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Marauding Gods
Chapter 132

Chapter 132

What happened that night?

That incident is something still fresh in Ainsley’s mind. For eight long years ago, when from what he heard, Armand, a fellow chuche’s executive of his, was supposed to come back to Beaumont, his second home after the northern fortress, after having been away for more than three decades, Ainsley, along with his peers, Archbishops and Holy Paladins, were summoned in urgence by Medvedick, for apparently he stumbled upon the one they, the Fourteen, for more than eight long years, were looking for, for that person had a Faty Adidy, issued by the Pontiff himself, on his head.

The Faty Adidy is the highest form of punishment given by the Church, indicating that the person upon whom it was issued must’ve committed the highest transgression possible. Those are generally issued to people who have dared to commit the sins of killing a noble or committing a sin of a similar level, but no Faty Adidy across history has ever been like that one.

Nine years prior to that night, Ainsley, along with the other fourteen, were summoned by the Pontiff himself and were ordered to dispose of this Faty Adidy.

For what sins was that person guilty? They weren’t told.

Where and who could that person be? They weren’t told.

They only knew that they were to dispose of that person, and they, individually or collectively, at their own pace, did their best to locate that person, who, over time, came to be referred to as the Faceless One. For most cases, that line of work was not much of the Holy Paladins. With the troops and the power, they weren’t really built for these kinds of investigations. As such, the clergy were mostly responsible for the manhunt, while the Paladin Order remained passively on standby. The Archbishops and the clergymen in charge spent a colossal amount of money and manpower mobilizing across the continent in search of that Faceless One.

This went on for years, some among the seven Archbishop gave up, or at the very least, slightly braked the expense spent in search for that Faceless and Nameless person, who some of them were at that point not even sure existed. And yet, despite that, there were four among the fourteen who were, still after all those years, relentlessly chasing after that ghost.

Those people were the Archbishop of Whiteley, the Archbishop of Ezekiel, the Holy Paladin Ezekiel, and last but not least, the Archbishop of Medvedik.

For the last one, Ainsley could easily understand why, after all those years, he didn’t give up, but for the first three, Ainsley, just like many of his peers, believed that these three knew something that they weren’t aware of about that faceless one. This was mostly because the three were the close confidants of the Pontifex, but also his son and daughter. And as for Archbishop Whiteley's sudden turn of interest in the matter two years after the order was issued, the others fourteen were sure that he must’ve heard something from the siblings that drove him to pour more effort into the investigation.

Years went by and nothing was found about the faceless one, until one day, they all received a message from the Medvedick cousins that one of their men had made contact with the faceless one in the Ducal castle of Beaufort, the capital of Beaumont, one of the Duchy of Altaira kingdoms.

That night, Ainsley was with Nickolai on the eastern fortress, and both, upon having received the news, immediately rushed for Beaumont. There, Ainsley and Nickolai met several Archbishops and Holy Paladins who had traveled quickly across the continent thanks to the late Vicar Ada Liede, but there was no sign of the Medvedik cousins or Armand, who should've arrived first, instead being greeted by the cousins' mess in the ducal castles.

It didn’t take them long to realize what was going on. On the day before Armand's arrival, the Medvedik cousin teleported to the Duchy’s capital, upon receiving notification from one of his henchmen in the local church, and went to the Ducal castle, making a mess in order to find who the faceless one could be, going as far as to hurt the grandson of Armand and one of the most prominent families in the Duchy.

Whether they believed the Faceless One or not, almost each of the fourteen agreed that this time the Medvedik cousins overdid, and any of them would’ve gone as far as to say that they stepped out of the line, because not only did they cause a mess in the ducal castle, it seemed that the Archbishop Medvedik went as far as to delay the information on the Faceless One to not only his fellow fourteen but particularly to Armand, who, by the time of their arrival in the Duchy, was still on the road, oblivious of what was going on. He merely arrived later, almost one day after the Medvedik cousins, and a few hours before the other fourteen.

Upon further investigation, they all found out where the cousins and Armand went. They all went to one place, the Rosetta Manor, in the south of Beaumont, as it was apparently there that the famous "Faceless One" retreated to.

Ainsley had faced many monstrosities in his decently long career as a Paladin before becoming an Archbishop instead of Holy Paladin, but never had he seen something similar to what he and his peers saw on the Rosetta plain, the plain where that famous manor Rosetta should be.

An enormous and thick-layered fog of an unidentified matter was covering the entirety of the Rosetta plain. Even now, Ainsley didn’t know exactly what that thing was. One of his first assumptions was to assume that he was some sort, but Ainsley had more than 50 years of experience when it came to magic-wielding. That thing was clearly not magic. And yet, it wasn't what made the thing more unearthly; the fog didn't have what one would call a physical property, and yet it was there; he remembered clearly, it was visible, but it had nothing in common with a mere fog or mist, which did have some sort of physical property to some extent.

Despite the sinister nature of the fog, the fourteen of them rushed into it, knowing that a fierce battle was taking place within it.

Upon entering the fogged area, it didn’t take Ainsley and his peers long to realize the state of things. Armand was battling against something, with the meager support of a bloodied Medvedik protecting a heavily injured Domink.

As confusing as the situation was that night, protecting a peer was, for Ainsley, the right thing to do, and that was exactly what he did.

Ainsley joined Armand in the fight, and so did his fellow Holy Paladins and Archbishops.

Against what is Armand battling? Even now, just like the fog, Ainsley was still confused. But he only knew one thing. What he battled against had the shape, the silhouette of a human, or more precisely, a man.

Amidst the chaotic mess that ensued, a mishap on their opponent's part revealed to them what was hiding behind that strange phantom-like figure they were fighting against.

Clinging tightly onto the spectral figure of what seemed to be a man dressed in a butler outfit, was a child.

Years might have gone by, but the face of that child was still fresh in Ainsley’s mind. After all those years, that face resurfaced in Ainsley’s mind upon his sight, stumbling onto that boy who emerged from that strange egg-shaped thing.

Ainsley still remembered his name, Ronandt, the one who, after his tenth birthday, was supposed to go by the name Aubrecht, the one responsible for destroying the barrier to the south of Beaumont, but also the one his peers knew by the nickname "The Faceless One."

***

What was he doing here? Or how was he even still alive?

Ainsley couldn’t answer either of those questions, but he knew, from memories and from the name that Young Girl had earlier asked for, that this boy right there was the same boy from that night, and a glance at his companion Armand's composure showed that he wasn’t the only one who thought so. It was also the case for Vicar Barbosse, who, despite his injuries, was partially present at the events of that night, and shared our same expression of disbelief.

The boy's gaze was drawn to the girl for several with a very confused expression, and after a few moments, it darted toward us, as if he had finally noticed their presence.

His gaze slowly went from Ainsley, Vicar Barbosse, the two Lord Paladins, to finally land on Armand.

The shift in his expression was instantaneous.

It went from surprised, saddened, tearful, to full of wrath.

He tried to stand up, but as if he was clearly having some difficulty walking properly, stumbled once again, to be once more caught by the girl.

Despite his obvious clumsiness, he, with his eyes set upon the three of Ainsley, Armand, and Barbosse, kept walking toward them.

A glance at the people at his side who were the first concerned. He saw both of them completely frozen in place. One had a shocked expression on his face, the other was, aside from the gaping wound on his chest, barely able to keep his eyes open.

Because of his aptitude as a Holy Paladin, and because he himself proposed his participation, taking into account Armand’s capability, the most fitting one to work as at least a balanced offensive-defensive duo with him was Dominik Medvedik, but with the current tension between the two families over what happened eight years ago, Ainsley proposed himself to accompany them on this expedition. He was nowhere as good in defense as Dominik, but he believed he was at least one of the best qualified to accompany Armand on this expedition.

For Ainsley, it would be lying to himself to say that going here was a choice. He was here because no one else was willing to go. Each of the fourteen were aware of the suicidal nature of this expedition and, with everything going on on the human continent recently, none of them, even among the most warmongerous ones, were willingly ready to jump straight into this suicidal pit, except maybe Armand, who clearly had his own reason too.

It was especially true for Barbosse, with his magic, and the death of the most fitting person for this expedition, that he, Ainsley knew very well, was pressured and forced by no one else but his own stepfather, the Archbishop Gregor Medvedik, into going on this expedition.

Ainsley, just like Armand did eight years ago, left the eastern fortress where both he and his fellow Holy Paladin Nikolaî ruled over, and went to spend a calm life where his family was. For him, the last eight years have been like retirement.He fully enjoyed it but this time his duty as a former Paladin summoned him back to the frontline. Frontline, which he wasn’t particularly eager to do, but frontline nonetheless.

From the moment that girl made her appearance, before she even started to frantically attack them, if it weren’t for their mission, their first reflex would’ve been to go back, despite how normal, humane she looked. He felt it to the bone. There was something about her that triggered uneasiness and many alarms within him.

Ainsley understood both situations and did what he believed was up to him to do.

Looking back at the boy, he saw the same eyes as eight years ago, beaming with more murderous intent than ever in his souvenirs of that night.

Stepping forward several steps, Ainsley stood in front of his fellows, bracing both his shield and his hammer, Ainsley commented, "Armand, I don’t know what’s in your mind right now. But I think you should know what to do."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

In addition to investigating the reason for the dragon's actions, Ainsley and Armand's missions were also here to protect these people and bring them back home unharmed or at the very least alive. In these few months he spent protecting Barbosse, his duty put aside, he didn’t want to allow anyone else to die here.

Just as he stepped forward, the boy too got closer and closer, but this time without the help of the girl.

He had encountered many terrifying creatures in his Paladin career, particularly in the last few months, but never before had Ainsley encountered a situation in which he felt he had no chance of escaping alive. Today he finally did.

He was aware that he might encounter such a situation this time, on this journey, but he expected it to be at least when confronted with the Dragons responsible for the Great Calamities. Never had he expected that he would feel it upon facing children.

Earlier, starting from the moment she unleashed her barrier, he felt something that bothered him and Armand, but neither could instantly put their finger on what it was. At first he assumed it could be the strange resemblance to the church’s barrier or the closed feeling it exuded, but only now, with the child from that night in front of him, did he realise that her barrier, besides all of these already omnious facts, was also very similar to that strange fog from nine years ago.

He wouldn’t go as far as to say that it was the same kind of power, but he could see the similarities.

Being trapped inside the fog, being trapped within the girl barrier, felt like being trapped within a completely different world, with the only difference that the former felt less well-constructed and more messy than the latter. One of his first reflexes upon being trapped was to ask Barbosse to get them out of it, and quite not-so unexpectedly, he was told that there was no way out of this barrier.

From the display that girl made earlier and the strange trick she used, Ainsley knew that their chances of winning were---well inextistant.

That strange and powerful speech and that light magic were nothing he had ever seen before. The girl alone was problematic now with this boy on top of it. Ainsley knew that they were doomed.

Under these circumstances, the only logical course of action was to run, since he highly doubted that talking things out was an option. Yet once again, from the speed at which the girl made her appearance and the ease with which she blasted Armand away, Ainsley knew that despite her girly appearance, that girl was a living mastondonte and the living embodiment of speed. Without that barrier, running away from her would be a tough task, if not impossible straight away.

Their only hope of getting out of here alive, was teleportation.

Ainsley knew it, and so did Armand; their only hope to get away was to get out of this girl’s barrier and use Barbosse’s ability to get them out of this place. Ainsley was certain that the thing they were about to invistagate had something to do with these two.

The best they could do was to report this information back to the human continent. It was the only thing they had left to do.

Ainsley and the boy were now separated by only a few meters. The girl remained in retreat, which allowed Ainsley to sigh in relief, while the boy, in the course of a few seconds, was standing and walking completely normally, completely oblivious of how slumpy he was walking a few seconds earlier.

Water, Earth, Fire, Air. Ainsley was tremendously, without a doubt; talended in all four of these elements, to the point of reaching the title of Holy Paladins of the Church by the Pontiff himself, but in the end, choosing to become an Archbishop nonetheless.

Yet somehow, in his heart, an urge to attempt to talk things out, like they couldn't that day, was tickling him internally, but he knew very well that talking wouldn’t lead him anywhere, not at this point, it was too late for that.

That was dead set on killing them that night. Today, he felt it to the bone. Today, facing that same person, Ainsley knew that it hadn’t changed the slightest. In fact, it only worsened.

Coating himself with Mana, Ainsley braced himself for what his fifty years of experience in fighting told him was coming. Jumping at him with a feral roar, a punch. It came at Ainsley, straight onto his shield, with the full weight of a mountain being tossed at him. The ripple caused the earth to quake beneath them.

Ainsley felt the blow, but swung his now ablazed one-handed and wind-magic enhanced battle-ax onto him.

Ainsley was worried about both the boy's and the girl's moves, but nothing came from her. Instead, the boy alone casually stopped Ainsley's axe with one hand while pressing onto his shield with the other. Neither the axe's fire nor the strength with which it was swung had hurt him in the least.

Bashing his shield powerfully, he tried to make the boy back off while also swinging his axe a second time at the boy.

Stepping back, Ainsley immediately prepared himself to launch an attack or possibly also stanced himself from an incoming one. The latter was the first one to come.

Like an animalistic beast, the boy leapt onto him while also backing Ainsley, using all the weapons and magic in his disposition, while also computing countless limb-sized earth spikes that torpedoed onto the boy, trying to protect himself from the relentless barrage of punches that came at him.

It took several seconds for Ainsley to process the result. It was grim.

Each of his attacks was missed, or dismissed. On the boy, not even a single scratch.

Ainsley backed away, but no amount of distance made him feel safe.

This short confrontation, thinking about the fact that he neither used any of his two abilities from that night, the fog and the red radiance that shattered the barrier, was the blow that nailed the coffin.

Bracing himself, Ainsley prepared himself to unleash his most powerful attack. Ainsley was convinced that his attack would have the destructive power to engulf and destroy the surroundings. There was no doubt that it would be nowhere close to being enough to vanquish these two, but his attack would at least give Armand and the others a window to attempt to run away from this place.

"Star- What!"

To Ainsley’s horror, as having guessed what he was up to, midway through his attack, the one that had been remaining on the sideline stepped out. The girl reached out her hand, and the barrier, her barrier passed through Ainsley, shrank toward Armand and the others in a matter of a fraction of seconds.

Ainsley didn’t even have the time to turn his head to see what she was up to when he saw her barrier, which had reached a size just enough to fit a man passing next to her and flying toward her. Barbosse is trapped within that barrier.

He, who was the key to their escape, was captured in a mere matter of seconds.

Not even given the time to lament their incoming fate, the boy once again leapt onto him

Ainsley readied himself to stop the incoming charge with his shield, yet what he saw was completely different from what he hoped for.

With a thrust of his hand, Ainsley's shield was reduced to smithereens. He now had his hand firmly grasping onto Ainsley’s arm.

Ainsley immediately followed with an axe swing, yet once again, something completely different happened.

His axe didn’t even reach the boy that it fell off-no, in fact, what really fell off was the entirety of his right arm.

Glancing at the boy 's, he saw a sword made of matter he immediately recognized as the one from that night, the one that thing they, the fourteen confronted, was made of.

Once again, Ainsley wanted to step back, but the boy’s hand firmly grasping onto his wrist was prohibiting him from doing so. Despite the difference in weight and height, Ainsley couldn’t even move an inch.

The sword vanished from the boy's hand, and using that same hand, the boy thrust into Ainsley's side. Ainsley felt his hand passing through his defence, his fingers passing through ribs to ultimately grab onto something he knew from the pain was an organ.

The boy didn’t immediately do what he could do under those circumstances, instead he looked Ainsley in the eyes. As for tasting his fear.

Progressively, his grasp on Ainsley's arm, and the one on his ribs, along with his internal organs, slowly but surely tightened.

What happened to Ainsley finally prompted the three paladins to act, but at its tour only prompted the girl to take actions which at each turn only worsened Ainsley's situation.

With a sudden move, the boy ripped the organs it was holding onto out of Ainsley's thoracic cage. Ainsley let out a painful scream.

In an attempt to retaliate, he tried to headbutt the boy, which resulted in absolutely nothing but hurting himself even more than he already was.

His left still grasping around Ainsley’s arm, the boy crushed his arm, bones, and armor until becoming a messy pulp.

Behind him, he heard his fellow Paladin calling out his name, but at this point, it was the last of his worries.

Ainsley, helpless, couldn't do anything but fall on his knees and scream as the pain was unbearable, but even that he couldn’t do after what happened next.

Using his other hand, he grasped onto Ainsley’s neck.

Ainsley's body was thrown away to a corner as he felt the grasp loosen around his neck, the same way thrash would be thrown away.

Ainsley crashed a dozen meters away.

He didn’t die, nor did he pass out. Despite all the injuries, he was still conscious, numb but conscious nonetheless.

With no arms, attempting to reach for its neck was not a possibility, causing his body to act panickedly in the current situation.

He was only able to stabilize himself by cleverly using his magic.

During the fight, in the span of less than one minute, he managed to lose both arms, get pierced through the chest, and have half of his throat ripped out.

Struggling even to do so, Ainsley looked up toward the boy and saw him, noticing him dying yet still alive but not caring for him, for the focus was now on Armand.

Holding onto his breath, Ainsley closed his eyes for several moments, and the next he opened them, he saw the two Paladins who had accompanied him for more than four months, swept by a fire. Both died, reduced in one swip into ashes, leaving only Armand, who, for some reason, was spared by it.

Ainsley saw his fellow Holy Paladin fall on his knees, not even putting up a fight, and, to this sight, at this point, Ainsely didn’t even blame him.

Aisley once again closed his eyes for some time, and once he did open them, he saw his peer getting brutalized by the one he knew was his own grandson. In a fit of rage, the boy kicked Armand 's already bloodied body, which went flying deep into the forest. The boy immediately followed thereafter.

What happened next was out of Ainsley View, but he knew from the tumult coming from where they were that if he weren’t to do something, they all would be wiped out.

But to do what?

It was utterly useless. Their only way out of this place was through Barbosse.

He saw Barbosse, still trapped in the girl's barrier, still bleeding from his injuries and saying words Ainsley couldn’t hear from where he was, but the girl, she could. The girl didn't seem bothered by his words, and to Ainsley's surprise, the girl threw him a glance before glancing and walking toward where they were.

She knew it.

Which is why she snatched Barbosse away. She knew that he was our way out of this place, which is also why she didn’t even bother to lay down another one of her barriers.

Closing his eyes in full desperation and exhaustion, Ainsley closed his eyes- for some unknown time, awaiting for death to come for him, but a sound approaching him made him snap his eyes back open.

***

In the middle of the woods of the Iharana great forest, Armand’s bloodied body was pinned down beneath someone's foot.

The person holding him down reached out and removed the two-key necklace around his neck, a necklace that once belonged to, or was worn by, that same person eight years ago.

Looking at the necklace, different yet easily recognizable emotions shifted on his face; nostalgia, realization, sadness, and many others, but the one that ultimately dawned on him was wrath.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

In the palm of his hand, he summoned an ball of flamme. In the span of mere seconds, it grew to an enormous size.

Despite being an adept of fire magic himself, Armand didn’t know exactly how powerful that thing was, but he knew from what it did to that barrier that night that it would thoroughly annihilate him.

Death.

He knew this was the end for him.

Or at least that’s what he thought when suddenly, out of nowhere, the boy was trapped inside a barrier; his hand, along with his orb, was trapped inside a barrier, and the rest of his body was inside a much bigger one.

What happened completely took Armand by surprise, and so did the thing that happened next.

Appearing out of thin air at his side, Ainsley and Barbosse were leaning against each other, for none of them were capable of fully standing on their own.

"Lord Armand, hold onto me." Barbosse said, reaching out to him.

The next instant, the three of them were engulfed by a pillar of white light, which Armand knew was the signature of Barbosse's long-range teleportation.

However, before it could activate, Armand noticed the boy breaking free from the barrier he was in.and reaching out to touch them, only to be stopped by the girl.

Calling him by his name, she pleaded, "Please, calm down. There should be a what-wait!"

At that moment, Armand didn’t know what exactly to do, but he knew he was teleporting away with Barbosse magic. As for what caused the girl to panic, he didn’t know until it was too late.

When their bodies vanished in the pillar of light, he realized that the boy, refusing to let them get away that easily, had somehow managed to tamper with Barbosse teleportation.