Star-Embracing Swordmaster - Chapter 60

Village of Fog (2)

Children are innocent.

But it is always the children who are sacrificed first.

Vlad had seen it in the muddy back alleys.

Adults who take away from children in order to survive or have more.

The children who were taken away starve, freeze to death, and die from exhaustion while crying for their mothers who abandoned them.

In that hellish place, Vlad hugged Gemina and Haven and made a decision.

I won’t become that kind of adult.

I won’t live like that.

The rules of life he established as a child to avoid getting caught up in the life of the back alleys were still alive and breathing in Vlad’s heart.

It was a discipline that the boy created for himself.

Rules are something that must be followed.

And knights are guardians.

There were young children dying here now.

※※※※

Vlad was walking through the damp air surrounding the village.

The buildings made of gray bricks were darkening the surroundings with fog.

[It seems to be here.]

“…….”

Vlad raised his head and looked at the building in front of him.

A building bigger than any other building around it.

The bell tower, raised high like a horn, caught Vlad’s eyes.

church.

The place closest to God.

A sacred place that protects the young, the weak, the old, and the sick.

That’s the kind of place it should be.

“going.”

[Yes.]

Vlad took off the hood he was wearing and walked toward the gray building.

The only natural color here and now was the blonde hair that Vlad was born with.

“…….”

A church in the middle of the day with no one around.

It was time for everyone in the village to go about their business, so Vlad was the only one who entered the chapel.

‘Don’t you see anything suspicious?’

[For now.]

Vlad slowly walked around the chapel, moving so that the voice could see any signs or ominous evidence.

The world of voices is a world of deep colors.

His world, which probably contains 100 more colors than the boy’s, will definitely be able to find colors that are not suitable for a sacred place.

While the voice looked for any unusual signs through the boy’s gaze, Vlad slowly figured out the structure of the church and prepared for any eventuality.

When viewed from the outside, it was a two-story building, but due to the nature of church buildings that try to have a similar structure whenever possible, there would obviously be a basement as well.

Vlad wanted to search there if possible.

[Someone came.]

But just as every land and building has an owner, this place was also the same.

Vlad, who was slowly looking around the chapel, felt someone’s eyes watching him from behind.

The gaze upon the unauthorized guest was heavy.

“…….”

Noticing the gaze, Vlad naturally got down on one knee and began to assume a praying posture.

It shouldn’t look like we’re investigating this place.

However, you must be prepared to draw your sword at any time.

Because this village was shrouded in an ominous fog.

Vlad,

who was down on one knee but with his eyes wide open, measured the distance between himself and the sound of footsteps and prepared to draw his sword.

Vlad’s blue eyes were slowly becoming their own color.

“This is my first time seeing you.”

But the man who approached him from behind did not create the worst situation Vlad had imagined.

I simply greeted the stranger with a warm voice.

“…I came here yesterday morning.”

“iced coffee. Those are the mercenaries. I heard.”

Brown hair neatly combed.

A thick Bible that I hold dearly.

At first glance, his physique, which looked as slender as Josef’s, gave the impression of a scholar rather than a priest.

“I’m sorry for coming in suddenly. “Priest.”

“no. “God’s arms are open anytime, anywhere.”

Vlad lightly touched the handle of his sword as he looked at the priest smiling at him.

[Not visible. At least for now.]

“…….”

But what I heard was denial.

I came here following the direction indicated by the girl’s necklace, but there was nothing to see.

“I don’t know if I interrupted your prayer for no reason.”

“no. It’s easier to get permission. “I will leave right after I finish praying.”

The priest who witnessed the mercenary praying, which is difficult to see, waved his hands and smiled.

“This is a church. It is the home of all those who seek God. “You can do whatever you want.”

Even though the man in front of me was smiling kindly, I couldn’t feel at ease.

With the help of voices, the boy saw through the hidden world and realized that there was an unusual presence in the village.

You must not let go of tension.

“……thank you. “Priest.”

Vlad decided to step down for now.

If you don’t hit the head of the priest in front of you right now and start poking around the church building, you won’t be able to find any more suspicious traces.

To be honest, I wanted to do that, but Gregory had a request.

“…Then I guess I should also take this opportunity to pray.”

The priest silently approached Vlad and knelt down next to him as he sat down to pray again.

A boy pretending to be a mercenary and a man who was not sure if he was a priest knelt side by side in front of the god.

A chapel with no one in it.

This is where there are only two men kneeling before God.

“Please do not let the epidemic that is sweeping this area reach your group.”

‘Epidemic?’

The priest’s lips drew a small line as he looked at Vlad, who looked embarrassed.

“And for our children.”

The priest bows his head with those words.

His posture, which even appeared neat through countless prayers, was clearly the image of a faithful priest.

“…….”

However, Vlad was able to find a ray of discomfort in that appearance.

The church’s emblem, which should have been engraved on the bell tower, was hidden in the fog.

However, the pattern that Vlad first encountered upon entering the church looked somewhat strange.

The emblem of the church turned upside down.

The priest held the Bible upside down in front of the god he was praying to.

※※※※

‘…….’

Vlad was lost in thought after leaving the church.

Through a tip from a black bear and the confessions of the captured men, the investigation team reached a village in Baron Utman territory.

However, in the village where they arrived following the traces of the missing pregnant women, thick fog and sinister rumors were waiting for the group.

‘It’s a disease that only kills children…’

Vlad sensed something strange after hearing the priest’s prayer and quickly asked nearby residents about the epidemic.

And Vlad bit his lip at the answer he heard.

While women were missing in Shoara, children were dying here.

This epidemic-like phenomenon occurred not only in villages covered in fog, but also in most villages belonging to Baron Utman.

The ominous omens continued.

“…We’ll have to find evidence. “I can’t show you anything.”

It won’t be an epidemic.

I had a strong conviction, but there was no evidence to prove it.

I can’t show my companions the black hand I saw in the world of voices.

I brought the sacred object I had brought from Shoara to the child at the inn to see if it would happen, but there was no response as expected.

[It appears to be a curse created by a noble warlock, as it does not react to the holy relic. At the very least, an educated priest would have to determine for himself.]

‘How did you recognize something so great?’

[……I don’t know about that either.]

In response to the voice’s still incoherent answer, Vlad shook his head vigorously and expressed his frustration.

No matter how much you know, it is of no use if you cannot do it.

Now, the boy, who finally had his own world, was once again standing in front of an area that he could not do anything about on his own.

“huh?”

Vlad was about to leave the corner of the alley, wondering how he could tell Gregory about the situation, when he saw a suspicious sight there.

A small square in the center of town.

There, a person wearing a robe was standing in front of the young girl.

“This was given to me by the church.”

A girl holding up a cursed necklace as if she was proud of someone’s question.

An unknown person took the girl’s necklace and was fiddling with it.

※※※※

Vlad was a former pickpocket.

He was a former thief and sometimes a robber, but his longest occupation was taking wallets out of other people’s hands.

It was something I was proud of.

[I think he noticed.]

‘I know I’m wrong too.’

Vlad, who was chasing a suspicious man wearing a robe, realized that he was heading towards the outskirts of the village.

It is tempting.

To a place without people.

‘I guess I should go back.’

Vlad stuck out his tongue and stopped walking.

The boy did not overestimate his abilities.

Because I had seen so many talented people, I knew very well that I was still only a one-day puppy.

Besides, since I was in such a suspicious town, it was natural to be careful about my actions.

‘I guess I’ll have to report to Gregory.’

Now that you have confirmed your impression, you can report it to your superior.

Maybe, through this person, I can inform him of something suspicious about the village…

[It’s coming!]

However, life doesn’t always go as planned.

Perhaps sensing Vlad’s intention to slowly retreat, the robed man suddenly charged.

‘like this?’

We haven’t even gotten out of the street where the private house is yet.

However, contrary to his cautious actions so far, the unknown person was charging at Vlad recklessly.

‘shit!’

Although we couldn’t have predicted it, we had time to prepare.

Vlad calmly drew his sword and accepted the unknown person.

Kyaang-!

Sword and sword collide.

The boy was surprised by the weight of the sword, which was heavier than expected.

[Left!]

Using the rebound force, the sword raised high in the sky suddenly dug into Vlad.

“…!”

In the brief moment when he could not raise his sword, Vlad unknowingly got out of the blind spot with flexible steps.

These were the steps that the one-eyed teacher had taught the boy.

Kwaang-!

Vlad was convinced as he looked at the rough, hollow ground.

‘It’s a knight!’

Now I could tell just by touching the swords.

Those who have the skills to subdue the boy.

The only people like that were knights.

While the unknown person was momentarily confused as he watched the boy let his attack flow like water passing through his fingers.

Vlad quickly closed one eye towards the person who could either be a former knight or a current knight.

The boy’s world began to flow through the unadorned sword.

The trick of a one-hit kill is its unexpectedness.

The boy revealed his hand first, so this moment was his only chance.

Only one chance.

“Hmph!”

With a short shout, Vlad leapt towards the person in front of him.

The unknown person was taken aback by the boy’s unexpectedness and hurriedly raised his sword.

[……Vlad!]

There was a bright light pushing away the heavy fog.

Kaaaaang-!

Facing a boy who had a completely different feeling than before, an unknown person urgently stopped Vlad.

But Vlad didn’t stop.

People targeting children were hiding everywhere, but the boy was angry at himself for not being able to do anything.

Just like my younger self.

I don’t want to live like nothing anymore.

After breaking his own promise, the boy’s anger became sharper and more ferocious, and he flew towards the person in front of him.

A non-stop attack.

Following Xayar’s teachings to always think about the next move, Vlad was constantly attacking the opponent in front of him.

[Stop! Stop!]

Sparks fly out between the sword.

The robes that the unknown person was wearing were cut off.

So what does the other person look like?

[The author is a paladin!]

The green seen in the green meadow.

Green eyes that remind me of Oksana.

There was a woman looking at herself in surprise among the flowing hair.

Vlad closed one eye to see his world inside, but the woman’s eyes were only looking at the boy.

Because her world was already above the world.

Under the Word of God.