Great Abbot
‘···I have a bad feeling.’
Ever since the black magician Peroron saw the miserable sight of the monsters, the anxiety that had settled in his heart could not be easily erased.
Everything was clearly going according to plan, but an inexplicable chill kept tickling my throat.
“How’s the progress?”
“···Yes! As planned, the crimson darkness and the Heartrun entered the castle. The troops that came out of the castle were lured away as much as possible by the monsters.”
At the sound of a rough voice from beside him, Peroron quickly said the line he had prepared.
“Good.”
At the satisfied voice, Peroron glanced to the side.
The red lips of Apulit, who ‘drank the blood of virgins’, formed a beautiful curve. Although she had a poisonous feeling, she was a rare beauty.
But Peroron had no ill feelings.
That’s understandable, since he knew full well that the amount of virgin blood he drank to maintain his beauty was a hundred.
And the fact that I’m over fifty years old.
“But… Mr. Applet.”
Peroron opened his mouth cautiously, as Applet seemed to be in a good mood.
“huh?”
“Is it okay to make such a big deal out of this? Even if it’s a remote area, it’s still an empire…”
“So what? We’re just kidnapping Young-ae.”
‘They’re causing a fuss trying to kidnap that one young lady!’
Peroron swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
“And now things will be different. The Master said that if you eat the heart of the ‘Beloved of Mana’, you will go over the wall. Then you will no longer have to hide from the hypocrites.”
Applet spoke at length for an unusual amount of time, as if in a good mood.
‘wall?’
The ‘Master of the Sword’, the pinnacle of knights, has appeared frequently throughout history and is still on the royal side, but among magicians, there were few who surpassed the ‘Wall’, a level comparable to his.
That’s understandable, because the proud and arrogant wizards rarely acknowledged that their opponents had reached the end.
The last person to cross the ‘wall’ was a person from fifty years ago.
But, to think that he could climb over the wall just because he ate Young-ae’s heart… Even though he was a master, his faith was weak.
‘This feels like shit.’
Although he was anxious, Peroron had no choice.
“Now is the time.”
“Yeah. The knight is only in my castle?”
“Yes. We just need to open the gate.”
“Just open the gate-?”
Peroron’s eyes widened at Applet’s sharp question.
“yes?”
“Why do you say things so easily? How difficult it is to open the gate.”
‘They made the plan and now they’re asking me to do something about it.’
Contrary to his true feelings, Peroron bowed his head again.
Applet, who was glaring at Peroron, clapped his hands.
At the same time, a thick aura spread around.
Then, a hideous monster that looked like at least five people combined approached.
It had eight arms and seven feet.
It was Applet’s specialty, ‘The Tangled One’.
They walked awkwardly on the ground with feet of different colors. With each step, black sap flowed out.
‘oh···.’
Peroron looked at the sight with a small admiration.
The key to the entangled one was how many could be attached to one, and if the number was five, it would be no exaggeration to call it the best.
“What about the knight hunter?”
“I guess… you’re planning on coming a little late.”
“That’s why you ignorant devils are like this···.”
Applett, who clicked his tongue, stretched his hand forward.
The people who had been walking awkwardly around him fell forward and started moving like insects.
The strangeness and tinged discomfort in the movement were certainly remarkable, but Peroron was skeptical.
‘Without the knight hunters, we cannot open the gates.’
Even if it was a castle in the outskirts, it was still a castle.
To open that thick gate, you would need overwhelming force or equipment, or assistance from within.
They were in hiding, so there was no way they would have any equipment, and the internal support was focused on dealing with the knights of the inner castle.
The ‘Knight Hunter’, who was in charge of overwhelming force and was the only option, was nowhere to be seen.
‘Are you lost again?’
As it was a conference day, the knight hunters would arrive not too late, but until then, the warlocks would be the ones sweating it out. And the one who had to endure such annoyance from Apulit was Peroron.
‘The real devil’s pedestal guys···.’
Peroron muttered softly.
The gap between those who proudly shrugged their shoulders, claiming to have received the devil in their hearts, and the cool-headed and wise warlocks was growing wider.
“Everyone, get ready. Take out all the bodies you brought.”
Applet also gave additional orders, as if he had not expected the entangled men to break through the gates.
“yes!”
The warlocks behind them gave a loud reply.
‘How can we get through that thick gate on our own…?’
Peroron clicked his tongue inwardly as he recited the spell.
What can I do? If I have to criticize, I have to criticize.
Or you can just roughly imitate it until the knight hunter comes…
Applet was probably thinking similarly.
Looking at the entangled ones, who were also struggling, it seemed that they were not trying to break through the gate, but rather were trying to stick to the gate and instill fear inside.
‘huh?’
At that moment, something jumped down from the gate.
thud!
Judging by the physical appearance, it was a large person, but a loud noise rang out that was hard to believe was the sound effect of a person landing on the ground.
“What is that?”
Applet muttered in disbelief.
Peroron also tilted his head at him.
‘It would be hard to break through the wall just by shooting arrows. Why did he jump off himself? Did he commit suicide? Or did he lose consciousness due to extreme fear?’
The entangled ones found their target and ran away.
Squeak-
This time the gate opened slightly.
Someone came out through the gap, but it was dark so I couldn’t see them.
‘what.’
Peroron was perplexed by this situation.
I was thinking for a long time about how to break through the strong castle, and then I suddenly jumped out of the castle and opened the gate and came out?
I had no idea what was going on.
“Did you plant anything else?”
Applet also asked in a trembling voice, as if he was equally bewildered.
“No. There aren’t any on the outer side.”
Ferroron answered, scratching the ball.
“Do you want to die?”
There was a hint of laughter in Applet’s voice.
A clear sneer appeared at the corners of her red lips.
Then, as the dust settled, the opponent’s figure came into view.
‘oh my god.’
Peroron checked his opponent and swallowed dry saliva.
The colorful armor, large build, and hideous face covered in scars were all smiling brightly.
Very brightly, as if a truly welcome guest had arrived.
Under the unspoken pressure from the man, Peroron unconsciously swallowed and tried to suppress the fear that was welling up in his chest.
A feeling of instinct being turned on.
It was similar to when I first saw ‘Knight Hunter’.
The people who were stuck together jumped at the man.
The man grabbed one of the entangled heads and cut him to pieces with ease, as if he was butchering, with his sword.
‘Was it a knight?’
Those who were stuck had additional dark magic applied to their hide, making it difficult to break through without using an aura.
But the man easily cut him down.
‘There’s no Aura?’
Peroron narrowed his eyes and observed the man.
And Peroron, who saw how the man cut apart the entangled ones, opened his mouth wide.
‘Are you cutting along the seam?’
Of course, there was a bonding part because those who were entangled were literally entangled.
That was the exposed weakness of those who were entangled.
However, as expected from an apple that specializes in tangled things, the seams were so small and tight that they were invisible. In addition, the use of iron thread made it strong as well.
It would have been nearly impossible to cut such fine seams accurately in the midst of intense combat.
Because of that, those who were entangled could not be dealt with by ordinary soldiers.
‘I’m sure that’s true.’
The man cut off another leg of the entangled creature. The entangled creature still had five legs left and clung to the man.
The man struck the ‘stuck man’s’ head with his fist. Boom! It was a punch, but it sounded like a hammer striking.
The man’s fighting style was strange.
The swordsmanship that accurately cut through the subtle seams was clearly that of a skilled swordsman, but when they got into a fight, he fought by swinging his fists and kicking like a street thug.
He even went so far as to bite those who clung to him and prevented him from swinging his sword.
The battle within the man was fierce, as if the entangled men had killed his parents.
Kkwaddeuk-.
The moment my eyes met with the man who was forcibly pulling off the entangled head with his hands.
The man’s sharp gaze, the black liquid on the corner of his mouth, and… Peroron unconsciously lowered his eyes at the sight of his lips forming a curve.
The man was smiling brightly, as if he was having fun.
‘I had a bad feeling about this!’
Why do images of orc corpses with their lower abdomens ripped open come to mind?
Peroron covered his face with his hand.
***
‘Ah, this relieves some stress.’
Phew-.
I spat out the gritty substance remaining in my mouth.
My mind, which had been confused while listening to the abbot’s story earlier, came back to me as I moved my body.
‘The demons are better than the abbot. They can be beaten.’
A thought suddenly occurred to me and I smiled bitterly.
Of course, these guys were demons so their level was noticeably low.
bang!
Looking to the side, I saw the heretic inquisitor, who had returned to his usual expressionless state, swinging a greatsword as big as my body.
The hideous things were helplessly pushed back by the great sword covered in brilliant white light.
‘These guys have the best divine power.’
It was a dance worthy of the inquisitor known as the Devil’s Judge.
I had a moment to spare, so I watched her movements.
She had a habit of stepping forward with her right foot before swinging her greatsword horizontally. She also had a habit of rolling her feet in succession before making a big thrust.
I habitually remembered such trivial things.
In unexpected situations, such trivial things tend to inflate my size.
Still, it was fortunate that the bodies of the hideous things were kindly marked with cut lines.
These guys have tougher leather than I thought, so if there were no cutting lines, I would have had a hard time.
‘It looks like it was made by a kind warlock.’
I expressed my gratitude to the creator who kindly drew the cutting line.
I cut out and tore off the ugly things again, as if I was folding origami.
A moment later, the last remaining hideous thing was cut straight vertically by the Inquisitor.
It split in half and the splattered black blood reached the Inquisitor, but it was quickly oxidized by the brilliant light.
The black hooded men, who were clearly bad guys to anyone who looked at them, were looking at us with empty faces.
They would occasionally cast curses or shoot black spheres, but all they had to do was hide behind the Inquisitor.
The bastards flailed their hands as if they hadn’t given up yet, and soon they were calling out something again.
“Krrrrrrrrr-!”
This time it was a large, hideous thing.
The seams were so much tighter than before that I had to squint my eyes to see them.
It was clearly made by a black magician skilled in sewing.
‘With that level of sewing skills, you should open a clothing store.’
He clicked his tongue and readjusted his grip on the sword.
Looking at the regret in their expressions, it seemed like they had taken out something they had been saving.
At that moment, my eyes met with those of the inquisitor.
The heretic inquisitor nodded slightly and ran out first.
I followed suit and ran with him.
The giant swung its arms, but was cut down by the Inquisitor’s greatsword.
No, the moment it touched the light of the heretic inquisitor, it melted.
I slid between his legs.
I looked around for a moment to see if there was anything underneath, but unfortunately, there was none.
Then I stabbed him in the middle of the thigh, making a very fine incision, and cut it.
Todododo-.
The thread burst out and one of the guy’s legs collapsed. Black blood burst out from the scar and stained the ground in a long line.
The hideous thing’s posture collapsed, its height dropped, and the leaping Inquisitor cut off both of its heads at once.
A hideous thing with no head slumped forward.
It was a shabby ending that did not suit its appearance.
The heretic inquisitor, who had landed lightly like a cat, nodded again at me.
‘Why are you doing that?’
I thought it might mean something to him that he kept nodding whenever our eyes met, but I didn’t really think about it too deeply. He’s a strange kid after all.
“profit···!!”
A strange noise erupted from the warlock’s side, and this time a black aura poured out as if it were filling the surroundings.
Several of the warlocks collapsed as if their spirits had been drained.
The already dark night became even darker.
‘Is it black magic?’
I quickly hid behind the heretic inquisitor.
The Inquisitor then emitted white light from his entire body.
The light was as bright as the sun rising over the earth.
The black aura emitted by the warlocks in front of him was nothing more than a shadow.
The shadow naturally collapsed in front of the sun.
The ground-scraping heretic inquisitor swung his greatsword.
I felt it from earlier, but the posture and speed weren’t bad for swinging a greatsword like that.
‘It seems like we’re a bit out of sync.’
It was overwhelmingly powerful against a warlock, but when I compared it to my opponent right away, it didn’t feel that difficult.
Perhaps because she specialized in fighting demons rather than humans, her swordsmanship lacked sharpness.
The warlock at the very front was split in half, spraying red blood.
The inquisitor didn’t stop there, but spun around and swung his greatsword again.
The warlocks behind him split apart at the same time, and a red streak stretched across the ground.
The only one left was the one who knelt before the Inquisitor could even run. He quickly showed both his palms.
It was a clear sign of surrender, but the Inquisitor raised his greatsword without a second thought.
The question and answer dance was useless. It was the attitude of a great inquisitor, but it was foolish to kill someone who had already surrendered.
“wait for a sec!!”
I shouted at him in a hurry.
The Inquisitor, whose greatsword had stopped just above the bastard’s head, turned to me with an impassive gaze.
“I think their level is worse than I thought for a castle with knights, so I’ll have to hear their plan.”
I said, staring at the inquisitor’s feet.
“···It is a sin to converse with the devil,”
The heretic inquisitor, holding his greatsword askew, spoke at length for the first time. His refreshing voice, which did not match his fierce appearance, cheered up the surroundings.
“Still, it is necessary to prevent any possible damage.”
I focused on her right foot and readjusted my sword out of sight.
“I… I’m not a devil! I’m a warlock! A warlock!”
The slovenly-looking warlock shouted in a desperate voice. The Inquisitor’s brow furrowed at that.
“Warlocks are also demons.”
“It’s different! Those stupid devil stand guys and I···.”
The heretic inquisitor frowned, looking back and forth between me and the naive guy, as if he was troubled.
At that I nodded my head looking at her.
I don’t know what it means, but I’ve been following what she’s been doing since a while ago.
Then the heretic inquisitor bit his lips tightly and took a step back.
Phew···.
I felt a little relieved and approached the guy.
“name.”
“It’s Peroron!”
“···Roche?”
“yes?”
“No. If you want to live, tell me everything you know. Then I’ll think about it.”
“Yes! What happened here is···”
The guy really wanted to live, so he blurted out everything he knew.
From the fact that they were a part of a group to the fact that they were after Yeong-ae’s heart, they blew it all up without a moment’s hesitation.
‘Young-ae is the one who receives Mana’s love? You rip out her heart and eat it raw…? You uncivilized medieval brats.’
It was so absurd that I couldn’t help but laugh.
Eating a human heart raw… It was truly uncivilized, medieval times.
‘At least boil them. You uncivilized bastards… tsk.’
I clicked my tongue and sorted out what the guy had said in my head.
The plan was more detailed than I thought.
If what the guy said was true, Naeseong would definitely be in chaos right now.
[Trust me, my friend.]
Ben’s awkward smile came to mind.
‘But he’s a knight, so he won’t collapse like last time, right?’
I shook my head, thinking it was a needless worry.
He’s already been scammed twice.
If you get hit here again, it wasn’t a human baby.
And Nova also said that he had made his own preparations, so it didn’t seem like it would collapse right away.
Of course, I should get to the inner castle as quickly as possible.
‘By the way, didn’t these guys know there was an Inquisitor?’
Perhaps the power of this strange heretic inquisitor was simply too superior to that of other heretic inquisitors.
If all the heretic inquisitors had that much power, then all the demons’ heads would have been broken already.
“···lol.”
The guy who had told me all about the plan scratched the back of his head while looking around.
As I promised, I thought about it for a moment and then took a step back.
Kwajik-!
As if he had been waiting, the Inquisitor’s mace smashed the guy’s head.
The guy’s head exploded and hot blood sprayed out, coating my face and waist.
‘You have a short temper.’
I brushed away the blood and flesh that had been spilled with my hands.
The inquisitor swung his mace until the man’s head was reduced to a lump of meat.
Not only that, he also personally smashed the heads of the children next to him with a mace.
The one who spread those cruel hands hid in the tree and ate the cake…
‘What a great abbot.’
I had no choice but to admit it.
Since his craftsmanship was quite skilled, it didn’t take long. The heretic inquisitor, who had been made entirely of meat, nodded while staring at me.
I don’t know what it means, but I nodded along.
Then the inquisitor approached me and this time he put his hand on my ear instead of my forehead, and a light enveloped my forehead.
‘Wipe your hands first.’
I clicked my tongue at the unpleasant dampness in my ears.
The heretic inquisitor nodded after giving his blessing, and I nodded along with him.
“As the sun rises, the darkness retreats as if terrified! Look! Those who crawl on the ground and hide in the darkness will flee back to where they came from! Inquisitor! Honorable Aron! Do you hear my voice?”
A loud noise was made by a man on top of the wall.
He disappeared for a moment, then went inside and rang the bell. He must have moved in a hurry, his face was covered in sweat, but his voice was still powerful.
“Hey! You can’t hear me!! Just wait a minute – I’ll be down soon!”
Soon the abbot on the wall disappeared.
The heretic interrogator with a pale face turned to me.
The inquisitor’s indifferent black eyes were filled with emotion.
“They say there are more demons on the inner side, so go and see…”
“yes!”
The answer came before I could even finish speaking.
I found myself laughing out loud at that quick reaction, and the heretic inquisitor tilted his head.
“How dare you, filthy, unclean ones, raise your heads so proudly! Do you think that because the sun is not visible, His eyes cannot reach you! I will take these things immediately…”
We moved hurriedly as the abbot’s voice grew closer.
***
Dylan… no, the weasel felt cold for no reason and ran his hand over his forearm. The weasel was looking at the grass and the guard at the back gate.
“Brother, I don’t feel good about this.”
The weasel swallowed hard.
Even the scenery I usually see often looked particularly dreary today.
“Still, the probability of coming from the back door is low. The back door is small to begin with, so not many people use it.”
“Yes, brother. I think so too.”
The grass snickered at him.
The two talked about various things to relieve tension.
Most of the time, the weasels were the ones talking, with the grass occasionally adding its own comment.
How much time has passed like that?
Ding-ding-ding-ding.
An ominous, heavy bell sound was heard from inside.
“older brother?”
“Looks like something happened. Hmm.”
The solution frowned as if it was a matter of concern.
Just then, a thick voice was heard from just below.
“Hey guys- Is this the Cassadic Castle?”
It was clearly a twisted pronunciation that belonged to a drunk, but the weasel couldn’t laugh. The man was as big as a cub, and the presence in his voice strongly stimulated the weasel’s instincts.
The weasel, who had been alert to danger since becoming entangled with Aaron, naturally sensed the clear death emanating from the thing below.
“Who are you?”
The grass answered on behalf of the frozen weasel.
The weasel was already holding the bow next to him and had an arrow ready. The weasel was nervous that the grass would shoot the arrow.
“He asked if my last name was Cassadick.”
The man did not answer Grass’ question but said what he wanted to say.
The grass made a subtle expression at that shameless reaction.
The weasel hurriedly grabbed Grass’ arm.
“Brother. Let’s open it.”
“···what?”
“Let’s open the gate.”
“What are you talking about now···.”
“Don’t you think it looks strong? We can’t stop it on our own anyway, so instead of dying like a dog, let’s just open it and then let’s tell the ten-colored… no, the leader.”
The weasel spoke as quickly as possible, keeping an eye on the man.
The man was yawning peacefully and scratching his neck.
“That’s nonsense. We’re the outer guard. How dare you open the gates to someone you don’t know!”
Although the weasel and the weasel are very similar in personality as they look, they differ in important aspects.
The weasel put his own life first no matter what the situation, but Grass tried to do his job even while being calculating.
Of course, the weasel thought it was a meaningless death.
“Say it again! Reveal your identity···!”
The weasel quickly slapped the back of Grass’s head as he shouted down at her.
The grass fell forward and he fell down.
It was a clean backstab. The weasel raised his hand, thinking that his backstab skills had improved.
“That’s right, Castle Cassidy! Welcome! Zzararajan! Welcome! Castle Cassidy, at the easternmost tip of the empire, where the water is clear and the air is fresh!”
The weasel expressed the greatest welcome he could by turning both hands and shaking his buttocks.
The man jumped up with a heavy thud. He moved like a beast.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
‘···crazy.’
A hammering sound slowly rose from below, and soon a thick hand appeared over the wall.
The man who had managed to climb up stood at the edge of the wall.
It was even bigger than it looked from a distance.
It seemed bigger than Aaron, who was like a mountain.
“Are you a knight?”
The weasel rolled its eyes at the man’s cold gaze and assessed the situation.
“no!”
The weasel instinctively chose the option.
“I see. Good night.”
The man nodded at him and passed by-.
The weasel was finally able to breathe comfortably after the sound of footsteps had disappeared.
The weasel, who had taken off his outer garment and covered the unconscious grass, stared at the Castle of Cassidy.
It was a dark night, and the dark appearance felt very frightening.
Phew···.
The weasel took a deep breath and quickly went down the stairs.
And I ran hard.
“Father!! You little shit!! Father···You little shit!!”
The weasel ran until his feet were sweaty, looking for something worse than the devil.
The weasel knew very well what he could do best.
It was a very scary thing to report an intruder to a teenager.
***
Knight Ben readjusted his sword and stared straight ahead.
The large door, which Youngae liked for simplicity and had no special decorations, was burning down completely.
Strangely enough, the fire was not red but black, and it was cool rather than hot.
The entire room where Young-ae was was burning with that strange black flame.
Phew···.
Ben checked his body.
Unlike that time, I didn’t eat anything and I didn’t have anyone next to me.
Thanks to that, my physical condition was as usual.
Ben nodded slightly and started walking.
The crimson fire, though not hot, had a definite presence, but Ben pushed him away, drawing his aura and walking away.
A knight willingly walks into a burning room to save Young-ae. It’s like a scene from a hero’s story, and Ben chuckles slightly.
Ben took a step forward without hesitation.
In the center of the red flames was Youngae.
Confusion and fear were on the face of Young-ae, who was so beautiful that she was called the flower of the East.
Perhaps because he had grown attached to her after being her escort for quite some time, Ben unconsciously took a step closer.
First of all, the top priority was to evacuate Youngae from this place.
“···ah.”
“Yes. This is Knight Ben.”
Yeong-ae’s previously blurry eyes suddenly became clear.
“What should I do now?”
“You don’t have to worry because I’m here….”
Ben couldn’t finish his sentence because Young-ae immediately jumped into his arms.
My mind instantly became complicated because of the unexpected situation.
Youngae was engaged. Although Youngae was beautiful, Ben’s feelings for her were not romantic.
But if Yeong-ae, the flower of the East, expresses her true feelings like this, then if you reject her, then that’s it…
When Ben mutters, “This is why handsome knights are so tiring…”
Ben quickly changed his posture at the feeling of a cool sensation.
At the same time, I felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder.
Ben grabbed her shoulder and stepped back.
Yeong-ae’s face was clear, but the smile on her face was not that of a shy woman, but of a murderer.
Yeong-ae put the piece of flesh she was holding in her mouth into her mouth and chewed it whole. The blood flowing from the flesh flowed down her pure white hands.
A dark red fire rose from Youngae’s body as if it were reaching the ceiling, and her flesh melted away.
What was soon revealed was a woman wearing tight-fitting clothes.
“After all, men are attracted to beauties···.”
The woman sharpened her nails with a smile that was clearly a mockery.
Ben checked his shoulder.
There was a large hole in his left shoulder.
The pain was so intense it almost drove him crazy, but Ben gritted his teeth and held on to his senses.
“···I like the way you look now better.”
Ben straightened his sword with strength in his shaking hands.
It was meant as a joke, but there was a hint of sincerity in it, as Ben’s eyes were glued to the massive chest.
The woman raised the corners of her lips in disbelief and pointed her dagger-like fingernails at Ben.
His posture and momentum were formidable. It was clear that dealing with him would be difficult, having already conceded a fatal blow, but Ben did not complain.
As always, I just did my best under the given circumstances.
‘Don’t worry, I won’t let my guard down like I did before. Even though I say it myself, I’m actually one of the strongest knights.’
Suddenly, I remembered what I had said to my friend Aaron.
Ben’s face grew hot in the cool flame.
‘Not this time! Absolutely not!’
For a moment, his hazy mind came back to him, and Ben held his sword firmly and aimed it at the woman.
As always, the tip of Ben’s sword did not waver.
