"Ahhh!"
"What the hell!"
The poor people who had been fighting each other froze in shock when people suddenly began dying nearby.
However, upon identifying the culprits, their anger quickly subsided. It was the temple knights—figures far too high in status for them even to dare to confront.
Though the fighting stopped, the temple knights did not. They continued cutting down the beggars without hesitation.
"Pl, please spare me!"
The poor people, terrified by such ruthlessness, scattered and fled as if they had never been fighting in the first place. Those who were too slow were cut down where they stood.
Seeing the scene, Deneb ran forward in horror.
"Stop this!"
The poor people had already dispersed, leaving only cold, lifeless bodies in their wake.
"How, how could this happen…?"
Tears welled in Deneb's eyes as she released holy power, but the dead did not rise.
She poured her holy power into the wounded who were still alive. However, her power was too feeble to heal severe wounds effectively.
Wounds began to close only to reopen again, and Deneb desperately poured out more holy power, unable to stop.
The temple knights simply stood and watched.
Yulian and Kyle instinctively placed their hands on their swords, tense and alert.
Kyle whispered to Yulian, "Hey, what's going on? What the hell is this?"
"I have no idea."
There were over ten temple knights. Even for the two of them, who were highly skilled, victory was not guaranteed.
And even if they did win, they would be hunted for the rest of their lives. No one in this era dared to go against the church.
Deneb continued weeping, trying to heal the injured.
"Please, please get up."
Ghislain briefly glanced at the temple knights before focusing intently on Deneb.
'Just as I thought…'
As expected, there was a change—though faint, it was undeniable. Deneb's holy power had grown ever so slightly.
'But is it because of her kindness? I can't be sure.'
Deneb had been exhausting her holy power over the past few days, collapsing from fatigue the moment they returned to the inn.
It was possible that her increase in power was simply the result of all that effort.
'Well, it doesn't really matter.'
Whether it was kindness or hard work, the fact that Deneb's holy power had increased was clear.
That had been Ghislain's goal in staying in the city, so in a way, his mission was already accomplished.
Ghislain shifted his gaze away from Deneb and looked at the thin, arrogant priest.
The priest approached slowly, lifting his chin as he spoke.
"I heard someone was wasting precious holy power in this filthy slum, so I came to see—and it turns out it's just a lowly trainee."
Deneb looked up at him.
"Why… why would someone who serves the goddess do something like this?"
"Do what, exactly?"
The priest looked genuinely confused. To him, killing poor people was not an issue at all.
Deneb's face contorted in anger as she shouted.
"You killed these people! How can someone of the clergy act against the goddess's teachings?"
The priest blinked at her outburst before bursting into a mocking laugh.
"You're quite bold for a trainee. What's so wrong about killing vermin?"
"W-what did you just say?"
"They don't pay taxes and leech off the city. Killing them is an act of service to the world. If left alone, they'll only commit crimes."
"W-what nonsense…"
Deneb trembled in disbelief.
While it was true that crime rates among the poor were high, not all poor people were criminals. If they were such a problem, the lord would have purged them long ago.
Even poor people were useful for conscription and hard labor during times of war.
And most importantly, the priest had no right to kill them.
Still, the priest smirked arrogantly as he said, "They blocked the path of someone who serves the goddess. That alone is enough reason for their deaths."
Deneb was horrified. She couldn't believe such words were coming from the mouth of someone who served the goddess.
She knew priests could be arrogant, but for a priest in such a small city to wield this much power—it felt like she had stepped into another world.
As Deneb glared at him with tearful eyes, the priest asked coldly,
"Where are you from?"
"The Barony of Viede."
"So, you're from the countryside. You must not know how the world works. I'll forgive your insolence this time since you're still part of the church. Just have your fun and return to the temple."
"Please heal them."
"What?"
"There are still people alive. Please heal them. Your holy power is stronger than mine, isn't it?"
The priest shook his head in disbelief.
"You dare command me, the High Priest of this city?"
"It's not a command, it's a plea. In accordance with the goddess's will, please heal these people."
"This is your final warning. Stop speaking out of turn before I invoke the Rite of Judgement."
The Rite of Judgement allowed high-ranking priests to punish lower-ranking ones. Depending on the severity of the crime, punishments could include excommunication or even execution.
The priest's voice now carried traces of anger.
He had come expecting entertainment, only to be reprimanded by a novice priestess.
But Deneb didn't back down.
"If I've sinned, I'll accept my punishment. But…"
Taking a deep breath, she declared firmly,
"Fulfill your duty as a priest and help the wounded!"
"Kill her. She's a heretic."
The priest didn't hesitate to give the order.
Accusations could be fabricated later. No one would care about the death of a trainee priestess.
A temple knight stepped forward and swung his sword.
Clang!
But Yulian blocked it. The knight frowned, realizing Yulian was no ordinary opponent.
"Damn you!"
Clang! Clang!
Yulian skillfully parried the attacks and even counterattacked, forcing the knight back.
The other knights joined in, and Kyle jumped in to assist.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Despite their skill, the two were outnumbered. Some knights slipped past them toward Deneb.
Deneb gripped her mace, but defending against multiple knights was impossible.
That's when Ghislain finally moved.
He sighed and muttered,
"Time to stop playing the fool. I feel like I swallowed a brick."
Thud!
"Guh?"
A knight crumpled after being struck in the back of the head.
Ghislain moved like the wind.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Wha—what's happening?"
The knights recoiled at his overwhelming speed and strength.
Crack!
"Argh!"
Limbs broke wherever Ghislain's staff landed.
He didn't kill them—just rendered them immobile.
Thud! Thud!
Ghislain incapacitated the knights in moments.
The priest trembled in terror.
"W-who are you?"
"Me? I'm just a passing adventurer from the Kingdom of Lutania… or something like that."
"You won't get away with this! Attacking the temple knights—"
"So what?"
Ghislain raised his staff, and the priest flinched.
Realizing none of the knights were dead, the priest assumed Ghislain had hesitated out of fear.
"Hehe… Kneel and beg for forgiveness. I might let you serve as my escort knight."
"What nonsense is this?"
Thud!
"Argh!"
The priest screamed, clutching his broken arm.
"You—you'll regret this!"
He tried to heal himself with holy power, but Ghislain's staff was faster.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The priest's other arm and legs were completely shattered. He collapsed, screaming in agony.
"Arghhhh!"
The priest, who had lived a life of luxury and comfort, had never experienced such pain.
He writhed on the ground, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"You bastard! I will never let this go! The church's knights and the lord's army will hunt you down! You devil! You will face divine punishment!"
Ignoring the priest's hysterics, Ghislain turned to the others and said, "Let's go. It's time to leave."
Deneb glanced around with trembling eyes.
"Wh-what about these people…?"
Corpses littered the ground, along with gravely injured survivors. Those who remained intact stared blankly at Deneb and the priest, their eyes hollow.
Ghislain, however, spoke in a cold voice.
"You've done enough. Can't you see? You've already done all you can. There's nothing more you can do."
"But…but…"
"If we stay here any longer, you'll die, and so will they. Foolish acts of kindness only create more problems."
Ghislain's harsh words made Deneb lower her head. She couldn't argue.
She had only wanted to help, yet people fought each other instead. Worse, the priest had killed them without hesitation.
No one respected or cared for others—they only pursued their own selfish gains.
Deneb had always known the world was harsh, but seeing it unfold before her eyes was completely different from hearing about it in rumors.
Even the rough places where she had lived weren't this cruel.
Yulian took Deneb's arm and urged her.
"Let's go. Ghislain's right."
If they lingered, the city's soldiers or more temple knights would come. They would all be captured and executed.
As they fled, Kyle asked Ghislain, "Is it really okay to leave like this? They'll definitely come after us."
Kyle's eyes glinted with a thirst for blood.
The temple knights were incapacitated. Killing them now and hiding the bodies seemed like the safest option.
This was a slum—disposing of bodies would be easy. And if they shared some loot, the poor people might even help them cover it up.
Even if someone spoke out later, it would be long after they had fled, giving them ample time to escape pursuit.
Ghislain smirked. Kyle always made the most practical decisions.
However, this time, it wasn't necessary for them to take any further action. Others already had motives for revenge.
Ghislain glanced back briefly and said, "It's fine. We don't need to get our hands dirty."
With that, they packed up their belongings and left the city.
Back in the slum, the priest screamed in rage, his limbs broken.
"What are you waiting for? Go to the temple and call for reinforcements! I'll have them executed immediately!"
Drawing on his holy power, the priest began to mend his broken arms little by little, continuing to shout.
"You worthless trash! Go get the knights and help the others up!"
But the people did not move. They only stared at the priest and the knights with dark, unreadable eyes.
Those who had lost loved ones to the knights were the first to pick up weapons. Others followed, their eyes glinting with greed.
As the people approached with weapons in hand, the priest finally sensed something was wrong.
"Wh-what are you doing? What are you thinking…?"
Thud!
A rusty blade pierced the priest's neck. The poor people stabbed him mercilessly.
They knew that anyone capable of using holy power had to be killed first.
"Guhhh…"
The priest gurgled blood, his eyes losing focus as his life quickly drained away.
Seeing the priest die, the knights tried to move, but the crowd was faster.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The poor people smashed the knights' heads without hesitation. Immobilized, the knights died where they lay.
"Let's clean this up quickly."
"Yeah, bury the bodies and split the loot."
At someone's suggestion, the beggars stripped the priest and knights of their armor and valuables with practiced ease.
A few dragged the bodies away. Once the cleanup was done, the poor people began arguing and fighting over the spoils.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Die, you bastard!"
"This one's mine!"
They shouted and fought as greed consumed them.
The image of Deneb's kindness was already long forgotten.
The wealth she had shared, the holy power she had used to heal—if they hadn't fought among themselves, they could have received it all.
Instead, their greed and selfishness had cost them everything.
Ungrateful, they didn't even realize what they had lost.
Until now, Deneb had believed the world was turning into hell due to the long war against the demon realm.
But she had been wrong.
The world was already hell.
***
Yulian and Deneb remained silent, walking with heavy steps.
Only Kyle grumbled to Ghislain, complaining about how rotten the world was.
Once they had put enough distance between themselves and the city, Ghislain spoke.
"Let's stop this foolishness. If you want to help, fine—but no more of this self-sacrificing nonsense for now."
"…"
"I swear, watching this mess made me sick. I tried to leave it alone, but it was unbearable."
"…"
Deneb kept her head down, unable to respond. She had tried to do good, but instead, people were hurt and killed.
Ghislain continued in a scolding tone.
"If you really want to help, then get stronger—strong enough that no one can touch you."
"…"
That's what she was already trying to do—train and grow stronger. It just wasn't as easy as she'd hoped.
Suddenly, Ghislain made an unexpected declaration.
"We're forming a mercenary group."
The others turned to him, wide-eyed in surprise.
[T/L: I need your support, dear readers. I will give discount to all those who will buy the rest of the chapters all together, so please support me the reader on my webnovel platform and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]