Chapter 85 : The Demon Race and the Holy Kingdom (3)
Chapter 85: The Demon Race and the Holy Kingdom (3)
As the sun set...
And the people had all gone to sleep...
Leon and Sibelte began to move.
“So there's really an underground prison beneath that temple?”
Sibelte asked with a doubtful expression.
She believed Leon's words, yet she still hadn't fully accepted them.
Even if she had once been an Imperial noble, she was now the Saintess.
A holy figure who had inherited the spirit of the Holy Kingdom.
She couldn't help questioning the idea that an underground prison existed beneath a temple dedicated to serving the gods.
Moreover...
She was well acquainted with the Holy Kingdom's internal affairs.
Constructing an underground prison beneath a temple couldn't possibly have been accomplished by the Saint alone.
At the very least...
It would have required the approval of the Cardinals, or perhaps someone of even higher rank.
'Could Leon's words... be false...?'
Smack-!!
Sibelte suddenly slapped both of her cheeks.
The sound made Leon look at her curiously.
“Has something happened?”
“No... I almost allowed myself to entertain foolish thoughts.”
Sibelte bit her lip tightly.
What had she just been thinking?
This wasn't just anyone.
He was the man who had saved her life.
She ought to have bowed a hundred times in gratitude.
Yet she had doubted him.
She hardly deserved to be called the Saintess.
'Get a hold of yourself. At the very least, Leon isn't someone who would lie. Even if there truly isn't an underground prison... it's probably not his fault.'
A question suddenly came to mind.
How had Leon learned about the underground prison?
Sibelte asked,
“Leon, there's something I'd like to ask.”
“If it's something I can answer, then by all means.”
“How did you learn about the underground prison? Even I, the Saintess, only heard of it today.”
Leon nodded.
“I understand your doubts. But the information is reliable. My father told me.”
“Your father? Come to think of it, last time you also left because you had something to tell him. Now I'm curious. Could you tell me about your father?”
“He's the Conqueror.”
“Oh, I see... Wha—?”
Sibelte stared blankly.
Her eyes trembled violently.
Meeting her gaze, Leon calmly continued.
“The Conqueror, Zeke Fritz. The greatest Warrior of Elphrel and the king who rules the nation. Didn't Priest Frey ever mention him to you?”
“......”
Sibelte fell silent.
A tidal wave of shock swept through her mind.
The Conqueror?
The very Conqueror she knew?
“What is this...?”
Her mind went blank.
A loud ringing filled her ears.
Leon...
Was the Conqueror's son?
The son of that Zeke Fritz?
Fortunately...
Sibelte recovered from the shock rather quickly.
Only because someone beside her had fallen into an even greater one.
“T-The Conqueror?! Cough—!”
Baylen spat dark-red blood onto the ground.
Anyone could see that his condition was serious.
“Baylen!”
The Saintess immediately poured Holy Power into his back.
Only then did Baylen recover enough to grab Leon by the collar.
“Y-You're saying you're the Conqueror's son?!”
His speech was a complete mess.
He was too shaken to speak properly.
Leon tilted his head.
“Is there something strange about that?”
“Of course there is!”
Baylen roared.
“I! Do you have any idea how much that damned Conqueror...!!”
Before long...
Tears even gathered in Baylen's eyes.
A giant of a man—at least a head taller than Leon—was actually crying.
Leon looked rather troubled.
Judging from Baylen's reaction...
It seemed Zeke had committed some terrible offense against him.
“Please don't insult my father.”
Even so...
Leon didn't comfort him.
Offering sympathy without understanding the circumstances was the worst approach.
After all...
It might not have been his father's fault.
His own emotions weren't so cheap that they would be swayed by someone else's reaction.
“Like father, like son! You shameless brat! That bastard destroyed my barrier!”
“Your barrier?”
“Yes! The Conqueror destroyed one of the Holy Kingdom's sacred relics! It was the barrier that had protected the Holy Kingdom for generations within my family!”
Baylen angrily jabbed a finger toward Leon.
“And the reason was ridiculous! He smashed it because it wouldn't let him inside! Worse yet, the Conqueror entered the Holy Kingdom without following any legal procedures! In other words, he tried to sneak into the country illegally!”
“......”
Now Leon finally understood.
Illegal entry.
And he had even destroyed a sacred relic.
'I think I finally understand why Father is called the Conqueror.'
An overbearing man who never listened to anyone else's opinion.
It truly suited the title.
Leon gently patted Baylen's shoulder.
He even looked at him with pity.
A sacred relic passed down through generations had been destroyed because of his father.
The least Leon could do was offer his condolences.
Unfortunately...
That only made Baylen angrier.
“Y-You damned father and son...! Cough...!!”
Baylen spat blood once again.
It seemed his inner demons had reached their limit.
If he didn't calm down...
He might actually die.
Supporting Baylen's body, Leon spoke.
“Please calm yourself. Take deep breaths. At this rate, you really will die.”
“Y-You...! You...!!”
Gurgle—
At last...
Baylen's eyes rolled back.
The overwhelming rage had completely overwhelmed his consciousness.
Catching Baylen before he collapsed backward, Leon let out a sigh of relief.
“Fortunately, he survived.”
“......”
Hearing that...
Sibelte became completely convinced.
Leon truly was the Conqueror's son.
Fortunately...
Baylen regained consciousness soon afterward.
“The Conqueror...! The Conqueror!”
Though he still wasn't entirely sane.
Clicking his tongue, Leon thought,
'What a disappointment.'
'For someone that large, he's surprisingly weak.'
Life was full of losses.
When something was lost...
One should simply move forward and rebuild.
Clinging endlessly to the past accomplished nothing.
Of course...
Leon didn't actually say those words aloud.
He wasn't completely tactless.
He knew Baylen would probably collapse again if he did.
After groaning for quite some time...
Baylen finally composed himself.
“Haa... Dwelling on the past won't change anything. Leon, was it? You're really the Conqueror's son?”
“Yes.”
Baylen's tone had become noticeably rougher.
Leon deliberately ignored it.
“Is there something you'd like to ask?”
“The reason you're trying to uncover the underground prison... is it because the Conqueror ordered you to?”
“If we're being precise, then yes.”
“I see.”
Conflict appeared across Baylen's face.
It was understandable.
To him...
The Conqueror was his enemy.
Helping his enemy couldn't possibly sit well with him.
Yet Leon made no attempt to persuade him.
Although they hadn't known each other long...
Leon had learned one thing.
Baylen understood the greater good.
He wasn't the type to abandon humanity because of personal feelings.
Soon...
Baylen spoke.
“Haa... Let's go inside first. We can discuss the rest later.”
As he finished speaking...
A faint light enveloped Baylen's body.
Moments later...
The same light surrounded Leon and Sibelte.
Apparently...
Baylen had done something.
“It's a type of barrier. For a while, people won't be able to perceive us. Someone with exceptional eyesight might still see through it... but if anyone of that caliber is here, we'd be better off running.”
Leon nodded.
Just as expected.
Baylen truly understood priorities.
Though his emotions had clearly become turbulent...
He still knew what needed to be done.
People capable of separating work from personal feelings were dependable wherever they went.
Before long...
They found the entrance leading underground.
“So there really is such a place beneath the temple...”
Sibelte murmured.
Her astonishment was unmistakable.
It was only natural.
The entrance to the underground passage had been hidden so skillfully that ordinary searches would never have discovered it.
Had Leon not possessed senses capable of seeing through physical objects...
No one would have found it.
“How fascinating.”
Baylen spoke with genuine interest.
“It doesn't look artificially constructed. It almost feels as though this place simply appeared on its own. Is such a thing even possible?”
As expected of a scholar who specialized in barriers.
Baylen demonstrated remarkable knowledge of spatial phenomena.
Running his hand across the hidden entrance, he continued,
“I don't see the slightest trace of anyone passing through here. It almost feels as though we're the first people to discover this entrance. Are you certain members of the Demon Race are really down there?”
“As far as I know, they are.”
“In that case, this must be a secret passage. The Demon Race likely has another entrance prepared elsewhere. We've been fortunate.”
“What do you mean?”
“A secret passage is called secret for a reason, isn't it? Very few people know about it. There won't be any guards watching it, which means we can slip inside unnoticed. That's why we're lucky.”
Leon nodded.
“Indeed. Then let's head inside.”
“Good. You take the lead.”
“...?”
Leon tilted his head.
“Why aren't you going first?”
“I'm not the muscle here. Do you expect me to get stabbed to death? Naturally, the Warrior goes first.”
“...Ah.”
Come to think of it...
Baylen wasn't a Holy Knight.
His enormous physique had made Leon forget.
Even though he already knew Baylen was a Barrier Master.
Nodding, Leon took the lead.
'It's not as dark as I expected.'
Descending wasn't particularly difficult.
Someone had clearly maintained the passage regularly.
Even if it was a secret route...
Someone still took care of it.
After descending for roughly ten minutes...
Leon finally reached the underground prison.
“It's much deeper than I expected.”
Sibelte said with visible surprise.
The prison lay deep beneath the earth.
It was difficult to imagine how anyone had even managed to construct such a place.
It reminded Leon of the underground labyrinth inhabited by the Great Blood of Night.
'Hm?'
Just then...
A strange presence entered Leon's senses.
It didn't feel dangerous.
If it were a member of the Demon Race...
His body wouldn't remain this calm.
'Is it a human?'
Leon's eyes narrowed.
Just in case...
He subtly signaled Sibelte and Baylen.
With nothing more than a brief glance...
Both immediately understood.
A moment later...
Someone emerged from around the corner.
A man wearing the robes of a Holy Kingdom priest.
Dark circles hung beneath his eyes as he staggered toward them.
Leon looked toward Sibelte.
He wanted confirmation that the man truly was one of the Holy Kingdom's priests.
Sibelte nodded with a devastated expression.
She remembered him.
He was a devout believer who devoted even his personal time to prayer.
His reputation had been excellent.
People often said it wouldn't be long before he rose to a high-ranking position.
Only then...
Did Sibelte realize that Leon had spoken the truth.
The Saint...
Perhaps even the Holy Kingdom itself...
Really was plotting something.
She still couldn't believe it.
An ordinary priest entering a place unknown even to the Saintess.
Yet...
She couldn't deny the truth before her eyes.
'I need to see it for myself. If the Saint truly has joined hands with the Demon Race...'
Then perhaps...
The entire Holy Kingdom had already fallen under the Demon Race's control.
Sibelte bit her lip tightly.
Steeling herself...
She stepped forward.
Leaving Leon behind.
She couldn't calm her heart.
She needed to know what was happening here as quickly as possible.
As they ventured deeper inside...
Sibelte witnessed a horrifying sight.
'This is...?!'
Wolf-men walking upright.
Werewolves openly roamed the underground prison.
Among them...
There were also plenty of humans.
Holy Knights.
Nuns.
Priests.
The Holy Kingdom's finest stood side by side with the Werewolves.
It was horrifying.
So many people were cooperating with them.
Perhaps...
The idea that the Holy Kingdom had fallen to the Demon Race wasn't an exaggeration after all.
At that moment—
“Sniff... Sniff.”
As though they had planned it together...
The Werewolves all began sniffing the air.
One of them frowned deeply.
“Strange. I smell an unfamiliar scent.”
“You too? Surely none of the sacrifices escaped?”
Those words made Leon's eyes narrow.
Sacrifices?
What sacrifices?
'Don't tell me... they're using humans as sacrifices?'
Veins bulged across Leon's forehead.
'These bastards... They've been performing human sacrifices?'
Such things had occasionally happened in the Martial Alliance as well.
There had always been those who sacrificed humans to elevate their own power.
Most belonged to the Demonic Path.
'Now I know for certain.'
'The Demon Race can never coexist with humanity.'
It was something Leon had vaguely believed before.
Now...
It became absolute certainty.
Sibelte and Baylen reacted exactly the same way.
Both stared at the Werewolves with fury burning in their eyes.
Just from hearing those few words...
They had understood how the Demon Race viewed humans.
Looking toward Leon...
Sibelte silently mouthed,
'Let's look for any humans who were kidnapped.'
Leon simply answered with a nod.