Chapter 159. The Diocese of Silence (1)
In the southern part of the Kingdom of Estiria, a granary district was formed.
As wide and fertile as the land was, various food crops were cultivated throughout this region, and nature's vitality always overflowed here.
At least, until only a few days ago.
"Over here, quickly!"
A Silver-rank adventurer, Jerry, led the farmers to safety.
After confirming that no one was left inside the building, he threw a torch onto the dry straw, then chased after the people and arrived at the village hall. In front of it, a barricade had been set up by his companion.
"You're back, Jerry!"
Bages, another Silver-rank adventurer, welcomed him.
Having run through every corner of the village, Jerry was at the limit of his stamina, panting heavily.
Bages handed him a leather pouch filled with water.
Gulp, gulp.
"Haah, now I feel alive again."
"No one's going to steal it, so drink slowly. Anyway, have all the villagers been evacuated?"
"Most likely. Unless some are hiding somewhere, that should be everyone."
Jerry and Bages spoke as they looked around.
The peaceful village, where even goblins rarely appeared, was no more. The wooden houses steeped in the farmers' lives had become kindling, blazing furiously. Jerry himself had set the fires, but it was a choice he had no other way around.
To block the Undead invasion.
Bages let out a deep sigh.
"The Undead incident, even though days have passed, I still can't believe it."
It had already been four days since the Undead outbreak was first reported.
In that short time, the southern region of the kingdom had suffered immense damage. Their pace was slow, but countless Undead without stamina limits spread everywhere, making any response impossible. The scale of damage grew uncontrollably by the day.
Where on earth had they come from?
Nothing had been revealed yet.
It wasn't even clear whether it was natural or artificial.
But what adventurers had to do was clear.
High-ranking adventurers with great power set out to subjugate the Undead, while the weaker ones were tasked with urging those at risk to flee to cities with high walls.
Thus, Jerry and Bages had come to evacuate the villagers under a guild request.
"Who would have thought we'd end up the ones isolated."
"You're telling me."
The moment they stepped outside the village, it was swarming with Undead.
Just turning their heads a little, Skeletons and Zombies were wandering everywhere.
A few low-rank Undead, Silver-rank adventurers like them could handle. But outside, the number was at least over a hundred. Moreover, there were stronger Undead, like mounted Undead knights.
The horses they had brought were killed, either by Undead or stray arrows.
It was impossible to simply outrun pursuit, especially with villagers in tow.
"Haa..."
"Phew..."
The two sighed at their situation.
They had known adventuring was dangerous, but to be staring death in the face like this was terrifying, far too much.
Even so, they did not despair.
There was still hope they could return alive.
The paladins of the diocese.
Just before they set out, they had heard that those who moved to resolve the Undead incident had arrived in a city two days from here.
Now, before dawn, the burning village was visible even from afar.
If they were lucky, the paladins of the diocese would come to their rescue.
To buy that time, they had burned the village to block the Undead, and somehow scraped together materials to build barricades. Their only hope was the paladins' aid.
"But will they come, before the flames die out?"
"..."
They didn't know.
Jerry silently drank more water.
At that moment, he felt a chilling gaze.
Before either could speak, both turned their heads in the same direction almost simultaneously.
Fwoosh.
Amidst the burning buildings, a human-shaped figure appeared.
An Undead in a black robe.
"A, a Lich…?!"
Unaffected by the flames, it seemed to have cloaked itself with magic resistance to fire. The Lich stretched its hand toward Bages and Jerry.
Its target was the barricade.
Soon, mana gathered and transformed into elemental form.
"Down, nowww!"
Jerry and Bages each hurled themselves to opposite sides.
Kwaaaang!
The Fireball exploded, shattering the barricade in an instant.
The shock blasted fragments against the wall of the hall, damaging part of it. The Lich's gaze, filled with pure hatred for the living, turned toward the villagers.
"Kyaa, kyaaahhh!"
"Mommy! Mommmyyy!"
Lively screams filled the air.
As if in reply, the Lich once more raised its mana, a blazing orb forming at its fingertips.
"Damn it…!"
Bages brushed off ashes and drew his weapon.
But Jerry could not rise. A sharp wooden shard had pierced his left flank.
"Jerry, are you alright?!"
"Ugh… I can't stand…!"
Jerry was incapacitated.
The only one left to face the Lich was Bages.
But it was hopeless.
Even if both of them fought together, the Lich could kill them in an instant, its strength was that overwhelming.
Sweat poured down Bages face like rain.
If he dodged to live, the villagers would be massacred, but if he blocked it, he would surely die or suffer something close.
'What do I do….'
His thoughts grew desperate.
Of course, the Lich was not going to wait.
The
Eyes wide, Bages hastily lifted the remnants of the barricade to use as a shield. There was no way it could block a Fireball, but there was nothing else he could do. This was the best he had.
Just then.
───Kwooooom!
A boulder fell from the sky, crushing the Lich.
The impact was so great that only the outstretched arm bone remained, the rest was completely shattered.
"Wha…?"
Bages blinked.
Even Jerry, lying injured, forgot his pain and stared at the Lich's broken body. In their ears, a woman's voice rang.
──Exterminate the Undead without leaving a single one!
White-armored knights on horseback charged into the Undead horde surrounding the village.
The Undead, which the two had no hope of handling, were helplessly cut down and destroyed. Even the mounted Undead knights, feared harbingers of death, had their skulls shattered by the white blades without managing to thrust a single spear.
Bages' eyes widened in disbelief.
"Th-those people…."
"D-do you know them?"
Of course he did.
Jerry, who had lived in a single city, might not, but Bages, who had traveled to many, knew countless rumors.
Those clad in white armor, the ones who eradicated criminals of the kingdom.
'White Steel Calia, and the White Crest Order!'
Why they had come to this place, unrelated to the Marquisate of Esperanza, he did not know.
But one thing was certain.
"…It seems heaven has not abandoned us after all."
Kwaaaang!
As if to answer, a Fireball flew from the sky and crashed into the Undead horde.
***
In the end, the village was annihilated.
The fields, tainted by the deathly aura exhaled by the Undead, had blackened and perished, and nearly half the village had turned to ashes from the fire.
But still, it was alright.
The dead land would recover after long years, or if purified by holy power, and the collapsed buildings could simply be rebuilt. The only thing that mattered was the one and only lives of the villagers.
Dozens of villagers had survived thanks to the two adventurers.
Of course, had the salvation of Calia and Verden been even slightly delayed, they all would have perished, but the fact that they had bought the time for rescue meant the two had done their utmost.
The farmers, coming out of the village hall, shed tears.
"Thank you… thank you…!"
"Ah… our village…"
Voices mingled with despair and relief.
Still, no one openly complained. They had vaguely realized just how dangerous the Undead, they had only heard of in words, truly were.
Moreover, with knights of quasi-noble rank glaring with sharp eyes, no one short of a death-seeker would dare raise a grievance.
"Ughh…"
The wounded Jerry was moved to a standing building, along with knights who had been burned by corpse explosions in the mausoleum.
"I, I survived after all…"
Bages, once more realizing reality, let out a sigh of relief. His legs nearly gave out, the tension had been so great.
Just then, a shadow fell before him.
Bages raised his head.
Calia stood at the forefront, with Verden and the Knight Captain Vespa beside her.
Recognizing this, Bages immediately bent his waist deep and shouted.
"Silver-rank adventurer Bages! I greet Lady Calia de Esperanza!"
"Oh, you know of me?"
"Of course!"
She was the only daughter of a marquisate.
Her renown was so lofty he dared not even gaze upon it.
A being of a completely different class from Bages, and moreover, a benefactor who had saved his and his companion's lives. Even if she were to strike him without warning, she was no noble he could treat lightly.
"Call me Calia. Raise your head."
"Yes, Lady Calia!"
Bages straightened immediately.
Crimson eyes regarded him.
Calia's appearance was more beautiful than any noble maiden's.
Yet Bages could not easily admire her beauty.
"Then I will ask, Bages. What happened in this village? Tell me everything you know, without omission."
The unique pressure Calia herself carried.
Shuddering, swallowing once, Bages explained everything that had transpired in the past few days.
***
An empty house in the village.
Calia's expression, after hearing from Bages about the Undead incident, was grave.
"..."
The Undead army, rampant in the south of the kingdom.
Their sprawling march had already annihilated dozens of large and small villages, and each city was said to be overflowing with refugees. The death toll had easily surpassed hundreds.
"It must be the work of the Glory of the Dead."
In this situation, they were the only group capable of commanding Undead.
'Thousands of Undead.'
Verden was no less grave than Calia.
It was uncertain whether the Undead army had been prepared since their arrival in the kingdom, or whether it was raised by some black magic. The former would be fortunate, but the latter would be exceedingly dangerous.
For a spell of this scale would approach the 6th or even 7th tier.
'What kind of fiends are they?'
Verden thought of Gluttony.
A group that sought humanity's evolution through devouring, calling the current mankind the "Old Humanity," aiming to annihilate them and birth a "New Humanity." Their ideology was extraordinarily dangerous, yet at least their purpose was clear.
'In contrast, information on the Glory of the Dead is sorely lacking.'
It was known they were composed of black magicians, and that they concealed strength far greater than expected.
But their purpose was wholly unknown.
Whenever they were incapacitated, they self-destructed before any intelligence could be extracted.
Thus, the sense of alarm was only heightened.
It was impossible to predict what they might attempt next.
Vespa spoke.
"Still, I do not understand why they unleashed such a number of Undead upon the kingdom."
"I share that doubt. It is understandable that they would seek to bury me alive, a thorn in their side, but I cannot fathom why they would cause such terror."
Calia pressed her fingers firmly to her brow.
"I tried to link it somehow with the events in the mausoleum, but nothing resonates. Asher, what about you?"
"I am the same."
In the end, the key lay with Bishop Neviron of the diocese.
Only by going to the diocese could they learn even a fragment of the truth… though it was mere suspicion, not concrete proof. Frankly, the plan had been to risk friction with the Luas Church and recklessly seek out Bishop Neviron.
That was until just now.
"Still, it is fortunate that the Paladin Captain himself has led the paladins south to this place."
It was written in Bishop Neviron's letter.
That the diocese would take responsibility for the two remaining sources of the Orb of the Undead. Naturally, the Paladin Captain himself would have set forth.
If they met him, they could obtain the truth, evidence of the information.
And if the Paladin Captain denied it… that would mean Bishop Neviron had indeed joined the Glory of the Dead.
"To be honest, the Bishop Neviron I knew was no evil man. He was kind to the weak, always just. Of course, that could have been a mask… fuu, regardless, what is certain is that we must meet the Paladin Captain."
Calia turned her gaze to Verden and Vespa.
"Therefore, finding the paladins dispatched south is the priority. If he is there, entry into the diocese will be easy. According to Bages, he saw them in the city of Welsley, two days from here, so with luck, we can find them soon. Asher, search from the skies, Vespa, from the ground."
"Understood."
"Yes, Lady Calia."
With the decision made, they stepped outside.
At that moment, a knight of the White Crest approached.
"Lady Calia, dust is rising from the east."
"Dust?"
Calia's group turned their eyes to where the knight indicated.
The sunlight of dawn was beginning to fall.
Over the hill, dust clouds were clearly rising. And soon, their identity was revealed.
White armor, with golden crosses emblazoned at the center.
The Paladin Order of the diocese.
They were coming straight toward the village.
Calia smiled faintly.
"To think they would come to us directly. This is quite fortunate indeed."