At the very instant the fragments merged, out on an empty field beyond the distant town, a figure slowly rose to his feet.
He held a shepherd’s staff in his hand, gently tapping the head of a sheep in front of him.
“Is something wrong, Luther Sage?”
“His Holiness has obtained the second fragment.”
Hearing this, Buzaki’s face lit up with joy, but he soon calmed himself.
Clearly, the second fragment had been retrieved—so why did Luther Sage’s expression seem even more grim?
Luther Sage didn’t reply, but Naar standing beside him noticed something odd. She hurriedly tugged at Buzaki’s sleeve, then pointed to Luther Sage’s arm, which was being invaded by a creeping blackness.
Buzaki’s heart jolted, and he instinctively took a step back. But when he saw that the blackness had stopped at Luther Sage’s elbow and wasn’t spreading further, Buzaki seemed to realize something.
Meeting Luther Sage’s gaze as he turned, Buzaki scratched his head a bit awkwardly.
“The second fragment has been taken, so the things that were being suppressed by the fragment will also…” Luther Sage paid no attention to Buzaki’s reaction, merely speaking as he gazed once again toward the direction of the church headquarters, his expression heavy.
Naar tugged at Buzaki’s sleeve again, making Buzaki realize what Luther Sage was looking at.
“You mean… those strange things will attack our headquarters?”
Buzaki asked cautiously.
Luther Sage glanced at Buzaki and nodded.
With Luther Sage’s confirmation, Buzaki’s heart tightened. He didn’t know what sort of horrors would be released, but he was sure they would all be extremely dangerous!
“Luther Sage, may I be excused?”
At that, Luther Sage looked at Buzaki with some surprise, then chuckled, “Don’t worry, you don’t need to go back. They’ll handle it. Those oddities have been suppressed by the fragment for a long time, and now they’ve left the region governed by the rules.”
“Without the power of the rules sustaining them, their strength is much diminished. Leave it to them with confidence… What we have to face is that thing…”
Only then did Buzaki’s anxious heart settle a little.
But still…
“That thing?”
Luther Sage had no intention of answering Buzaki’s question. He simply stretched out his shepherd’s staff and pointed toward the distant flock of sheep.
Buzaki instantly understood, and hurriedly pulled Naar along toward the flock to feed them.
Watching Buzaki’s busy back, Luther Sage gently rubbed his fingers together, murmuring in a low voice, “The future is still too hazy… Is that light truly you…”
Black mist surged endlessly, sharp wailing drifting out from within.
Before long, a knight noticed something amiss in the black mist.
Their lodgings behind them were simple and crude, and with black mist surrounding them on all sides, only the pillar of light could bring any peace of mind.
Bishop Becker had recruited new guards, replacing the knights who’d been maintaining order, sending more knights to reinforce the outposts.
Even these small outposts now operated on three-person rotating shifts.
The knight informed the other two knights beside him of the anomaly, drawing a laugh from both.
“I’m telling you, Mba, you’re just too timid. Other than the odd strange thing that pops out, this black mist hasn’t been dangerous for a long while.”
“Besides, even if there are a lot of oddities, so what? With His Holiness’s radiance, we can handle them easily!”
As they spoke, the two knights’ faces brimmed with reverence for the Pope and sincere devotion to the Light.
“Alright…” Although he too felt that with His Holiness’s light, there was nothing to fear, he still couldn’t help but worry.
Watching the other two knights enter the house, the knight sighed helplessly to himself, thinking perhaps he was just overthinking things. He, too, went inside.
Once the three knights had gone in, countless crimson eyes quietly opened in the black mist, gazing at the beam of light with boundless hatred.
“Gather!”
Griffinde stood on the stone steps at the village entrance, shouting sternly.
At once, twenty-one knights quickly put aside what they were doing and assembled before Griffinde in neat order.
“Praise the Goddess!”
Hearing the knights’ booming voices, Griffinde nodded with satisfaction. But then he looked solemnly out at the black mist beyond the village.
The knights did not possess much of the power of Light and couldn’t sense the danger within the black mist. Yet within himself, his thirty strands of Light were restlessly surging, warning of peril lurking within that darkness.
“There’s been some change in the black mist. Nine of you will head out to support the three small outposts. The remaining twelve, tighten your guard and watch for oddities that may break through the outposts and charge in!”
“Understood?”
“Understood!!!” Apart from a few worried faces, most of the knights looked excited.
They had been training for so long—wasn’t it for this very moment, to face those oddities?
Though thrilled, discipline had been drilled into them these past days. Instead of chatting, they focused seriously on dividing up the tasks.
“Sir Griffinde, thanks to your help, the outpost was constructed very smoothly.”
“Bishop Valentin, it was mostly thanks to your efforts that the construction was completed so quickly.” Hearing Bishop Valentin’s words, Griffinde replied at once.
Griffinde wasn’t foolish.
Valentin was trying to give him credit—perhaps hoping Griffinde would speak well of him in the future, or maybe counting on Griffinde to protect him if trouble broke out.
He did not deny Valentin’s talent for organization, but if Valentin harbored any improper motives, Griffinde would not simply look the other way.
Protection, at least, he would provide.
So Griffinde responded politely on the surface.
Valentin opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but before he could speak, a commotion broke out in the distance.
Several knights quickly headed that way.
Griffinde’s expression turned grave. Those oddities might already have reached the outpost’s vicinity.
Thinking this, Griffinde also strode swiftly toward the edge of the village.
Just as Griffinde stepped out of the village, the previously calm black mist suddenly churned like a boiling cauldron. Countless dark shapes leaped out of the mist, claws bared, rushing straight at Griffinde. Behind them, endless crimson eyes gleamed with bloodlust in the darkness.
The moment the black mist seethed, Griffinde’s armor was already in place, and a silver flash from his sword slashed into the fog.
There were far more oddities here than he had ever faced before. Even with three outposts as buffers, so many had still broken through.
This was no small matter. The three outposts, and the nine who’d gone to reinforce them, might be facing an extremely fierce assault.
At this moment, two knights ran up beside Griffinde, ready to help, but Griffinde held out a hand to stop them.
“Go, gather the townsfolk to the center of the outpost, where the statue stands. Do everything you can to keep those oddities from harming ordinary people!”
There were many of these oddities. Though not particularly strong, they were still deadly to regular folk. His first duty was to keep the people safe!
He must not betray His Holiness’s trust!