The Holy-Evil War – Part 04
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Translator: Kell
Under the light of the sun, the priest could not see the enemy. If it were night, however, the bizarre sight would have rendered him speechless.
He was surrounded by a band of warriors—lumps of earth that had risen up and took branches to use as swords.
“I was leafing through some old books and found an account of Sorcery that gives life to mud puppets,” the princess said. “I figured that if I combined it with Sanare’s Necromancy, I could turn it into Magic, and the result is this, my lovely slaves. They’re not very strong individually, but through repeated trial and error, they grew in huge numbers. Didn’t you see the clumps of mud lying around in the forest?”
The priest remembered the clumps of mud that he had bumped into in the forest. If they all started moving and attacked him, he would be in trouble.
Letting out a small breath, the priest deployed his strings over a large area. The next instant, the countless clay figures that had been making eerie footsteps burst and crumbled to the ground in pieces.
“What can these pieces of trash even do?” They were so fragile, it was almost disappointing.
“You will be my test subject,” the princess replied. “Would poking twigs repeatedly weaken even brawny men? Can the puppets get into one’s mouth or nose and choke them? Can they cling on to someone’s legs, make them fall, and slowly torture them? Can they make someone who’s lamenting over the crime of killing a great sorcerer beg for their life? It might take a while, but I think these tireless mud puppets can achieve the intended results.”
“Best of all,” the princess continued in a gentle voice. She paused to look around, exhaled, and smiled. “Mud puppets don’t die even if you destroy them.”
No wonder their number didn’t decrease.
The puppets lunged at the priest once more. As soon as he knocked them down, however, the scattered mud slowly gathered together, took shape, and pounced again. There was no end to them, literally.
Clicking his tongue, the priest turned to escape.
“Running away, are we?” the princess said. “You’re more spineless than I thought. Raul, after him.” She nimbly jumped onto Raul’s back.
“We shouldn’t chase too—”
“No. If we let him go, he’ll come after me again. It’s best if we kill him now.”
Raul hesitated for a moment, but when the princess urged him to hurry, he started cantering away.
Things were going according to Zero’s plan.
Although accompanied by countless mud puppets, the princess was currently pursuing the priest of her own free will.
If he could safely lead the princess to the trap, the plan would be a success. Soon, he would come across the cluster of mud that he stumbled upon on the way to the campus.
If they’re all the princess’s mud puppets, can I break through them? Even if he could, there was a good chance that the princess would catch up while he was struggling with the puppets.
If I kill the princess, will these mud puppets stop moving? No. It would be too difficult while she was riding Raul and the puppets coming after him.
If the priest ran away, they would chase after him, but if he chased them, Raul would instead run away.
Since he could not kill her for certain, his only option was to lure her into the Magic circle.
If I survive until then, that is.
Then, the entire forest stirred. He could hear breathing, heartbeats, and small footsteps, different from the inhuman presence of the mud puppets.
The priest felt irritated with himself for being considerably relieved by those countless creatures that would normally invoke disgust and fear in him.
“No one asked you,” he spat. He had to, or he wouldn’t be able to take it.
That abominable rat Beastfallen is saving me again?
“What in the world is that?!” the princess asked, astonished.
“Rats,” Raul replied calmly. “It’s dangerous. Please keep your head down.”
As they slowed down a little, the mud puppets surrounded them, creating a shield against the swarm of rats closing in like a wave.
The rats swarmed the puppets, biting and tearing them apart as soon as they regenerated, and the priest was able to run past them safely. He frowned as he noticed a tiny being clinging to a tree branch, shivering.
The fact that this feeble-looking creature was the source of the dreadful swarm of rats was nothing short of astonishing.
The priest twisted his strings around a branch and cut it down.
“Huh?” With a shriek, Lily fell from above.
The priest caught her as he ran past, then carried the confused and flailing Lily on his shoulders like luggage. The priest’s expression grew even more grim with displeasure as he thought that he looked like Mercenary carrying Zero.
“Wh-What are you doing, Father?!”
“You think they wouldn’t notice you? After what you did, you’re dead if they catch you. What are you even doing here?!”
“T-To help?”
“I didn’t ask for a Beastfallen’s help! You’re just a burden!”
“Th-That’s not true! I’m strong!”
No. It was not Lily herself that was strong, but the swarm of rats that she commanded. The little furball did not understand that a single blow to her body would kill her.
What’s more, Raul was aware that someone was controlling the rats. If he spotted a rat Beastfallen then, he would immediately assume that they were the source.
“A priest employing a Beastfallen? Interesting,” the princess said. Even she came to that conclusion despite not having a clear grasp of the situation. “Let’s get rid of it first. These annoying rats should disperse then.”
Lily seemed to have heard her. She started whimpering, her grasp on the priest tightening.
She was nothing but a nuisance to the priest.
Unlike Mercenary, the priest wasn’t physically strong. Someone small like Lily still weighed as much as a small child. Carrying her drastically reduced his speed.
So why didn’t he just leave her behind?
“Ditch her,” said a voice in his head. It was the adjudicator part of him that spoke. Any hindrance to the mission’s succeess, even if it was someone who had saved his life, was a burden.
Which was right? Getting killed along with her, or sacrificing a single Beastfallen to accomplish the mission? The answer was obvious: abandon her.
The priest realized that Raul, closing in behind him, had thrown a spear at Lily. He knew that if he left Lily behind, it would cost her her life.
His body moved on the spur of the moment. As he twisted his body to protect Lily, he felt a jolt on his shoulder.
“Father!” Lily screamed.
The spear missed his vitals, scraping some flesh off his shoulder, before boring deep into the ground. He almost collapsed from the impact and intense pain, but he somehow managed to stay on his feet.
He could hear the princess’s joyful laughter ringing from behind.
“Raul, don’t forget to retrieve your spear, okay? It’s over there.”
“Yes, Princess.”
She looked like an elegant noble enjoying a hunt, but for the prey, it was no laughing matter.
“Wh-Wh-What do we do?! There’s lots of blood! I-I’ll get down—”
“Stay still!” the priest yelled. “You’re only aggravating my wound!” Keeping the pain out of his mind, the priest continued running.
The pain was barely an issue. The problem was the bleeding.
It wasn’t much further to the Magic circle where Zero and Mercenary were waiting. But the faster he ran, the faster the blood circulated, resulting in more bleeding.
He wouldn’t die until he lost half of his total blood, but he would lose strength way before then. Unlike the absurdly robust Mercenary, the priest was only human, and humans had their limits.
In fact, he was already slowing down significantly. The mud puppets caught up with him, making it even harder to run. It was even more difficult as the mud puppets were aiming for Lily.
Raul should have caught up by now. But the clattering of his hooves was constantly at a fixed distance, with no sign of them closing in.
I get it. It’s a hunt.
Raul was cautious. He wouldn’t carelessly close the gap until the prey was completely unable to resist. On top of that, the princess wanted to make the priest suffer.
Then as long as he didn’t stop, the plan would work. The corner of the priest’s mouth lifted.
They made it through the woods and onto a clearing. The center of the Magic circle was only about fifteen steps away. Zero would only cast Etrach once the princess was close enough.
Raul and the princess were definitely chasing him. The plan was as good as a success.
“Father! Behind you!”
Lily’s warning and the sound of a spear cutting through the air reached his ears almost simultaneously. The prey became an easy target once it leapt out in the open.
Normally, the priest would have dodged the spear, but the clinging mud puppets delayed his reaction for a split-second.
“B-Big brother! Help!” Lily shouted. Even a swarm of rats couldn’t stop a spear flying at this speed.
But if Mercenary came out to help, they would realize that this was a trap. The plan would fail.
Ridiculous, the priest thought. He will not show himself.
As he braced for death, a metallic clang rang out. The spear should have hit him by now. Instead, he heard a groan.
“Oh, shit. I shouldn’t have come out.”
He sounded like he just made a huge mistake.
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