Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Church's Scheme

Four days after the Holy Seal Knights arrived at the capital city of Alta, Shuu and Iris were walking down the main street. Alta was primarily a tourist destination, so there were many things to see just by walking around. There were stalls like food stands, cafes with terraces, and street performers.

"The smell is so enticing."

"It's the aroma of the grilled skewers I had the other day. The spicy sauce was delicious."

"Let's buy some!"

"Alright."

Shuu headed towards the food stall. Iris naturally linked her arm with Shuu's and they both headed towards the stall together. When the two of them arrived in front of the stall, the owner greeted them cheerfully.

"Welcome!"

"Two skewers, please."

"Sure thing. That'll be twenty magi."

"Here you go."

Shuu handed over the money, and in return, he received the skewers. Taking one of the skewers, he casually put it in Iris' mouth.

"Mmm?!"

"Oh, it's delicious, just as I expected."

"That's mean!"

"It's tasty, isn't it?"

"Of course, it's ten times more delicious! Thank you for feeding me."

Iris smiled and chewed with a relaxed expression. She looked truly happy.

"By the way... It seems there are still Holy Knights around."

"Yes, that's right."

"There's one behind us. Don't turn around."

While holding the skewer in his mouth, Shuu used his magical sense to lock onto the Holy Knight. Then, he released his right hand from the skewer and began to close it as if crushing something.

And then, he suddenly closed his palm.

"[Death]."

He felt someone collapse behind him.

"Aaaahhhh!"

"What?! What happened!?"

"The Holy Knight-sama has fallen! We need to rescue him quickly!"

"Isn't there any magician here?! A healer!"

Such cries could be heard from behind.

However, Shuu only glanced briefly at the scene behind him and continued walking down the main street.

***

During the daytime on the main street...

Celstar arrived at the fallen Holy Knight. One of the subordinates of the Holy Seal Knights had been killed. His expression was filled with bitterness.

"This makes the fifth..."

"Vice Captain."

"Yeah, I know. Let's pay our respects properly."

Celstar covered the dead body with a white cloth.

On the day he had spoken with Shuu, four of his subordinates were killed. And now, this was the fifth.

"Captain... It's clear that he's the culprit. Should we kill him immediately?"

"Do you have any evidence that he used some kind of magic?"

"Not even a magic circle... there's not even a trace of magical energy."

"Not even a trace of magical energy?"

"Yes."

Shuu's death magic took energy as magical power. There shouldn't be any traces of magical energy left. This fact perplexed Celstar.

"Not even a trace of magical energy... What on earth..."

Assuming Shuu is the Demon Lord, it is speculated that he possesses more power than expected. It is unbelievable that he can kill people without leaving any traces of magic.

It is already known that the Demon Lord possesses the magic to instantly kill people. When executing the witch Iris, the Demon Lord Arclight appeared and instantly killed the Holy Knight. This information has spread, and even in the Holy Grinia mainland, the power of the Demon Lord is recognized.

Based on this information, there was a firm belief that Shuu was indeed the Demon Lord Arclight.

Having the power to instantly kill people is not something that happens often.

"I can't stand it anymore, Captain!"

"I understand. I also want to attack Shuu just as much. But do you plan on fighting in the middle of the town?"

"W-Well..."

"They have the advantage over us from the beginning. They know that we can't attack them in the middle of the town, so they're walking around boldly. And they kill my subordinates without hesitation."

Celstar said frustratedly.

Even if they were to launch an attack, they would have to lure them to another location. After that, they would need to present evidence and evacuate the residents to secure the attack site. That's what Celstar could think of.

"We have no choice but to execute that plan quickly."

"Yes. We're making preparations."

"What about the other dark organizations?"

"They have gone quiet, but with the four Holy Knights dying under suspicious circumstances, they are showing signs of becoming active again. And with what happened today... um..."

"Yeah. Any particular areas we should be cautious of?"

"Akazume. They have a large number of magic knights, so there might be direct damage. Also, a bit of Kegusa."

The dark organization Akazume.

Assassins belong to this organization, and there are also many illegal magic knights. The members of the Elise Republic often request assassinations from Akazume. By the way, Kegusa is another dark organization specializing in assassinations and has a bad relationship with Akazume.

Akazume had been holding back on assassination requests due to the arrival of the Sealing Holy Knights, but with the four Holy Knights dying under suspicious circumstances, they were regaining their activity.

In other words, assassinations were on the rise.

"Perfect timing. Do you understand the procedure? I'm counting on you."

"Yes, understood."

The vice-captain smiled meaningfully and bowed deeply.

***

The capital of the Elise Republic, Alta. The large building on the main street is the headquarters of the dark organization Akazume. Being a dark organization, one would expect their headquarters to be in a slum district, but being a large organization, it was not the case. They had rooted themselves in the Elise Republic, using a certain trading company as a front.

"Hey hey... We've got so many requests piled up, huh?"

The man with unkempt, shaggy hair spoke while throwing the documents he held in his hand. He was tall and skinny, with bloodshot eyes.

"Well, we've been holding back on the request because of those troublesome holy knights... Can't be helped, right?"

"Shut up... Don't let those bastards intimidate you like that."

"No, I am intimidated. They're S-rank magic knights, you know? Those holy knights."

"Oh?"

"Aren't they impressive? Boss."

The eerie man with messy hair was none other than Boss Akatsume.

And sitting at the desk, doing paperwork, was his assistant. He had the appearance of a healthy young boy, but he must have been older than he looked. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to be the assistant to Boss Akatsume, the leader of a major underworld organization.

"Thanks to me running the organization, the boss can move around freely, you know? Show some gratitude."

"Shut up. I sit at the top of Akatsume and as long as I can kill, I'm satisfied. I don't feel like taking on any trouble."

"That's just being useless..."

"Did you say something?"

"No, Boss, you're the best."

"Hahaha! That's right, isn't it?"

Boss Akatsume burst into vulgar laughter.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door. The door opened, and someone entered the room.

"Excuse me. So the boss is here too."

"Huh? You again. Did you bring a request?"

"Well, you could say that."

"What's with that suggestive tone? Show it to me."

The man who entered handed the request form to the boss. Even though Boss Akatsume was rough, he had some education and could read the writing on it. He examined the contents, a savage smile appearing on his face.

"I see... This is good. It's perfect."

"I thought the boss would say that."

The man shrugged his shoulders.

And he asked:

"What are you going to do?"

"We'll handle it well. This is an opportunity, you know? We'd be crazy to let it slip away."

The boss threw the request form at his assistant, who was doing desk work. Despite the air resistance, it landed neatly on the desk when caught. The assistant picked it up and began to read it.

"What's this about?"

The assistant furrowed his brow as he read the request form.

Because it wasn't a request concerning Akatsume.

"Is this some kind of mistake? This is a request regarding Kasou, right?"

"Yeah, but isn't it a chance? Normally, information about a request to an underworld organization doesn't come to us. It's top-secret information, you know?"

"I see. If we dig deeper, it seems like we could cause catastrophic damage to Kasou. Given that it's a request, after all."

The assistant placed the request form on the desk and asked the man who brought it:

"Where did this information come from?"

"That's because the spy did his best, you see. Well, I don't know about their espionage methods. You know they don't reveal their special connections and techniques to their comrades, right?"

"Just to be safe, should we gather some information?"

"Oh, I took care of that. That's why I brought it."

"You work fast, it's amazing."

The assistant placed a request form on the desk, and it was written as follows:

"Assassination of a Holy Knight during a monster subjugation mission."

A request to assassinate a holy knight during their demonstration of monster subjugation outside of Alta. It's likely that a politician connected to a dark organization is the client, but no details are provided.

With the suspicious death of a holy knight during broad daylight, public distrust towards the holy knights is spreading. To dispel that, they are embarking on monster subjugation.

According to the information, Holy Knight Sylster Altrain will not be participating here.

It's a perfect opportunity.

For the politicians who consider the holy knights obstructive in eliminating the dark organization, and for the person named Hagusa who wants to assassinate the holy knight and gain fame in the underworld.

"Boss, what are your instructions?"

"Yeah, interfere with their work. The glory of the holy knights' destruction is ours! And give Hagusa's group a fatal blow."

The boss grinned confidently.

---

"At the same time, in a tavern located a little away from the main street of Alta, a certain meeting was taking place. The room was specially soundproofed and had perfect countermeasures against eavesdropping."

"Four people were gathered around a round table."

"Glasses were placed in front of them, filled with very expensive liquor."

"Take a look at this guy. What do you think?"

"Huh? Is it a trap?"

"I've gathered information on the other side. Besides, it's a chance."

Upon reading the prepared documents, they found something very intriguing.

"Holy knights are conducting large-scale monster subjugation around Alta. Hagusa plans to assassinate them. Furthermore, Red Claw intends to hinder Hagusa's work and gain fame in removing the holy knights. Isn't it good information?"

"Red Claw won't think of interfering with us any further, right?"

"This is a winning game for our Yorenka."

They wore suspicious smiles.

Then, three of them turned to the remaining person and waited for their words.

"Kukuku... As the boss of Yorenka, I declare. Get in their way. We already have a significant share in the drug trade, and now we can also enter the assassination market. Let's do it!"

For the sake of their glorious future, the four of them raised their glasses and toasted.