Former General Is Undead Knight - Act 4-4 - Visiting the Holy City③

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He could finally see the cathedral when he arrived at the centre of the Holy City of Heinstia.

The image of an angel was carved on its wall, and the statue of a bird spreading its wings was carved on top of the pointed roof.

The ornate designs could only be described as the pinnacle of art.

「…What a splendid cathedral. That’s already a castle in itself.」

「I hear it does look like that. Too bad that I can’t see it with my own eyes. Thanks to its high walls, it’s hard to see inside unless you’re an authorized person of the church. But still, it doesn’t change the majestic appearance of its front gate.」

Alvana replied to Lambert’s remark.

Lambert, who couldn’t apply to go inside, decided to take a closer look at the cathedral.

「Swordsman-sama, you’re not thinking about breaking through from the front door, right? I mean, if you really do that, I’ll have no choice but to act as if I don’t know you and escape as far as possible.」

「…What are you talking about? I won’t do that. I just want to gather as much information as possible for the time being.」

「I-I see… Or should I say, thank God you’re far more level-headed than I thought. Sorry to say this, but I couldn’t help but think that you really were going to do that from your muttering.」

「I will only breakthrough from the front if there really is no other way around.」

「Ah… As expected, you’ll still do that if there really is no other way, eh.」

Alvana spoke with a cramped smile on her face.

「…Or rather, what are you planning by following me this far?」

「Well, I simply have nothing to do, so I chose to follow you. If I have to say it, staying by Swordsman-sama’s side is the best choice since my original goal was to gain inspiration. Normally, I’d move around while performing to gather travelling funds to gain more inspiration, but… This is the holy city, a wrong choice of song can literally send me straight to the gallows… I mean, not even I am brave enough to try to gain inspiration by being chased around by the inquisition squad.」

Alvana’s body twitched as she spoke.

The number of people around them increased as they got closer to the centre of the cathedral.

Lambert thought that there were so many people going in and out of the cathedral, but upon closer inspection, that didn’t seem to be the case.

He happened to overhear the conversation of three followers of Heins faith who were walking around him.

「Family aside, don’t you think that it’s a little bit too much to involve all of their relatives?」

「Why are they investigating so much?」

「Those guys have been led astray by the devil. They’re the devils that will bring this kingdom to ruin. The devil’s blood shall be exterminated.」

Hearing that, Lambert went forward immediately.

There was a large crowd forming right in front of the cathedral.

There was a huge stand surrounded by numerous sorcerers from the inquisition squad.

Standing on top of the stand was a man with a bizarre appearance.

The man was missing both of his arms and was covered in bandages from head to toe.

To describe his head, it was a ball without a nose, hair, or ears.

Surrounding him were puppet-like monsters with heads more akin to cavernous holes and wax-like wings protruding from their backs. They were spirits from the realm of light, and there were four of them.

Each spirit had a sword in its hand.

Lambert only needed a glance to understand what had happened.

After all, he had heard about the man during his preliminary investigation.

The name of the armless man was Matai.

He was one of the Four Great Sages who was supposed to protect the Holy City of Heinstia.

According to Lambert’s information, Matai could summon numerous spirits of light, and if he went all out, that number could cross one hundred.

He knew immediately what the man did.

Right beneath the stand was mangled corpses that had been chopped to bits by the spirits.

Mangled was perhaps an understatement. They were so finely chopped to the point they almost looked like mincemeat. It was impossible to tell which body part belonged to whom.

But there were at least dozens of people in there.

At the edge of the stand, a handcuffed woman whose head was covered in a hewn bag stood before the spirits.

The strangest thing about the current situation was the fact that no one raised an objection or averted their gaze upon seeing such a gruesome situation.

「What the…?」

Alvana, who followed Lambert from behind, had finally stopped right behind him, trying to adjust her ragged breath.

「…I heard the rumours. That should be Baron Diberto’s family. Some of the nobles have also voiced their criticism toward the actions of the inquisition squad. And the inquisition squad has long since viewed those guys as a problem… That’s why they crushed the barony since they are of low status and no one around was willing to protect them. It is also a threat from them directed to the nobles with higher status. 」

「They’re willing to go that far, eh…」

Lambert had also heard from the information broker that they went so far as to punish the nobles who criticized the church.

But he was still a bit sceptical about that information until he saw it with his own eyes and heard it from Alvana herself.

‘So convenient, executing the nobles who dare to criticize them will prevent more from doing the same…’

Lambert also asked various things before coming to this city, such as how feared were the inquisition squad.

He expected them to eliminate nobles who criticized them in secret, only to discover that they did it in broad daylight.

He smelled a conspiracy.

…Something like dragging the low-rank nobles to this city to be executed and spreading false rumours to keep the high-rank nobles in check.

It was as if they wanted to say that no one could stop them—not even the nobles.

「…Let’s go, Swordsman-sama. I hate the smell of blood. There’s nothing to gain here. Let’s continue our exploration tomorrow.」

「Now, it is time to execute the last devil! O, angels! Chop this sinner starting from the place away from the heart, be it the tip of her hands or feet! Let her know the ultimate pain in this world!」

Matai shouted.

The spirits from the realm of light then raised their swords.

「Thank you for sparing some of your time to guide me here, Alvana.」

Lambert ran forward after he said this.

「E—w-wait, Swordsman-sama! Stop!」

Lambert shook off Alvana’s hand that was trying to stop him, pushing his way through the crowd in the blink of an eye.

The inquisition squad members stationed around the platform tightened their formation the moment they saw Lambert approaching.

「O fire…」

「Too slow.」

The cooperation of the members of the inquisition squad was perfect, but it was far from enough to stop Lambert.

The inquisitors were thrown in the air even before they managed to finish their aria.

Just like that, Lambert jumped on the wooden platform and landed right next to the girl whose head was covered, standing between her and the spirits of light.

The wooden platform let out a loud creaking sound, perhaps because it was unable to bear the weight of Lambert’s armour.

「A new devil has appeared! O angel, make that devil suffer!」

The moment Matai ordered this, the spirits of light rushed toward Lambert while swinging their swords.

「Fool. The devil who dares to stand before me is the one who will die! Out of my way!」

The next moment, the four spirits were each sliced into three pieces, falling to the platform and turning into particles of light as their bodies vanished.

「Who… the hell are you…?」

Matai asked with a trembling voice.

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