“Is it really true that the intruder can change forms at will?”
“According to the results of our investigation, yes,” Darkness answered. “We received a report that such an individual was sighted in these parts. We also found a corpse with a mangled face. The body of the victim matched that of the reverend father who works here.”
“Could someone with an ability that powerful really be here?” Rosalia sounded doubtful. She must have had trouble with this country in the past, as she didn’t appear to trust Darkness.
However, I could think of one person with that ability.
“There’s a Hades worshipper, the seventh of the Twelve Apostles,” I said. “Emilelio of the Phantasm!”
“You’re so well-informed, Royce!” Rosalia gushed.
Rosalia, the reason I know about the apostles has nothing to do with me being well-informed. At least, not in the way you mean…
“My, to think you know that name,” Darkness said. “I knew it. You’re no ordinary person. But let me correct one thing. He is the ninth apostle.”
Apparently, Emilelio had yet to reach the rank he held in the game.
One might think that we’d have no problem dealing with this apostle now that we had recruited Darkness, the Sixth Apostle of Zeus. Reality wasn’t so accommodating, sadly. The numbers assigned to apostles related to their contribution to the group, not their combat strength, and Emilelio’s power was extremely annoying to boot. The worst-case scenario here was him killing all of us in battle.
“So, who are you people, really?” Darkness asked us. “You’re dressed like an adventurer, but the way you move tells me you’ve received education as a member of the nobility. Your priestess companion does not appear to be able to use healing magic, and she fights as though she has actual combat experience. It also looks to me like she’s treating you very respectfully, even though you should be deferring to her. Did you come here because you’re suspicious of this orphanage? Are you in the same line of work as I am?”
Rosalia and I exchanged looks. Was it okay for us to reveal our identities now that we knew he was an ally? He died before the events of the game, so I didn’t really know anything about him.
For some reason, though, I felt like I could trust him. He behaved strangely, but he hadn’t harmed a single person. If he hadn’t held back in his first battle against us, there was no way we would have been able to talk like this.
“Rosalia…”
“I will abide by your decision.” She seemed to understand what I was thinking from my expression and smiled at me.
“My name is Weiss Hamilton, and I am the lord of the neighboring Hamilton territory. This here is my maid and bodyguard Rosalia,” I admitted. “We’ve come to this church to take a young woman into protective custody.”
“Hmm, Hamilton, you say? I certainly never expected to hear that name here…” Darkness whispered to himself, then grinned. “I understand now! Despite being a young man, you have the ability to wield strong magic and the courage to come here to save a single girl despite having the support of only one talented subordinate. As a member of the Twelve Apostles, I am formally requesting your aid! I am a person who always returns a favor! You have nothing to lose by being my ally!”
Darkness looked at me as though I were his trustworthy ally already.
Whoa, wait a sec! Am I being formally recognized by one of the Twelve Apostles?! My heart burned at the thought. See, Weiss? You were always amazing. I hope you stick with me. Let’s do this together.
“I accept,” I told Darkness. “Now, Rosalia and I are going to enter the church first. Sir Darkness, you—”
“Please! Call me Darkness, my compatriot!” He grinned. “You need not take such a proper tone with me.”
Was it really okay for me to speak so casually with one of the Twelve Apostles? But if he said it was fine, I guessed it was. Aigis got all prickly when I pulled the same move with her, so I gave in.
“Darkness, I want you to lie low and come to our rescue if things look bad,” I instructed. “I think that’ll be the best prep we can make against Emilelio. He probably knows you’re stronger than me.”
“Hmm, I see. Understood.” Just like that, his presence faded. He was right next to me, yet somehow I completely lost track of him. What the hell? That was amazing!
“Lord Weiss, fear not. Sir Darkness is still close by,” Rosalia assured me.
“Bwa ha ha!” Even if I couldn’t see Darkness, I heard him laughing. “It would appear my all-too-incredible skills caught you off guard!”
I couldn’t see his face, but I could still picture him grinning. If only he did something about that weirdo personality of his, he’d be amazing.
When I stepped forward and opened the church door, I was shocked by what I found.
Catalina was tied to a cross with some rope, almost as if she was at the center of some kind of awful cult ritual. Astesia was looking up at her, dumbfounded, while Keith stood behind her. I sensed a deep darkness in his eyes.
No, it was actually much worse! Keith had drawn a knife from inside his shirt and was about to swing it at Astesia.
“Go to hell, witch!” shouted Keith, “If it wasn’t for you, Malta and Catalina wouldn’t have had to die!”
“What?” Astesia’s eyes went wide as Keith prepared to attack her.
I had no clue what was going on, but I knew I needed to put a stop to it.
“Heed my words, shadow hand!”
Just as Keith, his eyes full of hatred, was about to slash Astesia, my shadow hand twisted itself around his arm and stopped him in his tracks.
That was so close. One second later and this would’ve been a horrific tragedy!
“Royce! Why did you stop me?!” Keith wailed. “Father Claise told me it was all her fault that my friends were gone! Everything is because of her! That’s why I have to…”
Astesia’s face warped with sadness as she listened to the bound Keith roar in anger. “N-no, I wouldn’t…”
That cursed priest—no, Emilelio! Keith was only a child! He didn’t have the ability to think things through logically, and the reverend had told him that the culprit was the woman whom he already hated due to her curse. Of course, Keith had believed him.
“Ah, aaah…” Astesia sobbed.
I used my shadow hand to strike Keith’s neck and knock him unconscious, then took Astesia in my arms.
“Don’t worry, Astesia. None of this is your fault,” I assured her. “I vow to never let you feel this way ever again.” I needed to pull her back from the cusp of total despair. I couldn’t let her negative thoughts devour her. In my previous life, I wouldn’t have been brave enough to do this. It was a good thing that I was a super hottie like Weiss right now! My favorite character. I didn’t feel embarrassed in the slightest!
Also, I really couldn’t bear to see her like this anymore.
“Thank you,” she murmured. “You really are my savior…”
“Your savior, huh? I’m nothing that grand. Just a big fan.”
“Fan? I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I can tell you’re on my side, and that makes me so happy.” She was still holding back tears as she wrapped her arms around me.
I shot her a smile to try and give her peace of mind.
Abruptly, I heard another pained voice.
“Help…me…”
“Are you all right? I’ll be right there!” Rosalia called.
“Rosalia, don’t! That’s the enemy!” I shouted before she could get any closer to Catalina.
If he wanted to personally witness Astesia’s descent into despair, Emilelio had to be close by.
He wasn’t actually all that strong on his own, and he didn’t have a concealment skill strong enough to mask his presence from Rosalia or Darkness. In which case, he must have been hiding as someone else. Process of elimination made Catalina look incredibly suspicious.
As sharp as ever, Rosalia burst into action once she heard me.
“Ice, bind them!” she cried, casting a spell that made ice explode from the floor and freeze the entire cross that Catalina was tied to.
Unfortunately, before the magic activated, Catalina opened her eyes wide, escaped the rope, and leaped off the cross.
While still in midair, Emilelio revealed himself to be an adult man.
“Mmm, how unfortunate! I was so close to getting to see the woman once known as a saint fall into despair. I just love seeing beautiful girls sob!”
“Wh-who is that?!” Astesia shrieked.
I could understand why. By the time Emilelio had landed on the floor, he’d gone from being a young girl to a young man. He was now of average height and had nothing particularly noteworthy about his face. I’d only just met him, yet it still felt like I was about to forget him. He was so unremarkable that it was eerie.
Despite his mild appearance, he took a look at us and started yelling. “I should be asking who in the hell are you?! How do you freaks know what my blessing is? Well, whatever. You must be from the capital. Faster than I anticipated, but it doesn’t matter, since you’ll be dying here. Make sure to scream real good for me!”
Emilelio’s face contorted into a sick smile as he stared at us. Somehow, the fact that he had no noteworthy features only made him look more sinister.
He sent a visceral chill down my spine.
“You son of a…!” I hissed. “You planned on making Astesia take the fall for the kidnappings and everything else that happened here, didn’t you? That’s why you fed Keith those lies? Why would you do all of this?!”
“Heh heh heh. I wonder why?” His smile was sadistic as he feigned ignorance. “If you want an answer, how about licking my shoes first? Y’see, I hate handsome guys like you!”
It wasn’t difficult to imagine what would happen if, with Darkness dead, he pointed the finger at Astesia while disguised as the father. Especially since we’d been suspicious of Darkness ourselves at first.
Plus, Astesia would’ve been mentally weakened after Keith, the boy she was trying to save, attacked her. There was no doubt the attack would have left her in an unstable state, lacking the strength to refute his words. It all would have played out like it did in the game’s timeline.
“Lord Weiss,” Rosalia said, prompting me to make a move.
“I know! Astesia, Keith won’t wake up for a while!” I shouted. “Take him and run!”
“All right. Please, you have to live!” Astesia said. I thought she might push back more, but she only said that before sprinting for the exit.
At the same time, I heard metal colliding with metal. Rosalia had swung her spear to deflect one of Emilelio’s throwing knives.