Chapter 97: Hyde, Murdered by Heretics?! (1)

Clink!

Psyche dropped her cup.

It shattered on the floor.

“Oh dear. How did that happen?”

Psyche picked up the broken pieces from the wooden floor.

As she bent down, a black cat appeared in the window.

━Meow.

“A black cat? Did you knock over my cup? And what’s a cat doing here? Is it a barracks cat? It looks strange. Its fur is so thick I can’t see its legs.”

Whoosh!

As Psyche reached out, the strange cat leaped away and vanished.

Psyche stood up and looked out the window.

She gasped.

“You…”

Outside her office window in the barracks, an enormous flock of crows perched in the garden, staring at her.

━Caw!

━Caw!

Flap!

The crows finally took flight, scattering black feathers as they disappeared.

At the same moment, the gold cross around Psyche’s neck came undone and fell to the floor.

“How peculiar.”

It had been a strange morning.

Atlanta, who had been watching, narrowed her eyes and cautiously asked,

“A cup falls and breaks, a black cat appears, crows caw, and a cross falls. Aren’t those bad omens?”

Psyche frowned at Atlanta’s words.

She raised a finger and said,

“Lady Atlanta, there are no such things as bad omens. We mustn’t be misled by superstitions that aren’t in the Bible! Do you understand?”

Psyche had been spending time with Atlanta lately.

Atlanta was the one who persistently followed Psyche around, and Psyche, finding her somewhat pitiful, took her along.

A maid in the barracks thought to herself,

‘She said Lady Atlanta made her cough up blood after punching her in the back during sparring. To think Lady Psyche is so kind to someone like that!’

The Holy See and Barakhan had been peaceful for the past few days.

Perhaps it was because the man who caused all the commotion had left.

Atlanta pictured the man in her mind.

“Maybe your husband, Hyde, will encounter misfortune.”

“Lady Atlanta, I told you not to believe in superstitions. You lack discipline! Copy the first volume of The Village of the Back Alley Nymph into your notebook again today!”

“Tch-.”

Atlanta regretted speaking up.

Then she asked,

“What about dreams? Is interpreting dreams also superstition? Joseph in the Bible interpreted people’s dreams.”

“Dreams…”

For believers, dreams could be a medium for visions and glimpses into the future.

How many significant dreams had biblical figures experienced?

This reminded Psyche of a dream she had that morning.

A dream of men in black clothes, armed with weapons, banging on the door of a room where a man was staying.

She had forgotten about it after waking up, but now it came back to her.

‘What could it mean? Hyde said dreams don’t hold much significance, but I often have meaningful dreams…’

As Psyche pondered this, Atlanta asked,

“Psyche, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just remembered a dream I had.”

“We Domarians are good at dream interpretation! Tell me about it! I’ll interpret it for you as a way of repaying your kindness, Psyche!”

Thump, thump.

Atlanta puffed out her chest with pride. Psyche recounted her dream, treating it as light entertainment.

However, as she listened, Atlanta’s expression grew tense.

“Misfortune might befall someone precious to you. Psyche, the person precious to you must be that fearless Priest Hyde, right? Something dangerous might happen to him.”

Something dangerous happening to Hyde?

Psyche was worried.

Hyde had many “enemies.”

What if those enemies were the ones knocking on the door in her dream?

Of course, Hyde would overcome it somehow.

‘Hyde, are you doing alright? It’s been over two weeks since we last saw each other. I received your letter a while ago, but where are you now, and what are you…’

Thud.

A newspaper was tossed through the open window.

The United Economy, a newspaper covering major issues in the United Kingdom.

Psyche’s face paled as she unfolded it, and she fainted.

“Psyche! Hey! What is it?!”

Atlanta quickly caught Psyche.

Flutter.

Atlanta looked at the open newspaper. It read:

“September 24th: Bronze Plaque Priest Hyde, Murdered in Sodomi!”

“The body was discovered by the innkeeper, S…”

---

I often had nightmares.

A terrifying man wielding a weapon, frantically banging on the door of a house where innocent and kind people lived.

What a frightening dream!

What was even more terrifying was that the terrifying man in the dream was “me”!

I was the stranger at the door, the harbinger of doom approaching innocent people!

Me, Hyde, the most devout and pious man, dreaming of being a villain?!

It was a nightmare, a ridiculous dream!

There was no one as kind as me!

But now, it seemed the dream wasn’t entirely meaningless.

“Mmmmph, mmmmph-”

Gagged and with a burlap sack over my head that reeked of animal, I was being dragged somewhere.

“Quiet! You unlucky bastard!”

Whack!

Someone hit me in the side as I stumbled along.

The voice was disguised, but it was Wrath.

“Nnngh, mmmmph!”

“I said quiet!”

Wrath, you bitch!!!

She kept hitting me in the side!

She was acting like a true villain.

Why was I, Hyde, being dragged along with Wrath, instead of Milione?

That’s right!

I was being taken to hell by the villains of the Blood Crusade.

That hell was called the “Heart of the Serpent,” the headquarters of the Blood Crusade, located somewhere in Sodomi.

They had covered my head to hide its location.

But my body naturally remembered the route we had taken in the darkness, and I knew exactly where we were.

We must be almost there.

Clank, creak-

The sound of a large gate opening.

Rip!

The burlap sack and gag were removed from my head.

Blinded by the sudden light, I winced. Then, my body was unceremoniously dumped in a corner like an unpleasant piece of luggage.

I landed on a straw-covered, but still hard, floor and cried out in pain.

“Ouch! That hurt! According to the Right of Parlay, guests must be treated with respect! Today, September 20th, I, Hyde, once again exercise my right and demand to be treated as a guest!”

Treat me with a little more kindness!

But the masked lunatic, Wrath, simply chained and locked the bars of the cage, chuckling.

“This is kind enough! Should I give you a kiss too?”

You crazy bitch!

This is kind?!

What did she plan to do with me?

I had a pretty good idea.

Torture and torment, of course!

She wanted to use me as a punching bag!

Wrath loved taking her anger out on others.

Like a child tearing the legs off a captured grasshopper, Wrath enjoyed breaking and crushing people.

I never thought I would become that captured grasshopper!

Slap, slap.

I slapped my own cheeks.

It’s okay.

They say even if you’re caught in a tiger’s den, you can survive if you keep your wits about you.

I looked around.

I recognized the scenery.

The underground church of Sodomi.

Candles flickered eerily in this underground structure carved out of solid rock.

This was the “Heart of the Serpent,” the main base of the Blood Crusade.

It was once a church used by the clergy.

Now, it had become a den of iniquity.

A man locked in the cell next to mine chuckled.

“Whoever you are, don’t expect to get out alive. This is worse than a tiger’s den; it’s a viper’s pit. And that viper has a terrifying tongue! Lust, that man!!! We’re prisoners awaiting his ‘judgment’!!! It’ll be a terrible judgment!!! Oh, I’m so scared!!!”

That’s right.

This was where I, Lust, and the Blood Crusade operated.

The prisoners brought here awaited Lust’s judgment─.

I knew better than anyone how they were treated.

This was insane.

Milione, you damn bitch!

Why did you capture me?!

You crazy bitch!

As I cursed inwardly, someone appeared before my cell.

It was the witch, Anemone.

“Hyde! We must kill him! He has caused and will continue to cause immense damage to our Blood Crusade!”

Anemone was out of her mind.

A former Walpurgis witch, she had disguised herself as a nun at the Grande Convent and now served the Blood Crusade?

Did she even know that the person she was advocating to kill was Lust, the leader of the Crusade?

I knew.

I was the only one here who knew.

And I wished I didn’t!

Just then, Wrath, who had disappeared, reappeared and said,

“We won’t kill Hyde. Until Lust delivers the death sentence, the Blood Crusade must subject its prisoners to eternal torment in this world.”

“Then release me.”

Send me home.

I didn’t want to be in this barbaric den!

But Wrath clicked her tongue.

“Hyde, Lust will soon appear and sentence you to death. Then you’ll be torn to shreds. You’ll become dog food! How does that sound? Are you scared!?”

Someone appearing to sentence me to death?

That was laughable.

I retorted,

“Do you think that bastard Lust will show up? He’s a coward. Has Lust ever appeared in this ‘Heart of the Serpent’ since it was completed? He’s dead!”

Lust no longer existed in this world.

Why?

Because I said so!

My words caused a stir.

“Lord Lust is dead? He’s never appeared in the ‘Heart of the Serpent.’ Is he really dead?”

“You faithless fool! Lord Lust is immortal! He hasn’t appeared because our faith and offerings are lacking! I, Hans, his chief underling, know this!!!”

…This was driving me crazy.

Then, someone burst out laughing.

We all looked towards the sound. It was Wrath, the masked lunatic. She finally caught her breath and said,

“Hyde. I know your kind. You act all pious, but if your life is in danger, you’ll abandon your faith and grovel at my feet.”

Clank.

Wrath unlocked the chains and entered my cell.

She stood before me and said,

“Renounce your faith. That’s the only way you’ll survive here. You have no allies in this place.”

“I do have allies. I am a servant of Lord Elohim. Even if I’m thrown into a lion’s den, Lord Elohim will be with me.”

I resolved not to break.

Psyche would never abandon her faith in this situation.

But my words seemed to anger Wrath.

“Lies! Lies!”

Growl.

Wrath growled like an animal.

This meant only one thing.

“Ah! Lady Wrath has entered her Berserker state! No one can stop her when she’s truly angry! I, Hans, know this!”

That’s right.

Wrath was about to unleash her fury.

I had always wondered.

Wrath, what made her so angry?

Actually, I had a pretty good idea.