Chapter 19

Peoples shadows swayed as thecandlelight flickered. As she remembered what happened, Lubella bowed her head and clutched the ends of her clothes. She stopped talking for a moment, but Zich didnt urge her to continue.

The people guardingme continued to fall one after another. There were so many undead, but we were also unprepared for battle.

As if they proved that they were Karuwimans Holy Knights, they managed to ensure Lubellas escape with everything against them. Afterward, Lubella ran frantically. For the Holy Knights who sacrificed their lives for her and to reveal theMayors wicked deeds, she felt like she had to survive.

However, the city was blocked by then, and she was wanted as the Witch. So, she had no choice but to hide in the alleyway. When the day was bright, she hid her body in an abandoned house or a dark alleyway and only moved at nighttime.

Of course, since she couldnt eat or rest properly,her facebecamehaggard. Lubellahad grown up like a flower in a greenhouse, and this was her first time going out to see the world.In the end, her holy powersran outand shecouldnt evenbrighten up her night vision;she could only move if the moon and starswere inthe sky.

Youre saying that you met me then.

Lubella nodded to Zichs words.

Did Sir Weig also die at the time?

No, Iparted wayswith Sir Weig as soon as we arrived in this city. The Church gave him a different mission, and we have been moving separately for some time.

Of course. Theres no way theKillingMachinewould die so easily.

Zich understood.

Then what are you going to do now?

Im not sure.

Her opponent was the citys most powerful figure, theMayor, and Lubella didnt have anything at the moment except her body.

Cant you ask for help from Karuwiman?

Hans interrupted with caution, but Lubella shook her head.

Since the city is blocked, I cant contact headquarters or any subdivision. Even if Idocontact them, it will take a while for them to receive the message. Furthermore, the Karuwiman temple in this city doesnt have much power, and even that is under heavy surveillance.

Although Karuwiman had incredible influence, their power was concentrated in their headquarters and a few subdivisions. No king, royal, or noble liked to let the Churchs power reside in their land.

Normally, if we need military support from the Church, we can contact the nearest religious order or an important subdivision, and headquarters will receive the message and send out brigades of the Church. The problem is that this place is very far from the points of contact.

That means there are no forces that can protectLady Lubella right now.

Lubella nodded at Zichs words.

Then, lets escape out of the city first. I will take you to the nearest subdivision of the Church.

That seemed better than handing her over to the citys security forces, but Lubella shook her head.

Ah, we cant!

At her firm refusal, both Zich and Hans stared at her strangely.

We dont have time! We have to stop theMayorright now!

Stop what?

Theritual!

Ritual?

What do you mean?

Lubella didnt say enough for them to grasp the entire situation. Of course, Hans couldnt understand, but Zich was able to figure out something.

Is theMayor planning to do a ritual with graveconsequences?

Yes!

How large is the scale?

Its probably going to involve the whole city!

Zich glanced at Lubellas wanted posterthat was on the table. Its center was crumpled, butthe words were still legible.

Responsible for the assassination of theDeputyMayor, and

Attempted to cast a Great Curse on the cityofPorti.

This was a more significant issue than he had thought.

Tell me everything you saw and thought.

I remember the cover of the book that theMayor was holding onto when he revealed his truecolors. It was definitely an item from Bellid.

Bellid was a religious group with the opposite characteristics of Karuwiman. Its followers served the evil god, Bellu, and engaged in slaughter and terrorist actions to fulfill their craving for destruction and chaos.

Those fucking bastards are a part of this?

In a way, most people would have thought that Demon Lord Zichwould have gotten along well with a group like that, but it was the opposite in reality. Bellid acted on the principle that they had to conquer the world and offer it to their god. There was no way that Demon Lords, who liked to work however they wanted, would agree with Bellids methods.

As expected, Bellid and DemonPeopleoften clashed, and of course, Zich was oftencaught up init.

Lubella continued,Even at a glance, that book was stored with some dark energy. It felt sickening as if Bellu had contaminated it. At first, I thought it was an artifact that increased the owners skills, but that wasnt the case.

The room that Lubella coincidentallysawwhile escaping revealed the bookstrue identity.

In the room, there was a stone statue. That violent and hideous appearance definitely belonged to Bellubut thats not the problem. It wouldnt have been such a problem if the statuewas justin the shape of Bellus vile form, but itexuded asimilar energy to the book. And there were also writings on the statues stand.

It was written in Bellids ancient and sacred language, but Lubella could read it. Since Karuwiman and Bellid always clashed against each other, they knew each other well.

It said,I offer this city to Bellu.

Even Zich was aware of that phrase, and he knew when and where it was used.

So, you are saying that those guys are planning to sacrifice this city as an offering to Bellu. And that book is a catalyst to ignite the statues power?

You know about it?

Yes, I know a bit about the group.

TheCity Offering Ritual was a ritual where followers stationed Bellus statueindifferent parts of the city and injected peopleslife forceinto these places.

But these guys are taking a huge risk. Usually, they target a small villageorasmall city that is difficult to differentiate from a village. How could they target a city like Porti?

I thinkso too, but if they succeed in performingthis ritual

This city will become a city of the dead, and they will gain power that matchesits scale.

Bellid completed the City Offering Ritual for three reasons: first, it was to make the citys entire population into the undead and increase their army. The second was to please the god they served, Bellu. And lastly, it was to

To take away all the residentslife force. If they succeed in stealing energy from this many people, they will gain a tremendous amount of power.

A great calamity would befall thesesurroundings, and there was no way that those Bellid guys would use their power for good. But

Well, it will suck for the people around here.

Zichs sentiments ended there.Inthe first place, he was a humanwho wasnot that different from Bellid.

But Id hateto see those guys gaining things from this situation.

Even though they had been enemies before Zich regressed, if theywerenice guys, Zich could have thought along the lines of, I have decided to live a kind life, so I guess what is good isgood. But, these guys were not even like that.

If I recall the amount of Bellus energy in the catalyst, it seems like we dont have much time before the ritual is complete! We dont have time to request support from a subdivision! We have to stop the ritual right now!

In your condition?

At Zichs cold remarks, Lubella was at a loss for words. But Zich didnt think that she could adequately stop this event with her current state. She couldnt even have a proper meal and had been in hiding like a beggar for a while now.

I cant sit and stand by that thought! The only one who knows what will happen is me! If things progress like this, a countless number of people will die for sure!

But this is also something you cant fix.

Ugh!

Lubella glared at Zich, but she hung her head low. Zich hadnt said anything wrong, and feelings of uselessness coiled around her.

But let me ask you this.

Lubella raised her head slightly at Zichs words.

Stopping this is also a kind act, right?

She was surprised.

A-are you going to help us?

If it is a kind act.

Lubellas face lightened up and then darkened again.

But I also cant get someone else involved in something so dangerous...

This is my advice, but get off your high horse.

Lubellas eyes widened. Even Hans, who was listening next to them, looked surprised. But Zich arrogantly crossed his arms and raised his jaws while leaning his back against a chair. Then, he coldly spat,What are you going to do by yourself? You havent been able to eat or sleep properly and havebeen hidingas ahomeless person forthe past few dayswhat do you think you can do?

Lubellas head drooped lower again.

If I hadnt found you, you would have starved to death in a nameless alleyway or would have been caught by an officer. Or a resident might have found you, and you would have been disgraced as the Witch whodrovethis city into a nightmare.

Um, Sir Zich. I think this is enough

Because Zich seemed to be talking too harshly, Hans tried to stop him warily, but Zich didnt stop.

You dont want to get someone else involved? How is that different from wanting to leave this situation as it is? Because of your great sense of justice, are you going to watchthiscityfall intodanger? Thats amazing.

Even before Zich regressed, there were many people like Lubella. Without concern for their own bodies, they jumped in to fight against injustice and save people. In a world thatfellinto chaos, those kinds of people stood out more than in regular times.

Zich didnt holda particulardislike for those types of people. Surprisingly, Zich was open-minded, and as a person who lived however he wanted, he didnt mind peoples different ways of living. He went by the philosophy: I am me, and others are others.

However, that didnt mean that he acknowledged everyones way of life. Zich could nod his head, thinking, Its understandable why they thought that, especially if someone acted with enough power and knowledge backing them and failed.But Zich couldn't understand thosewhojust saidplausible things without any power and knowledge behind them.

No, it was acceptable to that point. Even without power and knowledge, it took courage to go against death; although Zich couldnt understand those who followed what they said even while knowing that they had a 100% chance of dying, he could accept it as one of the characteristics of thatperson.

The real problem was with people like Lubella.Those types of people saidthat they didnt want to drag someone unrelated into the problem or had to maintain morals or fight fairly. If the decision only affected them, Zich would have understood.

But if they were like Lubella right nowandinsisted on following their moral ground when they couldnt do anything by themselves and were in a situation where others would be harmed if things failed, Zich couldnt accept their way of thinking no matter what.

You should think hard with that pure head of yourswhat is the right thing to do.

Lubella gripped her fist tightly. She grabbed it so tightly that it became colorless, and some time passed.

I knew that she wasinexperienced,but was she this pathetic during this time?

No, theSaint might have been like this even before he regressed; the situation was so frustrating.

Well, I will let her do what she wants.

Zich was about to loosen his arms when

Swish!

Lubella raised her head. Her eyes, which seemed to stare at Zich deeply,werefilled with determination.

I will just ask you one thing.

What?

Are you strong? Strong enough to help me in this situation?

Look at this?

Zichs eyes sparkled as he looked at her with curiosity. He stopped himself from getting up and crossed his arms again.

She is not dwelling in her guilt anymore, but is trying to make sure of my skills?

It wasnt bad. No, her assessment of the situation was outstanding. Without power or knowledge, one was useless in this situation, and this also applied to Zich who had suggested to help.

Zich looked at the empty plate and fork in front of Lubella. Sitting next to Lubella, Hanstilted his head. Zich lightly drew with the spoon.

Split!

The table cracked into two, and both Lubella and Hans eyes widened in shock.

Drop! Dro-drop!

The utensils on the table fell to the ground, and the wooden table collapsed. Thankfully, Lubella had eaten everything on her plate, so the ground didnt become a mess. And both Lubella and Hans werent even bothered about that; they were too busy staring at the wooden spoon that Zich was holding.

I think I will be of enough help.

In a daze, Lubella nodded her head.