LIGHTNOVELONLINE chapter 231
231 – 235
“Your Holiness, it’s dangerous for you to come out here in person?”
Honestly, I didn’t expect the Pope to show up here.
I was only hoping for some backup… not for him to take the front line.
“Ha-ha! Your Grace, this old man will strike down that wicked demon. Make sure you’re watching.”
No… you fool, if you die by mistake, who will take the blame?
I want to curse him out, but he’s officially a higher-ranking figure than me.
I can’t just lash out.
“But if you happen to get hurt…”
Before I can say anything, the excited Pope interjects.
“How can one who worries about dying or getting hurt while facing a high demon call himself the Pope?”
No… if you get hurt or die, I’ll be the one blamed!
“However.”
“Ha-ha! Your Grace, don’t worry!”
My head throbs, but what can I do?
“Understood. But if it seems dangerous, you must withdraw immediately…”
“How can one who serves God run away at the sight of evil?”
Watching the Pope rush off, I seriously consider knocking him out.
***
– Look over there! That thing!
– Isn’t it horrific?! Isn’t that a demon?!
– How can a demon be in the imperial palace?
The imperial citizens, spotting a locust flying near the palace, cry out in shock and throw stones.
Locust deftly blocked with a barrier.
“Damn it… I need to find a way. A way…”
The method to find where the Emperor is hiding…
“I must capture that guy.”
Locust gazes down at the imperial palace and charges towards it.
***
-Boom!
-Thud!
A crashing sound from the ceiling, and I shout.
“Everyone, take cover!”
-Thud!
Locust crashes down from the ceiling, grabs me by the collar, and slams me against the wall.
“Ugh!”
“Where is the Emperor?!”
“Release His Grace, the Archduke! You beast!”
“You fiend!”
The paladins, the Pope, and the soldiers surround him but cannot attack, so I yell out.
“Attack now! Don’t mind me, just attack quickly!”
We can’t let go of this guy we’ve barely caught.
“Your sacrifice, Archduke, will be remembered by us all!”
The Pope raises his brightly shining hands and declares.
“Holy Judgment!”
“Tch!”
Locust soars into the sky again.
“Ghk!”
I’m… suffocating.
The strong gravity and the grip on my collar make it feel like blood can’t flow to my head.
In my dazed state… I stab Locust in the abdomen with my sword.
“Aargh!”
With a painful scream, Locust releases me.
-Thud!
I landed on the roof tiles of the imperial palace.
“Ugh…”
It hurts. Did I land wrongly? My shoulder and back are in so much pain.
-Clang!
Locust, having drawn and thrown away my sword, stands before me.
“Where is the Emperor?! Can’t you speak?!”
“Arrow of Light!”
“Radiance of Purification!”
“aaargh!”
The nuns and priests seem to have arrived just in time.
They begin to attack Locust, who is atop the imperial palace, with holy magic.
“These… these scoundrels!”
***
Locust feels trapped in a dilemma.
He had planned to take the archduke hostage to escape danger, but it seemed the archduke was prepared to die, commanding the attack.
‘This… this ruthless wretch!’
Thanks to that, Locust feels anxious.
He realizes that taking the archduke hostage is meaningless.
‘Maybe… it would be better to capture a soldier who looks a bit higher in rank and interrogate him?’
With that thought, Locust throws the archduke off the roof.
“Farewell, traitor!”
***
“aaah!”
Locust picks me up and throws me down to the ground.
In a fleeting moment.
Is this how I die? Haha… Not too bad.
And with that, I gently close my eyes.
But when I don’t feel the impact on my body for a long time, I find it strange.
“Your Grace, please open your eyes.”
As I opened my eyes to the sweet voice…
“Huh? Princess Ea… No, Lady Ea?”
How is Maximilian’s wife here?
Ea, who saved me with her magic just before my body hit the ground.
I’m astonished to find her here.
“Well… these gentlemen have asked us for help.”
The men standing behind Ea.
I ask them.
“Who might you be?”
“We are the Golden Knights. My name is Marcus.”
Looking at the men behind him, I recall the last intelligence report.
“Could it be the unidentified knight who arrived recently?”
Marcus smiles wryly at my words.
Probably Theodora asked William to help her avoid the eyes of me and the intelligence department.
I told her not to do anything unnecessary.
Marcus responds awkwardly to my words.
“Yes, that’s correct. We were lying in wait in Roman on a secret mission from His Imperial Majesty. But seeing the defensive magic of the walls activated and the appearance of demons, we sought help from Lady Ea, the Archmage.”
I commend Marcus for his excellent judgment.
“Thank you. Your decision has saved our lives.”
To be honest, I hadn’t thought of Ea. I naturally assumed she wouldn’t lend her power to me.
Our current weakness is the absence of a mage to find the hidden Locusts.
I had requested cooperation from the Tower of Mages and thought they would arrive soon…
But now that Ea has come, the situation changes significantly.
“Lady Ea, I apologize for the disrespect I showed to your kingdom before. But… as you know, a high demon has entered Roman. His Holiness the Pope is also trying to capture the demon, and I hope you will lend us your strength.”
Ea responds with a bright smile.
“Not at all. Demons are the enemy of humanity. I too will lend my strength to Your Grace.”
She shows her staff and cloak as she speaks.
“And… though it’s late, thank you so much for the wedding gift.”
The staff and cloak of Benian.
These two are Ea’s belongings from the original work.
“Thank you for saying so.”
Agrippa returned while I was conversing with Ea.
And just in time, the kindly priest and nun, and Sena.
Feeling that the tide was turning, I ordered Ea and Sena to command the soldiers and holy knights to search the imperial palace.
But for over an hour, there’s no word about Locust.
According to Ea and Sena, it might take more time because the magic is hidden, which makes me anxious.
Damn it, where did he go?
It’s certain he hasn’t left the palace.
Where is it? Where are you?!
***
Locust is brutally torturing a passing duke’s soldier.
“Where is the emperor?!”
“I… I don’t know!”
In a short time, he cuts off fingers, ankles, hands, and when one faints, he kidnaps another soldier to torture cruelly…
“Where is the emperor?!”
“He’s… He’s hiding in the underground torture chamber.”
Locust finally learns where the emperor is.
“Where is this underground torture chamber?!”
To Locust’s grotesque question, the trembling soldier spills out in fear.
“It’s below the kitchen, underground!”
At that, the sinister-smiling Locust says,
“Is that so? Then I’ll take you with me. If you lie… know that you’ll die a cruel death!”
With that, he grabs the soldier by the scruff and heads down to the first floor.
“St… Stop him!”
“It’s a demon!”
The holy knights and soldiers guarding the kitchen shout upon seeing Locust, who swoops in and rips their organs apart with his sharp claws.
“aaargh!”
‘Seeing the holy knights here, the emperor must be here, right?’
“What are you doing?! Lead the way to the torture chamber already!”
A soldier, trembling at the sight of a mighty paladin and dozens of soldiers slain in an instant, fiddles with the furnace.
-Boom!
The furnace door opens shortly after.
***
-Block it!
-It’s a demon!
Voices heard nearby.
Could it be… the kitchen?
How did they not know there was a torture chamber there?
I break the window and leap into the kitchen.
“Pant… Pant…”
No… Theodora… She mustn’t be captured.
If she is, things will get really complicated.
I sprint to the kitchen with all my might and take a step down at the sight of the open torture chamber entrance.
Entering the torture chamber, I shout at Locust, who is looking at Theodora.
“Stop!”
Only then do they turn their heads to look at me.
The trembling Theodora and the smug Locust.
“You?”
“Ha! It’s too late! The Emperor is mine to take!”
“Shut up!”
“Ugh!”
Combining the speed of my charge with the weight and strength of my body, I manage to kick Locust’s torso and topple him over.
Locust lies pitifully on the ground.
Looking at him, I pull out a piece of paper I’d hoped never to use from my pocket.
Damn… It was meant for interception.
In a narrow underground space like a torture chamber, a fireball explosion would be perfect for bringing down the structure.
We might not survive the collapse either…
But maybe that way… I could save Theodora?
As the thought crosses my mind, I grab Theodora’s wrist and push her into a corner.
And as I pull out the Fireball scroll from my bosom and tear it, Theodora asks with a shocked expression.
“What… what are you trying to do?”
As mana gathers in my hand and transforms into a Fireball, I aim for the ceiling above the head of the locust charging at me and throw it.
Then, turning around, I try to shield her from the heat of the explosion with my body as much as possible…
“Theodora, I will protect you, at least. So don’t worry.”
I say this with a smile.
And then… I lose consciousness with a loud explosion.