CIATB Chapter 501
Chapter 501
A gloomy fog hung over the entire castle.Most people had fled, and the bustling downtown area was completely deserted, its former liveliness nowhere to be found.
Next to the large statue of Luce, a completed gallows came into view.
It was an object created by the Chernion Cult to hang Arendt and High Priest Lumiel. Its presence made the surroundings appear even more sinister.
It was a dawn where the scent of blood seemed to linger.
As everyone watched, Arendt entered the square in front of the Great Temple alone.
All the other knights had half-surrounded the square, keeping a close eye on Arendt’s every move.
If even a single arrow were to fly at Arendt, they would immediately launch an all-out attack.
‘I hope the letter arrived safely.’
Even though he knew full well that it was not the time, Arendt briefly recalled something else.
He wondered if the indictment sent last night reached Cantares, who knew nothing about it at the time.
In “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”, Arendt was caught trying to betray them.
The reason was none other than a carrier pigeon that suddenly flew to the Crown Prince one day.
The messenger had only delivered a note stating the place and time, and Cantares had the knights lie in wait at the place indicated by the sender of the note.
The note in the novel that Lee Soo-hyun read was sent by his current self, who had become Arendt.
Nereid helped set it in motion.
It was Part 3 of “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword” where the story of Laius, who became a hero after being betrayed by an apprentice knight, began.
‘Because the world was already in tatters, Luce didn’t notice our trick.’
Even in the timeline of “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”, and even at this very moment, Luce did not notice that Nereid and the current Arendt had intervened.
When it seemed that Laius was about to fail, Luce rewinded the world and cast ‘Lee Soo-hyun’ in place of the real ‘Arendt von Eckhart’,
So, Lee Soo-hyun was given the role of ‘Arendt von Eckhart’…
Lee Soo-hyun, who had been living as Arendt, had asked Nereid the night before to send that very letter, which became the starting point of everything.
‘That’s how the current stage was created.’
It was a causality loop like a hamster wheel that went around in endless circles.
The play, which had been torn to shreds and flowing in different directions, was finally tied together in one strand at dawn yesterday, when Arendt sent the letter.
Finally, the play began to move in one direction.
Towards an ending that no one, be it a god or a stranger, knows.
Arendt stopped in a suitable place and slipped his hands into his pockets, as was his habit.
“I came as requested. It’s not my fault that there’s a bit of an audience…”
The apprentice knight’s clear voice echoed through the quiet square.
“Guess we’ll have to understand each other as best we can as it seems both sides drew quite the crowd.”
Arendt cast an indifferent glance toward the Great Temple.
At first glance, it seemed like there was no sign of anything, but that wasn’t the case.
From the cracks in the outer walls surrounding the Great Temple, and from the rooftops above, murderous gazes poured down.
Arendt glanced around for a moment and then looked at the entrance to the temple.
Priests, dressed in robes from head to toe, stood guard in front of the tightly closed door.
Arendt took a few more steps toward them without showing any sign of tension.
“Open the door. I won’t come any closer. Just send the priests this way.”
“…”
The priests of the Chernion Cult looked at the apprentice knight who spoke expressionlessly.
As one of the priests raised one hand, the tightly shut door began to slowly open.
The heavy door opened with a dreary sound, and pale, exhausted priests appeared inside.
The knights who were watching took a short breath.
The priests who appeared inside the Great Temple were in a more miserable state than Benno.
The wounds they had sustained during the subjugation had not healed and were now festering. Furthermore, nearly half of their bare torsos had been chewed away by ghouls.
“These pebbles don’t look very good.”
Arendt frowned slightly. The priests flinched at the word “pebbles,” but they seemed unwilling to protest or even rebel.
The Chernion Cult priest opened his mouth.
“As promised, their lives are intact.”
“Come a little closer.”
As Arendt nodded, the Chernion priest pushed the hostages’ backs.
The priests began to emerge, hesitantly. Most of them had their heads bowed, seemingly overwhelmed by their plight.
Some of them even shed tears like Benno did.
Arendt glanced at them with an indifferent gaze.
‘About thirty people, I guess.’
The apprentice knight’s brow furrowed slightly.
There were more people than he thought.
The priests of the Luce Church, dragging their feet, lined up in front of the wide-open door.
Arendt, who was looking at them one by one, suddenly realized that there was someone missing.
“Where’s the High Priest?”
“She is…”
The Chernion priest at the very front answered.
“She refused to become a pebble.”
“…What?”
For a moment, Arendt frowned involuntarily. Then, one of the Luce priests who had been held hostage spoke.
“… That’s what she said. Handing the temple over to the enemy would go against Lord Luce’s will…”
“…”
Arendt was silent for a moment. After a brief pause, he asked.
“Did the High Priest say that herself?”
“Yes…”
The priest of the Luce Church bowed his head deeply.
Watching him, he had a gut feeling that Lumiel had lied to the priests. The priests probably knew she was lying, but they were forcing themselves to believe her.
Even if it meant being left alone in the enemy’s hands, Lumiel had chosen not to leave with the other hostages.
A bad feeling crept over him.
Arendt’s face hardened.
“…Didn’t I clearly say that not a single person should be left out?”
“You spoke only of the pebbles.”
The Chernion priest let out a mocking laugh.
“Luce’s High Priest refused to be judged by the price you placed on her.”
It meant that Lumiel herself had refused to leave the Great Temple. The priests of the Luce Church averted their gaze and remained silent.
He could tell from the way they didn’t actively deny it that the Chernion Cult’s priest was not lying.
Richt, who had been quietly observing the situation, called out to Laius.
“…Captain.”
This was an unexpected situation.
“Let’s just wait and see for now.”
Laius answered briefly.
“I’m sure Her Excellency has a plan. She even received an emergency escape artifact from Arendt.”
Now that everything was left to Arendt, they could no longer intervene.
Richt fell silent again, unease flickering in his gaze as he looked at the apprentice knight’s narrow back.
Arendt nodded reluctantly.
“…Okay. I see.”
If Lumiel had decided that herself, there was nothing he could do.
‘I wonder what she’s thinking.’
Arendt tilted his head.
“Until the hostages are safely returned to us, try to make even the slightest attempt at trickery, and I’ll turn this place into a sea of fire.”
“Are you threatening me now? How arrogant.”
The Chernion Cult priest let out a sharp laugh.
“It seems like we’re not the ones who should be kneeling and begging right now.”
“…”
“Isn’t it your side that’s at a disadvantage?”
It wasn’t an empty retort. Arendt fell silent for a moment.
Even the High Priest chose to remain.
Arendt gestured to the priests.
“…Personally, I’d like to break the deal. Those people don’t mean much to me.”
The faces of the Luce priests paled. Arendt shrugged at the sight.
“Well, wouldn’t it be a virtue to sacrifice myself to save the lambs? Let’s say that I’m feeling generous and I’ll bow down and go in, just like you guys said.”
Even in this situation, Arendt remained calm. He surveyed his enemies with a gaze of unparalleled indifference.
“We’ll move simultaneously. How about that? While I go your way, the hostages move this way. Neither of us will do anything until we reach each other’s side.”
“Not bad.”
As the Chernion priest nodded, Arendt added:
“You move first. You have the upper hand. We promised a fair deal, so give in to that. For every three steps they take, I take one step closer.”
“Do the opposite.”
The priest of darkness spoke briefly.
“You take three steps, the hostages take one. You move first.”
“…”
Arendt shrugged his shoulders with a calm expression, meaning, “Do whatever you want.”
The priests, who were hesitating, shuffled forward a step.
Arendt took three steps toward the Great Temple with a neat gait and precise strides.
No one spoke.
A frozen silence stretched beneath the slowly brightening sky.
Three steps, then one more step.
Arendt and the hostages were getting closer and closer.
“Get ready.”
As Laius murmured softly, the knights and elf warriors silently prepared their weapons.
“Sob… Ugh…”
One by one, the priests of the Luce Church began to sob.
It pained them, the thought of owing their lives to a young man barely past twenty.
Moreover, didn’t they turn their backs on him because they thought he had betrayed God?
But Arendt’s face remained utterly unmoved.
Now, only a single step separated Arendt from the foremost of the captives.
Arendt stepped forward again without hesitation.
Arendt stopped for a moment, about halfway between both sides.
“Don’t cry so pitifully. It’s an unpleasant sight.”
He said it offhandedly and strode forward again. Now Arendt was shoulder to shoulder with the priests at the very end of the group.
One more step and Arendt would be in enemy territory, and the prisoners would be in Allied territory.
Arendt paused for a moment, hesitating to take that last step.
“…Sir Arendt…”
A young priest called out to Arendt, his face streaked with tears. Arendt answered in a subdued voice.
“Don’t look back and just run straight ahead.”
“How, how could we possibly do that…”
They were too ashamed to even lift their heads. Even if Arendt dismissed them as pebbles, it didn’t change the fact that he was risking his life to save them.
“You really don’t understand what I’m saying.”
Arendt clicked his tongue.
“It means to leave quickly because you’re getting in the way.”
But now, those words couldn’t be taken at face value. The priests all had their heads bowed and were weeping quietly.
Arendt shook his head and kicked the priest’s shin with his foot, not hard enough to hurt.
“Move.”
“…”
At his urging, the priests had no choice but to take a step forward.
The priests passed Arendt. Arendt, too, took his final step without a moment’s hesitation.
The priest of darkness took a step forward to guide Arendt.
“This way…”
A steel arrow flew in and pierced the head of the priest who was approaching Arendt.