Chapter 6
12"It seems that the corpses there had come back to life as undead and escaped. That was our conclusion, remember? But what the Empire does is, they take the corpses and… revive them in that… enormous vat."
"Right."
"So… the incident that took place there initially had nothing to do with the Empire… At least, that's what I think… Sorry, I didn't mean to cause confusion, but that's what it seems like…"
"No, you're right."
As Ludwig trailed off, Ellen firmly shook her head.
"We don't need to ask Bertus to know. It's definitely a different case. And the Empire has no reason to rob the tomb of the Holy Knights."
Robbing the tomb of the Holy Knights.
Swapping the corpses at the national cemetery.
They were two separate incidents.
The methods were vastly different, and the Empire had no reason to meddle with the tomb of the Holy Knights in the first place.
"So, Rowan had been mistakenly targeting the wrong culprit and conducting the investigation."
But they were only trapped in another maze.
They had believed everything was the Empire's doing, but the Empire neither killed Rowan nor had anything to do with the theft at the Holy Knights' underground tomb.
So, Rowan had approached Ludwig to pursue the wrong culprit.
Of course, the scene looked enough like the Empire's doing, with similar incidents occurring.
But strictly speaking, they were different cases.
Then who were the ones responsible for the incident in the underground tomb?
Were they the ones who killed Rowan?
"Now, I really don't know what's what… I just can't figure it out."
Heinrich started pulling his hair in frustration.
"You don't need to worry about this anymore. It's not our responsibility to reveal the truth."
Those were Ellen's words.
"I had wanted to find out why Archbishop Rowan approached Ludwig and if she had any intention to kill me. But we've made some things clear. Rowan approached Ludwig, and her reason was probably to investigate the temple."
Not all the mysteries were solved, but they could let go of the case with the questions they had answered.
As they learned that Rowan was involved in many bad things, her death didn't seem unjust. She had done plenty of things that warranted death.
Karma, perhaps.
If someone had taken revenge on Rowan, it would have been a deserving fate for her.
Ludwig muttered weakly.
"Yeah, we don't need to know everything…"
The truth they already knew and had discovered was overwhelming enough. It was difficult enough to endure what was already happening.
Silencing and overlooking wrongdoings because of reality was painful enough.
Digging deeper into Rowan's case, which was now completely lost in the maze, didn't seem possible.
"But before we give up completely, there's one last place with potential."
Although Ellen said letting go of the case was okay, she looked at everyone and spoke as if it was truly the last chance.
"The commander of the Holy Knights told me. If the Popes try to hide something from him, he wouldn't know."
"…Right."
"And it's true that the commander of the Holy Knights was hiding something from me."
Ellen said calmly.
"We must find out what they were hiding, and even if it wasn't that, the Holy Knights were investigating the matter internally. If they had discovered anything, they might be able to share the information. If we couldn't get anything from there, we would end it here."
The last ones they had to visit.
Once more, to the Commander of the Holy Knights.
And to the Popes of the Five Great Religions.
They couldn't know if the truth they held was unrelated to the murder of Rowan.
However, if they couldn't obtain anything from there, it was time to dust off their hands.
——
The case could be considered trapped in a maze.
The Empire, a powerful suspect faction, hadn't committed the act; the only other possibility was the heretics. However, identifying the culprit among the heretics had become nearly impossible.
Therefore, Ellen decided to visit the Holy Knights one last time.
But it was a sensitive issue.
"Commander, you don't have to help me anymore. You might get into trouble."
That's why Ellen told Louise that she didn't have to get involved any further.
"What's the point of that now? I'm going too."
Having already learned too much that they shouldn't know, Louise felt that she had to see it through to the end.
Could the secret of the Holy Knights be greater than the secrets held by the Empire?
Once again, the four of them left the temple.
They reached the Cathedral of the Holy Knights after walking endlessly on the Imperial Capital where the magical train had stopped.
"The Commander is not here."
With such a simple statement, the knights guarding the entrance blocked Ellen's path.
"Then I'll wait inside until he returns."
"He won't be back soon, as he's expected to be away for quite some time."
"…"
Ellen stared at the knights guarding the entrance.
Their attitude seemed strange somehow.
They had blocked their way when they tried to enter the burned church. At that time, they seemed genuinely troubled.
But now, something was off.
"Did he return to the Allied Forces base?"
"…Yes."
It was a lie.
There was no way Eleion Bolton would have returned to the Allied Forces base without properly resolving the incident that had occurred on the Imperial Capital.
Knowing that he wouldn't return without a proper understanding of the situation in the Imperial Capital, the gatekeeper was lying.
But why tell such a blatant lie?
And then…
Ellen looked around, not at the knight blocking her path, but at the surroundings.
The knights guarding the entrance were all watching Ellen.
Ellen and her companions.
Ellen approached the knight with a single stride.
"…!"
As Ellen approached, he stepped back.
It was a slightly different look from before.
"Why are you trembling?"
Despite wearing armor, the corners of his eyes, his face, and his fingertips trembled faintly.
It was the look of someone consumed by fear.
But why?
"We don't have to meet him right away. We just need to go inside. If the Commander isn't there, we can meet someone else."
The moment Ellen tried to pass by.
"You cannot enter."
"…"
The terrified knight blocked Ellen's path with his body.
They didn't know what had happened, but one thing was clear.
The absence of the Commander wasn't important.
Preventing Ellen from entering was what mattered.
"Get out of my way."
"…I cannot."
Ellen could vividly feel the extreme tension not only from the knight before her eyes but also from the other knights.
As the atmosphere gradually grew more ominous, the expressions of the other three waiting for Ellen to finish her conversation began to harden.
"It seems I've come to the right place."
Looking at the frightened knight, Ellen shook her head.
"It seems you want to see if I can break through with force. If you want to know, try blocking me again."
Ellen took another step toward the entrance of the Cathedral.
This time, the gatekeepers could not stop Ellen.
* * *
Ellen entered the Cathedral.
The knights who failed to stop Ellen stared at her retreating figure with hardened expressions.
"…Something's strange."
However, a very peculiar sight unfolded in the Cathedral.
She had entered with the thought that something was definitely there.
"Why are there… no people?"
Just a few days ago, there were many knights and priests roaming around.
But now, not a single person was passing by, and silence lingered.
In an excessively vast space with no sounds, it was natural to feel an overwhelming sense of incongruity.
Everyone felt such a sense of incongruity.
"Something must have happened."
"Let's go up."
The nearly empty Cathedral of the Holy Knights.
To confirm the absence of the Commander of the Holy Knights, Ellen led her companions up the stairs.
Her heart was pounding with an odd rhythm.
What was happening?
Or rather, what had happened?
The Cathedral was empty.
As if someone had deliberately driven everyone away.
Ellen, who had been climbing to the upper floor where the Commander's office was located, couldn't even reach it.
– Thud! Thud! Thump!
That was because a chilling sound of flesh being torn started to reach her ears.
"What… is that?"
The sound of something sharp tearing and cutting flesh.
– Bang! Bang!
The sound of something hitting the wall.
Ellen, who had a much more sensitive sense than ordinary people, could hear it, as could the others.
The overly quiet space made the sounds echo even more vividly.
Ellen immediately ran to where the sounds were coming from.
Near the Commander's office.
The conference room.
The sounds were coming from there.
– Crash!
Ellen kicked open the closed door of the conference room without hesitation.
And she couldn't help but widen her eyes at the scene unfolding before her.
Someone was killing people.
Ellen looked at the blood splattered in the conference room and the dead bodies.
Their flesh was so terribly torn and cut that they were unrecognizable, scattered messily.
The massive conference room had become a sea of blood.
The person, only seen from behind, slowly turned their head.
"I told everyone not to come this way…"
The person who turned around looked at Ellen and twisted their lips into a sinister smile.
"I guess there was no stopping you."
"What… What is this?"
As Ellen mumbled in shock, the others arrived as well.
"Uh…?"
Ludwig couldn't help but be dumbfounded as he looked at the massacre and the person who seemed to be responsible.
"Your Grace…?"
"Ah, Ludwig…"
Holding a small knife in a reverse grip, she wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
As she tried to wipe the blood off her face, it only smeared further, creating a grotesque sight.
"I see. Ludwig doesn't understand anything…"
Her expression conveyed a sense of overwhelming guilt.
However, the innocent look of remorse only appeared more eerie against her blood-stained body.
"Your Holiness…? How can you be…?"
Ludwig's reaction made it clear who the woman before him was.
Archbishop Rowan was alive.
The priestess, who was believed to be dead, was committing a massacre in the top-floor conference room of the Holy Knights' order.
And the knights blocking the entrance.
The empty Cathedral.
It was apparent that this wasn't a solo act.
There was a conspiracy.
A conspiracy so massive that it was difficult to fathom.
And the dead people.
Their mutilated bodies made it impossible to recognize them, but their attire gave them away.
"Who did you kill?"
At Ellen's question, Rowan shrugged her shoulders.
"The Popes."
There were a total of five dead.
That alone was enough for Ellen to grasp what had happened.
"But by any chance, have any of you seen Eleion Bolton?"
"…What?"
"He somehow caught wind of it and ran away."
The absence of the Holy Knight Commander was not a lie.
Except for Ludwig, everyone was seeing Rowan for the first time.
"Can you just stop interfering and leave if you don't know anything?"
"…What?"
"Meddling too much in other people's business is rude, you know."
It was impossible to even guess how the situation had started and what had happened.
The priestess, believed to be dead, was alive.
And for some reason, she had brutally slaughtered the five popes.
It seemed as if everyone in the Cathedral had stepped aside for her.
Where did it start?
What happened?
How did it come to this horrifying spectacle?
Should she draw her sword?
Ellen's eyes widened, and her fingertips trembled.
"I don't like that crazy woman either, but for now, I'd appreciate it if you left her alone."
Then, they couldn't help but turn their gazes to the corridor upon hearing a voice from behind.
"It's nice to go around causing a ruckus, but can you back off for now?"
All four of them could only gape in shock at the person who had suddenly appeared.
"Olivia… Lanze?"
One of the three temple students who had disappeared with the Demon King.
Olivia Lanze was looking at them.
Heinrich, Ludwig, and Louise.
They were all aghast, knowing that she should not be here.
"Let me make this brief."
Olivia stared at them with her arms crossed, whether they accepted her presence or not.
"From now on, the Holy Knights and the Five Great Religions are ours. Well… technically, we're only just getting on track."
"What are you saying…?"
"So, you should go back knowing that."
Olivia was looking directly at Ellen.
"You're smart. You know that if you make a scene here, things will get complicated, right?"
Faced with that arrogant and bold threat, Ellen felt like giving up on understanding the situation.