Chapter 6: Encounter With the Witch Part 1

Released:

Since the borders of the Holy Kingdom were freely open to pilgrims, no special qualifications were required to enter the capital city of Temlis. The procedure was as simple as passing through the Holy Gate.

The simplicity of the process stemmed from two reasons.

Practically speaking, it was impossible to scrutinize every pilgrim arriving from all corners of the world, as the clergy always needed to devote their efforts to opposing the Abyss.

Doctrinally speaking, the gods looked upon even the lowest with care and did not favor the mighty more, so how could they justify discriminating against visitors?

The only reason the holy city would block a visitor was if they belonged to the forces of the Abyss.

Almost every day, the public perception of Kriel’s class as a dark knight declined, but today the drop was particularly steep.

To think I’d be stopped at the main gate.

The moment Kriel attempted to step beyond the gate, the golden radiance gently enveloping the Holy Gate flickered and faded away.

When the glow of the gate faded, the soldiers turned their spears on Kriel. Even showing the Western Army’s orders proved futile, much to his frustration.

[Uh… is this my fault?]

Orishin whispered while floating nearby. The idea of blaming it all on that wretched ghost did cross Kriel’s mind, but it wouldn’t have made any difference.

If he said, “It’s because of this cursed horse head!” the response would likely be, “Then leave it behind and try again.” As long as Kriel’s class remained that of a dark knight, the radiance of the Holy Gate would never shine for him.

The devotion of the priests of the Holy Kingdom was well known, but whether their mercy and compassion extended to those tainted by the Abyss was another question entirely.

“Stop.”

In a situation where he could neither do this nor that, a familiar but unpleasant voice was heard.

Kriel turned to look behind him. The figure wore an outfit entirely black, from the clothing to the deeply pulled-down hat. She evoked the image of a witch.

Beneath the hat, long dark hair cascaded down. The hair was dyed as black as shadows, with a glimmer of red at the tips, like drops of blood clinging to the edge of a blade.

“Morgina…”

Kriel muttered the name of the “witch”. She was someone he had hoped never to see again.

[What’s this? You two know each other?]

“She’s the Saintess of the Church of Eve Kaha.”

[Huh? That goddess of corpses and death?]

Morgina’s sharp gaze shifted toward Orishin. The intensity of her glare made Orishin squeal involuntarily and retreat behind Kriel to hide his ghost head.

As Orishin trembled behind him, Morgina stepped forward with firm strides. On one hand, she held a pendant shaped like a raven, the emblem of the Church of Eve Kaha, while on her other hand, she created a raven that resembled the pendant with her divine power.

“I will vouch for this man’s identity. He is a humble believer seeking to cleanse his curse through work for our church.”

“A curse… you say?”

Those who were called saints or saintesses were unique figures who existed outside the usual hierarchy of the clergy. But being outside the system did not mean they lacked authority. They were revered for their devotion from the lowest ranks to the highest and commanded respect from everyone.

The Gatekeepers, who were among the most honorable knights in the Holy Kingdom, were no exception. As the words of the saint reached their ears, they gradually lowered their spears; they trusted her guarantee.

“Go on in. Stay close to the Saintess at all times.”

Before Kriel could say a word, Morgina looped her arm through his.

“Come on, let’s go, Sir Knight!”

Her cheerful exclamation rang out. But the moment they stepped beyond the holy gates, her demeanor shifted dramatically. With her expression now hardened, Morgina whispered to Kriel.

“Hey, what did you kill this time to have such a stray spirit clinging to you?”

[A stray spirit?]

Orishin, who had been hiding moments earlier to avoid Morgina’s gaze, now flew around her in protest.

Or rather, he tried to protest.

The raven Morgina had conjured with divine power suddenly multiplied into a dozen more and swarmed Orishin, pecking at him mercilessly. Though Orishin resisted by swinging his horns, he was no match for the sheer numbers.

“Kieeek!” Orishin let out an undignified cry, unworthy of a ghost, and hurried back to the safety of his horn.

“This rascal….”

“Shut it. Do you know how inefficient it is to deal with every single stray spirit?”

Kriel felt like sighing. There wasn’t a single moment of peace when dealing with her. He had come to the Holy Kingdom specifically to avoid giving her any reason to cross paths again. So why on earth had she shown up here?

“By the way, I’m surprised. Did that old man really let you go?”

“Old man?”

The “old man” Morgina referred to was surely the commander of the Western Front. But Kriel wasn’t in Temlis on the commander’s orders; in fact, he had come here to avoid hearing them.

“……?”

Morgina tilted her head at his reaction.

“Didn’t you come because of the Church of Eve Kaha’s cooperation request?”

“I should be the one asking. Weren’t you wandering in search of traces of the Abyss after leaving the Western army? What brings you all the way to Temlis?”

Morgina grumbled quietly at Kriel’s cold reaction. He wasn’t paying enough attention to catch her exact words, but snippets like “narrow-minded man” and “stubborn mule” reached his ears, leading him to believe that her grumbling was not particularly meaningful.

“Haah…”

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Morgina grabbed Kriel’s hand and yanked him forward.

“Since you’re already here, it must be something related to the clergy, right? I can get you entry to the Grand Temple and even a private audience with the Saintess. So just come to our church first.”

“Does the Church of Eve Kaha even have another saintess besides you?”

“Nope.”

It was essentially an offer to meet with her personally. While Kriel trusted Morgina’s abilities, he had little faith in her personality, so the proposal was unappealing.

Sensing his hesitation, Morgina quickly added,

“Hey, you do realize it’s only because it’s me that you’re getting treated so warmly, right? You were about to get thrown out at the gate earlier.”

She wasn’t wrong. As a dark knight, Kriel had already faced rejection at the entrance. Visiting the Grand Temple without her support could easily end in outright refusal….or worse, a battle.

It was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

In the end, Kriel let Morgina lead him toward the Church of Eve Kaha’s temple.

[Aaaah, no, stop!]

The sound of a horse head spirit wailing echoed behind them, but unfortunately, there was no one around interested in listening to the laments of a suspicious ghost.

***

The Grand Temple of Eve Kaha was rather simple compared to other grand temples. The Church of Eve Kaha itself was relatively small in influence.

With Morgina leading the way, the priests didn’t try to stop Kriel. They simply bowed quietly in greeting whenever they crossed paths with her. Orishin who watched all of this grumbled.

[Wow. Is this violent thug really a saintess? The end of the world is near.]

This time, the voice came from within the horn. It was a telepathic wave directed solely at Kriel.

It can even send telepathy?

Kriel marveled at Orishin’s magical ability. Speaking directly into someone’s mind required an exceptionally advanced level of skill.

The fact that such precise magical control was being used for idle gossip was almost laughable. But just as Orishin was about to continue chattering, it was forced to shut up.

The moment the thought was completed, Morgina suddenly turned her head and stared sharply at Kriel, or more precisely, at the broken horn of the horn tucked inside his belongings.

[Eeeek!]

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It just… sounded like someone was talking about me.”

Morgina brushed it off, decided she must have misheard, and continued on her way. Watching her retreating figure, Kriel murmured softly.

“Her abilities are the real deal. Her knack for detecting etheric waves is the sharpest I’ve ever seen.”

[Eve Kaha always seems to pick saints with personalities just like hers…]

Morgina’s voice broke through as she called out loudly to Kriel.

“What are you standing around for? Come in!”

The saintess’s room was surprisingly simple. There wasn’t much in the way of luxury. The only items that seemed remotely expensive were the heavy curtains, designed for exceptional light-blocking, and the bed taking up one corner of the room.

What the room lacked in furniture, it made up for in weapons. A huge iron mace forged from a single piece without any seams leaned against one wall. A spiked shield rested nearby, along with a club carved from ash wood. Scattered throughout were various blades and blunt weapons of all shapes and sizes.

The room looked more like a weapon display than a bedroom.

With a creak, the door closed and Orishin slowly slithered out from the horn.

[Even if you told me this was Eve Kaha’s own sense of style, I’d believe it. But does a priestess of the goddess guiding fallen warriors really need to decorate her room like a battlefield?]

“Is this stray ghost talking back to me now?”

Orishin sulked and fell silent.

“So, Kriel, what brings you all the way here?”

“It’s because of that sulking spirit you keep calling a stray ghost. What about you?”

“For a spirit, it’s got far too much of the Abyss clinging to it.”

Morgina tilted her head as she scrutinized Orishin before turning her gaze back to Kriel.

“The Priest King issued a summons to all the saints of the Church.”

“For what reason?”

“They say a relic of the Abyss has been discovered.”

The Abyss was a dark knight’s area of expertise, and Kriel instinctively understood why Morgina had called the camp for his help.

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