Chapter 26 : First Mission (2)

“Ugh… Ugh…!”

When we reached a certain depth in the forest, the man spoke.

“You can open your mouth now. We must treat a precious sacrifice with care.”

The woman, whose mouth was finally unblocked, glared at him.

“Julius…! What the hell is this…!?”

“Isabel-nim, you are now going to become a sacrifice for the noble ritual of the Sarkas cult. Consider it an honor.”

The woman’s pupils dilated in shock.

“You… you’ve been escorting me for this all along…?”

“That’s right. Even the emperor was completely fooled. Isn’t a meritocratic society great?”

“Do you think you can get away with this…!?”

“Of course not. I’ll leave Semal right after offering the princess. For the prosperity of the Sarkas cult, my existence is still needed in the world.”

“You’re crazy… You…”

During the pursuit, I overheard some alarming words.

‘Princess…? Sarkas cult…?’

Considering that even the emperor was mentioned, this wasn’t just a simple kidnapping.

Was this a matter I could handle on my own?

Following them deeper into the forest, I came across a temple-shaped building that looked completely out of place.

The suspicious people gathered there were all wearing hoods adorned with strange patterns.

‘Why is there something like this in the middle of the forest…?’

Hiding in the nearby bushes, I watched as they took the woman inside and disappeared.

The security was tight, making it difficult to break through head-on.

There were two gatekeepers and three others patrolling the area.

I had no idea how many more people were inside the building.

In the end, I decided to wait for one of the patrolmen to come my way.

Rustle.

“…What, an animal…?”

I deliberately made a little noise to attract the target’s attention. When he came closer, I fired a crossbow bolt, piercing his forehead.

Before the target, who died instantly with the arrow embedded in his brain, could collapse, I quickly grabbed him and dragged him into the bushes.

‘…I hope this works.’

Holding the catalyst I had received from Cled, I chanted the spell in my head.

‘O Osteon of darkness, immerse yourself in your shadow…’

With a hazy memory, I recited the incantation for the dark-type intermediate magic, Polymorph.

It was a spell that allowed the caster to take on the appearance of an object they touched, though it was more like wearing an illusion than actually transforming.

The catalyst in my hand flickered for a moment, its contents turning black.

When I looked at my hand, it appeared much larger than it actually felt.

And then, drops of blood fell onto the palm of my hand.

‘…Ah.’

Because I had pierced the corpse’s head, the wound was also replicated in the illusion.

It was unnecessarily realistic…

‘Pagos.’

Using the fact that magic could be influenced by other spells, I cast an ice spell to freeze the area where the forehead wound would be, stopping the bleeding.

The figure I had transformed into wore a deep hood, so unless someone looked closely, there would be no reason to suspect anything.

As long as no one touched me, that is.

I walked confidently toward the two gatekeepers.

“Brother, look at me for a moment.”

I had hoped they would just let me pass, but one of them stopped me.

It would be troublesome if they started asking questions.

“Your face has become very pale all of a sudden. Like a corpse.”

‘Was I already caught…?’

I placed one hand on the hilt of my dagger, ready for a possible fight.

“Man, of course, he’s newly married. It’s time to be on fire.”

‘…Married?’

“I’m jealous, I’m jealous. You had your first child this time, right? You have to hurry up and make a second one. No, maybe you already have one? Hahaha!”

The two gatekeepers laughed heartily, with me standing awkwardly between them.

Since there was no particular restraint, I smiled and entered the temple.

By the way, I felt a little guilty. It seemed the man I had killed had just gotten married.

‘…Should I have just knocked him out instead of killing him…? Too late now, I guess.’

“May there be salvation!”

Inside the temple, hooded figures were gathered, chanting in unison.

Because of the crowd, I couldn’t see what was happening at the front, so I squeezed my way through.

“Our Sarkas cult will be saved today by sacrificing the royal bloodline!”

“Salvation! Salvation!”

‘That man from earlier…!’

The man named Julius was giving a speech in front of the crowd of believers.

“This world denies Sarkas a place to stand. The natural law of eating and being eaten should not be indiscriminately suppressed by humans!”

‘…If you want to be eaten so badly, go ahead.’

“It took years of disguising myself as a knight to gain the emperor’s trust. Today, the fruit of that effort will finally bear fruit.”

Julius, who claimed to be a knight, clapped his hands.

“I present to you. The sacrifice for tonight—Princess Isabel of the Armonia Imperial Family!”

At the sight of her bound hands and feet, the believers erupted in cheers.

‘Princess…!?’

Kidnapping a princess and sacrificing her…?

If this escalated, it could even lead to war.

“Then, great Sarkas-nim. May it be a noble meal.”

Julius pulled a lever, and the wall opened, revealing what was inside.

“Kreureureureu…”

It was a terrifying Sarkas in the form of a giant pig.

‘They’ve bound a Master Sarkas…?’

With its hands and feet shackled with chains made of an unknown material, the Sarkas drooled as it stared at the princess, its saliva pooling on the floor.

“Kyaaak…! No…!”

“Accept it, Princess. Honestly, I’m envious of you. As a believer in the Sarkas cult, it’s a pity I can’t be eaten according to the doctrine.”

“You’ll all go to hell…”

“It was an honor to serve you, even briefly. Princess.”

With a vulgar smile, he slowly pushed the chair she was sitting on, moving her closer to the Sarkas’s gaping maw.

“Father…”

Sensing her impending death, she stopped resisting and began to cry.

I couldn’t just stand by and watch. I aimed a bloodstone arrow at the monster.

Thanks to Polymorph, my vision was sharper than usual.

Fortunately, the arrow flew true and struck its target.

…Right in the princess’s shoulder.

“Kyaaak-!”

“Which bastard…! Hurt the precious sacrifice…!”

‘…Ah.’

I had been aiming for the Sarkas, but I hit the princess instead.

At least it wasn’t her head.

Before my identity could be revealed, I quickly cast Scotadi, spreading a dark curtain over the area.

“A dark Spirit Master…? How did you sneak in…?”

Julius seemed to have figured out I was a Spirit Master based on my technique.

I pushed through the panicked believers, who were blinded by the darkness, and grabbed the princess’s wrist.

“Floga!”

Julius chanted a spell, and flames erupted, illuminating the area.

“To borrow the power of a filthy Osteon… how shameful…!”

I had heard that some knights also used magic, but unfortunately, the compatibility wasn’t great.

Flames shot from his hand, and I ducked to avoid them. However, the flames touched the illusion I was wearing, revealing my true form.

“Now I see… it’s the Spirit Master we hired as a decoy…!”

Seeing my sudden transformation, the princess asked in shock,

“Who are you…?”

“I’ll explain later. Keep pressure on your shoulder.”

Fortunately, the arrowhead was made of bloodstone, not metal, but it was still important to stop the bleeding.

Julius drew his sword and began approaching.

“If you hadn’t interfered, you could have just focused on your mission…”

From the way he held his sword, I could tell he was experienced—likely stronger than Luna.

Julius stared at my face.

“…What a pitiful talent. With that black hair and appearance, you look exactly like the Sarkas goddess.”

“…Goddess…?”

He kept saying things I didn’t understand.

I drew my dagger as he closed the distance. Julius smirked.

“You can’t win.”

He already knew the gap between us.

“…Who said I’d fight?”

Thud. Thud.

I broke the chains binding the Sarkas.

Only then did Julius notice the chains were damaged. He rushed at me with his sword.

“You’re crazy…!”

The small flames I had stolen from his earlier attack continued to heat the chains.

I used my dagger to smash the last remaining chain.

“Kreureureureureu!”

I dodged the charging Sarkas, grabbed the princess’s hand, and ran.

“Have fun with the Sarkas you love so much!”

Julius, furious, tried to chase me but was blocked by the massive Sarkas.

“Ugh…!”

The temple’s pillars collapsed under the Sarkas’s rampage, and the believers scattered in panic.

I pulled the princess along and ran out of the building, not stopping until we were deep in the forest.

“Daengdaengi!”

I called for Daengdaengi, but there was no response.

“…Daengdaengi! Daengdaengi!”

Since I had dismissed the summoning during the last grade evaluation battle, it now refused to come when called.

“…Damn mutt…”

They say pets resemble their owners. Was my personality like this…?

With no other choice, I carried the princess and ran aimlessly.

In this chaos, I needed to put as much distance between us and the cult as possible.

If I could lose them in the forest…

I spotted a dense part of the forest ahead.

‘Good, I can lose them soon…’

Thud.

Something flew from behind and embedded itself deep in my body.

The sheer force of the impact made my body stiffen.

‘He… threw a sword…?’

“…I caught you, you rat.”