kscans

Chapter 146 - The Aftermath.

A sudden roar. It felt as though it echoed not just through the Church headquarters, but throughout the entire town.

An unknown terror took hold of the surroundings.

The knights were agitated, but I simply asked, "What was that?! Are they keeping monsters inside the Church?"

To this question, a voice from behind me answered. "N-no... there's nothing... like that... here. They... are not... so... foolish..."

It was Cardinal Romel, speaking despite being barely able to breathe.

He was supposed to be on absolute bed rest, yet he went out of his way to explain.

A knight mused, "In that case, did it break in from the outside?"

He voiced a plausible possibility, but his tone suggested he wished to deny it.

Even if all the knights were currently storming the headquarters, the soldiers were also skilled veterans. It was unthinkable that the defenses could be so easily breached. If they had been, the very survival of the Church was at stake. The knights exchanged glances and immediately began to move. They bound the three Archbishops, slung them over their shoulders like sacks of rice, and another knight carried the Cardinal on his back.

As a knight moved to carry me, Tina intervened.

"I will carry him. Please, go on ahead. We will follow shortly."

The knights nodded at her words and moved out.

I leaned on Tina's shoulder and we left the Pope's chambers.

Meanwhile, on Altorine's side.

The monstrous roar echoed while she was on her way to the research lab with her knights.

Convinced from the direction that it came from the research lab, she commanded, "We're heading there at once!"

With her order, they broke into a run.

She didn't know what had happened, but the roar had been loud enough to reach this far. It was highly likely that a medium or large-sized monster had broken in. But neither the knights nor she had ever heard a sound like that before. It was like a human, yet like a beast. A difficult sound to describe. The feeling of wrongness was a first for her.

When the knights arrived at the research lab, smoke was rising from it. Inside, the surrounding area was on fire.

All the medicinal herbs and potions had been burned, all the medical equipment had been destroyed, and the giant flask in the center had been shattered to pieces. After a moment of stunned silence, she shouted, "Everyone! Investigate at once! If there are any survivors, administer aid immediately!"

The shock had momentarily frozen her thoughts, but she quickly recovered.

The dazed knights sprang into action at her command. They rushed into the research lab to retrieve any surviving documents and search for any injured people. However, fortunately, the evidence collection here was mostly complete, and all the researchers had been apprehended and taken away. The remaining knights had closed off the lab and were standing guard outside. It was then that they heard the roar, and when they rushed in, they were attacked by the intruder.

According to their story, an unseen monster had gone on a rampage, breathing fire.

Hearing this, Altorine asked, "What kind of monster was it? Even if you've never seen it before, it must have had some features."

To this question, a knight replied, "That's the thing, I don't know... It's like, it had features, but it didn't... It was just... too mixed up to get a clear impression."

It was an incomprehensible answer.

A senior knight was about to reprimand him for the vague report, but Altorine stopped him.

"Please, calm down. He's not joking. When you say 'too mixed up,' do you mean its appearance was jumbled, or that it looked unnatural for a living creature?"

To her question, the knight answered, "Something like that... It had four legs, but it was a furry monster, like a Bear or a Gorilla. But its upper body was human, and it was swinging a sword. I couldn't see its face well, but I saw three lights, so I think it had three eyes..."

He reported what he had seen.

The knights were speechless. It wasn't human, nor was it a monster. It was just... an unknown something.

Altorine mused, "Not only has such an existence never been confirmed before, but it attacks so suddenly. And it only destroyed the research lab... Did someone direct its actions? If so, is there someone else involved in this matter besides the Pope?"

She descended into a sea of thought.

The knights watched her for a while, but they couldn't move without further orders.

A knight prompted, "Um, your orders, ma'am?" and Altorine snapped back.

"Ah, my apologies. Right. Organize and store the evidence. Take the researchers to the interrogation room. Seal off the research lab once the fire is extinguished. There will be unrest outside as well, so I will go. That is all. Begin."

She issued her commands to the knights.

The situation had changed drastically, and there was much to do, but at least there would be no more casualties. For now, that was enough.

In an unknown location.

Deep in the Church's forest, there were four monsters.

Bamhal the Dragon King, Redorza the Sage, Rumby the Fateweaver, and Lates the Thousand Poisons—the culprits who had supported the Pope from the shadows and made his wishes come true.

Rumby whined, "Still, to kill the Pope and not just the research lab... Wouldn't it have been more interesting to keep him alive?"

To this question, Redorza replied, "If that Pope were as easy to handle as Rodel, perhaps. From his actions and personality, I thought he was of the same ilk, but the moment the battle started, he became as calm as a different person. He also quickly surmised the otherworlder's characteristics. His experience and achievements were genuine. Keeping him alive would have only brought disadvantages."

To this explanation, Lates added, "Just as Sage-dono says. If we had been careless and thought him easy to persuade, he might have tried to slit our throats in our sleep. He would never have truly cooperated with us. That is the way of the Church's knights."

It was a confident answer.

The Church's creed was, fundamentally, the subjugation of monsters. They did not use them, let alone capture them. In fact, the Adventurer's Guild in the Church did not use monsters for its entrance exams like other countries, but instead had the Knight Order test the applicants.

Rumby pouted. "What a boring guy. So you're glad you got rid of him? Is that it? So, what kind of poison did you use?"

To this question, Lates replied, "Oh, it was nothing special. It was a catalyst used in the rejuvenation potion the Pope took. I simply reversed its effect—that is, I suppressed it. As a result, the effect that maintained his youthfulness stopped working properly. Add to that the magic consumption from the skills and the holy sword he used during the battle, and that serious injury... It's no wonder he self-destructed."

He answered with a smile, gazing at a mosquito on his hand.

The moment the battle ended and the Pope stood up, a mosquito had silently approached and injected poison into his neck. Not only was the poison effective, but the Pope was also quite elderly. His body was not meant for such strenuous exercise.

But because he had been rejuvenated, he had rampaged without a care.

Once the effect was suppressed, the backlash from his previous exertions, on top of the aging, would be enough to kill him. In short, it was death from overwork.

Lates then said, "Sage-dono, I thank you for your cooperation in destroying the evidence. How was the performance of that Chimera-like Night Zombie?"

To this question, Redorza replied, "It was satisfactory. Its strength, of course, and its movements were without issue. I left its control to a Falcon. The experiment was a success."

His voice was filled with joy.

Lates nodded with a look of understanding. As expected, to entrust control, it was best to use a being that was reasonably intelligent and not easily defeated.

Seeing that their exchange was mostly over, Bamhal spoke.

"Then this matter is hereby concluded. From now on, the humans will focus all their efforts on dealing with the chaos and bringing things under control. Besides, it seems there are no other humans likely to stir up trouble for a while."

The three monsters agreed with this statement.

The Empire's second princess and the Church's Pope. There was no one else with the same level of ambition and greed as those two. On top of that, the newly enthroned emperor of the Empire was a pacifist. They didn't know who would lead the Church, but at least among the heroes of this incident, there were no ambitious figures. The Kingdom and the Republic remained unchanged. The kings of those two countries were men without ambition or greed. The King of the Kingdom disliked turmoil and valued peace. The King of the Republic was dedicated to his work and did nothing else.

The possibility of anything happening was zero.

Bamhal continued. "Then, as I said in the Empire, we will exercise restraint for a while. This begins now. The other three have been informed as well. Our interference is forbidden. Are there any objections?"

At these words, the three monsters, and the three listening from afar, remained silent.

The Seven Demon Lords also understood. Any further intervention could lead to a war from which there was no turning back. They didn't think they would lose, but it would be an immense pain. They would lend a hand or support something if it seemed interesting, but they would not interfere in boring matters.

That was the policy of the Seven Demon Lords.

Bamhal declared, "Then, we are dismissed."

With those words, a black mist enveloped the four, and they vanished.