Ed and Arin left the village and returned to the group. Everyone heard Diego’s story, who shared his senses with Jerry. The group flocked to ask questions when the two returned on horseback.
“Where did all the villagers go?”
Following Thane’s question.
“Who did it?”
Following Dex’s question.
“Is everyone okay?”
Brant was worried,
“Wipe yourselves with this.”
Even Emma brought a wet towel.
Diego was asleep leaning on the carriage because he was tired but was woken up after hearing a commotion. Ed got off his horse and took Emma’s wet towel to Arin.
“All the villagers were sacrificed by a crossel. It was a corpse controller that created a ragged Golem, and it was tricky.”
Ed answered two people’s questions, and Arin replied with a smile to Emma, wiping the blood on her body.
“Thank you.”
Thane looked at Arin wiping the blood and gave Ed a look.
“A crossel? Since Dread killed the great demon Neviroz, his subordinates and followers, the crossels, would have been extinct.”
“We don’t know if it’s a real crossel.”
“Hmm. A crossel…”
Thane said as he swept down his beard.
“Even if there were remnants left, why did it suddenly appear?”
As Ed tried to change the subject, Arin opened her mouth first.
“I have something to tell you.”
Ed looked back at Arin. For her, the crossel is such a painful memory that became a trauma. Ed thought she was brave to speak about it.
But was that necessary?
Arin smiled at Ed’s gaze and looked back at the group. And she calmly brought up the story.
“The entire village where my brother and I once lived was sacrificed in the crossel’s hands. I forgot about this until now, but when I met the crossel, my memory came back. At that time, Druid Dread saved my brother and I.”
Everyone held their breath when they heard that all the villagers died and were sacrificed. Emma approached carefully and held Arin’s hand.
Arin smiled at Emma and continued.
“They said that my brother and I were talented and wanted us to be their leaders. Perhaps I forgot about his because of the guilt that the villagers and my parents died due to me and my brother.”
Arin looked back at the group while holding Emma’s hand and said.
“Completing the prophecy is the most important thing as a holy knight, but I won’t avoid even if a crossel comes after me. This is not for the completion of the prophecy, but for my personal revenge.”
Everyone waited breathlessly at Arin’s words. Arin made eye contact with each of them and said.
“It’s okay to say I’m being selfish. But please help me.”
Thane replied first with a smile on his face.
“Wow. This group was the best thing that happened to me! Two great demons, Akalan, and even the crossels now? I’m so blessed.”
Dex also whistled.
“I just want to beat them up as much as I can.”
Brant approached and said, putting his hand on Emma’s head.
“I hope I can help you. I think that’s how I can pay my debt.”
Diego patted his chest with his fist. Arin smiled at them.
“Thank you, everyone.”
When Ed saw Arin smiling brightly when she heard everyone’s answers, he was relieved. He intended to accept Arin’s choice, but he didn’t know that everyone in the group would agree to help.
Then Thane opened his mouth.
“If the crossel moved, your brother could be in danger. Did you contact him?”
“No. I think we should go to the next village first.”
“If that’s the case, I need to contact the Astron Church.”
Come to think of it, Thane’s information power was extraordinary. Perhaps he had some means they didn’t know about yet.
“Did you find anything from the crossel?”
Ed took a hand mirror out of his arms.
“This was all it had.”
Thane received the hand mirror, turned it upside down, and nodded.
“It was one of the ten fingers of the crossels.”
“Ten fingers”?”
“The crossels have six apostles and ten fingers. It is known that all of the things underneath are small brimmers and that they are the only ones who have quite excellent abilities. I thought the 5 apostles and 7 fingers were torn apart by Dread. Did they return?
“It wouldn’t have been difficult to return if they are following the Great demon. A lot of time has passed since Dread killed them.”
“That’s highly likely.”
Thane nodded and said.
“Let’s gather information about the crossels first. Everyone worked hard, so go ahead and rest. Dex and Brant can take charge of the night watch.”
“Sounds good.”
Ed honestly wasn’t that tired. It was Arin who fought.
Dex approached and said with his arm around Ed’s shoulder.
“Give us a chance to play with the beasts too.”
Ed smiled bitterly as Brant nodded.
“Okay. Then please take over my shift tonight.”
Doug handed Ed and Arin the heated stew and bread. Arin dipped the bread in the stew with a light expression. Ed looked at the group members while dipping his bread.
Until now, Ed thought that if he was not confident, this group would not return, but even if he was not confident, they were moving on their own. He didn’t have to worry about night attacks because Dex and Brant were strong enough to deal with them.
“Don’t they know scary crossels actually are?”
As Arin said as if she was worried, Ed gave her a look. She was traumatized as a child.
The crossel’s notoriety was terrible, and their movements were secretive and could not be easily punished. If Druid Dread hadn’t stepped up and faced them, the world wouldn’t have been able to root out the crossels.
“Our group wants to find the great demon. So they’re not afraid of the crossel.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Arin.”
Arin looked back and said Ed with a smile.
“Arin, you don’t have to be afraid either. You have me.”
Arin is strong. However, her trauma as a child made the crossel feel scarier to her.
While Arin was dealing with one of the crossel’s ten fingers, it must have been a backlash from her fear and fought like a warrior, not a voice knight.
However, if you look at it coldly, Arin can deal with it by herself. She became very strong.
So Ed had to let her overcome her fear.
Arin smiled at Ed’s words.
“Okay. I won’t be afraid.”
Ed doesn’t know what will happen if they meet the crossel again, but Ed was satisfied when Arin smiled even after hearing the crossel’s name.
Alice, who was praying together next to Aron at the church in Hampton City, stopped praying and stood up when she saw someone entering.
Someone was approaching with a squeaky sound. It was Astron’s holy knight.
The tall and sullen-looking holy knight approached Aron and asked.
“May Astron’s glory be with you. Are you Aron?”
“May Astron’s glory be with you. I’m Aron, but why have you come all the way here?”
Aron was honestly trying to hide his surprise because holy knight never came all the way to this wallpaper like this.
The holy knight handed over a sealed letter. When Aron accepted it, the holy knight explained.
“I’m John, a holy knight. And this is an order to return to the headquarters.”
Aron opened the seal and read the contents inside. It was a return order stamped with the Pope’s seal.
“Can you tell me why?”
“I’m sorry. I was only ordered escort.”
Aron stood still and looked at the knight in front of him. The number of holy knights in the Astron Church is small compared to the number of people in the church. That meant that John was one of the best.
I couldn’t believe that such a precious voice knight was only used for his return escort.
“Okay. Do I have time to get ready?”
“We can’t stay for too long.”
“It’ll only take a moment.”
Aron looked back at Alice when he saw the holy knight nodding and going out of the church. After being saved by Ed, Alice’s sincerity was stronger.
Whether it was because she wanted Ed to be safe or because her faith in Astron grew, she visited the church every day.
Aron wanted to say goodbye to her first. This is because he had a hunch that it would probably be a long time before they meet again.
“Sister Alice. A new priest will come soon. Please maintain your faith at that time.”
“Priest Aron. If you go back, are you going to become a high priest?”
“I don’t know, but if you ever have a chance to pass by the headquarters, come and visit me. For you, I’ll make time somehow.”
“Don’t forget that promise.”
Aron left a prayer for Alice.
“May Astron’s glory always be with you.”
“May Astron’s glory be with you.”
When Aron, who greeted Alice, came out, a carriage was prepared. In addition, there were four knights escorting the carriage.
John, the holy knight, approached and said.
“Let’s get on the carriage.”
When Aron got into the carriage, John followed him into the carriage. Then, the carriage began to move.
Aron looked at John and asked.
“Don’t you know why I’m being called in?”
John looked at Aron for a while and decided to answer only as much as he knew.
“Do you know about the Crossels?”
Aron became contemplated by the name. Since Arin forgot about them, he pretended to forget about them too.
“Druid Dread wiped them all out, didn’t he?”
“There have been reports of the remains appearing. And they’ve especially asked for the protection of you, priest Aron.”
“Who asked for my personal protection?”
“Holy knight Arin requested it.”
Aron asked with a slight frown.
“Does holy knight Arin get protection too?”
“She’s a holy knight. She can protect herself.”
Aron was well aware of the pride of a holy knight, but the crossels, Aron remembers, was fear itself. Those were horrible things.
They wore human masks, but they were not human.
Perhaps that’s why fear began to rise deep in his heart. And the fear reached its peak while the carriage left Hampton City and was running down the boulevard.
John, who held Aron’s body upright, opened his mouth as the carriage suddenly stopped.
“What’s going on?”
“The road is blocked.”
When John came out, a tree collapsed on their way and was blocked. John, who recognized that someone intentionally knocked down a tree, said, pulling out a weapon.
“It’s an enemy.”
At John’s words, when knights pulled out swords and were wary of everything, those wearing lobes appeared behind the boulevard. There were ten of them.
John smiled. John, the holy knight looked confident in capturing all the people.
“Are you blocking an Astron’s holy knight with just ten people?”
John’s question was answered by the woman who appeared on the tree that blocked the boulevard. The woman with the crossel pattern engraved on her forehead said, turning her eyes red and licking her lips.
“What are you talking about? Do you think I’ll let you win so easily?”
John’s expression, who turned his eyes to the woman’s appearance, hardened. The energy emitted from the red-eyed woman was unusual.
Aron knew that those who appeared were enemies. He wondered if the fight would begin soon, but the fuss soon calmed down.
Aron looked at the door of the carriage with nervousness. He desperately hoped that the door of the carriage would open and the person entering would be John, but Aron could not hide his misery as soon as he saw the crossel’s pattern on the forehead of the woman.
The woman sat opposite Aron and winked at him. Then, she sewed the cut on her right hand with a bloody thread.
“The holy knight was quite good earlier. I don’t know how long it’s been since I got hurt like this.”
The woman moved her right hand and smiled.
“I’m here to take you. But you know what? You’re totally my ideal type. Nice to meet you. I’m the sixth finger, Maya.”