“We… we won!”
After the last aberration crawled out of the black fog and fell, nearly everyone breathed a sigh of relief. This was followed by a massive explosion of cheers.
The horrors that had kept them in constant fear for so long were finally held firmly outside the stronghold!
Although many had died or been injured, they finally possessed the power to deal with these aberrations!
And all of this was a gift from the Church!
Thinking of this, many people became even more devout in their faith toward the Goddess.
If not for the Church, they would still be wandering through the black fog in fear. They certainly wouldn’t have the ability to kill those terrifying aberrations!
“Praise the Goddess!”
“Praise His Holiness!”
Many people shouted from the bottom of their hearts.
However, Romon stood there silently, staring blankly at the corpses of both humans and aberrations mixed together on the ground.
“Hey, Romon! What’s wrong with you?”
Little Jack saw Romon standing alone and ran over.
Jack’s face was covered in foul blood, but his spirit seemed fine. At least he wasn’t dead!
Not only was he alive, but he had also killed four or five aberrations!
He had originally wanted to brag to Romon, but he found Romon standing there alone, looking completely dejected.
“Jack… was I really right to do this?”
“So many people died…”
The reality was too cruel, and it shattered Romon’s illusions in an instant.
Not everyone was as lucky as Romon and Jack to have survived.
In that almost endless wave of aberrations, many of them simply couldn’t hold on after a short while.
Their constitutions were still those of ordinary people. Even with weapons capable of harming aberrations, it was still extremely difficult.
‘If I hadn’t taken the lead… would things have been better?’
“I’m talking to you…”
Seeing Romon like this, Little Jack patted his shoulder with a sigh and forced him to sit down on a nearby rock.
“Everyone else is celebrating the victory, yet you’re the only one looking miserable.”
“It’s not that… it’s just…”
Hearing Jack’s words, Romon hurriedly tried to explain, but Jack immediately interrupted him.
“I get it. But if we didn’t take the initiative to fight back, once the Knights couldn’t hold out anymore, we would have been torn to pieces sooner or later.”
After a pause, Jack looked at Romon and continued, “If that happened, wouldn’t the casualties have been even higher?”
“Yes…” Romon fell silent.
Wandering through the black fog, he had seen many bloody scenes and many deaths. Because of that, Romon didn’t want to see any more people die.
It was only because he saw the Knights dying to protect them that he had made that decision in the heat of the moment…
“Exactly! So you’re wrong!”
“Since we were going to die either way, it’s better to take a stand against these aberrations.”
“And besides… we won!”
Jack’s voice grew excited as he spoke. He hadn’t expected that he, someone who feared the aberrations so much, would not only kill four or five of them but also survive!
“You’re right… we won!”
Romon stood up, his gaze becoming firm.
Since sacrifice was unavoidable, then all that was left was to kill every last one of these aberrations!
He was going to ask His Holiness to grant him some power. He wanted to become an aberration killer! He wanted to go into the black fog to save people!
With that thought, Romon walked decisively toward Commander Gryffindor.
“Hey! What are you doing now!”
Little Jack shouted in panic as he watched Romon. Was this guy having another episode?
Grumbling to himself, Jack gritted his teeth and followed Romon anyway.
Out of everyone here, Romon was the only one he was close with.
“Commander Gryffindor…”
Hearing the voice, Gryffindor, who was resting on a bench, turned his head and looked Romon over.
“It’s you. Is there something you need?”
Gryffindor quickly remembered who the person in front of him was.
Before they had gone to resist the aberrations together, a single sentence from Romon had left a deep impression on him. Because of that, Gryffindor remembered him.
If he weren’t so exhausted from just finishing a conversation with Bishop Valentine, he might have already sought Romon out himself.
Gryffindor thought very highly of Romon.
“Can I… apply for the Goddess’s blessing from His Holiness?”
After speaking, Romon waited for Gryffindor to say something, feeling fearful and uneasy.
He started to regret it again. He felt that he hadn’t contributed much, so asking for a blessing like this… felt a bit shameless.
But… he needed power.
His hands slowly tightened. Gryffindor remained silent for a long time, causing Romon’s heart to sink continuously.
When Romon’s heart was nearly jumping out of his chest, Jack was holding his breath, and the air had almost frozen solid, Gryffindor finally spoke.
Seeing the heavy atmosphere, Gryffindor chuckled.
“So that’s what it is… Hahaha! You did exceptionally well, kid. I will definitely mention it to His Holiness. Relax, His Holiness will not be stingy with rewards.”
“Really… Thank you, Commander!”
After receiving Gryffindor’s answer, Romon felt a huge weight lift off his heart. He hurriedly bowed to Gryffindor and spoke again.
“I also want to… collect their bodies…”
“Hey…”
Romon’s words made Jack’s heart tremble. The breath he had just released caught in his throat again. He quickly tugged at Romon, trying to stop him.
“Oh? Can you tell me why?”
Gryffindor looked at Romon with a hint of surprise and curiosity.
“They died fighting for the Light; they shouldn’t just lie there like that. I want to gather them together and wait for His Holiness to return to ask him to perform a…”
“A Mass, right?”
Romon didn’t know what it was called and had been stammering for a while. Seeing this, Gryffindor spoke with a smile.
“It’s a very good idea. If you have the strength, then go ahead. I will ask His Holiness the Pope for permission regarding the Mass!”
Watching Romon leave and Jack hurriedly following him, Gryffindor couldn’t help but shake his head.
To be honest, he actually felt quite bad in his heart. His Holiness had asked him to protect the civilians, but in the end, they had to rely on those same civilians to hold this stronghold.
Out of the Knights from the smaller outposts, only six had returned. The rest were dead.
The losses were devastating.
‘It’s still because my own ability is insufficient…’ Gryffindor also had thoughts of asking His Holiness for a way to become stronger.
Just as Gryffindor was thinking about what to do next, the civilians who were still cleaning up the mess nearby suddenly made a noisy commotion.
“The aberrations are back!!”
“Why are they coming again…?”
Almost no one had recovered from the aftermath of the previous wave.
Now that another wave of aberrations was coming, they simply didn’t have the strength to resist, nor did they want to.
It wasn’t just exhaustion; it was more of a mental fatigue that came from seeing someone alive one second and dead the next.
Most importantly, among these aberrations, there was one with an extremely terrifying aura.
That aberration came with an even thicker black fog. Its eyeballs hung down, looking bizarre and horrifying.
‘I’m definitely going to die…’ That was the thought that popped into most people’s minds immediately.
Gryffindor’s expression turned solemn once more. He picked up his weapon, intending to organize the remaining Knights to resist the aberrations.
However, in the next moment, the crowd erupted in a massive cheer.
“It’s His Holiness! His Holiness has come to save us!”
Not far away, a light capable of piercing through the black fog was slowly moving toward the stronghold.
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