Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou Zero - Volume 5 - Chapter 2

Chapter II: Laus’s Great Escape

A tiny figure sprinted through the back alley. They were wearing a gray cloak with a large hood and carrying a cheaply made bag carefully in their arms. Inside the bag was a long loaf of bread and several red fruits. The loaf swung from one end of the bag to the other with each step the figure took.

Suddenly, the figure came to a halt. Two adults blocked the figure’s path.

The tiny figure stiffened for a moment, but once he realized the adults were a well-built middle-aged woman and a teenage girl with braided hair, he relaxed. He then resumed walking, hugging the side of the alley to pass by the two of them. But before he could, the older woman called out to him.

“Oh, are you running errands for your mom? What a good boy.”

The tiny figure hesitated. He could’ve just ignored them, but considering how he was dressed, that would’ve probably made him look suspicious.

The city he was in was bustling, and plenty of travelers came to visit. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky today either, so it made sense to be wearing a cloak to protect yourself from the sun. Ignoring this kindly woman would definitely leave a bad impression, and right now he didn’t want to stand out in any way.

After weighing his options, the figure said in a cheerful voice, “Actually, it’s for my dad, but yeah!”

He tried to sound as natural as possible.

The older lady smiled at him and replied, “What a dutiful son.”

She then stepped aside to make room for the smaller figure to pass. Based on her appearance, she was a local here.

“Hey, I can run errands too,” the young girl muttered, jealous that her mother was praising someone else. She glared at the figure, who turned to look at her.

As they were roughly the same height, the girl was able to look into the boy’s hood. She blinked in surprise as she saw his face.

“Umm...sorry?” the boy said, confused.

“I-It’s fine!” the girl shouted, blushing and looking away.

The older woman grinned and exclaimed, “Oh my!” when she saw her daughter’s reaction. It was clear the boy under the hood was quite handsome.

“Umm, my dad’s waiting for me, so I need to get going,” the boy said with a polite bow as he ran off.

“Be careful on your way home!” the old lady shouted after him.

A shame I wasn’t able to get a good look at his face too... she thought idly to herself.

“Heh heh. Should we use this route when we visit the market from now on?” she playfully asked her daughter.

“Doesn’t matter to me!” the girl replied. However, she kept glancing over her shoulder in the direction the boy had gone. Her mother decided to stick to this route anyway, but unfortunately, neither of them ever reunited with the boy. Granted, if they’d known who he was, they wouldn’t have wanted to anyway.

Once he got away from them, the handsome boy muttered, “Everyone here is so friendly... It’s totally different from the capital. I think I like the people here more.”

He thought back to the “chosen people” that he’d grown up around. They’d all been cold and unfeeling.

As he was contrasting his experiences in the capital with his experiences here, he finally reached his destination. An old three-story building on the outskirts of town that had probably served as some business’s headquarters in better times. He looked over his surroundings, making sure no one was around before opening the back door and slipping inside.

He paid no attention to the broken chairs, torn curtains, and piles of refuse littering the floor and climbed the stairs. They creaked loudly with each step, and he grit his teeth, worried that they might give out under him at any moment.

It was only after he reached the third-floor landing that he breathed a sigh of relief. He raised his hand to knock on the door but before he could, a voice from inside said, “Come in.”

It was a man’s voice, brusque and deep. Normal kids would have instinctively recoiled upon hearing a voice like that, but the boy felt only relief.

“I’m back, father.”

“Welcome back.”

A bald man was lying on a moth-eaten leather sofa that had definitely seen better days.

“Did you run into any trouble, Sharm?” he asked. The man had a stern face, and it looked like he was constantly glaring, even when he wasn’t. But the boy, Sharm Barn, knew from the subtle changes in his father’s expression that he was overjoyed. Laus Barn was relieved to see his son return safe and sound.

Sharm relaxed and smiled at his dad. He’d had a sheltered upbringing, so a simple task like getting groceries had been a nerve-racking experience. He had never once shopped for his own things, left the capital, or even walked through a back alley.

He was only eight, and he belonged to one of the most influential noble families of the most powerful nation in the world. Until now, someone else had taken care of all of his needs. Though, since coming to this city, he had gone shopping a few times before. However, a few shopping runs weren’t enough for him to get used to them. Still, he’d done his best, since these shopping trips were missions given to him by his beloved father.

He puffed his chest out proudly and said, “Nope. I managed to get food without any trouble.”

“I see. Well done.”

“Heh heh heh,” Sharm chuckled, blushing, and looked around the room.

“Father, is Reinheit still not back?”

“He’s not.”

Their final companion—the loyal knight Reinheit Ashe—was still out on a mission for Laus. Sharm gave his dad a worried look as he thought about that. Laus still hadn’t recovered from his wounds...and he was exhausted from expending so much mana, but he was still more taciturn than usual.

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine. Better than I expected, actually, thanks to your help.”

“I see...” Sharm mumbled and furrowed his brow. He knew his dad was lying. He used to think his dad was as impervious and as sturdy as a mountain, but now Laus looked extremely thin and weak. His cheeks were sunken, his face was pale, and there were dark circles under his eyes. His left sleeve lay flat on the sofa, making it abundantly clear there was no arm inside it. Right now, Laus looked more like a withered tree than a mountain.

It was hardly surprising, though. Just three weeks ago, Laus had fought against one of God’s Apostles as well as the commander of the Paladins, Darrion Kaus, and broken all ties with the church, his homeland, and the rest of his family. They’d taken only a few necessary supplies, then fled the capital.

Back then, Reinheit had a hole in his stomach and a gaping slash across his torso. Laus had been covered from head to toe in wounds as well, and the stump of his arm had bled profusely.

Ideally, they would have stopped in the closest town or village they could find and laid low until they healed, but Laus had wanted to escape the theocracy as soon as possible. Thus, they hadn’t stopped at any towns, and they hadn’t even used the highway. Laus had made full use of his ability to sense the souls of other people in conjunction with a spell that hid the souls of him and his comrades to avoid crossing paths with anyone during their escape.

Within the theocracy, every town had a church and a bishop, no matter how small. And to make matters worse, Laus was the commander of the Holy Templar Knights, which meant everyone in the theocracy knew of him. Due to his lofty station, he rarely ever went on expeditions to other nations, though, and only his reputation was well known. He wouldn’t be recognized outside the theocracy, but within it, not knowing the man who was the symbol of the church’s might was tantamount to heresy.

Moreover, he’d made public appearances during religious ceremonies enough times that every citizen had seen his face at least once. And that was why he was trying to leave the country inconspicuously, without anyone realizing the state he was in.

“Sharm, has the church made a move?”

“Not that I can tell, father. At the very least, the church in this town is acting like everything’s normal. They haven’t sent out any search parties or put up any wanted posters.”

Sharm started separating the food that was meant for today’s dinner from the preserved rations they’d be eating while on the move and added, “Everything looks peaceful.”

“I’m sure you’re right. The church hasn’t announced that we’re, umm...heretics.”

“There’s no way they could.”

Coming off of the heels of a major defeat, an announcement like that would plunge the nation into chaos. After all, the theocracy was only barely managing to spin their loss at Haltina as a “triumphant victory” by saying they’d displayed the church’s divine might to the republic, and that their faith had still prevailed. They were purposely obfuscating the details, but for the residents of the theocracy, a statement like that was sufficient.

No one was even questioning whether or not the church had succeeded in its original goal of recovering the child of God. But if word got out that the commander of the Holy Templar Knights had defected, things would be different.

“It wouldn’t just tarnish the church’s reputation, it’d rip it to shreds.”

Even Ehit’s chosen people would begin to doubt whether or not the church had won the war in Haltina. And once that happened, there would be no turning back. The church would no longer be an absolute entity. The world would be shaken to its core. Hence why Laus knew that as long as he didn’t reveal himself, the church would keep this scandal quiet.

He wanted to stay hidden so that he didn’t get crushed by overwhelming force, and the church wanted him hidden so his betrayal didn’t come to light. Ironically, their interests aligned extremely well.

There was only one recourse left for the church now.

“Thank God they didn’t manage to capture me.”

To assassinate Laus. They had to remove him in secret, come up with some excuse for what happened to him, and quickly appoint a successor if they wished to keep their reputation intact.

It was for that very reason that Laus had pushed to leave the country as soon as possible. The longer he stayed, the more dangerous things got. He couldn’t afford to get spotted by any of his countrymen, but he also couldn’t stick to abandoned forests and rough mountain paths, since if the apostle found him there, he’d be captured for sure. The safest place for him to be was a large city in some other nation.

“You’re amazing, father, I can’t believe you can deceive even the Heretic’s Stained Goblet!”

“Only because that artifact records your soul’s information, using blood as a medium. It traces people through their souls, so if you have a way of concealing your soul, it can’t track you.”

The Heretic’s Stained Goblet was one of the church’s most valuable artifacts. Everyone who joined the church had to place a drop of their blood into the goblet before they were allowed to take up their post.

It worked exactly how Laus said it did. The goblet was the church’s insurance in case anyone betrayed them. And since it tracked people’s souls, it was normally impossible to misdirect. There were, in fact, only two ways to stop its tracking: die or use spirit magic to hide your soul.

Suffice to say, Laus was the only person alive capable of throwing off the goblet. It was the main reason why the church hadn’t been able to capture him yet. However, Laus still wasn’t convinced he’d completely fooled them.

Are they just letting me swim around for a bit to see who else they can round up...or am I reading too hard into things? Am I really strong enough to deceive Ehit’s eyes?

God’s Apostle hadn’t been able to catch him so far. The church had sent out far-ranging search parties armed with the apostle’s spirit magic, but Laus hadn’t been spotted once yet. But by his estimation, if they were seriously trying to find him, he should have had a much harder time getting away. There should have been a few close calls, at least. He couldn’t help but worry that the church was scheming something. Hence why he was pushing forward as quickly as possible.

He’d used what little mana he’d recovered to heal Reinheit as much as possible while maintaining a suicidal forced march only made possible through continual use of Limit Break. And to make matters worse, he regularly ran into monsters because he wasn’t using the main roads, and he had to hunt regular animals as well to gather enough food for everyone. Plus, to top it all off, he couldn’t get much sleep, since he had to continually be concealing everyone’s souls while searching for enemies at all times.

Under such harsh conditions, it would be a feat to manage even twenty kilometers a day. But he’d already traveled six hundred kilometers south in the span of two weeks.

Despite his overwhelming strength, however, pushing himself that hard had taken its toll. Laus was utterly drained. He’d abused Limit Break to the point where even his soul was exhausted, slowing his physical recovery and mana regeneration rates. The only silver lining was that he’d managed to improve his soul-hiding spell, Spirit Shroud, so that he could allot mana for it ahead of time. Now, even if he fell asleep or lost consciousness for other reasons, the spell would remain active for a full two months. However, if he got into a fight, there was no guarantee he’d have the resources to keep it going.

Though I suppose if I get into a fight, it’ll be against forces strong enough to kill me... It would have been a hard fight even if I was at full strength. Rushing to Entris was the right choice, I’m pretty sure... It’s what gives me the best chance of survival.

It was a merchant haven that had porous borders and a steady flow of people and goods at all times. Esperado, the capital, sat in the center with six cities spreading radially outward, each with their own unique culture.

Laus had chosen Parantino, the city of cooking and medicine, to hide out and recuperate in. Parantino was on the northwest edge of Entris, which was shaped roughly like a rhombus, and bordered the theocracy. It was as busy as Laus had hoped, and there were throngs of people coming and going each day.

If the church attacked him here, word of the assault would almost certainly get out, which was why he heavily doubted they would. Just in case they did though, he’d chosen to hole up in an abandoned building on the outskirts.

For now, things were progressing well. Seven days had passed since Laus had snuck into Parantino. The city was famous for its medicinal dishes, as well as its potent healing medicines. It also had many soothing retreats people could rest at to recuperate from all manner of injuries and illnesses. Over the course of the past seven days, Laus had just barely recovered enough that he could get out of bed. But since he had finally recovered that much—

“I think it’s time we started moving again.”

“But, father, you’re still—”

“I’ll be fine.”

Laus was far from fine, but all Sharm could do was grit his teeth in frustration.

If only I could help him. If I wasn’t a child, I could do so much more.

“Do you think...the church will be sending someone soon?”

“I’m not sure. But it’s unwise to remain in one place for too long. Honestly, I wanted to set out two days ago.”

No matter how well Laus hid, he knew information on him would slowly leak the longer he stayed put. Nearby residents would start to talk about whoever had moved into this abandoned building, causing rumors to spread. Laus explained as much to Sharm, who thought back to the mother and daughter he’d met earlier.

I guess he has a point.

Of course, that didn’t stop Sharm from worrying about his dad’s safety. He hung his head in disappointment, and Laus gave him a gentle smile.

“Don’t worry, Sharm.”

“...”

“I won’t die here. I have to stay alive until I fulfill my promise.”

“By promise, do you mean the one you made with Lady Reisen?”

During their journey, Laus and Sharm had spoken at length. Laus had told his son everything he hadn’t been able to before for fear of what his family and the church would say. He’d explained the truth of the war, who Ehit really was, and the Liberators who fought against him. He’d also told Sharm about the girl who’d left such a deep impression on him.

He’d been utterly blown away by Miledi’s determination, as well as the accomplishments she’d backed it up with. To Laus, Miledi was like a fairy-tale hero. But what had surprised Sharm most of all hadn’t been any of those details.

“Heh heh, you forget that she’s not a noble any longer, Sharm. There’s no need to address her as Lady Reisen.”

“That’s a rude thing to say about a girl, father.”

What surprised Sharm most was that his dad smiled when he talked about Miledi. Normally, he only ever had a dour expression on his face. At best, his eyes softened a little or his lips curled upward a fraction when he was happy about something, but that was about it. It was only when speaking about Miledi that Laus smiled wide enough that someone other than Sharm could tell he was actually smiling. He’d never smiled like that when talking to his family.

Sharm was a bit conflicted about that, actually. On the one hand he was glad his father had finally been freed from the heavy burden he’d been carrying, but at the same time, he didn’t want to accept that someone outside his family had caused that change. After all, that would mean Laus’s family had caused Laus as much pain as the church had, and Sharm didn’t want to think that. It made him wonder if maybe he was just a burden to his father as well.

“Father, are you really going to fight the church...fight God?”

“You bet.”

“For Miledi Reisen’s sake?” Sharm didn’t realize how bitter he sounded as he said that.

Of course he knew he was being unreasonable. For an eight-year-old, he was surprisingly mature. He understood that fighting Ehit was necessary to free the people of Tortus from the whims of a god who saw the world as nothing but a game board to play around on.

Learning the truth hadn’t been a huge shock for him. He’d always felt like something was off about the church, and now he finally understood why. He was mad at them for toying with people’s lives, and he was proud that his dad had resolved to fight them. But the fact that it was some girl he didn’t know who’d driven Laus to take a stand was bothering him.

“Fool.”

“Huh?”

Confused, Sharm raised his head to look up at Laus. He saw his father smiling gently at him, looking more affectionate than Sharm had ever seen him.

“I’ll be fighting for your sake, obviously.”

“F-For me?”

“Yep.”

Laus struggled to his feet, his battered body straining due to the exertion. He then kneeled down in front of Sharm and placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. Looking directly into his eyes, he said, “And for Ricolis, Kaime, and Selm.”

“Ah...”

Sharm felt his chest tighten as he thought back to the rest of his family, who’d derided him for questioning the church. But even so, family was family. He still felt bad that he’d had to leave them behind...and he regretted not trying to do more.

When they’d left, Laus had apologized to Sharm for abandoning them. Sharm hadn’t wanted to burden his father with any further responsibilities, which was why he hadn’t asked whether or not they were going back to save his mom and brothers, even though he’d wanted to. He’d tried to just forget about them and ignore that uneasy feeling in his chest. But clearly, Laus hadn’t forgotten. And he hadn’t given up either. Overcome with happiness, relief, and respect for his father, Sharm started quietly crying. He knew it was pathetic for the son of the church’s strongest knight to cry, but he couldn’t stop the tears rolling down his cheeks.

He rubbed his eyes and said in a joking tone, “Father, you’re forgetting grandmother.”

“I’m not,” he replied immediately. He then rose to his feet and ruffled Sharm’s hair before adding in a conspiratorial tone, “The truth is, I actually hate my mother-in-law. I left her out on purpose.”

“What?!”

“You remember how she kept bugging me to marry more women?”

“Umm, yeah?”

“That annoyed the crap out of me.”

“Wait, that’s why you’re abandoning her?!”

Laus nodded solemnly. Sharm’s eyes widened in response. He looked completely flummoxed. But then a second later, Laus grinned and Sharm realized what was going on.

“I didn’t know you could crack a joke, father.”

“Was I joking, though?” Laus shrugged and lowered himself back down onto the sofa.

Sharm gave him an exasperated look, but before he could say anything, Laus muttered, “Hm, it looks like Reinheit’s back.”

The final member of their party had returned at last.

“I’m glad he’s safe. He’s not in top form yet either.”

Reinheit had suffered two major wounds protecting Sharm, and either one would have been enough to kill him without Laus’s intervention. Eventually, they’d just be honorable scars, but for now, they still hindered him quite a bit. Laus had used spirit magic to keep Reinheit’s soul anchored to his body while he cast enough healing magic to bring him back to life, but he hadn’t been able to heal him much more than that before they’d needed to flee.

“I’ve returned, Laus-sama, Sharm-sama.”

As expected, Reinheit looked quite pale as he walked into the room. He was a kind, earnest man, with handsome features, but right now he looked almost as haggard as Laus. Normally, he took good care of his ash-brown hair as well, as he wanted to look respectable as a member of the Barn family’s personal guard, but right now it was lanky and unkempt.

“Welcome back, Reinheit!”

“I’m glad you’re safe. How did things go?”

“Smoothly.”

Reinheit swept back his long coat and pulled a few thin rectangular wooden boards out of his pocket.

“We have three tickets to Esperado.”

The Entris Federation’s most famous feature was so well known that there wasn’t a person on the continent who couldn’t tell you what it was.

A magical train traveled from city to city. Its origins could be traced back to before the founding of the Entris Federation itself. Back when the different cities that made up the federation first started considering uniting into a single nation, the leaders of the cities were trying to find the most efficient way to speed up the travel of goods in their territory. In order to become a world-class trade hub, they needed the best transportation. They wanted a way to eliminate the downsides of travel by carriage, and they had the resources and know-how to make it happen. After all, at the time, the theocracy was willing to fund their unification plans. In other words, everything that happened was the will of God. The church loved flaunting the authority granted to them by God, so they often backed reckless projects to display their might.

Regardless, after a lot of meetings and head-scratching, one genius said, “So our problems with carriages are their limited size, the stamina of the horses that carry them, weather problems, and bad roads, right? In that case, why not make a giant carriage-shaped golem that runs on iron rails? It’s far cheaper to make a track of rails than it is to pave a road. Plus, a golem that never tires can easily be crafted by a skilled enough synergist.”

With the help of the Velka Kingdom’s craftsmen, the fledgling nation of Entris successfully created a train-shaped golem, which they dubbed the Magic Train. Over the next few centuries, the train helped elevate the federation into the world’s trade hub. And now, Reinheit had gotten everyone tickets to ride it.

“Wow, this means we can take the train to Esperado, right, Reinheit?!”

“It does indeed, Sharm-sama. Are you looking forward to it?”

“Oh, umm, well...”

Sharm’s face fell as he remembered that the three of them were on the run.

“Come to think of it, you did say you wanted to ride it long ago, didn’t you?” Laus mused.

“Y-You remembered that?” Sharm asked as he shrunk down even further. But it was only natural for an eight-year-old boy to be fascinated by a giant moving golem.

Laus and Reinheit smiled at him.

“Now you finally have your chance. It’s fine to enjoy it,” Laus said.

“B-But—”

“Sharm-sama, I’m quite excited myself. I was born in a rural village, and after I became a knight, I never got the chance to leave the capital.”

“I-I didn’t know that. So you’re excited to ride it too, Reinheit? Heh heh heh...” Sharm chuckled, breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked excitedly down at the ticket Reinheit handed him.

Meanwhile, Reinheit walked over to Laus and spoke in a quiet, worried voice, saying, “Are you sure you want to go to Esperado, Laus-sama? The—”

“Central Church is there?”

“Yes...”

Though no wanted posters had been put out for the three fugitives, the Central Church was the second-largest church on the continent after the main cathedral on the Divine Mountain. Naturally, only the most important members of the clergy were dispatched there.

One of the archbishops, of which there were only seven, presided over the church, and there were a number of bishops who possessed special magic and templars stationed there as well. All of them would recognize Laus on sight. Thus, Reinheit’s fears were understandable.

“Shouldn’t we avoid Esperado and take the roundabout route to Valeria instead?”

The railway tracks the train used were shaped like a six-spoked wheel, with all the spokes coming out of the central city of Esperado.

To the northwest was Parantino, to the northeast was Obius, to the east was Rumalus, to the southeast was Valeria, to the southwest was Terio, and to the west was Kisps.

Obius and Rumalus bordered the Uldia Dukedom, while Valeria bordered the Grandort Empire. Laus’s current plan was to head to the empire via Valeria, then head east to the forest. They could either get to Valeria by taking a roundabout route and going clockwise through the cities or head straight there passing through Esperado.

Reinheit didn’t want to tempt fate, which was why he was advocating for the longer route. However, Laus shook his head and stated, “Like I said before, the more people we’re around, the safer we are.”

Entris was around 360,000 square kilometers in size, and most of it was populated. But between the federation’s major cities, there were some stretches of empty plains and uninhabited hills. Also, there were naturally multiple stops on the train routes. They didn’t just go directly from major city to major city. However, there was an express line that ran only from any of the six outlying major cities to the capital.

“I doubt our enemies will attack a moving train, but they might target us at a more deserted station.”

“I understand what you’re saying, but...perhaps we should head for the dukedom instead?”

“The dukedom is mostly rural. There are fewer cities and people there than in the empire. Plus, if we go there, we’ll have to go through the Odion Federation to get to the forest. The less borders we have to cross, the better.”

“I suppose...the church won’t be so brazen that they’ll try something in Esperado. You’re right, it might be best for us to stick to the most populous areas.”

“As a knight, I realize it’s shameful to use innocent civilians as a shield, but...”

Laus knew that was what was bothering Reinheit as well, and he gave him a wan smile. Reinheit returned the smile and said, “I just hope the Central Church’s archbishop doesn’t do anything while we’re there...”

There were frequent power struggles among the church’s top brass, so Laus doubted the Central Church’s archbishop had been informed of his betrayal. After all, if word got out to the branch churches, it would weaken the main cathedral’s power. Besides, if the archbishops knew, they’d try to win the glory of capturing Laus for themselves, so the main cathedral had good reason to keep his betrayal secret even from other members of the clergy.

“There are all sorts of ways this could go wrong, Reinheit, so there’s no point thinking about contingencies.”

“That’s true, I suppose.”

“In the end, it comes down to what you want to believe in.”

“What I want to believe in, huh? Not what I should believe in.”

Laus nodded in response, and Reinheit covered his face with one hand. Sharm was watching worriedly from a short distance away.

“Do you regret coming with us?” Laus asked quietly, prompting Reinheit to look down at him.

He’s so young... Laus thought.

Reinheit was only twenty-four. As he’d mentioned before, he’d been born in a remote village, and when it had been discovered that he possessed special magic that made him immune to status effects, he’d been called to the capital and made into a low-ranking knight. Had Laus not hired him to be one of the Barn family’s personal guards, he would have likely been a rather mediocre templar and died on a battlefield somewhere.

Regardless, the point was that Reinheit had practically no real combat experience. He was a perfectly average young man, whose main virtue was that he took his duties seriously. But now he’d become an enemy of the state. Laus suspected that knowledge was weighing heavily on him. But in truth—

“Not at all,” Reinheit said firmly, snapping Laus out of his musings.

“I merely did what I believed was just. I made this choice of my own free will.”

I don’t regret a single thing I did.

“I’m only complaining because I’m tired. Though I know you must be even more tired, after carrying us all the way here and healing me,” Reinheit shook his head after saying that, disappointed by how pathetic he was acting.

Laus placed a firm hand on his shoulder and said, “You’ve done well, Reinheit. There’s no need to put yourself down like that.”

“Father’s right, Reinheit! You know, I admire you as much as I admire him!”

“Laus-sama, Sharm-sama...”

Sharm ran over and wrapped Reinheit in a hug. Taken aback by his sincerity, Reinheit simply blushed and scratched his head awkwardly.

Smiling, Laus added, “Reinheit, the reason you’re advocating for the safer route isn’t because you’re losing heart, but because you find it hard to trust the Liberators. Am I right?”

“That...might be it, yeah.”

In truth, there was another reason why Laus wanted to head to Esperado. Even if they managed to sneak their way into the empire, Laus wasn’t confident he could get from there to the forest in his current condition; especially not if he had to evade pursuers the entire time.

“Since the Liberators are a resistance movement, you’re right that they probably have a base of operations in Esperado. But...are you sure they’ll help us?”

Laus had hoped to enlist the Liberators’ help for the final leg of the journey. However, Reinheit had never met Miledi and the others. Thus, he was worried they held a deep-seated grudge against knights of the church and doubted they’d offer their aid, even if Laus and Reinheit were defectors.

“If they look at this through a logical lens, they’ll see the merits of having you on their side and offer to help. But—”

“People’s emotions can often cloud their judgment,” Laus mused.

“Yes...”

If Laus were in peak condition, it wouldn’t matter, since he could take them on in a fight. But right now, he was sorely weakened. And so, Reinheit wanted to avoid taking any unnecessary risks. He truly wanted Laus to be as safe as possible.

“Besides, can we even be certain they’ll contact us?” Reinheit asked.

“We’re trying to avoid standing out, so they might not even notice we’re there,” Sharm added.

“You two both bring up valid points, but if the church has sent a team to eliminate us, it’ll be made up of a small group of elites. They won’t want to draw attention to themselves either, meaning the Liberators will have far more eyes than them on the ground.”

“You think they’ll be actively looking for us?”

“Yes. And they’re much better at stealth and detection than we are, considering how long they’ve had to stay hidden.”

Laus suspected they hadn’t tried to contact him within the theocracy because they knew it would just lead to both of their deaths if they did. But he knew the Liberators must have some people watching the area around the capital, and almost certainly had a base in Entris, which was why he’d prioritized coming here.

He’d laid the groundwork for receiving their aid. Indeed, he’d pushed himself this hard because he believed they really would come to help him.

“You have absolute faith in the Liberators, don’t you?” Reinheit asked.

“Of course,” he said with such conviction that Sharm and Reinheit stared at him in surprise. “If I didn’t, I would never have considered challenging the ‘absolute’ might of the church.”

Sharm and Reinheit exchanged glances, smiling wryly at each other.

I guess that makes sense... they thought simultaneously.

A little before noon, the three of them headed to the station. Unlike the plain carriage station, the train station was an ostentatious building held up by large marble pillars with sculptures engraved in them.

The waiting room was spacious, with plenty of benches and numerous places to stow your cargo while waiting for the train. Despite that, it was so crowded that it seemed like the population of the entire world had been packed inside the building. And this wasn’t even the busiest time. That honor was reserved for the early morning. After all, it was a universal rule that stations were busier in the mornings than in the afternoons.

In truth, Reinheit had wanted to get morning tickets as well, but he hadn’t been able to because all the merchants who were veterans of the train ticket marketplace had snapped them up first. Reinheit’s eyes glazed over as he thought back to his fierce battle with those merchants with bloodshot eyes, while Sharm looked around the station excitedly. His eyes stopped on the platform, which was as wide as the station itself. There was a staircase leading up to it, and there were letters carved into each step.

“Father, why are there names carved into those stairs?” Sharm asked, pointing to the letters.

“They’re the names of the people who helped build this train.”

“Look, Sharm-sama. Don’t you recognize some of those names?”

“Oh, yeah, I do. They were in my history books...”

Sharm read through the names, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He was trying his hardest to stay calm, but it was clear to anyone watching that he was acting like an enraptured tourist. He glanced about curiously, with each new sight catching his attention for a few minutes. He might have been mature for his age, but he was still a kid. Laus and Reinheit knew they couldn’t afford to stand out, but they didn’t have the heart to put a damper on his enthusiasm.

Though he didn’t realize it, Sharm was getting a lot of attention—mostly from girls around his age—now that he’d taken his hood off. However, it would’ve been more suspicious if all three of them kept their hoods on the entire time, so Laus didn’t reprimand him for it. He’d already scoped the place out an hour ago to make sure there wasn’t anyone from the church looking for him here.

The train they’d be riding was set to arrive in ten minutes. Laus was content to let Sharm enjoy himself until then, and he secretly hoped the small amount of attention they were drawing might prompt someone from the Liberators to make contact with him.

Reinheit had also taken off his hood. He was practically a nobody, so he didn’t need to hide his face as much as Laus.

“Oh, Sharm-sama. Wait a moment.”

“Ah, s-sorry, Reinheit.”

Realizing he’d grown far too excited, Sharm blushed and obediently took the hand Reinheit held out to him. The two of them looked like brothers as they walked through the station. Some of the older ladies who were nearby had their hearts melted by the adorable sight. And some of the younger women were sporting nosebleeds. Reinheit and Sharm were both quite handsome, so it wasn’t surprising they stood out. Honestly, Laus was just happy everyone else appreciated Sharm’s cuteness, so he didn’t seem to mind the attention they were getting.

While Sharm and Reinheit explored, Laus headed to a corner of the station that had initially caught Sharm’s interest. They sold palm-sized replicas of the golem train there. Laus bought one and handed it to Sharm.

“F-Father, you didn’t have to—”

“It’s fine. Go on, take it.”

After he’d handed the replica over, Laus briskly walked to the platform. Sharm looked between Laus’s receding back and the replica in his hands.

“This is the first time anyone’s ever given me a toy...”

“Being able to enjoy little things like this is one of the perks of leaving the church.”

“You’ve gotten used to the heretic life pretty quickly, Reinheit.”

Reinheit shrugged casually, and Sharm didn’t know how to feel about that. But a second later, he ran over to Laus, dragging Reinheit behind him.

“Father, thank you so much for the present! I’ll treasure it forever!” he shouted with a smile.

Laus blushed a little upon hearing that, while Reinheit’s shoulders trembled as he tried to hold back a laugh.

The group reached the platform just as the Magic Train arrived. The screech of metal as it braked annoyed most of the people waiting, yet it excited Sharm.

“Wow...” he muttered, looking up at the massive metal behemoth.

The Magic Train looked imposing. Its body was made of a reddish iron that looked silver in the sunlight, and it was two hundred meters long. Each of its cars was much larger than a carriage, and the plethora of magic circles engraved onto its exteriors glowed with a faint light.

Motes of mana trailed behind it as it rolled to a stop at the station platform, making Sharm gaze up at it in wonder. There was a large, transparent jewel set into the front of the train, and there were numerous interlocking magic circles contained within the jewel. There were two windows high up on either side of the front car, which looked sort of like eyes and made it seem like the train was solemnly looking over everything. The rear car had arms jutting out of it as well, which loaded and unloaded luggage. It was a train, but it was also clearly a golem.

Even Laus seemed excited as the three of them boarded the train. The interior was covered in stylish, dark-brown wood, while the box seats were covered in wine-red upholstery.

“Let’s sit here,” Laus said, looking at the first row of seats.

He wanted to be able to get out immediately if anything happened.

Sharm took the window seat. Laus sat next to him and Reinheit took a seat across the two of them.

“...”

“Father, are you okay?”

Laus had been trying to hide his exhaustion, but it must have shown when he’d sat down, since Sharm looked rather worried.

“Here, Laus-sama,” Reinheit said, offering him a potion.

“Thank you.”

“It’s fine. We have five hours until we reach Esperado. You should rest until then at least.”

“Thanks, I think I will.”

Laus soon downed the bittersweet potion, but his exhaustion ran soul-deep, so it didn’t do much for him. However, rejuvenating his body still had some effect, so it kept him from weakening any further.

Feeling just a little bit better, Laus closed his eyes. And before long the conductor blew his whistle and the train shuddered into motion.

There was a high-pitched whine as mana suffused the golem, bringing it to life. The boarding ramps fell away, and the steady vibrations of the moving train lulled Laus to sleep.

At around the same time, a lone bunny was lazing about in Esperado.

“Haaah, this is paradise.”

She had dark blue hair styled in a bob cut, a slender figure, medium-sized breasts, and a very fluffy set of ears and tail. Based on just appearances, she looked extremely cute. Unfortunately, her room was as messy as it got. Her clothes and towels were scattered all over the floor, as were leftover meals and food scraps. Bottles full of poison and unsheathed knives were strewn about, and there was barely anywhere to stand without stepping on something. Even the luxurious bed and carpet both had numerous food stains on them.

“When I heard I was being dispatched on a mission outside the forest, I thought I was being exiled, but I should thank Her Majesty for giving me such a cushy job.”

The bunny girl sipped orange juice on her bed through a needlessly ostentatious straw. She was lying down, so naturally, the liquid ended up going into her trachea and she started coughing. Droplets of orange juice hit the bed, making it even dirtier than before.

“Cough... Cough... Delicious. Yeah, I’m definitely thinking I should change jobs.”

She didn’t seem to mind that she’d dirtied her bed further as she continued enjoying her juice.

“I’m going to spend the rest of my life relaxing as a member of the Liberators’ support branch!”

“We’re not feeding you to loaf around, you worthless rabbit!” a female voice shouted, and Sui, the Haltina Republic’s top spy, let out a surprised yelp in response. She jumped a little as well...and because the bed was so springy, she bounced a few times before falling off of it. Of course, she managed to roll gracefully on the floor, since she was a skilled warrior, even if she was lazy.

Looking up, she saw the incarnation of pure wrath looking down at her. Said incarnation was a woman with medium-length gray hair, gray eyes, and pretty features...when she wasn’t angry, anyway.

“Y-You can’t just barge into people’s rooms like this, Shirley!”

“This isn’t your room, you deadbeat!”

Shirley Nelson was the daughter of the owner of the first-class Hotel Lusheina, which happened to sit right in the middle of Esperado. The hotel also happened to hold the Liberator base in the city. And the room Sui was currently in was indeed not Sui’s. It was the luxury suite situated on the fifteenth floor of the hotel.

Shirley hadn’t come in from the front door either. Instead, she’d entered from behind a shelf on the wall. The shelf was secretly a revolving door, and the passage behind it led to the basement where the Liberator base was situated.

“B-But you’re the one who said I could do whatever I pleased with it!”

“Yeah, well, there are limits to that!”

“You never told me there were any limits. You just said I could do what I wanted with the room. If there were limits, you should have told me beforehand. You can’t just slap on conditions after the fact.”

“Y-You little twerp!” Shirley roared. It looked like she was about to start stamping her feet. Normally, she was a calm, cheerful person, but ever since Sui had arrived her patience had been sorely tested.

At first Shirley had been excited when she’d heard a super-spy from the republic would be coming to reinforce the Liberator branch in Esperado, but then she’d discovered what she was really like. And now she was just sighing constantly in exasperation.

“You’re just gonna have to get used to it, Shirley. This is what Sui’s like.”

“Leo-san...”

Another person walked in through the revolving door. He was a middle-aged man who appeared to be a cross between a gentleman and a bandit. His name was Leonard Avan and he was the captain of the second combat unit attached to the main headquarters, as well as the leader of the Laus rescue mission. His face was quite handsome, and when he was smiling you might almost mistake him for a noble. Unfortunately, his chin was covered with patches of stubble, he had a cigar in his mouth, and his clothes were wrinkled. To top it all off, he constantly kept his hands in his pockets, making him look like a thug.

He resembled Badd in a lot of ways, both superficial and otherwise. He, too, was a bachelor at the ripe old age of forty-six. In fact, he was also Badd’s good friend.

Incidentally, Badd was the captain of the main headquarters’s first combat unit, in addition to the Liberators’ vice-leader. But since Badd frequently went missing, his men usually took their orders from Salus.

Leonard placed a comforting hand on Shirley’s shoulder, looked around the room, and said, “Hey, Sui. At least put some goddamn clothes on.”

She was wearing underwear at least, but she’d been influenced by the fashion of the city, so it was a rather seductive pair. A normal guy might have started salivating at the sight of her, but not Leonard. Unlike Badd, he wasn’t a bachelor because no one liked him, but because every woman who showed an interest in him had multiple fatal flaws...and Sui set off all of his alarm bells.

“It’s your fault for coming in without knocking. In fact, you should be paying me reparations for staring at a pure maiden’s skin without permission! Give me enough money to live comfortably for another five years!”

“Keep talking and you’ll be spending five years paying off your doctor’s bills.”

“I’m sorry.”

Leonard could look pretty threatening when he wanted to. Plus, he had the strength to back up his threats. Sui had no pride to speak of, so naturally, she had no compunctions about immediately getting on her knees and apologizing. Her apology was so obsequious that it looked like she might even start licking Leonard’s boots.

Leonard took a puff from his cigar and muttered, “Look, just put some clothes on and we’ll call it even.”

Sui immediately got back up and gave him a lazy, “Okaaaaaay.”

“I know this sounds rude, but are we sure the queen picked the right person for this job?” Leonard asked as he watched Sui scratch her butt, then start searching through the pile of filth for some clean clothes. It was hard to believe she was one of the republic’s finest.

“I mean, her skills are the real deal.”

“I know, but...”

While they talked, Sui accidentally stepped on one of her caltrops and started hopping up and down on one foot. She was still in her underwear, so her ass was on full display as she hopped. Both Shirley and Leonard were far from impressed, but they also knew from experience that they did indeed need her.

Five days ago, this avatar of sloth had easily snuck into Esperado’s Central Church and stole a treasure trove of information. With almost no effort, she’d accomplished something the entire support branch hadn’t done in ages. And yet, once she was done, she simply said, “I only did this because I was sick and tired of you guys asking me to work every single day, but now I realize it was a mistake. I should never have done a job like that! And I’m not doing it again, even if you ask me!”

Indeed, she had only obtained information on Laus because she’d wanted to work less. Unsurprisingly, the Liberators’ head spy had collapsed in shock upon hearing how easy it had been for Sui.

“I almost feel bad for the church. They got infiltrated so easily.”

“Well, she wasn’t really pulling her weight when we were hiding out around the capital. In fact, she was slacking off the entire time.”

A few days before the Templar Knights had returned to the theocracy’s capital, Naiz had helped Leonard and the others sneak into a nearby city. However, Sui had taken every opportunity she could to shirk her duties. Any time she was asked to patrol or stand watch, she’d find some excuse or the other to slip away. She’d also complained nonstop about how annoying it was to live undercover. And worst of all, she’d used her special magic, Refraction, along with her ability to freely hide her presence to head to the neighboring towns and spend organization funds on meals at fancy restaurants and expensive stores.

Naturally, Leonard and the others had been cross with her. Of course, Sui apologized profusely each time, but then she’d go back to her old habits within a few days.

People started to wonder whether the republic had sent them aid...or a saboteur.

Eventually, Leonard decided to split the group in two. They’d already waited for a long time with no sign of Laus, Naiz was no longer with them, no one but Sui could infiltrate the capital, and she was adamant about not going in there. And so, Leonard took half of his men back to Esperado to see if Laus had already left the country, while the other half remained in the theocracy in case Laus had just been biding his time.

Naturally, Sui had joined the group leaving for Esperado. Leonard knew that if he left Sui with the group staying behind, she’d likely desert.

“At first I thought the republic had just pawned their problem child off to us, but...”

The day they’d returned to Esperado, the support branch had told Leonard and the others that ten robed figures had secretly entered the Central Church recently. Leonard immediately decided to investigate, and when Sui had vanished off somewhere, he assumed she’d just been slacking, so he’d ignored her disappearance. But before they’d even come up with an infiltration plan—

“I’m baaaaaack! I snuck into the church, and apparently, Laus-san escaped the same day he got back to the capital. I heard he’s traveling with his youngest kid and one of his guards.”

Sui returned and dropped that bombshell on everyone. Leonard and the others had been in the middle of a meeting that had lasted throughout the night, but Sui’s information blasted everyone’s exhaustion away.

Everyone had stared at her, dumbfounded. She’d brought them the exact information they’d been so desperate to find.

Apparently, the white-robed figures were the assassin unit sent to take Laus out. Most of them were keeping an eye on the Uldian border, but since they hadn’t seen any signs that Laus had traveled through there, they were beginning to suspect he was in Entris instead. The captain of the assassin unit had taken a few handpicked elites and set up a surveillance net around Esperado.

They’d made the Central Church their base of operations, and while the archbishop who presided over it had been apprised of the situation, he’d been ordered not to interfere with their operations. They also had an artifact that would inform them of Laus’s position if they got to within a few dozen meters of him, as well as a bunch of other plans that Sui had lazily explained. Leonard and the others had been absolutely floored. They’d all thought she was just a deadbeat, but she’d betrayed their expectations.

It was in part by design, as Sui made a point of hiding her talents until they were truly necessary. Leonard had actually apologized to Sui for not seeing her value before, while the rest of the Liberators had still been in too much shock to do anything. Their spy had actually been huddled in a corner cradling their knees, muttering, “I’m sorry... I’m sorry I’m so useless...”

It was then that Sui had hit them with her demands.

“I was out working hard while you were all wasting time in meetings. I want a reward for this, or else I’m quitting. I won’t work another day in my life for no pay. I risked my life for this, so you better at least let me have this hotel’s best suite!”

Sui was still Sui, no matter how competent she was. Unsurprisingly, everyone found her unbelievably annoying. But ultimately, they had to respect her resolve.

Leonard had asked what she would’ve done if she’d been caught while sneaking around the church—half out of worry—and her response had been, “I carry a special corrosive fruit made from monsters in the forest with me at all times. If I get caught, I’ll eat it...and it’ll erode me so thoroughly you won’t even be able to recognize who I once was.”

For all her complaints that she didn’t want to die, she took her job seriously and was ready to give her life to save her comrades. Leonard had honestly been impressed upon hearing that. And he also finally realized why the queen had called Sui the republic’s trump card.

He’d given Sui a resigned smile and offered her the reward she asked for without complaint. It was only natural, considering the lengths she’d gone to. Even if she had spent the five days since then lazing about in the suite, Leonard knew he had no right to complain. After all, Sui had accomplished more than the rest of them combined. Granted, she’d worn down everyone’s patience to the point where even the gentle Shirley had gotten angry.

“Hey, at least she gets serious when it counts. And, well, she does care about her comrades. We can give her that much at least.”

“Leo-san, you’re way too nice to women. Especially younger women!”

Both of them turned to look at Sui, who’d finally managed to put on some clothes.

“Haaah, guess this is the end of my life of luxury. Sheesh, this isn’t even close to worth it, considering how I risked my life for that intel and all. You Liberators really work people to the bone! But I guess if I have to do just a bit more work to join your crew, well... He he he... If I can become a part of the Liberators, I’ll get to live like this for the rest of my life! I won’t ever have to go back to the forest! You can do this, Sui!”

Her slovenly smile suited her to an uncanny degree.

“She cares about her comrades?”

“Don’t say it, Shirley. I think rabbitmen are just all like this.”

Sui was damaging the reputation of all rabbitmen with her act.

“Fwaaah! So, what is it? Did something happen?”

Leonard grinned at Sui as she yawned.

“You bet. We’ve found Laus Barn and his companions.”

“We’re going to hold a meeting to decide what to do next, but we can’t start without you, so hurry up,” Shirley added.

“You don’t have to be so snappy about it. What are you, my mom?”

“I’m gonna deck you!”

You could say the two of them weren’t very compatible, but Sui got on pretty much everyone’s nerves, no matter who they were. Leonard just knew how to deal with her because he’d dealt with so many problem children in his life already. He stared at nothing in particular while he waited patiently for the two girls to finish arguing.

Laus had been hailed as the church’s strongest knight, and he was also an ancient magic user. Thus, the group sent to assassinate him was most likely quite strong.

“I can’t believe we have to deal with their hardest hitters right off the bat,” Leonard grumbled, blowing a puff of smoke and crushing his spent cigar in his fist with such force that it went out immediately. He then walked through the revolving door again and took the elevator down to the secret underground base. He navigated his way between desks covered in mountains of paperwork and the Liberators who were running to and fro between them, then walked over to the circular wooden table set apart from the rest of the room by a partition.

Waiting at the table were the various squad captains assigned to the Laus rescue team, as well as an elderly man with cropped gray hair and a curled mustache, Rigan Nelson, the owner of this hotel and the commander of the Esperado branch.

“Finally, the layabout makes her appearance,” a bald old man with a white mustache said as Sui slouched in her seat, yawning. He was well past seventy, but his arms were musclebound and as thick as logs. His short, stout stature made him look like a stereotypical fantasy dwarf.

The man was the captain of the Esperado branch’s combat squad, Arsel Blare. Normally, he ran a fireworks shop in the city, but he was a capable fighter and possessed the special magic Explosion, which let him create an explosive blast anywhere within a set distance.

“I was just enjoying the break I was rightfully granted,” Sui replied haughtily.

“Hey, Sui-chan, have you ever heard of this word called restraint?”

“Of course I have. What do you take me for, an idiot?”

“Even I haven’t ever lived it up in a suite like that...” a woman wearing a black dress and a white poncho said, her shoulders drooping. She was the Esperado branch’s spy chief, Jinx Renka. She had short black hair and was in her early thirties. She was also the one who’d been so shocked by Sui’s capabilities that she’d had a mental breakdown. She’d looked a little spaced out all the time, but ever since Sui had outdone her she’d seemed fragile, like a stiff breeze could shatter her.

With the addition of Leonard and Sui, everyone needed for the meeting was assembled.

Sui glanced around the room, and though most people here had only known her for a short time, they could tell exactly what she was thinking. She was clearly annoyed that no drinks were being served at the meeting.

Everyone ignored her.

“Let’s get this over with quickly,” Rigan said cheerfully, his voice echoing through the room.

“We’ve received a messenger bird from the Parantino branch,” Shirley added. “It came this morning. Apparently, Laus Barn and his companions will arrive here by evening.”

The Magic Train traveled at a speed of roughly thirty kilometers per hour. It moved about three times as fast as a carriage, which was exceptional considering it didn’t need to rest and could carry a massive amount of people and goods. However, it couldn’t hold a candle to the speed of the strengthened Isoniol eagles that the Liberators used as messenger birds. The message from Parantino had arrived long before the train.

“So we’ve finally found him, huh? I guess his title as the church’s strongest knight isn’t just for show if he managed to slip past our surveillance net for this long.”

“I’m sorry I’m so useless... I’m sorry for being a waste of space,” Jinx muttered. Her self-deprecation had been getting worse by the day, but Shirley simply ignored her and continued with the report.

“Unfortunately, the person who spotted him did so just before they boarded the train and at quite a distance, so they didn’t have a chance to make contact with Laus. From what they said, though, Laus looked rather haggard and was missing his left arm.”

“Holy shit, are you serious?” Leonard blurted, his face scrunched up into a frown. For some reason, Sui frowned as well.

“Yes. Moreover, the only member of his family with him was his son.”

“But isn’t his family composed of his wife, mother-in-law, and three sons?”

“He has a few other distant relatives as well, but those are all the people who are part of the main household. I suspect it’s his youngest son who’s with him now.”

“Do you think he’s planning to go back for the rest of his family later, or are they traveling separately with their own guards?”

“Either of those might be the case, but we have no way of ascertaining the truth at present.”

He clearly went through a tough fight to get here... Leonard thought to himself.

“Have the assassins stationed here made a move?”

“They have a rotation of sentries keeping an eye on the station 24-7, as usual.”

“According to Sui, they have an artifact that can locate him if he gets within a few dozen meters of them. At this rate, he’ll be caught the moment he steps off the station.”

“Have we still not established the Dark Gates around the theocracy’s capital?” Arsel asked, and Shirley shook her head.

“It takes time to find suitable locations to set them up. I’m afraid there’s only so much we could do in five days.”

“Yes, which is why we need to contact Laus before the assassins reach him and get him to immediately take a train to Obius,” Rigan replied. Everyone nodded in agreement, then turned to Sui.

Her drooping bunny ears twitched, and she instinctively looked behind her.

“Sorry, but we’re looking at you,” Leonard said flatly.

She unhappily turned back to face him and asked, “So, what, you want me to find him the moment he arrives and use Refraction and my presence hiding abilities to get him to secretly switch over to a train to Obius?”

Despite her lazy personality, she was quite smart.

Sui’s magic could work on other people if she was touching them. For a while, Meiru had made use of that feature to escape from Lyutillis. She’d carried Sui around like a portable stealth machine...and honestly, it’d been quite effective.

“That’s right. Will you do this for us, Sui?” Rigan asked in a kind voice.

“No way,” Sui replied firmly.

Shirley looked like she was about to blow her top, while Leonard massaged his temple. Jinx and Arsel simply sighed, feeling exhausted already.

Seeing how everyone was gearing up to force her to cooperate, Sui quickly added, “I mean, think about it. You guys are the ones who said that if the church is trying to conceal Laus-san’s betrayal, they won’t attack him in public! But if they realize I’m trying to make contact with him, they might get spooked and attack anyway! The citizens will be in danger!”

“But you know from experience that they can’t see through your stealth. That’s the whole reason you were able to gather intel on them, isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, but my powers aren’t perfect! Who knows if I’ll be able to deceive them when they’re actively looking for someone.”

She had a point. And in truth, her powers weren’t perfect. Miledi and the other ancient magic users had been able to see through her stealth, for example. Thus, it stood to reason that the squad sent to take out Laus, who was an ancient magic user, was about as powerful.

The reason Sui had been able to successfully infiltrate the Central Church was because she’d used her exceptional hearing to eavesdrop from a safe distance, and because the archbishop had been demanding more details from the assassination squad sent by the pope, so they’d all been distracted and talking rather loudly.

“Don’t worry, Sui. We have a backup plan in mind,” Rigan said gently, but that only caused Sui’s ears to droop further. She knew from experience that when a person in power was trying to sound as kind as possible, it was because they were about to pressure you really hard to do something you didn’t want to do. It meant they had the conversational skills needed to shoot down any excuse you came up with.

In her head, Sui protested that she didn’t want to hear their backup plan, but she didn’t have the guts to say it out loud.

Rigan placed a black key made of crystal in front of her.

Fuck! I knew it! Sui thought dejectedly.

“This is the Dark Key that was given to our branch. If the assassins detect you, use it to teleport yourself and Laus Barn’s party to safety.”

Only a select few people had been granted Dark Keys by Oscar. In fact, of the people present, only Leonard and Rigan possessed one. It was meant to be used in case the base was compromised and everyone needed to evacuate in a hurry. So essentially, handing it over to Sui would mean temporarily abandoning their lifeline.

“Hang on, Rigan-san. Shouldn’t she use my key instead of yours?”

“No, Leonard. If she does end up needing to use it, you’ll need yours to chase after her. Please hang on to it.”

Rigan’s gentle voice belied the strength of his resolve. His eyes, which looked like an endless, calm ocean, turned back to Sui.

“Bringing Laus Barn to our leader is more important than our lives. Do you understand?”

“B-But I told you, those guys are seriously bad news!”

“Yes, you did.”

“I mean it! I can’t really explain it properly, but they’re, like, insanely dangerous! They might spot me before I even get to Laus-san and cut me down in a single stroke!”

Indeed, the reason Sui was so reluctant to go on this mission was because her intuition, which had been honed over a thousand battles, was telling her it was a bad idea.

When she’d first snuck into the Central Church and heard the archbishop arguing, she’d wanted to run away at once. She couldn’t explain exactly why, but she’d just gotten a sense that they were dangerous. Strange as it was, Sui had been utterly terrified of those ten people in white robes. Her instincts had warned her that she would die for sure if any of them so much as suspected she was there. But she’d also known this was intel the Liberators desperately needed. And so, she’d risked her life to learn as much as she could.

When she’d made it back to the Liberators’ base, she’d been drenched in sweat. She’d been so mentally drained that she’d actually needed these past few days of rest and relaxation to recover.

“I know, Sui. But you’re the only one who can hope to slip past the assassins and safely bring Laus Barn here.”

“Wh-Why do we have to go so far to—?”

“You’re right. Ideally, we would just meet up with him after he’s left Entris. If he’s capable of dealing with these assassins on his own, then we’d just be a hindrance. We’d be better off making contact once he’s eliminated them.”

“So then—”

“But as he is now, I imagine he’s in no state to fight. And we don’t know how capable the knight traveling with him is.”

Rigan solemnly closed his eyes.

“When you told us about the characteristics of two of the assassins, I had a very bad feeling I knew who they were.”

“You did?” Sui asked, confused. Leonard and Shirley looked surprised as well.

Rigan brought his hands together in front of his face, as if praying his premonition didn’t come true, before saying, “Regardless of whether or not Laus Barn can deal with the assassins, we can’t allow them to meet.”

Of course, it would be ideal if Laus could reach Miledi without any skirmishes.

But that wasn’t why Rigan didn’t want Laus to run into the assassins, that much was clear.

“Even if the assassination squad finds Laus Barn in the city, it probably won’t turn into a big fight. You think they have some way of making sure Laus goes quietly with them, don’t you, Rigan-san?”

“Yes, and if my hunch is correct...then it’s a truly cruel method.”

Rigan was one of the oldest members of the Liberators, so everyone trusted his judgment. Only Sui seemed confused by what Rigan was implying. She was the one who would be risking her life, so she didn’t get why everyone was pitying Laus. In fact, she was starting to wonder if Rigan was just saying vague bullshit to make her more inclined to go on this mission.

“Do you have any evidence to back up your conjecture?”

“No, like I said, it’s just a hunch,” he stated. And before Sui could complain or ask for an explanation, he added, “But you see, I believe in God.”

“Huh? What?”

That just confused Sui more, and Rigan smiled sadly at her. Some hatred crept into his voice, and he said grimly, “I believe his evil knows no bounds.”

He went on to explain what exactly he thought waited for Laus, which only made Sui more dejected.

She knew for a fact that Rigan was right about God’s capacity for evil, which meant his hunch about the two assassins was probably correct as well.

“Laus-sama. Laus-sama.”

Laus slowly struggled back to consciousness as he felt someone shaking his shoulders.

“Hrm, have we arrived?” he asked.

“Almost,” Reinheit replied as he grabbed their luggage from the rack. Laus could feel a tiny weight on his lap, and he looked down to see Sharm sleeping soundly.

“He ran around quite a bit to explore after we departed, which must have tired him out,” Reinheit explained.

“Our life on the run has probably exhausted him as well.”

“Yes, he probably felt safe in a moving train.”

“I’m impressed he’s held out so well.”

“He is your son after all, Laus-sama.”

“Of course,” Laus replied with a faint smile as he ran his fingers through Sharm’s tousled hair.

“Do you think the Liberators will contact us?” Reinheit asked.

“Who knows. They are, first and foremost, allies of the people. Even if they spot us, they might avoid making contact to help keep the citizens safe.”

“So you think they won’t actually meet us until we’re out of Entris?”

“That’s the most likely possibility. But we can travel through Entris by train, which means we can rest as long as we’re within the country.”

“Yes, the hard part will come once we’ve crossed the nation’s borders.”

Laus looked out the window and gazed at the changing landscape. At the midpoint between Parantino and Esperado, there had been a few empty hills and plains, but now that they were nearing the capital, they passed by dozens of towns and villages. The scale of these smaller settlements spoke to the prosperity of Esperado.

Reinheit turned to Laus and said in a resolute voice, “Laus-sama, if we do end up in a fight, please allow me to serve as the vanguard, if conditions allow.”

“They’ll have accounted for the possibility that I’m at full strength and sent men who can handle a battle of that caliber.”

“I’m aware. However...” Reinheit’s tone was heavy, forcing Laus to swallow whatever he was about to say before he continued, “I’m just an average person, but you still allowed me to serve as one of the Barn family’s esteemed guards.”

Reinheit had been unbelievably proud when he’d written a letter to his family back home telling them he’d been chosen to guard the Barn estate. The letter he’d gotten back from his mother had been stained with tears, while the letter he’d received from his father had been written in a shaky hand.

It was obvious that his parents had been overcome by emotion at the news. Both of them had written, “We’re proud of you, son.”

Everyone else in the village had written him words of encouragement as well.

For the longest time, Reinheit had believed that would be the proudest moment of his life. But in truth, he hadn’t been chosen because he was particularly skilled or anything. He’d just been lucky, and since his appointment, he hadn’t achieved anything of note.

As time passed, he began to wonder if he could really be proud of his status.

“Right now, I believe that I’m being tested. Tested on whether or not I truly have what it takes to be a knight.”

Of course, he didn’t think any specific person was testing him, just some vague, higher power.

“I failed to fulfill my duty as your guard, and you even had to weaken yourself to keep me alive. From here on out, the least I can do is do my job.”

“Reinheit...”

“Please stop protecting me, Laus-sama.”

Reinheit wanted to be the first into the fray if a battle broke out. He didn’t want Laus to waste a single drop of mana on him, even if he was on the brink of death. He wanted his master, Laus Barn, to focus solely on protecting himself and his family.

Reinheit subconsciously touched the sword sheathed at his hip. Laus looked down at it. The sheath was crude, but the sword housed within it was of exquisite craftsmanship. It was the Holy Sword that only true heroes could wield.

“You aren’t overestimating your abilities, are you?”

“Pathetic though it might be, I know better than anyone just how weak I am.”

Reinheit could still remember the feeling of the Paladin Commander’s spear piercing his chest.

Laus shook his head in amazement.

You’re much better than you give yourself credit for, Reinheit.

The man standing before Laus was the most loyal knight he knew. Far from bringing shame to his master’s name, he’d uplifted it.

“Very well. If the situation allows for it, I’ll permit you to fight first.”

“Th-Thank you very—”

“However,” Laus interrupted, and some of the joy drained from Reinheit’s face. “Don’t ever give up on living. You’ve been chosen. From among tens of thousands of knights, the Holy Sword picked you. Never forget the significance of that.”

“I... I understand,” Reinheit swallowed, surprised. He looked down at his sword, his new partner.

The Holy Sword was one of the Seven Sacred Treasures the church possessed, and it was supposedly the origin of the others. Of them it was the only one to possess a will of its own, and its wielder always appeared during critical turning points in history.

Some wielders of the Holy Sword had drastically altered the path of history, while others had died without accomplishing their lofty goals. However, not a single Hero of the Holy Sword—or at least, not a single one recorded by history—had lived a life free of strife. All of them had been at the center of their era’s conflicts, as if guided there by the Holy Sword.

What if there was some grand power at work that led me to appoint this seemingly average man as one of my guards, and then decide to bring him along to the church when I knew doing so might lead him to renounce his faith? What if the hand of fate was behind it all? No, that’s far too optimistic... Laus thought with a wan smile.

He looked up and saw that Reinheit was still deep in thought. Realizing he might have put a little too much pressure on the young man, he smiled and said in a joking voice, “Also, don’t forget that excessive humility can make you look insincere.”

“Huh?”

“No Templar Knight has ever managed to strike down a Paladin Commander, and I doubt another one will appear in the future. Can you really call yourself weak?”

“B-But I only managed that because I was willing to throw my life away with that attack. Besides, ultimately, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything without your help, so you can’t really say I won!”

“It looked to me like you stabbed him through the heart.”

“I mean, yes, but... Actually, now that I think about it, how was he able to stand back up with wounds like that?”

Are all the commanders of the Three Pillars of Radiance like that? Reinheit thought, shooting Laus a sidelong glance all the while.

“Just so you know, I’ll die if you stab me through the heart.”

“M-Makes sense.”

“Hmm, well, my spiritual body would likely survive...and if I could find a way to repair the physical damage in my ethereal form, I guess I could recover from a hole through the heart.”

“So you wouldn’t die either!”

“I suppose it’s reasonable to believe Darrion has some similar trump card.”

“I thought for sure you’d killed him at least, but...am I the only one who thinks we’ll be seeing him again?”

Reinheit thought back to how Longinus had flown away of its own accord after Darrion had died. He didn’t want to think Darrion could come back from that, but it seemed Laus shared his misgivings.

Laus had checked to make sure no soul resided in Darrion’s corpse before leaving, but the fact that he looked away instead of reassuring Reinheit told him everything he needed to know.

“Will I even be able to serve as our party’s vanguard? No, I can’t lose heart before the battle’s even begun. You can do this, Reinheit...” he muttered to himself in a quiet voice. Just then—

“Ah!” Sharm’s eyes flew open and he sat up.

Laus and Reinheit had been planning to let him sleep for as long as possible, and they looked down in surprise.

“What’s wrong, Sharm? Did you have a nightmare?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s you, father. No, I didn’t, but...” Sharm trailed off and cast his gaze around the room, looking worried.

“Sharm-sama?”

“Umm, I don’t really know how to explain it, but something made my chest feel really tight...and I have this really bad feeling.”

“A bad feeling, you say?”

“Yeah, and it’s getting stronger.”

Laus and Reinheit exchanged glances. Reinheit immediately went on alert and half rose out of his chair, scrutinizing every inch of the car they were in.

“Sharm, have you ever felt something like this before?”

“N-No, this is the first time... Oh, but...” Sharm clutched his chest as he trailed off, desperately trying to put in concrete terms what it was he’d realized about himself.

“Ever since we entered Parantino and I went out on errands, there’s this thing I’ve been feeling...or I guess understanding is a better way to put it?”

“What exactly is it?”

“Umm, like when I was shopping I could tell which stall had better foods and clothes and stuff, and when there were large crowds, I could tell which people I shouldn’t get close to and stuff.”

“Oho...”

“And one time, I was gonna go through this back alley, but I had a bad feeling about it, so I took a detour. Then later, I heard a fight break out in the alley I was gonna go through.”

“I see.”

“Laus-sama, what if Sharm-sama has...”

“Yes, I suspect he’s awoken to some form of special magic. If I had to give it a name, I guess I’d call it Ultra Instinct? If it’s happened this many times, then it’s clearly not a coincidence.”

Laus absentmindedly patted Sharm’s head as he mused his thoughts. Until now, there hadn’t been a single member of the Barn family who hadn’t possessed some kind of special magic.

“I have a special magic?”

“It’s just a guess, but considering the trials you’ve faced during our flight, it wouldn’t be surprising if your latent powers awoke.”

“So this is my special power...”

“Sharm, focus on that sensation you’re feeling. If you can make this power your own, it will be a huge boon for our journey.”

Sharm looked up at Laus in surprise.

“I-I’ll be able to help you and Reinheit?”

“You’ve already been a huge help, you know?”

“Heh heh, your father speaks the truth, Sharm-sama. But now you’ll be able to help us even more.”

“Ah... Heh heh heh... Okay, I’ll do my best.”

A shrill whistle interrupted their conversation, signaling that the train was entering the station. Looking out the window, Laus could see the high-rise buildings of the federation’s capital.

“Father, the bad feeling’s getting stronger the closer we get to the station.”

“So an ambush is waiting for us, eh?”

“They knew our destination? Did the Heretic’s Stained Goblet finally track us down?”

“It’s possible. Or it might just be a standard inspection.”

“What should we do?”

“For now, wait and see.”

Even if the church had tracked their location down, Laus doubted the enemy would strike immediately.

They’d either try to take Laus somewhere deserted to dispose of him discreetly or use the surrounding civilians as hostages to get him to come to the church. In which case, the smart move was to move somewhere preemptively and fight on advantageous ground. Laus doubted he’d be able to win outright, but he was hoping he’d at least be able to steal or destroy the Heretic’s Stained Goblet.

If that proved impossible, his only option would be to make a break for it and rush through the few thousand kilometers between them and the Pale Forest. The forest was Queen Lyutillis’s territory, and so long as the Liberators accepted him, they’d be safe there.

On the other hand, if it was just a standard inspection, Laus was confident they could talk their way past and continue via train to Valeria like they’d initially planned.

Either way, Laus needed to be sure what was waiting for them at the station before making a move.

“Just in case, I’ll cast Spirit Shroud on us again.”

“Will that actually help?”

“It’s more for peace of mind than anything.”

The train continued to decelerate...until finally, it rolled into the station. The platform was packed with passengers waiting to board, as well as the family and friends seeing them off.

Laus and the others got to their feet and moved to one of the spaces between cars where they couldn’t be seen by those outside.

Some of the passengers inside the train started to crowd around the doors. Most of them were merchants who’d ridden it dozens of times before. They wished to get to the doors early so they could avoid the general rush. Laus and the others put on their hoods and went to join them, hoping to mix in with the crowd.

Eventually, the train came to a complete stop. The attendants waiting outside slid the doors open so the passengers could disembark. They flowed outward in a steady stream, causing the platform to become even more crowded. You couldn’t even go two meters without bumping into someone.

Laus and the others followed the flow of the crowd, which was heading to the station exit. Considering the fact that this station was the central hub for the entire federation, Laus had expected it to be this busy.

The dome-shaped ceiling made of iron and glass was a sight to behold. Closer to the ground, the walls and pillars were full of carvings and murals depicting ancient myths. Even Sharm, who was still being assailed by that inexplicable dread, was amazed by the grandeur of it all.

“Laus-sama, the train heading to Valeria is that way,” Reinheit said, pointing it out after reading a sign. However, Laus held out a hand to stop him.

“Wait,” he said, his eyes narrowing.

Neither Sharm nor Reinheit could see very far through the wall of people, so they gave Laus questioning looks. But then a small gap formed in the crowd and they caught sight of two figures in white robes.

They were wearing hoods that hid their faces, but clothing of that nature was popular among travelers and they were far from the only people in such attire. Reinheit didn’t sense anything special from them, but Sharm did.

“O-Oh no. We have to stay away from them, Reinheit.”

“Sharm-sama?”

Sharm tugged on Reinheit’s arm, his face pale.

“What is with those two souls...” Laus muttered, his eyes gleaming dully thanks to the magic he was using to peer into their souls.

When he used Soul Sight, everyone looked like a hazy glowing silhouette. However, the people Laus was staring at were different. Those two looked like patchwork dolls instead of a cohesive whole. Their glow was faint and their souls were warped. It looked as though they’d been broken down and repaired over and over. Even the connection between their bodies and their souls was weak.

Laus and the others had stopped in their tracks, which was causing the pedestrians around them a lot of annoyance. They were shoved and spat at, which unfortunately caused the two robed figures to glance their way.

“Father!” Sharm shouted.

“I know.”

“Eeek!”

Laus drew his dagger and brought it right next to a girl’s armpit. If he moved the dagger a few inches forward, it’d slice a major artery, and if he pushed even harder, he’d pierce her heart.

Reinheit yelped in surprise, which was understandable. The girl’s right hand was on his back, while her left was on Laus’s shoulder. He’d been all gung-ho about being the group’s vanguard, but he hadn’t even noticed this girl sneak up on them. To make matters worse, even Sharm had been able to notice the girl before him. Though Sharm obviously had the advantage of his Ultra Instinct.

Cold sweat poured down his back and he simultaneously chastised himself while turning to deal with this new threat. But when he saw what the girl looked like, his animosity died instantly.

She was barely in her teens. Her pretty blond hair was done up in a bob and she was wearing a dainty headband. Her blouse and skirt had plenty of frills, which was the current fashion in Esperado. She didn’t look like a threat. Besides—

“Ugh, this is exactly why I can’t stand ancient magic users. All of you discover me so easily. And now even little kids can see through my stealth. My confidence is in tatters.”

She clearly wasn’t interested in fighting, as her shoulders drooped and she started fake-sobbing. Honestly, she looked kind of pathetic. But at the same time, she didn’t move to let go of either Laus or Reinheit.

“You... I recognize that soul. Are you from the republic?”

“Ugh, I can’t believe you remember me... I can’t do this anymore. My heart’s in pieces. I want to retire.”

Though neither Reinheit nor Sharm had ever met this girl before, both of them momentarily thought they saw a pair of bunny ears flopping back and forth.

“Wh-What are you doing here—?”

“Yes, yes, I know I’m one of the republic’s generals, but right now I’m on loan to the Liberators. As long as I’m touching you, your presence is hidden and you’re invisible. But I’m not sure how effective my abilities will be on the guys who are after you, so let’s get out of here! Also, please don’t let go of me, little kid. My powers only work on you if you’re touching me!”

Sui went from acting terrified to perfectly casual in an instant. She then pushed Laus and Reinheit forward, guiding them in a different direction than the one they’d been going.

Laus knew she had to be a rabbitman, but right now she looked perfectly human. However, he knew from her soul that this was the same person he’d seen on the battlefield.

Reinheit shot Laus a questioning glance, and he nodded and resheathed his dagger.

She wasn’t lying when she said no one could see us... Laus thought as he watched the people behind him bump into him and look confused, as though they’d hit an invisible wall.

They’d cause a scene standing still, so he could see why Sui wanted them to move.

“Please let us through, please let us through. I really don’t want to die. Ugh, Laus-san, why are you so weak right now? You’re supposed to be one of those insanely strong ancient magic users, aren’t you? I know you can do better than this.”

She kept grumbling as they walked. Sui was annoying in a completely different way than Miledi, and Laus was tempted to give her a piece of his mind, but he knew now wasn’t the time.

“Where are you taking us?”

“To the platform with the train heading to Obius. I’ve already bought your tickets. The next train leaves in twenty minutes.”

“That’s the city to the northeast. Do you want us to head to the dukedom?”

“Yep, yep. We’ve already made plans to escort you through it.”

“Were those two in white robes our pursuers?”

“That’s right. It’s do or die, so stay focused! I’ll fill you in on the details later!”

It really did look like Sui didn’t have the energy to hold a conversation right now. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, and though she kept her tone casual, her eyes were constantly darting about, looking for any potential threats. And so, Laus and the others held back their questions and silently followed her lead.

It wasn’t that far to the Obius-bound platform. Even accounting for the delay caused by the huge crowds, it wouldn’t take more than five minutes. However, those five minutes felt like an eternity to the group.

Sui could see out of the corner of her eye that the two white-robed figures were standing where Laus and the others had been a moment ago. They were also clearly looking around with purpose. Fortunately, it seemed her abilities combined with Laus’s Soul Shroud were enough to completely hide them from their pursuers’ eyes.

“I’m going to take a little detour.”

“We’ll follow your lead.”

Two new white-robed figures had appeared in front of the group.

Laus and Reinheit grabbed Sui’s shoulders so she could let go of them and move around easier. Meanwhile, Sharm was holding Reinheit’s hand and hanging onto Sui’s skirt.

A few seconds later, yet more white-robed figures appeared from the corridor to their right.

What’s with these people? All of them have these strange souls I’ve never seen before.

All six of the white-robed figures had souls that made Laus doubt they were actually people.

The robed figures managed to roughly track Laus’s position, so even though they couldn’t find out where exactly he was, they were never too far away. It took a whole fifteen minutes for Sui to lead them to the correct platform after numerous detours.

“All right, if you go now, you’ll be able to mix in with the pre-boarding rush.”

“I see.”

“Pardon me, Sharm-sama.”

“O-Oh, thanks, Reinheit.”

Reinheit scooped Sharm up in one arm as the group sprinted toward the platform. Since they were imperceptible, the people around them didn’t move out of their way. With how large their group was, it was difficult for them to weave their way through the crowd.

When they were halfway through, Laus’s elbow bumped into a cart an old lady was pushing and it tipped over.

“Blast,” Laus hissed. Had he been in top form, he would never have made such a basic mistake. He was clearly quite exhausted.

“Scenario three, requesting assistance!” Sui said into her lapel, while the old woman screamed as her cart seemingly toppled over for no reason.

One of the white robes had been scanning the area around the platform from the second-floor terrace, so they noticed the commotion. Their head snapped down to look.

Just then, a loud clang rang out.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! Watch out!”

Another cart careened down the terrace stairs, and the white-robed figure shifted its attention to that as a short woman wearing a poncho hurriedly chased after it.

The figure watched as a man at the bottom of the stairs stopped it before it fell and handed it back to the flustered woman, then turned away, seemingly losing interest. The old lady he’d been watching earlier had already picked up her cart and was walking away, though she still looked a little confused.

Thankfully, because the figure had turned back, it didn’t notice the poncho-clad woman shoot it a concerned glance before walking off.

“Friends of yours?” Laus asked.

“Yep,” Sui’s voice replied from behind him.

“By the way, I’ve gotten you all first-class tickets.”

“You guys really thought of everything,” Laus said, impressed.

“H-Ha ha... I might have underestimated the Liberators a little,” Reinheit muttered.

“Y-Yeah, I can’t believe they’re really here in such a big city,” Sharm said.

With Sui’s help, the three of them managed to board the train. The first thing they saw upon entering was the luxurious red carpet on the floor of the corridor, along with a series of doors to one side of it. First-class seats were effectively private rooms, so the cars that held them were segregated from the commoner cars.

A rich couple wearing expensive clothing and jewelry that flaunted their wealth walked past Laus and the others. They pressed up against the walls so that the couple wouldn’t bump into them, and after they’d passed, Sui opened up the door at the center of the corridor. Inside was a pair of comfortable benches that could seat six people.

Right after they got into the room, the conductor blew the whistle and the train creaked into motion. The moment it began to move, Sui let out a relieved sigh.

“Phew. Talk about a close call. They better let me use the suite for a year after this.”

She then shamelessly dived headfirst into the cushy seats and started waving her legs in the air. That caused her skirt to raise, revealing her slender legs and risque underwear.

“Ah!” Sharm and Reinheit exclaimed, looking away awkwardly. The two of them were true gentlemen. Laus, on the other hand, remained wholly unperturbed.

“Please explain what’s going on,” he said calmly, moving Sui’s legs off the bench and sitting down next to her. Sharm and Reinheit looked at Laus with newfound respect and sat down across from him.

“Why did you make contact with us?” Laus asked.

Sui slipped off her headband and replied, “If you’d kept going with your original plan, you would’ve been caught for sure.”

“By the Heretic’s Stained Goblet?”

“Maybe? All I know is no matter how hard you try to hide, Laus-san, they have some artifact that can find you as long as they’re within a few dozen meters of you.”

As her headband came off, Sui’s hair turned dark blue and her drooping bunny ears flickered into existence. This was Sharm’s first time seeing a rabbitman, so he stared at her ears intently.

“Laus-sama, does the church truly possess such an artifact?”

“No, at least not one I’ve heard of... But I suppose they may have found some way to amplify the Heretic’s Stained Goblet’s power.”

“Well, now that we’ve left the station, we’re safe,” Sui said cheerfully as she took off her shoes.

As she lifted her legs to remove her shoes, Sharm and Reinheit once again caught a glimpse of her extremely risque underwear, and they hurriedly turned to each other to protect her modesty.

“But the citizens’ safety should have been your first priority. Is there any other reason you felt it necessary to meet me?”

“Hmm, well...” Sui trailed off awkwardly.

She kept her tone light though, making it hard for Laus to gauge anything from her words. As she began taking off her knee socks, she finally said, “If I had to say, it’s because our branch chief ordered us to do it. There’s something he found worrying enough that he thought it was worth the risk of contacting you.”

“I see...”

So the squad sent to assassinate me is that dangerous... Laus mused, stroking his chin.

Once she was done with her socks, Sui untied the ribbon on her blouse and began unbuttoning it.

“W-W-W-W-Wait a second! What are you doing?!” Reinheit shouted, grabbing her wrists to stop her from disrobing any further.

“Hyaaaaaahn!”

She’d already undressed enough that one shoulder was bare and her cleavage clearly visible. Naturally, her thighs were also in full view.

Incidentally, it wasn’t Sui who had screamed when he grabbed her, but Sharm. Blushing, the young boy covered his face and retreated into a corner of the room. He had almost no experience with women, so this was a little too stimulating for him. However, his curiosity was stronger than his embarrassment, so he occasionally peeked through his fingers at Sui.

“Why are you stripping?” Laus asked bluntly. Depending on her answer, he was prepared to hit her with a soul shock wave. He could forgive a lot of things, but he wouldn’t stand idly by if his son’s chastity was in danger.

“I’m changing into my combat uniform in case something happens. Isn’t that obvious?”

Surprisingly, Sui had a proper response lined up. Indeed, it was important to be prepared for battle in case of an emergency. Plus, she would stand out dressed like a trendy Esperado teenager in the Uldian Dukedom.

“Well, you don’t have to strip in front of us!” Reinheit shouted, blushing. He had a point.

“You can’t look so...immodest in front of a man! Aren’t you embarrassed?!”

“Huh? You’re just seeing me in my underwear. It’s no big deal... Actually, wait. Hmmm. Oho?”

“Wh-What is it?” Reinheit asked cautiously as Sui started grinning.

“Oh, it’s just, I thought people from the church didn’t consider rabbitmen people, so I figured you wouldn’t be interested in me as a woman.”

“W-Well, there definitely are a lot of people in the capital who probably think that way, but...”

“But not you. You’re lusting after this hot bod,” Sui teased.

“L-Lusting?! Absolutely not! I’m just saying you should be more modest!”

“How cruel... I guess you just think of me as a lowly beast like everyone else...”

“Not at all! I think you’re a very cute girl and—”

“Well, if you think I’m a cute girl, then you better man up and take responsibility for seeing me in my underwear!”

“R-Responsibility?!”

This was the first time anyone had ever said anything of the sort to Reinheit. He’d normally been so focused on work that he’d never had any time for romance, so Sui’s joking remarks hit him hard. He staggered backward, and the train changed directions slightly, causing a ray of sunlight to shine into the car.

Outside, the picturesque streets were bathed in a dazzling sunset. But within, the sunlight simply illuminated a half-naked bunny girl facing off against a trembling young man who was too pure for this world.

Meanwhile, Sharm’s gaze was transfixed on Sui’s seductive thighs. Laus, on the other hand, simply looked out the window, seemingly giving up on everything.

Just then, a newcomer entered the chaotic scene.

“Don’t mind me... Oh, sorry about our resident pervert.”

Leonard walked into the room, shooting Laus a sympathetic glance after he saw Sui half-naked.

“And you are?”

“Oh yes, where are my manners? I’m Leonard Avan, a member of the Liberators’ main forces who has been tasked with rescuing you.”

“I see. Thank you for your assistance. I imagine you already know, but I’m Laus Barn. Do you think you could do something about your companion?”

“I’m sorry...”

Laus looked truly exhausted from dealing with Sui, and Leonard smacked her on the head after apologizing to him.

After she’d finished changing, Sui returned to lazing about and Laus and Leonard both ignored her completely as they began exchanging information.

Leonard started by explaining the escape plan they’d drafted for Laus, as well as which members of the Liberators were on board with them. He then went on to explain Miledi’s condition, and that he’d sent her a messenger bird five days ago when he’d learned about the existence of the assassination squad. If they were lucky, Naiz and the others would be arriving today or tomorrow.

Once Leonard was done, Laus explained what had happened in the capital and his current condition. When he told them that there was one perfectly healthy apostle still at the capital and that there might be multiple of them, Leonard and Sui nearly fainted.

It took a while for them to pull themselves together, and by the time Laus had finished explaining why Sharm was the only family member he’d brought with him, over an hour had passed.

“I see. So we’ve still gotta save your wife and kids, then,” Leonard said, which made Laus crack a smile.

While his other two sons were just twelve and ten—and thus too young to be set in their ways—Ricolis and Debra were loyal citizens of the theocracy. It was hard to imagine they could ever lead a life outside the influence of the church, or that they would want to even if they could.

Leonard must have realized that as well, but his first concern still appeared to be their safety. He made it clear that Ricolis and Debra’s plight wasn’t just Laus’s problem, but an issue the Liberators had to deal with.

It was important to consider how the citizens of the theocracy would live once Ehit’s evil had been revealed to the world and the church destroyed. Would they be able to move on? For the people of the theocracy, the truth might bring them nothing but pain. It was entirely possible they were happy living out their lives as the gods’ playthings.

If that’s truly the case, then I’ll be destroying Ricolis’s happiness... But while that thought did cross Laus’s mind, he just shook his head.

Sitting in front of him was a man whose determination could be seen clear as day just by looking into his eyes. Everyone here knew that they had to change the world, even if it meant upturning some people’s joyous lives. They were more than ready to shoulder that burden.

Leonard and Laus smiled resolutely at each other. But then a second later, Leonard frowned as he remembered something.

“Oh, but...”

“Hm?” Laus asked.

Leonard opened his mouth to speak, but then he sensed Sui staring at him and promptly shut up. He turned to look at her, and the two exchanged silent glances. At the end of it, Leonard seemed to change his mind, and he pulled a cigar out of his pocket. Out of consideration for Sharm, though, he didn’t light it and simply chewed on it instead.

Curious, Laus attempted to press Leonard on the matter, but before he could, the Liberator changed the topic.

“Anyway, what you need now is rest. Once we make it to headquarters, you’ll be able to take as long as you need to recuperate.”

“Thank you. That’s much appreciated.”

Laus was curious what Leonard was hiding from him, but he agreed that rest was his top priority at present.

“By the way, can we truly trust that lad you brought with you?” Leonard asked as he motioned toward Reinheit.

“Do you suspect he’s a spy?”

“It just sounds too good to be true that a Templar Knight who isn’t even related to you wants to fight against the world out of loyalty and the goodness of his heart.”

Leonard had heard that Reinheit had risked his life to protect Sharm. However, he still found it hard to believe that a mere Templar Knight could have stood up to the Paladin Commander.

As Leonard had only heard the basic gist of what had happened, it seemed plausible to him that Reinheit and Darrion were in cahoots.

“Hold on! Reinheit’s trustworthy! He—” Sharm rushed to Reinheit’s defense, but Laus held out a hand to stop him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to get off-topic, so I’d planned to bring this up later, but...” Laus explained.

“Oh? Do tell.”

“During the battle, Reinheit was chosen by the Holy Sword.”

“Come again?”

“He’s this era’s hero.”

“...”

Leonard’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He’d been expecting a practical explanation, but heroes were the stuff of fairy tales.

Leonard turned to look at the sword on Reinheit’s lap, his neck creaking like a badly oiled door. As if to offer proof, the Holy Sword began to glow faintly.

Slowly, Leonard looked up at Reinheit.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” Reinheit said awkwardly.

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!” Leonard shouted after a brief pause.

Annoyed, Sui swiftly clapped her hands over her ears.

Leonard had to admit that if Laus had explained that earlier when he’d been telling the story of how he escaped the capital, they would have gotten off-topic for sure.

“Heh heh, do you get it now, Leonard-san? Reinheit’s the greatest knight ever! If he isn’t trustworthy, then no one is!”

“Sh-Sharm-sama, you’re overselling me,” Reinheit said, embarrassed, as Sharm puffed his chest out proudly. He still didn’t understand why the Holy Sword had chosen him, so he didn’t feel like he truly deserved any praise. However, his humble attitude endeared him to Leonard.

“Ha ha ha... We came here to pick up the final ancient magic user, but who knew we’d be getting such a huge bonus along with him? Really makes you wonder.”

“What do you mean?” Laus asked, cocking his head to one side.

Leonard folded his arms and sucked in a deep breath before saying, “Wonder if maybe this is fate. It feels like destiny’s finally on the Liberators’ side.”

“It does indeed,” Laus replied with a conspiratorial smile.

Leonard held out his hand to Reinheit and said, “Anyway, welcome aboard, Hero.”

“Just call me Reinheit, Leonard-dono.”

“Hah, in that case, you better drop the honorifics too.”

“Oh, but you can address me as Sui-sama,” Sui interjected.

“You shut up,” Leonard said dismissively.

The group relaxed a little, then began talking about less serious matters. Meanwhile, the train barreled onward...and eventually, the burning sun began to dip below the mountains.

Once night fell, lamps hissed to life within the train car, bringing light to the dim room. That caused a natural break in the conversation and Leonard said, “Well, all that’s left now is to head to Obius and wait for Naiz and the others. If you’d like, how about—?”

“If you’d like, how about we get some dinner?” was what Leonard was about to say, but before he could, Sharm suddenly exclaimed, “Ah! Father, something’s coming!”

Something had clearly tripped the young boy’s danger sense.

Upon hearing the panic in his voice, Reinheit was the first to act. He spotted a shooting star hurtling toward their train, so he drew his sword and shouted, “Hallowed Ground!”

Laus grabbed Sharm and held him close, while Sui and Leonard piled on top of Laus to protect him.

There was a blinding flash of light, a deafening boom, and a bone-shattering impact. Then, everyone fell unconscious as the world spun around them.

“Ngh, what was that?” Laus groaned as he got to his feet, his ears still ringing. Luckily, he’d only blacked out for a few seconds.

Sharm was resting in his arms, unconscious but unhurt. He let out a sigh of relief, then began appraising the situation.

“Unbelievable... They actually attacked the train.”

The broken window was directly above him, the seats were now the walls, and the door became the floor... In other words, the train car had been tipped over.

“Laus-sama, Sharm-sama, are you all right?!”

“Ngh, what noooooooooooow?”

“Motherfuckers... They hit us as soon as we cleared the city.”

Reinheit and the others appeared unhurt as well.

Leonard took a small jewel—a communication artifact—out of his pocket. He then talked into it, making sure all the other Liberators that had been riding the train were safe.

“Tch, aside from the engine car, this is the only one they hit? I get it now, they must have waited until the lights turned on to make it easier to aim.”

“Wait, doesn’t that mean they figured out we boarded the train to Obius?”

“Reinheit, don’t dispel your Hallowed Ground!”

“Understood!”

A second later, another impact hit the train car. The floor, which was now the wall, was made of exceptionally sturdy metal, but a beam of light shot through it like it was paper. The first attack had been a wide-area barrage, and now that they were pinned down, the sniping attacks were coming.

Even though the shot’s power was reduced as it drilled through the train, it was still strong enough to crack Reinheit’s Hallowed Ground. By all rights, Reinheit shouldn’t have been able to cast the strongest defensive spell in existence. It was only possible because he was borrowing the Holy Sword’s power, and he still wasn’t used to controlling it. He put his faith in the sword and poured all of his mana into it, but after another two shots, Reinheit began to groan from the exertion.

“Judging by the range and the power of the shots... Leonard, tell our allies we might be up against the Divine Bow!”

“Seriously? Fuck! You’re telling me the commander of the Paragons of Light was one of those white-robed figures? You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

“What should we do, Leo-san? If they’ve stopped the train, they might be willing to hurt civilians.”

“If they have a way of altering their memories, they probably don’t care what happens to them. Worst case, they might just slaughter everyone here.”

If the assassins had been able to snipe Laus without showing themselves, they could easily have pinned the attack on terrorists...or the Liberators, even. However, Sharm’s Ultra Instinct and Reinheit’s fast reflexes had protected Laus from the enemy’s surprise attack.

If they could keep their defenses up, the assassins would get tired of waiting them out and bring the fight to them.

“Ugh... Father, they’re coming,” Sharm said, stirring.

Sui carefully poked her head out of the window, which was now the ceiling, and said, “Five wyverns incoming. The attacks are coming from one of them!”

“Damn they’re fast! They probably tipped the car over to delay our response!”

The wall of the train car had so many holes in it now that it looked like Swiss cheese. The enemy was clearly focusing their attacks on just this car. There likely weren’t any passengers curious enough to poke their heads out of the windows, so the church was confident there would be zero witnesses.

Leonard spent only a moment thinking. Fortunately, they were still within the Dark Gate’s range.

“We’ve got no other choice. Sui, make the jump!”

“What about you guys?”

“We can’t just abandon the passengers.”

“But do you even stand a chance against those guys?”

“We don’t have to beat them. If we can just buy some time, I’ll be able to use my Dark Key to warp everyone to safety. The one good thing about all of this is that none of the passengers have seen the attackers!”

Since the assassins had a way to locate Laus just by being within a few dozen meters of him, they’d likely just flown over all the carriages instead of physically checking each one. And in that case, if Laus vanished, they’d probably focus their efforts on searching for him instead of massacring civilians who didn’t even know what was going on.

“Got it. Is Plan Two good?”

“Fine by me! I’m counting on you, Sui!”

Sui fished the Dark Key out of her pocket.

“Then I’m getting us out of here!”

“But... No, you’re right. I’m sorry about this, Leonard.”

“Hah, instead of apologizing, how about thanking me? Oh, but save it for when we meet up later.”

Laus felt bad about getting innocents involved in his mess, and he felt even worse about just abandoning them like this. However, he also realized staying here would only put them in more danger. Thus, he told himself this was the right thing to do as he scooped Sharm up in one arm.

Sui twisted the key, making the space in front of them shimmer and warp, turning it into a curtain.

“All right, I’ll see you later!” Leonard shouted, giving the group a thumbs-up before running out into the corridor.

“Laus-sama, you go first!”

Reinheit offered to serve as the rear guard, since he was the one maintaining their barrier.

Laus nodded, but before he stepped through the gate, he decided to at least check on the souls of everyone he’d seen at the station who wasn’t part of the assassination squad.

“Wha—? That can’t be!”

His expression stiffened as he saw something that shouldn’t have been possible. And a moment later, a familiar voice reverberated in his head, saying, “You wavered, didn’t you?”

Confused, he turned to look outside and make sure he wasn’t just hearing things. But before he could—

“Ugh, come on, quit dawdling!” an annoyed Sui yelled as she tackled him. He lost his balance and fell into the portal alongside her.

Reinheit followed immediately afterward, taking his Hallowed Ground with him.

A second later, an exceptionally powerful shot slammed into their train car, blasting it to pieces.

“Haaah... Haaah... Where are we?” Reinheit asked, panting. He was exhausted from having to keep Hallowed Ground active for so long.

“We’re about a hundred kilometers out from Esperado,” Sui replied.

The group was in the mountains, near a stream that wound its way through numerous boulders of varying sizes, while a dense copse of trees surrounded them.

Naiz had set up two Dark Gates leading out of Esperado in case the branch members there needed to evacuate. One was to just get them out of the city, while the other was much further out to bring them somewhere safe. Sui had taken the group to the second of those gates.

“So we’re halfway to Obius, then?”

“Yep. Incidentally, our friends were supposed to set up another one of these in Obius, and if they have, we’ll be able to teleport to it once we’re in range. Meaning we really only have about fifty kilometers to go.”

The distance from Esperado to Obius was about two hundred kilometers. Originally, the plan had been to spirit Laus away from the theocracy to the dukedom, so there had been several Dark Gates placed on that route as well. However, five days ago it had become clear they wouldn’t be needed.

Rigan had sent out messenger birds telling everyone what the new plan had become, but there was a limit to how fast the Dark Gates could be moved.

“If the gates had already been relocated, we wouldn’t even have needed to take the train.”

“No point in pining after what we don’t have. More importantly, our pursuers must know we’re heading for Obius. That’s our biggest problem right now,” Reinheit said as he sheathed his sword.

“They’ll be after us before long. Or, since they have wyverns, they’ll just head us off and wait to ambush us at Obius.”

“But if we manage to reach Obius before they do, there’s another Dark Gate in the dukedom, so we’ll be able to teleport there and gain some more distance.”

The setting sun was just barely visible through the foliage. It wouldn’t be long before it was night.

Reinheit turned to Laus, who was hidden in shadow, and said, “I’m worried about Leonard-san and the others. Should we wait here?”

However, he heard no response. Laus was still holding Sharm tight, and it looked like he was deep in thought. In fact, it looked like he hadn’t even heard Reinheit’s question.

“Umm...Laus-sama?” Reinheit asked hesitantly.

From the looks of it, Sharm seemed confused by Laus’s sudden silence as well. The young boy turned to Reinheit, seemingly at a loss for what to do. It appeared Laus and Sharm had held a short conversation while Sui and Reinheit had been talking.

“Laus-saaaaaan? You listening? Is this some special technique where you sleep while standing?”

None of Sui’s words registered with Laus, but he did turn to look up at her.

“Sui.”

“Oh, good, you finally said something. I—”

“What are you hiding?”

“Hwuh?” Sui asked, dumbfounded.

Laus shot her a sharp glare, and the slight glow of his eyes made it clear he was looking at her soul to judge whether or not her confusion was an act.

“You and Leonard seemed awfully reluctant to broach a certain subject when we were talking earlier. Is there something you aren’t telling me about the assassins?”

“Err, umm, well...”

“Lies won’t work on me.”

Sui scratched her cheek awkwardly.

“I’m not trying to lie to you. It’s just, there’s something we think might be going on...and considering the state you’re in, we figured it was best not to tell you.”

“You think? So you’re not sure?”

Reinheit and Sharm couldn’t make heads or tails of Laus and Sui’s conversation. But they could tell a glimmer of hope appeared in Laus’s eyes when he asked whether or not Sui was sure, as if he was praying her prediction was false.

“Yeah. All I know is that...” Sui trailed off for a second as she glanced over to Sharm. “...two members of the assassin squad are pretty short.”

“I see...” Laus muttered.

Sui hadn’t really gotten the chance to look under the assassins’ hoods when she’d snuck into the church, which was part of the reason why she hadn’t known ahead of time that one of them was using the Divine Bow. And frankly, Laus couldn’t really fault her for that.

“Is the reason you’re asking because you confirmed it for yourself?”

Laus looked down at Sharm, then sighed. After that, he let the boy down and shook his head.

“No, I wasn’t able to.”

“I see...” Sui mumbled as she stared coldly at Laus. She was sizing up his mental state, as well as how helpful he’d be in a fight, as objectively as she could without letting her emotions sway her.

“I understand now... You guys were trying to be considerate. I’m sorry for interrogating you.”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind. But...”

Realistically speaking, the thing Laus and Sui were worried about should have been impossible, especially considering the strong glow of the soul he’d fought and the strength of that sniper.

Laus wanted to tell Sui not to underestimate him, that he wouldn’t be rendered powerless so easily, but he understood her concerns. After all, he was badly shaken right now...and Sui could tell. He even let his breath out in a long hiss.

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

“I sure hope so...” Sui replied, still unsure.

Laus knew what his duty was. He had to survive no matter what happened. If he didn’t find a place to rest and heal, he wouldn’t be able to fulfill a single one of his goals. Thus, this was no time to be trapped by his own doubt. If he began second-guessing his choices, he’d just be dancing on Ehit’s palm. It was his cruelty that was causing these doubts in the first place.

“Umm, father? What exactly are you two talking about?”

“Laus-sama, are you okay?”

Sharm and Reinheit shot Laus worried looks, but he simply smiled at them.

“I’m fine, sorry.”

Neither of them seemed too convinced by his response, but he changed the topic before they could say more. Sharm’s concern had seemingly helped Laus bury his fears.

“I think we should push forward, but what do you say, Sui?”

“Definitely. That way even if our pursuers catch up to us, we’ll be able to teleport back here to throw them off. If we have to, we can even teleport all the way back to Esperado.”

“Hmm. What about Leonard and the others?”

“They’ll probably try to slip away unnoticed, but there are monsters in that region, so...”

“They can’t afford to abandon the passengers?”

“Yep, that’s just how they are.”

“Judging by your conversation earlier, you have some kind of plan in place to meet back up with them?”

“Obviously.”

“Then it’s decided.”

The party started trekking toward Obius. The trees hid them well, and they decided to keep going northeast until it was too dark to see. They were able to walk for an hour before the curtain of night fell and stars started twinkling in the sky. Visibility was limited, but the sound of the flowing river helped guide them.

“Oh yeah, we didn’t get a chance to eat on the train,” Sui said as her stomach rumbled. It would have been a cute noise, but the way she patted her stomach and smacked her lips ruined the effect.

A second later, Sharm’s stomach rumbled as well. Blushing, he tried to make it stop by clenching his abdomen. He was far more embarrassed about it than Sui, clearly.

“We had to leave our luggage behind, unfortunately,” Reinheit said with a frown.

“No worries, I’ve got it covered,” Sui replied before holding her right hand out with a flourish. A plain ring rested on her thumb.

“That’s Oscar Orcus’s signature artifact, I take it?”

“He calls them Treasure Troves.”

The one Oscar had made for Sui had been crafted on short notice, so it was limited in capacity. It could fit about two to three suitcases worth of stuff at most. But for a master assassin like Sui, even that was a godsend. And naturally, she’d packed some rations in there as well.

“So, how much will you pay for these?” Sui asked with a wicked grin. Even in these dire straits, she was trying to make a quick buck.

Reinheit gave her a look of utter disappointment. This was the first time in his life that the kindhearted man had been this disillusioned with someone, but Sui was just that bad. Laus was giving her a similar look, and with a sigh, he nodded. Realizing he had no other choice, Reinheit pulled out his nearly empty wallet. However, it seemed they wouldn’t even have time to eat in peace.

“Something’s coming!” Sharm shouted, his instincts saving the party yet again.

A twinkling star of pure malice hurtled toward the group.

“Reinheit!”

“I know! Hallowed Ground!”

Reinheit immediately borrowed the Holy Sword’s power to erect a barrier...and a second later, something slammed into it.

“Ugh, how did they know we were heeeeeere?” Sui whined as she whipped out her Dark Key.

Unfortunately, she didn’t get a chance to activate it.

“Longinus Mk II activate—Divine Wrath-Focus Fire.”

Another flash of light sped toward them from above. Acting on instinct, Sui dived forward without even taking the time to look up. Her prompt reaction had saved her life. A second after she leaped out of the way, a pillar of light about as thick as a person rained down on the spot she’d been standing. The attack had pierced through Reinheit’s Hallowed Ground with worrying ease.

“Longinus?! So Darrion wasn’t dead after all?!” Laus shouted, looking up.

But before he could see who’d attacked them, the pillar of light vanished and a young voice shouted, “Longinus Mk II activate—Celestial Flash!”

A curved arc of light flew toward the group. This Celestial Flash was much larger and stronger than one fired by an average Templar Knight.

“Father!”

“Sharm!”

Sharm’s panicked voice made it clear to Laus that Reinheit’s Hallowed Ground wouldn’t be able to withstand the attack. And so, he picked Sharm up and forced body strengthening magic through his bruised and battered limbs. He needed to get away as fast as possible.

The sound of shattering glass heralded the end of Reinheit’s Hallowed Ground, and pieces of broken barrier flew through the air. The Celestial Flash had hit the ground so hard it gouged furrows into the earth. Reinheit was blown to the opposite shore, Sui was sent upstream, and Laus and Sharm were blasted to the middle of the knee-deep river.

The three of them had barely managed to stay on their feet and looked up at their assailants.

The attackers’ boots crunched on the ground as they landed from the sky. There were six of them, and they split off to pincer Sui, Laus, and Reinheit in pairs.

Their white robes were gone now, and none of them were knights Laus recognized. He saw no sign of Mulm, the wielder of the Divine Bow, or Darrion, the wielder of Longinus.

Laus had thought he’d recognize the people sent to kill him, since they’d have to be the strongest members of the church. But all of these knights were complete nobodies, and yet all of them were wearing armor that looked like perfect replicas of one of the Seven Sacred Treasures, the Consecrated Plate. And that wasn’t the half of it either. Laus recognized all of their weapons as well.

“Th-That’s impossible...” Reinheit muttered.

It was hardly surprising, considering the man and woman flanking him both carried swords that looked identical to his own Holy Sword.

The ones pincering Sui wielded Longinus and the Divine Bow, while of the two surrounding Laus, one had Longinus and the Sanctified Shield, while the other had Laus’s warhammer, which should have been broken.

Together, they possessed all of the church’s strongest relics. Not only that, but some were wielding duplicates. However, the sight was more confusing than awe-inspiring. Also, that wasn’t what Laus was focused on...because two more souls dropped down from the wyverns circling above. He’d spotted those two when they’d attacked the train as well, but then he’d convinced himself he’d mistaken their glow.

The two of them landed on a nearby boulder. They were both short in stature, though one of them was slightly taller than the other. However, even the taller of them only came up to the chests of any of the other assassins.

They both looked down at Laus and said in cold voices, “Laus Barn, you are a disgrace to the family name, but now we’ve finally caught you. Prepare yourself. You’ll pay for shaming us with your death.”

They pushed back their hoods, revealing themselves to Laus.

“Wha—?! It can’t be...” Sharm whispered, shocked. But Laus was shaken as well, so he wasn’t able to offer any words of comfort to his son.

He looked up at the sky, where the four wyverns who’d transported these assassins were circling. Above them, the crescent moon glimmered, its hateful light illuminating everything. In that moment, it looked like God’s wicked smile to Laus.

“Shit, the branch commander’s hunch was right,” Sui said.

“Is the church truly so depraved?” Reinheit whispered with a grimace. Their voices seemed unbelievably far away to Laus, and he looked down at the reality he could no longer deny. This was far crueler than anything he’d suffered.

“Kaime, Selm...”

Laus’s own sons had come to kill him. He checked their souls, and they were indeed the two children he’d raised. Though they glowed with far more might than he remembered, there was another, more obvious change they’d undergone as well.

“What happened to your hair?”

Unlike Sharm, Kaime and Selm had been blond like their mother. While Kaime’s parted hairstyle and Selm’s mushroom cut were the same as what Laus had remembered, the color of their hair was totally different.

“You two have gotten so much taller too.”

They still looked like children, of course, but they were both a good ten centimeters taller than when Laus had sent them off to the church.

His voice was trembling, both out of worry for them and because he still held a vain hope that they were doppelgangers instead of his real sons. Either way, the things he was saying were at odds with the gravity of the situation. He sounded like a father who was returning from a business trip and had found his sons had grown while he was gone.

“Do you not repent your actions at all, heretic?”

“To think those would be the first words out of your mouth. You’re truly beyond salvation.”

Kaime and Selm were incensed. They looked far angrier than Laus had ever seen them. Their faces warped with hatred and humiliation.

“Kaime-nii-san! Selm-nii-san! What did that apostle do to you?!” Sharm shouted. His brothers’ eyes held such intensity that it felt like you’d go insane just from staring too long into them, but it was precisely because they were so warped that Sharm called out to them.

While they’d been mad at Laus, when they turned to Sharm, Kaime and Selm’s gazes held nothing but contempt. At the same time, though, they seemed ecstatic about something.

“You’re forgetting the proper honorifics, you failure. It’s because you’re like this that you’ll never receive the special ‘blessing’ like we did.”

“Our patron was kind enough to provide us a chance to clear the Barn family’s name, even.”

Kaime and Selm then began shaping their mana. Two massive pillars of energy soon shot up toward the heavens. The quantity of their mana was unnatural, but so was their color. Everyone in the Barn family historically had some shade of black as their mana color, but Kaime and Selm’s mana was now a shimmering white. Moreover, the two of them sprouted wings made of the same color as their mana. They looked frighteningly similar to an apostle.

“Those monsters...”

Laus was enraged. His two precious sons had been tinkered with like lab rats. However, Kaime and Selm mistook Laus’s anger for terror. Grinning wickedly, they looked down at their father and younger brother.

“Do you understand now? We’ve been granted the right to eventually become apostles.”

“So long as we exterminate you and recover the Holy Sword, we will be able to ascend. The Barn family’s prestige will be safe, the Holy Templar Knights’ reputation won’t be tarnished, and to top it all off, we’ll be apostles.”

Laus had been sentenced to death by the church. No matter how hard they tried to hide it, eventually the world would notice the Holy Templar Knights’ commander was absent. It appeared this was the church’s solution to that problem. The old commander’s two sons, who had ascended to apostles, would be the new face of the Holy Templar Knights. They’d make up some story of how Laus had died a martyr while fighting in Ehit’s name. It would make for a sensational story that the masses would eat up...and they would surely sympathize with the two orphans who’d taken up their father’s mantle.

They’ve gotten the script all written out...

Reinheit was trying to shuffle closer to Laus, but the two knights pincering him kept stymieing him. Sui was on one knee, looking for an opening to do anything the whole time. The knights surrounding both of them were eerily quiet. Their faces were expressionless as well. You couldn’t even see a fanatical believer’s fervor in their eyes. But they were strong, that much was clear. They showed no openings, and they kept Laus and the others in check with mechanical precision.

Can I overpower them?

Laus would have to somehow defeat the knights, then render Kaime and Selm powerless without harming them.

Would it even be possible to transport them if I could?

Even if his sons had turned their backs on him, forgotten their love for Sharm, and had devoted their lives to the service of Ehit, Laus couldn’t help but try to think of a way to save them. He pushed his anger and his sorrow to the side, instead choosing to focus solely on the problem at hand. Reinheit and Sui looked ready to fight to the bitter end as well, which made Kaime snort derisively.

“Cease your futile struggling. His Eminence the Pope has granted us a boon which is sure to destroy you.”

Kaime brandished his sword, which was a perfect copy of Reinheit’s Holy Sword. It, just like the other sacred relic replicas in the other knights’ hands, seemed to emanate an ominous aura. Laus suspected those weapons were the boon Kaime was referring to.

“Despair, for no one escapes Lord Ehit’s judgment!” Selm exclaimed as he hefted his staff, which looked like a perfect copy of the Divine Rod.

Even though they were up against the man who’d once been known as the church’s strongest knight, the assassins seemed sure of their victory. As one, they prepared to strike. But just before they began their charge—

“I’ll tell you everything I know about the Liberators!” Sui shouted, kneeling in the water. She’d picked the perfect moment and completely ruined the tense atmosphere that had been building. She looked up at the knights with pleading eyes, looking more pathetic than ever. The weak grin she was giving them wasn’t doing her image any favors either.

Kaime gave her a disgusted look.

“Shut your mouth, you disgusting half—”

“There are tons of Liberators who’ve infiltrated the area near the capital! They’re all high-ranking members with special magic! I know where all of their bases are, so I can tell you everything!” Sui added before Kaime could shut her down. He stared at her, flabbergasted.

“What?! Sui-san, how could you do—?”

“Shaddup! I don’t wanna die! There’s no way an exhausted old fart and a newbie hero can beat these guys!”

Reinheit was speechless. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Stiff-faced, Selm said, “That’s not nearly enough intel to exchange for your life.”

“Hey, Selm, don’t tell me you’re seriously planning on negotiating with a half-breed? Don’t let her fool you.”

“But, brother, this mongrel is the Haltina general we heard about in our reports, isn’t she? Our orders were to kill the three members of Laus Barn’s party, not some worthless half-breed. It wouldn’t be against orders to bring her back for questioning.”

“That’s besides the point! You can’t trust anything these godless beasts say!”

“I don’t. But if we keep her alive, we have ways of dragging the truth out.”

“But...”

“We need as many advantages as we can get right now. Mother’s, grandmother’s, and the Barn family’s fates are resting on our shoulders.”

“It’s true that we need to win His Eminence’s trust as soon as possible to free mother from house arrest, but...”

The other knights remained on standby as Kaime and Selm discussed their options. Laus said nothing either, as he wanted to know more about Ricolis and Debra’s current conditions. However, right now Sui had most of his attention. He couldn’t believe that she’d betrayed them. Laus, Reinheit, and Sharm all looked at her, but her head was bowed low so they couldn’t see her expression.

Reinheit, however, could see the corner of her lips...and he could tell that she was grinning. It was almost as if Kaime and Selm arguing was exactly what she’d wanted, as if she’d only said what she had to buy time. Shuddering, he averted his gaze. Sui’s acting ability was terrifying.

Reinheit’s reaction caused Sharm’s Ultra Instinct to activate, and he surreptitiously squeezed Laus’s collar to let him know what he’d learned. Laus looked down at his son, and then nodded when he saw the look in Sharm’s eyes. He then stealthily began preparing to fight. He bound Sharm to his chest with chains of light, freeing his one arm.

By the time he was done, Kaime and Selm had finished their discussion and turned to Sui.

“Precisely, brother. We might be able to learn more about Miledi Reisen and the republic’s schemes...”

“Hmph, very well. Hey, mongrel. We’re taking you back with us. You better tell us everything you know or you’re a dead half-breed.”

“Aww, can’t you just let me go here?”

“Either you come quietly or we chop your ears, arms, and legs off and take you with us.”

“Awawawa! Fiiiiiine. Ugh, I should’ve known information on who’s infiltrated the capital wouldn’t be enough. Figures.”

Sui looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her act was so perfect none of the knights seemed to realize this was her way of fighting.

“Obviously. Basic information like that is—”

“Yeah, you guys must already know it all!”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on, don’t play dumb. If you can track Laus-san when he’s capable of hiding from the Heretic’s Stained Goblet, there’s no way you haven’t also found all of our bases in the capital!”

Considering the time and distance involved, the only way Kaime and Selm would have been able to catch up to Laus and the others this fast was if they’d made a beeline straight here...which meant Laus was being tracked, even if he was able to deceive the goblet. So many earth-shattering revelations had happened in such a short time that Laus hadn’t realized that. He looked up in shock, then berated himself for missing such an important detail.

Meanwhile, Sui’s silver tongue was moving nonstop.

“If you’ve got artifacts that are that good at smoking people out, there’s no way you’d miss heretics hiding in your own city! You guys are probably just letting them move around for now to see what other information they’ll lead you to! Such smart thinking! I’d expect nothing less from the heirs of the Barn family!”

Sui’s trap was so obvious that there was no way Kaime and Selm didn’t realize it for what it was. If they admitted they hadn’t actually discovered the Liberator bases in the capital, they’d be admitting their own incompetence. Both Kaime and Selm had too much pride for that. But because of that, they fell into Sui’s actual trap. Their hesitation made it clear to her that she had them hook, line, and sinker.

How exactly are you tracking Laus? What’s the range on whatever it is? And are there any restrictions to its activation?

Sui needed to wring that information out of them at all costs. Otherwise, even if they managed to escape this predicament, they’d just be caught again. And they wouldn’t be able to go to any Liberator bases, since they’d be leading the knights straight to them.

Kaime and Selm’s reactions had given Sui two important pieces of information. First, they were indeed using a power unrelated to the Heretic’s Stained Goblet, and it was a power unique to either Kaime or Selm. Second, since they’d actually been interested in her intel on Liberator bases, they couldn’t use it to track just anything.

There was one other assumption Sui believed she could safely make. Seeing how fruitless their search at the station had been, it was almost certain whatever power they had hadn’t been activated until after they’d attacked the train. And with all that in mind, Sui thought desperately about how she could tease even more information out of the brothers. But before she could say anything, Sharm jumped in to offer his assistance.

“Liar! There’s no way my brothers could have the power to track father!”

“What did you say?!”

“Don’t get cocky, you failure!”

Good work, kid! You really know how to rile them up! Keep it going!

Still prostrated, Sui smiled to herself. Though Sharm’s words sounded like the pouting of a petulant child, he was actually using his sharp instincts to help Sui with her plan.

“I bet you just found a way to make the Heretic’s Stained Goblet work once you got close enough to father to see him! There’s no way you’d be better than father at anything!”

It seemed Sharm was also a natural master at pushing people’s buttons. Even though Laus and Reinheit knew why he was doing it, they couldn’t help but be taken aback by Sharm’s hidden vicious streak.

Naturally, Kaime and Selm were incensed. Kaime especially, since he was never good at resisting taunts.

“Hah, fool! Say whatever you want, but it’s my power that’s tracking Laus Barn. It’s the special magic I awoke to once I began my ascension to an apostle. And the reason it worked through Laus Barn’s spirit magic is because of his failure to—”

“Captain,” one of the knights said, interrupting Kaime. It was the one with the spear and shield standing directly in front of Laus. This was the first time any of them had spoken.

“It’s time to begin the cleansing.”

His voice wasn’t as mechanical as an apostle’s, but it was still cold enough to chill Laus’s bones. Kaime’s anger and humiliation vanished in an instant. Despite ostensibly being this team’s captain, it seemed like he was the one taking orders.

“You’re right.”

Kaime changed gears so fast that it felt uncanny. Selm was the same. Sensing the change in atmosphere, Laus realized they wouldn’t be able to buy any more time.

Kaime leveled his sword at Laus and said, “Repent with your death, heretic.”

“Behold, Lord Ehit, as we cleanse the Barn family name.”

There was no avoiding a fight now.

“Reinheit, Sui!” Laus shouted.

“Just focus on surviving!” Sui commanded.

“R-Roger!” Reinheit replied.

A second later, there was a deafening explosion. Then, Kaime appeared inches away from Laus and swung his sword down in an overhead vertical stroke, aiming directly for Laus’s skull.

“Ngh... Kaime! Come back to your senses! Soul’s Repose!”

Despite Kaime’s inhuman speed, Laus was still able to safely jump out of the way. The sword passed a hair’s breadth in front of him, and Laus could tell Kaime truly meant to kill him. Even though he’d dodged the attack, Kaime’s hatred sliced through his heart. The pain of knowing his son wanted him dead was far greater than any physical wound. But he hadn’t worked his way up to being the church’s top knight by being sentimental, and he was able to put his feelings aside and counterattack with spirit magic. However—

“Fool! Your petty tricks can’t shake my faith!”

“What?!”

To Laus’s surprise, Soul’s Repose did not affect Kaime whatsoever. That meant Kaime wasn’t under the effects of any brainwashing or mind control magic. Either that...or the brainwashing was so powerful Laus’s magic wouldn’t easily be able to counteract it.

Regardless, Laus didn’t have much time to think about it. The hammer-wielding knight and the spear-wielding knight flanked him from both sides. One knight swung his hammer at Laus’s head, while the other stabbed at his stomach with his spear. The two were in perfect sync.

“Ngh— Sacred Shields!” Laus shouted as he summoned a palm-sized barrier in front of him to parry the spear while he ducked under the hammer.

Kaime raised his sword and thrust it forward, this time aiming for Sharm. Or rather, aiming to stab through both Sharm and Laus at once.

Forcing his battered body to the limit, Laus drew the dagger at his waist. He moved to parry the blade away instead of blocking it directly, but—

“You’re like an open book to me!” Kaime shouted, shifting the angle of his attack as if he’d known beforehand what Laus was going to do.

“What?!” Laus exclaimed as he twisted out of the way. However, he couldn’t evade the thrust entirely, so Kaime stabbed him through the arm. Blood spurted out of the newly opened wound, and Laus lost his footing.

His instincts, honed from years of battle, warned him that a follow-up attack was coming. Acting purely on reflex, he tried to unleash a barrage of Light Bursts to temporarily blind his attackers. But his consciousness dulled, so he wasn’t able to concentrate on the spell. He turned around to face Kaime, who’d run behind him, and saw that his son was smiling.

He must have done something to me to stop the spell.

But Laus didn’t have time to dwell on what was going on, as the two knights were bearing down on him once more. He rolled to the side, kicking up water to make as much of a smokescreen as he could. At the same time, he threw his only weapon, his dagger. It shot out of the spray of water aimed right at the spear-knight’s head.

Of course, Laus knew it wouldn’t hit, but it did stop the knight for a second as he raised his shield to block. That messed up their combo attack timing, allowing Laus to roll away from the hammer. The hammer slammed into the ground with unbelievable force, and rocks pelted Laus’s back as he got to his feet. The shock wave knocked the breath out of him, and he could hardly feel his back, but Sharm was unhurt, and that was what mattered.

More importantly, he finally had a chance to counterattack now. As the spear-knight thrust at him, Laus fired off his favorite spell, Soul Shock, in a circle around him. The effort of casting it nearly knocked him unconscious, but it caused Kaime and the two knights to stagger backward. Laus wanted to take this opportunity to incapacitate at least one of the knights, but before he could take a single step—

“Father!” Sharm shouted.

“Huh?!”

He stopped dead in his tracks...and a second later, an arrow of light flew through where his head would’ve been if he’d kept going. Turning, Laus saw the bow-knight that had been engaged with Sui aiming at him. Sui herself had her hands full evading the spear-knight chasing her.

By turning around, Laus left himself open for a brief instant, and his enemies took advantage of that.

“Second Sanctified Shield, activate—Blast Wave!”

The spear-knight rushed at Laus with his tower shield. If it had been a normal shield, Laus would have been able to backstep away from the shield bash, but the shock waves radiating out from it made evasion impossible. All Laus could do was cover Sharm and try to make himself as small as possible.

The shield slammed into him with the force of a galloping warhorse, and Laus coughed up blood as he was sent flying. He bounced over the surface of the water like a skipping stone before crashing into a boulder a short distance away from Sui.

“Laus-sama!” Reinheit screamed as the boulder shattered and a massive pillar of water sprayed upward. He tried to hurry to his master’s side, but was prevented by the two knights surrounding him.

“I’m coming to save— Goddammit, get out of my way!”

Their endless stream of attacks kept Reinheit pinned where he was. The Holy Sword showed Reinheit how to move to avoid his enemy’s attacks, and his swordsmanship was evolving by the minute. It was only thanks to his exceptionally fast growth that he was able to keep up with the knights attacking him.

However, keeping up was the most he could manage. The knights he was fighting were perfectly coordinated and highly skilled. Their sword styles were polar opposites as well, making things even harder for Reinheit. The guy had solid, powerful swings, while the woman used feints and parries to keep him guessing. It was like being assailed by a tornado and a flowing river at the same time. Reinheit started panting before long, but the despair was just beginning.

“Ajeen, Seys, help those two out. Pathetic as he might be, that man is still a hero. Don’t let your guard down around him,” Kaime said calmly.

“Roger,” the two knights who’d been fighting Laus said before they went to assist their comrades. Laus’s exhaustion was so great that Kaime had decided he could take him on himself. Or perhaps he simply wanted to best Laus in a one-on-one duel.

I can’t take them all! Reinheit thought. And due to his momentary distraction, the female knight scored a tiny cut on his side.

Ajeen, the spear-wielding knight, held his weapon aloft as it began to glow, while Seys, the hammer user, started chanting a spell. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, and Reinheit could see everything on the battlefield clearly. This was no time to be holding back. If he didn’t go all-out, he would die here.

“Give me strength, Holy Sword! Limit Break!”

Pure white light spiraled up from Reinheit. The wyverns circling up above squawked in surprise and flew out of the way.

“Celestial Flash-Bloom!” Reinheit shouted, casting a variation on Celestial Flash that the hero before him had devised, which the Holy Sword had taught him. He pivoted on one foot, swinging his sword in a circular arc.

The male swordsman jumped over the attack, while the female swordsman ducked under it. Seys blocked it with his warhammer and Ajeen blocked it with his shield while also thrusting with his lance.

They can counter even while blocking that?!

Reinheit’s enemies were unharmed, while he didn’t even manage to fully dodge the counterattack and had his shoulder gouged.

“Celestial Break!” he shouted, launching numerous slashes of light in all directions. This was a spell the hero three generations ago had come up with, and it was enough to halt the knights’ assault for a second.

In that brief reprieve, Reinheit shouted, “Sui-san! Please get Laus-sama—”

“Agh!”

Reinheit had been hoping Sui could use her powers to help Laus escape while he bought time, but a pained groan from Sui dashed those hopes. The spear-knight’s sideswipe caught Sui in the armpit, and she was sent flying. An arrow of light flew out right after, going right for the boulder Sui had slammed into.

Fortunately, her years serving as one of Haltina’s top generals gave her the reflexes necessary to instinctively dodge out of the way. But while she managed to avoid being shot through the heart, the arrow still hit her in the shoulder. It went straight through her flesh and stuck into the boulder, pinning Sui in place.

“Ngyaaaaaah?”

“Ngh...”

As she screamed in pain, Laus also groaned. Looking over, Reinheit saw that Laus was just barely managing to protect Sharm from Kaime’s furious assault.

Kaime’s newfound strength was impressive, but his real advantage was that he could seemingly read all of Laus’s movements ahead of time. And to make matters worse, Laus’s movements were dulling by the minute. His face was getting paler as well. Turning back, Reinheit noticed Sui was quite pale too. It wasn’t from pain either, since it looked like something was making the two of them ill.

“Damn you— Celestial Flash-Doubler!” Reinheit shouted as he cartwheeled through the air, firing off two Celestial Flashes. One was aimed at the boulder pinning Sui, while the other went straight for Kaime’s legs.

The female knight’s sword gouged his shoulder as he passed, Ajeen’s spear cut his cheek, and as he landed, Seys’s hammer hit him square in the torso. The impact cracked his ribs, and the world spun around him as he flew through the air.

He only realized he’d been sent flying when he crashed into a tree on the side of the stream. With a heavy creak, the tree collapsed, and Reinheit’s field of vision went blurry. He coughed up blood as he fell to the ground, but ultimately, the price he’d paid had been worth it. Sui had been freed just in time to avoid being speared to death, while Laus had been granted a brief respite from Kaime’s assault.

“Sui! Hide!”

Sui was an assassin. Her skills were so great that she’d been able to fight on even footing with Zebal, the commander of the Templar Knights’ third division. Moreover, she’d managed to assassinate Cardinal Baran Distark, who’d been heavily protected. It was strange that she’d chosen to fight head-on during this battle instead of using her usual tricks. Reinheit didn’t understand why she wasn’t going into stealth either, but her reply cleared that up for him.

“Fuck, what is this shit? I can’t activate my special magic...and my body won’t move right either.”

A second later, Sharm shouted, “Reinheit, you have to stop Selm-nii-san!”

Laus was too preoccupied to say anything, so Sharm served as the battlefield messenger.

“How irksome. It seems my power doesn’t work on the hero after all,” Selm muttered, tapping his staff against a rock.

Reinheit turned to look at him. He hadn’t forgotten about Selm, but amidst the chaos of the battle, he hadn’t had a chance to search for him. To Reinheit’s surprise, he hadn’t moved an inch. Mana was rolling off of him in waves, and looking closely, he could see tiny particles of light suffusing the battlefield. They looked like dust in the light.

“Still, it’s quite enjoyable being able to torture a mongrel and a sinner with my powers.”

Selm’s special magic was called Forbidden Command. He’d awoken to it when he’d become half-apostle, and it allowed him to prevent the activation of the person he specified’s special magic.

“Suffer and despair. Second Divine Rod activate—Sinner’s Punishment!”

More light burst out of Selm’s staff like a fountain. Laus and Sui staggered as it hit them.

“Ngh, debuff magic!”

The Divine Rod’s abilities revolved around buffing and debuffing. If Selm’s copy had the same powers, then he could do a lot of damage with his half-apostle levels of mana.

Reinheit finally realized why Sui and Laus’s movements had seemed so dull. If anything, it was amazing Laus had managed to hold out this long despite being weakened to such an extent. However, he was nearing his limits.

Laus had never even dreamed that the church had a means of creating more sacred relics. A shiver of panic ran through him. There was no way the knights wielding such powerful artifacts were no-name grunts. Their souls were so warped that had Laus ever seen them before, he definitely wouldn’t have forgotten them. As the former Holy Templar Knight commander, he should have known all notable knights with any measure of power.

He’d had to push himself to the absolute limit to keep up with Kaime while being weakened by Selm’s magic, and that had weakened him even further. But though his consciousness was growing dim, he still managed to puzzle out what was going on.

“Haaah... Haaah... You guys are Paladins, aren’t you?”

“How insightful of you,” Selm replied with a casual shrug.

Only Darrion Kaus, the commander of the Paladins, was known to the public. The regiments’ members were a secret, even from the other two commanders of the Three Pillars of Radiance. They answered only to the pope, and their only mission was to protect him, which explained why Laus didn’t know any of them. He’d heard that each of their members was as strong as a Templar Knight division commander, and he could see now that was true.

Grinning, Selm and Kaime said in a rapt voice, “The Holy Sword was the base from which the other six Sacred Treasures were crafted. As you know, those seven weapons came to be known as the Seven Sacred Treasures. And these second-generation Seven Sacred Treasures are just as powerful as the originals.”

Each artifact granted the wielder powerful body strengthening magic, a perfect affinity for light magic, an increase in the efficiency of their spellcasting, and various effects unique to each of them...and they were currently in the hands of the church’s strongest knights. Plus, since they were members of the Paladins, it was all but guaranteed each of the knights had their own special magic.

“Oh, and if you’re expecting reinforcements, give up,” Selm said, turning to Sui.

“You guys have some kind of teleportation artifact, don’t you? Well, just so you know, we left two knights behind at the train to stop your friends from joining up with you.”

So Leonard and the others are still fighting, then...

Or perhaps they’d managed to escape with all the passengers. Whatever the case, Sui could only pray that they were safe.

“I guess it’s too late to negotiate my safety in exchange for information?” Sui asked, sweat pouring profusely down her forehead. Her previous attempt at negotiation had been interrupted by the start of the battle, and everyone was covered in wounds now. If the knights decided to start round two, their party was toast.

In her head, Sui thought, Please, please, please, please, please, please, please hurry up. If I die because of your slow asses, I’m gonna come back as a ghost and haunt you to death. Please, I’ll do anything, so please just show up already.

But she didn’t let any of her true thoughts show, and instead continued to play the part of the traitorous Liberator willing to sell her friends out for safety. However, she was unable to buy any time with that act.

“There’s no need for that, Captain,” Ajeen said flatly.

Selm nodded in agreement and replied, “Of course. The church has no need for any information a mongrel can give us. You’re absolutely right.”

“Now then, it looks like Selm’s weakening magic has taken full effect. Are you despairing yet?” Kaime taunted.

“Carve this into your dirty little skulls.”

“The church, and the god we serve—”

“Are absolute,” the two finished in unison.

The two looked like fanatics, but they didn’t look like fanatics who were being mind-controlled. The reason they’d talked this long was because they’d wanted Laus to fall into despair before killing him. The other Paladins likely felt the same, which was why they’d held off on attacking until Kaime and Selm had gotten their taunts in. Though honestly, it was entirely possible they’d just been ordered not to attack until the two were done. Either way, Laus and the others found themselves in a desperate situation.

Laus grit his teeth. His vision was already blurring, and he could feel his body start to grow cold. Reinheit was slowly recovering thanks to the powers of the Holy Sword—which both absorbed mana from the wielder’s surroundings and healed him slowly—but with how much mana he was burning to keep Limit Break active, he wouldn’t last for too long either. Sui was completely powerless. Her one trump card had been sealed, and her opponents wouldn’t even give her a chance to activate the Dark Key. In fact, she’d been weakened so much by Selm’s magic that her legs were trembling.

Everyone was at their limit. And at best, they’d managed to buy maybe ten minutes. But even so, no one was ready to give up.

“Is there anything in this world that’s truly absolute, I wonder?” Laus mused with a small smile.

“We’ll never fall into despair!” Sharm shouted.

“That’s right! We’ll never give up!” Reinheit declared.

“Oh, is this the part where we talk shit? All right, count me in! Ahem, prepare yourselves, you fucking brats, because your genes mean you’re absolutely doomed to go bald!” Sui taunted.

All of them were ready to fight until the bitter end, though Sui didn’t seem as interested in refuting the absolute might of the church as everyone else on their side. In fact, she’d twisted the word absolute to make her taunt sting more. That also had the side effect of pissing Laus off, and it looked like he was about to start yelling at her instead.

“Tch... I’ve had enough of you!”

“In the end, they’re all still heretics who betrayed the church.”

Laus and the others had only been able to buy ten or so minutes, but those few minutes had made all the difference...

“Guess we made it just in time,” a voice said from behind Selm.

“Wha—?!”

Ultimately, it was their will to keep on resisting that paved the way to the future.

Turning around, Selm saw Naiz standing right behind him and yelled, “You’re the Liberator, Naiz Gru—!”

“Time for good little boys to go to sleep,” Naiz said, cutting him off and gently laying his hand on Selm’s forehead.

A loud clap resounded, and Selm’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. His staff slipped out of his hands and he crumpled to the ground.

Naiz had concussed him. No matter how much someone strengthened their body, it was impossible to defend against a spatial shock wave delivered directly to the skull.

“Tch. Besshu!” Kaime shouted, which prompted the knight with the bow to take aim. However, Naiz had already disappeared.

A second later, there was a loud howl far above, and a moonbeam fell onto the battlefield. A wave of cold then washed over everyone, and a blistering wind filled with shards of ice forced Kaime and the others to cover their faces. Eventually, as the wind cleared, five figures fell from the sky.

“What now?!” Kaime shouted as he and a few of his knights leaped back. A second later, numerous creatures splashed into the river.

They were the four wyverns Kaime and the other knights had ridden. And right after that, the fifth figure alighted onto the battlefield.

“We’ve finally found you, Laus Barn,” a massive ice dragon said, holding its head up proudly. But as Laus watched, the dragon shrunk...and in a burst of light, it transformed into Vandre.

“You’re finally here! Hell yeah, we won! You cut it way too close, you idiots!”

“Glad to know she’s as annoying as ever,” Vandre muttered before whistling loudly.

Beasts leaped out of the forest on his signal, surrounding the knights. They were led by Kuou, his strongest wolf familiar, and Uruluk, his trusty wyvern. Uruluk unleashed a gout of blazing breath at the knights surrounding Reinheit, while Kuou fired a storm of ice spears at the knights around Sui, running to her rescue all the while.

Since Kaime was busy dealing with all these new threats, Naiz reappeared next to Laus.

“You look like hell,” he said with a smile.

“Please, I can do this all day,” Laus replied.

As the two of them bantered, Kaime launched another attack.

“Damn you! Celestial Flash-Overload!”

By the time he’d unleashed his attack, though, Naiz, Laus, and Sharm were no longer in its path. Instead of hitting them, the huge shock wave created by the white light sliced through the river, dividing its flow in two for a brief moment.

Naiz reappeared next to Sui with Laus and Sharm.

“Laus-san, did you figure out how they’re tracking us?!” Sui shouted, gingerly covering her battered arm with her good one. She’d have loved nothing more than to have Naiz teleport them all to safety immediately, but they couldn’t return to base unless they first figured out how to disable Kaime’s tracking ability. If they couldn’t figure out how Kaime was doing it, they’d have to knock him unconscious and take him along.

“I’ve pinpointed the spell. I can disable it at any time.”

Laus was gasping for breath, but he’d still somehow managed to analyze and counter Kaime’s magic. And that brief exchange was enough for Naiz to figure out what the situation was like. So, he touched Sui’s shoulder and asked, “Are we good to go?”

“Sure are! Let’s skedaddle!”

The knights’ wyverns had all been slain. Vandre could easily recover Reinheit and outrun the knights, which meant Naiz could teleport away and come back for him later.

Laus turned back to Kaime and Selm, but only for an instant. He realized they weren’t in any position to neutralize his sons and safely take them as well. Gritting his teeth, he nodded to Naiz. Unfortunately, his brief moment of hesitation cost the party dearly.

“Sone, don’t let them escape!”

“Roger.”

The swordsman wielding the Holy Sword copy who’d been fighting Reinheit turned around and dashed toward Naiz.

It soon became clear why Kaime had asked Sone to stop Naiz instead of the archer, or using his own offensive magic.

“I can’t activate my teleportation?!” Naiz shouted, confused. That was Sone’s special magic, Purge Territory. It caused mana around him to dissipate, much like it did in the Reisen Gorge. He could extend his power as far as ten meters out from him.

Sone charged at Naiz, swinging his sword horizontally as he got into range. To Naiz’s surprise, there was a blade of light jutting out from the tip of the sword, extending its length considerably. It appeared Sone could control the boundaries of his mana-dispersal zone perfectly, leaving himself out of it.

So he seals his opponent’s magic while still getting to use his own? What a pain! Naiz thought as he stepped out of the way, drawing the twin curved swords at his waist.

The moment they realized Naiz could no longer teleport, Laus and Sui jumped back to give him room.

“It’s a shame, but since other ancient magic users have arrived, we can’t afford to drag them to the depths of despair before killing them! All knights, you are free to use your special magic! Besshu, don’t let that mongrel out of your sight!”

Now that Selm was unconscious, Sui could use her special magic. The moment she’d leaped back, she’d started melding into the scenery, but the moment Besshu, the wielder of the bow stared at her, she screamed.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Sui yelled out in pain as her entire body trembled as though she’d been struck by lightning...and then, she crumpled to the ground.

That was Besshu’s special magic, Seraphic Eye. So long as he could see someone, he could paralyze them, make them see or hear things, block their senses, including touch, or make them suffer phantom pains. It was far worse than knocking someone unconscious, since they were tortured by their own senses for as long as he continued to stare at them.

Naturally, once Sui was down, he fired an arrow to finish her off.

“Awoooooo!”

However, just before the arrow reached her, Kuou leaped in front of her and crushed the arrow in his jaws. He then fired a barrage of ice pillars to block Besshu’s barrage of light arrows. Somehow, despite the fierce back and forth, Besshu kept his gaze focused solidly on Sui. He leaped around the battlefield, using his considerable skill to prevent Kuou from gaining any ground on him.

Laus was struggling as well.

“No, father! You can’t take that hit!”

“Nrgh!”

A knight’s spear shot out toward Laus. It was wreathed in a strange magical light, so even without Sharm’s warning, Laus didn’t like the look of it. He whipped off his coat and threw it at the knight, while desperately rolling to the side. It was far from graceful, but if he cared about his pride as a warrior, he wouldn’t live long.

Sharm coughed as water sprayed up around them as the spear tore through Laus’s coat.

“Corrosion powers?” Laus muttered as he watched his coat turn black and crumble into nothingness.

That was the knight Torres’s special magic, Angelic Death. It corroded anything he touched with it. If he wanted to, he could expand his mana, causing everything in an area around him to wither and die. The only reason he didn’t was because Kaime had jumped in for a follow-up attack.

“Die, Laus Barn!”

It seemed the Paladins were intent on letting son kill father.

Gritting his teeth, Laus held Sharm close. He was too exhausted to keep moving, but he at least wanted to protect who he could.

“Not so fast!” Naiz shouted, jumping in at the very last second. Sone followed him a second later. He blocked Kaime’s sword, and though he couldn’t use magic, he still managed to take on two—no, three, if you included Torres—knights at once with just his swords.

“Outta my way!”

“You’re not stopping us.”

“If you’re so eager to die, you can go with him— Sacred Way!”

“Ngh?! What’s this?!”

Sacred Way was a special magic that allowed the user to synchronize with someone’s soul to figure out where they were, read their surface-level thoughts, and misdirect them. Kaime had used it to synchronize with the information on Laus’s soul that had been stored in the Heretic’s Stained Goblet, then amplified its powers so it could sense Laus if he was within a few dozen meters of him. The reason he’d attacked the train and revealed himself was to throw Laus off for a second, giving him a chance to synchronize with the real Laus’s soul and track him perfectly. That was the strange feeling Laus had been sensing throughout the fight.

Once Kaime had synchronized with a soul, only a spirit magic user could undo his magic. And while Laus could cancel it out, he was weakened enough that Kaime could just cast it again.

Still, Laus dredged what mana he could to help Naiz.

“I’ll dispel it for you—Soul’s Repose.”

The moment he cast the spell, he felt the last of his strength leave his body.

“Father!” Sharm shouted, but Laus could barely hear him. His vision faded to black and white. Having truly reached his limit, Laus fell to the ground.

Naiz stood protectively in front of him and let out a short breath. He stopped thinking about how to defeat his foes. Not because he’d given up, of course. But because his priority was protecting Laus and Sharm, not killing his enemies.

He had faith that his friend would take care of the rest. He had faith in Vandre.

At the moment, Vandre was fighting back to back with Reinheit, creating weapons of ice to deal with the various tricks the knights had up their sleeves.

He was facing off against the female swordswoman and the spear and shield user, Ajeen.

“Tch, what a pain.”

“I knew it. Be careful! That woman’s attacks prevent healing!”

Unfortunately, Ajeen and the woman fought with the kind of coordination that spoke of years of practice, while Reinheit and Vandre had only met a few seconds prior. To Vandre, it felt like they were fighting a single creature with two bodies. The knights’ special magics were making things more difficult as well. Ajeen possessed the special magic Sanctify, while the female swordsman had Stigmata. Dealing with one would have been bad enough, but both in conjunction spelled real trouble.

Sanctify was a relatively simple magic that boosted Ajeen’s abilities. However, it strengthened him to such a degree that it felt like he was using Limit Break. In fact, it felt even stronger than that. He was stronger than a gorilla, and he moved so fast that his form blurred. Naturally, he was able to cast spells without chanting incantations as well. And to top it all off, he had abnormally fast regeneration and could absorb mana from his surroundings.

Meanwhile, the female knight Fira’s magic made it so any wound she caused couldn’t be healed. It worked on both living beings and objects, and the only thing that could reverse the damage it caused was restoration magic. Even the Holy Sword’s automatic regeneration couldn’t stand against it. Reinheit had already lost a lot of blood, so with every passing second, he drew closer to dying from blood loss. Honestly, Reinheit and Vandre weren’t so much a tag team as Vandre was just protecting Reinheit from the knights’ attacks.

Uruluk couldn’t help either, since he was stuck fighting Seys, the knight with the warhammer. Seys’s special magic was Invisible Judgment. He could make his attacks cross through space—though only up to a limited distance—which let him attack from unsuspecting angles. He could also change direction during the crossing. He could, for example, swing down with his hammer, but it would come out as a sideswipe.

Uruluk was having a hard time finding an opening to fight back. He was sturdy enough that he could weather the blows for a time, but eventually, he’d fall. It was only a matter of time.

“Vandre-dono, at this rate, we’ll be overwhelmed!”

“Don’t worry. I’ve gotten used to them now.”

“Huh?”

Vandre kicked Reinheit, who’d momentarily spaced out. The young hero went flying, which saved him from being decapitated by Fira. Vandre then met Fira’s sword with his own ice blade, while also parrying Ajeen’s perfectly timed thrust with his empty palm.

Fira and Ajeen passed harmlessly by either side of Vandre, but they immediately turned around and launched follow-up attacks. Fira sliced at his neck, while Ajeen aimed for his heart. However, Vandre was no longer there.

“Ah?!”

He’d read the flow of the battle, and in the very moments that they’d breathed, he’d ducked, making it look like he’d vanished. His overwhelming martial skill had made the two knights, who were veterans of a thousand battles, lose sight of him.

A second later, Vandre stepped forward with such force that it felt like an earthquake had struck. He struck with fists encased in gauntlets of ice.

“Haaah!”

With a battle cry, he hit Fira in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

“Gah!”

The force of the blow was perfectly transferred to her inner organs, so she didn’t go flying. Instead, she fell to her knees and slumped to the ground.

In that moment, Ajeen ran forward, his shield held up in front of him. The mana swirling around it made it clear he planned to hit Vandre with a shock wave. With his enhanced stats, he was a one-man battering ram. But Vandre blocked the attack with a shield of ice he made on the spot, using it to absorb the mana shock waves as well. He then pivoted around the shield and easily slipped past Ajeen like a matador slipping past a bull.

Eyes widening in surprise, Ajeen used his inhuman strength to forcibly kill his inertia and turn around to stab at Vandre with his spear. A blade of light erupted from its tip to grant him extra reach as well. However, Vandre easily parried that as well with a spear he made out of ice.

Right as he blocked, though, Vandre’s spear turned into a three-section staff. He redirected the force of the blow along the staff’s joints, swinging it around in a perfect counter.

Ajeen couldn’t dodge in time, so the butt of Vandre’s staff slammed into his nose. It was far from a crippling blow, but it did cause Ajeen to stagger backward for a moment.

“You finally gave me an opening,” Vandre said with a triumphant smile. He then relinquished the three-section staff and forged two daggers out of ice. Slipping past Ajeen’s shield, he stabbed through the gaps in the knight’s armor.

“That’s not enough to stop you though, is it?”

Vandre had gained the upper hand, but he didn’t let his guard down for a second, nor did he underestimate his foe. As he’d expected, Ajeen ignored the pain and tried to sweep Vandre away with his tower shield.

Vandre read the attack, however, and sidestepped out of the way, throwing his daggers as he disengaged. One of them hit Ajeen in the eye, while the other sliced through Fira’s outstretched fingers. She’d recovered enough that she’d been trying to reach for her sword.

“Ngh!” she grunted in pain as her middle and ring fingers were sliced off. It was then that Reinheit finally made his move.

“Celestial Flash!”

Fira had managed to grab her sword with her other hand, but now she had to use it as a shield to guard against Reinheit’s attack. Even with the replica Holy Sword to defend her, she was sent flying into the forest.

Unconcerned about his comrade, Ajeen charged forward once more, hoping to end Vandre’s life. Vandre used a myriad of weapons—a sword, gauntlets, chakrams, and even a halberd—to parry Ajeen’s spear, keep him off-balance, and keep his shield at bay. At first the sound of weapons clashing and ice shattering echoed across the battlefield, but before long, Ajeen’s attacks stopped hitting at all, so Vandre didn’t even need to block.

Meanwhile, Vandre’s attacks grew more accurate...and soon, Ajeen was covered in small wounds.

“You’re a monster...” the taciturn knight muttered, shivering.

Vandre’s unmatched martial skill, coupled with his ancient magic and perfect mastery of ice magic, made him a formidable foe. Plus, he had dragon blood running through his veins, which meant he could transform into an ice dragon at a moment’s notice.

But while these were all exceptional abilities, they were not what made Vandre Schnee a truly terrifying opponent. His true strength was his mastery of every single martial art. Vandre had trained incessantly, and then further honed those skills in the crucible of battle. The fact that he continued to practice religiously on top of having a natural talent for art was what made Vandre so strong. With the effort he’d put into his training, it was inevitable that Vandre would be able to fully analyze Ajeen’s fighting style given enough time.

By the time Ajeen realized he was being read like a book, his shield had been pinned to the ground by chains of ice and his spear had been knocked out of his hands by Vandre’s pinpoint offense.

“Have you ever tasted dragonbreath?” Vandre muttered, slamming his palm against Ajeen’s breastplate. The force of the blow rattled Ajeen’s rib cage, messing with his heartbeat, and caused him to stiffen up for a second.

While he was momentarily frozen, a beam of light shot out of Vandre’s palm. He’d unleashed his compressed dragonbreath at point-blank range.

“Oh, f—” Ajeen didn’t even have time to curse his own carelessness. The beam of frozen light ripped through him, freezing his blood in his veins and sending him flying into the forest. The light then coalesced around Vandre, and he transformed into a dragon.

“Get on or get left behind!” he shouted.

“G-Got it!” Reinheit replied, scrambling onto Vandre’s back. Vandre launched another blast of icy light at Seys, the knight fighting Uruluk.

Realizing he couldn’t defend against that much firepower, Seys wisely elected to dodge. But that freed Uruluk from his relentless assault, so the wyvern shot into the sky, firing its breath at Besshu, who was still keeping Sui pinned down.

Besshu bounded backward, evading the attack while keeping his gaze firmly fixed on Sui. Still, he was forced to stop attacking while he danced away from Uruluk’s blazing hot breath, giving Kuou a chance to go on the offensive.

The domino effect continued and Kuou charged at Sone, who was keeping Naiz’s powers sealed.

“Torres, stop them!” Kaime shouted in a panic.

“Roger.”

Torres jumped between Sone and Kuou and erected an impassable corrosive barrier.

Instinctively realizing that he couldn’t jump through it, Kuou activated Aerodynamic to change direction mid-leap.

Fortunately, the wolf had already done enough. This was the moment Naiz had been waiting for all along as he’d dutifully protected Laus and Sharm from the knights.

“There’s a reason you save your trump card for last,” Naiz muttered, throwing one of his swords at Sone and the other at Kaime. Both of them batted the swords away with ease, but it gave Naiz time to pull a pair of glasses out of his pocket and put them on.

“Take this, Glasses Beam!” he shouted, activating his best friend’s ultimate(?) technique.

A dazzling flash of light blinded Kaime and Sone.

“Aaaaaah, my eyes!” Kaime screamed.

“Ngh!” Sone grunted in pain, raising an arm to cover his eyes.

But of course, only a third-rate warrior relied on just their eyes to track their foe. Both Kaime and Sone were still able to track Naiz perfectly, so they moved in to counterattack.

“It’s not over yet,” Naiz said, and there was a loud boom that deafened the two assailants. The two of them couldn’t hear anything except a ringing in their ears. Not only that, but there was a pungent smell wiping away all other scents. They tried not to breathe it in, but by the time they noticed, it was too late. There was no defense against a smell this atrocious, so they reflexively gagged.

“Gaaaaaah, my eyes, my nose, my mouth! Blaaaaaagh!”

“C-C-C-Curse you. Cough!”

Tears streamed down Kaime and Sone’s eyes, snot dribbled down their noses, and they coughed and sputtered due to the spicy, disgusting, sickly sweet taste in their mouths. A certain four-eyes had paid a large sum to a certain extremely annoying rabbit to get her pepper spray recipe, then revamped it to be even more potent and combined it with a noise grenade to create the perfect sensory assault weapon.

“Ngh...”

But despite the debilitating power of the pepper spray, Sone managed to locate Kaime, tackle him to the ground, and cast a wind spell to blow the cloud of noxious gas away. Coughing, with his eyes still closed, he also managed to deploy a Hallowed Ground without an incantation.

He waited a few seconds, then after determining that no attacks were coming their way, he cracked his eyes open. His vision was still blurry, but he could see a little now.

“They got away...”

His comrades were standing in the same places they had been before, but Naiz and the others were nowhere to be found. The moment Naiz had gotten out of Sone’s zone of control, he’d likely teleported everyone away.

“Grr, we’ve been had! Shit, they even dispelled my Sacred Way! I can’t believe I messed up this bad!”

Thanks to his half-apostle body, Kaime had already recovered from the pepper spray, so he was angrily stomping his foot on the ground.

As he dispelled his barrier, Sone gave Kaime a cold look, then stared up at the sky as the other knights gathered around him.

“Was this dramatic confrontation between father and son to your liking, My Lord?” he muttered quietly.

For a moment, it seemed like the crescent moon glittering in the night sky was Ehit’s wicked grin.