MagicalExplorer
Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim
Continuing onward and dispatching several monsters along the way, we finally managed to catch up with the followers of the Church of the Malevolent Lord.
Looking ahead at them, I unconsciously muttered to myself, “What?”
First of all, their clothing was strange. Normally, they should have been grunts, with the clothes to match. But the people here…
“These guys look like some tough customers, don’t they?” Yuika commented.
The group were cloaked in the type of robes that would make anyone with even the littlest hint of edgelord in their heart feel giddy.
They seemed to be discussing something, as I saw them move their heads to look at one another before sending their gazes back our way.
Claris gulped loudly when her eyes fell on their getup. “I’ve heard about those guys. They’re the Diamond Cross Knights.”
Claris’s evaluation was right on the mark. The Diamond Cross Knights were a group within the Church of the Malevolent Lord who were especially gifted in combat. They generally don’t show up until the end of the main story, and they definitely weren’t supposed appear this early.
Still, we could figure out how to deal with them.
While they may have been strong, I didn’t think they were tough enough to take us down at this point. Even though they show up near the end of the story, they were basically cannon fodder. If their captain made an appearance, or the shadowy figure whose role was to condemn traitors, then we would actually have a problem on our hands.
As such, the regular rank and file didn’t bother me whatsoever. There were two other problems, though.
“Master, I feel like I’ve seen that woman before. Is that just my imagination?”
Among the group was a woman wearing a unique outfit. While it was still of a style that would send an edgelord into a fit, her appearance differed from that of the Diamond Cross Knights.
“No, you’re right.”
She was one of the heroines who was part of the Church of the Malevolent Lord.
I had met her previously inside the Amaterasu Dungeon at Amaterasu Girls’ Academy. She had obtained one of the items needed to revive the Malevolent Lord.
“What’s she doing here?”
I couldn’t help but ask this aloud. I mean, Bishop Hortensia is a character who is never supposed to appear in the Sanctuary, no matter which route you follow to get to this point. This was our first problem and a big one at that.
There was another. Right here at this spot was supposed to be a boss that protected the Sanctuary ruins, to ensure the seal on the Arch Elf up ahead couldn’t be lifted.
In-game, Iori’s group encounter the Church as they are temporarily withdrawing from the ruins, unable to best the ruins’ boss. There, the followers are defeated. However, the guardian boss then recognizes the player’s party as an enemy and fights them, too. It results in back-to-back fights without any time to heal, and afterwards the seal on the Arch Elf is kept safe. That was the original way the story progressed.
If the boss wasn’t here, that meant they must have defeated it. With Hortensia and the Diamond Cross Knights here instead of the regular followers, they would’ve had no trouble bringing it down.
“Takioto, ready to go?” Yukine called out to me as she reapplied all her enhancement magic.
“Yukine… Yeah, let’s go.”
Now that it had come to this, our only choice was to meet this new development head on. I would have liked to have been a bit stronger now that Hortensia was here, but unfortunately, the current lineup we had was the only option.
While we spoke among ourselves, our opponents appeared to discuss something as well, not budging.
“Do you think it might be a trap?”
Nanami shook her head at Ludie.
“This may simply be wishful thinking on my part, but I do not believe our opponents expected us to catch up to them so quickly.”
“Yeah. Otherwise, they’d never take a break around the fire back there.” Yuika sided with Nanami.
“Master, this is the time to step up and show off your manliness. How does ‘Traps? Like I give a shit. Just means we gotta break through ’em all’ sound for your opening line?”
“Nanami, I feel like Takioto’s shown off how manly he is plenty of times now. Mostly without even realizing it.”
“Master Takioto does have that side to him…”
Wait, really? You’re making me blush!
“In any case, let’s keep our guard up,” I said before we all started moving, prompting the Diamond Cross Knights to move, too.
As far as I could see, there were five of them. A sword and shield user, a staff user, a bow user, a great hammer user, and Hortensia. The sword and shield user joined with the great hammer user in the front of the group to protect the staff and bow in the back line. Hortensia stood slightly removed from the rest of them.
Yukine was first to make her move. The swiftest member of our party, she kicked heavily against the ground as if she was about to do a long jump and closed in on the bow and staff users, looking to attack from long-range.
However, the person with the great hammer moved to block her. They used themselves as an axis to swing their great hammer while dashing in front of the bow and staff users, sweeping sideways at Yukine as she approached.
Dodging the looming strike, Yukine grimaced slightly. “A straight on clash with that thing would break my weapon in half. Might even be stronger than me.”
“Seriously? It’s that strong…?”