Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 89 - Viscount Dickens

Chapter 89 – Viscount Dickens

===================

Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

===================

Sonya marvelled.

“Wow, they fight unbelievably well.”

The Ghost Knight descending on a ghost mount while shrouded in darkness.

And Elbridge and Rombel, who leaped up while stepping on the steep wall and cleaved the Ghost Knight.

It was a feat that would only appear in ancient heroic tales. It felt so short that it was almost a pity.

“…”

However, the faces of the two who had shown such a splendid feat were frozen stiff.

Marcus’s expression became even more serious than theirs.

‘What happened?’

Over the past year, Marcus had never seen Elbridge and Rombel with such serious expressions.

Even in front of the black giant, even in front of the stampede, the two of them had maintained at least a modicum of composure. But now, there was not a trace of composure on Elbridge and Rombel’s faces.

However, unlike Marcus, Sonya still failed to read the atmosphere.

“What’s wrong? Is there some kind of problem?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of problem is it?”

Elbridge’s gaze was directed toward the remains of the Ghost Knight.

“Ah, is it because of the seal? Just wait a moment…”

Sonya’s movement to prepare the seal came to a halt.

Only now did Sonya discover the halved orb inside the Ghost Knight’s armor.

The shape and size of that orb were somewhat familiar to Sonya, and it was even disgorging ominous black smoke. What was more, there was not just one, but two.

Sonya spat out a curse word before she even realized it.

“Oh, shit.”

Now, sealing the Ghost Knight was not important.

Sonya’s voice trembled.

“Elbridge. Your skills are amazing, but can you also defeat a demon? I can cast an unbelievable enchantment for you…”

Instead of Elbridge, Rombel replied.

“No.”

Every demon possessed its own variables.

And the variables increasing to two did not simply mean a situation that was twice as dangerous.

From the moment two or more demons gathered, the direction and result of the battle could not be gauged.

Therefore, when facing two or more demons, avoiding battle was the basic combat doctrine.

They did not consider how much prepared force they had, how outstanding the knights’ skills were, or what kind of entity the demon was. Unless an irreversible disaster was scheduled, retreat was unconditional.

It was like that even in the past when the caliber of paladins was far superior.

Let alone now when there were barely five people in this place.

Elbridge thought.

What was the probability that both demons were like the black giant, possessing almost no variables?

‘Low.’

What was the probability that the affinity would be extremely good, like the demon he saw in the basement of the Central Mage Tower?

‘Slim.’

The conclusion was set from the beginning.

Combat doctrine did not exist for nothing.

‘Battle is ruled out.’

However, Elbridge still could not shake off his lingering regrets.

‘Is retreating here the right choice?’

He could not know exactly what information remained in Viscount Dickens’s castle.

However, one thing was certain: if he retreated now and returned later, the probability of those clues remaining was low.

Swirrrl—

While Elbridge continued his judgment, the smoke leaking from the orb gradually gathered and began to take shape.

Although it was still blurry, he could make out at least the silhouette of the demon.

‘That fellow seems to be humanoid…’

Since humanoid demons were extremely numerous, the silhouette did not serve as a special clue.

However, the other demon was different. An entity whose identity could be guessed solely by its silhouette and size.

Rombel muttered.

“…Starwave.”

Most demons had no fixed names. It was the most they could do for those who fought them to simply give them simple nicknames, like the black giant or the demon of flowers.

However, very rarely, there were entities with special names.

The giant serpent, Starwave, was one of those demons.

Scales as beautiful as the Milky Way in the night sky, a size that counted among the largest even among numerous demons, gentle habits compared to other demons, yet the immense damage that Starwave’s presence brought…

Watching the two demons gradually complete their forms, Marcus shifted his body.

“Sir Elbridge. I heard last time that buying time to retreat is your specialty… It seems the opportunity to show off your special skill has arrived.”

A proposal to retreat immediately.

However, after a brief moment of thought, Elbridge shook his head.

“Even if it’s dangerous, I must check the lord’s castle.”

Who collected the seals, who broke them, and who trapped Viscount Dickens.

All of those clues might be inside the lord’s castle.

He knew it was only a possibility. But Elbridge could not let the possibility slip away.

Marcus immediately shouted.

“It’s madness!”

“It will be dangerous. But I doubt I am the only one who thinks we must go inside the lord’s castle.”

Elbridge and Sonya’s eyes met.

Even after seeing two broken orbs, Sonya had asked if Elbridge could fight and win against a demon.

It was clear that she wanted to enter the lord’s castle even at the risk of danger.

Sonya asked.

“Is it possible?”

“There is no guarantee we will come out alive.”

Sonya squeezed her eyes shut.

Now, Sonya’s goal was not mere survival.

“…Fuck, in the worst case, I’ll see it and die. Let’s go!”

However, before Sonya set off with Elbridge, Rombel spoke.

“Sonya! Set fire to the building in front of us!”

“Fire?”

“We aren’t the only ones who need to escape! To save the crows and get out, we must do that!”

“No, fire and that… Starwave? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Starwave perceives its surroundings by temperature. It hates fire, and it tends to wander around in burning places.”

A plan to disrupt the senses of the giant serpent, Starwave, by setting fire.

Two hundred years ago, when Starwave appeared, setting fire first was the first step of the response.

Also, if a fire flared up in the deep night, the crows, who were pocketing ownerless goods, would realize that something unusual was happening.

Those who were quick-witted might be able to pull themselves out in advance.

When Sonya chanted a spell and waved her staff, sparks flared up from the wooden roof.

Rombel shouted.

“Elbridge, Sonya. See you alive! Marcus, Walter! You guys follow me!”

Rombel tore off a portion of the burning roof, held it like a torch, and ran.

He did not forget to stop in between to set fire to other buildings.

Accurate distribution of personnel, experienced situational judgment.

Elbridge laughed softly.

‘Moving with Rombel is always convenient.’

Elbridge approached Sonya. Sonya opened her arms as if asking to be carried.

“Here.”

However, Elbridge did not carry Sonya on his back.

Instead, he picked Sonya up and tucked her under his right flank.

“…?”

“We’re going.”

Elbridge kicked off the ground. Sonya looked ahead while held like a piece of luggage.

The inner wall rapidly approached, and her body soared vertically.

Neither stairs nor ladders were necessary. A small protruding stone, a space to catch her toes, a crevice where fingers could fit… With just that much, Elbridge climbed up the inner wall without difficulty.

What was more, the speed was incredibly fast. To Sonya, it felt closer to soaring rather than climbing.

Swinging this way and that while held like luggage, the scenery atop the inner wall spread out before her eyes in an instant.

The ground was visible at a dizzying distance. A height that must be several times a person’s height.

Sonya spoke hurriedly.

“Wait, just a moment…!”

However, Elbridge leaped down without even giving Sonya a moment to catch her breath.

“Kyaaa!”

The ground rushed toward her eyes. A strong wind brushed past her ears. It was chilling.

Her fingertips and toes became numb. Sonya’s thick hair fluttered wildly.

A fast, violent, unfamiliar movement that she had never experienced in her entire life.

Whether due to fear or excitement, Sonya’s heart beat madly.

Sonya lifted her head with all her might and looked at the lord’s castle. She raised her head a bit higher and looked at Elbridge’s face. She looked at the night sky beyond.

Even though the night sky was full of clouds, it was beautiful. It was a special moment that would come only once in a lifetime.

A strange sense of elation filled her from the depths of her chest.

There was no guarantee they would survive tonight, yet she felt strangely in a good mood.

Thud.

Unlike the violent movement, the landing was soft.

Still held like luggage, Sonya pointed to the lord’s castle.

“Let’s go! That way, that way!”

Her voice was excited, unfitting for the situation.

‘…Why is she so excited?’

Elbridge thought in that manner and ran, following Sonya’s finger.

A gorgeously decorated door of the lord’s castle came into view. But even the time to open the door was a waste.

Since they did not know how much time was permitted, they had to hurry even a little.

Crash!

Elbridge kicked the door open and entered the interior of the lord’s castle.

“Left!”

Running along the hallway and turning left,

“The last room!”

The last room at the end of the hallway. They approached the lord’s office.

He did not kick open the door of the lord’s office.

Only now did Elbridge set Sonya down, whom he had been holding under his flank.

Sonya stumbled briefly before catching her balance.

“…Fast.”

Futility aside, after struggling for months to enter the lord’s castle, a single night was enough for Sonya to arrive.

However, rather than feeling hollow, she was in a strangely good mood.

As if they had promised, Sonya and Elbridge took a deep breath at the same time and then opened the door.

Thinking that they would hear a squeaking hinge sound as was common for buildings that had not been maintained for a long time.

However, no squeak was heard. Even the sensation of the door opening was somewhat strange.

Elbridge’s instincts sent a danger signal. Releasing the half-opened door, Elbridge grabbed Sonya and took two steps back.

And, beyond the half-opened door, they saw a bizarre sight.

That space, which should have been the lord’s luxurious office, had become a pale pink space.

‘Flesh.’

A space made of human flesh.

It was a bizarre sight that even Elbridge had never seen before.

However, that was not a space made out of simple bad taste.

For that space wriggled ever so slightly, as if declaring that it was alive, so slightly that even Elbridge with his heightened senses could barely notice it.

“This is…”

Elbridge opened the door a bit more and examined the interior.

In the office made of flesh, furniture half-covered in flesh was placed here and there, and ten-odd small and large orbs were embedded in the walls and ceiling here and there.

As if they had become a part of that space.

‘Not all of Viscount Dickens’s collection was broken. That’s a relief.’

The two entered the interior of the lord’s office.

Sonya, who was silently looking around, said in a small voice:

“…Is my dad in another room?”

However, Sonya’s voice held a tremble rather than a question.

Elbridge knew very well what Sonya was thinking. For Elbridge was also imagining the exact same thing as Sonya.

However, the two of them hoped that it was simply the product of a gruesome and disgusting imagination.

And a moment later. In the space next to the bookshelf half-covered in flesh, Elbridge discovered something he did not want to see.

“Sonya.”

“Yeah?”

“What color were Viscount Dickens’s eyes?”

“…Brown.”

What Elbridge discovered was a brown eye embedded in the wall.

That eye moved slowly, and occasionally blinked its eyelid. A couple of spans above that eye, there was even something resembling an eyebrow.

Sonya, who had approached Elbridge’s side before he knew it, stared at the brown eye.

At that, the eye looked at Sonya instead of Elbridge. The eye trembled slightly and even blinked a few times.

‘He is still alive. He recognized Sonya.’

Sonya reached out and gently stroked around the eye.

“Dad. How on earth, did you end up like this…”

No tears flowed from the brown eye.

However, Elbridge thought that the owner of that eye must be crying.

The skin around Sonya’s eyes reddened.

However, Sonya only clenched her teeth tightly from time to time and did not burst into tears. For she knew that if she cried, Viscount Dickens would suffer even more.

While Sonya and Viscount Dickens looked at each other, Elbridge thoroughly searched the Viscount’s office.

And he discovered the other eye next to the door, two small nostrils in one corner of the room, and finally, the mouth under the heavily dust-laden carpet.

When Elbridge cleared the carpet, Viscount Dickens slowly moved his mouth.

Whether his vocal cords were gone, no voice was heard.

However, the shape of the mouth was enough to communicate.

Viscount Dickens said with the shape of his mouth:

Sonya.

I love you.

Run away.

And, Elbridge and Sonya felt a colossal tremor.