The arrow, imbued with tremendous force, did not seem to have been fired by human strength but rather as if it had been launched from a siege weapon. However, an invisible shield manifested around Zekt and blocked the arrow.
—Holy Shield!
Unable to withstand its own power, the arrow shattered into countless fragments.
'That's similar to the magic the count used.'
Azadin frowned as he observed the scene. That was one of the most troublesome defensive spells the count had employed. If that holy knight could use it, simply bombarding him with arrows from a distance would not be enough to take him down.
'Midiam or Ishmael could break it with Beauty of Nature, White Crane... but if I bring the kids into this, they'll become the targets instead.'
Azadin clicked his tongue, realizing that Judge Zekt still had plenty of leeway.
'Damn it. They say there are only sixteen judges in the entire king's church, and now I can see why! Just don't chase after me.'
Hoping that Zekt would give up the pursuit, Azadin turned and fled.
As he ran, Meiya stomped her feet in frustration.
"What do we do? He's getting farther away, he's too fast! If we don't chase him now…"
"It's fine. We'll pursue him at a leisurely pace."
"Leisurely? Even if a wraith knight is on the chase, the enemy knows that and will surely come up with a countermeasure!"
"From the very beginning, why do you think he didn't just flee right away and instead stayed behind to buy time for the others? Was it because of his goat—no, was it an alpaca?"
"It's a Kerim mountain goat."
Zebeck corrected him.
"Either way, it's because of that alpaca carrying all his supplies. He can push his speed for now, but endurance will be an issue. That's why he stayed behind to stall us."
A Kerim mountain goat, covered in thick fur, was vulnerable to heat and could not outrun horses unless in a cold region. While he was currently outpacing their horses, he would eventually tire out. More importantly, anyone riding a Kerim mountain goat in this region was undoubtedly from the north, making it easy to track him.
And besides, they had Wraith Knight Gazrek with them.
"Tracking him down won't be difficult at all. The real problem is finding a way to ensure he doesn't escape again. And…"
Zekt removed his gauntlet.
"Huh?"
Blood trickled down his hand.
"Don't tell me…"
"Yes. My fingers tore when I blocked that attack he swung at me earlier. That was quite an impressive force."
Zekt gazed at his hand, which was trembling slightly.
"Are you alright?"
"Of course."
He muttered a spell while looking at his wound. The bleeding stopped rapidly.
"Fortunately, my bones seem to be intact. If they had been damaged, I wouldn't have been able to deflect the throwing daggers he hurled at me, and I would have died. As expected, the herald clan is no easy foe."
When Zekt raised his hand, the sergeants, who had just arrived on foot following the holy knights, brought forth spears.
"Dueling one-on-one is fun and all, but next time, let's catch him together. Keep your spears ready and join the fight when the moment comes."
"..."
"What is it, Sir Zebeck?"
"Sir Gazrek…"
Zebeck pointed toward Gazrek, who was twisting his body in agony.
"Ah, I see. Dame Meiya!"
"Yes?"
"Go with the sergeants and retrieve the runaway horses."
"Ah, understood."
After sending Meiya off on an errand, Zekt ordered the remaining sergeants.
"Feed him."
"Yes, sir!"
The sergeants dragged Gazrek off the road into the bushes and tossed a chunk of meat from the packhorse's load.
Like a beast, Gazrek pounced on the meat and tore into it. It was a human thigh.
"..."
"It's the corpse of a criminal deserving of death. I admit it's unpleasant to see, but isn't this a highly effective way to dispose of those who would have otherwise been discarded in the fields?"
"That kind of mindset belongs to a necromancer rather than a holy knight. If the man was a criminal deserving of death, what crime did he commit?"
"The murder of a holy knight."
"…What?"
For a moment, Zebeck doubted his own ears.
"That farmer boy…?"
Had they killed the young man captured for Gazrek's murder and fed him to that monster?
A chill ran down Zebeck's spine. He had read the investigation report thoroughly, knowing full well that it had been heavily distorted. But precisely because of that, he could deduce the truth.
Gazrek had indeed slaughtered civilians, prompting the farm's residents to retaliate by attacking him and his trainee knights.
That farmer boy… had been telling the truth.
And they had executed him?
At that moment, Zekt spoke in a low voice.
"The knights of salvation may be fools, but there is one truth in their teachings."
"..."
"From beneath our continent, immense black mana continuously seeps forth. In other words, without the light of the king's virtue, all corpses inevitably become undead. So feeding them to him is a very efficient funeral method."
"But that farmer boy… his family was murdered by Sir Gazrek."
"And you suggest we should forgive him just because of that? If we do, people will start asking—why was he pardoned? And what would we say? 'Ah, actually, Sir Gazrek massacred civilians.' Should we say that?"
"..."
Zebeck found himself speechless.
It was true.
For the sake of maintaining the king's church's holy knight order, what Zekt was doing was rational. But that didn't make it any less repulsive. To cover up the truth for the sake of the organization…
"A crime is a crime. Sir Gazrek has already paid for his sins with what he has become. And for a farmer who dared to raise a hand against a holy knight, death is an appropriate punishment. This is not excessive. Anyone else would have reached the same verdict."
"…What about Dame Meiya? If she sees this…"
"That's why I sent her away."
"No matter what, this is…"
"Of course, it's not a pleasant sight. That's why I made sure she wouldn't have to witness it. I'd appreciate it if you could do the same, Sir Zebeck."
You're being told to keep your mouth shut as well.
Zebeck gave a bitter smile. Suddenly, the actions of herald Azadin, who had just fled, came to mind.
He had meticulously buried the villagers who had been murdered by the count's child, and despite already having the emperor's gold coin in hand, he still fought for the petitioners.
Thinking of that, Zebeck felt utterly ashamed of himself, dressed up as a so-called holy knight of the king's church.
"Then, once Sir Gazrek's condition recovers, we will resume the pursuit. That herald likely possesses the copies of the Book of the Divine King that the count had gathered. We must not let him escape."
A bizarre change began to occur in the wraith knight, Gazrek, as he devoured human flesh.
His body, already dead, had long since lost its metabolism. His organs, especially his digestive system, had been removed to prevent decay, meaning he should no longer be able to eat or digest anything. Yet, a transformation had begun within his flesh.
***
Azadin ran along the path as the sun set, panting heavily. The wound from the mana bullet that had struck him was growing increasingly painful.
"I really shouldn't be doing this, but… should I take a short break?"
Azadin halted his mountain goat. Its body temperature was far too high.
"I already shaved its rump and leg fur in advance, but it's still like this. I'll have to shave its entire body."
Saying so, Azadin began undressing by the roadside. The spot where the mana bullet had hit him was already bruising—his skin was turning a deep, dark blue with internal bleeding spreading fast.
Even if he had been struck by a hammer, it would have taken longer for a wound to bruise this badly. The fact that it had changed color so rapidly despite only being hit moments ago was unnatural.
And…
—Squirm.
Something was moving inside the wound.
"Damn it."
Azadin reached into his saddlebag and pulled out an obsidian razor. He took the blade and sliced open the bruised wound.
—Wriggle.
A dark red, worm-like mass of coagulated blood wriggled out of the wound.
"Damn it."
Azadin retrieved a small ceramic bottle from his pack, poured its contents onto a strip of cloth, and used the bottle to capture the dark red bloodworm. Then, he cut open his other wounds, extracting more of the worms and sealing them inside the medicine bottle.
"What kind of holy knight is this skilled in black magic? To fuse black magic with a magic bullet, which is supposed to be colorless magic…?"
That Judge Zekt was an extraordinary mage, capable of independently fusing different forms of magic.
"A normal person would've already been dead."
Azadin had survived only because of his strong magic resistance. Anyone else struck by such a horrific mana bullet would have died instantly.
He used the obsidian razor to make fresh incisions, wiped away the blood with the medicine-soaked cloth, and applied ointment to the wounds.
Just as he was finishing,
"Are you alright?"
"..."
Midiam and Ishmael had returned.
"I told you to run away…"
"When we went back for you against the count, you survived, didn't you?"
"That time, yes. But this holy knight is truly dangerous. He's a powerful mage. If you try to help me, you might end up dead instead."
"Then what do we do? That undead will keep chasing you, won't it?"
"I need to make a warding doll."
Azadin used his dagger to cut some fur from the mountain goat, twisting it with his hands to fashion a warding doll. Into the doll, he placed strands of his own hair and the medicine bottle containing the dark red bloodworms.
"That's impressive. Where did you learn it? Did Elder Kazas teach you?"
"Yes. I assisted Elder Kazas as his research assistant when he was studying black magic. I can't use magic, but I have knowledge. With this, I should be able to evade the wraith knight's pursuit for a while. The issue is moving it."
Just then, he spotted someone walking nearby, carrying a torch. Azadin approached him.
"W-what is it?"
The sun had not yet fully set, but darkness was creeping in. Having someone suddenly appear from the roadside and block his path must have been alarming.
"Ah, my apologies. May I ask where you're headed?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I have a package that needs to be delivered. If you're heading south, could you take it for me? Of course, I'll compensate you."
Azadin spoke while pulling out silver coins to show him.
"A package, you say?"
"Yes. Please take this south and throw it into the river."
"..."
"I'll pay you five silver coins."
"F-five coins, you say? Hmm… well, I… alright."
"Make sure not to damage it in any way."
"I won't."
"I'll pay you in advance."
Azadin handed him the silver coins and the warding doll. The traveler, either delighted at his unexpected earnings or simply eager to get away from Azadin, quickly disappeared down the road.
"Hopefully, this doll will throw off that judge."
"Surprising. Are you afraid of him?"
Ishmael asked. Azadin admitted it without hesitation.
"You should fear battle. No matter how confident you are in your abilities, fearing unnecessary fights is wise. Now, let's go. We need to put as much distance as possible while this trick still works."