novelraw Chapter 99 : Chapter 99
Chapter 99 : Chapter 99
Chapter 99
The moment I heard Alfred's bombshell statement, I had a feeling.
The Pope would probably try to kill Belmir's butler now.
This was the perfect timing. If he could pin the butler's death on me, it would be a very good pretext.
"I'm going to make a quick escape."
"This is certainly a good time, but I will go myself."
It was only natural for Hartain to stop me. What sinner in the world would dare to move about freely?
"There's a high probability that Benaya will move himself."
If the opponent wasn't Benaya, I wouldn't have stopped him from moving himself.
Hartain, who seemed to be aware of the blind loyalty Ignos offered the Pope, kept his mouth shut.
"Don't you think you'll be suspected the moment you release me?"
"What are you talking about?"
The handcuffs were meaningless from the beginning. In one motion, I unlocked the handcuffs and gently placed them on Hartain's palm.
"I was the one who was quietly imprisoned in the first place."
I could have escaped whenever I wanted.
"I escaped from prison, so these handcuffs are nothing."
I immediately jumped out of the window, using magic to conceal my presence.
If Hartain was quick on the uptake, he'd follow me appropriately.
As soon as I jumped, the first person I called was Lucian.
[Lucian! Emergency! I need your power!!]
At the sudden cry, Lucian's voice came through intermittently.
"What do you mean?"
[I think the Pope is going to kill Belmir's butler!]
I flew up into the sky and calmly looked down from above, using the Writer's skill.
「I share Alfred's vision.」
Another world overlapped before my eyes.
Unfamiliar hands, an eye level that was not my own.
A vast forest. A place that was not the path to the witness's room.
Confirming the location was more difficult than I thought, but it wasn't impossible.
[I'll send you the coordinates of his movement. Can you follow?]
"I can."
Facing Benaya alone was too much for me, so I hoped Lucian wouldn't be too late.
[Then I'll start moving now.]
After pinpointing the location, all that was left was to move and move again.
The main sanctuary was so ridiculously large that even moving on the wind was no ordinary task.
Moreover, the constraint of having to move while concealing my presence was not welcome.
"Quietly accept your fate."
I heard Benaya's voice from a distance. It seemed God was on my side.
"Your death will be a martyrdom. A holy sacrifice."
His sword surged forward, but I didn't feel any sense of urgency.
I just created a gust of wind. All I needed was a brief moment.
"'Holy sacrifice,' my ass."
Benaya's sword clashed head-on with another sword.
Clang! The sound of metal clashing echoed like a mountain cry.
"Why? Are you surprised, Sir Benaya Ignos?"
I prepared dozens of spells simultaneously and stepped out of the shadows.
"Sorry, but it'll be difficult to kill the witness."
Not everything will go your way, Pope.
* * *
Why on earth were the Hero and the heretic suspect in the same place?
Cracks began to form on Benaya's usually unshakable expression.
"For a heretic suspect to move without a Holy Knight, you're insane."
"I have the Hero by my side. Surely you don't think a Holy Knight is closer to God than the Hero, do you, Sir Benaya?
Isn't that the real heresy?"
A Holy Knight chosen by humans and a Hero chosen by God himself. Naturally, the one closer to God is the Hero.
"Most importantly, why?
You were going to kill the witness because you thought it would be beneficial, and are you going to say that I suddenly appeared and stopped you?"
Only one corner of his mouth slowly rose. That smile was neither genuine nor joyful.
"How funny."
At the sight of a smile filled only with ridicule, Benaya ground his teeth.
"Go ahead and try it.
An inquisitor who tried to kill his own witness, along with the Hero of the Holy Sword. We'll see who the real sinner is."
A decision had to be made. If so, he would kill at least one of the three.
A tense atmosphere hung in the air. In a moment where a single breath held a blade, Benaya moved.
His body reflexively shot out, drawing a sword path. Short and sharp, in a straight line.
But before his fingertips could reach, clink—his path was blocked by a sword that had been drawn faster than expected.
A piercing vibration traveled up his arm, and the opportunity was lost.
His most certain move had been blocked most powerlessly.
"Let's see, are you faster, or am I?"
At some point, more than ten swords of ice surrounded Benaya's neck, keenly eyeing their prey.
But he couldn't retreat like this.
Even if it meant gravely injuring the Hero, he had to subdue and deal with the situation.
In an instant, something changed. Nothing had changed, but the density of the air had shifted.
Weight was added to his light footsteps, and the suppressed energy slowly seeped out, creating a gap. Like a beast freed from a tranquilizer.
Even the air wrapping around his body trembled threateningly.
The sheer force of his presence cracked the ice swords, and a cracking sound echoed.
"I've faced a demon. Do you think I'd be scared of someone like you?"
As long as Benaya was human, he couldn't be scarier than the primeval monster that had touched the root of all fear.
"Won't you look at the sky?"
At Theo's words, Benaya unconsciously looked up at the sky.
In the sky above, a giant ice sword glittered, reflecting the sunlight.
“……”
Either way, the witness could not be left alive.
Benaya pretended to lower his sword, then, following that flow, he twisted his wrist and flicked the tip of his sword.
Swish! The blade shot towards the neck like lightning.
There was no time to dodge or block. A surprise attack that exploited a moment of carelessness—in that instant, the wind split.
"That's enough, Sir Benaya."
However, a sword that had shot out horizontally even faster deflected the blade.
With a harsh scraping sound of metal, a person stood in front of Alfred, holding a sword.
The sword, which had appeared like a whirlwind, stopped Benaya's attack in a single blow.
"I command you as the Sword of Doctrine."
It was an intervention that happened so quickly it made one doubt their eyes.
The pale white gaze was as cold and calm as one who had defied death.
"The name of the Sword of Doctrine is meaningless before me."
"Have you forgotten that my name is Ferdiel Levian?
When I advise you to back down gracefully, you should do so."
At some point, Hartain, who had joined Ferdiel, drew his sword and pointed it at Benaya.
"Or do you insist on finding out whose dog is fiercer, the Pope's or the Sword of Doctrine's?"
"May I report this to His Holiness?"
"By all means. As the Sword of Doctrine, I simply came to check on a necessary witness for the heresy trial who had not arrived at his room."
It was not impossible for Benaya to break through Ferdiel, Hartain, and the Hero's guard to aim for Alfred's neck.
But it was strange. He had a premonition that it would be impossible.
The reason was probably… Theo Lisitoel. The son of Count Lisitoel.
Benaya picked up his scabbard and sheathed his sword.
"Understood. Take the witness, Your Eminence, Sword of Doctrine."
The incident happened in a brief moment of carelessness, when they were relieved by Benaya's reaction.
In an instant, Benaya approached Theo and pointed the scabbard at his neck.
"You'd better be careful. I might come to personally take your head."
He blatantly showed his killing intent.
Theo, who waved off the others who had noticed too late as if to say it was okay, instead confidently raised one corner of his mouth.
"Try it if you're so confident."
"You'll be of some use."
With those last words, Benaya leisurely walked away.
Ferdiel, who had confirmed that Benaya had completely left, finally let out a sigh of relief.
He didn't want to experience such a touch-and-go situation a second time.
* * *
X-bal!!! I watched Benaya walk away from behind and clutched my heart.
It was a bluff! It was a bluff, so don't come! Ptooey, ptooey! I'm going to sprinkle salt!!
"Is the butler mister okay?"
"Yeah, that was close."
I checked on Belmir's butler, who seemed to have fainted, foaming at the mouth from the killing intent.
He's not pretending to be unconscious and eavesdropping on our conversation, is he?
His mind might have changed a bit now, but it's always better to be careful.
I immediately used my Writer's skill to make sure Belmir's butler was unconscious, and only then did I collapse to the floor. My legs have no strength….
"He won't try to kill him again, will he?"
"Probably not. He might send an assassin or two at night, but Benaya won't come himself."
One or two assassins were something Ferdiel could handle. If it was difficult for Ferdiel to act himself, Lucian could protect him.
Anyway, is it safe now?
"Are you okay?"
"If you were targeted by the mad dog of the Church, would you be okay?"
"So what's the plan for this old man?"
"I'm going to leave him in the safest place."
There was only one safest place here.
Lucian, who quickly figured out where, nodded his head in understanding, while Fel and Hartain just tilted their heads, not understanding.
"But will this be okay? What if the Pope makes it an issue?"
"It doesn't matter now. Everything is ready."
By ready, does he mean their plan?
Well, Lucian did say he had finished his preparations and was just waiting for the right time to finish off the Pope.
If so, my role would be to clear the heresy charge and create the timing to finish off the Pope.
"Before that, I need to find that thing."
Will I be able to find it within the time limit? There were still plenty of storerooms to search, which made me a little sad.
* * *
"So you failed."
There were many unexpected variables.
In fact, if the Hero hadn't been there, it should have been resolved at Benaya's level.
Hartain, let alone the Sword of Doctrine, would not have been able to get in Benaya's way.
But, with the Hero present, everything fell apart.
"You've worked hard."
The Pope did not reprimand Benaya for something that couldn't be helped.
However, even that was an incredibly merciful act for a dog that had pledged loyalty to its master, so he willingly bowed his head to express his gratitude.
"Yes, so I have to let him go for now…."
Still, no matter how much I think about it, it's a shame. If only I could keep him within the Church, his usefulness in the future would be endless.
"Even if I have to let him go for now, I must find a way."
"Give the order."
"It won't be a difficult task."
The Pope smiled gently and benevolently.
Looking at the Pope, Benaya, paradoxically, felt pity for Theo Lisitoel for the first time.
If he had just been defeated powerlessly, he wouldn't have caught the Pope's eye.
To be entangled with the Church and have his future promised with misfortune, he felt it was his fate and couldn't be helped.