Chapter 388: This is an Opportunity (2)

The village, surrounded by wooden palisades to ward off monsters and wild beasts, seemed quiet and peaceful.

A villager standing on watch noticed Ravier and greeted him with a smile.

"Are you a traveler?"

"Yes, I've come to rest here for a while."

"I see. May your journey be peaceful."

On the surface, it appeared the villagers were welcoming a guest.

Yet, even when they noticed the bloodstains on Ravier's filthy robe, they didn't react. No one questioned his identity.

Other villagers passing by also smiled warmly as though happy to see a traveler.

"Oh my, it's been so long since we've had a visitor in our village."

"Welcome!"

"Our village's cheese is delightful. Please try some before you leave."

Ravier, unlike his usual combative demeanor, donned a gentle smile and bowed slightly in return.

The scene was peaceful yet deeply unsettling.

Watching from the shadows, the Dark shivered, feeling an inexplicable chill.

They were smiling. Not a single villager wasn't smiling.

— What's with these people? Why are they all acting like this? Do they all know each other?

If this village was a Salvation Church hideout, it made sense for everyone to be on the same side.

But Ravier's reactions didn't indicate familiarity with the villagers.

"Who are you?"

An elderly man with a neatly trimmed beard asked as Ravier finally stopped walking.

"Are you the one in charge here?"

"I asked, who are you?"

The old man didn't hide his suspicion. This wasn't a place where outsiders could enter so peacefully.

In response, Ravier raised his palm, revealing it to the elder.

Sssss...

A black sun symbol appeared on his otherwise empty palm, inscribed with unfamiliar characters the Dark couldn't recognize.

But the elder seemed to understand immediately, bowing deeply as he spoke with utmost respect.

"It is an honor to meet you."

"I'll need to rest at the altar for a while."

The elder glanced around uneasily, then spoke with a hint of reluctance.

"This is not a place even you should come to without reason."

"I understand, but circumstances forced my hand."

"Very well. But you cannot stay long. The grand plan is near its end, and this place must not be discovered."

"Don't worry. I've shaken off all pursuit."

Even so, the elder couldn't conceal his unease. Ravier's battered appearance suggested he'd faced significant difficulties.

If someone of Ravier's caliber—a church arbiter—was in such a state, it meant his opponents were no ordinary foes.

The elder silently prayed for the village to remain undisturbed.

"Please, follow me quickly. It does no good to linger in plain sight."

"Understood."

Ravier, his expression sour, followed the elder. He couldn't punish the man for his tone, as he was the one violating church rules by coming here.

The elder, who was the village chief, led Ravier to his house. Inside, he pulled back a rug and manipulated something on the floor.

Rumble...

A hidden passageway opened, revealing a staircase descending underground.

The elder entered first, and Ravier followed.

Below, a massive underground chamber spread out, dimly lit and filled with ominous devices.

A gigantic blood-red magic circle glowed faintly on the floor, surrounded by strange symbols and patterns drawn on every surface.

The stench was nauseating, prompting Ravier to pinch his nose with a grimace.

Watching him, the elder spoke.

"I'll have several days' worth of provisions brought down to you. But you cannot stay for more than a week."

"Understood. I won't need more than a few days."

The elder bowed and left, leaving Ravier to sit and begin tending to his wounds.

"Once I recover, I must head to the duchy and report this."

By now, the church must already know their existence had been exposed. But they wouldn't yet know that the one responsible was Count Fenris.

There had to be a traitor within the church for Fenris to know his name and position.

Ravier was determined to convey this information quickly.

Sssss...

He concentrated on purging the lingering energy Ghislain had left in his body, which still wreaked havoc within him.

If he could heal fully and replenish his holy power, he'd be strong enough to push through any opposition and make it to the southern region.

But as his energy grew stronger and began dispersing the remnants of Ghislain's power, the Dark's consciousness, clinging to him, cried out.

— Ugh! Master! He's recovering! He's found a safe place!

"The village?"

— Yeah, he's hiding in some elder's underground chamber. But...

"What? Did you find something else?"

Ghislain asked with growing curiosity. The fact that Ravier had fled to a location of such significance in his previous life was highly suspicious.

The Dark screamed in horror.

— These people are insane! The place is filled with corpses! Hundreds... no, thousands if you count the bones! They're piled up like mountains!

"What?"

As the Dark described, the place Ravier was resting wasn't ordinary.

Around the glowing blood-red magic circle were mysterious containers filled with imprisoned humans.

Tubes connected the containers to the magic circle, continuously feeding it with blood from the captives.

The massive chamber was littered with human bones, so densely packed that they filled the vast space.

— Master... I've been attached to this guy too long... I'm almost out of power...

The Dark's mana, already dwindling after days without replenishment, couldn't endure Ravier's power surge.

Fsssssh...

— I can't hold on! I've been expelled completely!

With that, the Dark's fragment attached to Ravier disappeared entirely.

Ghislain's face hardened as he immediately summoned his knights.

"Two hundred knights, arm yourselves and follow me at once. We move as quickly as possible."

"What?!"

"There's no time to explain. I'll tell you on the way."

"Understood!"

This wasn't the first time they had moved without explanation. The knights quickly armed themselves and mounted their horses.

"Gillian, keep the forces ready for deployment. We don't know when the duchy or Marquis Rodrick might make a move."

"Understood."

"Kaor, Belinda, and Vanessa, you're coming with me."

Kaor grinned, eager for another fight. Belinda, as always, packed the necessary supplies for Ghislain.

Vanessa, however, was uneasy.

"Alpoi! Don't slack off while I'm gone. Keep studying!"

"Of course! I love studying!"

Vanessa didn't look convinced by Alpoi's enthusiastic response, but she had no choice but to trust him.

With preparations complete, Ghislain and the knights set out immediately.

"We'll take the roads and move as fast as we can."

The knights didn't understand why the lord was in such a hurry, but they trusted he had a reason, as always, and followed without question.

With well-maintained roads throughout the royalist territories and the knights' advanced riding skills, their pace was swift.

As they traveled, Ghislain continuously analyzed the situation using knowledge from his past life. He had uncovered far more than expected.

'I thought I'd only find clues about the Salvation Church or their hideouts... but for him to flee to the Rift.'

In his previous life, the Rift, also known as the "Gate of Tribulation," was a portal that unleashed endless waves of unidentified monsters.

These creatures swarmed the continent, forcing humanity to retreat to isolated strongholds and fight for survival.

Despite the combined efforts of mages and scholars, no one had ever determined why the Rift had appeared.

The locations of the rifts seemed entirely random, with no discernible pattern. 

Rifts appeared all across the continent, sometimes disappearing in one place only to suddenly manifest elsewhere.

No one knew their true nature or cause.

The end.

Everyone believed that the "End of the Humanity" described identically in the scriptures of the Four Great Churches had begun.

Some resisted desperately, while others accepted it with solemnity.

The Four Great Churches were no exception. Some fought to the bitter end, while others claimed it was the will of the goddesses.

That's when the Salvation Church appeared.

The Salvation Church was different. It helped people and preached relentlessly:

— Our god will protect and save you.

They urged humanity to rise against the goddesses who had brought about the tribulation called the end.

Thus, the Salvation Church and the Four Great Churches became mortal enemies.

"This is an opportunity," Ghislain muttered.

Through Ravier, he learned that the Salvation Church was connected to the tribulations.

However, he still didn't know how the rifts were created. From what he remembered from his previous life, the rifts seemed to open randomly.

Even when he realized Ravier was heading to a location where a rift had appeared, Ghislain simply assumed that the Salvation Church had some foreknowledge about the rifts and was taking advantage of it.

But what if it was the Salvation Church that opened all those rifts?

Ghislain's heart began to race. This was an opportunity beyond anything he had imagined.

As a mercenary in his past life, he had fought countless monsters across the continent. He knew the locations of most rifts.

Of course, he couldn't stop all of them himself. He was bound to this kingdom because of the duchy.

But if he played his cards right, he could significantly reduce the number of rifts. Even that would make life far better for humanity than it had been in his past life.

Among all the knowledge from his previous life, information about the rift locations was, without a doubt, the most valuable.

He was already preparing to fight a desperate battle not only against the duchy but also against the rifts.

"Ride! We must get there as quickly as possible!"

This wasn't just about capturing Ravier. That man could be hunted down and killed at any time.

Ghislain needed to see what was happening in that village with his own eyes.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Fortunately, the village Ravier had fled to was within the territory of a royalist lord. Thanks to the roads, their journey was unimpeded.

"Clear the way! It's Count Fenris!"

Ghislain's shout and the flag of Fenris ensured they faced no obstacles.

Having roamed the capital restlessly, Ghislain was now so well-known that any checkpoint guard who saw the Fenris flag immediately opened the gates.

No one asked questions. Ghislain was now revered as a key figure of the royalist faction.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

By the time they passed the northern region and neared the capital, Ghislain's forces had grown by nearly a thousand.

He had requisitioned part of the royal army stationed near the capital.

Under orders to cooperate with Fenris unconditionally, the commander lent troops without hesitation when Ghislain claimed urgency.

These soldiers were to serve as witnesses. Ghislain deliberately brought them along to spread word of what they were about to discover across the kingdom.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

After days of relentless marching, Ghislain and his forces finally reached the village where Ravier was hiding.

"Soldiers, surround the village at once!"

At Ghislain's command, the soldiers quickly spread out, while Ghislain and the knights charged into the village.

The villagers, having been alerted by their sentries, had already gathered in one place.

They stood with expressionless faces, staring blankly at the intruders.

Clang!

Dismounting, Ghislain drew his sword and pointed it at them.

"Bring me the one in charge of this place."

"..."

No one responded. Their faces showed no fear, nor any emotion at all. Their blank expressions reminded the knights of wax figures, sending chills down their spines.

Ghislain, knowing exactly what was happening, smirked coldly.

"Kill them all."

As if his words were a signal, the villagers' bodies began to behave unnaturally.

Crack, crack! Snap!

The sound of bones snapping filled the air as the villagers' bodies contorted grotesquely in all directions. The twisting continued relentlessly.

The knights of Fenris, startled, muttered to themselves.

"What... What are they? Are they even human?"

"What's happening?"

Crack! Crackle! Snap!

The villagers twisted their bodies several times before something even more grotesque began to occur.

Rip, rip, shhhhrip!

Their heads split open from the crown, as though shedding their human shells.

From within the peeled flesh emerged grotesque creatures.

It was as if human brains were fused with thick, writhing tentacles, encrusted with crystalline mineral-like things attached here and there.

On what could be considered their heads, glowing red crystalline eyes gleamed menacingly.

These beings were unrecognizable, nothing like anything seen in the Forest of Demonic Beasts or elsewhere.

While everyone else stood dumbfounded, unable to form words, Ghislain took a step forward.

"They've already been mutated."

These were Mutants, creatures completely corrupted by the energy of the rifts.

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