TWCMH 04

Chapter 04

Midas flinched momentarily at the terrifying glare, but that didn’t make his discontent disappear.

The royal family’s audacity in privately mobilizing the knights of this great Ademors Temple was bad enough, but he also couldn’t understand the Pope urging them to do it.

No matter how much the power of the religious order had waned, ‘Ademors’ was originally the first master of this land. Gargo was a kingdom established by humans invited to that land, yet at some point, the invited guests had begun acting as if they were the masters of this land.

“Did the Commander really say it was alright? What on earth is the Order thinking? To put it bluntly, this isn’t a job that warrants mobilizing even Lampez.”

Lampez, meaning ‘torch,’ was the title used for the head of the Paladins. Although the knights conveniently referred to him as the Commander, he was a rank above that.

The one who punishes all evil with the purest destructive power espoused by the Order.

Was he not the Chain of God, the Flame of Ademors, the symbol of an unwavering faith?

And now, this very Lampez was to bring ‘Flona’ in alive, not executed, at the royal family’s request. It was an insulting and preposterous affair.

A shadow also fell over Beatrix’s face, but her resolute expression remained firm without wavering.

“His faith does not waver over such matters. And strictly speaking, this is our job. If not us, who would apprehend Flona?”

“Well, I don’t know, Vice-Commander. To be honest, I doubt that thing even really exists.”

Flona. It was only natural to be skeptical, having only ever heard of it in old tales that the elders brought out from their storage chests, never having seen or heard of it firsthand.

Of course, grand rumors were rampant. That one would go blind upon seeing it, that one would die from inhaling its scent wrongly, that it possessed the most enchanting fragrance in the world.

But they were all just rumors.

He even suspected that it was just wretched fools, their eyes turned by the scent bestowed upon an incredibly beautiful woman, who had coined such fancy terms.

“We’re already busy enough purifying the Black Lands, so why in the world are we being ordered to capture a Flona? And is that information even reliable?”

The Black Lands were a small-scale catastrophe that first began to appear about ten years ago.

A black spot, no bigger than a palm, would suddenly materialize in the middle of a city, instantly swallowing any living creature that stepped on it and transforming it into a black monster.

There was no pattern to when, where, or how they appeared, making it impossible to prepare in advance or predict to avoid them. It was truly a disaster.

The only saving graces were the ‘Grey Wind’ that blew as a precursor just before they appeared, and the fact that the Black Lands could be immediately removed and purified with divine power.

These black stains, which could not be erased by magic or flames, responded only to divine power, as if proving that they were self-proclaimed contaminated lands.

Thanks to this, the temples, and especially the Paladins, the Knights of God, became extremely busy. They were constantly on the move, subjugating beasts and humans that had stepped on the black spots and become monsters, and purifying the Black Lands.

People revered the Holy Knights who saved them from the black catastrophe as ‘saviors.’ It was also the Paladins who elevated the standing of the religious order, which had been declining within Gargo.

It was perhaps only natural that some Holy Knights had become rather high and mighty.

Although the appearance of black spots had decreased rapidly since last year, it was still an insult to use the Holy Knights, especially the First Lampez, for the mere task of capturing a dying-out existence like ‘Flona.’

“This is a direct order from His Holiness, and a matter that the Commander has accepted. Why all this unnecessary chatter?”

Beatrix’s face hardened at the prolonged complaint. Midas, who had been voicing his discontent, lowered his voice under her sharp glare.

“No, it’s just… it’s baffling to be told to send such a busy person to capture something they’ve never even seen before.”

Just then, Ruan Alenski of the 2nd Knight Division, who had been pondering something, quietly added his voice.

“Actually, I saw one when I was young. Well, technically, I didn’t see it myself, but I saw the place where one had been.”

“What? Really?”

The other knights, who had been staying out of the conversation, also turned their heads with interest.

“Yes. I think I was about twelve? There was a fairly large ranch in our territory, and the people running it all died at once. It was so strange that an investigation was launched, and when we went in…”

“Went in?”

“…we found a woman’s corpse trapped inside the ranch, and my father said it seemed like it was a Flona.”

“That’s it? That the trapped woman was a Flona?”

“Yes. I didn’t see it directly, but my father was certain. He said the state inside the ranch was absolutely horrific, a death that could only be the work of a witch.”

“How did they die?”

“Well…”

Just as Ruan was about to answer Midas’s follow-up question.

“Everyone, to your positions. The Commander has arrived.”

At Beatrix’s announcement, they all moved back to their places in unison. Midas quickly signaled to Ruan with his eyes, indicating they would continue later. The mouths of the murmuring knights fell silent all at once.

The knights’ gazes, thick with tension, fixed on the gap between the heavy doors of the main hall as they slowly opened.

A large, solid body, whose presence was clearly projected even from afar, drew closer, casting a black shadow through the morning mist.

The man’s gait as he approached the knights was heavy and leisurely, almost to the point of seeming slow. As his presence became clearer, signs of tension became evident on the faces of the knights standing at attention, waiting for him.

The man walking through the hazy mist was like a crocodile in a swamp. Just his appearance alone made the heavily settled air stir…

As if this mist enveloping the temple were his swamp, he exuded a silent yet definite pressure, leisurely crossing the corridor towards the knights.

Hugo Brighton.

A man who is the pride and goal of the Holy Knights.

Their captain, high and aloof without arrogance despite receiving such great admiration, appeared to lead the awaiting knights.

Judging only by his accumulated achievements and rumors, he seemed like a man with a sharp and terrifying presence, wielding a thick longsword to overwhelm those around him. However, in reality, he was a sharp and handsome man.

His tall stature and grand frame were overwhelming, but his restrained muscles, as if not allowing a single unnecessary thing on his body, made him look sharp and imposing.

“Lampez.”

At Beatrix’s tense call, blue eyes beneath hair as dark and black as the night sky gazed at the knights.

His blue eyes, sparkling as if studded with stars, met each knight’s gaze in turn, offering a light greeting.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting. The prayer for the journey took longer than expected. Are you ready?”

“Yes. As this is a secretive journey, I’ve assembled a minimum number of personnel.”

Hugo, holding the reins handed to him by Beatrix, surveyed the knights waiting behind her.

Periart, Midas, Ruan, and Vice-Commander Beatrix of the 2nd Knight Division. Though not a large number, they were all elite knights.

Including the head of the knight order, the force was actually excessively large for capturing just one wicked temptress.

However, it was better to be thorough and get a definite result, even if it meant being called overkill, than to let down one’s guard and end up with a laughable outcome.

Hugo nodded with an indifferent expression, then spoke to Beatrix.

“I trust this journey will be in your capable hands as well.”

“It is an honor to accompany Lampez! May the divine radiance that cleaves the darkness be with us.”

“May the radiance of Ademors, which cleaves the darkness, be with us.”

As the knights mounted their horses in unison, the blue pennants of the Paladins draped over their white armor fluttered in the morning breeze.

“Hyah!”

The heavy hoofbeats of the massive warhorses carrying the five knights resounded deeply in the quiet of the temple.

It was the terrifying sound of hooves meant to shatter someone’s peace, someone who would be called a temptress despite never having wished for it.

*Swoosh—*

The densely packed spruce trees swayed in the wind, and dozens of mountain birds guarding the winter mountain took flight all at once.

Startled by the eerie sound of the wind and the birds, Roelia, who had been engrossed in gathering herbs, flinched and looked up.

‘…What was that sound?’

Tensing up, she stiffly turned her neck and looked beyond the forest, which had fallen quiet as if it had never been noisy.