At the sudden words, Rowy opened his eyes that he had been closing and looked at the Head Priest. The Head Priest was still looking at Rowy with a pleased smile.
“Daer… even when he left the temple, his condition wasn’t good at all.”
“Why? Because of the debt?”
“Ahem.”
Of course there was that too, but…
“More than that…”
“Or, because all the other knights died?”
At Rowy’s words that popped out, the Head Priest’s expression stiffened for a moment.
“…That boy talks about such things?”
“No, it’s just that I don’t see anyone who looks like a knight.”
Rowy, who was born and raised in a knightly household, didn’t know a thing about swordsmanship, but was good at recognizing knights.
However, since coming here, Rowy hadn’t met a single person who seemed like a knight. Except for that guy called Max or whatever. The Head Priest, who had looked at Rowy for a moment, opened his mouth in a somber voice.
“…Yes. That’s correct. There are few knights who survived the final battle with the Archdemon Mammon. The deaths of comrades you’ve spent a lifetime with are absolutely not easy to accept.”
Well, I guess someone is still alive. Rowy muttered indifferently.
“……”
The Head Priest didn’t answer that and placed his hand on Rowy’s head again. Then he began to recite a prayer. Rowy, who had learned the sacred language, now knew what this prayer was. It was a prayer seeking peace. After a brief prayer, the Head Priest opened his mouth again.
“The knights who survived…”
* * *
Van, who had sent Rowy into the prayer room with the Head Priest, collapsed onto the steps with a thud, all the strength drained from his body. It wasn’t even the actual exorcism ritual, just going there for preparation, yet his heart was pounding so anxiously with unease that he couldn’t stand.
‘…At this rate, when the actual ritual begins, I won’t be able to stay sane.’
Only the priests conducting the ritual and Rowy, the person concerned, could enter the ritual site. Thinking that he couldn’t be together with him made his anxiety grow even more. Of course, the exorcism ritual itself wasn’t dangerous. Van’s worry wasn’t about that…
‘…What should I do if the exorcism fails?’
That was exactly it. The case of the exorcism failing. If it were to fail…
“Haa…”
Another large sigh burst out. Van leaned his body against the railing with a worried face. Most demon curses naturally break when the demon that cast the curse loses its power. However, occasionally, like with Rowy, there were times when the curse didn’t break even after the demon’s demise. It was either when the curse was so powerful that it had eroded the soul, or when the curse had become old and gained power of its own.
And in such situations, exorcism wasn’t easy. Since Rowy said he first met the demon two years ago, Rowy seemed to be the second case where the curse gradually strengthened over time.
‘Of course, I do wonder how that demon was able to cast such a strong curse.’
Thinking back to when Van had faced it, that demon wasn’t strong enough to penetrate the solid mental fortitude of a mage. However, making humans let down their guard was one of the things demons did best, so it was certain that it had somehow exploited a gap in Rowy’s heart.
‘Anyway, because his heart is so tender, he gets caught up in such bad things…’
…Whose heart is tender? With a thought that would probably make Seilan fall over backwards if he heard it, Van let out another worried sigh.
‘Of course it would be best if the exorcism succeeds, but…’
Though it was a ritual being performed after a long time, when it came to exorcism, the Head Priest was a more trustworthy figure than anyone else. This time too, he would surely not betray Van’s expectations.
However… failures happened more often than one would think. Without even going far, the most recent exorcism ritual was a failure. And that last exorcism ritual… was performed for Shane and Turner, the two Holy Knights who had stayed by Van’s side until the very end.
“Ha…”
Van recalled the last exorcism ritual that had been nothing but pain, with a gloomy expression.
* * *
On the day of the final battle with the Archdemon Mammon, though it was a journey they had departed on after long preparation, the Holy Knights encountered an enormous number of enemies before even reaching the vicinity of the Archdemon Mammon. It was an attack by demons and monster legions.
“Block them from this side!”
“They’re swarming from over there again!”
“Commander!”
“Ahhh!”
The fatal mistake was that there were far more demon summoners than the Order had identified. The Holy Knights, who had only prepared to face Mammon and hadn’t anticipated receiving an attack from such a large-scale force, fell helplessly.
Fighting a death struggle with endlessly pouring demons like that, the Holy Knights reached a state close to complete annihilation. However, they couldn’t retreat at this point. They stepped over their brothers’ corpses and silently moved forward toward their original destination, Mammon’s lair.
“Max!”
“Damn! Hurry and lay him down here!”
“Max, stay conscious!”
However, at the injury of the youngest who wasn’t even an adult yet… everyone had no choice but to stop walking.
“…It’s serious. If we leave him like this, he’ll die. Even if he’s lucky enough to survive, I think we’ll have to amputate his leg.”
Turner, who had been examining Max’s wound, shook his head with a serious face. Worry appeared on everyone’s expressions.
“We should have kept checking if it was safe…”
“……”
No one had anticipated that Max, who had been far from the battlefield, would be attacked. Max, who had not yet officially received the rank of knight, wasn’t participating in this battle and was scheduled to provide rear support before returning to the temple first. With Max collapsed with serious injuries, Van, no, Holy Knight Commander Daer fell into anguish.
‘Isn’t he still too young a child to lose his life like this?’
…Moreover, Max wasn’t the only injured one. Daer looked around at the survivors with gloomy eyes. Fortunately, the demons and monsters had been mostly dealt with, but…
‘The losses are already too great before even meeting Mammon.’
Excluding Daer, the only ones capable of proper combat were Vice Commander Shane and Senior Holy Knight Turner, just those two. In the desperate situation, Daer finally made a decision.
“…For now, everyone return to the temple with Max.”
“What are you… You mean only the Commander will go to Mammon? Absolutely not!”
“That’s right. That’s absurd.”
Strong opposition came back immediately at that decision. It was natural. The Holy Knights were all those who had vowed to dedicate themselves to God. Not fearing death and willingly throwing away their lives for their mission was something God’s servants should rightfully consider an honor, but…
“……”
When those lives belonged to brothers they had spent their entire lives with…
“There have already been too many sacrifices. I can’t lose you all as well.”
The Head Priest used to scold Daer, saying he had too much affection to fulfill God’s will. It was true. The path of burying all sacrifices in his heart and moving forward solely toward God… was a greater ordeal for Daer than facing demons. However, the end was right before his eyes. Daer looked at the mountain range where he could feel Mammon’s presence.
“Mammon is close now. We’ve eliminated all the demons who received power from Mammon, so I alone am enough to face him. So you all return with Max now.”
It was an anguished voice. Vice Commander Shane, who had been expressing his displeasure with silence at the Commander’s decision, finally let out a sigh.
“Haa… You all take Max back to the temple first. As for the Commander, Turner and I, who are still capable of battle, will go with him.”
Daer shook his head at those words.
“You return too. I’ll go alone.”
“We will never let the Commander go alone.”
“That’s right.”
Stubborn gazes glared at Daer. Daer also met Shane and Turner with a firm gaze. However… there was no more time for bickering. Mammon was moving. If they couldn’t catch Mammon here, all these sacrifices would truly become meaningless.
“…Then only Shane and Turner, just you two come with me. The rest, return.”
And this choice… remained as deep regret for Daer even now.
* * *
“So what happened? …You didn’t actually send him alone, right?”
Rowy, who had become absorbed in Van’s story from the past, even clenched his fists as he asked. The Head Priest looked at such a Rowy as if watching an adorable grandchild and continued speaking.
“…In the end, the injured knights decided to return to the temple, and Daer headed to Mammon’s lair together with Shane and Turner.”
