Little by little.

The glass shards under their feet brightened up in the reflected torchlight.

The air was full of the putrid smell of carrion.

In that musty underground area –

Was a messy, shambolic laboratory.

Steel Justice Heretic Inquisitor Ryburn narrowed his brows as he put on his glasses.

"Leader. Take a look at this."

"Hmm."

It'd been a long time since last he had to pursue after an apostate.

The apostate who cleverly escaped his search network had passed through this underground laboratory.

It was a terrible place where biological experiments had been conducted, unbridled.

"It seems that all the related specimens are dead. Of course…"

There were also some signs of battle.

Although some time had passed, it wasn't difficult to infer what had happened.

"The heretic who broke the Church's taboo and the apostate who hid the holy relic… It's an obvious combination."

The heretic researcher couldn't have built a lab like this by himself.

It was clear that he had a helper, and that must have been the apostate.

"Callius."

It could be concluded that he had been the researcher's associate.

"There must have been some quarrel between them.

"These people are demented heretics. A breach can easily occur between such people, since their cooperation is solely based on personal gain."

And if that's not why –

“They might have coveted and tried to monopolize the power of the relic.”

Delruin, standing next to Ryburn, nodded his head and folded his arms, agreeing that it seemed a very plausible motive.

"But will this be alright?"

"What do you mean?"

“… Didn’t you see the traces of the battle between Pilgrim Esther and Callius?”

Ryburn fell silent.

He had indeed seen it.

The traces left from their battle.

In the middle of those tangled woods.

And at the end of it, a sharp and striking sword mark.

A deep indentation, as if a dragon had scratched the ground with its claw.

"I heard Pilgrim Esther told you something."

"… She said that she had been defeated. And that Callius is not an apostate, nor does he have any relics."

It didn't make sense however many times you heard it.

Ryburn snorted.

If that fool didn't have the power of the relic, how could Esther, the next Saint of the Church and a genius among geniuses, be defeated by a mere three years of practice?

"Didn't you say that Pilgrim Esther was not injured anywhere?"

"Yes, I'm a little sceptical about that…"

Seeing Ryburn's sharpening eyes, Delruin fell into silence.

"After we uncover all Callius' sins, we may have to go find Pilgrim Esther."

"… Yes."

What he did after visiting this underground laboratory was unknown.

Even if Esther's words were true, there was a lot of ambiguity in his story.

There was no reason why Steel Justice Heretic Inquisitor, Ryburn, should stop.

"He is heading North."

"Yes, the scouts have reported that there are rumours of a Pilgrim who cleared out all the nearby bandits."

"Inquisitor Delruin."

"Yes, sir."

"Send a message to the Church."

"What …"

Pilgrim Callius.

He had a holy relic, which allowed a continuous and explosive growth.

The extent of his growth could not be estimated by Ryburn, and it was still in progress.

It was self-evident that if left as it was, he would become an uncontrollable monster.

In addition, now that the circumstances of his deep involvement with a Spirit Crafter engaged in taboo research had come into light, he could not be left alone any longer.

"I speak in the name of Ryburn, the leader of the Inquisition. I am raising the danger level of Pilgrim Callius from level 5 to level 2, and I request active support from the Church."

"A request for active support…"

"I am requesting support from five of the seven Inquisitorial Platoons, leaving out the 1st and the 2nd."

The purpose is the apostate Callius.

His life, his relics.

And –

Ryburn looked at the largest broken glass tube at the end of the lab.

"The results of the research that violated the taboo."

Seize it all.

Hwiiing.

The bone-chilling eastern wind blew through the North and cut deep into the White Forest.

The man, who was wearing a thick hood, suddenly raised his head and let out a deep breath.

The long white stream of his breath fluttered in the wind and dispersed.

White Forest.

A notorious high-risk area, even by the standards of the North.

Grotesquely gigantic trees tower high in the sky, right in front of those who guarded its borders.

A forest made up of such trees.

That is the Northern White Forest.

Each tree is wider than a house, and tall enough to block the sun, and they fill the uppermost edges of the northern parts of the Kingdom.

From a distance one might be able to feel the magnificence of nature, and call it a superb view, but its neighbours do not.

Life is a comedy from afar, and a tragedy from up close.

It is the same for the Northern White Forest.

To match the vast size of the forest, the beasts inhabiting it are similarly huge.

Besides, they are more ferocious and more vicious than their kin from other places.

Of course, there are a lot of territorial disputes between the beasts, and a lot of them move in herds, so hunting in the forest is not easy.

There are many beasts that perceive the nearby humans as prey and wander across the forest's borders.

The number of Knights who enter the White Forest every year to hunt but are instead hunted down by their prey is also considerable.

One might wonder, why is no effort made to cut down all the trees? No matter how big a tree is, it can be cut down.

If the trees go through logging for several generations, there would be no such thing left as the White Forest, and there would be nothing to fear about the ferocious beasts breeding inside it.

But those are the words of those who have never seen the White Forest properly.

Most of the trees in the White Forest are silicified wood, which in simple words means a tree that has hardened into stone.

How do you cut down a giant tree that has turned to stone?

It can't be cut.

If it's a Paladin, he might be able to cut one down somehow over a few days.

But how much time will it take for all the silicified trees in the White Forest be cut down?

Who would be able to do all that messy work?

Do those who have worked hard to rise to the position of a Paladin, want to cut down trees hard as stone for the rest of their lives?

That's just nonsense.

Therefore, it is Jervain's mission to lead Knights and soldiers to hunt the beasts inside the forest.

Even if you can't cut down the trees, and you can't burn down the forest, and you can't wither the seeds of the demonic beasts… even so, in the North, Jervain still stands.

"It's cold."

The man standing in the centre of the White Forest felt a little nostalgia and boredom when he saw the sword marks on the silicified wood.

Three years ago.

Callius had been here.

Immediately after gaining the status of a Pilgrim, he almost died while wandering around without knowing where to go.

After organizing his thoughts, he made up his mind to train his body, so he went to the White Forest.

No, to be precise, he set out to find ‘him' in the White Forest.

“… But why isn't he here?”

He'd always been here.

Although he was a Paladin who had completed his pilgrimage, he was a strange old man who hunted beasts in the White Forest without returning to the Church.

"Bernard."

A Pilgrim who completed his pilgrimage, one who possessed Rakan, the Thunderbolt Sword, and has completed the achievement of turning his rosary into a sheath. An appointed Paladin, a hunter who never left the North and only hunted the beasts dwelling in the White Forest.

Callius had visited him here three years ago.

"Um? You. Who are you? One does not simply walk into the White Forest."

The pattern engraved on the speaker's chest was a combination of a gray wolf and a sword.

It was a pattern that symbolized Jervain.

‘A Knight of Jervain?'

However, there was no gray in her eyes, and seeing that only a little divine power could be felt, she was a Knight who had been baptized.

But she was holding a Carcass.

A sword close to a Life Sword.

"Can't you hear me talking?"

Chiang! The speaker and the Knights who followed her drew their swords as one.

The Knights' eyes were valiant and their postures dauntless.

Probably because they were Knights of the North, their spirit itself was different from the Knights of other places.

Such spirit and momentum seeped through the skin and made the blood boil.

But Callius did not draw his sword in response. He looked at them for a moment, sighed, and pulled his hood back.

"Ah."

The Knight-Captain, giving a small sigh, bowed her head.

Immediately, the attitude changed.

The stiff neck of the Knight-Captain, who had been trying to interrogate him with an overbearing attitude, bended down at once.

It was a transformation that highlighted just how great was Jervain's status in the North.

"I see you are a Jervain."

Callius nodded disapprovingly and put his hood back on.

He didn't want to show himself, but it was still better than having a pointless sword fight.

He was not afraid to fight the Knights, but Callius wasn't a murderer.

He wanted to avoid any fights, and if he shed blood here, the beasts of the White Forest would come rushing in droves.

Besides, there was nothing good about killing Jervain's Knights.

"All right then."

But, the moment he was about to pass by –

"Hey, hey!"

Callius' footsteps stopped at the Knight's urgent voice.

"Isn't it Callius-sama?"

“….”

Looking at him without saying a word, the Knight-Captain's eyes filled with certainty.

"I must be right."

"So you know me."

"You don't recognize me?"

She frowned as at that, then gave a little laugh ​​and took off her helmet.

"I'm Orphin, who stood by young master when you were young. Orphin de Liofen!"

Orphin de Liofen.

The lady who introduced herself like that seemed to be happy and burst into laughter.

‘I don't know her.'

Seeing her talking about his childhood, it was a memory the current Callius had no knowledge of.

"You have grown up."

“….”

Judging by the way she treated him and her words, she seemed to have been a Knight in charge of escorting Callius when he was young.

‘It's the first I've heard of her name… It doesn't look like she's an important character.'

But it's an odd name.

If you're even a little familiar, you'd know, but that's not the case at all.

"We were on patrol. This is a coincidence, but would you like to join me for a while?"

“… Sure.”

"You guys wait here."

"All right."

Hwiiing.

Buduk. Puduk.

Callius and Orphin, who were walking across the White Forest through the crunching snow, were talking.

“Is that so, the Lord has adopted him…”

Jervain's main family line.

The current children of the Patriarch were one son and one daughter.

One of them was Callius.

The only son of the Patriarch was an idiot, and one who was even almost expelled from the family, so he needed a new son.

"Yes. He is not only good at swordsmanship, but he is also excellent in other various fields. Everyone thinks that he will probably succeed him soon."

"Well…"

"Oh, I made a slip of the tongue."

"No, no problem."

‘I'm too busy with my life, so who cares?'

I'm not interested in the first place.

It's not some ordinary family, it's Jervain.

An area that can fall into danger at any time, not only by threats from the White Forest, but also while defending the vast territory and its borders.

Besides, feeding the numerous residents and their dependents living here is not something just anyone can do. It's a daunting task just to protect yourself.

I am not a fool, greedy for the job of a caretaker of a barren field.

Cheok.

Orphin, who suddenly stopped walking, looked at her sword with eyes wet with falling snow.

"Do you remember?"

No, I don't remember.

Callius was starting to find it difficult to persist against the Knight's slow and long-running welcome.

It was a waste of time, and he had no interest in listening to stories from the past that he couldn't even remember.

He needed to find Bernard quickly.

She seemed to have something she wanted to say, but all this hesitation was just frustrating.

“When you were young, young master asked me to practice swordsmanship.”

"Is that so?"

“At that time, young master lost your wooden sword against my sword and became angry.”

Where is the story going?

It seems that the escort Knight had been tormented quite a bit.

"You said this while kicking my shin. Just because you became a Knight somehow by swinging your sword, do you think you've become an aristocrat?"

“… Is that so?”

Sreung. Orphin's sword, slowly drawn out, showed off its coloured edge.

I thought she wanted to say something, but looked like she wanted to do something instead.

"And then, you kept beating me as hard you could with your wooden sword. If I resisted, you said you'd accuse me of striking at my master, and have me kicked out as an honourless Knight."

Sadness and regret could be seen in her bitter smile.

To spit such disgrace on a Knight who lives for honour and dies for honour…

After all, a scapegrace is a scapegrace.

"This must also be fate. Since you became a Pilgrim of the Order and left Jervain's name behind. My sword is only going to cut through a savage nameless bastard encountered outside the border."

Isn't that God's will?

Callius' eyebrows twitched.

"Callius. A fool like you was not supposed to come back to the North."

A sword brimming with old grudges that he had no memory of was directed at him.

Callius let out a deep sigh as he looked at Orphin's sword.

"That's why I didn't like coming to the North."

"Callius! Pull out your sword!"

It's embarrassing, but what can I do?

If I have to pull it out, I just have to pull it out.

Sreung – cheok.

He grabbed [Predator Sword – Loas] and started pulling it out, put it back in, and pulled out Life Sword – Lucen instead.

"You have no talent in swordsmanship, and yet you carry a good sword. Isn't that throwing pearls before swine?"

"I see."

"I thought it would be a little different because you became a Pilgrim. But seeing how the divine power flowing through you is thin like a rat's tail, as expected, you have achieved nothing! It's amazing that you're still alive."

“….”

"It's just that my honour has been tarnished by a trivial thing like you… Come. I'll give you a chance, for old times' sake."

"Is that so."

Callius raised his sword, looked at it and murmured.

"Thank you."

And, immediately – Callius' sword struck like a lightning bolt.

Editor's Notes:

None for this chapter.