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The Holy-Evil War – Part 03

Translator: Kell

This is pointless, he thought.

“We should just kill her.”

The priest transformed his staff into a scythe as he strolled along under the sunlight filtering through the trees.

Zero said that she would prepare a fake vessel that would take the place of the princess in order to trap Sanare.

In that case, the princess herself was not needed. Why go to the trouble of capturing her alive?

It was one thing if she was being manipulated, but the princess was actually lending her own body to Sanare of her own free will. She deserved no sympathy.

The priest was an expert in taking targets by surprise. No matter how strong this horse Beastfallen was, it wouldn’t be too difficult to sneak up on the princess and cut her head off.

By his feet was a rat who was acting as his guide. He thought that rat guides were only found in fairy tales, but Lily’s ability seemed to turn fiction into reality.

The priest’s foot bumped into something, and he stopped. “Hmm? What’s this?”

Checking with his fingers, he could tell that it was a clump of mud mixed with dead grass about the size of a human child.

“An insect nest?”

Probably an ant mound or something. Destroying this kind of nest could be trouble. As the priest quietly moved away from the clump of dirt, another one hit his calf. There were more mounds around apparently. The rat let out a squeak and bit the priest’s shoe, pulling on it.

Following the rat’s lead, he eventually made it through the cluster of mounds and arrived at a dilapidated brick hut. Musty air wafted out from the gaping entrance.

This must be the entrance to the campus.

The priest entered the hut and took one step after another down the stairs to the basement. His steps made no sound. His shoes were specially made to be silent, and he was trained as well.

After descending for a while, his nose caught the scent of candles, suggesting the presence of people. At the bottom of the stairs was a narrow passage that went on endlessly.

He stroked the wall with the palm of his hand. The book spines he felt underneath his touch indicated that bookshelves lined the walls of the tunnel.

Standard practice would be to set them all on fire, but the parchment and bookshelves would not burn well in this humid environment. More importantly, setting the campus on fire would only alarm Sanare, ruining their plan of luring her out.

The priest cautiously let out a small breath.

Then, he heard the clatter of hooves. The sound of armor rattling echoed from deep inside the passage.

Should I press on, or pull back?

It only took a split-second for him to make a decision. The priest turned around and ran back the way he came. The sound of hooves followed him at a furious pace, as though it noticed him.

They knew.

They had been waiting for him from the start. The passageway was too narrow for a head-on battle with his scythe. He could fight back with his strings, but the sound of hooves suggested that he would be up against the horse Beastfallen, a spear-user clad in full-body armor.

He made it to the end of the tunnel and up the stairs.

The pursuer caught up with him. The beast’s body heat and the coldness of its spear was closing in, and the priest made a split-second decision to lie down on the stairs.

The horse’s hooves barely cleared the priest’s head. Regaining his stance immediately, he rolled out of the brick hut and faced Raul, who slowly turned his body to him.

“Looks like our plan to take you by surprise failed,” the priest said bitterly. “Almost as if you knew I was coming.”

Raul cocked his head gently. “There were too many rats, and the way they moved, I knew we were being watched. I’m a Beastfallen, after all. I didn’t know who was watching us, but I’m glad it was you.”

“I don’t recall doing anything to be welcomed by a Beastfallen.”

“You killed the princess’s mentor. If I kill you, the princess will return to the island.”

The priest couldn’t tell what expression Raul had on his face, but the hard voice that issued from his helmet had a coldness to it that made even a member of Dea Ignis shudder.

It was as if he was hearing his own voice when he faced a witch he was hunting.

Raul tucked his spear under his arm and lowered his body. His hoof kicked the ground, and a second later, the sharp tip of his spear was right in front of the priest.

The priest somehow managed to avoid being skewered, but the spear tore his cheek.

“I don’t have time to deal with a beast!”

The priest leapt away from Raul and threw his scythe at him. The Beastfallen dodged the blade, however, and the weapon pierced the ground deep.

Raul shrugged. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You can toss your weapon away, but I still won’t let you go.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t give up my weapon.”

I knew it, the priest thought. Raul couldn’t see the strings.

From the sound of his muffled voice, the priest surmised that Raul’s helmet covered his entire face, resulting in a limited field of vision. And since he was half horse, he couldn’t see his own feet.

It was like catching an animal in a snare. Draw a circle on the ground, and when the prey enters the circle, you pull hard on the string. The animal, with its legs tangled, would not be able to move.

The moment Raul lunged forward again, the priest clenched his fist, tightening the strings running from his fingers to his scythe.

Raul staggered when his hind legs got caught in the strings. Unlike normal animals, however, Beastfallen were incredibly heavy.

The momentum pulled the priest a little, but he quickly sprang forward, wrapped his arm around Raul’s neck and pulled him down on the ground. Raul’s helmet fell off, exposing his thin neck.

“Shit!”

“You don’t seem to have much combat experience,” the priest said. “This isn’t a jousting match, you know.” It was a declaration of victory.

He might not be able to break the neck of a Beastfallen like Mercenary, but with Raul, it should be easy.

“You’re right, priest,” said a cold woman’s voice. “This isn’t a one-on-one match.”

The sound of something cutting through the air made the priest stop. His decision was instantaneous. He leapt away from Raul right before he could snap his neck. If he didn’t, he would have been in grave danger. The sharp edge of a blade grazed the priest’s arm, sending splashes of blood on Raul’s armor.

“Ah, what a shame,” the woman muttered as if to herself. “I wanted to cut your hand off.” She didn’t sound that disappointed, but her voice was filled with intense malice and hatred. She sounded familiar.

“The princess of Black Dragon Island!” The priest sneered, correcting himself. “Oh, wait. You abandoned your nation to exact vengeance and engaged in heresy. The witch of Black Dragon Island would be more appropriate.”

“Stand up, Raul,” the princess said softly, not answering the priest’s words.

In a pure contest of strength, it would be difficult for the priest to continue restraining Raul. The priest loosened the strings and retrieved the scythe stuck in the ground.

Armor clattering, Raul stood up, scratching the ground with his hooves.

“Are you hurt?” the princess asked.

“I-I’m fine. So please—”

“I’m not going to hide. He’s mine. Besides, if I leave him to you, you might show him mercy and give him a quick death.”

The priest snickered. “What can a has-been witch like you do? Zero took away your ability to cast Magic. Best you can do is close your eyes and quietly accept your death. Just like your master, who had his head chopped off by me in his sleep.”

The moment the priest mentioned Argentum, every muscle in the princess’s body tensed up. Her breath became shallow.

The priest expected her agitation.

But the princess responded with a scornful smile. “Oh, excuse me. I just feel a little sorry for you. I suppose a shallow priest who knows nothing of Sorcery or Magic could not even consider the possibility that by becoming a member of Cestum, I may have learned a few spells not found in the Grimoire of Zero.”

It was an incredibly strange sensation. There was no sign of life anywhere. No sound of breathing, no heartbeat, no creaking of bones. But footsteps were clearly approaching.