EP.131 Gathering Part 2
The term "Paladin" symbolized the might of the Order. As such, the position of a Paladin required one to prove their "individual strength," even if they knew nothing else. For someone like Jer, who was merely an academy student, this role was quite burdensome.
"Pa... Paladin?"
Jer, who was oblivious to his own limitations and driven by ambition, saw this as an opportunity. When Jeong-hyeon suggested the position of Paladin to Jer, he eagerly accepted and began to gauge his reaction. Jeong-hyeon couldn't help but chuckle at his naivety.
'He's really going to do it.'
This is why fools are hopeless. From the first time he met him until now, he found Jer's intelligence laughably low. He decided to tell him what he needed to do.
"Then there are a few conditions."
"...Conditions?"
"Yes. Since the position of Paladin symbolizes the Order's might, we can't just select anyone."
Anyone with normal reasoning would find it strange to fill such an important position haphazardly, but Jer seemed oblivious to this. He nodded foolishly.
'Well, it's not surprising anymore.'
Since he had always been like this, Jeong-hyeon told him the first thing he needed to do.
"Soon, the Order's inquisitors will invade this place. You need to step up and defeat them all."
Jer froze momentarily, realizing the reality of the situation. Jeong-hyeon was impressed that Jer could at least assess the situation.
'He's grown.'
In the past, he made decisions so foolish that he wondered if his head was filled with muscles. Now, he seemed to exercise a bit of discernment.
'Or is it funny to say he has discernment when he doesn't know his place?'
Anyway, the important thing was to use Jer to hasten the rebellion within the Order's ranks. He briefly spoke to the frozen Jer.
"Don't worry too much. If it gets dangerous, I'll help you."
"Re... Really?"
"Yes, so don't worry and face them."
"......"
Jer nodded, gaining a bit of confidence from his words. Jeong-hyeon smiled at his response.
"Alright, let's start the assembly. Uninvited guests might show up, but Jer will handle them, so it shouldn't be a problem."
With that, he suggested they begin and smiled.
***
The inquisitors were heading to the academy in silence, pushing themselves to the limit. With the Order and the Pope fallen, there was nothing they could do but follow the orders given by the former Pope.
‘Everything is according to the will of the Pope and the Goddess.’
Vex, the leader of the inquisitors, was determined to eliminate the heretics, even at the cost of his life. He reiterated the revised mission to the inquisitors.
"Eliminate the hero and all those associated with him. Minimize witnesses by eliminating everyone as we proceed."
Originally, the Pope had ordered them to capture and imprison the hero and his associates for repentance. However, with the Order fallen, they deemed it worthless to convert those more demonic than demons. They decided to take more forceful actions, fueled by their faith.
"...Why are we going here?"
They saw people dressed in black robes, similar to the Order’s attire but in the opposite color, gathering. The black robes symbolized heresy. Seeing this, Vex felt his blood boil with rage.
‘...How dare they wear such things!’
Whether it was a joke or not didn’t matter. The black robes represented a denial of the Order and a declaration to bring it down. As an inquisitor, Vex couldn’t tolerate this and gritted his teeth.
"Eliminate them first."
They were just students, after all. It wouldn’t take more than a minute to deal with them, so it shouldn’t be a big issue. As they were about to chase them, the group suddenly fled into a building.
‘Should we chase them or not?’
It was a dilemma. However, they might find the heretics' gathering place through them, so they decided to pursue and confirm.
‘We need to explore inside anyway.’
After deciding to confirm and proceed, they followed the group, only to witness an unbelievable sight.
‘...There are so many heretics within the academy?’
The academy was supposed to be a gathering of future leaders. Seeing over a hundred heretics gathered there was shocking.
‘...Why is the Order sacrificing themselves on the battlefield for such traitors?’
The fact that they were sacrificing themselves for those who only thought of betrayal was lamentable. Vex bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, then slowly released it and closed his eyes.
‘No wonder the Pope paid such close attention to the academy. There was a reason.’
As he gritted his teeth and trembled to suppress his anger, one of the inquisitors behind him whispered.
"Should we deal with them?"
Vex shook his head, gritting his teeth.
‘Maybe if there were a dozen or so.’
Dealing with so many at once was too risky and time-consuming. It seemed better to proceed with the main mission for now. Just as he was about to order the continuation of the main mission…
—Crack, crack.
He saw someone on the podium smashing a white statue of the Goddess with a club, and his mind went blank. No matter how heretical, how could someone disrespect a deity like that?
Unable to bear it any longer, Vex drew his sword and growled in a low voice.
"Kill them all without exception."
At his command, the inquisitors drew their weapons and began killing the heretics around them one by one. As he watched the gathering fall apart in an instant, his anger slightly subsided.
"That's enough."
A heretic in plate armor blocked their path and shouted.
"Filthy heretics... How dare you invade the sacred Order and massacre the believers. I will never forgive you...!"
What did he just say?
Heretic? Did the heretics just call them heretics?
Vex, who had never felt such anger in his life, ground his teeth. He never imagined he would be called a heretic by heretics, even with the Order fallen. He felt a hollow laugh bubbling up but suppressed it, cursing the heretic with a voice filled with rage.
"I'll rip out your tongue and eyes. I'll make you regret your words for the rest of your life."
As he was about to unleash his divine power and charge at the heretic, an overwhelming divine power descended from above, pressing down on him.
"Ugh!"
It was the first time he had encountered such powerful divine power. As he looked around in confusion, a man with a playful voice, who was stepping on his chest, spoke.
"Sorry, but you have to die here."
The divine power was so strong that he couldn’t see the man's face clearly, but he could immediately guess who it was.
"Yo... Hero..."
At his call, the man smirked, drew his sword, and shouted.
"Yes, why did you call?"
"......"
At this point, the anger faded, leaving only emptiness. As he felt a strange sensation in this situation, he felt a sharp metal piercing his heart.
‘Ah.’
The rising pain contrasted with the peace that followed. As he wandered in that sensation, his vision began to blur.
***
Jeong-hyeon watched the dying inquisitor with a smirk.
‘Now, I'll give all the credit to Jer.’
He planned to create an atmosphere where Jer was credited with resolving everything.
‘After creating that atmosphere, I'll elevate Jer as the hero of the Order.’
Jeong-hyeon intended to shift all problems and attention to Jer. This would temporarily focus all risks on Jer, leading to a satisfying outcome.
‘And if I add one more trick, the rebellion's start could be significantly accelerated.’
He quickly hid the note Miria had prepared in the inquisitors' clothes and smiled. The note was a royal command ordering the inquisitors to deal with the academy students, fabricated from start to finish.
‘Thanks to the royal seal and stationery obtained through Karina…’
It would carry great persuasive power. Jeong-hyeon scattered this blatant bait linking everything to the kingdom and turned away.
‘Now that I've done everything I need to do.’
It was time to return. He decided to leave the rest to Karina, Regina, and Jer, and quickly headed back to the dormitory.
***
Upon returning to the dormitory, Jeong-hyeon unexpectedly found Hana awake. He couldn't hide his surprise as he looked at her. Hana, on the verge of tears, quickly approached him, hugged him, and cried.
‘I was told she'd be asleep for a few more hours.’
Why did she wake up so soon?
As Jeong-hyeon watched with a bewildered expression, Lucia, who was beside him, spoke in a reluctant voice.
"Since she's a World Tree, it seems such things don't work well on her."
Ah, right. He looked down at Hana with a surprised expression. Hana, with tears staining his T-shirt, looked up at him, biting his shirt as if she wouldn't let go.