Chapter 81 "Hatred"

Rick Pov

Gervas was right, I checked the back room and found a hidden staircase.

　Apparently, he really wasn't lying.

　Down the stairs was a dark corridor.

　There were torches set up at equal intervals, so there was no problem with visibility.

　I proceeded straight ahead, checking the dagger at my waist and the large sword in my hand.

　On the way down, there were some detours and side roads, but since there was only one road with torches, there seemed to be no need to worry about getting lost.

　I feel lured in, but I am almost certain that Sania is up ahead.

　...And yet.

Why is Darzain going through all this trouble?

I know it's a "procedure" as Gervas put it, but why did it have to be Sania?

And why did he have to kill Refia....

　...Damn. Why didn't I ask him then? My dumb ass.

　Either way, the answer lies ahead.

　Don't think about anything else, just keep going.

After a while, I came to an open area.

　"Rick!"

　In the circular open space, at the far end was Sania, bound by chains.

　And next to her...

　"Hey there, Rick, is that you? You've come a long way. From the looks of it, it looks like Gervas has been killed."

"Heretild Temple knight..."

　The highest-ranking holy knight in the city at present.

　The original person in charge, the Void Cathedral knight, is absent, so he is temporarily in his place.

　The moment I saw his face, I was convinced of many questions.

It would be easy for this man to invite Darzain in and distract the investigation.

"Are you...?"

　"Do you know what you're doing...? I've heard enough of that sort of thing already, don't you think?"　

　I swallow the words I was about to say.

　This man knows what he's doing. It's useless to say anything to someone like that.

　"I don't know what you're after, but could you please let Sania go?"

　Heretilt stared at me and nodded.

　"Fine, but not for free."

　He slowly pulls out the sword at his waist.

"If you beat me, I'll let her go."

　As he said this, he snapped his fingers lightly.

　A black robe comes down from above. I look up and see a spiral scaffold tracing the wall? Or is it a passageway? There were a dozen or so black robes looking down at me.

　"When I give the order, cut off the girl's head."

　The black robes nodded silently at Heretilt's instruction.

　"Come on, come at me."

　He points his sword at me. I take up my greatsword as well.

It's a bit cumbersome to handle, but it's no problem to wield it... but against the Temple Knight in front of me, it's lethal.

　I probably can't win. Then I should think about how I can outwit them.

Even if I could win, the black robes above me would still be waiting for me.

　No matter how it turns out, it is impossible to annihilate them all. Since reinforcements cannot be expected, there is no choice but to get out of this situation on my own. The chances of victory were slim, but there was no way I would abandon Sania.

　...I have to do it.

　Observe Heretilt.

　I don't have much information on this man.

　I have only seen him fight a few times since he did not show up at many mock battles due to his advanced age.

　Then I suddenly realized.

　I remember that he was not using a sword at that time... Oh, come to think of it, he was using a staff, not a sword, because he uses magic a lot.

　...So does that mean he's not that good with a sword?

　Or is he actually better with a sword?

I'll never know until I try to fight him, but even if he's corrupt, he's a Temple Knight. I'm sure he's no ordinary knight.

　First of all, let's see how the opponent will react...

　"You're late. What did you learn from Sherifa?"

　I tried to look, but for some reason, Heretilt was right in front of me.

　"Heck!?"

　I panicked and swung my greatsword... before, Heretilt's arm looked hazy... and right after, my arm flew off.

　"Gah!?"

　"Rick!?"

　In pain, I throw out my greatsword and suppress the wound with my remaining arm.

　Blood gushes out like a fountain.

...What did he do to me....I didn't see it at all....

　"...shall we continue?"

Heretilt looks down at me as he crouches down without changing his expression.

　"If you give up, I'll say behead that girl, is that alright with you?"

　"Aaah!"

　I screamed as my throat dried up and squeezed all my concentration to launch [Fire I] to press it against the wound.

　The smell of burning flesh and the bleeding stops.

　"It's quite a feat to be able to use magic, albeit basic, in that state. Gervas was also very generous."

　"Rick! That's enough! Run!"

　Sania is screaming, but I don't have time to answer.

　The pain is driving me crazy, but I twist it away with my will and ready the dagger in my pocket.

　I swing the dagger while shouting and throw it.

　The dagger passes by Heretilt and toward Sania...

　"Oops."

It was repelled by the sword before it could pierce the black robe.

　...Damn! What kind of reaction is that! He flicked it without even looking at it!　

　"Well, I guess all bets are off."

　I tried to strike him, but as soon as I raised my fist, he severed it from my shoulder.

　Blood spurted out in incomparable quantities, and my consciousness faded.　

　I only knew I had fallen by the impact on my cheek.

　It was completely fatal.

　"Rick! Stop it already! I don't care what happens to me!"

"I'm sorry to get you all worked up, but you're going to have to watch her head fall off, like I promised."

　The black robe pulls Sania in front of me.

　Sania struggled desperately, but there was no point.

　I try to stand up, desperately trying to hold on to my fading consciousness.

　I inwardly scolded my trembling legs, and with a little energy, I pried open my eyelids, which were about to fall off, and stood up.

　I opened my eyes. Sania's face fills his now-clear vision.

　"...Rick."

　My eyes meet Sania's with tears in her eyes.

　Sania's cheeks relax a little as I stand up... and the light goes out of her eyes.

　I see her eyes light up and something splashes onto my face.　　

"...ah..."

　I move my gaze loosely... and see a dagger sprouting from the nape of Sania's neck.

　The black robe twists the dagger and a gurgling sound is heard and the neck falls off like an overripe fruit.

　There was a dull thud and it rolled away.

　"Ah...ah..."

　My mind goes blank. I can't think of anything.

　As if slipping into that blank thought, I hear a voice.

　"I want to ask you now. How do you feel? Would you like to tell me what your feelings are about it?"

The voice slowly sank into my head... and the faces of Refia, Ms. Angie, and Sania came to mind in turn.... My blank thoughts instantly took on color. I felt my cracked world shatter.

　I had probably never hated anything so much in my life before or after.

　I tried to bite the man in front of me, but...I was no match for him.

　A spear-like object swung from above pierced through my entire body, pinning me to the spot.

　The pain was intense, but I didn't care about that anymore.

　Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.

　Kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill.

　I move my legs to go forward, ignoring the sting.

　I hear something snap inside my body, but I ignore it and move to bite the throat of the man in front of me.

　"It's a good hatred. I knew I was right."

　I don't care what he says. Let me bite his head off.

Let me kill him, let me kill him, let me kill him.

　"We are the way. We are the truth. We are life."

　I hear something around me, but I don't understand it, and I don't care what it is.

　It's hot. The thing that's stuck in me is suddenly burning up my body.

　I tried to ignore it, but it was too hot and painful to do so.

　Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot.

　I screamed from the burning heat.

　I was vaguely aware that something was happening to my body as I was being burned by the heat, but I ignored the pain and stared at the man in front of me, cursing him to death.

　I'm going to kill him. I will make you regret having been born.

　I'll make you regret your birth, and I'll kill those closest to you, too, in a horrible way. I will make you repent and trample it down.

　I hate you, I hate you. I want to crush you. I want to kill you. I want to kill them. I want to tear it apart.

　I'll definitely do that. Aaahhhhhh!

　I continued to hurl curses as the heat burned me.

　"What is this?"

I - Heidi - noticed something strange as soon as I left the city.

　There were fires everywhere, and the smell of blood was coming up my nose on the wind.

　When I rushed back to the town, it was literally a hellscape.

　People running away. Black robes chasing them. Corpses lying around like garbage.

　Residents killing each other for some reason.

The holy knights and the country's knight corps seem to be in charge of suppressing the situation, but for some reason, even they are killing each other.

　"Damn! Hey, what's going on? Who's on our side and who's the enemy?"

　A holy knight wearing the same armor pierced the knight who shouted that with his sword.

　Residents who noticed me came toward me with their weapons in their hands, shouting.　

"Hey...I'm..."

　I was about to say, but closed my mouth. Because I knew what was coming.

They were saying that if I didn't kill them, they would kill me, but there was no emotion in their eyes.

　...Ah, the perpetrators who look like victims.

　They're the ones who started this whole racket and are the ones who are agitating for it. Persuasion will be futile.

I throw the magic stone that I have in my sleeve.

　After a moment, the magic stone flashes. The guys who came at me quickly cover their faces.

　They reacted too quickly.

　They are obviously not amateurs. If I knew that much, I wouldn't hesitate.

　After throwing several throwing daggers, I run with a low posture.　

The daggers I throw gouge the throat of the person I'm aiming at. The victim spurts blood and crumples to the ground, but not all of them.

　The few who remain quickly regain their footing and counterattack with knives and hoes.

The hand of the knife-bearer who first came at me with a slash is twisted up with one hand and pulled down to the ground.

At the same time, with my free hand, I pull out my kukri and smash his head open.

The kukri that was lodged in his head would not come loose easily, so I picked up a fallen kitchen knife and threw it at the nearest opponent.

　It was different from a dagger, and although it did not hit the target, it was enough to stop his movement.

　Thanks to this, I was able to buy time for chanting, so I used [Wind Blade I] to cut off his head and finish him off.

　I was on my guard and quickly moved out of the way.

　After a short delay, the corpses exploded in the order they died. I covered my mouth and nose so as not to inhale the black mist-like substance.

　I guess there are no corpses left after all.

　I think about what to do in this situation.

　First of all, I should meet up with him. Since the ruins were empty, the suspicious thing is....

　I saw some black robes heading this way.

I'll think about it after I get through this.

　First, let's deal with the situation at hand.