I Became the Martial God's Youngest Disciple

Episode 279

Chief Snero was 72 years old. He was born and raised in Snowville, but he had traveled all over the empire outside the north for a few years as a young man. He had met his wife at that time. In other words, she was an outsider.

After the trip, they returned home together and got married. Since then, they had a daughter and a son.

Lanfero wondered, "A son? I've never seen him."

"He drowned in an icy lake when he was five years old."

"Ah. Then I wouldn't know."

Lanfero nodded, and Verita continued to explain what she had found out.

"It has been three weeks since he joined the Dark Church. He said he decided to join around a month ago when his wife and daughter were killed by a snow troll. If my guess is correct, he has been listening to the demon's whispers ever since."

"Demon's whispers?"

"The magic circle carved in the basement of the building wasn't created by the village chief. It was made long before this. It is a cursed pentagram that dates back at least hundreds of years. This evil demonic symbol preys on human desires."

"Does that mean he wasn't indoctrinated by anyone, but joined purely by his own choice?"

"That's right."

I had been listening silently, but now I asked what bothered me the most. "Isn't there a chance the Dark Pope took over his body?"

"Yes, but it is very unlikely. Of course, we can't believe everything the village chief says. He might have lied about the time he joined the church. But it is clear that he has only revealed his demonic nature recently."

"What is the evidence?"

"If the village chief had been part of the Dark Church from the beginning, wouldn't he have acted earlier? He would've schemed to drive out Corrupted long before this. It wouldn't have been that difficult."

You are from lesser races.

Everyone understood what words Verita had swallowed down.

"Another key point that can't be overlooked is that Chief Snero was able to describe his personal history during the brief interrogation. The church's possession technique doesn't allow full access to the host's memories. In fact, they barely know anything except the most recent memories."

"Since he was talking about his youth, it is more likely that the chief himself was corrupted. Still, isn't it possible that he made it up?"

"That is also low. I asked the same questions repeatedly and found nothing unusual. Besides, there are residents in this village who have known Chief Snero for a long time. If you ask them, the truth can immediately be verified. It is unlikely that he would tell such an obvious lie."

"Yes."

While listening, Sandra muttered in a low voice, "Amazing."

That was probably the sentiment of all of us here.

"Bloody Mace Razbet. I knew you had a fearsome nickname, to the point where they called you the secret weapon of the Seventy-Two Churches, but your interrogation ability is beyond my expectations. You are on a completely different level from other inquisitors."

"I appreciate the compliment, but there is no need to belittle my fellow brothers and sisters."

"That's true. Excuse me."

Verita smiled and shook her head.

I was a bit impressed as well, but it was probably for a different reason than everyone else.

Verita had a very rare, powerful, and dangerous ability. Her eyes could identify church members. In other words, she must've been convinced that the village chief was a church member the moment she looked at him with her golden eyes.

However, the words she had just spoken weren't based on the power she possessed as a believer. This was evidence she'd obtained from her interrogation as an inquisitor.

I had to admit that Verita was a very talented inquisitor as well. At the same time, I was able to understand why this sometimes impulsive and emotional woman was able to disguise herself as a nun of the Seventy-Two Churches for so long.

In particular, the inquisition department was all about performance and skill. If she showed this kind of performance every time, they wouldn't care even if she was a bit eccentric.

Lanfero asked, "So what was the chief's purpose?"

"He was planning to offer up the whole village as sacrifices. Even if he succeeded, however, he wouldn't have been able to see his deceased wife and daughter. Meanwhile, the magic circles below have layers on top of each other. I'm sorry, but I don't know what they do. Perhaps only black magicians could interpret it fully."

I was curious about that too.

The inability to understand dark magic was probably the opinion of Inquisitor Razbet. How could Verita, the Colorless believer, not know?

However, once Verita finished speaking, Araxad and Ramon's eyes shifted to one side. Their gaze was directed at the clan leader, Lanfero.

I asked him just in case, "Boss, don't tell me?"

"Well, black magic is part of the education for vampires."

I was silent.

"I'm just kidding. I have lived for a long time, so I've picked up many things. I'll go down to the basement now."

Verita nodded and added, "Ah. There is one more thing I haven't been able to discover."

"What is it?"

"The stone door in the basement. I don't know what kind of space lies beyond it."

"Did he say he would rather die than talk?"

Verita answered, "Something like that. There was a restriction placed, with his life as the lock. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the village chief's words would be true."

Her expression was somewhat troubled as she continued, "I could probably force him to speak if I pushed harder. Statistically, however, the probability of the information being true would be less than 1%. So what should I do?"

Verita's gaze turned to me, but it wasn't my role to decide something like this.

My gaze turned to Lanfero, who nodded and said, "Not yet. The chief must have more secrets. We have to keep him alive until we find out everything."

"I understand."

"Then what should we do now?"

I thought about it for a moment before suddenly saying, "I went through the stone door."

"What?"

All eyes turned to me.

Sandra thought for a moment before saying, "Ah. Is this about the boy you brought out?"

"Yes. I saved him on the other side of the stone door."

"I see. I thought it was strange, since I hadn't felt any signs of life underground."

"I'm not sure, but I wonder if the boy saw or heard anything on the other side of the door. Based on the way he looked, it seemed he had been lost for a long time," I continued. "We can wait until he wakes up and then listen to his story. Why don't we decide on our future actions at that time?"

Lanfero nodded. "Let's do so."

***

I was finally able to wash up.

I soaked myself in warm water and removed all the old dirt. After washing, my accumulated fatigue rose up and my body cried out for sleep. However, it wasn't the time to sleep comfortably.

It was accurate to say that this was already a battlefield. It wouldn't be strange if I lost my life at any point. I thought to myself that maybe traveling through the blizzard in the north had been the most peaceful time so far.

Still, I had to eat. Fortunately, Oimer indulged in a lot of luxury, so there was plenty of food.

Northern food had its own unique flavors and suited my taste. It even felt somewhat familiar. Ah. It is a bit like Mother's food.

Speaking of which, I had some northern blood in me. I thought of Coland. Its location seemed to be a bit further south from here, but I wasn't completely sure. I didn't have much connection with my maternal family in either my past life or my current life.

In any case, northern food was hearty and greasy, either very sweet or salty. Eating it every day could get tiring, but I was very satisfied about eating food like this after so long.

I went straight to sleep once I was full. We hadn't set up a formal watch, and only took turns to monitor the village chief. I was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep.

Then, I felt someone shaking my shoulders and I opened my eyes. freewebnσvel.cѳm

"What?"

"Luan! Wake up!"

I could see Mir's face. I thought to myself that her eyes were surprisingly large.

"What time is it?"

"Around 12 o'clock."

"Really? Ahh..." I had slept for almost ten hours. I straightened up and stretched, letting out a groan as I wondered what was going on.

"Luan, the boy you saved woke up!"

"Ah, really?"

"Yes! Now he is being fed warm ginger tea. Fortunately, he wasn't seriously injured and his frostbite isn't severe."

"I'm glad."

The boy had recovered faster than I expected. I was glad there were no abnormalities with his body. He had been lying in that cold place for a long time, but he seemed surprisingly strong.

I washed up, dressed myself hastily, and headed to where the little boy was. Surprisingly, most of the members of Corrupted were hanging around outside.

"Why aren't you going in?"

"He just woke up. If he sees me or Brother Araxad, he might faint again, right?" Ramon replied.

"Aha."

That was true. Goblins and lizardmen didn't look ugly, but it could be overstimulating for a kid whose condition was still unstable.

Lanfero said, "I was thinking about going in, but for the same reason, I was afraid it would be a burden for the child if he was surrounded by adults."

Your face is unsettling in a different manner from a monster, so it was right not to go in... I was about to say that, but held my tongue since we weren't that close yet.

"Then who is inside?"

"Only Sister Razbet. Ah. He also remembers you."

"Really?"

"He said he wanted to see the hero with blond hair."

Somehow, it didn't feel like he was talking about the heroes of the Hero Society. I couldn't help feeling nervous.

Lanfero told me, "I need to go underground. I'll ask you to look after the little kid."

"I understand." I said goodbye to Lanfero and opened the door. The unusually warm air in the room tickled my skin.

The little boy sitting on the bed greeted me. "Ah. Hello!"

Had Verita been talking to him? She was holding a bowl of stew and a mug of ginger tea, both of which had just been emptied. I guessed she had been serving someone.

The boy said, "T-Thank you for saving me. I thought it was all over. If I stayed there, I would've definitely lost my life."

"Don't mention it. Little friend, what is your name?"

"Ah. My name is Daniel." The kid shook his head again.

"Alright, Daniel. You just woke up and might not be in good condition, but can you tell me what you saw there? Why did you go there? It is very important to us."

"Ah. That..." Daniel took a moment to organize his thoughts. "My older brother and I were fishing at the icy lake when I lost my footing and fell into the lake. The lake immediately took away my body heat, and the clothes I wore weighed heavily on me. I thought I was going to die, but I didn't. Suddenly, I felt my body being sucked somewhere."

"Then?"

"I found myself on a strange altar when I opened my eyes again."

"An altar?"

"Yes. There were many magicians dressed in black around the altar, and a lot of people in the same situation as me. Everyone looked dazed, and I was really scared." Daniel's small body trembled as he continued, "We were all trapped in a strange cave, but I was so small that I barely managed to get out. I ran for quite a while before collapsing from exhaustion. Then you found me."

"So if we walk all the way through that underground cave, will we find the altar?"

"I-I think so. Probably..." He replied in a low voice like his memory was hazy.

I narrowed my eyes and was about to fall into thought when Daniel continued speaking.

"Excuse me, are you planning to go through the stone door?"

"What if I am?"

"If so, please take me with you."

"You?"

"Yes. The people there... I feel so sorry for those people who were in the same situation as me. How cold and scared must they be?" Daniel burst out tearfully. "I know the way. I can take you to that altar. I swear, I won't get in the way."

I could see the anxiety on his face. He seemed to know he was making an unreasonable request. Nevertheless, I nodded easily. "Okay. I'll take you there."

"Really?"

"Yes, as long as you answer one thing for me."

"Yes! Ask me anything."

"How do you know about the stone door?"

Daniel blinked slowly. "Huh?"

"The stone door in the basement. You didn't enter the cave through the stone door, right? You shouldn't even know about its existence. But you just mentioned that you wanted me to take you to the other side of the stone door. It's strange. You lost consciousness as soon as you saw me. You naturally wouldn't remember me bringing you through the stone door. How could you be sure that it was connected to the underground cave?"

The only one who could be certain of that here was me, who had actually entered through the door. I asked, "Did the nun here tell you?"

Verita silently shook her head. "That isn't the case."

"Is that so?"

"Ah..."

The expression of the little boy called Daniel slowly changed. The reddened eyes and the innocent look of a child disappeared. A sneer took its place. It was a nasty look that only an adult would make.

"You noticed it pretty quickly. I thought you looked stupid."

"Who are you?"

"I don't know, Hero Society dog. However, I will give you a warning. Don't get involved in our business if you don't want to experience something worse than death."

"What?"

"Returning to one's true nature. That is the only salvation that can free you from the shackles of suffering. Praise the Golden Horn. Long live Kingarodtus."

Immediately after that, Daniel's body suddenly swelled up. Verita instantly stood up and wrapped herself around me.

Baaaaang!

A loud explosion rang in my ears as Daniel exploded.