Chapter 89

The area around the Cathedral was surrounded by a Sacred Barrier.

Only clergy with holy power could pass through the Sacred Barrier, and if an ordinary person tried to force their way through, they would be flung far away.

The Sacred Barrier was a powerful divine protection that had guarded the Cathedral from external invasions for a long time…

But it wouldn’t work on Ariel anyway.

With Ariel’s abilities, she could tear through the Sacred Barrier like paper using pure strength alone.

However, doing so would cause a huge uproar, with people shouting, “The Demon King’s Army has invaded!”

All the Holy Knights of the Cathedral would mobilize, and the Empire would deploy its entire military, including the Hero, to stop Ariel, who had destroyed the Sacred Barrier.

Even so, they wouldn’t be able to stop Ariel, but it was obvious that the Imperial Capital would fall into chaos, and the situation would become dire.

That wasn’t what Ariel wanted.

Ariel simply wanted to peacefully persuade the Saintess and quietly return to the Dragon’s Lair.

Therefore, Ariel pondered a way to enter the Cathedral without destroying the Sacred Barrier.

The Sacred Barrier enveloped the entire Cathedral, but it wasn’t without gaps.

The entrance of the Cathedral was accessible to ordinary believers as well as merchants delivering food and daily supplies, as long as they passed inspection.

In other words, there was no barrier at the entrance.

However, the Holy Knights were vigilantly guarding it, but that wasn’t a problem for Ariel.

The method was simple. The moment the Cathedral’s entrance door opened, she could pass through at an imperceptible speed.

Of course, this wasn’t Ariel’s preferred method either.

Like when she passed through the City Gate, Ariel preferred the ordinary method of following formal procedures.

Everywhere has its own rules, and there’s a sense of interaction in following those rules.

Ariel valued that interaction.

The small joys gained through that interaction were one of the purposes of her adventure.

But now, Ariel had no way to prove her identity, no one to vouch for her, and no reason to enter the Cathedral.

Following the formal procedures was impossible.

Then, there was only one way to enter the Cathedral without causing a commotion.

‘Run incredibly fast.’

Pass through at a speed so fast that the guarding Holy Knights wouldn’t even notice.

Ariel crouched and waited, ready to dash the moment the Cathedral’s door opened.

A moment later, the Cathedral’s entrance door opened, and people walked out. They were clergy who had finished their prayers in the chapel.

Whoosh!

In an instant, a blurry figure passed through them.

But no one noticed.

The clergy continued chatting and walking slowly, while the Holy Knights maintained their solemn guard.

There was no problem.

The Cathedral’s entrance was as peaceful as ever.

*

Like a gust of wind, Ariel quickly passed through the Cathedral’s entrance and arrived at the courtyard fountain.

The moonlit fountain was adorned with beautiful statues, and water trickled softly.

Ariel slowly looked around. She had successfully infiltrated the Cathedral. Now, she just needed to find where the Saintess was…

“Haha, this year’s prayers have been safely completed.”

A voice was heard.

Turning her gaze, Ariel saw two elderly clergy walking and chatting.

“That’s right. Not just us, but the Saintess must have suffered greatly too. She probably didn’t eat for days and stayed in the Sanctuary all day.”

“Indeed. That must have been very difficult. We can only be grateful for the Saintess’s devotion.”

Ariel stood frozen by the statue, waiting for them to pass.

Fortunately, the two clergy didn’t notice Ariel and walked past.

“It’s all thanks to the Saintess that we can live so peacefully. More people should realize that, but seeing the number of believers decreasing lately… Hmm?”

One of the clergy suddenly stopped.

He quickly turned to look where Ariel was.

But Ariel was no longer there.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I thought I saw something here just now…”

“Hmm, there’s nothing there. Maybe you saw something that wasn’t there?”

“Haha, perhaps. I must have prayed too fervently today…”

The clergy continued walking.

Once they were gone, Ariel slowly crawled out from behind the statue.

She had quickly hidden behind the statue the moment the clergy turned his gaze.

Fortunately, she wasn’t caught, but this was still tiring. She wanted to find the Saintess as quickly as possible and return to the Dragon’s Lair.

Ariel began searching the Cathedral for the Saintess.

“…Huh? Wasn’t there something just now?”

“Huh? What was it?”

“I thought I saw something white pass by…”

“Really? I didn’t see anything.”

Although Ariel occasionally encountered clergy or Holy Knights, she moved so fast that they only felt a slight sense of curiosity and didn’t properly witness her.

And after a while.

Ariel finally found a room where the Saintess might be.

At the end of the Cathedral’s corridor, there was a large door with sacred patterns carved on either side.

Two Holy Knights were guarding the door.

These two Holy Knights were different from the others guarding elsewhere.

They had a much stricter atmosphere.

Their faces showed tension, and their posture was flawless.

They were extremely thorough in their guard.

It seemed like a very important person was behind that door.

Like the Saintess, for example.

Whoosh!

Ariel kicked off the ground and ran toward the two Holy Knights.

“!”

The Holy Knights noticed Ariel and tried to draw their swords.

But Ariel subdued them before they could.

Ariel struck the Holy Knights’ heads with the edge of her hand, and they lost consciousness and collapsed.

She had controlled her strength, so they wouldn’t die, but they wouldn’t wake up immediately either.

“……”

Feeling sorry, Ariel took some gold coins from her Inventory and placed a handful in each Holy Knight’s pocket.

Suddenly attacking and then giving money was a bit odd, but it was the least she could do.

Ariel tried to open the door. She hoped the Saintess was inside.

“Stop.”

A cold voice came from behind.

Ariel turned to see an old man with white hair standing at the end of the corridor.

The old man wore magnificent armor, distinctly different from the other Holy Knights, with sacred patterns densely engraved on it.

A terrifying spiked mace hung at his waist, and a large, sturdy shield was strapped to his back.

“No wonder the Cathedral felt uneasy. There was indeed a rat scurrying around.”

The old man began walking toward Ariel with firm steps.

He wasn’t particularly large or intimidating, but his eyes shone intensely.

Those eyes reminded Ariel of an experienced veteran knight.

“Targeting the Saintess, you must be a demon.”

Ariel thought to herself.

Targeting the Saintess? Then, was the Saintess really behind this door?

“A demon daring to invade the sacred Cathedral. Did you think the Cathedral would be so easy to breach?”

Suddenly, a golden aura burst from the old man’s body. The intense aura, like the sun’s rays, began filling the corridor.

“Well, it doesn’t matter.”

Before she knew it, the old man had approached Ariel, holding a mace in one hand and a shield in the other.

“Either way, you’ll meet your end here.”

The next moment, the mace in the old man’s hand swung down toward Ariel’s head.

*

“……”

Watching the mace descend, Ariel pondered.

She could use Telekinesis, deploy a Shield, or simply catch the mace with her hand. There wouldn’t be any problem.

However, something was strange.

The old man’s mace wasn’t threatening at all.

The mace was falling slowly and weakly toward Ariel’s head.

Ariel simply took a step back to avoid the old man’s mace.

“Hoh. You dodged my strike. You’re indeed not ordinary.”

Strike. The old man called it that, but even a child could have dodged it.

It was slow and weak.

Ariel quietly observed the mace in the old man’s hand.

It seemed like the mace wasn’t real. It felt like it was made of cloth.

“Now, it’s your turn. I’ll specially receive your attack.”

The old man raised his shield and spoke. The shield also didn’t seem real. Stitches were sticking out from the edges.

“……”

As Ariel stood still, the old man urged her.

“Draw your sword, honorable knight.”

First, he called her a demon, and now an honorable knight.

It felt like a joke, but the old man’s eyes were utterly serious.

“Show me the spirit of an honorable knight.”

“……”

Ariel let out a small sigh and drew Ragnarok from her back.