"I don't know who cast the spell, but I have a vague idea of the structure. Please wait a moment."
She placed her hand on the jewel, as the woman once did. Unintelligible words continued.
I still didn't know what she was saying, but as she murmured, the wall became more and more flabby.
In other words, evidence that the structure had been understood.
I was really glad that these weren't empty words... but I had some doubts. Was it possible for a shaman to have some reach into the realm of magic?
'I don't think she's an ordinary shaman...'
Didn't they say she was very talented? I had no idea that the scope of her talent would exceed my expectations...
But whatever.
"You can go in now."
On the contrary, it was beneficial, so there was no problem. The shaman retreated and I stood in front of the wall.
...I felt really uncomfortable when I tried to go in. This wouldn't suddenly become hard or anything like that, right?
I slowly stretched out my hand. As soon as my fingertips touch it, the wall shook again.
'Ugh, I don't like the feel of it at all.'
Lien next to me said she would go in first, but if I backed out, my face will be lost. It's a face I might have to look at from now on, but I can't avoid her every time.
In the end, I closed my eyes tightly and pushed myself into the wall.
***
"Fire!!"
"Hiek! What kind of knights...!"
It was chaos.
The members in charge of causing trouble inside clenched their fists when they saw those coming out.
Children, the elderly, people who had lost a leg, people who were blind...
All of these people, even among the poor, had to live with an unavoidable penalty.
Only then did the members understand why the poor were fascinated by this pseudo-religion. No, it would be correct to say that they were bewitched. The poor were just uneducated and not stupid.
Cleter laughed helplessly.
'Telling us to make trouble...'
He knew it instinctively the moment he checked their faces.
They wouldn't go away easily.
If they were being reckless enough to kick them out, they should kill someone as an example. At least the arms and legs should be cut off.
The guards they killed upon entering were not enough. They must touch one of the poor.
'But who?'
A child? An elderly? A person without a leg? Blind people?
"Turn off the lights!"
"Stop the knights too! We must protect this place!"
A desperate move. As someone who was also a poor person, he could understand why they did that.
Walking down a path where you are likely to die on was not because you are stupid.
It was the last hope. To the point where one thought it would be better to die if it ended.
To begin with, for the poor, life was no more than a stone rolling on the ground, so throwing one's life away was not that difficult.
If it's for their 'salvation'.
"Please get out of here, sir!"
"Oh please...!"
His jaw tightened.
The Murderous Knights are literally murderers. They killed countless people, including old people and children.
The enemy was naturally destroyed, no matter who it was, as long as the order was given.
'If I had been given an order to kill them all...'
He would have taken medicine and wiped them out right away. At least if they were enemies, there would have been no hesitation.
However, the order this time was not to kill them, but to cause trouble, and the people in front of them were not enemies.
That's why he couldn't help but be agitated.
The only time the Murderous Knights became murderous spirits was when they took medicine. Those who did not take medication were merely weak humans struggling with feelings of guilt.
That's why Cleter tried to show a more cheerful side, but...
"Get out!"
"...!"
"Sheia!"
...It was difficult to show cheerfulness even in a situation like this.
Cleter lowered his gaze blankly at the dull shock he felt on his waist.
A small girl was clinging and crying as if trying to stop him from walking.
"Please go out, please...!"
"Sheia! It's dangerous! Come here quickly!"
A boy called her from afar. Cleter suddenly came to his senses at the urgent cry.
The child could not be left alone as long as he was a knight performing his duties. The atmosphere depended on even these little things. So let's use this kid as an example...
"...Damn it."
He swore softly.
'Captain, I think you made the wrong decision this time.'
His judgment was wrong.
Rather than members from the slums, people other than them should have come here.
If they were people who did not understand the poor, they would feel guilty, but the depth of their guilt would be relatively shallow.
The culprit was different, but it was a painful moment for those who were in trouble.
***
Ah. Ah.
Sheia's hands were shaking.
There was smoke. Evidence that there was a fire. Even a group of knights came in, killed the guards, and threatened the poor to drive them out.
Sheia was one of the poor.
If they got kicked out like this, this place will be a mess. It's just a mess. It may never come back again.
"Sheia, let's run away for now. I think people who run away are just let go."
It seemed like Paul was saying something next to her, but she couldn't hear it.
For Sheia, this was a sacred place. A place like a dream world full of only good people with no malicious intent or bad people.
A place where malice cannot or would not invade.
That's why she was able to break down the strong boundaries and live comfortably here.
"Uh... why..."
But malice invaded. Bad people come and trample on sacred land. The building was filled with acrid smoke, and a glimpse of red flames shines through a window on one side of the building. The moment the poor people who noticed the situation blocked the knights' path and begged her, she ran forward without warning.
No separate goal was set. She just rushed at any of the 'bad people' she see in front of her.
'No no...!'
She had barely been living before, but now this place made her feel like she was really alive.
"Get out!!"
"Sheia!"
She was holding on to a man wearing a white knight's uniform.
"Please go out, please...!"
"Sheia! It's dangerous! Come here quickly!!"
Wrong. No matter how much he screamed, it cannot reach Sheia.
"That stupid kid...!"
Paul couldn't overcome his anxiety and bit his nails. Even in his hectic state, his mind was trying to figure out who the people in front of them were.
Knights in white uniforms.
Among the many knightly orders, as far as he knew, there was only one that used white as a knight's uniform.
The Murderous Knights. Then, the person who sent them here...
'The Vampire Count!'
Yes, Deon Hardt.
Far away, he ground his teeth. Why would a high-ranking person bother to pay attention to a place like this?
Because the Salvation Church was a cult?
He was not a fool and kew that Salvation Church was not as normal as he originally thought.
But what about it? The poor have to worry about what they will eat every day. For them, the Salvation Church that gives bread and water was really 'salvation' itself.
It could be an evil cult disguised as salvation. But it was okay to have a suspicious plan. Whatever it was, it would be less painful than starving to death.
So, if the Salvation Church fell, they will take revenge.
The opponent is of course–
'Deon Hardt is the Emperor's sword. Then, this current movement must also be an order from the Emperor.'
–The Emperor.
Was this an intended result or an unexpected move?
Either way, at this moment, the tip of the Emperor's sword was aimed at the Salvation Church.
***
The squishy sensation that weighed down my entire body made it feel like I was passing through a rather soft pudding.
For no reason, I raised my head while touching various parts of my body and couldn't help but be momentarily dazed by the scenery I saw.
"What? This place is the same as there before, right?"
No, it was a little different.
In the prayer room earlier, the chairs were wooden, but the chairs here were light purple. There was also a door in the corner.
But other than that it was the same. The white walls and the strangely hanging purple fabric...
"It's the same."
"No, it's different."
I heard two familiar voices. They came in. Instead of looking back or saying something useless, I scanned the room and asked back.
"Different?"
"Do you see this gold?"
As I move my gaze along Ran's fingers, I saw a faint crack. It was engraved on the floor and widely engraved throughout the room with certain rules.
Anyone could see that it looked like it was a medium for alchemy.
"There's gold[1] engraved all over the room. I think it might have something to do with that door..."
The door in the corner.
As soon as my gaze landed on that place, Lien went straight to grab the doorknob. Contrary to expectations, the door opened smoothly and I was speechless for a moment at the view beyond.
"What... Oh..."
I saw a tree. It was not just one tree. There were a lot.
Yes, beyond the door was a forest.
"Similarly, it is magic disguised as alchemy. It is a combination of other spaces, so if you open the door in a non-specific way, you will be connected to the outside."
"If I open it using a certain method, it connects to the inside?"
"Yes, to be exact, you can move as long as you perform a certain action in this room without opening the door. When you come out, just open the door as usual and come out..."
Have you already analyzed that far? It's not even a spell, but it's fast.
"How long will it take?"
"Magic is an unfamiliar area to me... so I think it will take at least 10 minutes."
At least 10 minutes. Too long. Of course, I should be grateful that there was a way... but my heart was very urgent. It was not a problem if someone came in along the way. Since not many will be able to come in at once, it would be easy to suppress them.
But what if someone was already in that room? What if they're trying to take their belongings and run away through another passage?
As long as they run away safely, Cruel may catch them.
"Shit."
There was no other way. Was there no way to just wait? Was that really all there was? Really?
In my anxiety, I didn't even notice that I was walking in circles in this space.
The fact that I found out was when Ran, who was worse than me, opened her mouth.
"Calm down. Nothing can be accomplished by being so nervous."
Stop.
Was I nervous? No, but that doesn't mean you can do it as you want, right?
Anyway, I stopped because I had some respect... No, I thought I stopped, so why am I moving again?
Even though I stopped for a moment, at some point I was spinning along this space again. And this time in the opposite direction. The moment I realized that fact and stopped, the scenery changed without me being able to do anything.
"...Fuck?"
"...."
"No, this is not because I was surprised."
Why are you here?!
I was surprised that the scenery had changed in an instant, but I froze when I came face to face with Cruel holding a torch in a room full of documents.
***
When ominous smoke came from somewhere in the building and news of intruders was heard, Saerin, the actual head of the Salvation Church, quietly took a step back.
This was Deon Hardt.
Perhaps those besieging this building and those wreaking havoc inside were the famous murderous knights.
Other than that, there was no need to think of anyone else.
Aside from Cruel, the only person tasked with eradicating the Salvation Church was Deon Hardt.
'He may be unrelated, but he is also a commander.'
By setting fires, ordinary people were driven out and those who are deeply involved were singled out.
People who had something to hide would try to fight their way through the crowds and head somewhere, so it could be said to be quite the problem, but unfortunately, Saerin's brain was much better than he expected.
She was from a commoner background and was the Duke of Illuster's servant.
As soon as she realized that this incident was related to 'Deon Hardt', she obediently backed away. She didn't bother to run or rush somewhere to get the documents, but quietly, without holding her breath–abandoned the Salvation Church.
[1] The original text here said "Jin." This could either refer to the Korean meaning of "truth/genuine/progress," (진). But because gold was mentioned earlier, I'm assuming this is the hanja jīn (金) which means gold in Chinese.