Children are innocent.
However, they are always the first to be sacrificed.
In dark alleys like a tomb, Vlad had witnessed it.
Adults snatching children away to survive or have more.
The snatched children die of hunger, of cold, crying exhaustedly as they search for their abandoned mothers.
In that hell, Vlad embraced Zemina and Harven and made a decision.
He would not become that kind of adult.
He would not live that way.
The life rules he established in his childhood to not be dragged into the alley's life were still alive in Vlad's heart.
It was a discipline the child created for himself.
Rules must be respected.
And knights are the ones who respect them.
Here they were now, dying little children.
***
Vlad walked through the damp air surrounding the village.
Buildings made of gray bricks darkened the surroundings with mist.
[It seems like this is it.]
"..."
Vlad lifted his head to look at the building in front of him.
A building larger than any other around.
The bell tower, towering like a horn, caught Vlad's attention.
A church.
The closest place to God.
A sacred place meant to protect the young, the weak, the elderly, the sick.
That's the kind of place it should be.
"I'll go in."
[Agreed.]
Vlad removed his hood and headed towards the gray building.
The only natural color here and now was the blond hair with which Vlad was born.
"..."
An empty church in broad daylight.
Vlad was the only one entering the chapel because everyone in the village was busy with their own affairs.
'Don't you see anything strange here?'
[Not at the moment.]
Vlad walked slowly around the chapel, moving so the voice could see any signs or sinister evidence.
The world of voices is a world of deep colors.
His world, which probably contains 100 colors more than the child's, surely would be able to find colors that are not suitable for a sacred place.
While the voice searched for any unusual sign through Vlad's eyes, he studied the structure of the church and prepared for any eventuality.
At first glance, it was a two-story building, but given the nature of church buildings trying to have a similar structure, there would surely be a basement.
Vlad wanted to explore there if possible.
[Someone has come.]
But as every land and building has its owner, this place had one too.
While Vlad walked slowly around the chapel, he felt someone's gaze behind him.
A gaze that weighed as if looking at an unauthorized guest.
"..."
Realizing the gaze, Vlad began to kneel naturally, as if praying.
It shouldn't seem like he's investigating this place.
However, you must be prepared to draw your sword at any moment.
Because this village was shrouded in eerie mist.
Footsteps, footsteps -
Vlad, who was kneeling but with his eyes wide open, measured the distance between him and the sound of footsteps and prepared to draw his sword.
Vlad's blue eyes slowly filled with their own color.
"It's the first time I've seen you around here."
But the man who approached him from behind did not create the worst situation Vlad had imagined.
He simply greeted the stranger with a warm voice.
"I arrived here yesterday morning."
"Ah, you're one of those mercenaries. I heard about you."
Carefully combed brown hair.
Holding firmly a thick Bible.
At first glance, his physique, which seemed as slender as Joseph's, gave the impression of a scholar rather than a priest.
"I'm sorry for entering suddenly, Priest."
"No problem. God's arms are always open at any time and in any place."
Vlad looked at the priest smiling at him and lightly touched the handle of his sword.
[I don't see anything. At least not now.]
"..."
But what was heard was denial.
I came here following the direction indicated by the girl's necklace, but there was nothing to see.
"I don't think I'm interrupting your prayers, am I?"
"No. It's easier to get permission. I'll leave right after I finish praying."
The priest, witnessing the mercenary praying in an unusual manner, smiled and nodded.
"This place is a church. It's home to all who seek God. You can do as you please here."
Although the man in front of him was smiling friendly, Vlad couldn't be sure.
The boy had seen through the hidden world with the help of his voice, and he was aware of the unusual presence in the village.
He couldn't relax.
"Thank you, Father."
Vlad decided to withdraw for now.
He wouldn't find any more suspicious traces unless he planned to inspect every corner of the church and attack the priest in front of him.
Honestly, he wanted to do that, but Gregory had a request.
"...Then I suppose I should also take this opportunity to pray."
The priest quietly approached Vlad, who was prepared to pray again, and knelt beside him.
A boy pretending to be a mercenary and a man who couldn't be trusted as a priest knelt together before God.
An empty church with no one inside.
There were only two men kneeling before God in this place.
"Please don't let the epidemic that's ravaging this area reach your group."
'Epidemic?'
The priest drew a small line with his lips as he looked at Vlad, who showed signs of confusion.
"And also for our children."
With those words, the priest bowed his head. His posture, which even through numerous prayers seemed serene, was clearly that of a faithful priest.
However, Vlad could detect a hint of disgust in that image.
The emblem of the church, which should have been engraved on the bell tower, was obscured by the fog.
However, the emblem Vlad saw when he first entered the church seemed somehow strange.
The emblem of the church was upside down.
The priest held the Bible upside down before God as he prayed.
***
'…'
Vlad was lost in thought after leaving the church.
Through a black bear track and the confessions of captured men, the research team arrived at a village in Baron Utman's territory.
But when they reached the village following the tracks of the missing pregnant women, what awaited them was only sinister and gloomy rumors along with the fog.
'It's a disease that only kills children...'
Realizing how strange the priest's prayer was, Vlad asked nearby villagers about the epidemic.
And Vlad bit his lip at the response he heard.
If in Soara women had disappeared, here, on the other hand, children were dying.
It was a phenomenon similar to an epidemic, occurring not only in the fog-covered village but also in most of Baron Utman's villages.
The ominous omens continued.
"We should find evidence. But we can't show this."
It couldn't be an epidemic.
He was sure of it, but he had no evidence to prove it.
He couldn't show his companions the black hand he saw in the world of voices.
He brought the sacred object he had brought from Soara to the child in the inn to see if anything happened, but there was no response as expected.
[Since there's no reaction to the reliquary, it seems to be a curse made by a high-level dark wizard. It should be judged by a properly educated priest.]
'How do you know so much about this?'
[…I have no idea.]
In response to the still incoherent answer from the voice, Vlad vigorously shook his head and expressed his frustration.
No matter how much you know, if you can't do anything about it, it's useless.
Now, the boy, who finally had his own world, found himself once again facing a territory he couldn't tackle alone.
"Hm?"
Thinking about how to tell Gregory about the situation, Vlad saw a strange sight at the corner of a street.
A small square in the center of the village.
There, a person dressed in a robe was standing in front of the young girl.
"This is what they gave me at the church."
The girl proudly displayed the cursed necklace she had been condemned to in response to someone's question.
An unknown man received the necklace from the girl and examined it.
***
Vlad was once a pickpocket.
He had been a thief and even a robber on occasions, but his oldest occupation had been snatching wallets from other people's hands.
It was a source of pride for him.
[I think he noticed.]
"I know too."
Chasing after the suspicious figure dressed in an inverted tunic, Vlad realized he was gradually approaching the outskirts of the village.
He was being drawn.
Toward where there were no people.
"I guess I should turn back."
Vlad bit his tongue and halted his steps toward the alley corner.
The boy hadn't overestimated his skills.
As he had seen so many talented people, he knew he was still just a novice.
Moreover, being in such a suspicious village, it was natural for him to be cautious with his actions.
'I should report to Gregory.'
He had confirmed the impression, so reporting to his superior should be enough.
Perhaps through this person, he could inform Gregory of the suspicious aspects of the village.
[It's coming!]
However, life never flowed according to one's intentions.
Perhaps sensing Vlad's intention to retreat slowly, the man in the tunic suddenly charged.
'Like this?'
He hadn't even reached the alley where there were still houses.
But unlike his cautious behavior so far, the unknown figure aggressively lunged at Vlad unsure if he was a priest or not.
'Curse!'
Though he couldn't have foreseen it, he had time to prepare.
Vlad calmly drew his sword and faced the unknown figure.
Clang!
The swords clashed.
Just when the weight of the sword coming at him was heavier than expected, the boy realized.
[Left!]
Using the rebound force, Vlad quickly raised his sword, which had suddenly risen to the sky.
"······!"
In a brief moment where he couldn't even lift his sword, Vlad instinctively stepped back from the unknown attacker's assault with an agile foot movement.
These were the steps his master had taught him, as if instilled in him like a child.
Snap!
Vlad was convinced as he looked at the rough, hollow ground.
'He's a knight!'
Now, even facing the sword alone, he could tell.
Those who had the skills to subdue the boy.
The only people like that were the knights.
While the unknown one momentarily stood confused at seeing the boy let his attack flow like water through his fingers.
Vlad quickly closed an eye towards the person who might be a former knight or a current one.
The boy's world began to flow through the sword.
The plan was to finish it with one blow as is unexpected.
The boy revealed his power first, so this moment was his only chance.
Only one chance.
"Ugh!"
With a brief shout, Vlad lunged at the figure in front of him.
The unknown one was taken aback by the boy's unexpected move and quickly raised her sword.
[...Vlad!]
There was a bright light that pushed away the dense fog.
Kaaaaang-!
In front of the boy who had a completely different feeling from before, the voice urgently stopped Vlad.
But Vlad didn't stop.
People who hurt children were hiding everywhere, but the boy was angry at himself for not being able to do anything.
Like my younger self.
I don't want to live like that anymore.
After breaking his own promise, the boy's anger became sharper and fiercer, and he flew towards the person in front of him.
An unstoppable attack.
Following Jager's teachings to always think of the next move, Vlad continuously attacked the opponent in front of him.
[Stop! Stop!]
The blades clashed.
Sparks flew between the swords.
The tunic worn by the unknown one was torn.
And thus, the figure he was facing was revealed.
[The perpetrator is a paladin!]
The green seen in the meadow.
Green eyes that reminded him of Lady Oksana.
There was a woman with green eyes looking at the boy in astonishment.
Among the wavy hair, she gazed at him with surprised eyes.
Vlad closed one eye to see her inner world, but the woman's two eyes were fully focused on the boy.
Her world was already above this world.
Under the word of God.