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Life is a series of surprises.

I thought I had lived quite a while, but there was so much in this world that I didn’t know.

A chilling sensation crawls over me.

The blade resting on my nape radiates a deadly aura.

“Who are you?”

A knight clad in plate armor questions me.

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Episode 17 – The Tree That Drinks Blood

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A red radiance reminiscent of a ring hovers above the knight’s helmet, and a greatsword, seemingly from nowhere, is pointed directly at my throat.

And the repeated question follows.

“I’ll ask you again. Who are you?”

The ambiguity of their identity matched the enigma of the question itself.

“Sent by a cult? Or perhaps from the Dawn Society?”

“……”

Putting aside the cult for now, what on earth is the Dawn Society? Since the moment I took my post at the Lateran embassy, I’ve studied countless organizations, yet I had never heard of such a place.

The knight bore down on me, squeezing the hilt as if hastening my response. A heavy metallic clinking echoed momentarily. The greatsword, evidently weighty, wavered just slightly.

It was utterly unreasonable that someone could wield such a colossal mass of metal—easily dozens of kilograms—so freely and even with one hand. But then again, what was shocking? The world had already been half crazed.

I withdrew my hand from a firearm that had fallen to the ground, fixing my gaze upon the helmet.

“So what about you? Who are you?”

No answer came. The knight chose silence, merely tightening their grip on the greatsword without taking any other action.

This knight, whether male or female, remained unresponsive, but one thing seemed certain: they were definitely not a vampire.

Their attitude made that abundantly clear.

“You’re not a vampire, are you?”

“A vampire? Those wicked beings still linger in this land?”

A suspicious tone echoed in my mind. The knight’s voice resonated with a subtle, organ-like timbre.

The armor clinked ominously. After taking a step back while still aiming the greatsword, they suddenly began to murmur.

“Um…”

Perhaps organizing their thoughts or sizing me up, the knight remained silent for a moment. Just as it seemed they were on the verge of posing a question—

Before their mouth could open, I rolled across the floor, dodging to the side, and the fiery bolt struck just above my head right afterward.

—Whoosh!

The greatsword swung wide, sparks flying in all directions. Sensing the ambush, the knight pivoted to parry the torrent of flames. The massive sword swept through the flames, but among the scattering embers, a single strand of fire darted through.

Just as the straight-shooting flame was about to hit the plate armor, the greatsword raised like a shield absorbed the attack. The flames erupted like waves crashing against a barrier, exploding into a brilliant display.

“Camila!”

“Get down!”

As I stood up, shouting, a voice echoed from the air. Camila, who had approached from the blind spot of the plate armor, unleashed a barrage of flames while pressing the attack.

“Hold on a second—”

Just as I was about to yell something else, a gust of wind fiercely tugged and tossed my hair. Before I could turn my head, blue lines sliced perilously close before my eyes.

The threads of magic entwined around the plate armor. Stopping the arm wielding the greatsword, the knight gazed at their right arm. A taut thread that seemed ready to snap came into view—

“You should have been more careful.”

The low, purple gaze shone brightly.

While I was lost in the flames, Francesca had successfully restricted the knight’s movements.

Realizing her presence, the knight immediately prepared to retaliate, kicking up fragments of stone from the ground to hurl like projectiles.

An attack that could crush bones upon impact. As she wrapped threads around one hand and elegantly waved the other, a colossal arm made of concrete and rock began to form, obstructing her path.

—Bang!!

—Thud…

The fragments shattered upon hitting the concrete, and the core embedded within the magnificent body radiated a clear light.

Like a guardian, the golem moved forward. As it lifted Francesca with one arm, she naturally leaned against it.

—Boom, thud.

Following the sorceress’s command, the golem surged into action.

After safely placing Francesca in a secure location, the golem charged at the knight, swinging its massive arm. The knight, freed from confinement, raised their unbound arm.

The outstretched gauntlet reached toward the golem. Compared to the golem’s rugged and sharp limbs, the plate armor appeared infinitely fragile. Yet, just when the outstretched hand perfectly aimed at the golem, the golem’s punch, which seemed unstoppable, froze mid-air.

—Woooosh—

Just before the fist connected with the armor, the air itself distorted, followed by a dull blast. Recognizing the attack had been thwarted, Francesca attempted to take direct control of the golem, but the knight acted first.

The outstretched gauntlet curled inward. Grasping nothing in the air, the knight closed their open hand into a fist. In that instant, the concrete and rock scathed! Splintering apart, the golem’s body crumpled like paper.

The colossal figure wrinkled without mercy, with shards protruding like teeth that claw at gears. The gears, resonating with the sorceress’s magic, emitted a fierce glow and spun violently, but they were soon halted by the concrete and rock constricting them from all sides.

It unfolded in an instant.

“Tsk.”

Confirming that the golem’s core had stopped, Francesca clicked her tongue briefly. With the pure magic-infused core destroyed, the only thing left was an explosion.

As the core emanated a foreboding light, the protective magic embedded in the magical tool activated…

Purple hemispheres enveloped us, and Camila leapt out from thin air, hugging Francesca and me tightly while letting out a howl.

“Gyaaaah! The Titan is self-destructing!”

“No, quit the nonsense and everyone calm down, I’m telling you!”

“Calm? Freeze to death! We’re all about to die; how can you expect calmness, yaaaah!”

“Ughhh!”

And then the explosion happened.

With a deafening boom, a shockwave erupted. Just before it hit us, thanks to Camila’s teleportation magic, we barely managed to escape the blast radius.

“Ugh!”

Camila, who fell from the air, screamed. The hit to her forehead as she smashed into the table resulted in her rubbing it with both hands, a bonus gesture.

“Are we dead?!”

Francesca quickly looked up, raising her voice. As she lifted her head while still lying on the floor, she quickly regained her composure and checked on the knight caught in the explosion.

“Listen to me! I said don’t fight!”

I urgently tried to restrain the two as I glanced at where the knight had been. Smoke and dust filled the air, the fog being tinted a crimson hue.

The knight wasn’t dead. It was an instinctual feeling.

And that intuition was soon proven right.

As the smoke cleared, the knight emerged from deep within the concrete, completely unscathed by the tremendous explosion.

After brushing off the dirt on his plate armor, he surveyed the pit he had occupied.

“…Impressive.”

His deep voice resonated in my head. The awe-struck knight glanced around widely and then, without hesitation, reached behind him.

In the knight’s hand was a hammer. As if it had always been there, he grasped a handle that appeared out of nowhere.

Exiting the pit, the knight raised the hammer high into the sky.

“Oh, this is maddening….”

I tried to reason with the two, hoping to at least get them to listen, but it didn’t work at all.

“What on earth are you babbling about?!”

“Are you holy, Colonel?”

“Why is no one willing to hear me out?”

“If you demand a conversation with someone you were just about to kill, anyone would find it absurd, right?”

“……”

I had to admit, that was a reasonable conclusion.

Camila and Francesca showed no intention of backing down. Their determination to settle this right here was evident in their eyes.

And perhaps the knight felt similarly.

With a whoosh, the hammer spun, creating an overwhelming sound.

The knight, as if handling a toy, twirled the massive hammer with ease. He firmly gripped the handle and assumed a stance as if preparing to attack at any moment.

“……”

The knight stared at us with an unwavering posture. His calm composure gave no hint of any humanity.

Should I really fight? Have I truly been enchanted or something?

I retrieved the rifle I had dropped on the ground, nervously gazing at the knight.

-Whoosh.

Just as the hammer was raised high after a full rotation.

-Bang—!!

The sound of a single shot successfully interrupted the knight’s attack.

A bullet embedded itself in the raised hammer. The bullet, flying through the darkness, collided with the hammer, causing it to be pushed back.

The knight did not let go of the hammer. After the weapon collided with the ground, the knight effortlessly lifted it with both hands and instead of preparing for the next attack, examined his weapon.

“……”

A bullet was lodged in the surface of the hammer.

It was no ordinary bullet. No mass-produced item in existence could possess such a well-defined aura.

Removing the bullet from his weapon, the knight silently caressed the deformed projectile.

“Cease your actions.”

A figure stepped out from the shadows. The shooter of the bullet.

The slender voice hinted at the shooter being female. The knight, still fiddling with the bullet, laid down his hammer on the ground while waiting for her to reveal herself.

And Camila and Francesca said,

“Ha. Where on earth have you been hiding?”

“She’s alive….”

They both let out sighs of relief, mixed with scoldings.

Then, from the dimly lit corridor, a woman emerged, brandishing a revolver in one hand, her silky black hair cascading down.

“Puhuh-”

She exhaled faint wisps of cigarette smoke.

With the cigarillo clamped between her lips, she rested her hand on her hip, embodying an attitude of annoyance and fatigue as she leaned casually on one leg.

“Fighting in a sacred place, what a ruckus.”

The 58th Saint of the Cult.

Saint Veronica.

The herald of angels, and the marksman who shot down demons, the pinnacle of the Holy See’s despicable creations.

“Arrest all of them. Damn scum.”

Indeed, that seemed to be the case.

 

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