How is this betrayal?’

I wasn’t just saying it; I genuinely believed it.

“This is your repentance.”

‘Repent, and return to the right path.’

Breaking free from the clutches of the false prophet Leverier Lanche and aligning with Ouen’s Champion—how was that an act of unfaithfulness?

The small contradiction that the Champion of the God of Purity somehow commanded a vampire didn’t matter.

‘If you can accept that everything was part of Ouen’s plan, then you can make peace with anything. If all of this is part of the divine plan... if you accept that, then you won’t have to become a vampire. You can even see it as a more glorious act.’

“I-Is that... is that really... really the case?”

Radia’s voice was trembling, seeking an answer. My words had not persuaded her of anything. She had merely broken down.

“Trust me, senior.”

I was replacing her previous fanaticism with a new one.

“Believing in me is no different from serving the gods.”

Fear drives people to madness. Even those already mad are not immune to it. If Radia Schmidt submitted to me, she would create her own logic in order to defend me. All the suspicions and doubts she has about me would somehow be forced to fit into the belief that everything was part of Ouen’s plan because I was Ouen’s Champion.

“... I hope all of this is truly part of God’s plan...”

I was a god greater than the Five Great Gods. Therefore, saying that believing in me was akin to serving the gods wasn’t far from the truth.

I stroked Radia Schmidt’s head as she knelt before me, sobbing.

I gritted my teeth.

I had hoped for a day without any incidents. For this one day to be free of incidents, at least. At that moment, though, there was somewhere I needed to be.

Turning away from the weeping Radia Schmidt, I looked at Eleris.

“Summon Sarkegar and Loyar.”

This was not something I could handle alone. Even if I could, it was better if I didn’t go alone. This did not only concern the Nameless Monastery. There were signs of division everywhere. The empire could not not fall.

“We’re all going together.”

“Yes.”

I had to deal with this situation as Baalier, not as Reinhart. It was time for the enemy of humanity to reappear.

***

In the waiting room allocated to the Miss Temple Contest participants, Ellen was receiving the final checks on her dress.

“You look perfect.”

“... That’s a relief.”

The commencement of the Miss Temple contest was drawing closer. The scale of the contest was on a different level compared to the cross-dressing contest, and the venue reflected that. It wasn’t held in the main stadium where the tournament finals had taken place, but in a massive concert hall.

Riana had finished helping Cliffman and had gone over to Ellen.

She tilted her head as she applied the final touches to Ellen’s makeup. “By the way, I haven’t seen that senior around.”

“... She’ll come.”

Perhaps she was already there but they had not seen her, or she could be running late.

Ellen was more concerned about something else. Reinhart had left the dormitory early in the morning and hadn’t been seen all day.

When the contestants had left with Rianna for the competition venue, most of Class A and even some from Class B had been there to see them off. Many of them would be coming to watch the contest.

But Reinhart hadn’t been among them.

“...”

“But what has Reinhart been doing all day? I haven’t seen him at all,” Riana grumbled. “Well, it’s his loss if he doesn’t get to see you.”

Riana continued to diligently touch up Ellen’s makeup as Ellen gently clutched at the hem of her dress.

He wouldn’t forget to show up. She knew that. Yet, a strange sense of unease kept tickling her heart.

He would definitely come. She had even asked him to make sure that he would turn up. He wouldn’t forget.

Ellen took several deep breaths to calm her anxious heart.

***

I had gathered everyone. Eleris, Sarkegar, and Loyar—all three of them. We didn’t travel by foot; instead, Eleris used Mass Teleportation. I had been in my Temple uniform, but had changed into a set of casual clothes that I stored at Eleris’s house.

Flash!

The location was on the outskirts of the southern part of the capital, a fair distance away from the capital itself.

We appeared close to a small village on the southern outskirts of the capital. It was more of a hamlet than a village, with fewer than twenty households, mostly farmers.

It was one of those nondescript places on the outskirts of the city. We were on a hill overlooking the path leading to the village.

“M-mass... Mass Teleportation...”

Radia Schmidt trembled, seemingly in awe after her experience.

“... Are you sure about this?” Loyar asked, and I nodded with a determined expression.

I had yet to explain the details of the operation to them. I had only mentioned that a big fight was looming, and that we had to be prepared.

They might find out later, and Sarkegar might not understand why we were risking so much to prevent the empire’s division, but I had decided to trust Sarkegar a bit more.

Most importantly, Sarkegar was the one we needed the most.

Radia Schmidt, unaware of Loyar and Sarkegar’s true nature, was trembling in fear. She probably thought they were terrifying beings similar to Eleris.

Our target wasn’t the village itself.

“Over that hill... there’s an abandoned monastery. That’s where...”

“That’s the temporary base of the Nameless Monastery, right?”

“Yes.”

Although they were a faith community within the Church, they couldn’t hold public gatherings. Therefore, until they had gathered enough support, they could only hold regular meetings in such remote areas.

Once their following grew larger or they began to become recognized within the religious community, they might be able to host official meetings, but they hadn’t reached that point yet.

We were here to kill an infant monster that was growing at an uncontrollable rate before it became too big to handle.

Radia Schmidt, fearing what would happen if she refused to comply, had ultimately submitted. The choice was between becoming a vampire or believing that all this was part of the will of the gods.

I held Tiamata, a powerful symbol, which served as a perfect tool for Radia Schmidt to rationalize her actions.

Radia Schmidt’s fate would be decided after we dealt with the Nameless Monastery and Leverier Lanche.

“Is Adriana being held at the monastery?” I asked.

“... Yes. I don’t remember the exact location, but she was definitely there,” Radia Schmidt replied.

Adriana was the bait to lure Olivia out. Radia Schmidt had believed that it would be better to kill me, a non-believer and the one she blamed for Olivia’s fall, rather than using Adriana’s life as bait to lure Olivia in. That was why she had attacked me.

Not all members of the Nameless Monastery would be within the abandoned monastery, but the key figures would be.

Leverier Lanche... At the very least, I had to kill him, the cornerstone of all this chaos. I wasn’t sure if that would resolve everything, but it had to be done immediately.

“What kind of forces are we dealing with?”

“... There are about twenty high-ranking holy knights stationed there.”

“And their skill level?”

“They are all veterans of the Great War... They are the closest confidants of Commander Lanche... I mean, Leverier Lanche. They resigned with him when he stepped down.”

If these were Leverier Lanche’s closest confidants, they would be veterans among veterans who had gone through the Great War together.

There were surely others, but the most formidable would be these twenty high-ranking holy knights who had seen countless battles, plus Leverier Lanche himself.

Eleris was a powerful mage, but she was also a vampire. Fighting holy knights would be challenging for her.

However, I didn’t plan to engage them head-on.

“Alright, the plan isn’t too complicated.”

First, we needed to get Adriana out of there.

“Sarkegar, infiltrate the monastery and locate Adriana. If you can extract her quietly, do so.”

Using Sarkegar’s infiltration skills, we would first locate Adriana.

“If you can’t extract her, return to us and report. If you can’t do it now, we might have to disguise you as Leverier Lanche and extract her later,” I added.

Radia Schmidt probably didn’t understand what I was talking about, but there was no time to explain.

“If we can extract Adriana safely, the Eleris will use large-scale destructive magic to obliterate the monastery. It would be best if we can kill everyone in there in one strike, but if not, we’ll engage in combat.”

Securing Adriana was the top priority. After that would be annihilation.

Eleris clenched her fist. She didn’t say she couldn’t do it, and we weren’t in a situation where she could object.

Leaving them alone would only lead to greater sacrifices later on. Eleris would agree that immediate action had to be taken.

“And, we need to make a statement.”

“A statement... what kind...?”

Ultimately, who was behind this mattered most of all. We could not afford to handle things discreetly.

Fortunately, this area was on the outskirts of the capital. Even if there was an uproar, the imperial family wouldn’t be able to respond immediately. Since Radia Schmidt was present, I didn’t say anything directly.

“We need to reveal our existence.”

We would reveal that the remnants of the Demon Realm still existed. The reappearance of a common enemy would temporarily mend the divisions within the empire.

Sarkegar still seemed puzzled.

“Why exactly are we—”

“Wait.”

Loyar raised a hand, cutting off Sarkegar’s question. She pointed down the hill.

“Someone’s coming.”

There was a path leading into the village.

“Olivia...!”

Radia Schmidt’s eyes widened, and I was equally shocked.

Olivia was on her way.

They had definitely used Adriana as bait to lure her in. Olivia was running along the path at an alarming pace, wearing a desperate expression.

Olivia was getting involved now.

There was no more time to waste.

“Sarkegar, get both Adriana and that person out of there. Go in now.”

“... Understood.”

Sarkegar transformed into a sparrow and flew through the night sky.

My heart pounded wildly.

Adriana and Olivia... Neither of them could be involved in this fight.