Sword Devouring Swordmaster

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

***

Chapter 186 – The Little Prince (5)

I killed two of them. What about the other two? After witnessing their fellow Crusaders die so pathetically, they refrained from rushing in and waited cautiously by the kitchen entrance.

Unfortunately, it seemed I wouldn’t be able to make use of the twenty-six traps I had prepared in advance. Tsk, what a waste of materials.

‘The combination of Fang and Flight isn’t bad.’

The myriad assassination techniques embedded in 「Fang」, combined with the experience of 「Flight」—a legendary adventurer who once worked as a ranger—created an excellent synergy. Of course, this kind of trickery would only be effective up to the level of a Sword Walker at best.

‘I need to start keeping the Inquisitor in check.’

I had to stop him before the Authority was completed. But the issue was the two standing guards at the kitchen entrance. Their number had dropped from four to two, but the remaining ones wouldn’t be careless now. They had seen their comrades die in vain, and they had seen how I targeted vital points.

A Crusader who let down his guard was dangerous. Those with superhuman physical abilities—‘at the level of a transcendent’—could catch a crossbow bolt even if I fired it at point-blank range. At my current strength, if I got caught in their line of sight, I could have my neck snapped before I even realized it. A head-on fight was out of the question.

‘Fetel’s sword wrestling…’

That wouldn’t work. The weight class difference was too great. And the two Crusaders at the kitchen weren’t the only enemies. There were still seven in total. If I wanted to conserve stamina, fighting would be the worst option. More importantly, my goal wasn’t to massacre them.

‘My objective is to rescue Priestess Frey.’

She was the only key who held clues to my sword.

My goal was to save Priestess Frey, not to overexert myself and wipe out the Order of the Cross.

‘Time to move.’

I looked up at the kitchen ceiling. Even in my weakened state, I could probably create a hole in the old, worn-out ceiling. Easily.

***

Among the techniques from 「Fang」, the most useful one was the assassin’s step—moving like a shadow, minimizing one’s presence. There was also a technique to control presence intentionally and move like a ghost—‘the art of hiding in the dark’—but I didn’t even have the minimum physical capacity to use that right now.

I passed through the kitchen ceiling, avoiding the two Crusaders, and carefully made my way back to the previous spot. Peeking through a ceiling gap, I saw the Inquisitor and four Crusaders below. In front of them stood a girl in priest robes and Priestess Frey. Everyone else had apparently fled.

‘If I jumped down now, I could aim for the Inquisitor’s throat. But…’

That would be an exchange of lives—his and mine. In the worst case, he might phase through my dagger using his spirit body. Then I’d just be an idiot who snuck all the way here only to commit suicide.

‘I don’t need to kill them all. My top priority is rescuing Priestess Frey and the girl. Besides, I can’t possibly slaughter them all in my current state.’

So—four Crusaders and one Inquisitor were watching. How could I rescue Priestess Frey and the robed girl from here? The most important one was Priestess Frey. She was the reason I came all the way from Visente, the one holding the key to a new sword for me. But Priestess Frey was a woman with a flickering mind.

‘The robed girl is just a child.’

A child and a mentally unstable woman. A difficult pair to rescue. What I needed now was a variable.

“Brothers, do not push yourselves. This sinner seems formidable.”

“Is that so?”

“At the very least, he doesn’t appear to be from the Southern Continent. Most likely, he’s from an external force.”

I lay flat on the ceiling and listened to their conversation.

“The Authority will soon be completed. The sinners who fled will return, those who hid their sins will reveal themselves, and the tainted will drag out other sinners for atonement. The sacred time of repentance begins.”

“……”

“If that sinner came from outside the land, it might not work on him. But there’s no need for our precious brothers to be injured in pursuit. Once the Authority spreads, he won’t be able to leave, and reinforcements will arrive soon to raze this city…”

If they came from outside, wouldn't it work?

‘So the Authority has conditions for activation.’

Maybe it required religious affiliation—or being a native of the Southern Continent. But what stuck out to me more was that word. Reinforcements.

‘The Crusaders have reinforcements?’

Is there any force in the Southern Continent that would support the Crusaders? No—let’s think differently. The Crusaders were trampling the peaceful Southern Continent under the pretext of a Holy War and doing so successfully. From the outside, it would look like they were about to conquer the entire continent. In that case, many would want to ally with such a force.

“Taking complete control of the City of Stars is vital. You said it’s an opportunity to restore the shaken faith of the Order after the death of Great Warrior Ismael. If we hang all the Priests of the Star and plant a cross in Antoine, even those hiding in the Order of the Star across the continent will start defecting to us. And other orders with similar doctrines will follow.”

“Ahh.”

“If we just purge the heretics from the Order of the Sun—those with their hollow dogma—we can place all of the Southern Continent beneath the Cross. The Son of Sin and Punishment will be most pleased. Truly, exceedingly pleased…”

Even with a bolt stuck in his thigh, Inquisitor Abel smiled in ecstasy, flushed and fanatical. He looked every bit the mad zealot. I couldn’t just keep watching, so I slowly drew my dagger and began considering my options.

And then—‘Don’t come.’

Priestess Frey looked straight at me through the ceiling and mouthed those words. Her previously vacant eyes were now startlingly clear, shining like stars. Was she lucid for the moment? As I thought that, the two Crusaders who had guarded the kitchen reappeared with heavy steps.

“Forgive us. It seems we lost him.”

“The other two brothers?”

“They’ve… returned to the embrace of the Cross…”

Apparently, when I didn’t come out, they had returned here. The Crusaders guarding Abel didn’t rebuke them.

“It’s fine. From what the Inquisitor said, there’s no need to chase further. We can’t afford to lose more brothers over someone who doesn’t even live in the City of Stars. Just be ready to judge the sinners who will come once the repentance begins.”

“Thank you. But please be careful. He was relentless and terrifying. Like a ghost. The brothers were taken down in an instant. If he’s still nearby rather than fled, it could be dangerous—”

“Yes, it's dangerous. But it’s fine.”

Inquisitor Abel smiled.

“Those scarier than ghosts will soon arrive as our reinforcements.”

It seemed they’d decided to give up on me rather than sacrifice more Crusaders. To them, pressing forward with their original plan mattered more than dealing with a rogue element like me. Abel took a deep breath and yanked the bolt from his thigh. A Crusader laid his hand on the wound, and a burst of golden light healed it completely. Standing up, Abel looked over Frey and the robed girl.

“The middle-aged woman who used to be a Priest of the Star, and the girl wearing filthy priest robes… I think a more fitting punishment awaits you.”

He gazed at them with dry eyes.

“Tonight, under the stars’ gaze, you’ll be hanged at the Primordial Observatory. Just like the other Priests of the Star who met a foolish and miserable end. It’ll serve as a warning to the others.”

“……”

“You, who dared to teach a heretic Inquisitor, will meet the most gruesome and wretched end of all the Priests of the Star. I will personally carry out your execution—in the cruel fashion of the Cross.”

Apparently, Abel intended to execute the two just like the others.

On a starry night—the time most sacred to the Priests of the Star.

‘A horrific idea.’

But an effective one. For them, this was a Holy War. And desecrating the sanctity of the enemy was essential. If the execution of a Priest of the Star under the stars went unanswered by the goddess, the Order of the Cross would publicize it widely. That would shake the faith of the believers throughout the Southern Continent. They would broadcast the deaths of the Priests of the Star in full.

‘…There’s no choice but to stop it before they’re dragged away.’

If they ended up imprisoned, rescue would be impossible. Yet Priestess Frey was still shaking her head at me, silently mouthing her message:

‘You don’t need to help.’

Was that truly heartfelt? Or the nonsense of a woman drifting in and out of lucidity? I couldn’t tell.

Then my master’s voice echoed in my mind:

「Just watch for now.」

Was it really okay?

Then.

‘You could’ve said that earlier.’

I would’ve run away instead. Saved myself the trouble.

「It’s all a helpful trial.」

Helpful, my ass.

In the end, Priestess Frey and the girl were taken away by the Crusaders. They were bound to crosses set beside the Primordial Observatory. And before long, the Authority unleashed by Inquisitor Abel engulfed the City of Stars—Antoine. As he had said, it had no effect on me. But for everyone else, it was a nightmare.

“This heretic threw garbage on the street yesterday!”

“This woman spent the night with an unmarried man! How could she lose her virginity without marriage? According to the Cross’s doctrine, her legs must be torn off!”

“No, this sinner—!”

The people of Antoine, their eyes bloodshot, gathered beneath the cross and ran to Inquisitor Abel to confess every imaginable sin. It looked like a scene straight out of Hell. Parents accused their children. Children accused parents. Everyone exposed one another’s faults, scrambling to add more sins to the tally.

I watched, hidden, as this grotesque scene unfolded. Amid the ceaseless shouting of Antoine’s people, someone stood at the edge of the crowd, head bowed, face dark. It was a familiar face— The old crone who had kindly guided me when I first arrived in Antoine.

“This city is… cursed, after all…”

She muttered under her breath, as the sky grew darker.

The shouting didn’t stop. As sunset gave way to night, the desert heat faded and cold settled in. In the pitch-black sky, the moon and stars appeared. With a bright smile, Inquisitor Abel raised the cross and planted it in the ground before him.

Thud.

The Crusaders offered prayers. After a short prayer, Abel shouted.

“People gathered beneath the Cross!”

Abel clapped his hands—clap!—as he continued.

“Tonight, we will erase the last two heretics remaining in this city. The City of Stars—Antoine—will become the City of the Cross.”

At those words, the eyes of the gathered people slowly began to change. The red fanaticism faded, their gazes returning to normal. Was the Authority ending? No—it wasn’t. Abel had lifted it on purpose. Why?

I soon found out.

“The Priests of the Star shall vanish. See with your own eyes. If a Priest of the Star dies hanged beneath the stars, will the Goddess save them? Or forgive those who did it? Perhaps she will speak of forgiveness—because she is noble and great. But you are not noble.”

“……”

“You lived forgiving, even as the Southern Continent burned and your loved ones were lost. But you couldn’t accept it. Because you’re not noble. The great Star Goddess demanded greatness of you, but we were born as lowly beings. People of Antoine, you don’t need hollow forgiveness and harmony. You need punishment for the weak and strict justice to govern sin. Only sin and punishment can lead us to salvation.”

Abel’s eyes gleamed.

“The Order of the Cross loves its believers. The Order of the Star tells you: ‘If struck on one cheek, offer the other.’ But we, the Order of the Cross—if a believer returns having been struck, we find the one who dared to strike the beloved child and return the blow. Because sin must be met with punishment. What this wretched land needs is punishment. Let us live under understandable sin and punishment, not incomprehensible forgiveness.”

Abel looked at the bound Frey and the girl.

“Today, the Order of the Cross came to bestow grace. But the Priest of the Star and this girl lured in an outsider who killed our brothers. Two of our brothers returned to the embrace of the Cross. How could this be? The Priests of the Star forced you to forgive, but in truth, she was ruled by her emotions and committed atrocities.”

“Th-that’s a lie—!”

“It’s no lie. I, Inquisitor Abel, never lie.”

The girl shouted, but Abel only smiled.

“Everyone, we knew all along—the Star Doctrine doesn’t suit flawed humans. That’s why we invited you to join the Order of the Cross. Because the Star Order can’t protect you. They threatened our brothers, lied that we were evil. Just look.”

Abel displayed the corpses of the Crusaders I had killed. Eyes gouged out, faces burned beyond recognition. It was gruesome just to look at.

“We merely judged the heretics. We do not punish the innocent. In Antoine, we will protect the blameless and punish the guilty. We are not like the Order of the Star, who do nothing. Our law will protect you.”

“……”

“Among you here, some are sinners, and some hide their sins. But now, let us all be reborn.

Look—bound to the cross are the Priest of the Star and the girl. If you wish to cleanse your sins, throw stones at them. Those who throw stones will be forgiven, become brothers of the Cross, and never be judged for their past sins.”

At Abel’s words, the crowd stirred.

The robed girl’s eyes trembled.

「A natural-born agitator.」

“……”

「Well, all religious leaders are agitators at heart.」

Could I really just keep watching? The situation had turned unbearable. One by one, people began to pick up stones. The girl tightly shut her eyes. Frey still did not even flinch.

And then.

“Enough!”

Someone burst through the crowd.

“How filthy must your minds be?! Can’t you all put the stones down?!”

“Granny…”

“The Star Order called in outsiders to chase them off? Throw stones to cleanse your sins? Are you really falling for that nonsense?! No, right?! You just want to be free from suffering under the Cross! That’s why you’re ignoring what you already know!”

It was the old crone. The one who had kindly shown me around when I first arrived in Antoine.

“How did the world come to this? Those who believe in the sun believe in the sun. Those who believe in the stars believe in the stars. Those who believe in the cross believe in the cross. But now, everything is a contest of superiority. What’s more righteous, what’s more valid. Where is superiority in existence itself?”

“……”

“You, who wield the Cross—how long do you intend to cast your curses? This city was built by those who chased the stars. A small haven, founded on the kindness of travelers. Must you destroy even this tiny thing to be satisfied?”

The old woman shed hot tears.

“Are you that afraid of their maces? So much that you’d accept their words? You know it’s a lie. You know it. Those Priests of the Star they hanged from the Observatory… they weren’t special. Just kids. The youngest was fifteen. The oldest, twenty-one. They joked, gossiped about handsome men, about tasty omelets and lamb skewers from this house or that. Little girls who giggled even at dust rolling by…”

The old crone struck her chest with her hand.

“Do you really want to survive by being that disgraceful? Then live. I’ll die. I have no will left to live in this cursed city…”

“G-grandmother…”

The people of Antoine faltered. Their eyes clearly wavered. Just then.

“Tsk.”

Inquisitor Abel clicked his tongue.

“An old hag ruins the mood.”

“What should we do?”

“No more repentance. Hang those two on the Observatory.”

“Yes.”

The Crusaders moved. At the same time, the previously silent people of Antoine hardened their expressions. Their wavering eyes no longer trembled. Then—a young man dashed toward Priestess Frey.

“You sons of bitches—!”

That was the start. One by one, many others rushed toward Frey and the girl.

The Crusaders frowned and tried to block them. But even with superhuman strength, such a mob was hard to hold back. A Crusader tilted, then collapsed. His body was trampled beneath the stampede.

“Haa…”

Inquisitor Abel did not panic. He simply looked exasperated and shook his head. And then.

“Assist us… Guests from the East.”

At that moment, a massive man appeared before the charging mob. He emerged like a phantom, a long sword in hand, dressed in unfamiliar garments—Eastern attire.

“You should’ve left it to us from the start, hothouse flowers of the South.”

“...It was my duty to gain as many converts as possible.”

“Fool. Faith follows power. Just as the great Khan once led the vast plains—!”

The identity of the "reinforcements" Abel had mentioned was revealed. Beings more fearsome than ghosts. I even knew their names.

‘The Conquest Army of the Great Land…’

But how had they reached this distant Southern Continent? As far as I knew, they had never conquered the sea.

‘No, now isn’t the time to be thinking about that.’

The situation had become far more complicated than expected. Reinforcements from the Conquest Army of the Great Land. And judging by how the man had appeared like mist, his level was at least that of a Sword Runner. In my current state, he was an opponent I could never defeat.

“Pitiful wretches, know your place—!”

The man roared. And as if frozen by the growl of a beast, the mob sat down in fear. But amidst the chilling silence, one figure continued to move. A soft rustling.

The man turned his head, and everyone—including me—looked that way.

“What the hell is that wench?”

There stood Priestess Frey. Freed from the cross, she was climbing the Observatory. Her hair was filthy, clothes worn and tattered, cheeks gaunt and skin ruined. But her eyes shone like stars— Perhaps even more brilliantly than the stars.

“Who dared release the sinner… No, that doesn’t matter now.”

And as she climbed, Priestess Frey smiled like a child. A pure, innocent smile— She opened her mouth and began to sing. Her steps became a dance in harmony with her song. I swear the song that echoed beneath the night sky was more beautiful than any ballad I had heard in my life.

“Bring her down, brothers—quickly—”

Abel tried to speak, but even he lost his words. Everyone fell silent. An overwhelming sanctity and beauty radiated from her, so solemn it seemed blasphemous to speak.

She cast all else into shadow— And shone alone, like a dazzling star.

Yes, just like a star.