Inheriting the Novel

Chapter 134 : Escape (3)

Escape (3)

"Kill those heretics immediately!"

"Sir Luem's enemy!"

We intended to quietly escape from the demonkin's corridor and slip out of Linken, but it wasn't as easy as we hoped.

First, the Inquisitors were waiting at the entrance, and Linken's private soldiers were drawn in to try to capture us.

'They really were waiting.'

[Weren't you told that if one Inquisitor is attacked, the others would know right away?]

Anyway, contrary to our original goal, it became difficult to slip out quietly. Because of that, Sehenz's expression was not pleasant at all.

"Guess I won't be able to take mercenary work in Setram's territory from now on."

"Let's worry about that after we get out of here."

As soon as we reached the entrance, we were attacked by two Inquisitors and some of Linken's soldiers, but naturally that wasn't the end of it.

There were still three Inquisitors left, and they were leading even more of Linken's soldiers our way.

"If we get surrounded, it'll be troublesome. Let's split up here."

"I was thinking the same thing."

Just as I mentioned in the corridor, anyway, I had somewhere else to go.

I was a bit worried about Sehenz, who had brought a bunch of other mercenaries, but I believed he would manage just fine.

"Why not just transform and fly out as a dragon?"

"Let's save that for now."

Having Mersaya reveal her true form would be our ultimate trump card.

At the very least, this wasn't yet a situation dire enough to use such a last resort.

"Catch them!"

I frowned instinctively at the sight of soldiers swarming toward us.

Honestly, in the current situation, linken's soldiers bothered me more than the Inquisitors. Unlike the Inquisitors, whom I could subdue without restraint, it was difficult to deal freely with the soldiers.

After all, they weren't acting of their own will, but were being forced by Setram—hardly something I could just attack without hesitation.

"Wouldn't it be fine just to kill half of them?"

"Don't say scary things like that."

Apparently tired of having to pull her punches, Kisea asked in her usual subtle tone.

Was she asking that seriously right now?

'This would be only a little troublesome, there's no need to make things worse.'

In the past, I would never have even considered it.

To be so arrogant while facing countless soldiers and an advanced-rank Sword Expert Inquisitor.

"I'll open the way. Just follow closely and don't start unnecessary fights."

But now, I had grown that strong.

Kakang! Kang!

"Huh?!"

"Unbelievable! He's a monster!"

I didn't even need to throw a punch.

The soldiers' swords actually broke upon hitting my bare skin.

After wielding the power of the Ultimate Blade, when I used Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art, my body became tough beyond what ordinary humans could hope for.

Raising the body's strength to fight people wielding spears and blades barehanded was a given.

And if I charged ahead like that... well, no need to explain.

"S-stop him... Urgh!"

Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang!

Just bumping into the soldiers in front of me sent them flying.

Even then, I was as gentle as possible. When one Inquisitor standing at the rear hit my shoulder, he flew backward and crashed into the wall, unmoving.

All that remained in my wake were fallen soldiers and broken stone floor and walls.

The sheer sight left other soldiers unable to even think of charging at me, and they simply cleared a path on their own.

"Then why do you even use a sword at all?"

Kisea, seeing the scene, unusually asked in a cautious voice. She'd always asked jokingly before, so I answered carelessly.

"Because it looks cool."

"... I figured you'd say that."

Kisea nodded in earnest, taking my joke seriously.

That actually left me dumbfounded.

"Hey, that was just a joke. Did you really ask thinking I meant it?"

"Huh? That was a joke? I thought you were being sincere..."

Seeing her flustered face, I couldn't help but feel a bit down.

Either way, I had trained with a sword far longer than with martial arts.

'Once I get back, it's Sunwheel Ascendant Heaven Sword training!'

Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art was great, but at this rate, I would have no face to see Damian.

I spoke to Kisea in a deliberately prickly tone.

"Anyway, let's hurry. If we waste time here, things will get much worse."

"Alright. You're not upset, are you?"

"Shut up."

Leaving the giggling Kisea behind, I broke through the last group of soldiers rushing at us.

And so, thirty minutes later,

We successfully escaped Linken.

* * *

Pontiff Violette was in a foul mood.

It was because of an incident that had taken place the day before.

'What even was that man?'

A man who remained composed to the end.

The core found in the demonkin's corridor was specially prepared to kill Sehenz, one of the Seven Heroes.

'Moreover, the core's power, infused with Luem's very life, must be several times its normal strength.'

Even a Swordmaster, and even a Great Swordmaster, would not have survived the core's explosion.

'I just don't get it.'

The man who had acted as if none of that mattered, right in front of the core. Violette hadn't even seen what became of him.

Because when the core exploded, luem's body was vaporized.

"Your Holiness, news has arrived from Linken."

Just then, a man entered the pontiff's prayer chamber.

It was Kaedillen, the cardinal considered his right-hand man.

"So, have the rest of the Inquisitors returned safely?"

"..."

At Violette's words, kaedillen hesitated to answer.

Seeing that, violette sensed something was wrong.

"Why are you silent, cardinal Kaedillen?"

"Your Holiness, this is not good news."

"... Tell me."

"They... survived, it seems."

There was no doubt about whom he meant by "they."

"Is that true? How on earth!"

"That, that's not known. None of them were injured; they fought with Linken's soldiers and escaped."

"Oh, Altair..."

A single image rose in Violette's mind—the man with that confident composure.

'It was him. He's definitely the one who did something.'

Now that he thought about it, Sehenz had told the others to trust this man and follow him. There was no way that sly mercenary would say so without a good reason.

"Cardinal Kaedillen, summon the demonkin."

"You mean the demonkin...?"

"Weren't the demonkin in that corridor said to have escaped first?"

"Th-that is correct."

The demonkin had participated in this operation.

But for some reason, they had run away in the middle of the fight.

"I meant to ask them about that anyway..."

Now that he thought about it, there were many strange things.

Even if their alliance with the demonkin was only temporary, they wouldn't have run for no reason.

The demonkin are prideful and sensitive to contracts.

They always keep their word, no matter what.

For them to have broken a promise and run meant there was a compelling reason they had to get out.

"I'll go meet them right now."

"Immediately, Your Holiness?"

"Yes, the demonkin are still in Setram, aren't they?"

"That's correct. They are still preparing to leave..."

"Stop them."

"Y-yes, Your Holiness!"

At Violette's stern order, kaedillen quickly bowed his head.

He clearly sensed the pontiff's mood was rotten.

Violette watched Cardinal Kaedillen rush out of the prayer chamber and stroked his chin.

'Seems the day to use Seigon isn't far off.'

Setram's greatest sword.

He always thought he'd unveil it when the crusade began.

But somehow, he felt that moment was approaching faster than expected.

* * *

Right after escaping Linken, we headed to the Sodom Mountains.

Once we crossed the Sodom Mountains, we would be out of Setram's territory at last.

The problem was, the mountain range was rugged and climate unpredictable—it was not an easy place to traverse.

According to the original story, Fabian ended up shaking off Setram's pursuit by exploiting the nature of the Sodom Mountains.

"This place is harsh. Why are we here, anyway?"

Ian asked as he sheltered from the pouring rain.

He had returned to his original form, no longer needing to maintain Polymorph.

"Yeah, now that I've changed back, can't I just use Polymorph again to escape alone? If they spot me, everyone can just transform with a new appearance again."

Kisea seemed to agree with Ian.

It was clear just how much of a cheat technique Polymorph was. With it, infiltrating a foreign nation was child's play.

"Right. If escape was all, we could. But since we're here, there's something I want to get."

"Something you want to get? I thought there weren't any special treasures in these mountains. That's why other dragons aren't interested in the place..."

Mersaya, true to her keen dragon sense for treasure, seemed already familiar with this place.

"What I'm after isn't some special object or material possession."

"...?"

No one seemed to understand.

Naturally so. Who would expect to find something in this harsh mountain range?

'There should be a large tree around here somewhere.'

Fabian, having reached halfway up the mountain, took shelter from the rain under a big tree.

There, he found traces left by a person.

'There!'

Sure enough, there was a single, unusually large tree.

As I approached and inspected the bark, I found strange characters, as if left by a person.

'But what does it say?'

[It's a simple sign written in Divine Tongue.]

'A signpost?'

[Yeah. Think of it as a marker to keep people from getting lost.]

I see.

Given how treacherous the mountains were, it made sense to leave a visible mark in such a place. If the mist settled in, finding your way would be hard.

At that point, I suddenly realized that Grancesia had read the Divine Tongue.

'Wait, you can read Divine Tongue too?'

[Uh-huh. At some point, I just started to understand it.]

'... Is that even possible?'

[I don't know. My memory's fuzzy about that, too.]

Apparently even Grancesia thought her own words a bit odd.

'I'll have to resolve the issues regarding you as soon as possible.'

[How?]

'Maybe we'll learn something from Marvin.'

A family said to record the memories of the world.

I just might be able to gather information about the lost Grancesia there.

'I was planning to visit right after this anyway.'

Sehenz, unlike in the original story, should now have escaped Linken safely. And as for Setram, there was still time before anything major happened.

'The crusade, huh...'

If I went to Setram's capital, I could probably learn more, but that place was an impregnable fortress.

Even riding with Mersaya would be too dangerous.

"Is there something at that tree?"

"There's a marker. We should go that way."

"... That's a lie, isn't it?"

At Kisea's question, I pointed right.

Following my gesture, Kisea's eyes widened.

"But it looks like a cliff that way."

"Yep, and that's where we're going."

The others looked puzzled, but I headed for the cliff.

The drop below looked dizzyingly deep.

'Eye of Insight.'

But I knew.

There was a path down that cliff.

"It—it's dangerous!"

Kisea shouted frantically, but I stepped forward without hesitation.

As a small gasp rang out behind me, my foot touched solid ground.

"... I see. There was a hidden path."

Ian looked between the marker carved on the tree and the spot where my foot landed.

"There's an invisible staircase. We can descend this way."

With the Eye of Insight, I could see the secret stairway hidden by a strange technique.

It looked just like a normal cliff, but it let us climb down in secret.

'Now, I can finally meet him.'

The former head of the Inquisitors— the man who saved Fabian in the original story.