Chapter 60: A Paladin Never Gives Up

The level 3 field, Silent City, was an unusual field in many ways.

It was one of the rare zones where the Imperial family, which typically encouraged exploration of Blackout, had officially restricted entry.

Without special authorization, ordinary mercenaries or adventurers couldn’t even set foot in the Silent City.

“Oh, I know the reason for that. It’s because of the ‘Dimension Reverse’, right?”

After one round of battle had ended.

Jun, Aiden, and Maya, who had set up camp in the center of the city, each took a moment to rest.

“That’s right. The Dimension Reverse. It’s also why the Imperial Family is so determined to conquer Blackout.”

The Dimension Reverse.

Simply put, it was a type of dimensional phenomenon where, under certain conditions, the field monsters of Blackout would appear on the surface.

And it was also the reason why the Empire had clung to Blackout for centuries.

“That’s the reason the trade city of Merdein was destroyed, isn’t it?”

About fifty years ago.

Due to a Dimension Reverse phenomenon that had occurred in the Silent City, an entire city in the surface had been destroyed in a single day.

A huge city with a staggering population of one hundred million had been wiped out.

The monster that appeared was Level 8.

A Level 8 monster at that time not only turned the hundred million residents into undead but also continued to expand its own territory.

The surrounding lords gathered their forces to exterminate it, but the result was total annihilation.

In the end, the Imperial Family had to intervene directly to resolve the crisis, but the land that was filled with undead was no longer a place for people to live.

Aiden asked,

“So what conditions are needed for a Dimension Reverse to occur in the Silent City?”

“There are five kinds of named creatures sealed within the field. When these creatures break out of their seals, they begin to devour each other.”

And once only one remains, the conditions for a Dimension Reverse are met.

“At that moment, it ascends to Level 8 and manifests on the surface.”

Fifty years ago, several groups had managed that process together.

But due to a series of incidents, they began to keep each other in check, and in the process, a disaster occurred.

“Since then, the Imperial Family declared this area a restricted zone and entrusted all related tasks to the Ariklotus Church.”

Under normal circumstances, neither Jun nor his comrades would be able to enter here, but thanks to Eleanor who was a high priestess of the Ariklotus Church, they were given access.

“The thing is, undead monsters are quite a nuisance.”

“Yes… they do seem incredibly troublesome.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

The two nodded their heads as if they were tired.

For them, it was more a physical aversion, but Jun’s reason was a bit different.

“Not only do they have no stamina limits, but some are even immune to physical damage, like ghosts.”

And above all, the rewards for defeating them were shockingly meager.

The only notable thing to collect was magic stones, but those could easily be found elsewhere.

“Still, the reason I took on Eleanor’s request is because of merit points.”

As with most games, in <Blackout, the priest class was an essential support role within any party.

However, priests were an NPC-only class, and to recruit one, you needed to complete missions from the order and earn merit points.

Recruiting a priest dramatically increases the range of fields you can explore.

With expanded exploration options, there were more ways to secure hidden pieces, which meant more opportunities for him and his comrades to grow stronger.

But the church isn’t foolish enough to give missions to just anyone.

At a minimum, you had to be at Level 4 or 5, or at least lead a fairly large group.

So, in the game, you usually had to reach about the midpoint to start traveling with a priest.

I never expected this chance would come before even reaching a Level 3 field.

Jun hadn’t thought that the connection he’d formed with Eleanor during the Forest Guardian raid would pay off so soon.

Naturally, it was an offer Jun had no reason to turn down.

And the mission itself was very straightforward.

Escort a high priestess. In other words, protect Eleanor.

“By the way, this path is way too complicated.”

Jun frowned as he looked up at the gray sky that was characteristic of the Silent City.

Even with the map, the area was hard to navigate because so many buildings had collapsed.

“Oh, look senior, there’s the clock tower.”

“Oh.”

Using the clock tower as a landmark, he looked at the map again, and it seemed they were on the right path.

“If we go that way, we’ll have a clear view of the spot Eleanor mentioned.”

Their destination was the Ariklotus Churchr’s base camp on the outskirts of the city.

After a brief skirmish with the undead along the way, Aiden climbed up to the clock tower.

While waiting below, Maya muttered,

“I just really want to rest already.”

Jun was surprised by her reaction, since that wasn’t like her at all.

Not that he minded.

Because she was always expressionless, those rare glimpses of humanity felt almost refreshing.

“Are you really that scared of ghosts?”

“I’m not scared. It’s just… just… uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable, huh…”

Understanding what she meant, Jun nodded his head in agreement.

Maya’s people were a group that worshipped their ancestors. They regularly sought advice from the spirits of their ancestors in various ways.

That might be a blessing for the Ancestor-Worshipping Tribe.

But look a little closer, and it’s more of a curse.

The killing intent Maya usually exuded likely came from that very source.

Someday, they’d have to find a way to resolve that issue.

“In any case, I’m looking forward to getting back and resting, too.”

After all, this mission was Eleanor’s escort request, so that was their only focus.

There was no reason to leave the base camp, and in this job, he wouldn’t have to take charge as he usually did…

“Um, senior.”

“What?”

“It’s burning.”

“What is?”

“The base camp… where Priestess Eleanor is. It’s… burning.”

“What…?”

He already had a bad feeling.

***

The sun in the Silent City was always hidden behind dark clouds.

And in just a few days, it would be completely obscured by the red moon of the Silent City.

In a few days, there would be a total eclipse.

That would be the moment, the day the Named’s seal would be broken.

The Ariklotus Church had come here to prevent just that.

But their base camp was now engulfed in flames.

“Ahh―!”

Whoom!

Eleanor, who had been running, instinctively threw herself to the ground.

A sword strike grazed past the spot she’d been in just moments before.

As the sword aimed downward to strike the fallen Eleanor—

Crash, boom!

A huge battle hammer burst in from the side and knocked the sword aside.

“Eleanor!”

The wielder of the battle hammer shouted.

It was the middle-aged paladin she had been with when they had met Jun previously.

“Eleanor!”

He remained on guard and called her name again, but there was no response.

“Damn it!”

Without a chance to check on Eleanor’s condition, another newly emerged enemy swung a sword toward him.

He recognized the familiar insignia.

It was the symbol of the Ariklotus Church.

Just this morning, these very people had been allies. But now, they had turned and were wielding their swords against him.

Fortunately, these ones were not paladins like the previous attacker,

Five of them charged toward him.

Whoom—! Crash!

With a single swing, the middle-aged paladin repelled the crusaders and looked back.

He clicked his tongue at the sight of Eleanor lying motionless on the ground.

She seemed to be breathing, thankfully, but it appeared the aftereffects of the failed sealing ritual had hit her all at once.

“No choice, then…”

With one hand gripping the battle hammer, he lifted Eleanor onto his shoulder with the other.

“Somehow…”

He had to get Eleanor to a safe place.

She was the only one who could carry this news to the outside.

“Urgh…”

His head throbbed painfully. He too was shouldering the aftereffects of the failed sealing ritual.

In fact, he was in worse shape than Eleanor.

“A paladin never gives up…!”

Even though he felt like he might collapse at any moment, he forced his body to move through sheer willpower and pulled himself away from the scene.

***

It was hard to ignore that ominous sense of unease.

Kraack, krrraaa!

Aaaaaagh!!

Jun felt a sharp pain in his head as he stared at the enemies that appeared before them.

He recognized their identity at a glance.

“Crusaders?”

But their appearance was deeply disturbing.

Their eyes were darkened with a dark purple color, and there was no sign of life in them.

Drool dribbled from their mouths, as if their minds were being controlled.

“Hup!”

Clang!

“Why are they so damn good in a fight?”

Aiden blocked one of their attacks with his sword and staggered back.

It wasn’t that he was overpowered; he was simply startled.

They didn’t seem undead, yet they acted like undead. And undead wielding swords in battle? That was unheard of.

“What are they, death knights?”

Only those monstrous creatures at level 8 could handle weapons, and they were rare even among the undead.

So what could these things be?

After a moment of thought, Jun shook his head.

There are a few things that come to mind.

But did that incident happen during this period of time?

He couldn’t quite remember.

Even with his [Excellent Memory], his actual memory wasn’t perfect.

If it was a story Jun had skipped without fully reading, that was entirely possible.

“Aiden, Maya. Just stall them for a bit. Knocking them out won’t work on these guys.”

Since their bodies were overtaken by that dark purple energy, he would have to overpower it with another force.

Three crusaders charged toward them.

Aiden and Maya moved carefully and drew the attention of the crusaders as they moved around. Less than five seconds passed before Jun’s spell began to activate.

[Sleep]

The spell met immediate resistance.

The crusaders’ death energy pushed back against Jun’s magical power. Ignoring the backlash, Jun summoned his magical power again.

[Sleep]

Once wasn’t enough, so he cast it a second time, then a third.

As he repeated the spell, their eyes gradually began to close.

“What are these guys?”

Looking at the fallen figures on the cold ground, Jun shook his head with a troubled expression.

It seemed like something serious had happened at the base camp of the church.

When he approached to investigate, these kinds of crusaders attacked him.

If we go further in, will paladins start coming out too?

Things were getting complicated.

Since they’d accepted the Church’s request, they first needed to find Eleanor, their client. But one wrong move here and they could end up fighting the paladins.

That’ll be tough with our strength.

Subduing them without killing them was several times more difficult.

If they were paladins, they would also have much higher resistance to magic like [Sleep].

“This is going to be a nightmare.”

Just as he sighed, he heard someone call out.

“Leader.”

“Hmm?”

“There’s, uh, a trail over there.”

Jun looked in the direction Maya pointed. Judging by the long, dragging marks, it seemed something had been pulled along.

“A person? Maybe the undead were hunting something? But, there aren’t any bloodstains.”

The trail continued all the way to an abandoned building that must have been a house.

“Well, let’s check it out. But… these guys here…”

He couldn’t just leave them as they were, so Jun summoned the golem to drag the fallen crusaders into a corner of a nearby building.

Anyway, even if they woke up, they’d still be dizzy and wouldn’t be attacking again right away.