Chapter 25 - Adolf and the Archbishop ②
The Archbishop of the Nakanohara diocese began his move immediately after receiving the report that a horde of Revenants had attacked the church's backyard.
The secretary, who had been observing the three people who exited the second-floor corridor to the back gate, confirmed that the light of a lantern was drawing a large circle near the back gate. It was the signal that the barricade at the back gate was complete.
After returning the signal by drawing a large circle with his own lantern in the same way, he had the man who was ringing the bell stop. Then, the two of them bolted the last remaining door on the first floor on the north side and headed toward the Archbishop's room behind the eastern altar.
The Archbishop had just finished changing from his priestly robes into the plain clothes worn by commoners.
"What happened to the three who went outside?"
"It seems they managed to block the gate, but it is likely only a temporary measure."
"I hope they head toward the orphanage safely without overexerting themselves."
"They will likely fight to some extent, will they not?"
The Archbishop let out a sigh. "Let us pray for those three," he said, kneeling and clasping his hands in front of his chest to mutter words of prayer.
Once the prayer was finished, the three of them slid the Archbishop's office desk along with the carpet underneath it. Under the carpet was a single iron plate; when lifted, it revealed a narrow and steep spiral staircase leading to the basement.
Before descending the stairs, the Archbishop turned to the man who had been ringing the bell and asked.
"What will you do?"
"I will return to the town guard station for now."
Hearing those words, the Archbishop chuckled.
"It seems that thanks to the neck guards you devised, your reputation among the female soldiers has improved considerably."
The man replied with a somewhat strained expression, "I am honored by your words."
"Stay safe."
"May the Goddess's protection be with you."
The Archbishop gave the man a blessing and descended into the basement, his path illuminated by the lantern held by the secretary.
The man left behind struggled to restore the room to its original state by himself before stepping out into the corridor and locking the office. Then, going up to the second floor, he exited through a hidden door beside a pillar at the church's main entrance.
After surveying the surroundings and confirming there was no risk of being seen, he jumped down soundlessly, hiding in the shadow of the pillar. Then, blending into the darkness, he ran toward the town guard station.
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At the eastern edge of the Nakanohara communal cemetery, there is a small stone chapel that also serves as a resting place for visitors. At the back of the chapel is a statue of the Goddess, with stone monuments engraved with inscriptions standing to its left and right. Because of those monuments, it was impossible to go behind the Goddess statue.
Visitors all seemed to think the wall was directly behind the Goddess statue, but in truth, there was a narrow space exactly the size of one floor stone.
When the floor stone in that space suddenly lifted like a lid, the Archbishop of the Nakanohara Church and his secretary emerged from within.
The two, irreverently stepping over the stone monuments, confirmed no one was around and knelt before the Goddess statue to offer a prayer.
As the two stepped out of the chapel, the town of Nakanohara could be seen to the left—that is, to the south. The silhouette of the church, illuminated by the full moon, could be seen as a dark shadow.
"It took more time than expected."
The moon had already passed its zenith to the south.
"[Mute]!"
As the secretary chanted the magic, the sound around the two of them vanished.
Originally, this was magic for hunters to prevent animals from sensing their presence. The sounds around oneself are drowned out and do not travel outward. Since sounds from the outside can be heard without being blocked, it is magic suited for stealthy actions.
"Shall we go then?"
"Where to?"
"North first."
The two had traversed the cemetery through a maze-like underground passage intended to mislead intruders into the church.
Because they had to avoid the traps set here and there without triggering them, it had taken a considerable amount of time.
The Archbishop had realized that the purpose of the person who had been rampaging in the church basement using magic several years ago—or more accurately, the person who was likely controlling that individual—was to find the entrance to the underground passage he had just passed through. If that were the case, the goal of the Revenant users who attacked Nakanohara would be the same. He could not leave it alone.
The church's underground passage was something passed down only through oral tradition to the Archbishop and the secretary who was the candidate for the next Archbishop; it was one of the church's greatest secrets.
The two held no lanterns in their hands; instead, they each held a staff that had been placed in the basement.
Stumbling occasionally on the dark ground, the two began to walk.
After walking for a while, the Archbishop held his right hand out toward the surroundings.
Then, he lowered his hand.
"Let us get a little closer."
The two began walking again.
After repeating this several times, they had reached the edge of the cemetery.
Before them were the stairs that led up to the back of the church.
The two climbed those stairs. On the way up the stairs, axes and bows were lying about. Fresh weapons would not be burial goods for the dead.
"It seems there are three of them."
Continuing slowly to the top, they looked inside the gate to gauge the situation.
When he held his hand out toward the surroundings, there was a reaction to the west.
Trees were planted there, making it like a small grove.
It was a concealment. It was intentionally created with the aim of attacking enemies who invaded through the gate unilaterally by hiding soldiers, centered on mages and archers, in this grove.
The two knew that in the early morning, Katherine practiced with a spear and Emily practiced with a bow in the grove.
Some had said that using bladed weapons was an act unbecoming of a priest and that they should be made to stop, but everyone fell silent when Catherine's name was mentioned.
Nowhere was it written that using bladed weapons went against the doctrine. It only said not to kill needlessly.
Humans are foolish creatures who want to use weapons once they obtain them. If one can overcome that temptation, there is no problem with holding a blade. In the first place, one would not even be able to cook satisfactorily. The point is simply not to fight. That was how the Archbishop thought.
The grove usually served as a good playground for the children of the orphanage.
Now, evil ones were lurking in that sanctuary.
The Archbishop used magic to sense living beings. Within the range of its influence, even if they were in water or soil, he could grasp their position, number, and the type of creature. It was magic for finding survivors in lands struck by disaster, and he had saved many lives with it until now.
The man, who could not even use basic holy magic like [Heal] or [Holy], had been recommended for Archbishop in recognition of his achievements in life-saving.
That magic... [Sense Living], cannot detect the dead, the Revenants. He intended to use that to detect those controlling the Revenants and launch a surprise attack with the staffs in their hands.
Now, the Archbishop confirmed the life signatures of three humans within the grove. There was no doubt they were the ones controlling the Revenants.
"Hide our bodies from the enemy."
When the Archbishop chanted the keyword for the magic scroll he took from his breast pocket, the figures of the two, protected by the silencing barrier, assimilated into the surrounding scenery. It was [Camouflage] magic.
With this, they would not be easily noticed.
Passing through the gate and entering the backyard, the two slowly made their way into the grove.
The undergrowth unnaturally flattened to the ground from the roots, one after another, without a sound.
Three intruders were lurking in the grove.
One was likely still controlling the Revenants even now. He was facing straight toward the orphanage, occasionally holding his hand in that direction. The other two, perhaps having finished their roles, were looking around as if keeping watch.
The two thought that likely one was controlling the Revenants with axes, and the other was controlling the Revenants with bows and arrows. This was because, within the scope of their knowledge, when making Revenants perform multiple different tasks, a controller was needed for each task.
The two slowly approached the two intruders who had already finished their roles and struck them with the staffs in their hands.
They probably never imagined that people who made no sound and showed no form were approaching. The two intruders let out a dull thud from their heads and collapsed easily to the ground.
The remaining one was flustered by the sudden event and hurriedly looked back to see if he had been attacked by someone.
However, there was no sign or presence of an enemy... or so he thought, until the moment he felt an impact on his head and lost consciousness.
Having finally accomplished the task and relaxed their tension, the Archbishop and the secretary looked toward the orphanage, from which grand chanting had been audible for some time, with a sense of composure for the first time. After all, it was the first time for both of them to actually attack people.
At the orphanage, a large crowd had formed a line, pouring water from buckets onto the Revenants while singing the [Chant of Exorcism]. Jennifer and Emily were at the front. The figures of the priests who had gone outside to seal the doors could also be seen. The one swinging the spear was likely Katherine.
"Archbishop, what on earth is that..."
"Is it holy water? It seems they have consecrated a considerable amount."
"The Revenants' movements seem to have stopped."
"It seems they might have been able to repel them even without us pushing ourselves."
"As expected of those trained by Bishop Catherine, I suppose."
Both of them wore wry smiles.
After gagging the unconscious intruders and binding them tightly to a tree, the two left the scene while listening to the loudly sung [Chant of Exorcism].
The reason they did not inform the townspeople was that they did not want their actions to be known by any spies who might have infiltrated the town.
There should still be someone controlling Revenants on the main gate side of the town, and the two intended to eliminate them as well.
The two descended the stairs they had climbed and headed toward the main gate.
And thus, they would achieve their rendezvous with Adolf and the others.