Chapter 18: The Zealot’s Fury and a Glimmer of Hope

Beneath the somber veil, wicked servants crawled wantonly across the earth. Wielding sharp claws and fangs, they slaughtered all virtuous beings. The earth bled, and lambs wailed. The sun had fallen, or so Chief Inquisitor Una declared.

“Those who murdered Lady Alena deserved to burn in hell, and those who defied her teachings deserved death.”

Blood gushed from the man’s neck, trickling down Una’s fingers to the ground. The bandit’s pained groans had morphed into gurgling foam. His legs thrashed desperately, but to no avail. As more blood erupted, a single crimson drop splattered her doll-like, pristine face.

A frenzied smile stretched across Una’s face. Her cheeks flushed, she cast aside the bandit’s corpse. Beside her, dozens of bandits, all similarly met with gruesome ends, stained the earth a deep crimson.

‘Perhaps all the heretics here should be purged? Only a land utterly purified could possibly accommodate Lady Alena’s magnificent presence.’

Lady Alena, who had rescued Una from a pile of corpses and raised her to adulthood, had tirelessly worked to redeem humanity. Why, then, would humanity betray her?

Lady Alena had once held her hand, taught her to pray, patiently guided her through scriptures, and opened her eyes to the divine might of the gods. Her charitable footsteps had traversed the entire world. Who could possibly have murdered such a soul?

Her foot pressed down harshly on the bandit’s corpse. Flesh and blood stained her pristine white shoes crimson. Yet, her mood was remarkably cheerful.

A gentle tap landed on Una’s shoulder. She spun around as if struck by lightning, to find a man in knight’s armor, his face taut with disapproval. He addressed Una, “That’s quite enough, Una. We are here to investigate, not to slaughter.”

Una turned away with a look of profound disgust. The Church maintained an order of knights. Among them, he—Chris Hino—was Lady Alena’s favorite knight, and concurrently, Una’s most detested individual.

As a guardian of God, he was far too naive. Not only had he repeatedly let heretics go, but during inquisitions, he had even openly defended those wretches. Had Lady Alena not fiercely protected Hino, Una would have long since thrown him into the Jingu Penitentiary. It was widely known that no living soul had ever emerged from its depths.

Una was privately dubbed ‘The Zealot’ by her colleagues in the Central Curia. Yet they understood that only a zealot could handle such matters. To prevent the zealot from spiraling out of control, they had dispatched Hino as her assistant.

“Someone ought to bury them,” Hino murmured, scratching his cheek. His regrettable compassion was once again stirring. It was, after all, his merciful blade that had torn the charging bandits to shreds. Una, disinclined to humor him, merely stated, “No. We must complete our mission first.”

Hino knelt on one knee, making the sign of the cross as he prayed for them.

“You’re merely hastening their descent into hell,” Una said coldly.

“Then I pray the demons of hell show mercy to these lost lambs.”

Hino concluded his brief prayer and rose to his feet. “Let’s continue. The local church shouldn’t be far from here, and Lord Alexei is waiting for us.”

Upon hearing Alexei’s name, Una’s brow subtly arched. Alexei was a close confidant of Lady Alena, and it was he who had conveyed the news of her death to the Central Curia. However, Alexei was known for his elusive nature, and Una harbored a deep distrust towards him.

With the election for the next Pontiff imminent, had Lady Alena still been alive, her re-election would have been a certainty. It was entirely plausible that Alexei had murdered Lady Alena to secure his own victory in the election.

Una’s inner suspicions began to fester. If Alexei truly was the culprit, she would ensure he suffered a slow, agonizing death at her hands. She had already selected the instruments for his torment.

Una swung herself onto her horse and galloped towards the local church—Saint Valentine’s Cathedral.

****

Meanwhile, Chloe was utterly captivated by the sight before her.

Saint Valentine’s Cathedral shimmered with dazzling gold under the sun’s embrace. Its exterior, constructed of marble, was pristine and exquisitely crafted. Stained glass panels, crafted from glazed tiles, were imbued with a myriad of colors and set into the walls. The interior, however, was even more resplendent. Mosaic tiles adorned the floor with breathtaking intricacy. Eight towering windows, open to the heavens, allowed an abundance of light to bathe the entire cathedral in brilliance.

“Now I understand why the castle is so dim,” Chloe remarked, a hint of awe in her voice. “All the funds must have gone into this cathedral.”

“In the ancient empire, we used gold to mint coins, while they used it to build cathedrals,” Alice sighed, a note of resignation in her tone. “Can one truly call it excessive?”

Chloe’s shoes tapped against the cathedral’s polished floor, a crisp sound echoing through the vast space.

It was midday, and only a handful of worshippers remained. Once the last devotee had departed, Alice closed the massive cathedral doors and settled onto a nearby pew.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit improper for us to come out without Xina knowing?” Chloe asked.

Alice draped her arm over the back of the pew, her eyes narrowing. Her face, soft as a glutinous rice ball, sank into the plush cushion.

“I don’t want her getting involved in this matter. Knowing her temperament, I suspect she would have followed us even if we hadn’t invited her.”

“What about me? What do you need me to do?” Chloe inquired.

“You’ll serve as a witness, simply recounting everything you’ve seen, precisely as it happened.” Alice lay back on the pew, allowing the filtered sunlight to illuminate her face. “I hope it’s not Una who shows up. If it’s Hino, that would be ideal.”

“Who are they?”

Alice looked at Chloe. “Two troublesome individuals. The former is an inquisitor from the Central Curia, known as ‘The Zealot,’ who harbors an almost worshipful devotion to Lady Alena. The latter is a Church Knight, rumored to be Lady Alena’s paramour. In short, neither of them is easy to deal with, and the Central Curia will almost certainly send one of them. At least Hino is a normal person, but Una is utterly a mad dog—Lady Alena’s personal mad dog.”

“How mad?” Chloe asked, her curiosity piqued.

“She shows no mercy to heretics. She once ordered an entire village of them razed to the ground. And that’s one of her milder ‘accomplishments’.” Alice frowned, clearly distressed by the topic of Una. “When Lady Alena was alive, she could still rein Una in. Now… only the gods know what goes on in her mind.”

Chloe felt a chill run down her spine; it would be best to steer clear of such a person. She instinctively huddled inward, then added, “I hope Hino comes.”

“Hino, huh? Don’t hold your breath for him,” Alice said, shaking her head. Just then, a knock echoed from behind the cathedral’s grand doors.

“Alexei.” The voice from beyond the door was muffled, making it impossible to discern its gender.

“They’re here.” Chloe’s heart gave a sudden lurch. She stepped forward and pulled open the cathedral door.

“Greetings. Is Bishop Alexei present?”

A tall, handsome knight stood on the threshold. He had brown hair and a pleasant smile. It appeared to be Hino, and Chloe’s anxious heart finally eased. At least this person didn’t seem like a villain.

However, a blur of purple suddenly darted from behind Hino. Chloe was tackled violently to the ground. The sharp pain in her back forced Chloe’s gaze to focus. A purple-haired girl had pinned her firmly, her own hair spilling onto the floor, mingling with Chloe’s silver strands.

The bracelet on Chloe’s wrist emitted a faint glimmer. The girl lifted Chloe’s hand and clutched the bracelet tightly.

A liquid steadily dripped from above, landing near Chloe’s mouth. Chloe licked at it; it was salty.

“Lady Alena!” The purple-haired girl was already weeping uncontrollably.