Chapter 234

The old slums were relatively less damaged due to their proximity to the city wall.

The real chaos came after the capital was restored.

Many jobs were lost, and they naturally flocked there.

“Mr. Konel, we have received 1,300 reports of minor crimes.”

“Mr. Konel, the constables are subtly hinting at human hunts.”

“Mr. Konel, a brawl broke out due to space issues, with 54 seriously injured and 11 dead.”

It was Konel who suffered greatly while pushing and pulling this street.

She remembered the landscape from years ago when people could not live like humans.

The acrid, rotten smell and the hopeless eyes.

‘Absolutely not.’

Konel felt a strong need to control them.

Very strongly.

“First, bring in recovery project jobs, even if it’s forced. Even if it’s a bit distant, or if there’s a loss, it doesn’t matter. We can cover the budget with investments from the merchants.”

“Understood.”

“Tell the vigilantes not to use the power of God Amon for a while. If conflicts arise with those not familiar with the laws of this street, the church will intervene, and we’ll be the ones to get hurt.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“At the same time, proceed with missionary work subtly. Many have lost their families during this time. Tell them there’s a way to safely grow their strength through prayer and blessings. Similar to how the church does.”

“Uh, Mr. Konel, the church doesn’t grant widespread blessings to commoners.”

“Then… they should start doing that.”

That was the beginning.

From the top of her new nine-story stone building, Konel looked out at the old slums.

Tenitia’s sound of footsteps echoed strangely as she moved that day.

“Konel, is this sofa made of hippo leather?”

“Yes. I received it as a gift from a young furniture craftsman. He said he once saved a daughter who was taken by another organization.”

“Oh. Then this table is-.”

“It’s indeed ebony. I won it after defeating another gang in a skirmish. I couldn’t just throw it away, could I?”

“This fine southern fruit is-.”

“Some kids working in the red-light district brought it. I helped them find jobs to keep them from falling back into that life, and when they started a greenhouse business, they sent this as a gift, saying it was quite stable.”

Tenitia felt the shadow of Valenciaunos in the clever and intelligent girl.

Konel smiled awkwardly.

“The knight is right. It would look natural if I strengthened our people through prayer, so the church made sure to do it first.”

Valenciaunos donated a lot to have Matheos turn a blind eye to that.

* * *

Tenitia nodded, pondering.

She felt like she was playing, yet realized there was still much she did not know.

Valenciaunos sat on the hippo leather sofa, biting into the southern fruit.

Tenitia recognized it as a fruit that Valenciaunos often enjoyed as a dried fruit snack.

Valenciaunos wore a pleased expression, and Konel smiled broadly.

“Well thought out. You did well, Konel. You’ve become a good councilor.”

“Thank you.”

Tenitia asked with pure curiosity.

“Your Excellency, do you not feel deceived? Used, unaware of circumstances. That kind of unpleasant feeling.”

Valenciaunos paused for a moment and then grinned nonchalantly.

“Isn’t it that good things are good? Moreover, to voice such matters would be quite embarrassing for both sides.”

“Are we just left to assume then?”

“It could be said so.”

“What if the assumptions lead to entirely different results?”

Valenciaunos made a face similar to when Tenitia taught him swordsmanship.

“As you told me, at some point, you have to trust both people and the situation.”

“……”

“Konel is a councilor of this street and would eventually take actions for the street and the people. If you think that way, you can roughly guess. They must be looking for more jobs aggressively, and they’ll do something to maintain order.”

Tenitia still wasn’t satisfied.

“They could be secretly plotting a scheme, couldn’t they?”

Saying that outright was the nature of a knight.

Valenciaunos laughed vibrantly.

“No matter how I think about it, this doesn’t seem like it’s for this street? Then from that point, I would look at it from a different perspective. Seeing things as they are—this wouldn’t be the case, right? If I tried to see every perspective from the start, it would be too chaotic. So, I’d start from what seems most probable and approach it little by little.”

Tenitia nodded.

She understood that at some point, you just had to trust.

No matter how much you could sense every attack, you had to believe that you could cut and deflect in order to find meaning in moving forward.

Tenitia looked back at Konel and said.

“Well then, I wish you the best of luck.”

* * *

A week passed.

In the deep night.

Ten Amon God vigilantes gathered on the third floor of the old slums’ nine-story stone building.

Step, step, step.

They all had wolf-like appearances and muscular bodies, and they each wore a loose belt with the Amon God’s talisman attached.

They were fully mutated Amon followers.

Among them was D, a young devotee who once chased the Corrupted boy.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

A moment later, the sound of a staff accompanied by a prosthetic leg descended the indoor stairs, and a short-haired girl appeared.

“Everyone is gathered.”

Konel met the eyes of each member and slowly began to chant the prayer.

“To honor the last dignity of our blinded comrade, grant your servants the power to carry out a silent retribution.”

A gray aura emanated from the talisman on Konel’s belt, flowing into the ten followers’ talismans strapped around their waists.

“Whoa.”

“Such power.”

“With this, I could probably take out about a hundred punks alone.”

They flexed their bulging arms in joy, and Konel shook her head.

“We’re not going to do good work. Keep a heart of mourning.”

“Ah.”

“Apologies. Let’s stop.”

“I’ll be more mindful.”

“Let’s move. We need to finish this before rumors spread. Especially with tonight being the full moon.”

They descended into the basement without going outside, just using the indoor stairs.

There was a large door leading to the underground waterway.

Konel turned the key and opened the door, and the eleven Amon followers entered the underground waterway.

The sewer was still cool, the water flowed rapidly, and enormous slimes swam around in the water.

D carefully examined the walls, ceiling, and sewer and then spoke.

“Mr. Konel, the water has definitely deepened, and the ceiling has become higher.”

Konel nodded as if she had expected it.

“The Emperor used the earth and rocks from below here for the restoration of the capital. It is natural that it has grown larger.”

“Then that thing might have grown larger too, right?”

“……It could be.”

The faces of the Amon followers all twisted.

“This has become a headache.”

“Let’s finish quickly.”

They shuddered uncharacteristically and split into five groups to begin their search.

Not long after, a scream echoed.

“This way!”

“Augh!”

Konel raced through the side street of the capital with D and other followers assisting her.

‘Just hold on a little longer.’

“……Ah.”

What came into view was horrifying.

In the dim darkness stood two figures, one lying down.

The downed figure was a comrade she had blessed just minutes earlier, and they were torn in half.

Though the color was indistinguishable, a red liquid flowed freely.

With needle-like fur writhing and muscles bloating, it was evident they hadn’t even had a proper fight.

“Mr. Konel.”

A follower from the same group called her name with a trembling voice.

Considering that Amon followers generally did not tremble, the immense figure before them radiated pure terror.

Konel whispered another blessing as she looked at the giant figure.

“I’m just sorry for everyone.”

The gigantic werewolf let out a breath that could touch the ceiling.

It had dozens of horns sprouting from its head and back, and one arm twisted and writhed like five or six tentacles, with sores and tumors bubbling all over.

Its hands and claws were uncomfortably large, and instead of lush fur on its tail, sickly yellow scales resembling diseased fish adorned it.

It was the monster that had roamed the underground waterway since the day it was corrupted months ago.

Tap, thud!

Konel muttered as she heard the sounds of the followers rushing in.

“I’ll finish this quickly.”

* * *

“Arrrggh!”

In the darkness without a moon, the werewolves clashed.

The Amon followers blessed by Konel quickly mutated and charged in, revealing fur-skinned layers like shields and claws like numerous spears.

The corrupted werewolf retaliated by moving its mutated body.

Their maws tore at each other as claws ripped flesh, and the energies of corruption clashed with the blessings of the Amon God.

Konel stood at the back, continuously singing, taking opportunities and wearing the lightning ring made by Sererassie to attack the corrupted followers.

Crackling!

As yellow light sped through the darkness, the huge monster shuddered in pain.

However, things were getting worse.

Thud!

One follower was grabbed by the tentacle of the corrupted follower and slammed against the wall.

D swung his claws like lightning to cut off the tentacle, but the scaled tail struck him aside.

Even though the sewer had widened, the giant werewolves struggled to leverage their numerical advantage.

Konel gritted her teeth and focused on her prayers.

‘Just because it’s been corrupted doesn’t mean the blessings of the Amon God have disappeared.’

No matter how much control she exerted, it seemed that her prayers were making the corrupted follower a bit stronger.

Moreover, the corrupted follower was receiving strength from other remnants as well, growing steadily stronger.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Long claws gleamed blood-red in the darkness, and her vigilantes retreated while bleeding.

“Mr. Konel.”

“Fall back for now!”

“This place is too dangerous. We can’t guarantee your safety, Mr. Konel.”

Konel hesitated for a moment, then offered a stronger blessing.

“In your name, I will ignite blood and flame.”

A gray aura rose like mist, enveloping the vigilantes.

“We must end this here. If word gets out, we can’t predict how the church or other councilors will react. The human hunts will start again.”

“……!”

The vigilantes steeled their resolve as the corrupted follower emitted a red glow from its eyes.

Just then, the sound of an arrow rang out from the darkness.

Thwang!

Black blood spattered from the thigh of the corrupted follower.

“Gwaah!”

It writhed on the ground in agony, and Konel remembered having experienced a similar attack before.

‘Huh?’

“So that’s why. I was wondering why you didn’t ask for help.”

Darkness rippled from one side of the sewer as the spell ‘Blur’ was broken.

Konel glanced as she welcomed it.

“Your Excellency.”

The sound of tailored boots echoed in the sewer, revealing a flamboyantly adorned white uniform.

A brown-haired woman in maid attire followed closely behind with a magic rifle.

Both wore liquid metal armor called Aquatech over their uniforms and maid attire, and Sererassie had added the ‘Blur’ incantation circuit to it.

“!”

D shuddered at the sight of Valenciaunos, and the Amon followers sent wary glances, encircling Konel.

Some among them were unaware of the romantic relationship between Konel and Valenciaunos.

Valenciaunos smirked as he ignited flames on his white gloves.

Whoosh!

Scarlet flames surged forth, burrowing into the mouth, ears, eyes, nose, and every single pore of the corrupted follower.

“Gwaah!”

The corrupted follower radiated light so intensely that it cracked the walls, but Valenciaunos remained unfazed.

From where the flames penetrated, a red aura began to rise and was absorbed into his grasp.

In less than a minute, the burning flames turned the mutated werewolf into ash.

Konel, feeling awkward, asked.

“Your Excellency, did you know and just trust this?”

Valenciaunos held a finger to his red lips.

“To speak of this would be too embarrassing. I simply believed in people and circumstances.”

‘Jobs were being created, which helped control the influx of people. It would take several months for the newly arrived followers to be able to fight properly. Hence, I had no reason to use effective prayers or blessings and viewed it from another perspective.’

“Your attitude towards taking responsibility was commendable.”

Konel lowered her head.

“Aren’t you blaming me for the concealment?”

“Surely, you know those two are the same, right?”

Konel forced a smile, and Valenciaunos waved his hand.

“Go inside. Leave this to me, and make sure to select good workers to send to the Street of Learning.”

* * *

After Konel and the vigilantes departed, Rudi gazed into a corner of the waterway.

“Valen.”

“Right. I noticed it too. I’m curious how that came to flow out. Woon.”

Whoosh.

The darkness rippled and parted as a man in a black suit and white mask emerged.

He appeared to have procured the Aquatech inscribed with the ‘Blur’ spell to adorn his clothing.

He wore a red fox mask badge on his chest.

“The manager wishes to see the VIP.”

“What is it about?”

“It relates to a spy from the Kingdom of Doroin.”

Valenciaunos grabbed his nape.

This was an event worth seeking out.

“Guide me.”