Gornec looked at the guards that surrounded the carriage. They all wore Armor to pose as normal guards, but one look and anyone could tell that they were not normal.
All the guards looked like their lives had been drained, with dead eyes.
However, for Gornec, who had experience dealing with other heretics – he was sure that all of them were monstrously strong. Enough to wipe out a city within a single night.
This brought goosebumps all over his body.
'It's an inquisitor's job to deal with such people, not an elite knight like me...' Gornec felt his heart twisting in restlessness.
But, he never let any of his emotions reach his body.
As for Veren, Gornec didn't want to even match his eyes with him. Those red and black eyes both gave him an eerie feeling.
'The first ambush should happen now...' Gornec keenly looked at the forest that surrounded their roadway.
One minute passed, then two minutes....three minutes…
No matter how long he waited, nothing happened, this made his guard rise up instantly.
The carriage had begun travelling early in the morning and it was already evening. The sun slowly set in the corner of Gornec's sight.
'Something doesn't feel right...'
At that moment, a black shadow jumped out of the horse's shadow, slithering up to bite off Gornec's neck.
Gornec instinctually dodged the first attack, but the next moment dozens of black silhouettes jumped out of the tree's shadow.
"Kuuuhhh!" A wolf-like figure bit into his shoulder.
Gornec's eyes grew cold, there was no point in hiding his power anymore.
Bright golden light radiated out of his body, pushing away the shadows of strange creatures. Just as he was able to stabilize his position by jumping off the horse, a sword sliced through both his leg and the hand holding the sword.
Veren, who was watching from the carriage, squinted his eyes.
'That is....'
A woman with crimson hair appeared behind Gornec. In her hand was a slim long sword, reaching almost two meters in length.
'The blood witch...She was in the pale mask church, but it was only to survive. She later becomes a demi-god of bloodrail god. She is later killed by me, from the novel for betrayal.'
Seeing how easily she took care of Gornec, showed that she was already a formidable foe at this point.
The other guards easily captured the shocked Gornec, with three lost limbs, he couldn't resist at all.
The blood witch, Meia, knocked at the carriage's door before opening it.
"Come in...." Veren calmly looks at Meia.
She only transfers to the Bloodrail church after the blood god finds out about her existence. The reason behind his generous action was unknown.
Meia's current identity was that of a high-rank member of the Pale Mask church. She joined this organization to survive, so she didn't hold much loyalty in the end.
Sitting opposite Veren, Meia silently stared at him. She was still in her early twenties, and her appearance was definitely one of the finest in the world, however, Veren's eyes stayed cold from the start. He looked at her as if he was looking at a strong foe, ready to use the ring's ability any moment.
'...The novel never specifies the time when she was reached by the Bloodrail church. What if she has already turned her back on this organization?' Veren's eyes didn't budge for a second.
Veren opened his mouth: "What were you doing before coming here?"
"I was in the marquis's territory nearby, on a mission to retrieve the souls of their ancestors. But I had to break my cover to come here." Meia's voice was just as cold as Veren's. Their eyes matched too, appearing like two dead-eyed people were talking to each other.
"What happened to the marquis then?" Veren continued asking.
".... Unfortunately, a monster raid occurred at a nearby location. Killing the current marquis and many of his soldiers this morning."
It seems like the pale mask church was planning on covering it up as a natural disaster.
And Veren was sure that they had the means to do such a thing.
'That is why they are so fearsome....'
Veren nodded his head towards Meia, "I see...Then, will you be acting as my guard for now?"
"Yes."
"That so?"
"....."
Both of them continued to stare on with blank expressions. This continued till they reached the Desprit city.
Truthfully, if the horse was not injured, Veren would have liked nothing more than throwing Meia out of the carriage.
The moon was already visible with the thousands of stars, in the dark sky.
Reaching the inn, Veren was able to get rid of Meia at last. According to her, she still had to act as his guard till the inquisitor's camp opened in two days.
As Veren rose up the steps to enter his room, Veren felt Meia looking at his back.
In the past two to three hours, her attitude had definitely changed. Instead of cold eyes, she just looked at him blankly now. It all started from the moment Veren began ripping off his nails, like a madman.
It didn't take long for her blank face to develop into a frown.
The carriage's interior was a sight to look at too.
Sitting on the bed, Veren trained his divinities. He couldn't cultivate his soul till he joined the training camp, he had no books as a reference.
Training till his body couldn't take it anymore, Veren stopped. The pain his body went through while the two divinities had just increased. Which made him severely tired every time.
'The novel's story started in this city, I suppose. The protagonist gains his recognition by capturing the criminal who has been kidnapping people in this city. It will happen tomorrow, I will have to be ready.'
Veren didn't have any experience in sneaking into places, however, he was a little confident with the item Helvry gave him. This didn't make his heart stop feeling restless though.
'Petty bastard...' After taking a look at the money that Duke Walprus gave him, Veren decided to just eat and sleep.
....
The next morning.
After finishing his breakfast, which was simple bread and milk, Veren found himself looking around the streets. Meia quietly followed behind him.
'It's been a while since I was able to roam freely like this.' Veren walked around the street, buying fruits that seemed sweet.
The morning's breakfast in this kingdom was quite stale.
If Veren were to choose which was better from Sweet, bitter, and spicy food – it would definitely be sweet. He generally liked sweet food, so he bought whatever fruit seemed to be interesting.