Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 121
EP.121 Play Part 2
A face full of bewilderment was what Lea must have had. Jeong-hyeon spoke to Lea, whose pupils were trembling with anxiety, about what she needed to do.
"From now on, your job is to protect the powerless and good citizens from the cruel paladins."
Cruel paladins? Good citizens? While the former might be true, the latter was questionable since all those who appeared to be citizens had been 'massacred.'
Lea looked around, unable to grasp the situation. Watching her, Jeong-hyeon calmly used the Rhapsody of Light to resurrect the corpses killed by the paladins and continued speaking.
"If you're looking for citizens, they're right here."
As for the paladins, it was unlikely any had died nearby. It seemed better to bring out something similar to paladins. He retrieved the 'corpses of heroes' he had obtained from the Trial Chamber from his subspace pouch and spoke,
"The paladins are here."
The equipment was somewhat shabby, and there was the distinct chill of the dead, making it awkward to call them paladins outright.
'If I envelop them with immense divine power, they might resemble paladins somewhat.'
He just needed to lead the situation to resemble it.
After bestowing immense divine power upon the heroes he had brought out, making them shine brightly, he explained the detailed plan once more.
"Approach the paladins you see over there and shout like this: 'Please, don't harm the good citizens. This is not something the Church should do.'"
It was a clear suggestion to betray the Church, and Lea hesitated with a conflicted expression. Watching her, Jeong-hyeon whispered softly, "Didn't I tell you? Once this is over, I'll set you free."
At those words, she urgently grabbed his sleeve and shouted, "And you said you'd forgive me too."
‘Was she truly insane?’
He held back the curse that was about to escape and spoke.
"Yes. Let's see how you do."
"Y-Yes."
‘Did she believe this? Was she really that foolish?’
He had many things he wanted to say, but he bit his tongue and pushed her forward.
"Now go and give it your best performance. Pretending to be a victim is your specialty, isn't it?"
With those words, Lea nodded and stepped forward.
***
The new paladin, Tolver, hiccupped repeatedly as he looked at the dark red blood on his white sword. According to the Knight Commander, those he had killed were heretics who had committed evil deeds by colluding with demons. However, no matter how he thought about it, they seemed more like ordinary citizens than heretics.
'To call them heretics... weren't they just like ordinary people?'
There was the farmer who had stood against them with a meager farming tool to protect his family. The woman who had begged for her child's life until the end. Even the children who cried because their mother was crying, not knowing anything.
Witnessing all this, he couldn't help but doubt whether they were truly heretics. He wanted to ask the Knight Commander about it, but his only peer, Firenz, forcibly pulled him back and whispered, "Just shut up and stay still..."
"Please, stop being so clueless. You idiot."
"What? Idiot?"
"Yes, idiot. Why? Want me to curse you even more?"
He felt a surge of anger and tried to push Firenz away, but a voice stopped him.
"Anyway, everything you're thinking is right, so just stay still."
"...What?"
"Everything you're thinking is right."
The feeling of being at a loss for words must have felt like this. As he was bewildered by the sudden rush of emotions, Firenz spoke to him.
"So, please, just stay still. Do you think you're something special? You lowly bastard?"
"......"
Normally, hearing such insults would have made him angry, but seeing Firenz trembling all over, he felt more nervous than angry. As he watched Firenz, he nodded and was about to return to his place when the Knight Commander approached him and asked, "Do you have something to say?"
"N-No, nothing."
"Really? You look quite dissatisfied."
"......"
A mix of slight curiosity and a trivial sense of justice stirred his lips, but he soon closed them tightly and shook his head.
"No, sir!"
"Wise choice."
The word 'wise' made his whole body tremble again. If he had said what he wanted or expressed dissatisfaction, it would have led to an unwise outcome.
“Tolver, I have high expectations for you, so don't disappoint me. Understood?"
"Y-Yes!"
"Then patrol elsewhere with Firenz."
"Understood!"
He could foresee that causing any more trouble would lead to issues for any reason. He was about to follow the Knight Commander's orders and take Firenz to another house when he saw a group of demons approaching from afar.
'Demons...?'
Were those he had seen earlier really heretics? He was pondering this when he noticed a woman walking out from the group of demons.
'...A high-ranking cleric?'
Although she didn't have a rosary or other sacred items, indicating her exact rank, the golden line on her nun's habit suggested she was indeed a high-ranking cleric. He was making a bewildered expression, surprised to see a high-ranking cleric suddenly emerge from a group of demons when Firenz, standing next to him, tapped his armor and said, "Let's go... quickly, without drawing attention."
He nodded at Firenz’s words and was about to move in the opposite direction when a loud voice echoed.
"Please stop oppressing the good people! Is this truly what the Church should do?"
The sorrowful cry froze all the paladins around him, including himself. They had heard something they shouldn't have. As he was about to turn his head in a daze, Firenz tugged strongly at his armor and said, "Ignore it."
"What?"
"Ignore it, you idiot."
But how could he ignore it after hearing such words? Despite Firenz’s warning, he turned around as if entranced, and Firenz muttered in frustration, "Fine, do whatever you want."
"Oh, Goddess, how sorrowful you must be to see this situation. Not only have they mercilessly slaughtered the innocent, but they also frame them as sinners... Aren't you ashamed, Knight Commander?"
Her voice echoed again. Perhaps it was the blood-soaked nun's habit and her face full of wounds, but her words carried a strange persuasion.
Many paladins, including himself, flinched and looked at her as if entranced.
"If you have a mouth, speak!"
A single word urging a response. At that word, the mages behind her moved busily, repeatedly saying, "Turn it off quickly!"
He didn't know exactly what they were doing, but sensing that something serious was happening, he was about to run away as Firenz had advised when a voice with a somewhat delinquent tone pressed down on them with laughter.
"Why are you in such a hurry to turn it off over a minor broadcast accident? Come on, the believers have a right to know, you know? Anyway, if you don't want to die, keep recording with the magic stone."
Feeling his body being pressed to the ground for the first time, he trembled, and one of the mages shouted, "We can't do that!" and tried to cast a spell.
He confirmed the enormous mana unique to royal mages gathering, but it vanished without a trace as if caught in a vortex, leaving him in shock.
'What is this? What's happening...?'
As he was feeling dazed by the incomprehensible situation, he heard the sound of a sharp metal slicing through soft flesh and a hollow laugh.
"I told you you'd die. Why don't these bastards listen when I speak... Anyway, this is your last chance. Keep filming."
At those words, the mages hesitated but soon resumed filming. With the pressure lifting, he felt his body lighten and was about to draw his sword to subdue what appeared to be the enemy when he saw something overwhelming.
'What is that...?'
What he saw was an overwhelming amount of divine power.
'Is that even possible?'
Seeing a divine power more immense than the Pope's left him speechless.
Jeong-hyeon, who had been wiping blood off his sword, noticed him and beckoned with his finger.
"Perfect timing. Hey, come here."
His casual tone didn't match the divine power he possessed. Feeling a sense of incongruity, he looked at the man, who smiled brightly and asked a question, "Do you know where your Pope is right now?"
The Pope's location? As a mere low-ranking paladin, he had no way of knowing such information, so he shook his head.
The man sighed deeply, crossed his arms, and said, "I see. So that's how it is."
With that, the man nodded as if he had realized something, smiled broadly, and then waved his hand as if telling him to leave. Torn between performing his duty as a paladin and fleeing to preserve his life, he hesitated.
Pook! Pook!
From afar, he heard the repeated sound of a sword slicing through flesh. The brutal sound made him reflexively turn his gaze, and he saw figures enveloped in divine power approaching blood-soaked citizens and stabbing them with swords.
'......'
The shocking sight left him speechless, and the high-ranking cleric who had stepped forward earlier cried out.
"You wretches worse than demons...! To murder the innocent so mercilessly! The Goddess will never forgive you!"
Those words stirred a sense of injustice within him. While he had indeed committed similar acts, those wielding swords now were not paladins, and those they had killed were not innocent, ordinary people but heretics...
'Wait, were they really heretics?'
His mind became muddled with this realization. Thinking back, there had been only one demon corpse at the village entrance, and there was nothing else related to demons in the area.
'Moreover, wasn't this the place where Paladin's family lived...?'
How could a place like this be filled with heretics? As he pondered the contradictions in the story, the Knight Commander, unable to tolerate the woman's presence any longer, drew his sword and shouted.
"What nonsense...! So you are a heretic too! I will cut off your head and silence that mouth!"
Just as he was about to charge, a calm voice came from behind, accompanied by laughter.
"Hold on, Knight Commander, I have something to say."
At those words, the Knight Commander turned around, froze, and then responded in the most humble manner possible.
"As you command."
The woman, who had been laughing slyly, passed by the overly polite Knight Commander and approached the cleric, speaking with amusement.
"I heard rumors you were missing... I didn't expect to meet you here, Bishop Lea."
The word 'Bishop' in her title caused everyone to freeze in shock.
***
Observing the entire situation, Jeong-hyeon sat atop a mage, wearing an expression of interest. To be honest, he didn't really care which side ended up screwed.
'Wow, this is so entertaining.'
From the current perspective, it was merely a fight between the Pope and a bishop. But if you dug deeper, it was a battle between the saintess of the previous generation and the fake saintess of this generation.
'Is it correct to call her a fake saintess?'
Perhaps it was more accurate to call her a fake companion of the hero's party.
In any case, the two had originally stood on the same side but were now fighting each other, which was bound to be quite bewildering. He thought it would be interesting to see how the two would clash and fight, and he smiled broadly in anticipation.