RD | Chapter 5

“Cough! Cough! Gag!”

The priest, whose throat was constricted, coughed violently. His face turned pale from the lack of blood flow, and clear water was dripping from the open holes in his face, like his eyes and nose. He couldn’t tell what the other person was asking.

‘What is it that’s true?’

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The thought barely crossed his mind before the fear of death overwhelmed his entire body.

The Holy Knight released his grip just as the priest was on the verge of death. The priest’s neck was bruised, shaped by the Holy Knight’s hand.

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“If It’s true that you carry guilt, I will not kill you with my own hands. The scriptures say that when a sinner seeks punishment, forgive them. You are seeking punishment, so you are deserving of forgiveness. But whether the poor believers you betrayed will forgive you… I do not know.”

The priest could breathe again, but an intangible guilt choked him.

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All this time he followed the king and abandoned the castle, he had been tormented by shame.

Was it right for someone who teaches the ways of the divine to abandon the faithful and save his own life?

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Royal blood is indeed precious. But was it truly right to abandon the lives of hundreds to protect them?

The Holy Knight tossed the priest aside like garbage and looked around.

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There was life nearby.

“Please… save me… Save me, and I’ll give you gold and treasure…”

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The voice of a dying man faintly echoed through the forest.

The Holy Knight walked among the bodies. His pace was not rushed.

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He had been riding nonstop to respond to a rescue request, but after hearing the priest’s confession, he had lost all desire to continue.

Nonetheless, his expression was solemn, and from the outside, he seemed like someone paying respect to the spirits of the dead.

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The Holy Knight, as if on a stroll, stopped beneath a tree.

The voice came from a man who was half-devoured.

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The man wore a cape, and in one hand held a sword. However, whether he had drawn the sword or not it was still in its sheath.

The man’s rank was probably high. The purple cloak was not something just anyone could wear.

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There was something else that hinted his status—his body. His lower half had already been devoured by monsters, leaving it unrecognizable. But above the waist, he was alive and still seeks for help.

From birth, his body was clearly blessed countless times. Even though he had lost his lower half, divine blessings kept him alive.

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Whether that was truly a blessing for him, the Holy Knight couldn’t know.The agony of being eaten must have been unbearable for the man.

The Holy Knight approached the man who had only his upper body left.

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“Save me…”

The man repeated the same words, his eyes empty, staring into the air. “I am… the heir to the king… Eric… Save me, and I’ll give you…”

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‘The heir to the king.’

The Holy Knight knelt before him with a solemn face. “I have seen the people you killed.”

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The Holy Knight whispered. Before he came here, he had gone to the castle first.

The rescue request had come from the castle. He had left the Vatican to help the citizens of the fallen kingdom escape.

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But the castle had already fallen, and there were no survivors. The Holy Knight had followed the traces left by the fleeing people and came here where then he heard the priest’s confession.

Among the dead from the castle, there were no knights or mages. They had escaped together to protect the king and his heir.

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And here, they all died.

If only they had stayed at the castle, things might have been a little different. If only the people in the castle had held out until the Holy Knight arrived, they might have survived.

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He felt anger and sorrow, and for a moment, he couldn’t hide it.

Prince Eric’s lips trembled. “Save… save me…”

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“People like you would be better off not being alive. Even the gods would likely wish for that.”

Tyrants, despots, the useless privileged class.

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People like that have no place in this world.

Keith’s thick hand covered Eric.

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The forest fell silent.

Keith thought to himself.

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‘Should I head to the cave?’

He had found traces leading that way. Those traces had been left by monsters.

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Probably, only a few people had fled there, and a few monsters must have acted alone to chase them.

Keith stared at dead Eric. The king and his heir all had died here. It was hard to imagine that there had been anyone with real power among those who fled. Most probably, they’re already dead.

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Keith had seen too many deaths. He no longer had the strength to bear the sorrow, so he decided to leave.

The quiet forest was now left with only the lifeless priest.

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The mentally unstable tyrant Ian was paying the price for his reckless actions.

“I-Lord Ian, would you consider returning to His Majesty? I’m sure His Majesty would be pleased to hear that we’ve successfully fought off the monsters.” Sema the mage spoke.

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People behind him nodded in agreement. They each held the tools they had used to dig, and their presence felt rather ominous. But Ian was curious about something else.

‘Why is this event showing up now?’

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He had done a superb job with the defense. Usually, when one performs at this level, loyalty increases enough that no one would suggest returning to the king. The situation felt off.

Ian quickly realized why things felt strange by looking at Peter’s status window.

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[Character]
Peter the Farmer (★★☆☆☆)

[Status]
Disbelief: 70%
Loyalty: 30%

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Loyalty at 30% is the bare minimum for listening to orders.

If it was only that low, fine. But the high disbelief was strange.The defense had just lowered a bit, hadn’t it?

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Disbelief: 70%
(Details)

Ian pressed the “Details” button.

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[Disbelief]: 70%
‘He’s mentally unstable. No wonder there were no good rumors inside the castle!’ (+NEW)
‘Genius strategist, long live Lord Ian!’
‘The king’s debauched illegitimate child. We’re all dead.’

“…”

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It seemed like he had earned the reputation of a madman by screaming and acting crazy. But how else could he not use hatred in such a situation? Ian was almost losing his mind.

He had never wanted events like this to happen while he was playing game. The kind of event he wanted was something like winning the lottery.

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‘They won’t even grant my wishes!’

He held back the urge to bang his head against the wall and replied to Sema.

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“Uh, sure. I think His Majesty would be really pleased.”

A bastard who was abandoned returning after achieving something? Of course, His Majesty would be thrilled.

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“Right? My mentor might even praise me.”

Sema’s cheek flushed slightly.

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“I hope so.” Your mentor abandoned you too. Ian smiled softly, hiding his true feelings, and the atmosphere lightened.

‘What a waste of time.’

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Ian thought, but he didn’t want to dampen the hopeful mood of those around him.

They’d find out the truth soon enough anyway. If he could join the king’s party, would this route be called Ian’s route? No, it would have been the king’s route.

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They quickly left the cave and returned to the path where the king’s party had fled. It wasn’t hard to find the way, as the ground was dug up. Ian was seeing things that others hadn’t noticed. Every so often, he saw shimmering scales stuck to blades of grass or branches.

‘The pursuers were here.’

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The king couldn’t shake off the pursuers. And the result was now in front of them.

“Ugh…”

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“Wretch…”

People gagged. Some even collapsed, clutching trees.

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“Mas… Master.”

Sema approached a body wrapped in robes. When he pulled back the robe, the old face was revealed. The eyes were unfocused, staring into the air.

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“No!”

Crying, despair-filled groans echoed. Ian barely managed to suppress his own gagging. A headache followed, and he rubbed his forehead.

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The smell of blood was raw. This wasn’t a dream. Such vivid sensations couldn’t belong to a dream.

This was reality.

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Perhaps because of the earlier despair, he didn’t want to sit down and cry.

‘This is driving me insane.’

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That was the only thought running through his head.

Instead of pounding the wall or yelling, he gathered the people together.

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“Find the survivors. Collect the bodies.”

“W-Would that be alright? What if the monsters come back…?”

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Sema, who had been crying, asked. Then he startled himself by realizing his own question.

As a disciple, it wasn’t right to leave his master’s body behind. Could he really collect his master’s body? Even if monsters were frightening, wasn’t that a sacrilegious thing to say?

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But it wasn’t like they were alone, and collecting the bodies might put others in danger.

Sema hesitated, but Ian assured him.

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“They won’t come back for a while.”

“Eh? How do you know…?”

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“Look around.”

The people, who had been filled with despair, slowly looked up and surveyed their surroundings.

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“There are more monster bodies than human ones. The monsters that attacked here are all dead.”

“Ah.”

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“It’s safe for now.”

Ian knew why the monsters were all dead, but he didn’t say it out loud.

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For now, this explanation was enough.

The people, who had been lost in despair, stood up as they saw Ian—who wasn’t shaken—leading them.

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Their new master was a tyrant and mentally unstable, but at least he was a genius strategist.

A debauched, extravagant bastard who had a weakness for beauties, but still.

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He must have some plan.

‘…Right?’

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What would they do if he didn’t have one? If they did nothing, they’d probably end up getting hit with an arrow.

Though they were curious if their new master’s arrows could hit them. They’d heard he had excellent archery skills, despite being a bastard with a hunting hobby…

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Anyway, they soon found a priest sitting lifeless behind a large tree.

“We found him, Lord Ian! A survivor!”

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‘Ah. So there is one.’

Even if there was one, it wasn’t useful. The reason Ian didn’t want to come here was simple. Even if there were survivors, they were of no use.

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Ding!

[Character]
‘Priest’ Yurian (★★★☆☆)

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[Reputation]
Priest, Diligent

[Skills]
Healing: LV.3
Herbalism: LV.2
Cleaning: LV.5
⋮

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[Status Effect ‘Depression’ reduces stats by 70%.]
[Status Effect ‘Self-Blame’ reduces stats by 70%.]