Chapter 19
The wall slid open, revealing a passageway to another chamber. With his right hand resting on his sword, Karl cautiously stepped into the deeper part of the cave, wary of mechanisms or traps. Eventually, he reached a new area.
Thump, roll…
As Karl opened the door to the space ahead, what greeted him was a chamber filled with tiny skulls.
“…What the…”
The wide room was overflowing with what appeared to be the remains of the kidnapped children.
Even at a glance, there were hundreds—small skeletons that had never had the chance to grow. The sight shocked even Karl, who had weathered countless battlefields.
He stepped into the ossuary and began inspecting the remains.
“Ah…! Essus above!” “This is…!” “…!”
The rest of the group, who had come looking for Karl after waiting in vain, froze at the gruesome sight laid out before them.
“What on earth were they doing here?”
As Wooster’s voice trembled, the rest, like Karl, began combing the area.
“Over here!”
Wooster’s shout drew everyone’s attention. He pointed to the very bottom of the ossuary floor, where strange symbols were etched into the cave ground.
“This is…!”
Isabel, who had served long as an Inquisitor, recognized one of the symbols more clearly than anyone.
“Gullveig.”
The name rang through the cave with a chilling weight. Isabel's head whipped around to Karl.
“How do you know that name, Sir Karl?” “Ancient knowledge doesn’t reside only with the Order.”
Karl was quite familiar with what the symbol represented. Since first arriving in this world, he had devoured every book he could get his hands on.
And besides—
[You have discovered the Mark of Gullveig. Forced Linked Quest completed.]
—it had kindly popped up in the system window, so how could he not know?
“Gullveig is known as the witch of gold, desire, and wishes—an evil god. They were probably offering sacrifices to her in desperate prayer for something.”
“That’s strange. Isn’t Gullveig supposed to be a god? Why would they offer living humans as sacrifices to a god?”
Karl’s comment made Isabel's expression shift.
“Sir Karl… you’re mistaken. It’s a long story.”
She began her explanation slowly.
“The West Continent has long been home to many evil gods. Of course, most people follow Essus. The first Emperor, upon unifying the continent, sought religious unity as well. He didn’t want his subjects divided by different faiths. So, he began to consolidate the many religions across the land.”
Karl, well-read in history, understood her explanation immediately.
“As time passed, the Emperor unified the West Continent under one empire, and religion too came under the teachings of Essus. At least, on the surface.” “Even if political unification was achieved by force, it doesn’t mean everyone converted.” “Exactly. Essus became the official faith of the empire, and the other gods… were branded witches and demons.” “I read that Gullveig was once an ancient god. But a god doesn’t just turn into a witch because the Order says so.” “She did become a witch.”
What Isabel said next was shocking.
“They weren’t witches at the start. They were simply gods, forgotten in the flow of human history—dormant. Then one day, an entire city was annihilated.”
Her tone turned grim.
“Those who had rejected Essus lost their lands, their wealth, and their families. With nothing left to lose, they welcomed demons into their bodies.”
Her words chilled the spine. Even Godfrey and Wooster swallowed hard as they listened.
“No one ever saw an incarnation of Essus with their own eyes. But just as His divine power resides among us, they too offered themselves as sacrifices and gained power. But that power… it was never benevolent. Corpses walked, living flesh rotted, the dead rose again, and sane people turned into madmen—horrors began erupting everywhere.”
“So the city was wiped out like that.” “Yes. Strangely, they disappeared without a trace after that. But for reasons unknown, around a year ago, their signs started reappearing on this land.”
When Isabel’s story ended, a theory flitted through Karl’s mind—then vanished.
“…No way…”
A mission that had sat still for seven years. The system has been restarting ever since he returned to the West Continent. It all swirled in his thoughts.
Karl shook his head, staring at the children’s ossuary. If he hadn’t come back, how many more would have died here?
Caught in a tide of thoughts, Karl quietly closed his eyes.
“…Who are you, really, Sir Karl?”
Isabel’s cold, detached eyes locked onto Karl’s—eyes much like her own.
“Karl. A Free Knight.”
With the same introduction he had repeated countless times like a machine, Karl turned and exited the cave.
As he did, a new system window appeared.
[Progress: 1%]
Well, maybe when all this ended, then he’d know. Who he really was.
***
“Just who is Sir Karl?” “One thing’s for sure—he’s no heretic or apostate.” “What makes you so certain?” “No one like that would’ve fought in the holy war on the East Continent for seven years.”
At Godfrey’s words, Isabel also nodded.
“The Order told us to ‘observe’ Sir Karl, not to ‘watch’ him. Those are two very different things.” “Just looking at him, he clearly doesn’t fit the mold of an apostate.”
The three exchanged glances and nodded again.
“Anyway, shouldn’t we head out quickly?” “Why?” “That idiot Kelvin might do something stupid again.” “He wouldn’t…” “…Sir Kelvin may lack discretion, but he is still a Holy Knight… Tch. We should hurry.”
Isabel gave up halfway through defending Kelvin, sighed, and quickened her pace out of the cave. Godfrey and Wooster hurried to follow.
***
“You wretch! You just stood there with your arms folded while everyone else fought, and now—how dare you!”
“He saved us all—Sir, please—urk!”
Having just regained consciousness, Kelvin was now screaming at Karl. The other Holy Knights, who had seen Karl’s divine strength, tried desperately to stop him, but Kelvin was too far gone. Eventually, they gave up and stepped back.
“You could’ve saved me! If you’d just helped, I wouldn’t be like this!”
“Pathetic.”
A short phrase. But so clean and direct that Kelvin froze on the spot.
“Did you just call me pathetic?” “You heard correctly.”
“You bastard! I won’t forgive this!”
Boiling over, Kelvin drew his sword and charged. Just as everyone braced for him to be humiliated—
SMACK!
A sharp crack rang out, and Kelvin’s head snapped to the side. Regaining his senses, he turned—and collapsed at the sight of the woman before him.
“Shame on you, Sir Kelvin. If not for Sir Karl, none of us would have made it out alive.”
Her voice was icy, and Kelvin lowered his head. His hands trembled, clearly still bitter, but after being slapped in front of everyone, he couldn’t respond.
In the silence, Karl spoke indifferently.
“I’ll be heading off. I’m sure the Order will settle the debt from this matter later.”
“Thank you.”
With a brief nod, Isabel bowed her head to Karl. Without looking back, he set off toward the Dinston Domain.
Returning to the castle, Karl made for the inn—but what greeted him was a sign he didn’t want to see.
[Closed. Reopening date TBD.]
So, she’s gone.
He remembered the royal necklace she’d worn. She was never planning to stay here long.
“Well… I’m sure we’ll meet again someday.”
Shaking off the regret, Karl turned away. It looked like it was time to raid Baron Nopak’s wine cellar.
***
“So you're telling me Dalton turned into a monster? An Inquisitor showed up? And then, conveniently, Godfrey from the Holy Knights just happened to arrive, too?”
“That’s right.”
“Baron, I know you've shown great sincerity to our order, but… you’re asking me to believe that?”
“If you don’t believe me, so be it. I’ve only told you the truth.”
Baron Nopak was speaking to a man in black armor—bearing the unmistakable crest of the Alcantara Knights, known across the continent.
“Of course, you are the rightful lord of Dinston… but we, too—”
The man, whose pupils were snake-like slits, spoke with courtesy, yet his presence was pressing hard on the aging Nopak. Sweat trickled down the baron’s spine.
Especially since there were no proper knights at the estate right now.
“I have… never spoken falsely.” “Godfrey holds weight within the Holy Knights. Are you really saying his presence here is mere coincidence?”
“…I am.”
Nopak was telling the truth as he knew it, but the other man clearly didn’t believe him. The one-sided interrogation continued until the office door suddenly creaked open.
“…?”
Who could enter the baron’s office without knocking?
A man dropped into the seat beside Nopak with a bottle in hand.
The squad leader of the Alcantara Knights, Hector, stared in disbelief at the man who had suddenly appeared and sat across from him.
“I just dropped by to share a drink with an old comrade. Seems like you’re an unwelcome guest, so how about clearing out?”
“You dare—!”
Hector began to draw his sword, but the moment his eyes met the other man’s, his body froze.
Why… can’t I move? Is this guy… leagues above me!?
Unbelievable—but undeniable. The man’s presence, as he leaned back and stared, completely dominated the room.
…There’s no mistake. He’s the Free Knight at the center of all this.
It was time to retreat. Hector knew well that a single man’s power didn’t outweigh an entire knight order. He’d repay this humiliation another time.
“Until next time, Baron Nopak. Sir Karl, I suspect we’ll meet again soon.”
He gave Nopak a parting glance, then turned to Karl.
“….”
Karl said nothing, but the silent dismissal was clear. Hector left the room, his eyes never leaving Karl.
“Are… you alright?” “Nothing to be worried about.”
Karl placed the bottle he’d taken from the baron’s wine cellar on the desk.
“…Do you even know how much that’s worth?” “I know the name. You had it on display like an art piece. I was too curious to resist.”
Without hesitation, Karl popped the cork.