A Priest's Life as a Villain

Chapter 018

"Stop right there!"

"Uwaaah!"

A Special Unit member was chasing a Revolutionary alone. A pursuit unfolded in a narrow alley.

'What the hell am I doing, like an idiot? Th-this isn't how it's supposed to go!'

Yuliff, fleeing, cursed himself inwardly. He had volunteered for the arson at the Grand Cathedral entirely of his own will. No one had pushed him. The fifteen-year-old Yuliff had sworn to dedicate his life for the cause.

'Throw the torch, shout for the liberation of the demons, and then, me, I—?'

He should have taken his own life.

His head and body moved separately. He despised himself for scrambling to survive.

Crunch!

"Aaaagh!!"

As Yuliff fled, he tumbled forward. A hand axe was lodged in his calf. His body went cold with terror. For the first time in his life, the boy felt the fear of death. Blood and urine mixed and streamed onto the ground.

"Young one, you're really not afraid of anything, are you?"

"D-don't come any closer!"

"If 'don't come' ever worked, would I be doing this?!"

Panting, the Special Unit member buttoned his uniform. He wanted to kill Yuliff right there, but had to keep him alive—there was too much to extract through interrogation. Most Revolutionaries who set fire to the Grand Cathedral immediately committed suicide on the spot.

'Ruthless bastards.'

The Special Unit member stepped forward to seize Yuliff.

But suddenly, he stumbled sideways and collapsed forward.

"H-huh!"

Yuliff recognized the man who had appeared behind the Special Unit member.

"Mad dog?"

Ran glanced around quickly, then dragged Yuliff into a secluded corner.

"Th-thank you for saving me!"

"Shh. Where's Zilla?"

Yuliff's mind raced with a thousand thoughts. One thing was sure: the mad dog was not an enemy. He had helped the Revolutionaries numerous times, and now he'd saved Yuliff's life.

His voice trembling, the boy told Ran where Zilla was.

Ran was about to leave but glanced down at Yuliff's leg. The axe blade wasn't deeply embedded.

With a small sigh, Ran bit into Yuliff's arm. He pulled out the axe blade and tore a strip from his cloak to bandage the wound. Yuliff looked up at Ran, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Crawl your way out of the territory."

Ran said, rising to his feet.

'Damn it, of all times...'

Ran had once told Zilla that should she ever need to hide, the back alleys full of brothels and drug dens were the best bet. Priests refuse even to set foot there.

The moment he entered those alleys, he sensed vibrating demonic energy. Ran followed the trail like a tail. Winding through a maze of narrow alleys, he arrived at a familiar building.

Ran hesitated in front of the shabby door. Now that he was here, his feet felt like lead. He clenched his teeth.

Creak.

"O-oh?!"

"Shh."

The moment Susanne and the male madam saw Ran, they collapsed in terror.

He could have removed his mask, but thought it better to keep his identity secret. If something went wrong, the shock for them would be double.

"Susanne! Run!"

The male madam shouted, lunging at Ran.

They were both demons—Ran had known this for ages.

'You managed to find your kin, Zilla.'

Thump!

Ran struck the male madam's neck with the edge of his hand. The big man collapsed as if hugging Ran. Susanne was paralyzed, trembling, unable to speak.

"Susanne, please, just stay still."

Ran gestured, calming Susanne. She understood his words from his mouth shape. Trying anything more with the mask on would only scare her further.

"Zilla! I know you're here! Come out right now!"

Ran suddenly yelled.

Soon, there was a sound from inside.

"Mad dog?"

Peeking around a corner was Zilla, who'd been hiding. The two Revolutionary members directly under the 2-General Branch also revealed themselves.

Ran looked around at them and spoke.

"Why did you change plans? The arson at the Grand Cathedral isn't supposed to be now!"

"You came all the way here just to ask that?"

"Answer me!"

If he'd been holding a weapon, he would have aimed it. Zilla felt Ran's intent to kill.

"I told you clearly. Our deal is over. It's not your business anymore."

"That's fine. Honestly, I don't want anything more to do with you all. But answer my question."

"Ha."

Zilla frowned, pausing before she spoke.

"It's because lots of people gather at the church today."

The moment Zilla finished, Ran lunged threateningly. The Revolutionaries moved to block him. A tense standoff ensued.

"Zilla. You made a mistake."

"What do you mean?"

"Forget it. Abort the operation and leave Gerinhild while you have the chance."

"What do you—?"

"Our superior has acquired the list of your informers. If there's even one informer mixed among the Revolutionaries in Gerinhild right now, your mission will absolutely fail."

"An informer among the Revolutionaries? You're underestimating us. And even if so—"

Zilla suddenly stopped. She realized she had made a fatal error.

'Branch consolidation.'

The Revolutionary structure was such that no member knew any information about other members. The same applied to operations—no one knew the overall plan except for their given orders.

But right before this operation, Zilla had changed the structure for the sake of unity. Everyone had been briefed on the outline of the next mission.

"There's no turning back now. We're only looking forward."

Ran nodded as if he was giving up. Once he checked the list of moles, he planned to relay it to Zilla.

As Ran turned to leave, Zilla called after him.

"What's your true identity? Did you come because if the people in Gerinhild get hurt, you'll blame me—or us?"

"Let's never see each other again."

Ran stared at Susanne for a moment before vanishing into the night.

* * *

With full authority over the Special Unit, Bern took charge of the crisis.

"From this moment, the Special Unit is to unify all divisions and operate under a single command structure."

As he delivered quick orders, the Special Unit members saluted and scattered about busily.

Bern closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Fortunately, there weren't many casualties, but the traces of smoke lingered thickly.

On the holy day of prayer, the capital's Grand Cathedral had been attacked. It was an event that could turn the entire mainland upside down.

'Is this the end for me as well?'

He had never imagined the life to which he'd devoted himself as a shadow of the Holy Church would end so miserably.

Bern gave a bitter smile. He was, in the end, a devotee of the Holy Church, a self-proclaimed son of Lord Asriel. He was more used to accepting fate than overcoming it.

'If this is truly God's will...'

He downed the wine. It tasted bitter in his mouth.

"Commander."

After a moment's pause, Bern turned to look. It was Ran, using a title laden with complicated feelings. Ran quickly reported.

"During the former Special Unit commander's assassination, there was no security gap inside the designated perimeter."

"Kuh, so you're telling me those damned Revolutionaries climbed the bell tower or something for a sniper shot?"

Ran regarded Bern with a blank face.

"We couldn't even catch the killer, the Grand Cathedral is in flames... Ran. What are we supposed to do?"

"Secure our informant first."

"Already attempted—he tried to make contact through his handler."

Bern filled a glass with wine, handed it to Ran, and silently glanced around the commander's office.

It was a new feeling.

"I went through hell to get here. Turns out, it's nothing special after all."

Bern looked at Ran and chuckled quietly.

"I grew up with a single mother. She was a poor servant. We really scratched out a living."

His painful past flashed before his eyes.

Bern had always dreamed of success.

Being a commoner who rose to High Priest after baptism in the Holy Church was no small feat, but to him, it was just a matter of survival.

He'd always known he wasn't suited for a religious life.

His ambition for honor and wealth in the secular world always squirmed beneath the surface.

"I endured by dreaming of a rosy future. But now it just feels like I'm back to square one."

Ran finished off his drink, which he'd simply been holding. It was his own form of consolation.

"Ha... Yeah, I always belonged at the bottom, anyway."

Suddenly, Bern's tone shifted.

"I've sent summons to all inquisitors at each critical area. I won't just sit around and wait for death."

He straightened his uniform. The gold braid on his epaulet glittered.

"Let's start with the informant. I have no intention of letting the Revolutionaries die easily."

Ran bowed with discipline. He couldn't quite discern Bern's aim in calling in all the inquisitors.

It was outside his calculations. The variables introduced by Zilla had spawned yet another variable.

* * *

"Branch manager, where are you going in the middle of the night? It's too dangerous."

Despite the subordinate's objections, 4th Branch Manager Regal hurried along somewhere.

"You should have just waited quietly instead of making a fuss to come along."

"The general branch manager ordered us to move in pairs. This is Gerinhild. Gerinhild! We're deep in enemy territory."

It was past midnight. They slipped through the back alley toward the main streets.

Because of the incident earlier in the day, patrols had increased, and security guards roamed endlessly. Sometimes, special Unit members in uniform and armed were seen.

Regal led the way, sometimes hiding quickly if things seemed too risky. The subordinate followed close behind.

"Heh, look at that Special Unit guy's face. As if anyone expected the Grand Cathedral would get hit!"

Though wary of the patrols, the subordinate felt a thrill.

"So, what do you think about the next operation?"

"Excuse me? The next operation?"

Regal asked, peeking around the corner. The subordinate, standing deep in the shadowed alley, tilted his head.

"I'm looking forward to it even more than the Grand Cathedral arson. The Special Unit headquarters raid. Did those guys give our people a hard time?"

"Hm, so you really think we can win."

"Branch manager? What does that mean? Do you think otherwise?"

"No, no, that's not it. How long's it been since you joined 4th Branch?"

"Pardon?"

Regal shook his head side to side, peeking around the corner again. Having asked the question, his attention was elsewhere, as if anxiously waiting for someone.

"Just under a year. I joined last year, just after I came of age."

"Ah, yes. That's right."

"General branch manager."

The subordinate lowered his voice.

Only then did Regal turn around.

"I'm Driss. The youngest in the 4th Branch, Driss. It hasn't been a year, less than half a year since I joined. And I'm long past coming of age. Why are you acting so strange, branch manager?"

"... I'm sorry, Driss."

Regal abruptly drew the dagger he'd been holding and swiftly slashed horizontally.

Driss collapsed to his knees, clutching his throat. Blood leaked between his fingers. Bubbles of blood gurgled from his mouth, then he went still.

"Nice to meet you, Regal."

A figure stepped out from behind Driss's corpse, clapping softly.

"I'm Special Unit Commander Bern."

Regal's mouth went dry beneath his mustache. Every drop of moisture in his body seemed to become cold sweat.

Unconsciously, he began to back away. This time, icy terror ran down his back. His head turned reflexively.

At the alley entrance stood an inquisitor, wearing a bird-beak mask.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Zilla is stupid, not gonna lie. Shouting liberation of demons would just cause demons more persecution. And the humans will blame the tragedies they have experienced to the demons. They should have just targeted high-ranking people.
Tsk tsk.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】