Chapter 64: Subjugation

“I can’t tell who cast the magic, but I have a rough idea of the structure. Please wait a moment.”

Just like the woman did before, she places her hand on the gemstone. Unintelligible words follow.

I still can’t understand what she’s saying, but the wall becomes increasingly blurry as she murmurs.

In other words, proof that she’s figured out the structure.

It’s a relief that it’s not just empty words… but it’s a bit questionable. Is it possible for a sorcerer to extend their influence even partially into the realm of magic?

‘She doesn’t seem like an ordinary sorcerer…’

Did she say she was exceptionally talented? I didn’t expect the scope of her talent to exceed my expectations, though…

But what does it matter?

“You may enter now.”

Rather, it’s beneficial, so there’s no problem.

The sorcerer steps back, and I stand before the wall.

…Now that I’m about to go in, I feel uneasy. It won’t suddenly become solid, will it?

I cautiously reach out. The wall undulates again as my fingertips touch it.

‘Ugh, even the texture is unpleasant.’

Lien offers to go in first, but backing down now would damage my reputation. I might have to see their faces often, and I can’t always avoid her.

In the end, I squeeze my eyes shut and push my body into the wall.

***

“Fire!”

“Eek! The knights, the knight order…!”

It was utter chaos.

The members tasked with causing a disturbance inside clenched their fists upon seeing those who were fleeing.

Children, the elderly, someone who’d lost a leg, someone who couldn’t see…

All of them were people among the commoners who had to live with unavoidable disadvantages.

Only then did the members understand why the commoners were so easily swayed by this pseudo-religion. No, it would be more accurate to say they were manipulated into it.

Commoners may not be educated, but they aren’t fools.

Kleter laughed hollowly.

‘Cause a disturbance… is what I’m supposed to do…’

The moment he confirmed their faces, he instinctively knew. They wouldn’t back down easily.

To cause enough of a disturbance to drive them out, someone would have to be killed as an example. At the very least, arms or legs would have to be severed.

The guards killed while entering weren’t enough. Commoners had to be harmed.

‘But who?’

A child? An old person? Someone with a missing leg? A blind person?

“Put out the fire!”

“Stop the knight order too! We must protect this place!”

Desperate movements. As someone who was also a commoner, he knew very well why they were doing this.

Walking down a path where death is certain isn’t because they’re stupid.

It’s their last hope. To the point where they think it’s better to die if that ends.

In the first place, to commoners, life was worth less than a stone rolling on the ground, so giving up their lives wasn’t that difficult.

For their ‘salvation’.

“Please leave this place, sir!”

“Oh please, no…!”

Muscles tightened in his jaw.

The Killer Knights were literally killers. They had killed countless people, including the elderly and children.

Enemies are naturally annihilated, and once an order is given, they kill regardless of what it is.

‘If only the order had been to kill them all…’

He would have immediately taken the drug and wiped them out. At least if they were enemies, there would be no hesitation.

However, this order wasn’t to kill, but to cause a disturbance, and the people before him weren’t enemies.

That’s why he couldn’t help but waver.

The Killer Knights are only killers when they’ve taken the drug. Those who haven’t taken the drug are just weak humans struggling with the emotion called guilt.

That’s why they try to appear more cheerful normally, but…

“Get out!”

…!

“Sia!”

……Even in this situation, it was difficult to appear cheerful.

Feeling a dull impact on his waist, Kleter blankly looked down.

A small girl was clinging to him, wailing as if trying to stop him.

“Please go, please go away…!”

“Sia! It’s dangerous! Come here quickly!”

A boy calls out to her from a distance. Kleter snaps back to his senses at the urgent cry.

Now that she’s touched the body of a knight carrying out a mission, he can’t leave the child alone. The atmosphere can be swayed by even trivial things like this. So, using this child as an example…

“…Damn it.”

He muttered a curse under his breath.

‘Captain, it seems like you misjudged this time.’

Her judgment was wrong.

Instead of members who were once commoners, others who didn’t share their background should have come here.

Even if those who didn’t understand the commoners felt guilt, its depth would have been relatively shallow.

The real culprit was somewhere else, yet only innocent people were suffering.

***

Ah. Ahh. Ah.

Sia’s hands trembled.

There’s smoke. Evidence that there’s a fire. Even a knight order has invaded, killing the guards and threatening to drive out the commoners.

Sia, the commoners, could feel it.

If they’re driven out like this, this place will be ruined. Not just ruined. They might never recover.

“Sia, let’s run away for now. It seems like they’re just letting those who run away go.”

Paul seemed to be saying something next to her, but she couldn’t hear it.

To Sia, this place was a sacred sanctuary. A place like a dream world filled only with kind people, without malice or bad people.

A place where evil should not, and must not, intrude.

That’s why she could lower her firm guard and relax here.

“Wh-why… why….”

Evil has invaded. Bad people have stormed in, trampling on the sacred ground. Pungent smoke fills the air, and a glimpse of red flames flickers through a window on one side of the building.

The moment the commoners, realizing the situation, stood in the path of the knight order and begged, she dashed forward without a plan.

She didn’t set a specific target. She simply ran towards any of the ‘bad people’ she could see.

‘No, no…!’

Life had finally become bearable, it finally felt like she was living.

“Get out!!”

“Sia!”

She grabbed onto a man wearing white knight uniforms.

“Please go, please go away…!”

“Sia! It’s dangerous! Come here quickly!!”

It’s no use. No matter how much he shouts, it won’t reach Sia.

“That foolish girl…!”

Paul bit his fingernails, unable to overcome his anxiety. Even amidst the chaos, his mind was deducing who these people were.

Knights wearing white uniforms.

Among the numerous knight orders, the only one he knew that used white for their knight uniforms was just one.

The Killer Knights.

If that’s the case, the one who sent them here is…

‘Vampire Count!’

Yes, Deon Hart.

Agh- He ground his teeth. Why would someone so high up pay attention to a place like this?

Because the Salvation Church is a pseudo-religion?

He wasn’t a fool, and he knew that the Salvation Church wasn’t as normal as it seemed.

But what about it? Commoners have to worry about what they’ll eat every day. For us, the Salvation Church, which provides bread and water, is truly ‘salvation’ itself.

Even if the Salvation Church is an evil cult disguised as salvation. Even if they have suspicious motives. Whatever it is, it’ll be less painful than starving to death.

So if the Salvation Church collapses, he will take revenge.

The opponent is naturally—

‘Deon Hart is the Emperor’s sword. Then this current movement must also be the Emperor’s order.’

—The Emperor.

Is it an intended result, or an unexpected move?

At this moment, someone’s sword tip is pointed at the Emperor.

***

The squishy sensation of my whole body being pressed through something felt a lot like passing through soft pudding.

Aimlessly touching various parts of my body, I lifted my head and couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned by the scene before me.

“What? This place is exactly the same as before?”

No, it’s slightly different.

The prayer room from before had wooden chairs, but here the chairs are a light purple color. There’s also a door in the corner.

But other than that, it’s the same. The white walls and the mysteriously draped purple cloth…

“It’s the same.”

“No, it’s different.”

Familiar voices of two people were heard. They’ve entered. Instead of looking back or saying unnecessary words, I scanned the room and asked.

“Different?”

“Yes, do you see this crack?”

Following Ran’s finger, I saw a faint crack. Etched on the floor, it was intricately patterned and spread widely throughout the room.

It looked like a medium for sorcery to anyone.

“A circle is etched throughout the room. It seems to be related to that door…”

The door in the corner.

As my gaze reached it, Lien immediately went to grab the doorknob. Contrary to expectations, the door opened easily, and the scenery beyond it left me speechless for a moment.

“What… the…”

Lush green trees can be seen. Not just one. Many.

Yes, beyond the door lay a forest.

“Similarly, it’s magic disguised as sorcery. Since different spaces are connected, opening the door in a way other than the specific method will connect it to the outside.”

“And if you open it through the specific method, it connects to the inside?”

“Yes, to be precise, it’s set up so that you can move by performing a specific action in this room without opening the door. When exiting, you can simply open the door normally…”

She’s already analyzed it that far? And it’s not even sorcery, she’s fast.

“How long will it take?”

“Magic is also an unfamiliar area for me… it will take at least 10 minutes, I think.”

At least 10 minutes. That’s too long. Of course, I should be grateful that there’s a way at all… but my heart is very impatient.

Someone entering in the middle isn’t a problem. Not many can enter at once, so it’ll be easy to subdue them.

But what if someone is already in that room? What if they’re trying to gather things and escape through another passage?

It wouldn’t matter if they escaped safely, but if Cruel caught him, it would be completely ruined.

“Damn it.”

There aren’t any other options. Do I just have to wait? Is that really all there is? Really?

Out of anxiety, I didn’t even realize I was pacing around this space.

The fact was brought to my attention when Ran, unable to watch any longer, spoke.

“Please calm down. Being this agitated won’t accomplish anything.”

Halt.

Was I agitated? No, but, isn’t it something I can’t control?

Anyway, I have my pride, so I stopped… or at least I thought I stopped, but why am I walking again?

Having stopped only for a moment, I was once again circling this space. This time in the opposite direction.

The moment I became aware of this and stopped, the scenery changed without me being able to do anything.

“……Shit?”

…….

“No, this isn’t from being surprised… but.”

Why are you here?!

Surprised by the sudden change in scenery, I froze as I faced Cruel, who was holding a torch in a room filled with piles of documents.

***

From the point when ominous smoke was rising from somewhere in the building and news of intruders came in, Sareen, the de facto head of the Salvation Church, quietly stepped back.

It’s Deon Hart.

The people surrounding this building and those causing a ruckus inside are probably the infamous Killer Knights.

There was no need to think of anyone else.

Except for Cruel, Deon Hart was the only one in charge of the Salvation Church subjugation mission.

‘He’s a non-military official, but is he still a commander?’

Setting fire to drive out the common people and selecting those deeply involved.

Those with something to hide will try to push through the crowd and head somewhere, which is a decent plan, but unfortunately, Sareen’s brain was far better than he anticipated.

She is of commoner origin and is a subordinate of Duke Illuster.

The intellect of a common woman who became a subordinate of a Duke couldn’t be ordinary.

The moment she realized this incident was related to ‘Deon Hart’, she obediently retreated. Without rushing to gather documents or panicking, she quietly—

—abandoned the Salvation Church.