Hero’s Downfall Report

27 – Devotion with the Sword (2)

Instead of an answer, Cain looked up at the sky, trying to estimate the time. Judging by the tilt of the sun, it seemed to be around 3 in the afternoon.

Like other cities of the Empire, Maripfurt also had outer walls. And these walls closed between 7 and 8 in the evening, depending on the season.

So, they had to arrive within four hours to comfortably enter the city. The problem was the horse-drawn carriage that Cain and Lily were riding, pulled by an old, feeble horse.

The pack mule was old but wise, leisurely yet diligent. Even when the old man, seated on a straw mat, slept with drool dribbling down from being drunk, you could tell it knew the way it had to go.

Perhaps, Cain thought to himself, since the beginning of the world, this pack mule and its owner might have traversed this road.

Because of that, Cain decided not to wake the old man. Leaning against a stack of straw, basking in the sunlight on the earthen path, was not a bad journey at all. If need be, contacting the security bureau branch in Mariport would suffice.

If this was a stroke of luck, then so be it. A kind of luck that couldn’t be purely joyous, just that kind of luck.

* * * * *

Four hours ago.

Lily stopped crying but instead trembled uncontrollably. She seemed profoundly shocked. Cain removed Lily’s chainmail and draped a relatively clean cloak over her.

“Take a moment to rest.”

“Uh, where are you going?”

“Not far. Just checking if there are any living people around. I’ll bury this friend somewhere suitable.”

Lily tried to stand, but her legs gave way, and she couldn’t get up. Cain placed a hand on her shoulder, then surveyed the ruins of the monastery.

Embers flew from the collapsed rubble. In the hazy smoke, sporadic, sharp sounds echoed as hot stone walls burst.

Broken furniture. Burnt clothes. Tattered armor and helmets. Shattered doors. A typical ruin. However, there were no bodies. No human or animal corpses. The only corpse was a pitiful trainee knight possessed by the Imperial Sword.

Cain recalled that dreadful creature. If it could be called a living being, it had flown northeast. Towards the desolation of the Demon King.

Walking around the ruins, Cain organized his thoughts.

Reporting to the Empire was a given. Given the gravity of the situation, he had to inform Anna of what he had learned and the information he had gathered.

The problem was the clergy. Regardless of the complex political calculations within the clergy, if even the Holy Knight and Archbishop had fallen so corrupt, who in the clergy could be trusted? Cain couldn’t tell.

Collapsed monastery buildings, fallen Mercy Order military tents, wrecked carriages. Yet, there were no bodies except for the trainee knight with the Imperial Sword through his throat, and the only trace was the standard of the Inquisition Officer Haspel.

All individuals related to the clergy were missing. If only two people from the Imperial Security Bureau returned alive and delivered bad news, how would the clergy react to this? It was a matter too complex and sensitive to be decided at the level of a security bureau chief. While Anna respected and supported Cain’s judgment, there was no reason for him to make rash and reckless decisions.

After much deliberation, Cain made a decision. He and Lily would go to Heinrich, the inquisitor of Magdeburg, as planned, but they would not inform the Order until Anna’s instructions arrived.

It would be more efficient to write and send the report from Marienburg, the closest imperial city and where Cain and Lily kept their carriage. They could save time by receiving Anna’s response in Magdeburg.

“…I thought it would be over soon. I guess retirement will have to wait.”

Cain murmured, looking at the empty ruins. He took a deep breath and moved again. It was to find evidence that would support what he and Lily had witnessed.

The carriage. The collapsed library. The tent.

Most of it was burned and destroyed, but there were still things worth salvaging.

They found an order with Commander Marco’s seal and half of the “Manual for Witch Hunts” in Father Haspel’s carriage. Haspel’s signature was on the first page.

There was also a scroll of parchment with the seal of the Otranto Blockade Monastery. It had turned slightly yellow, but the seal with the emblem of the monastery was important, not the content.

If possible, Cain wanted to take as much as he could. Even though the people were gone, the records remained, and the more records they could take, the more they could talk about the absences.

“There were people like this here once. The evidence is here. They left only this, and disappeared somewhere. Through the absences, their existence is revealed, may God’s mercy be with them.”

* * * * *

The Otranto Blockade Monastery had not only a graveyard but also a mortuary and a morgue. The foundation seemed to be all rock, making it difficult to bury in the ground.

Cain and Lily placed the body of a fallen knight in an empty sarcophagus. They closed the lid and prayed for his peace. Lily did not cry. She occasionally trembled, but she seemed better than before.

The sky was clear. The ruins were silent. There was no wind, but the grief was overwhelming. Cain took two water bottles, biscuits, and a small food bag with dried meat from the Mercy Knight’s barracks. He divided half of it with Lily.

“I have no horse to ride. We’ll have to walk. The bag is a bit heavy, but there’s nothing we can do.”

“I can carry it.”

The Imperial Sword was sheathed at his waist, but Cain had discarded the chainmail armor. After packing up the bag, the two walked down the rocky mountain. The wind howled as if urging them to hurry.

They kept walking. It was a completely unconscious action, eating a little, drinking a little. The biscuits and meat had no taste, and the water was lukewarm.

Below the rocky mountain, things were slightly better.

There was a forest with well-trimmed branches at a suitable distance from the trees, indicating that the villagers took good care of it. It was a forest they had passed by on their way up to the Otranto Monastery, nothing remarkable.

The birds seemed to be chattering about the commotion on the rocky mountain. Squirrels scurried around the trees, spreading rumors. Nameless flowers blooming by the roadside seemed to be admiring my face and figure as if they knew about the gossip.

– Kairos. I love you.

Cain stopped in his tracks. It was a melancholic voice. It sounded just like the voice of the shadow that had accompanied him to the eerie dragon.

“What’s the matter?”

Lily’s worried voice. Cain turned his body around.

“Oh, nothing… Why are you like that?”

Lily’s face, shoulders, and neck were swollen and red. It was a lividness that wasn’t there just a moment ago. It was even more puzzling to see Lily hiding her hand behind her back.

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. What are you hiding? Show me.”

“I really…”

“I’ll get mad.”

What Lily offered was a rough piece of cloth. The thread was thick, making it difficult even to use it as a rag, and it was even dirty with stains.

“…Because of my tongue…” Lily lowered her head. “The texture of the tongue vine gives me goosebumps… It won’t go away.”

“Stay still.”

Cain took the cloth from Lily’s hand. He opened the water pouch and poured some on it, then used his hands to lightly wipe her face and neck.

And he gently patted her shoulders, just enough to avoid triggering the lividness. Although the water had soaked the shirt as it flowed from the unfinished cloth, Lily stood somewhat crestfallen.

“Go down and wash properly. Don’t deal with this alone. If it bothers you, no one will take responsibility. Especially if you’re a security agent.”

“I’m sorry. I keep showing this ugly side of me…”

“What are you talking about?” Cain lightly wiped the back of Lily’s neck.

“You did well. Among the trainees I know, you’re the best. Even if I search through the history of the security agency, you’re the best, right? You’re the only trainee who saved my life. It’s almost like you’re indebted to me, so you should do this much.”

After speaking, something felt awkward, and Cain’s face turned red.

“Well, that was quite surprising. I never thought you were afraid of anything in this world.”

“I was really scared earlier.”

“Yeah. It was really eerie and strange.”

“No. It wasn’t because of that.”

Lily quietly took Cain’s hand. Although it was a light grip, Cain couldn’t move. It wasn’t his hand that was held, but his gaze.

“Did you really think about dying?”

“I didn’t want to die,” Cain defended himself.

“Who wants to die? I just… wondered if I could win. That’s why I tried to pull out as much as possible. So that you could…”

“You don’t think about me at all.”

Lily’s tone was strangely cold. Cain couldn’t understand.

“What are you talking about?”

“Someone who rushes into death should be watched over. I had to watch over that with my own eyes. Attack. Defense. Counterattack. If I miss a single thing, think even a bit wrong, or realize the opponent’s tactics too late, someone precious could die in front of me… You didn’t think about the burden I had to bear, did you?”

– Kairos. Run away. It’s what you’re good at, isn’t it?

The shadow whispered in Cain’s ear again. Cain lowered his hand. Lily’s words couldn’t be ignored. They were dangerous words.

“Then what should I have done? Just left and run away? We don’t even know how many people that scum might kill. At the very least, we should see what kind of weapons, skills, and fighting style he has.”

“I know the security agency’s guidelines too!”

Lily was angry. Cain clenched his fist. Thud, water poured from the ceiling.

“I’m not talking about the guidelines! Yes, what you said is all correct. But… But, I know that! I know it’s right!”

“What good is knowing!”

“The fact that you had to witness your beloved person dying in such a terrible way, didn’t it matter to you at all?”

Lily was angry. Really angry. She even spoke in a tone that resembled a tantrum of a child. Ironically, Lily herself couldn’t remember being like this. She had always been like that until now.

“I hate it! I hate it! The person I love, the person I like, the person I want to spend my life with, is just gone! And you didn’t even bother to ask for my opinion! Why is it always your way? Why is it always your will? At the very least! At the very least, you could have asked for my opinion!”

Lily is about to cross the line now. Cain knew it, but he had turned a blind eye to it until now, the line that Lily herself had been trying to hold back. Once she crosses it. Once she goes beyond, she can never go back to how things were before. If they didn’t draw the line from that side, they had to draw it from this side.

“You…!”

But she couldn’t respond.

There was a sound from behind.

It wasn’t just one person. Cain turned his body backward, and Lily did the same. They both put their hands on the handle of the sword, as if they had made a promise. If necessary, they were ready to draw it.

Three men holding axes walked out from behind the trees. They all had good builds.

“How interesting. Why stop talking? It was getting so interesting.”

The man with an axe on his shoulder chuckled. His beard was very messy and grew in any direction.