---

171 Chapter. Apostle of Justice (2)

Kugugugugu—

The ground completely collapses, splitting the village in half.

It was exactly what would happen if a giant intentionally stuck its hand into the ground and pulled it apart.

A massive chasm appeared through the rift in the village. Although the end was far and difficult to see, something unpleasant was stirring beneath.

“Top-tier spirit… Triton!”

Heidern grimaced at the culprit of the disaster.

A gigantic tree giant, exceeding many hundreds of meters, stared at this side with its enormous green eyes.

An exceptional tree spirit among Shaikar’s followers, who govern life. Its overwhelming power stirs disaster just by moving.

Quaaaah—

After the earthquake, a gust of wind blows in. To stir that up, Triton simply made a light gesture.

Branches bent like candy sticks, and even Luthis and the soldiers he commanded struggled to keep their balance.

“Truly, the power of a top-tier spirit is magnificent! The fog that was obstructing our view has completely lifted!”

Luthis continued to marvel with a face full of admiration.

It seemed as if a warrior was complimenting his partner familiar.

“I have no intention of wiping you all out! I was given orders to spare those prisoners! Of course, if you surrender now and free those students, I’ll give you a chance to live!”

Once the fog cleared completely, Luthis’s lively demeanor became clear.

From his words, it sounded like he genuinely recognized that the Aligieri students were being dragged around, but he was under one grave misconception.

He just tried to kill our students not long ago.

If those mercenary-light prisoners were true villains, our position would be no different from that of hostages.

“You say you’ll spare them if we free them? Who was it that first tried to kill them!”

“Calm down. Captain Tariel, let’s prioritize saving the students. Now that our plans have been exposed, it looks grim for us. Besides, look around.”

“Kuk…!”

Before we knew it, spirits were spread out thickly around us. It appeared that other spirits moved according to the will of the top-tier spirit’s descent.

We could comfortably deal with lower and mid-tier spirits, but starting with high-tier spirits, even Heidern and Tariel would take a significant amount of time to take down.

And those guys were filling the surroundings.

Only Mary, blessed with innate power, might be able to handle it, but if she fully awakened that power, her true identity would be revealed.

“Tch! If only I could manifest perfectly, I might stand a chance.”

“Stop boasting. Even if that were possible, you’d be insufficient on your own…”

“….”

I silenced the irritating Muto, but I couldn’t fully dismiss his words.

I had been fighting using Muto’s powers up until now, but that was merely a fraction of what was possible.

High-tier spirits and their spirits are strong enough that even professors have difficulty dealing with them.

It’s no surprise that Muto appeared as a hidden boss during the Aligieri Tower.

However, Muto had never shown such overwhelming power since the moment we made our contract.

To unleash that power, I would need to fully manifest him, but what I’ve done until now has only been partial manifestation.

Simply making a contract didn’t mean I would wholly acquire that spirit’s power.

Right now, I could manifest about 70% of Muto’s power, but to reach 100% requires much greater capability.

If it were below a mid-tier spirit, it would be a walk in the park, but high-tier spirits are on a completely different level.

Thus, dealing with high-tier spirits without mutual understanding makes communication extremely difficult.

“When I absorbed you, Muto, you were in a sealed state, which made it possible. And when I faced Aisha, her power made it easier since it was aligned with the two saints.”

“Especially that Aisha crow; despite having a contract, she’s powerful enough that you can only partially manifest her feathers. If you tried to forcibly fully manifest both of us, there would be no body left of you.”

In the worst-case scenario, I might have to stake my life on the line.

Even if that were possible, breaking free from this situation surrounded by high-tier spirits would be tough.

Neither could I expect help from my companions around me.

While they weren’t as strong as Heidern, the prisoners consisted of skilled mages and warriors.

However, they too would likely find themselves in similar circumstances as Heidern and it would likely be futile for them to struggle.

“What do you think, Prince Totema?”

“Wrong. The power of that holy sword is overwhelmingly superior to my sensitivity. Perhaps it’s because it’s the sword used by the Spirit King’s daughter.”

Even Totema, with sensitivity surpassing even Mary, was ineffective.

Given that his power was what allowed us to use this village as a stronghold, it was nothing short of despairing.

“Is the plan dead in the water…”

“We have no choice.”

In the end, Tariel resolved to surrender.

No matter what happened to them, they would protect the Aligieri students.

Tariel threw his spear onto the ground. The mercenaries, understanding his intent, dropped their weapons in kind.

“We won’t resist. For now, we’ll comply with what you desire.”

“Are you admitting your crimes? Good! I’ll accept that! First, take those poor students away!”

Luthis happily accepted Tariel’s declaration.

It was the first time I found a person’s bright face so unpleasant.

“And we will definitely capture the prisoners and deal with your Saint Arrow Guild.”

“You’re saying they’ll be captured like they’re escapees?”

“Prisoners are under protection! Even though they’re wearing those numbered clothes due to their wrongdoings, don’t worry! Your sins can be rectified! Therefore, they have the right to live!”

So, does that mean a mere apology would absolve them of murder?

What a load of crap.

My head is spinning.

Not just me, but everyone on our side was left speechless by this absurdity.

“Every word from that guy is a `famous line`. How admirable, right?”

Even Muto expressed sarcasm with compliments. Jason, too, and these knights of the Empire are completely insane.

Just then, as the soldiers rushed in to protect us…

“Hey, brown-haired guy! I don’t know who you are, but come here for a moment!”

Luthis suddenly called out to me.

“What is it?”

“I just have a quick question!”

What could he possibly want to ask, given that we don’t know each other?

However, considering his personality, he likely perceives refusing his request as ‘evil.’

It was troubling whether to go or stay.

But he had already put down his weapons.

“I won’t do anything, so hurry up!”

Luthis dropped his great sword, his bracelet bow, and the Holy Sword Rozaria in one place.

As he demonstrated a lack of intent to harm, I felt a bit relieved.

“Hold on! Buddy.”

Just as I was about to go, Mary grabbed my arm.

“What’s wrong?”

“I have a bad feeling about this. I still sense something ominous from that guy. It’s a nauseating malevolence.”

Mary, who awakened the power of the Demon King, could perceive human malevolence.

In this world, a Demon King is a being born to consume such malevolence.

“Name, Luthis Sentry. He should surely be in the family’s researched character log…”

Suddenly curious, Baimon took out a magical device resembling a pad and began searching for information, while Mary looked at me anxiously.

Seeing her expression filled with concern was heart-wrenching. Even she, who was so proud, could show such vulnerability.

“Hurry up! You aren’t planning anything suspicious, are you?”

This is driving me crazy. She’s already fretting.

At this point, she looked ready to attack at any moment.

“Don’t worry, Mary. If I don’t go, we all might be in danger.”

“….”

I hugged Mary, who was trembling from the aura of evil. Due to our size difference, it might seem like an upperclassman comforting a younger junior.

With that, Mary’s expression softened a bit.

“Make sure to come out if something seems off. Got it?”

“I got it.”

I could strongly feel her fervent wish for my safety.

Just looking at her voice and gaze revealed that strong aura.

Ever since awakening the power of the Demon King, Mary’s mental state has been unstable.

It would take a long time to regain her former carefree nature.

During that time, without finding a target to depend on, she has endured with evil and evolved into the final boss of Chapter 5… but I can’t leave it like that.

“You’ve finally come!”

Just my approaching ignited Luthis into a frenzy of arm waving.

His exaggerated movements were more embarrassing to witness. I almost wanted to give him a solid punch.

He harbored no special feelings for me. It was neither affection nor animosity, just ‘none’ at all.

He even dropped his weapon to the ground. So, while I stood before him, nothing significant happened.

“What were you going to say to me?”

I asked out of curiosity.

Then Luthis gave me a look as if he was about to console me, patting my shoulder.

Swish swish—

“Now you can relax.”

His voice was reminiscent of a compassionate priest, making it easy to mistake him for a saint.

Though perhaps he excelled at social skills, I wondered if that was how he climbed to the position of captain.

Puh-shuuk!—

But I was horrified to see a hole appear in my chest. Something surely had flown at me.

Since it was shot from a hidden location, I couldn’t see it with my magic eye, and other sensory skills were too slow to react.

In that case, what exactly was Muto doing not to stop it?

“Damn…!”

No, Muto had actually protected me with his entire body.

But Muto too was pierced through.

Given the sacred energy, it looked like a sacred magic arrow, and I barely managed to track down where it had come from.

Right on top of the head of the top-tier spirit Triton. Even if I wanted to feel the energy around, it was obscured by the chaotic presence of that gigantic monster.

Thus, I could not detect the existence of the sniper.

“You can now rest forever.”

He maintained a kind expression. It seemed he was confident that his actions were justified.

While everyone was aghast in disbelief, Luthis spoke passionately.

“The truth is, I know everything! Your students also participated in their plans! Therefore, ‘evil’! Especially this student can manipulate ominous spirits! Thus, they are subject to punishment!”

“Shut up… you are out of your mind.”

“Huh?”

I must have had a hole in my chest.

Amazingly, upon seeing me alive, Luthis’s eyes widened in surprise.

And upon seeing the `fake` that had been pierced through the heart vanish and the `real` me appear, he was surprised once more.

-Exchange Lv10

I hadn’t used the exchange skill in a long time. I thought it would be perfect since I had leveled it up, but…

“Khuhk…!”

“I couldn’t dodge perfectly.”

My heart was spared, but my thigh was penetrated. It had been the fastest projectile I had ever faced.

In the meantime, Baimon remained focused on searching for Luthis’s information.

“I found it. Luthis Sentry, appointed as the second captain of the Divine Royal Family’s Knight Order a year ago. Known for his righteous and dedicated character, he dispatched various demon and monster legions in a short time.”

“Is this really the time to be reading that?”

Trisha urged him impatiently, but Baimon didn’t stop reciting.

From his findings, I discovered something shocking.

“However, perhaps due to his inexperience as a captain, he was unable to save hostages during operations. It states here.”

“What…?”

“In other words… it says that the hostages did not survive in operations he commanded.”

Publicly, it wouldn’t mention that he directly killed them.

It would likely be covered up as something unavoidable operationally, or that he was inexperienced since he had only been assigned for a year.

“So that man… he intended to kill us from the very start?”

He didn’t attack us for no reason from the beginning.

Realizing that and looking at that cartoonish face sent chills down my spine.

“That bastard!”

“The promise was different!”

Just as Tariel and Heidern were about to jump in anger, the spirits blocked their way.

With the Rozaria that had fallen to the ground now back in Luthis’s grasp, he darted forward to slash at me.

Swish!—

“This…!”

Thankfully, Muto shielded me with his tail, but it was so strong that his tail got severed.

As a result, only my upper skin got sliced, or else a much more horrifying scene would’ve played out.

Blood flowed. Pain made my head spin.

Behind me loomed the ominous abyss.

“There is no mercy for evil that threatens the citizens.”

“Yeah, you too.”

“What?”

This was, in fact, an opportunity.

I mustered the last of my strength to pull him towards me, and he was drawn in as well.

“Wah!”

Suddenly, Luthis’s body lunged toward me.

Thud— as he slammed his chin against the ground, he finally checked what was binding his wrist.

“Is this a line?”

Something was tied up.

A fine small string wrapped around his wrist like a bracelet.

In that state, I smiled and jumped off the cliff below, shouting.

“It’s fishing line, you bastard!”

“How dare!”

Wham!—

A black feather struck into Luthis’s shoulder like an arrow as he tried to struggle against it.

Upon grazing a part of the manifest Aisha, he lost his strength in his arm.

Luthis and I fell together into the abyss below.

*

“Buddy!!”

Mary’s scream echoed as a cold aura enveloped the area.

While our side shuddered at the friend’s sacrifice, the soldiers on the other side charged in to attack.

Moreover, the spirits had not yet vanished.

“Buddy… Radon…”

Beneath the cliff lurked the aura of death, the opposite of life.

Falling into such a place, there was no way to survive.

As that weighed heavily on Mary’s despair…

“How dare you touch the captain!”

But there was no mercy in this situation.

Among the soldiers, one archer shot an arrow toward Mary.

“Junior friend. You better snap out of it.”

The arrow froze right before Mary’s brow.

Trisha caught that projectile with her hand, looking down at her.

“It’s not over yet. There’s no way he would die that easily.”

“….”

Mary, seeming disbelieving, had no response, but Trisha turned without minding her.

“Surely you all are not planning to just stand by, right?”

“….”

They too had no answer.

However, upon seeing Trisha boldly stand in front of Mary to protect her, their expressions changed.

“Just like that woman said. Snap out of it, Mary.”

“But…”

Even with the wind spirit Dolkan, resembling a cheetah, urging her on, it only sounded negative.

“That boy isn’t dead yet.”

But at that one hopeful statement, the focus in her once dimmed eyes wavered.

 

---