There's Something Going On (3)
By the time the priests sensed something strange and began to move, Ghislain had already completed the Death Knights just as he had planned.
All of them were incredibly powerful Death Knights, ranging from high-level to the advanced level. Their number reached a staggering one hundred.
Ghislain looked at the Death Knights lined up before him and smiled with joy.
"…Finally filled them all."
Even Hellnik, who possessed terrifying strength, couldn't handle Death Knights of this level and scale.
The biggest factor was that Ghislain had given the Death Knights free will. That, combined with using only the purest essence of darkness instead of the malice-filled aura of black magic, had a major impact.
However, it would have been impossible for Ghislain to create multiple Death Knights in such a short time with only his own power. That's why he had gathered objects imbued with mana.
"The energy of this place helped tremendously."
The holy power of the Serana Order is rooted in death. Black magic is merely a derivative technique twisted from that power through mana.
The prayer room was filled with the purest energy of darkness. Anyone drawing mana here would inevitably be influenced by that energy.
That's why Ghislain had deliberately come all the way here to carry out his work.
Grrroooaaarrrr...…..
The Death Knights let out ghastly roars in front of Ghislain like zombies. It wasn't because there was a problem.
"Groooaa… How about that? Pretty convincing, right?"
"Wow, that's amazing. Even the voices came out exactly the same."
"Anyone who knew us in life would be in for a shock."
The Death Knights clad in black armor chuckled with glowing red eyes.
Though their appearance was terrifying and overwhelming, their voices were no different from when they were alive.
They all looked around in wonder, seemingly fascinated by their new bodies. Other than their outer appearance, they were almost exactly the same as when they were alive. All thanks to Ghislain granting them free will.
Furthermore, they could exhibit the same level of strength they had in life. No — they were even stronger than before they died.
They had obtained bodies that would never die, cast off their earthly worries and desires, and engraved one unified goal deep into their souls.
"We will keep our promise to fight the Salvation Church— I believe in it."
"Thank you for giving this sinful body a chance to atone."
"I'll be with you until the end of the world."
The Death Knights spoke solemnly to Ghislain.
They had pledged to fight the Salvation Church alongside Ghislain to cleanse their souls of the sins etched into them.
Ghislain smiled warmly. He had finally secured a force worthy of being called a true one-man army.
Of course, if he met any more skilled yet evil knights in the future, he'd turn them into Death Knights too. But for now, he had essentially achieved his first goal.
A cheerful atmosphere lingered between Ghislain and the Death Knights. Especially for Ghislain, who had poured in all his energy over the past few days, the sense of fulfillment was beyond words.
But just as everyone was enjoying the moment, the ones not enjoying it showed up.
CRASH!
The door to the prayer room exploded open, and a swarm of priests rushed in.
The priests stood in shock, mouths agape at the scene before them.
Some wore dazed expressions, while others rubbed their eyes repeatedly, doubting what they were seeing. Either way, half of them looked like their souls had left their bodies.
A priest, his voice trembling, spoke up.
"Wh-why are there so many Death Knights… H-how can this be… in this sacred place…"
As expected of priests, they immediately recognized what the Death Knights were.
Well, it would have been weirder if they hadn't.
Ghislain also stared blankly at the priests.
He had originally planned to create them in secret and slip away unnoticed. But he had been too exhausted and overjoyed and had let his guard down.
Caught red-handed doing something questionable, Ghislain gave an awkward smile and snapped his fingers.
Snap.
FWOOOSH.
Instantly, the Death Knights turned into smoke and vanished.
Having erased the "evidence," Ghislain smiled brightly and said,
"What brings you all here?"
"......"
"I just finished my repentance, actually. Ha, I feel like the sins I've carried for so long have been thoroughly washed away. Anyway, I truly appreciate you letting me use this space for a few days. I won't forget this kindness."
"......."
"Well then, I'll be on my way. May the Goddess's blessings be with you all."
With a smile and a polite nod, Ghislain tried to leave.
Of course, he couldn't get out. The priests had gathered in greater numbers and were now blocking the entrance completely.
"Um… I'm trying to leave. Could you please move?"
"........"
Even though Ghislain asked with a friendly smile, the priests said nothing. But their eyes blazed with intensity like never before.
Soon, the High Priest pushed his way through the crowd and appeared.
With a cold stare, the High Priest glared at Ghislain and asked,
"Is this why?"
"Why what?"
"You asked to borrow the sanctuary so you could use this place's energy to create Death Knights, didn't you?"
"Ahaha…"
Ghislain gave an awkward laugh. The High Priest had hit the nail on the head.
The High Priest raised his holy power. The priests around him followed suit, summoning their divine strength as well.
Then, with a voice brimming with anger, the High Priest shouted,
"A vile dark mage, creating Death Knights in our sacred temple under false pretenses… Did you truly think we who serve Goddess Serana wouldn't sense that energy?"
"Well… You are an expert in this field, after all. I didn't think I'd get caught this quickly."
"You've mocked the Goddess and made fools of us — I'll cleanse your soul by killing you myself!"
"I'd love to explain, but I've got a mission from the Pope, so… I really should get going."
"Silence! You think your lies will keep working?!"
BOOOOOM!
The High Priest's immense holy power surged toward Ghislain. Ghislain didn't counter it — instead, he dodged.
Fighting here was a bad idea. This was the main headquarters of the Serana Order, and it was overflowing with high-ranking priests.
No need to make enemies of innocent priests either.
So Ghislain just ran straight toward a wall.
CRAAASH!
He smashed through the thick wall in one go and began his escape.
"Catch that lunatic dark mage!"
"After him!"
"His name is 'Astion'! He's spreading evil in this world!"
The priests screamed at the top of their lungs and chased after Ghislain.
Their long-trained composure, no matter the circumstance, had been shattered in an instant — all thanks to Ghislain.
Whistle-!
As he ran, Ghislain whistled loudly with mana — a signal to call his companions.
Amazingly, they were already out of their lodging, luggage in hand. They too had felt the overwhelming energy.
Ghislain caused trouble so often that they always stayed on alert, ready to move at a moment's notice.
And the moment it seemed something had happened, they didn't even hesitate.
Seeing them, Ghislain gave a thumbs-up and shouted,
"Nice work! Let's get outta here!"
They had no idea what was going on, but didn't waste time asking. The result of many… repeated lessons.
The problem was that there was one rigid, by-the-book man among them who hadn't learned anything.
"Stop! What's going on?! Why are the priests attacking you?!"
Lionel urgently blocked Ghislain's path. But Ghislain was the kind of man who skipped explanations even with allies when things got urgent.
"I'll explain later. For now, you're in the way—so just get knocked out."
Ghislain swung his staff at Lionel. He had reduced his strength significantly, intending only to knock him unconscious.
CLAAAANG!
"…Oh?"
Ghislain was slightly surprised. Lionel had drawn his sword and blocked the attack.
A powerful wave of holy power surged from Lionel's sword. The rigid man had genuinely stood in Ghislain's way.
"Tsk. Stronger than I thought. holy power is always hard to judge precisely," Ghislain clicked his tongue and turned his gaze. In that brief moment, the priests began surrounding them.
Escape was out of the question. He could break through if he wanted, but it would cost casualties among the mercenaries.
There were just that many high-ranking priests in this place. It was, after all, the Grand Temple of Serana.
What's more, the rage the priests had repressed from years of asceticism had erupted thanks to Ghislain. Their eyes all screamed that they had finally caught something worth going after.
Lionel, flustered by the rapidly changing atmosphere, asked,
"Wh-what is happening? Why are you doing this?"
The High Priest glared at Lionel and countered with a question,
"You truly don't know?"
"Know what, sir?"
"That the man you brought here is a dark mage!"
"W-what are you talking about…?"
Startled by the High Priest's words, Lionel looked at Ghislain.
Ghislain widened his eyes and shook his head furiously with an expression full of wrongful accusations.
Seeing that, Lionel turned back to the High Priest and began to defend him.
"T-that can't be true. This man is working under a secret mission assigned by His Holiness himself. There's no way he's a dark mage."
"Everyone here saw it with their own eyes! That man created Death Knights inside this sacred place!"
"If he truly were a dark mage, His Holiness would've known. There's no way the Pope wouldn't be aware of something like that!"
"Are you saying we're all lying right now?!"
As the High Priest shouted, Lionel looked at Ghislain again. Ghislain kept shaking his head, feigning innocence.
Lionel really wanted to believe Ghislain. But something felt off about the mercenaries.
'Why?'
They were all avoiding eye contact, looking elsewhere. Not one of them showed confusion or indignation.
Even a fool could figure it out at this point. It was obvious who was lying.
With a terrifying glare, Lionel brought his sword up to Ghislain's neck and asked,
"You… are you really a dark mage?"
There was no typical aura of malice or shadowy presence that one would expect from a dark mage. But perhaps this one was skilled enough to hide it.
With a calm expression, Ghislain raised his hands and said,
"Is that really important right now?"
"What?"
"If I get caught here, we won't even get to start the Pope's mission. You sure you're okay with that?"
"You dare threaten me now? I'll report your true identity to His Holiness and get a replacement."
"But wouldn't that just embarrass the Pope? People would say the Pope assigned a dark mage to a mission. Not that I am a dark mage, of course. It's just a little unfair, don't you think?"
"Y-you bastard…"
"And I'm a bit worried the nature of the Pope's request might leak. Shouldn't we revisit this after we complete his mission?"
Lionel glared at Ghislain like he was ready to kill him.
The Pope had already sent envoys to different races, so some rumors were inevitable.
Still, it was mostly contained within the upper ranks. Most people didn't even know of the Holy Stone's existence. If Ghislain started blabbing, it wouldn't help anyone.
Some would surely start showing interest — and greed.
After staring at Ghislain for a long moment, Lionel turned to the High Priest.
"Please grant us a little time."
"You're asking me to let a dark mage who created Death Knights in our holy sanctuary walk free? Are you mocking our order?"
"No, sir. It's just that I must complete the mission entrusted to me by His Holiness. I promise we will return once it's done."
"And what assurance do we have to let him go?"
To that, Lionel replied with unwavering eyes,
"I stake my life as guarantee."
"...…"
The High Priest fell silent for a long while.
Lionel was a knight of deep faith and remarkable skill. Among the empire's high-ranking clergy, there was no one who didn't know of him.
If someone like Lionel was willing to stake his life, perhaps it was worth believing once.
Not to mention — this was an assignment directly from the Pope. Surely the Pope had his reasons.
Letting out a deep sigh, the High Priest finally spoke.
"Very well. I'll trust you and let him go. But you must bring him back. If not, I'll take this matter straight to His Holiness."
"Thank you. They will all take full responsibility for their actions."
From behind Lionel's solemn words, Ghislain muttered quietly,
"You shouldn't stake guarantees so lightly, you know."
Lionel immediately turned to glare at Ghislain. He was going to lose his mind because of this lunatic.
Even for a dark mage — how could he pull this kind of stunt in the middle of the imperial capital?
Whether Lionel glared or not, Ghislain briefly drifted into nostalgia.
'Back then, I asked Marquis Branford to vouch for me and got flatly rejected. Those were the good old days. Hope he's doing well.'
Those were good times.
Anyway, thanks to Lionel, the situation had been defused — at least for now. Although they'd still need to settle things later.
After leaving the temple, Lionel turned to glare at the other mercenaries and said,
"You'll all be handed over for the Inquisition and Holy Trail once the mission is over."
At those words, Osval and a few of the mercenaries turned pale.
If you're caught in an inquisition, you might as well consider yourself dead. They almost never let you go.
Even if you ran, the empire would send pursuit squads that would chase you relentlessly. It was basically a death sentence already handed down.
"I—I, Osval, have absolutely nothing to do with black magic."
He was only associated with someone who practiced it.
Osval trembled and kept muttering nervously.
But not everyone was intimidated by Lionel's threat.
Most of the mercenaries, including Kyle, stared at Lionel with cold eyes.
'What a rigid knight, seriously.'
'He's all alone now, and he thinks he can threaten us? Where's that confidence coming from?'
'If he goes too far, we can just kill him and run.'
They didn't know what gave him such boldness, but this open hostility made things easier. It meant they could eliminate him without guilt.
These mercenaries had been through hell with Ghislain and were quite hardened by now.
As the tension grew heavier, Ghislain cut through it with a cheerful smile.
"Come on now, why so serious? It's just a little misunderstanding. Once the mission's done, the Pope will clear everything up for us. So how about we all get along until then?"
"....."
Everyone suddenly deflated and stared blankly at Ghislain.
He was the one who caused all this mess, yet he was the most carefree of them all—making everyone else feel strangely wronged.
But Ghislain didn't care one bit if people glared or sighed.
"We've wasted too much time already. Let's go!"
"...."
Pushed forward by Ghislain's shameless urging, the group moved quickly—and arrived at their first destination a few days later.
A vast forest where even the wind whispered softly.
It was a place known as the homeland of all elves.