An offer to abandon one’s humanity for the sake of one’s daughter.
Anyone would find it difficult to accept so readily.
After hesitating for quite some time, Gaf finally opened his mouth.
“I….”
Yohan raised a hand, stopping him.
“You don’t need to answer right away.
I’ll give you time.
On the night of the undertaking, if you decide to accept my offer, stand in front of the city gates.
If you don’t show up, I’ll assume you’ve left Ilea.”
Yohan turned around.
“Whatever choice you make, I’ll respect it.
In any case, make the wise decision.”
Leaving those words behind, he walked out of the room.
Yohan headed straight for the Restricted Library of the Abyss.
There were many things he needed to prepare for the undertaking.
***
In the guest room of the lord’s castle, a sharp shout rang out beyond the door.
“What?!
You released the apostate?!
By what authority do you dare to do such a thing?!”
The owner of the shrill, cracking voice was none other than Archbishop Hiles.
His usual benevolent smile was nowhere to be seen, replaced entirely by an extremely hysterical expression.
“The girl named Ilea was not an apostate.
Let alone a demon, I couldn’t even sense the slightest trace of demonic energy from her.”
Even if a demon noticed something was wrong and fled, a faint trace of demonic energy would normally remain in the host’s body.
But Ilea was clean.
There wasn’t even the slightest impurity within her.
Shaperia had no choice but to admit her mistake.
“She was innocent.
It was a matter caused by my misunderstanding, so I wanted to correct it.”
Archbishop Hiles let out a shrill scream.
“You stupid wench!”
A sharp slapping sound rang out.
The Archbishop had struck Shaperia across the cheek.
“The Church does not make mistakes!
Even if there was a mistake, it must never be allowed to leak out!
Our honor is directly tied to the authority of the Great Saint!
You committed a terrible act of blasphemy!
As if making a mistake wasn’t enough, you even tarnished the name of the Great Saint!”
Cover up the fault and preserve appearances.
That was the Church’s way.
Shaperia was supposed to deny her mistake and push forward as if nothing had happened.
She covered her reddened cheek.
“Shouldn’t we admit our mistakes and correct them?
Didn’t the Great Saint always emphasize that?”
The Archbishop’s face twisted violently.
“I raised a street urchin like a human being, and now you’re openly defying me!
How dare you try to teach me?!”
Various books and documents came flying at Shaperia.
“Get out!
I said disappear from before my eyes!”
Even while being struck by books, Shaperia calmly made the sign of the cross.
“…I’ll take my leave.”
She turned around and left the office.
Even as she walked down the corridor, the Archbishop’s shouting and curses followed her.
Enduring the insults and pretending not to hear them, Shaperia fell into thought.
‘I should have covered up my mistake?’
Establishing authority by placing an innocent person on the rack.
It was a disgusting and vile method, and she found it impossible to accept.
‘That’s only the Archbishop’s way of thinking.
The Church will be different.’
Wasn’t it the Church that always sang the praises of justice?
Even if some rotten parts existed, surely its foundation would remain pure.
The Archbishop’s values couldn’t possibly apply to the entire Church.
She had to believe that.
Just as Shaperia was about to make the sign of the cross, someone spoke to her.
“You incurred the Archbishop’s wrath because of me.”
A beautiful silver-haired girl was waiting for Shaperia at the end of the corridor.
“You are….”
“My name is Ilea.
Until just a few hours ago, I was a suspect accused of apostasy.”
A look of self-reproach crossed Shaperia’s face.
She slightly bowed at the waist.
“I’m truly sorry.
I committed a mistake that should never have happened.”
Ilea shook her head.
“You overturned your judgment, Shaperia.
For someone as lowly as me, that is a mercy rarely granted.
Thank you for having the courage to do so.”
“There’s no need to thank me.
I merely did what was right.”
“Do you think the others would feel the same way?”
“I see.”
Shaperia’s expression was gloomy.
Ilea smiled sweetly and changed the subject.
“I asked an unnecessary question.
I actually had something else to discuss.”
“Please, speak.
If you wish to resent me, I’ll accept it.”
“I have no complaints, and how could I possibly dare to defy a holy knight?”
“I haven’t become a holy knight yet.
Nor am I of noble birth.
You can treat me comfortably.”
Ilea had already roughly guessed Shaperia’s status.
Most commoners couldn’t hide the scent of their origins no matter how hard they struggled.
Their gait, table manners, pronunciation, choice of words, and so on.
Unlike nobles, who maintained an affected elegance even in their daily lives, commoners pursued nothing but survival and convenience.
The distinction between the two was therefore bound to be clear.
The environment in which one had lived seeped into one’s body like a scent.
Shaperia was no different.
She carried the scent of a commoner.
She seemed to have concealed it quite well, but anyone sufficiently perceptive could still detect it.
Ilea spoke.
“If you’re not a noble, then those eyes of yours must be a power bestowed directly upon you by the Great Saint.”
“That’s right.
It isn’t a power inherited from my parents.”
Shaperia possessed the Appraisal Eye, a power capable of detecting demons.
It was the ultimate power against demons.
Such powers were normally passed down through bloodlines, and those who possessed an inheritable bloodline were treated with respect by everyone.
In other words, anyone who possessed the Appraisal Eye was a noble.
If they were a commoner, then they were an emissary chosen by the Great Saint.
Ilea nodded and murmured quietly.
“Now I understand.”
She had memorized every power and family that could pose a threat to her identity.
The Valderian family’s demon-detecting sorcery, the Aerys family’s Demon-Slaying Soul, the Taeun family’s Maddened Physique, the Tarun family’s Extermination Holy Spirit Ritual, and so on.
Shaperia’s power was not among them.
Ilea had no way to prepare for it.
She said,
“If it isn’t too rude, could you tell me exactly what kind of power it is?”
Yohan had told her that it was simply an eye that detected demons, but perhaps it possessed another ability.
A puzzled look crossed Shaperia’s face.
Ilea answered with a harmless smile.
“It’s merely ordinary curiosity.
You can refuse if you wish.”
Shaperia hesitated before opening her mouth.
“It is the power to find hidden demons.”
“Then you saw a demon in me.”
“As I said, it was a mistake.
I’m sorry.”
“Are you sure?
Look again.”
Ilea stepped closer to Shaperia.
Close enough for their breaths to touch.
“Look again?
What do you mean….”
“Come on.
Hurry.”
Ilea gave a small clap.
At the same time, a small calculation formula appeared above Shaperia’s head.
She didn’t notice it.
“What do you see now?”
Ilea’s clear blue eyes filled Shaperia’s entire field of vision.
“I-I don’t know.”
“Let me help you.”
The transparent, pristine sea began to ripple.
The surface churned violently, as though a volcano had erupted deep beneath the ocean.
“Is it a little different now?”
Ash rising from the bottom crawled upward, staining the sea murky.
Ilea’s eyes were no longer blue.
They were dull and oppressive, like the Abyss itself, steeped in malice.
Fear and revulsion struck Shaperia at once.
She groaned and shuddered.
“You can see my true essence through your eyes.”
Ilea was completely revealing her ghost soul—the soul of a witch.
It was impossible to identify a ghost soul with ordinary eyes.
But Shaperia was different.
“W-what in the world is this?”
The silver-haired girl before her wasn’t a demon.
She was similar, but the difference was immense.
“You’re looking at a witch.”
“What are you talking about….”
“Now that I see it, everyone has been underestimating you.
Your ability isn’t merely a detection-type power.
It goes beyond that.
Fairies, witches, even dragons that have transformed into humans can’t escape those two eyes.”
Ilea chuckled softly before adding,
“And yet you thought you were merely detecting demons.
Your ignorance is actually fortunate for me.”
Shaperia couldn’t understand what Ilea was saying.
She simply moved her hand instinctively.
She had to eliminate the malice before her.
The moment she gripped the hilt of her sword, Ilea clapped her hands again.
“That’s enough.”
The calculation formula above Shaperia’s head disappeared.
Ilea said,
“Do you see anything now?”
Shaperia shook her head.
“As I said before, it was my mistake.
You are more innocent than anyone.”
“That’s a relief.
It was an interesting conversation.”
Shaperia looked at Ilea with a puzzled expression.
“You said you had something else to discuss?”
Ilea smiled sweetly.
“I just took care of it.”
Shaperia remembered nothing.
One minute of her memory had vanished.
The Short-Term Memory Erasure Formation.
It was a high-difficulty spell, but a witch could use it without much difficulty.
Ilea bowed her head slightly.
“See you again someday.”
Shaperia scratched her head with a somewhat uneasy expression.
“…I suppose so.
I hope next time we meet, it’ll be under happier circumstances.”
“That’s quite a difficult wish.”
Murmuring those words, Ilea turned around.
With every step she took, the smile disappeared from her face.
Her white face gradually hardened like wax.
‘What an irritating power.’
Eyes that could see through one’s essence.
Shaperia was still inexperienced in using them, but given enough time, she would eventually learn to wield them properly.
Even if Ilea didn’t reveal her ghost soul, Shaperia would be able to detect it on her own.
She was an incredibly deadly natural enemy.
***
Time passed quickly.
As the autumn leaves scattered to the ground, a chill settled over the territory.
Winter was approaching.
It was a season when farming and hunting were impossible.
The people would have to survive for several months on their stored food, but the granaries of the territory’s people were completely empty.
The pilgrimage group had stayed in the territory for several weeks and consumed a huge amount of grain.
As if that weren’t enough, they had demanded enormous donations as well.
They might have carried Bibles instead of swords, but they were practically no different from a band of robbers.
Annoyingly, as winter approached, the pilgrimage group began preparing to leave.
They intended to spend the harsh winter in the prosperous royal capital.
The afternoon before their departure, Yohan left the castle ahead of them.
At the city gates, he looked at the knight Reil.
“Do you think Gaf will come?”
There was no answer.
The blond knight sitting atop his horse merely looked down at Yohan with dead eyes.
A soulless scarecrow.
Reil wasn’t suitable for conversation.
Clicking his tongue, Yohan rummaged through his backpack.
‘Let’s check my belongings one more time.’
The backpack was filled with holy relics he had taken from the Restricted Library.
‘I haven’t forgotten anything.’
He had to use every means available to kill Kryl and Shaperia and even seize fragments of the Great Saint’s corpse.
It would be a difficult process.
He couldn’t even count on Ilea’s help, so there could be no room for mistakes.
Depending on the circumstances, he might even have to abandon the Great Saint’s corpse.
Yohan steeled his resolve.
“The time has come.
Let’s go.”
He mounted the horse Reil was riding.
Since he had never learned horsemanship, he had no choice but to ride with Reil.
‘I was going to learn how to ride from Gaf on the way, but I guess that’s not happening.’
Just as they were about to depart, the sound of hoofbeats came from behind.
“You acted like you could do everything, but I guess you don’t know how to ride a horse.”
Gaf approached with a steady clopping of hooves, a black hood pulled over his head.
Yohan gave a faint chuckle.
“Did you decide to abandon your humanity?”
Gaf said nothing.
He merely looked at Yohan with a solemn expression.
“Use this.”
Yohan tossed a pitch-black mask to Gaf.
After catching it, Gaf slowly opened his mouth.
“Ilea is the only humanity I have left.”
Yohan shrugged.
“Let’s go.”