Chapter 30 – Witch Hunt (5)

“The culprit of the situation… you mean Bishop Luzback, right? Is he really a demon?”

Cara seemed confused. The church’s excessive witch hunt was definitely terrible. Since she herself had been its victim.

Fortunately, although she was saved by that knight, that did not necessarily confirm the fact that Luzback was a demon.

“You only barely saved your life. How dare you doubt Lord Velloc’s words?”

“It’s not that…”

Adel frowned, and Cara was flustered. Velloc restrained Adel.

“No, it is a fully reasonable thought. I was half-doubting it myself.”

Velloc rummaged in his breast pocket and slid out the letter of recommendation he caught in his hand.

Receiving it, Cara read down the parchment. As she verified the contents, her eyebrows arched.

Cara muttered only the main points, excluding all the flowery language.

““We commend the achievements of the truly devout and honorable knight, Sir Velloc Heine, in subjugating the demon Baphomet and the cultists”?”

“While coming to Hameln, I killed one more. If we include their minions, that number increases further. This is the proof.”

“Hmm…”

Cara, who folded the parchment neatly and handed it back to Velloc, brushed her hair back. Soon, having finished her thoughts, she said,

“To summarize, you are strong enough to kill demons, and a devout knight verified by the church. Such a knight has designated the bishop of this land as a demon. Correct?”

“Yes. At first sight, I was suspicious, but after meeting you and the lord, I became convinced.”

Velloc nodded. The déjà vu he felt upon seeing Luzback, the fact that he cured the son and gained the lord’s trust, and the witch hunt that arose from it. All the circumstances spoke for the fact that he was a demon.

Cara raised another question.

“If you had the letter of recommendation, couldn’t you have shown it to the lord and requested cooperation?”

Velloc shook his head.

“I don’t think this scrap of paper would have had any effect on a guy who believed in Luzback blindly until the moment of his death. Moreover, at the time, I was a criminal who broke a prisoner out.”

“That’s true. The situation was bad.”

“So, do you believe me a bit now?”

Cara smirked.

“In the first place, I have no reason to doubt or trust you. You saved me when I was dying, didn’t you? Even if you tell me to go slice the king’s neck together, I will follow. The question just now was merely a simple query.”

“Reliable indeed.”

Velloc also grinned. The situation had gone quite well. If he had proposed a deal to Cara to recruit her as a companion as originally planned, he wouldn’t have been able to elicit this much favor from the start. Cara, with a smile on her lips, gestured with her head.

“Before that, how about we stop by my room first? There are many things to pack before leaving. Especially if it’s about facing a demon.”

“Of course.”

The three soon headed to the mage’s room in the castle. Since the lord was dead and the castle was devastated, there were no longer any people to block their steps. Cara, opening the door, spread her arms in exaggeration and laughed.

“Welcome to the mage’s room, brave knights. If you carelessly touch the things rolling around, you might turn into a frog.”

It was a voice filled with playfulness like a mischievous child. However, Velloc could read the emotions contained in her tone and actions.

The relief of returning to a familiar space, and the anxiety of having to leave here soon. Diverse emotions like a slight flutter existing in between were felt.

Velloc did not know that this was the signal sent by [Sixth Sense], his newly acquired power.

He just thought that the witch, who had to leave her home due to a storm that suddenly struck, must also have a hard time. Well, though she was a companion he would travel with from now on,

“I’m glad those bastards didn’t mess it up. Did they think they would receive a witch’s curse? Ha. Ridiculous.”

Cara, smiling bitterly, rummaged through the room. While she moved busily, packing old books, robes, and staves from the bookshelf,

Velloc and Adel looked around the room. Soon, the two also came to know why mages were so easily accused of being witches or heretics.

The desk was so messy that its original purpose could not be found.

A crystal ball emitting a brilliant light, strange liquids bubbling in glass containers, specimens of dried bats and frogs, or plants of unknown identity were scattered everywhere.

“Ugh…”

Adel shuddered and stepped back a pace. Unless they were fellow mages, most people in this world feared and felt uncomfortable with the discipline of magic.

They considered it a strange sorcery.

However, Velloc did not care. Instead, his eyes shined as he fiddled with the things rolling on the desk.

‘This looks like a beaker, and this… is it a mortar?’

It was like doing a science experiment. For some reason, Velloc felt as if he had returned to his childhood.

“Master Velloc. Be careful. You might get cursed…”

When Adel stretched out an arm to stop him, Cara’s voice was heard.

“I’ve packed everything. I think we can go now.”

Velloc and Adel turned their heads. Soon, both of them opened their eyes wide.

Cara was visible, holding a staff while wearing a robe as crimson as her hair.

“Oh.”

“You look like a mage now that you’re dressed up.”

Was it that clothes made the man? The appearance of the miserable prisoner was no longer visible.

In this place, only a single mage exuding a mysterious atmosphere stood.

“Fufu. Really? I’ll show you with my skills later too.”

Cara shrugged her shoulders and waved the staff in her hand. In her other hand, a thick book that looked like an encyclopedia was held.

Velloc’s eyes shined as he looked at the book.

‘So that’s Galdrabok.’

The legendary magic book that revealed dozens or hundreds of spells according to the owner’s ability.

It was also the relic that made Cara a prominent mage. It was also the reason Velloc had gone to the trouble of saving her.

“What is the book held in your hand?”

As Adel asked curiously, Cara set the book down on the table. Dust billowed, but she waved her hand as if it were nothing and said,

“Ah, this? I got it when I went to another territory for a vacation a while ago. It was an item sold by a street vendor. I felt a strange energy, so I picked it up for now. But the seal on it is too strong. That’s why I haven’t been able to undo it yet. This is my intuition, but it’s definitely no ordinary item.”

“That is what I originally intended to propose to you.”

“Huh? Ah, that you would undo the seal of the item I have, in exchange for me joining as a companion? Was it this book?”

Velloc nodded. Cara cast a suspicious gaze.

“A knight who isn’t even a mage knows how to undo the seal of this book? How on earth?”

“God’s blessing told me. For now, let me tell you one thing—it is a grand magic book.”

‘If you search the ocean of information, there’s nothing that doesn’t show up.’ Velloc, muttering inwardly, shrugged his shoulders.

Cara showed a bewildered expression. However, her eyes shined at Velloc’s last words.

“What… a god tells you things like that? Is it a forgotten ancient god? No, that’s not what’s important right now. Anyway, so this is such a grand item? In that case, right now—”

Velloc restrained the excited Cara and said,

“No, that requires quite a lot of preparation to undo. But we are in an urgent situation right now.”

“True. We are a band of ruffians who killed the lord of this land, and soon we will even kill the bishop.”

Cara let out a sigh.

Soon, after trying to calm her excitement, Cara set off while carrying her packed luggage. At that, Velloc and Adel also followed her steps.

Right before the door closed, Cara’s lowered eyes swept around the sights in the room.

They were the eyes of a wanderer who had to leave her hometown, unable to discard her regrets. However, soon, her two eyes opened wide and began to emit a strange light.

It was a certain resolve. The will to land a blow on the demon who ruined her life in an instant, and the expectation of where this knight would lead her.

Turning her head, Cara muttered.

“I hope we don’t end up being chased by both the church and the nobility.”

“If the demon runs amok noisily, our innocence will also be proven. If possible, it would be best if the Bishop reveals his true form when there are many witnesses’ eyes.”

“Won’t that increase the citizens’ casualties?”

“Isn’t it better than being burned continuously without even knowing the reason?”

Cara was slightly surprised at Velloc’s cold response. For a knight who had caught two demons and saved the fief, it was a statement that was not very honorable. However, she liked it more because of that. If she followed that man, at least she wouldn’t die in vain.

The witch smirked.

“Yeah, correct. It’s a world where it’s perfect to die while playing hero.”

The three of them walked out of the castle. Before they knew it, the sun was setting and night was coming. As the temperature fell, the acrid smoke and the smell of roasting meat that hung over the city also decreased.

Whether residents fled in panic upon seeing the faces of the three, or a cursed man rolled on the floor while shrieking, the group continued to walk.

The shadows of the three were irregular in the weakly remaining sunlight. It was the same for the church building located on the outskirts of the city. The winding shadows looked like intestines.

It was strange. A church is originally a place to serve and commemorate God. However, this red brick building overflowed with a strange and ominous energy instead of warmth or comfort.

Velloc’s [Sixth Sense] sounded an alarm, and Cara’s face sank deeply. Adel also firmly gripped the scabbard at her waist.

“Be careful. You know the people we saw when we passed through the town earlier.”

“You mean the people who rolled on the floor while shrieking?”

At Adel’s question, Cara nodded. Her face became even more serious.

“Their limbs were exceptionally long. And that shriek. I’ve thought about it carefully. Maybe they are undergoing ghoulification.”

“Aren’t ghouls created when resentment accumulates in dead corpses?”

Adel opened her eyes wide at the unexpected fact. Cara shook her head.

“It’s the spell of a demon said to inhabit the underground. Nothing is certain. Maybe, if it’s him, he could turn living people into real ghouls.”

Velloc also nodded.

Considering the bull-headed demon and the giant snake demon, it was a quite plausible hypothesis.

Surely the guy they would face this time would also have some special ability.

“At any rate, there is only one way.”

Velloc said, standing in front of the church door. At that, Adel drew her sword and shield, and Cara raised her staff, preparing to chant a spell. Velloc kicked the door.

Crash!

The wooden door hit by the steel greaves shattered to pieces. Then, pitch-black darkness welcomed the three of them.

Nothing was visible.

Even the sunlight entering from the outside did not penetrate the church’s interior at all. It was as if only the inside there was a different space.

Just then, some sound was heard from the pitch-black darkness.

“Who is it?”

It was a calm voice. No, that made it even stranger. What kind of person in the world would ask in such a kind tone when someone just broke their front door?

The three made no reply. They just gripped their weapons tightly.

“Who… is… it?”

At that, the voice stretched out stickily.

After a moment.

“Whooooo are youuuuuuu?!”

With a tearing shriek, something popped out from the darkness.