Holding the unconscious Olivia in his hands, Negun, in his hurried steps, arrived at the carriage park at the end of the slum road. There, he carefully placed her onto one of the seats.
At that moment, he heard the sound of another carriage approaching in their direction. Looking at it, Negun recognized it as one of the carriages Mordred used when traveling in secret.
"Boss?"
. . . . . . . . .
Inside the carriage, with Mordred's intention, the Knight of Remiar was summoned from the Token of Gratitude and knelt beside him. The carriage was just large enough to accommodate his size.
"What's the point of glowing?"
"It was a message from the assassins. There appear to be a few warriors blocking Vennesa from taking one of the children away."
"Warriors? Are they mercenaries?"
"That's unknown. The assassins could not sense the aura of those knights; they are concealing it."
Ohh, interesting...
If they were just regular mercenaries, Vennesa had more than enough capability to handle them on her own. However, since she appeared to be struggling, either they were individually more powerful than her, or they overwhelmed her with numbers. Or it could be both.
While Mordred was thinking, the carriage came to a halt.
"In the case of the hero, their luck is extremely high. I had some doubts about whether this would be a success, and it was a good thing I was nearby."
After calling back the Knight of Remiar to the token, Mordred got off. The first thing he saw was Negun running toward them.
"Boss, you're here personally! We're almost done. Vennesa should bring back the other kid with her."
"Not exactly. Let's go. I need to finish the job with my own hands."
With Negun as his guide, Mordred entered the slums.
The slums were a truly dirty place. The streets were muddy, the houses were not built with proper materials, and even the people Mordred saw seemed to have evolved from a different species.
Thankfully, even though Mordred belonged to the highest class of aristocracy, he didn't have the kind of ego that would make entering a place like this nearly impossible.
As they walked, they soon approached the house where Vennesa was.
"It's just around the corner, Boss. We can see it—look." Negun pointed toward a poor-looking house. However, behind him, Mordred suddenly jumped into the shadows of a nearby house as he noticed knights standing at the door.
"Holy Knights? Why are they here?"
Hidden in the shadows, Mordred peeked at them.
The worst enemy any villain in the game faces is the Sanctuary of Holy Light and its knights. There are six Crowned Gods in the game, and opposing them, there are six Fallen Gods. In some special events, players can receive a god's blessing depending on the side they choose. If the player is a hero, they receive a blessing from one of the Crowned Gods, but if the player is a villain, they receive a blessing from one of the Fallen Gods.
The fact that the Holy Knights are here, at the same moment I try to get rid of one of the greatest Holy Knights in the future, means that woman from the Sanctuary is onto me.
From the moment of my birth in this world, I had calculated everything—the game, every hero I faced, and even the challenges they would bring. But up until now, I hadn't thought about certain people. No... in truth, my brain refused to think about them and kept forgetting, because of how much of a pain they are. Ignorance is bliss, they say. But reality is a cruel curse we cannot ignore. To think I would face off against her this soon...
The Saintess of the Holy Light Sanctuary—she's a character who possesses a unique Prophet class. At high levels, she can predict the future; at lower levels, she can sense the present. In the game, she wasn't a playable character; instead, she acted as a guide for the hero to slay villains. She appeared at the most critical times of the hero's journey, providing hints to help them move forward.
The Holy Sanctuary and the Saintess—right now, I definitely don't want to get involved with them. They're like dogs with a keen sense for villains.
"Boss, what's going on?"
"Fall back. Take the other child with you to the residence."
"But Boss, Vennesa..."
"This is an order."
Negun lowered his head. Obeying Mordred's words, he quickly left. Mordred watched as he moved farther away.
"Hold her!" At Olivia's house, the Holy Knights surrounded and subdued Vennesa, holding her tightly and not letting her move as they dragged her out.
"Get her into the Sanctuary. The Saintess will give us the final judgment—whether she has a pure heart or a foul one."
The Holy Knights dragged Vennesa away, and the Ardentist went back into the house and spoke to the child.
"What's your name, kid?"
"De... Desire. Where's my sister? Did you see my sister, Uncle? Please save her from that man," the boy asked while crying.
"We will save her as soon as we can, but for now, you need to come with us. It's not safe for you here anymore."
The Ardentist lifted Desire from the ground and brought him outside. He didn't know what had happened to the boy's sister, but because of the urgency of the situation, he needed to escort the Holy Knight candidates to the Sanctuary first.
"Vennesa got caught. Not good. If she's brought before that woman, she's going to know everything."
"Think, Mordred, think...!"
"Remiar, call back the assassins."
As the Token of Gratitude glowed, he slowly fell back along the way he came. After a moment, two assassins appeared in front of him.
"One of you, follow behind the carriage Vennesa is in. The other, bring me a human vessel—a living one."
With their orders, the two assassins disappeared in separate directions.
Alone in the street, Mordred opened his unique catalog inventory and took out an eye-shaped item.
"Though it's a shame to use a high-grade item like this randomly, I have no choice."
After a few seconds of holding it, the appraisal was completed.
---
Name – Gaze of the Deep One
Grade – Prestige
Description – An eye that fell from the dark abyss. Those who look at its closed eye suffer no harm, but whoever gazes into its open pupil will transform into a horrific monster. Once used, it will be bound to the possessor until their death. (The strength of the monster depends on the individual.)
Current Owner – Mordred Vorthian Arclore (Not Bound)
This item is a grade above the Token of Gratitude, meaning it surpasses Rare and Honor grade items. Players need to go through a hellish quest to acquire one. The item's appearance is that of an eye with its pupil closed.
Soon, the assassin returned, dragging an unconscious young man in his grasp.
Awakening the young man, Mordred held him against the wall, preventing him from moving.
"Activate, activate... How do I activate this?"
In the game, there was an icon for that purpose, but in reality, there were no icons.
Suddenly, as he pondered, knowledge surfaced in Mordred's mind.
'O great Deep One, open your eyes and look upon this polluted world once again, to spread your undeserving kindness to us slowly dying beings.'
The eye suddenly burst open, emitting a deep red miasma. It stared directly at the innocent young man before it.
"Ah, what is this? Ah, please, save me... Nooo—!"
. . . . . . . .
"Get in."
At Ardentist's command, Desire stepped into the carriage, where a few other Holy Knight candidates sat. Anxious, he kept glancing toward the slums, hoping the Holy Knights would bring his sister back.
"Escort them safely. Be careful of the prisoner; although she appears weak, we still don't know her background."
Ardentist had just finished speaking when suddenly, a giant roar echoed through the air.
"What's that?"
"It came from the direction of the slums."
The knights tensed as the unidentified, beastly roar continued to ring out.
The residents of the slums ran in terror, causing chaos in the streets.
"Something isn't right. Get the candidates to the Sanctuary quickly," Ardentist urged.
However, from the depths of the slums, something massive leaped into the sky, soaring toward the clouds before crashing down beside the Holy Knights.
Boom!
The earth trembled, and the ground cracked. A powerful shockwave of dust and wind erupted outward, knocking weaker Holy Knights off their feet. The carriage carrying the candidates was thrown from the ground's impact, and the horses bolted in fear.
From a distance, hidden in the shadows, Mordred watched in silence, his cold gaze fixed on the monster he had just created.
"A monster that hates holy energy... Perfect. Seems even the gods are helping me become a better villain... better at villain..."
Caught in the violent dust storm, Ardentist was the first to regain his footing.
"Stand together, knights! Use your holy energy to resist!"
"Raghhh!"
As the knights struggled to stay within each other's sight amidst the swirling dust, the monster began its assault, targeting a lone knight.
"Raghh!"
"Ahh... Shit... Help—!"
Through the knight's desperate screams, Ardentist stood firm. Holy energy surged within him, flowing into his sword, which began to glow with a brilliant light.
"Vile beast, your trickery ends here!" Suddenly, with a surge of energy, Ardentist swung his sword. A huge wave of energy moved along with it, forcing away the dust and violent air around.
"Raghh!"
The monster hidden in the sand finally got revealed. Its appearance was similar to a huge, deformed human, but its face was like liquid; its eyes and mouth were not in their place, and its skin was melting down drop by drop.
"Holy God! What kind of evil is this?"
"Grab your sword, knight. With the light of our God, we shall eradicate this darkness."
From his last action, Ardentist lost half of his holy energy. And he felt slightly exhausted. Although He expected to harm the beast with that sword swing, the monster seemed to have some resistance against the holy energy.
"I never see a dark being like this; a creature that can resist holy energy is definitely the work of a fallen god. Saintess need to be informed about this quickly"
With a Ardentist effort, the remaining knights quickly gathered together to resist the creature, which was taller than any regular human.
"Raghh!"
The beast ran madly toward the holy knights, drops of its melting skin falling to the ground along its path.
"Knights, guard me!"
Together, the holy knights resisted the creature's mad charge, while Ardentist stood in the middle, surrounded by them. With his sword held high, he got into position to channel another holy attack to slay the creature once and for all.
Raghh!
Monster's giant hand slammed at the holy Knights, sending one flying away and smashing another one into a bloody pulp. Nearby, holy knights fell into a tense atmosphere upon seeing their comrades' gruesome deaths.
"Don't be afraid, can't you see you're fear strength him"
Ardentise screamed, encouraging the knights again. The encouraged knights swing their sword at the beast. But despite their sword being enchanted with holy energy, which should have made them sharper, they failed to penetrate the beast's skin.
"What kind of monster is this?"
"It's too strong."
While the knights struggled, Ardentise finished his preparations, with a loud roar he thrust his sword at the beast, sending a huge beam of holy light at its chest.
Boom!
A blinding light spread out, and the beast got completely swallowed in it. It screamed in pain, and the skin of its body began to emit something akin to burning smoke.
"Did it work?"
But as the light disappeared, Knight fell to despair; even though it was injured, the beast was still alive.
Raggh!
The enraged beast roared in anger and grabbed a nearby knight before crushing him into pieces.
"I'm all out of energy, shit, I should have asked for reinforcement before coming here, this is my fault"
Ardentist became panicked. The mad beast rushed at them once again, and this time, the holy knights had fewer people to resist it.
"Is there a Dark being I see?"
However, suddenly someone fell from the sky, a giant man heavily armored, swinging his giant sword at the beast.
Boom!
"Be purified by the light of my awesomeness!" The sword swung across the beast, slashing it apart.
"Arghh!" The miserable scream of the monster rang in all the holy knights' ears as they gazed at the strange warrior that appeared.
"That's... "Ardentists observe this new warrior, the armour he's wearing, the sword he swings and more importantly, the energy he gives. This warrior is clearly someone with holy energy. This man is a comrade of them.
"We thank you for your help, warrior; if not for you, we would have ended miserably", as the one got saved Ardentist greeted the warrior first as he looked at the beats that got sliced apart
"Hmm, don't mention it; me and my subordinate have been following this creature for a long time. But I lost the tack for her when she entered these slums so I suspect something must have gone wrong"
The warrior wiped his heavy sword clean before placing it on his back, then he looked at the Ardenstis and the other holy knight.
"Good job for holding the beast in, my fellow one blessed by the light," the warrior's cheerful smile warmed every knight up. He was strong, and he didn't act rough in front of them. More than anything else, he even saved them and didn't ask for anything in return. Truly, he's a warrior of the holy God.
"Ah, may I know your name, sir? I'm from the holy sanctuary belonging to Bishop Ryun. My name is Ardentist."
Ardentist first introduced himself to the warrior.
"Call me Arthur, I don't belong to any holy god faction. And I walk alone on the path of light," the warrior introduced himself in return.
"Someone working alone? Oh, you must have the blessing of our God than?"
To what Ardentist asked, the warrior simply smiled. Ardentist didn't inquire further; he knew some knights did not like others to know about their personal information.
"But it's a shame," Arthur continued. "My subordinate said she found a kid with the potential to be a holy knight and was protecting him until I arrived. However, I lost contact with her. The beast must have done something to her." The warrior showed a sorrowful expression.
"Huh," his tale felt familiar to Ardentist; the holy knights around him felt the same.
"Could that person have been a woman," Ardentist inquired further into the question.
"Yas, she indeed is a woman; why?, do you happen to know about her" the warrior looked at them with hope.
The holy knights quickly acted and Searched around to find Vennesa, who was restrained by chains.
"She's alive!" Arthur cheered as he saw her.
"We found her when we went to secure one of our holy candidates, but because of her suspicious actions, we subdued her to investigate. We had no idea she was protecting the kid until you came, lord. I apologize for the trouble we caused," said Ardentist with a bow toward Arthur.
"She's my trusted subordinate, but unfortunately, she's become mute from an accident, and ever since then, incidents like this happen to her often. So please don't worry about it much."
The holy knights released Vanessa's shackles and brought her to Arthur.
"You, still clumsy like a kid. When she was just a child, she really hated the idea of harming others," he caressed her head. Only after hearing what he said did Vanessa get the gist of what was happening and stood beside him.