Messai was waving around a wooden sword in the chapel’s back garden.
She had woken up earlier than usual today. Furthermore, today was one of the few occasions where she swung her wooden sword with killing intent since coming to Norland.
The city of Norland was simply too flourishing. It was so flourishing that Messai had nearly forgotten about the cruel battlefield and her harsh life in the barracks.
Lately, in order to monitor that Chaos Demon, she had spent all her time in that ‘Hearthstone’ game.
Messai had found all sorts of reasons to justify her actions. She kept telling herself that she was going to the tavern to keep an eye on that demon.
But, that reason will no longer exist anymore in the upcoming days.
The reason for that was because… the Church was planning to act.
Today, the inquisitors from the Heresy Tribunal arrived at Norland through the teleportation gate from Norland’s neighboring country.
They were completely different from the Ecclesiastical Templars. If the Ecclesiastical Templars were the blade that will annihilate everything with the glory of light, the Heresy Tribunal would be the shadow beneath the glorious light.
Messai was not fond of working together with the Heresy Tribunal as the majority of those inquisitors were extremely strange and deranged even. At times, they would behave like a bunch of madmen.
But, the Heresy Tribunal was extremely powerful. Apart from doing shady and shameful businesses for the Holy Church, they were also experts in assassination.
Rumors had it that there was once a king from a small nation that openly called into question the doctrine of the Holy Church. Furthermore, he executed the Nation of the Holy Church’s missionaries in his country.
The Nation of the Holy Church did not dispatch their Ecclesiastical Templars to openly crusade against that rebellious country. Instead, the king met a tragic death in his own bed.
Everyone was certain that it must be done by the Heresy Tribunal.
Messai didn’t know if those inquisitors could successfully kill a Chaos Demon.
No… Messai should be praying that they would be able to kill that damned demon. But, for some reason, the bottom of her heart was telling her that she did not wish to see that demon disappear from this world.
If he disappeared, Hearthstone would also disappear from this world.
However, that thought of hers was soon replaced with the idea ‘He must die for the glory of the Lord!’ With that, Messai began to violently brandish her wooden sword again. She continued to wave it until the wooden sword snapped in half from her excessive power.
“Lady Messai! Those lords have arrived! They’re waiting for you!”
Messai adjutant, that young missionary, walked into the chapel’s back garden. Ever since Joshua’s meet-and-greet, he no longer dared to spread gospels vilifying Belle on the street.
He had summoned up his courage to do so before only to be smashed with fireballs and waterballs in succession by a group of mages. In the end, those mages only spared him after he shouted out, ‘Stop throwing fireballs at me! I’m Belle’s fan too!’
Because of that, when he heard the inquisitors from the Heresy Tribunal were coming, he was so terrified that he was nearly incapable of walking. He was extremely afraid those lunatics will take him as a heretic too and judge him.
“I got it.”
Messai tossed her broken wooden sword to the weaponry rack. Then, she quickly walked into the chapel.
She arrived at the hall located in the deepest region of the chapel. Light was shining through the window. The light landed on a sculpture.
This was the prayer hall, the place where one could get closest to the glory of the gods.
Messai entered the prayer hall and heard the sound of something striking the wall…
“Cheryl, that’s enough! Calm yourself!”
“I’m hearing it again… those crazy voices… god damn it! Get the hell out of my mind!”
Messai saw a figure covered in a black church robe smashing her head on the wall nonstop.
Even though cracks had appeared on the wall, she was still smashing her head at it. Even blood appeared on the robe’s hood.
“What’s… going on with her?”
Seeing the deranged appearance of that person, Messai subconsciously placed her hand on the handle of her short sword on her waist. That person was not acting like someone who was protected by the gods’ glory.
“We failed to catch up to the choir’s blessing before leaving. She’s acting that way because she longed for the Saintess Herolia’s singing voice too much.”
Another person from the Heresy Tribunal struck the woman on the back of her neck. That woman knocking her head on the wall lost consciousness and fell to the ground. But, even though she had fallen to the ground, she was still twitching nonstop.
Messai felt the action of the striker to be very rough and cruel. Furthermore, the tone of that person who spoke to her also sounded… rather irrational.
“Are you all really alright?”
Messai didn’t wish to bring a bunch of lunatics to that tavern. If they were to act reckless there, Norland’s dwarves might end up blacklisting the Nation of the Holy Church.
“We called you here to be our guide, not for you to question us. Knight Messai, tell us the location of that demon,” said another person from the Heresy Tribunal. That person’s attitude was extremely bad.
Messai took a deep breath to suppress the anger in her heart. Then, she turned around and began leaving the prayer hall.
Apart from the unconscious woman, the remaining three inquisitors followed after Messai.
When Messai walked out the chapel and turned around, she discovered the three inquisitors wearing black church robes had disappeared. In their place were three people she had never met before.
Messai does not believe those three had merely changed their outfits.
Was this also the power given by the Lord? Messai had no way to learn whether that might be the case. She could only continue on with her duty and finish her mission. As their guide, she will be leading the Holy Church’s shadow weapons to take that demon’s life.
It would be great if Joshua wasn’t in the tavern right now… wasn’t Hearthstone going to have a new expansion pack soon?
Several strange thoughts flashed through Messai’s mind. She held onto the short sword on her waist and tried her best to banish those strange thoughts from her mind.
But, every step she took felt heavier than the last. It was completely different from the joy she felt in the past when she learned that there would be one less wicked demon in this world.
“Would you all like to take a rest?”
Messai turned her head to the side and looked to the three inquisitors that had disguised themselves as commoners.
One of them seemed to have a very painful expression on his face. Messai was able to see a faint amount of gray mist on his body. But, the gray mist quickly flashed past her vision.
“Regretfully, Knight Messai, apart from the Saintess Herolia and the choir’s sacred singing, no one is able to appease their agitation. Please bring us to that wicked demon. Once we finish taking care of him, we will be able to return to the Holy City to immerse ourselves in the Lord’s radiance.”
Among the three inquisitors, one acted very calm. He was also the most humble of the three. He requested for Messai to continue with the guidance using a very sincere tone.
“We’ve already arrived. I merely do not wish for you all to expose yourselves. That Chaos Demon is extremely cunning.”
Messai pointed to the Hearthstone Tavern located at the street across. But, before they could enter, a tranquil yet distant-sounding voice suddenly came from the tavern that should be extremely noisy.
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Translator YangWenli:
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