Chapter 86 : The Demon Race and the Holy Kingdom (4)
Chapter 86: The Demon Race and the Holy Kingdom (4)
Every time Leon passed by them, the Werewolves frowned.
They continuously sniffed the air while looking around.
So it wasn't just their faces that resembled wolves.
Their sense of smell had become that of wolves as well.
Even so...
The Werewolves never discovered Leon.
They failed to notice him even when he walked right past them.
'The barrier is more effective than I expected.'
They merely felt that something was vaguely strange.
None of them actually found Leon.
As expected of someone personally brought by the Saintess.
Baylen's abilities were far from ordinary.
Leon carefully searched every corner of the underground prison.
It wasn't entirely without danger.
Baylen's barrier merely concealed their appearance.
It didn't block scent or sound.
Still...
Since none of the Werewolves could actually see Leon...
He managed to search the entire prison without being discovered.
As a result...
Leon came upon a horrifying sight.
“Ughhh...”
Someone groaned.
It was a cry of pain so agonizing that merely hearing it made one frown.
And indeed...
The owner of that voice was suffering beyond words.
“Kill... me...”
People muttered weakly.
Looking at those lying as though already dead...
Leon felt emotions he couldn't even put into words.
Right beside the prisoners...
Countless severed legs had been piled together.
Those legs...
Belonged to the prisoners inside the cells.
Had they feared the prisoners might escape?
Every single captive was missing one leg.
Worse still...
The amputated wounds had become horribly infected.
Apparently, after cutting off their legs...
No one had even bothered treating them.
'Then again... they probably never felt the need to.'
To the Werewolves...
The prisoners were merely sacrifices for human sacrifice.
Why would they care about them?
'Even so... this is unforgivable.'
Not even livestock raised by humans were treated this horribly.
Who in the world cut off an animal's legs because it might run away?
Even animals received treatment when they were injured.
'Are they not afraid of heaven?'
Despite committing such atrocities...
The Werewolves remained completely indifferent.
Some even complained that the prisoners smelled bad.
Leon felt as though his vision had turned completely white.
He couldn't even tell where to begin directing his rage.
Slash-!!
In that instant...
Leon's sword severed a Werewolf's neck.
It was a strike as swift as lightning.
Even without the barrier concealing him...
No one present would have seen it.
“What the—?!”
The Werewolves immediately jumped to their feet.
They all stared directly at Leon.
The moment he attacked...
The barrier protecting him had apparently disappeared.
Leon didn't care.
He was merely killing those who deserved to die.
Whether the barrier remained or not...
His actions would never change.
Staring at them with murderous eyes...
He spoke quietly.
“I'll kill every last one of you.”
Slash-!!
The moment those words left his mouth...
Leon shot forward.
His speed was beyond what the eye could follow.
The few Werewolves who managed to react...
Did nothing more than grab their weapons.
None of them could block Leon's sword once he closed the distance.
Shhhhk-!!
Leon never stopped moving.
He gave them not even the slightest opening.
He simply cut down every Werewolf he saw.
In an instant...
Half of the Werewolves underground were dead.
It all happened within the blink of an eye.
Witnessing the scene...
Sibelte couldn't hide her shock.
Every time she saw something flash...
Another Werewolf's head rolled across the floor.
Had she not known Leon was fighting...
She might have believed ghosts were slaughtering them.
Even someone completely unfamiliar with swordsmanship like herself...
Could tell it was extraordinary.
She couldn't help thinking that anyone capable of fully seeing this battle...
Would be even more astonished.
Slash-!
Five minutes passed.
Leon's sword finally cut down the last Werewolf.
It was an astonishing sight.
One man...
Had annihilated dozens of Werewolves.
More importantly...
Leon showed no sign of exhaustion whatsoever.
His breathing remained perfectly steady.
Proof that he hadn't made a single unnecessary movement during the battle.
It was enough to leave anyone speechless.
Even the finest Holy Knights of the Holy Kingdom couldn't accomplish such a feat...
Yet Leon hadn't even breathed heavily once.
Calling him a monster wouldn't have been an exaggeration.
“Saintess.”
Leon suddenly spoke.
His icy eyes still burned with deep anger.
“Please treat the wounded.”
“...Understood.”
Leaving only those words behind...
Leon strode toward the people.
Not toward the prisoners.
His footsteps carried him toward the traitors who had abandoned humanity.
Crunch-!
“AAAAAAAH!!”
The moment Leon grabbed one man's wrist...
The priest screamed.
His wrist twisted in a direction it was never meant to bend.
Not only the muscles...
Even the bones had been completely shattered.
It looked as though he would never use that hand again.
“Stop screaming and answer me. Why are you people here?”
“W-Who... are you?!”
“...You still haven't come to your senses.”
Craaack-!!
Leon's foot crushed the man's foot.
The ground caved inward.
Bones shattered with a sickening sound.
“AAAAAAAGH!!”
Another scream burst from the man's mouth.
Yet Leon's eyes remained utterly emotionless.
Completely different from the look he had shown the prisoners.
“My patience isn't particularly great. Especially when dealing with creatures like you who can hardly be called human. Still... there are things I need to know, so I'll ask again.”
Creeeak-!!
Applying even more pressure to the wrist he held...
Leon asked,
“Why... are... you... here?”
He pronounced every syllable clearly.
His tone was so firm...
It allowed no room even for screams.
The man's face immediately filled with terror.
His trembling lips desperately tried to answer.
Perhaps because of fear...
Nothing more than incoherent mumbling escaped.
“What? Speak louder.”
“Y-You...”
The man swallowed hard.
Then continued,
“Who... are... you?”
“...You bastard. You still haven't learned—”
“Please stop.”
At that moment...
Sibelte stopped Leon.
“I've already heard everything from the prisoners. There's no reason to continue hurting him.”
“...Tch.”
Leon clicked his tongue.
He wanted nothing more than to kill the man immediately...
But...
These people might later become witnesses capable of proving everything that had happened here.
The more he questioned them...
The angrier he became.
Leon casually threw the man aside.
Ignoring the traitor as he convulsed and foamed at the mouth.
Then he walked toward the prisoners.
“Your legs have recovered.”
Everyone inside the cells had returned to normal.
Apparently...
Sibelte had used Holy Power.
Perhaps regenerating missing limbs had consumed enormous energy.
Sweat continuously dripped from her forehead.
“I've only restored their legs. Their minds still haven't recovered. We need to get them out of here quickly. The Werewolves here can't possibly be all of them. If reinforcements arrive, we'll be in trouble.”
“There won't be any need.”
Leon calmly shook his head.
“I already knew the Werewolves weren't gathered only here.”
“You have another plan?”
“Not exactly. It's simply that... by now, everything should have been taken care of.”
“Pardon? What do you mea—”
Sibelte suddenly stopped speaking.
She felt something.
A powerful vibration traveled through the earth.
As time passed...
The tremor only grew stronger.
Just as anxiety filled her heart—
Boom-!!
The wall directly opposite her exploded apart with a deafening roar.
“Ah... We broke through the wrong wall.”
“I told you we should've dug a little farther to the side.”
“So what? We got in, didn't we?”
Voices echoed from beyond the shattered wall.
One sounded cheerful, like that of a handsome young man.
The other was deep and heavy, like that of a middle-aged warrior.
Soon...
Two figures emerged from the hole.
“Looks like everything here's already been cleaned up... Now we just need to find Leon and— Hm?”
“I've already finished things here.”
Leon answered in his usual calm tone.
The man waved cheerfully.
“Haha! See? I told you Leon could handle something like this by himself. These Werewolves are weaker than I expected.”
The man—
Indra—
Grinned brightly.
“This was the last place left. Let's head back now.”
“The last place? I thought today's plan was to clear only half of them.”
“We wanted to. But... they turned out to be even weaker than expected.”
Then...
Indra's gaze shifted toward Sibelte.
“Hm? You're... the Saintess? The Holy Power you're carrying is extraordinary. If priests had cultivation realms, I'd say you're around my level.”
Leon's eyes widened.
The Saintess...
Comparable to Indra?
He had always heard she was remarkable.
But he never imagined it was to that extent.
Once again...
He truly realized why the Saintess was the face of the Holy Kingdom.
“So then... the Saintess is on our side, right?”
Indra casually tossed out the question.
Although his voice sounded relaxed...
He clearly remained wary of her.
His fingers twitched...
As though ready to snap her neck the instant she proved to be an enemy.
Leon immediately answered,
“I personally asked for her help. She's definitely on our side.”
“You asked for help? Why would you do something like that? For all you knew, she could've been our enemy.”
Leon firmly shook his head.
“The Saintess is different. Didn't I tell you what happened when I encountered the Great Blood of Night?”
“Mmm... That's true, but...”
Indra glanced toward Reinhardt.
Reinhardt quietly nodded.
He seemed to share Leon's opinion.
Seeing that...
Indra shrugged.
“Well, I suppose you had your reasons.”
“W-Wait a moment.”
It was then.
Sibelte looked at Leon with a bewildered expression.
“What exactly is going on?”
“Hm? Leon didn't explain?”
“He told me about the Conqueror. But he never mentioned the rest of you.”
“Leon can explain while we're moving.”
“Moving? Moving where?”
“Where else?”
Indra grinned.
“To where the Conqueror is, of course. He's the one who brought us here. Isn't that obvious?”
Everything was happening so quickly...
Sibelte felt completely overwhelmed.
Still...
She soon regained her composure.
'For now... I need to learn the full story.'
Even if that meant meeting the Conqueror himself.
Gulp.
Without realizing it...
Sibelte swallowed nervously.
She couldn't help feeling tense.
This wasn't just anyone.
It was the Conqueror.
The man who had once sought to rule the world.
Finally...
She spoke.
“Let's walk and talk.”
“Sounds good. As expected of the Saintess—nice and decisive.”
What exactly did being decisive have to do with being the Saintess?
The thought crossed Sibelte's mind...
But she let it go.
There were far more important things right now.
“Leon, explain everything I don't know.”
Leon nodded.
The explanation itself was simple.
The Holy Kingdom possessed vast lands.
Not quite as much as the Empire...
But still enormous.
Naturally...
It also possessed countless temples.
And together with his companions...
Leon had searched every single one.
“You searched that many places?”
Sibelte asked in disbelief.
As a kingdom devoted to the gods...
The Holy Kingdom possessed an enormous number of temples.
Many had even been abandoned.
Yet they had searched all of them?
“Yes.”
Leon nodded.
“But this is the first place where we've found Werewolves. It's probably because it's close to the Holy See. As I mentioned earlier, we believe the Demon Race and the Saint are deeply connected.”
In addition...
Indra and Reinhardt explained everything else they had learned.
Most of the temples surrounding the capital had already become Demon Race hideouts.
There were likely still more locations they hadn't yet discovered.
For someone who had always taken pride in the Holy Kingdom...
It was almost impossible to accept.
Even after they emerged onto the surface...
Sibelte remained trapped in shock.
Who could have imagined there were so many members of the Demon Race within the Holy Kingdom?
How could this possibly be real?
'The scale is unbelievable.'
'At this point... the Saint alone couldn't possibly be responsible. The Pope himself would have to be directly involved.'
Everything felt unreal.
It no longer resembled the Holy Kingdom she knew.
Could this truly be reality?
Smack!
Sibelte struck both of her cheeks hard.
Rubbing her burning face...
She steeled herself.
'Get a hold of yourself, Sibelte.'
'You're the Saintess.'
'The woman who represents the Holy Kingdom.'
Nothing had been confirmed yet.
How could she lose herself already?
She had no idea what truths awaited her.
She needed to prepare herself.
'No matter what truth awaits... don't waver.'
'Just do what you must, Sibelte.'
Even as she thought those words...
Her hands trembled ever so slightly.