CHAPTER 5.5: THE PLOT TO KILL THE HUMAN SAINT

***Somewhere in Chersea…***

A man could be seen walking down the hallways of a manor, somewhere near the borders of Nerfes and the Holy Palatial Gardens. Upon reaching the end of the corridor, he softly knocked on the wall—decorated by a painting of the hero Cassandra David from the 11th Human-Demon War, and then stood waiting for a few moments.

“…”

Soon there was a clicking sound, the painting budged, and it slowly opened a little, revealing a dark passageway.

“Yes?” came a voice from the darkness, as the man peered unto it.

“Nerfes will fall,” he answered.

“Welcome, dear traveler. What brings you here?”

“I bring news to His Lordship.”

Right that moment, the painting ‘door’ was fully opened for the man, and he continued further into darkness. He never felt his way forward; he knew exactly where to go, having gone into this place several times before. A few minutes in, he soon saw the flickering red light, which meant that he was about to reach the end of that long, dark passageway.

“…”

Once he emerged, the man was greeted by a circle of tall, hooded, and horned figures, each one with a symbol that looked like an eye on their black, triangular hoods. At the other end of the room was another hooded figure, though this one was seated on a wheeled chair.

“Ah, our ever-loyal human servant, Umberto…” the seated one received him. “…or should I address you as the former Prince Benicci of Amaranth?”

“Your Lordship, I do not care for my past anymore,” the man formerly known as the ‘Traveler’ answered. “My mind is focused only on one thing, and that is, the destruction of the current Human Saint.”

“Then it’s all better, Umberto, you and our movement both have the same goals.”

“Yes, Your Lordship,” Umberto then pulled a small piece of paper and handed it to one of the hooded figures near him. “In any case, that’s the report of one of my men that has infiltrated this so-called ‘Academy’. According to him, the first part of our plan worked as intended, and the saint is getting paranoid about her lover. She is sending some of her guards to monitor him.”

“Good work! Now that they were baited, we can get the second part of our plan into action,” the seated lord quipped. “Send the assassins to that fake school and put an end to that pretentious saint once and for all.”

“Yes, Your Lordship!”

“Ah, wait, Umberto.”

“You need something else from your servant?”

The seated lord turned to one of his subordinates, who brought out a long, black rectangular box, and gave it to Umberto. The human nearly dropped it, for it was heavy beyond his expectations.

“Careful about that weapon, Umberto,” he warned. “It’s the best one in our arsenal. Use that to kill the Human Saint.”

Umberto put the box on a nearby table, where he unlocked and opened it. Much to his pleasant surprise, it was something like a demon weapon, but still different, for its body was not made of wood. Touching it told him that the material was of metal, though it felt light. Unlike many of the demon weapons he had seen, this one had a telescope attached on its upper part, and a box where the bullets were stored.

“It’s a demon weapon from another place,” the seated figure told him. “They call that a ‘sniper rifle’, and it can kill someone from afar, selecting your enemies through that telescope. My people will show you how to use it.”

The human then closed the box and gave his respects to the leader of the ‘Knights’ before heading out, followed by one of the hooded figures.

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After he was taught how to use the ‘sniper rifle’, Umberto immediately went on his way. With that weapon concealed on the back of his horse, he made sure he was already a good distance away from the manor—far from the prying eyes of anyone, before he stopped at the side of the road to take a rest.

“…”

Looking around and making sure he was alone, Umberto then got off his horse, took his ‘cargo’ and sat by one of the nearby trees, humming. A few minutes later, he was joined by another person, standing behind his spot.

“Yes, you can stop now, I can hear your signal loud and clear.”

“It’s been a while,” Umberto greeted without looking at the one he was talking to. “Has your neck wound healed already, Your Holiness Lady Seirna?”

“You don’t need to remind of that,” the Saint of the Flame, Seirna, replied with an annoyed voice. “Even if I don’t have a mirror, I can still feel the scar from the sword that wounded me.”

“Aren’t you angry?”

“I wanted revenge, Umberto,” the Saint admitted. “However, the Lord Gaius has tasked me to help the Human Saint from the shadows, so whatever grudge I have with her and her servant, Kuro, I have to set it aside to do my lord’s wishes.”

“Haa…” the former prince sighed, before showing her the box he received from the hooded demons. “Another mission from the ‘Knights’, this time, we’re going to go for the kill. He even gave me another weird-looking demon weapon he calls a ‘sniper rifle’ to accomplish it.”

“Hmm…” Seirna took hold of the ‘sniper rifle’s’ box and inspected it. “Antarctic Warfare Magnum, eh? I guess the Lord Gaius knows something about this. After all, he’s the one who has knowledge on that black-haired guy’s world.”

“Well, any guidance from him?”

“Nothing, so I guess you should continue on your mission. Just make sure you remind your man not to kill the Human Saint; but try to wound her at least, so that the ‘Knights’ won’t doubt you.”

Umberto nodded, but he followed it with a chuckle.

“What’s funny?”

“Can’t you read my mind?” he asked, though he answered her anyway. “I just find it hard to believe that several seasons before, we were trying to kill the Human Saint. Now, we’re risking our lives protecting her and her servant. Don’t you think it’s ironic?”

“Well, it’s the Lord Gaius’ wishes,” Seirna shrugged. “And I’ll do anything to do his bidding, even if it goes against my prejudices.”