Lincoln's men came out from their hiding.
A man was leading them… they called him Apostle Varoshin.
He looked powerful—probably on the same level as that eastern guy we met before.
They quickly captured all the goblins.
Then he walked toward us.
"Hero's party… good job," he said.
…I was like—
good job? what the butter is he talking about?
No one said anything.
These guys were following us…
Does that mean—
Lincoln didn't trust us?
So many questions were running through my mind… Varoshin said to his men, "Check every goblin's hand for a moon tattoo. Don't leave anyone."
They began searching each and every goblin… and they were not friendly towards them.
Surprisingly, no one had that tattoo.
Varoshin didn't give up. He started checking them one by one himself…
Finally, he reached Varner. He lifted his hand—
…and saw the tattoo.
In my mind—
what… so Varner is the one who has the tattoo?
Doesn't that mean Lincoln didn't know about it?
Nothing makes sense now…
Varoshin said, "Okay, let's move. We got him."
Then he added,
"But before that… destroy the village."
Pears stepped forward. Everyone was surprised.
He stood in front of Varoshin and said,
"We completed the mission. Destroying the village is not part of our mission. I will not do it… and I will not allow anyone to do it."
Varoshin gave a sinister smile.
"You are Pears, right? The hero's party has some amusing men…"
"A human party having a good time with demons…"
"Whatever. You are going to answer every question at the palace."
He turned to his men.
"Men… let's move."
And they started leaving.
Earl came to me crying.
"Rudo, Rudo… please save Varner…"
I said to him, "I promise you—he will be safe and will come back soon."
Then we started moving.
The goblins were absolutely devastated. They were sobbing… and it made me want to do something.
I stopped… and came back while my party kept moving ahead.
The goblins were still crying.
I said, "Look at me."
Then I removed my mask and showed them my demon self.
Everyone was completely shocked.
They started asking, "Demon King… is that you, my lord?"
I said to them, "No. I'm not the Demon King—that's my brother. But I am the heir to the throne… you can call me the Demon Prince."
Then I said,
"As the Demon Prince… I promise you, I will protect Varner and bring him back to this village. You have my word."
I put my mask back on…
And left. Varoshin's men were moving in front. They had Varner in a cage, and we were following behind them.
Maria said, "Guys… I think we are going to be put on a trial."
I asked her, "What trial? What are you talking about?"
Maria replied, "We didn't complete the mission… and we even spent time with demons. That's something we absolutely cannot do as humans."
Pears said, "I'm not afraid of the trial… but I'm more afraid to meet the other Holy Masters."
He went back to his comedic self, and now it doesn't surprise me anymore.
I asked, "Other Holy Masters? There are more?"
Selena looked at me.
"What happened to you, Rudo? You're acting like you're hearing this for the first time… you've already met them."
I realized—
oh no… they're going to find out.
Suddenly, Pears stopped the chariot.
"I need to pee," he said.
Oh god… that saved me.
I got down with him, and we both went into the forest.
Then he said,
"You fool… did you forget you're acting as Rudo, the hero? Of course you've met them before. Act like you know them. Don't lose your cover now."
We went back to the chariot.
I still don't know what's up with Pears… but he keeps saving me in these situations.
And then he told me about the five Holy Masters. Lincoln, the one we met in the village, was one of the Holy Masters. He is from the Western Cathedral.
Dargah—another Holy Master—is from the Eastern Cathedral.
Marona, a holy woman, is from the Southern Cathedral… probably Maria's village.
Soner is a Holy Master from the Northern Cathedral.
And finally…
Wise Man George—he is the head Holy Master, from the Central Cathedral.
I thought about it… I don't remember meeting him during my time at the central cathedral.
Pears said, "He doesn't come out that often…". And we reached the central gate… and entered the palace.
Lincoln was waiting for us.
Varoshin said, "We are back, Master."
Lincoln asked, "Did you find him?"
"Yes, Master. The chief and the one with the tattoo are the same person."
Lincoln replied, "Oh… that's a relief. Move him to the prison."
His men started moving Varner away.
We saw Varoshin whisper something in Lincoln's ear… and he gave us a sinister smile before leaving.
Lincoln looked at us.
"Hero party… welcome back."
"Who would've thought the hero party would become friends with demons?"
Suddenly, his expression changed.
He got angry… his eyes turned red.
He was nothing like the calm saint we saw before.
Now… he looked more like a demon than a human.
He said,
"Rudo… I never expected this from you."
"Get ready. You all are going for a trial."
And he left.
It scared me… seeing him like that just because we spent time with demons.
So what would happen if he found out I'm a demon?
I started thinking about the worst-case scenario…
And we went back in silence.
We went inside the palace and saw the king.
He said, "Welcome back, Rudo… and everyone."
"I don't know what you guys did there, but the Holy Master is not in a good mood."
Then he called his soldiers and told them to show us the way to the trial place.
I was thinking… isn't the king supposed to be there?
My thought must have been loud, because one of the soldiers heard me.
He said, "Trials conducted by the Holy Masters are held in absolute secrecy. Not even our king is allowed inside."
Then he showed us the gate.
Someone opened it…
We went in and saw a group of apostles sitting on both sides.
In front of them, five figures were seated… their faces covered.
Behind them was a huge angel figure… it looked like an incredible drawing.
We walked further inside.
A man came forward and put cuffs on our hands.
"Kneel down," he said.
We obeyed.
Now… the trial was about to begin.
Someone spoke—
Lincoln started speaking.
He said, "The hero party standing here has committed a crime—bonding with filthy goblins and not completing the mission I assigned them."
"I ask the Wise Master to give them the highest punishment possible."
Then he sat down.
…I was thinking—
this is bad… really bad.
The Wise Master started speaking.
"That is an absolute crime… humans bonding with demons—especially a hero party."
"Rudo… I had high expectations for you. I never thought you would bring this much shame."
I didn't raise my head.
The Wise Master continued,
"Now, for the crime of bonding with demons… the hero party will be imprisoned for the time being in the central—"
After the Wise Master left, everyone began moving.
A holy woman came near us.
She said, "Maria… I didn't think you would do a crime like this, my child. Probably the others could have done it…"
"Don't worry, my child… I will do something about this."
And she left.
Maria said, "Thank you, Mother." (not her real mother)
Then the guards came and took us to the prison.
They put us inside… and locked it
Lincoln took the Wise Master and the others to the room where they kept Varner.
He showed them the tattoo.
The Wise Master said, "Good job, Lincoln… you captured one. But we still need more."
"We have to capture them all quickly. The time is nearing…"
He gave a dangerous look.
All the other Holy Masters replied, "Yes, Master. We will capture every single one of them."
The Wise Master said coldly,
"We must capture them all… soon."
- to be continued -