Chapter 47
“Teacher, is she… actually a princess? I saw it in a storybook. All the princesses there are as beautiful as you! I want to do her hair!”
“Me too! Me too! I want to do it too!”
She was one of the girls in the orphanage’s backyard, playing with her hair and teasing her along with the other girls.
“Teacher… Ari is missing…”
“…What?”
Ivy asked in surprise.
“Ari and some of the other kids have disappeared…”
These were children who should have been quietly staying in their dormitory by now.
But suddenly, they were gone?
At that moment, a commotion could be heard outside.
The soldiers on guard were causing a ruckus, disrupting the children’s play, and the people sitting in the banquet hall turned their steps toward the noise.
“Wh-what is that?”
Someone pointed to the middle of the night sky.
From where their finger pointed, hundreds of sparks of light shot outward, branching like streams of electricity.
“That’s… the gate we just destroyed earlier… isn’t it?”
“It’s different.”
John replied, narrowing his eyes and studying the glowing runes twisted in the warped void.
“What’s different?”
“This is a failed gate.”
“…?”
Ivy and the other triplets looked at John with confused expressions.
“The summoning formula is strangely distorted.”
It is well-known that when creating a magic circle, wizards use highly advanced formulas.
But since the person applying and manipulating the formulas is human, mistakes happen—errors in calculation, miswriting symbols, and so on.
The problem is that even a flawed formula still produces a “result.”
For example, if the formula 123 + 456 accidentally has the ‘+’ replaced with ‘x’, instead of a three-digit sum, it could suddenly generate a five-digit result.
“So this gate…”
As Ivy and the triplets’ gazes wavered,
Flash!
The world suddenly erupted in white light.
What followed was a rattling sound.
“Teacher…”
One of the children holding Ivy’s hand noticed something first and gripped her hand tightly.
What emerged from the gate was a squad of mimics.
Creak!
When the monstrous chest opened, its terrifying teeth embedded inside were fully exposed.
It swiftly swallowed a nearby noble’s magical beast whole.
Crunch, crunch.
There was no time for screams.
With immense jaw strength, it chewed the victim into pieces, bones and all.
“Waaaah!”
“Eeeeek!”
The place instantly became chaos.
Adults and children alike were paralyzed by shock and fear.
“Hey! Everyone, fall back!”
The triplets blocked the gate and shouted at Theodore.
They had already summoned a few werewolf skeletons.
“What?!”
The holy knight, who was expanding a massive dome-shaped shield above the people, turned to look.
He wore an expression as if asking what nonsense they were talking about.
“Protecting is your specialty!”
“Killing is ours.”
“Of course, closing the gate is another story.”
Even as the knight hesitated, mimics of various sizes continued to squeeze through the gate.
“What are you staring at like idiots?!”
Don’s gruff voice snapped Theodore out of his daze, and he turned back to them.
“Hurry, evacuate the kids first!”
Theodore glared at them, then began to move obediently.
Apparently, he had decided to temporarily agree that minimizing casualties was the top priority.
“This way!”
Ivy quickly led the children toward the back of the auditorium.
“Okay, kids, don’t push the ones in front! Line up slowly, just like on stage, got it?”
Ivy guided them at the front while Theodore covered the rear, heading toward the back of the auditorium.
But then, Ivy’s steps suddenly froze.
The only escape route was blocked by the Holy Nation soldiers’ wall of men.
“What are you doing?”
“….”
“Don’t you see we’re evacuating? Clear the path!”
“….”
Despite Ivy’s harsh protests, the soldiers remained frozen in place, as if she didn’t exist.
When there was still no movement ahead for a while, Theodore, guarding the rear, strode forward.
“What are you doing?! Step aside immediately!”
“Apologies, sir knight.”
“Orders from above.”
“What? Orders?”
Theodore stared at the soldiers in disbelief.
“Yes. The elders have commanded that the temple grounds be sealed off.”
“That’s absurd!”
While Theodore confronted the soldiers, more people were pushing in from behind.
“Can’t you assess the situation? Don’t you see the people behind?!”
“Apologies.”
“Move aside. This is your last warning.”
Teeth gritted, Theodore growled threateningly.
“It is an order given in the name of the Saint, Sir Theodore. If you move aside here, we will all be sent to the church council for insubordination.”
“…!”
He was confused.
The safest way to handle the situation was simple: evacuate all civilians first, leaving only the combat forces to handle the monsters and purify the gate.
“….”
The hand gripping his greatsword began to tremble.
For several seconds, thousands of thoughts swirled in his mind.
Should he break through the line and disobey orders, or follow the Saint’s command while considering civilian safety?
Then…
Shuuuu…
A loud wind blew, and the sky darkened with thick clouds.
As if resonating through the space itself, a white light cut through the center of the storm clouds like a spotlight, pouring downward.
It was like stage lights illuminating a theater scene.
Descending slowly in the sacred light was Saint Pavella, with a pair of wings on her back.
Fog swirled around her.
White feathers drifted through the air.
With a golden halo above her head, Saint Pavella’s appearance evoked the image of a descending angel.
“Wow…”
The people trapped between the gate and the soldiers, even amidst the danger, couldn’t help but be awestruck.
At that moment, Theodore let out a low groan through his lips.
“…Ugh.”
He clenched his chest as his brow furrowed, curling forward in pain.
Almost reflexively, Ivy supported his shoulder.
“Are… you okay?”
His body, tensed and burning with heat through his thick armor, trembled. His clenched jaw muscles were visible through the pallor of his face.
“Ugh…!”
Ivy was confused.
There had been nothing like this in the original story.
There was no mention of Theodore becoming a stigmatic or suffering a sacred fever…
‘Could it be…?’
The souls of Holy Knight Theodore and Saint Pavella were deeply connected. (excerpt) Their spiritual link allowed them to borrow each other’s power, much like two stars in the sky exchanging light, influencing each other’s position and fate. (excerpt) Through this connection, the saint always felt Theodore’s strength welling up within her in moments of crisis.
This spiritual connection formed a strong bond between them…
Could it be that the overwhelming surge of sacred power emanating from the Saint now was linked to Theodore?
Yet, unlike the original description, Theodore’s agony made it seem less like a blessing and more like a curse.
“Raaah!”
He moaned, clutching Ivy’s body as he did, holding her tightly.
He hugged her so forcefully that thick veins bulged on his forehead.
‘No… the protective barrier is forcing him beyond his limit… he can’t hold on like this for long…!’
At that moment, the mist parted like a curtain, fully revealing the Saint.
Like the sun’s blade cleaving the horizon of darkness, a sacred being rose above the engulfing smoke.
Vwooom.
The magic extending from Pavella’s hands formed a giant golden sphere, which then shattered into hundreds, even thousands, of fragments.
Cough!
At that moment, thick, congealed blood surged from Theodore’s mouth.
The black, clot-like blood dripped onto Ivy’s dress as she supported him.
Seeing her dress stained, Ivy paled, stammering,
“L-Lord Latner…? Blood… it’s…!”
Though Theodore saw Ivy’s dress gradually turning crimson from his own blood, he had no strength to push her away or speak; he simply leaned against her.
In his ears, echoing like a ringing, were fragments of a childhood memory with Elder Mateo:
“Do not be afraid.”
“The Saint is helping to absolve your sins. You understand, Ned?”
“How… do I…?”
Ivy, staring at him with a dazed expression, struggled to regain composure and gripped his face with both hands.
Her white hands were already completely covered in his blood.
“How… how should I… what can I do to help you? Tell me, please!”
“….”
“Should I call for the soldiers?”
From the fading edge of consciousness, Theodore weakly grabbed her wrist.
Compared to the lava-like heat surging within him, her wrist felt cool and refreshing.
He shook his head toward her.
“Inside….”
