Taming the Evil Saintess

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We confirmed all the murder scenes with the investigator from the Redrick Tribe along that path.

A total of eleven people were killed by the mined creatures.

And of those, six left behind no corpses at all.

Not that they left nothing at all. Just a couple of fingers and some pieces of intestines. That was the only trace left by the slain elves.

“It’s definitely the doing of the mined creatures.”

Fallen trees lay scattered around, blood splattered everywhere.

And, the willow branch pattern.

Every scene was stamped with the willow branch. The investigator from the Redrick Tribe seemed to dismiss it as unimportant, but for us, who had heard Erwin’s story, it carried a heavier weight.

Whether this was truly the handiwork of Erwin’s siblings or if it was a trick or imitation by someone, it was clear that there was some relationship involved.

In fact, it felt subtly unsettling.

As if it was provoking both us and Erwin.

“What are you planning to do?”

The lieutenant of Redrick cautiously asked me.

After some contemplation, I replied.

“If it were just the mined creatures, it wouldn’t be a problem, but currently, it would be difficult to carry out a bait operation.”

No matter how skilled Ophelia was in swordsmanship and holy magic, she couldn’t face both a mined creature and an archer at the same time.

But neither could we just sit idly by until another victim appeared.

The way forward here is…

“There’s no helping it.”

I chuckled slightly and looked at Erwin.

“There is one method.”

“What method?”

“I assessed that there’s a high chance that they have a possessor among them. And most possessors are dark mages.”

“…So?”

I narrowed my eyes and looked at Erwin.

“What, what’s with that sinister gaze?”

Erwin shivered.

When we had tracked down and killed the dark mage in Nua Diel, Wuzmund was by my side.

It probably wouldn’t take as long this time. No matter how you slice it, Erwin is one of the named ones of the Great Forest. He would be a high-performance detector compared to Wuzmund.

“Alright, let’s get to work.”

*

Erwin had never done something so foolish in all his long years of life.

Elves with a developed sense of spirit magic can distinguish the locations and density of spirits through their sight.

However, this is only to a degree; meaning that no elf in their right mind would attempt a wide-range spirit search without being insane.

Erwin wasn’t insane, of course.

His companion was.

“Did you really do this with Wuzmund?”

“Did he tell you?”

“Do you know how annoying he’s been talking about you since coming back from Nua Diel? He kept mentioning your name.”

“Were you gossiping about me?”

“Did you ask not knowing that?”

Hero Elliot.

I had suspected he was a bit off in the head.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so reckless as to storm into an annex and kill the Pope’s guard while all the Empire’s dignitaries were gathered.

But I didn’t expect him to be this reckless.

“I’m starting to feel sorry for the saintess who travels with you.”

“That was Ophelia’s wish, to not abandon me.”

“You’re a real piece of work, playing with a woman’s heart.”

Erwin shook his head as if tired and widened his field of vision.

Elliot’s method of reading the position of dark mages through the flow of spirits was almost ludicrously stupid, yet it proved to be effective.

Erwin narrowed his eyes.

His eyelids felt like they were burning.

“…This is strange.”

Then Erwin muttered.

The evil spirits were nowhere to be seen.

However…

“It’s uncharacteristically empty of spirits.”

Erwin muttered, and Elliot frowned.

“No spirits, you say?”

“Spirits are a product of great nature. Therefore, the Great Forest typically has a high density of spirits. But right now in this location… the spirits are almost undetectable.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means someone used spirit magic.”

“…Who could it be?”

Spirit magic is a relic of the elves.

Moreover, this place has been an area the Redrick Tribe has avoided for weeks now due to the mined creatures.

So Erwin could come to only one conclusion.

“Mereba.”

“…Is that the name of your sibling?”

“Exactly. It’s highly likely that my brother used spirit magic right here. It shouldn’t have been long ago.”

Erwin strained to read the flow of the remaining spirits.

The spirits were flowing in one direction.

“That way. Over there…”

“No.”

Elliot stepped forward.

He was staring in the opposite direction to Erwin.

“That place.”

“What nonsense are you talking about…?”

As Erwin turned to return that statement, he squinted.

Something was visible at the corner of his sight.

It was a form that couldn’t quite be called human or monster, nor could it be named a mined creature.

Eight arms, six legs.

Its third eye was bulging with bloodshot veins, while mana crystals protruded like spikes along its tree trunk-like arms.

“What the hell is that?”

Even after living for over a century, Erwin was shocked; the creature in front of him was so horrifying it looked like a demon straight from hell.

“It’s a mined creature… but it seems to have been… modified.”

Elliot frowned.

“Looks like we unintentionally played the bait, but that’s a good thing.”

He drew his sword.

As mana flowed into the golden blade, it ignited like divine fire.

The very sight made the mined creature flinch.

“It seems it knows it’s dealing with someone dangerous.”

Elliot glanced at Erwin.

“Support fire, is that possible?”

“…Hmph.”

Erwin scoffed.

“I’ve lived five times longer than you, kid.”

*

This happened during my days with the Northern Mercenary Group.

As I was about to spoon the watery rice porridge into my mouth, the alarm bell rang.

The bell tolls three times during large-scale invasions by the mined creatures.

But this time, it tolled five times.

“Hey, Popi. What’s this…”

“It’s the mined creatures, damn it.”

Responding to Laila’s words, we put down our food and climbed up the barrier.

Below the barrier were the mined creatures, laughing maniacally while hanging three heads from slain mercenaries like trophies.

The moment the creature made eye contact with me, it extended its index finger.

“It seems it knows who I am.”

“Do the mined creatures have that kind of intelligence?”

“How would I know?”

I wanted to minimize unnecessary casualties.

So I decided to face the mined creature with just a single weapon.

Of course, it wasn’t reckless. I was confident in my fighting skills, and I had ballistae and archers on the wall supporting me.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

Asking for the mined creature’s name might have been born out of that moment of confidence.

And the creature casually smiled and said:

“I don’t know.”

It doesn’t know.

Living without knowing its name or reason for existence, repeating only acts of killing.

That was a mined creature, a being consumed by demonkind that belonged to a totally different lot.

From that day on, I developed an instinctive hatred for the mined creatures.

“…Hmph.”

I don’t know why this memory came up.

Perhaps it was due to the similar situation.

Now, I was face to face with a mined creature, with Erwin the archer preparing to support me from behind.

A strange nostalgia arose, and I opened my mouth.

“What’s your name?”

“…”

The mined creature rolled its eyes the moment it heard my question.

The third eye embedded in its forehead was frantically rolling around before settling on me.

“Of course, I don’t know.”

As I chuckled and prepared to raise my sword, the mined creature spoke in a muttering tone.

Its speech was awkward, but my ears could pick it up clearly.

[Mereba.]

“….”

For an instant, I turned to look at Erwin, but she seemed not to have heard it and was coldly glaring at the mined creature.

“Hey! Behind!”

Erwin shouted.

I hurriedly turned around and locked onto the mined creature charging at me.

I tried to lift my sword to block, but it was faster.

“Cough.”

Blood surged from my throat, hitting the ground.

The mined creature charged towards me again, but this time, an arrow from Erwin pierced its heart and neck.

Of course, the creature showed no sign of pain, but due to the force of the arrow, it was forced to halt its advance.

“…Damn.”

“Are you out of your mind? Who is it that gets distracted with a mined creature right in front of them?”

I spat some blood-tinged saliva and corrected my grip on the sword.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a serious wound. Just a crack in my rib.

“…Erwin, first we need to capture it alive.”

“Why?”

“Just follow my lead for now.”

It had clearly said its name with its own mouth.

That was something no mined creature I know could do.

And that echo… was the name of Erwin’s sibling who had betrayed her.

“Whatever it takes.”

I clenched my teeth and raised my sword, taking a few steps forward.

The mined creature charged.

Its limbs were numerous. If I let even one hit me, I would be caught and torn apart.

So all I had to do was to evade.

“Let’s just knock it down and deal with it.”

I’m not exceptionally skilled in swordsmanship compared to sword saints.

I’m not physically superior like the Golden Lion, either.

I’m not savvier in spirit magic or archery than an archery master, nor do I have the mana sensitivity of an archmage.

Holy magic is the specialty of Yurede and Ophelia, and when it comes to assassination, Benedict is far more competent.

However, I could confidently say that in one particular field, I am the best on the continent.

Swish!

In an instant, the four arms of the creature were severed.

The movements of the mined creature, exceeding the bounds of human range, couldn’t even graze me.

Because I, too, was observing the battle with the same gaze as that of the mined creature.

“Raging beast of a creature.”

Since I was thrown into this world, I had trained in a singular technique.

The method to tear apart demonkind.

The subtle flow of magic. The twisted movements of muscles. The direction of the blurred pupils.

If one could perceive and grasp all those things, fighting against demonkind wouldn’t be difficult.

The foul taste of the mined creature’s blood touched my tongue.

It was so disgusting that it tasted utterly vile.

“Haha.”

And that only sensation made me feel alive.