To the Cathedral – Part 01
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Translator: Kell
“Can I really go to Wenias?” Madia asked. “What about my contract with the Director?”
“You and the demon both agreed to change the contract,” Zero replied. “It is similar to how your father freed himself from the contract by offering you as the demon’s servant.”
“I suppose. My father did always go out, not fulfilling his obligation.”
“Your eyes will be benificial to Wenias as well. I wrote a letter to the king. He will welcome you with open arms.”
We made it safely to the main road without any problems. From here the people from the fort would head to Wenias, and we would follow old man Leyland up north.
With Madia, a Mage could use Magic from the Chapter of Capture, and the four knights of the advance party, they should make it to Wenias safely.
“Thousand Eyes’ power has weakened. We still do not know what effects that will bring,” Zero said. “Be careful out there.” She spun on her heel and started walking.
I followed right after, and so did Gemma and Barcel.
Thousand Eyes—I decided to call him that, too, since Thousand-Eyed Sentinel was a bit too long—could not walk properly yet, so I pulled him on a wagon.
For a while we argued who would take on this task, but as with most physical labor, I ended up doing it.
Zero’s training produced remarkable results. Thousand Eyes had become completely docile. Though I still had my doubts about Leyland accepting a demon into the company.
We might have to hide the fact that he was a demon.
This is gonna be a long journey.
The main troop was supposed to be at least seven days ahead of us, but we were able to catch up with them on the fifth day. They had built a full-blown camp and apparently had not moved in several days.
A considerable number of corpses lay around the campsite—humans, beasts, and indescribable monsters. We climbed over the corpses and made our way through the crowded encampment to the Vice Captain’s tent.
“Their number’s gone down a lot,” I muttered.
Gemma bit her lip. It did not look like an army of more than ten thousand. I would estimate around eight thousand or so.
The medical tent was overflowing with people moaning and screaming incessantly.
When we arrived at the tent, Vice Captain Leyland, already informed of our arrival, was waiting for us in his armor. Blood and dirt smeared his gear, and his old face showed signs of exhaustion.
“You’re back,” he said.
“Vice Captain, what happened here?” Gemma asked.
“We lost a thousand men in one night.”
Gemma’s eyes widened.
“Then a thousand more the next night. They would start killing each other. The soldiers get nightmares and attack anyone. If you subdue them and put them in a cage, they commit suicide. A soldier who drank water from a watering hole melted from his stomach the next instant. Fruits are poisoned. It only gets worse with every step we take north. Gemma, I can’t go on any further.”
His words were enough to drain one of hope. It felt like the Vice Captain barely held himself back from ordering a retreat.
“Go on. Laugh at me. I was too conceited. I thought my faith could repel demons, but I lost almost half my men. This wouldn’t have happened if we took the witch to protect us!” He truly regretted the actions he took.
“I believe you made the right decision,” Gemma said firmly. “You were thinking about the troop. That’s why I agreed to it. True, we have lost many. Too many. But with a mediocre Captain, there wouldn’t be this many survivors. Everyone would be dead.”
“Spare me the sugar-coated speech!”
“If the Knights Templar doesn’t sugarcoat things, then who will?! I am proud of you, Vice Captain Leyland.”
“Gemma.” The old man wore a grimace, but he did not seem displeased.
I thought he would shed tears at Gemma’s touching words, but the sly old man simply frowned, holding back the tears.
“Young’un. Did you ward the campsite?” Zero asked.
The Vice Captain lifted his head.
“It is a barrier that wards off a specific demon,” the witch continued. “You said that your men killed each other, but they are now safe from the demon’s ability.”
Relief flashed across the Vice Captain’s face. “I see. I had no idea.”
“How did you do it? The Church might excel at warding off demons, but warding is difficult to do unless you know its name. Did you learn the name of the demon?”
“It was a shot in the dark.”
“Singer of Harrowing Nightmares,” Zero and the Vice Captain said at the same time.
He got it right. I was surprised.
We already learned of the demon’s name using Thousand Eyes’ ability. If demons became weaker once their name was known, it made sense why Thousand Eyes had such a strong influence on other demons.
Zero smiled, but the Vice Captain’s face was still grim. “Throughout its five-hundred-year history, the Church has recorded the names of known demons and the phenomena they created. Records showed that a long time ago, there was a unit that started killing each other, manipulated by their nightmares. I thought it sounded similar. I could only call it God’s miracle that it worked.”
“God’s miracles come from strong faith and heartfelt prayer. It means your faith is real.”
The Vice Captain’s eyes grew wide. He probably never expected a witch to say something like this.
Gemma patted the old man on the shoulder. “Vice Captain. We can still go on. If we work together, we can defeat the demons that stand in our way.”
“Perhaps…” He smiled for the first time. His expression then immediately became stern, and he raised his voice, chest puffed out. “Men! The Captain has returned! We are reorganizing the troops! As soon as the witch heals the wounded, prepare to march on my orders! We are only halfway through our mission. We leave tomorrow!” After saying all that in one breath, the Vice Captain turned to Gemma. “I trust you are fine with that, Captain?”
“Y-Yes, of course.”
“Lady Witch, I apologize for not asking for your permission beforehand, but could you please heal the injured?”
“Very well.”
“Hmm?” When he finally calmed down, the Vice Captain noticed Thousand Eyes for the first time. “Who might that be?”
I saw this coming. Now how do we explain this guy? Gemma said to leave it to her, but…
“This is the young Director of Fort Niedra,” Gemma replied without hesitation. “The demon that invited us took control of the Forbidden Library. But thanks to Lady Zero, we succeeded in imprisoning the demon in the Director’s body. He turned out like this, but at the same time, we gained the demon’s ability to see the whole world.”
Nonhabitual liars usually lied the best during crucial moments. The Vice Captain completely believed the crazy explanation and respectfully welcomed Thousand Eyes as a man who devoted himself to the Church.
“You sure about this?” I asked. “That guy’s gonna get the special treatment.”
Sure, it was currently Zero’s servant, but it was still a demon. We had to somehow convince the stubborn Vice Captain, but introducing the demon as the Director of the Forbidden Library seemed too much.
“I had to say that in order to give it the welcome it needed.” Gemma said as she moved through the woods, axe in hand.
Behind her, Barcel shrugged. “If the Captain says it’s okay, I’m sure it’s okay.”
“I don’t know about that.”
As a matter of fact, we were traveling onward with the Thousand Eyes guiding us. It was actually quite useful. With its power, we could locate our target without having to search for them.
“We have it cornered, Mercenary.” Zero smiled as she drew some symbol on a tree. “It is surrounded by many wards. It will have no choice but to face us.”
“So I was thinking,” I said.
“Yes?”
“Singer of Harrowing Nightmares, was it? Its ability sounds familiar.”
“I figured. Its power made you see a vision once.”
“Ah.” I nodded. “Sanare’s Magic.”
“Correct.”
Sanare once cast a spell on me where I saw an illusion of Theo blaming me for his death, and almost killed Zero. It was said that witches gained their power from demons. If the main source of Sanare’s Magic was nearby, I would love to say hello.
“There it is!” Gemma shouted, tightening the grip on her axe.
Barcel fired an arrow to block the demon’s path. In a desperate attempt to escape, it charged straight at me. Mercilessly I plunged my sword into its heart and pinned it to a thick tree trunk.
I watched it as it struggled. It was a goat Beastfallen, possessed by the demon named Singer of Harrowing Nightmares.
“So this is the demon that made the knights kill each other.” Gemma looked tense.
“Fear not.” Zero tapped Gemma’s back to reassure her. “It is a lesser demon that cannot do anything against the Vice Captain’s makeshift ward. From the looks of it, it cannot even speak our language.”
“So not all demons can talk.”
“With me on your side, no nightmare will haunt you. All the more so when we know its name.”
Makes sense.
I could not feel any of the intimidation that I felt when I faced Thousand Eyes, even though this demon’s ability was far more vicious. It was quite strange.
I once witnessed Zero summon a tiny demon. So even those kinds have been summoned, huh?
“So tell me, Witch.” I took my hand off the sword and cracked my knuckles. “How do you kill a demon?”
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