The Former Holy Knight. Having Lost My Job and Childhood Friend, I Decided to Start a Dark Guild - Chapter 102

As we continued across the wasteland, I occasionally glanced at the lower-ranked knight, Sephine. Every time, I noticed that she was also looking at me. Though she wore the armor of a lower-ranked knight and went by the name Sephine, it was obvious that beneath that armor was none other than Cecil Wave, the commander of the Royal Holy Knights.

Her helmet covered her face, but it was clear that Cecil was carefully observing me, trying to discern my true identity and abilities.

There was something that had puzzled me for a long time. When I used the sub-skill “Hidden Face” from my “King of Heretics” ability, no one could recognize me as Leon Stein.

Even the Holy Knights imprisoned in the Nymeria Mausoleum, who had all known me well, failed to realize who I was. This was true for everyone—even for people like Bumpy and Lilith, who had been close to me for years.

Lately, I’ve even begun to lose track of my own identity. With “Hidden Face” active all the time, there are moments when, upon seeing my reflection in the mirror, I start to doubt whether the man staring back is truly the original me.

The “King of Heretics” ability not only allows me to bind heretics to my will, granting me their powers, but also seems to let their personalities and life experiences seep into my own.

Among the many heretics in the Michino Family are prostitutes, assassins, witches who have blown up countless civilians, and even a girl with the powers of a Demon Lord. With every heretic I bring into the family, I feel myself drifting further from who Leon Stein once was.

Even if I were to show my true face to my childhood friend now, would she still accept me as Leon? Who was Leon Stein in the first place?

When we were about a league away from Sun’s Hill, we decided to take our first and only break. Compared to when Nina and I had traveled to the mausoleum, we had moved much faster across the wasteland, giving us some time to rest.

Despite our progress, even this group was starting to feel fatigued after covering so much distance in such a short time. I also had some business I wanted to take care of during this break.

“Kano, you can ease up on your skill. Let’s eat.”

We sat down by some rocks, drank water, and gnawed on dried meat. Sephine, however, remained seated quietly, not touching any food.

Noticing this, Cisia spoke to her with concern.

“Sephine, are you not feeling well? You should eat while you have the chance.”

“Thank you for your concern. It’s just a habit—I rarely eat while on missions.”

In contrast, Kano was devouring the dried meat with gusto. People like Kano and I, who grew up as orphans, knew to eat whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Watching this, Sephine pulled out a small package from her leather pouch and offered it to Kano.

“Kano-san, this is a field ration from the Royal Holy Knights. Please have some; it will help with the fatigue from using your skills continuously.”

Kano’s eyes sparkled as he gratefully accepted it. “Thank you so much, Se—Sephine-sama!”

As Kano happily chewed on the ration, I turned to Cisia and said, “Before we move forward, let’s review Glenn Deeth’s abilities. What exactly is the King’s Skill?”

Cisia frowned openly.

“As the old legends say, it’s an ability that forces Holy Knights into violent obedience.”

Then, glancing at Sephine, Cisia hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“Though it’s a touchy subject with a Holy Knight from the Royal Order here, I’ll explain by recounting what happened when Glenn used his ability to imprison a female Holy Knight.”

The story Cisia told was one I had already seen through a vision shown to me by Sia Seiren—how Glenn Deeth had violated the purity of a female Holy Knight.

“To test his newly manifested skill, Glenn targeted one of the Royal Holy Knights. He was never the type to attract women, so maybe he saw this as a way to vent his frustrations.”

Glenn had commanded the female knight, bound and helpless, to strip down to her holy garments and serve him. Naturally, the proud Royal Holy Knight spat back, saying she’d rather bite her tongue and die than be touched by someone like him.

However, once Glenn activated the King’s Skill, her defiance vanished in an instant.

“I was shocked. That same woman, who had iron resolve, suddenly wrapped her arms around Glenn’s neck and begged him to embrace her. Glenn, satisfied, tried to lead her to his bedchamber. But then, there was a problem.”

A male Holy Knight, who had been tied up nearby, shouted at Glenn in rage.

“I think the two knights were in love. You may not know this, being a Don from the Dark Guild, but even Holy Knights, who pledge their purity, sometimes form deep emotional bonds.”

What Glenn Deeth did to those two was utterly disgusting.

Glenn cut the ropes binding the male knight with a knife and gave him another royal command: “While we make love, you will crawl on all fours like a dog and wag your tail.”

“As Glenn and the woman’s gasps echoed from the bedchamber, the sight of the man on the ground was unbearable. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I confronted Glenn as he came out. I told him this foolishness had to stop. But Glenn just punched me and said, ‘Don’t you know? Good men don’t make good kings.’”

Cisia’s face had turned pale, almost visibly so even in the dim light. When I glanced at Sephine, she remained rigid, barely breathing.

As we rested in silence, suddenly Kano’s voice cut through the stillness.

“Don! Someone’s approaching!”

Finally, they’ve taken the bait. I turned to Sephine and Cisia, telling them, “Stay put,” before standing up.

Sephine offered, “Shall I cast an illusion with my holy magic?”

I shook my head. “No need.”

I then gave Kano his orders.

“Hide the others.”

A few seconds later, even without using my skills, I sensed a powerful presence approaching at a frightening speed. It was undoubtedly one of the Inquisitors from the Papal authority.

Kano, with his keen detection skills, had warned me ahead of time about this Inquisitor, who had been scouting around. The Inquisitor was erratic and a bit of a nuisance.

As expected, a man in priestly robes appeared. He scanned the surroundings before speaking.

“This is strange. My detection magic indicated four people, yet I only see one man. One of those four seemed to possess immense power…”

“And if there were such a powerful person, what would you have done alone?”

The man’s eyes drifted to the ground, where the footprints of four people were still visible in the dry earth.

“I don’t intend to fight. My role is merely to report what I see. If a significant portion of the forces at the Wall of the Saintess is missing, it is something my superiors would want to know.”

With that, the man turned to leave. “I’ll make sure to report your presence thoroughly.”

Just as he was about to run off, I spoke up.

“If you live long enough to do so, be sure to include that you met the man who killed Torquemada. That’ll earn you a promotion.”

The Inquisitor slowly turned back to look at me. “The man who killed Torquemada…?”

I didn’t waste the moment of hesitation. In an instant, I had my hand around his neck. “I invited you here because I needed a gift for the upcoming feast of the Sun’s People.”

The man sneered.

“You should release me for your own sake. The ‘Hammer of Witches’ holds long grudges. If I so much as feel displeased, misfortune will befall not only you but your family as well. If you understand, let go of your filthy hand…”

He continued to prattle on, but as the words left his lips, his face turned increasingly pale. “S-So let me go!”

“You Papal dogs, who have slaughtered countless heretics of the Sun’s People, should never have set foot on this sacred wasteland.”

I tightened my grip on his neck. And in the next moment, blood sprayed into the air, and the Inquisitor’s head thudded to the ground. His headless body collapsed in a pool of blood.

I spoke quietly. “Let go, Sephine.”

Behind me, Sephine was clutching onto me, panting heavily. She had tried to stop my actions just moments ago.

Sephine said, “I heard you were someone who avoided killing whenever possible.”

“That’s old news. Ever since I took control of the Ludwig Trading Company’s business rights, the Michino Family has had to handle multiple dirty jobs. And this, too, is a job that the Holy Knights can’t handle.”

“Even if we successfully capture Glenn Deeth, you know we’ll need to offer something to quell the anger of the Sun’s People. You understand that, right?”

I brushed off Sephine’s grip. Without needing to be told, Kano was already placing the Inquisitor’s head into a specialized bag used in the underworld for preservation.

I then spoke.

“If you don’t like how I’m doing things, then we may have no choice but to abandon this mission altogether.”