CHAPTER 3.5: THE BATTLE OF THE COURTYARD

***The Lord Haya’s Manor, somewhere in North Chersea…***

“Attack!”

“!!!”

The paladin assault aiming to capture the top echelon of the ’Knights of Cassandra David’s leadership began with a powerful explosion, followed by a loud whistle. With a mighty fire magic spell, the paladins threw open the gates of the Lord Haya’s manor and rushed inside. The action shocked everyone in the courtyard, and sent the carriage horses in a panic that some of them broke into a run, inevitably colliding with each other. Amidst that chaos and confusion, the paladin guards leapt into action and surrounded their targets.

The human nobles and their guards were quickly overwhelmed and arrested. However, the demon solders—though initially surprised—fought back, though their matchlock fire was disorganized. Fortunately, the paladins cast a barrier magic just before the first wave of bullets rained on them.

“Hold!” Dame Atkins ordered. As per their training in fighting with and against gunpowder weapons, the Lord Kuro instructed them to note the loading time of their enemy, and hit them while reloading. Once the demons’ fire withered, the vice-captain dispelled the barrier and cast a wind spell that blew the gunpowder smoke back to the shooters’ faces.

“Fire!” this time, the squad leaders bellowed the attack to resume. The paladins—in their line formations, with their shield-bearers kneeling at the front—discharged their matchlocks against the enemy, wounding or killing some of them. Then, they advanced one pace at a time.

Because of the surprise, the demons’ morale quickly fell. It only took the paladin gunners two shots before most of their enemies surrendered. The ones who wished to continue the fight fell back into the manor itself; those who tried to break out via the back side of the property were also captured, as the other paladin squads were waiting for them in that area.

Wasting no time, Seirna’s spy Umberto Benicci immediately went around the demon prisoners to check on their identities. He was looking for the crippled demon, the leader of the ‘Knights’. However…

“You’re only wasting your time,” a human noble they captured muttered to him. “You won’t find him here.”

The former prince chose to ignore the man. Until recently, he had no idea what the leader of the ‘Knights’ looked like. Nevertheless, he could still remember the wheeled-chair of that person he once was afraid of. And because of their observation earlier, Umberto could clearly recall that demon’s face.

And he wanted vengeance on that bastard who nearly have him killed…

“That demon…” it was the Dame Atkins, “…where?”

“He’s not here,” Umberto’s eyes wandered around, and ended up staring at the manor. “Though, you’ve seen him as well, right? That demon is talking with those humans over there just before we attacked. And then, he’s gone!”

“Escaped through smoke?”

“I highly doubt it. That guy’s on a wheeled-chair; it’ll be impossible for him to escape fast with all the ruckus earlier. And even if he decided to hide in that manor over there, he has a lot of obstacles to get pass through.”

The dame followed the tracks the former prince was showing her. There were debris scattered around the courtyard, that it’d be hard for anyone with a wheeled-chair to traverse from their spot towards the doors of the manor within a few minutes.

“Monster help, probably?” she suggested.

“I guess?” the former prince was unsure himself. “Well, if it does, what do you think? Should we force our entry, or wait for the Saints to help?”

“Underground escape,” Dame Atkins pointed out. “I’m worried.”

“Right…we have that too,” Umberto sighed. “So, we attack then?”

The paladin vice-captain nodded. However…

“!!!” Their thoughts were interrupted when they heard someone laugh. It was the human noble who told them earlier they won’t find their target among the prisoners.

“I won’t try it, if I were you!” the man was saying in-between his laughs, and though his eyes were full of tears. “You’re only wasting your time, and more importantly, your lives!”

“Lives?” the dame’s hand reached for her sword.

“The one you’re looking for, he’s inside that manor,” the human noble confirmed. “But, I’m warning you…once you stepped inside, you won’t get out alive.”

“What do you know?” Umberto grabbed the noble by his collar. “I’ve been in and out of that place multiple times, and I’m still here, ready to kill you!”

“Of course, Umberto Benicci,” the noble smirked. “I know who you are, and your reasons for infiltrating the ‘Knights’. You may not be aware of it, but you and your master…you played right into my hands. And of course, I’m aware of your plans to come back to this place and find me. I got friends in high places, after all…”

At that moment, the spy master threw him down and jumped away from the man. The paladin vice-captain drew her sword and was about to come near the human noble, when Umberto slapped her head and pulled her back.

“Don’t do it, you idiot!” he told her. “Can’t you see there’s something wrong with that guy? I already threw him away from me!”

“What?” Dame Atkins had to content herself asking the prisoner from afar.

“You really are sharp as ever, aren’t you, Umberto Benicci?” the man said in-between his laughs, “It’s no wonder why you’re standing here today, even though I tried to have you killed in the desert! However, don’t you think you’re being rude by not trying the warm welcome I prepared just for you?”

“!!!”

At that moment, the former prince noticed that the prisoners were getting bloated. Some of them even uttered painful moans, as their appearance slowly became disfigured. Sensing that something bad was about to happen, he pushed the Dame Atkins away, and shouted to the other paladins, “Every one of you, get back!”

“H-Help!” the prisoners were struggling to contain whatever it was moving within them. The ropes binding their bodies and limbs were torn apart. Blood was spurting out of their mouths, noses, ears and eyes. And they tried to ask for help in vain, before all of them eventually exploded in a bloody mess.

The next thing that the paladins knew, monsters they’d never seen before were in front of them, feasting on whatever remained of the victims’ bodies.

“What the—” was all Umberto could say, as he stood frozen on the ground. One of the creatures—a giant monster with a human body and a head of bull—raised its limbs, and was about to hit him, when someone tackled him away from its path. The creature’s powerful bash reverberated, but only caused slight damage and shock to all nearby.

“Don’t freeze,” the Dame Atkins told him. Her sword was already drawn, ready to join the paladin squads desperately attacking the monsters.

Not wishing to be left out, the former prince picked up a sword from a fallen enemy and reloaded his matchlock. Silently uttering a prayer to the saints, he took a deep breath, and jumped to the fray.

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***The Holy Palatial Gardens***

This was one of the rare days when the official residence of the Human Saint was open for visitors. Because of the recent events, it had been closed to everyone, even the royalty. However, now that word had spread that their beloved saint had already ‘recovered’ from her ‘special condition’—the household staff’s term to describe what happened, since everyone knew Lady Madelaine Ann Rubinforth couldn’t get sick, visitors and dignitaries flocked to the holy enclave to see her.

“…”

And of course, to prove that she’s ‘fine and healthy’, Maddie herself was the one welcoming her guests.

“Your Holiness, it’s been an honor—no, a great honor rather—to have seen you with my own eyes,” an elven visitor greeted her. “My people’s love for you cannot be expressed in words!”

“Thank you for that, Lord Berdan,” Maddie touched the elf’s forehead to bless him, “I give you and your people the heaven’s grace and blessing!”

The elf couldn’t speak, for he was overwhelmed with joy. Tears fells from his eyes, and he fell at the Human Saint’s feet, worshipping her.

Meanwhile, in a not-too-far distance away from where Maddie was welcoming her guests, were the two other saints: Ruro and Seirna. While the former was there to monitor her friend, the Saint of the Flame joined her on her watch simply because she had nothing else to do.

“Or you’re worried about Maddie too, Seirna?” the Beastman Saint teased her.

“Of course, I am, you stupid dog!” was her counter. “Lady Madelaine is not yet out of trouble; if she lowers her guard, her mother can come back.”

“But she did seal her, right?”

Seirna shook her head, “Lady Madelaine only suppressed her, not completely seal. If we keep the status quo, eventually the ‘Seductress’ would emerge and overwhelm us. However…”

“However what?”

“I was thinking of trying to remove Lady Madelaine’s existence.”

Ruro was unnerved by the proposal of the Saint of the Flame, “But you said before that it’s useless, since the ‘Seductress’ already set a foot in this world.”

“Indeed, I said that…” though she may have not noticed it, Seirna was nibbling on one of her fingernails, “…but Lady Ruro…haa…I…I’m losing options.”

The Beastman Saint fell silent as she watched her fellow saint. This was the first time Ruro saw her colleague being pushed into a corner; the usual Seirna was a confident—if not arrogant—lady.

“Though we try to prevent the ‘Seductress’ resurgence by avoiding negative events, it only applies to us.”

“Why do you mean?”

“Yes, it’s good that we don’t do anything bad. However, we can’t monitor everyone all over Chersea and the rest of the four realms. Somehow, somewhere in these vast worlds, a person would commit a crime, and—no matter how ‘small’ it may be—it still contributes to the strengthening of our enemy.”

“So…you’re saying that the ‘Seductress’ return is inevitable?”

“We’re only delaying the worst,” Seirna revealed. “That’s why Lady Madelaine should prepare for the conflict once it erupts; though I hate to admit it, among the six saints, she’s the most beloved…and she can unite the people behind her banner.”

Ruro was about to say something to the Saint of the Flame’s words, when she noticed a pair of paladins come and whisper something in Maddie’s ear. Then, the Human Saint stopped from greeting her guests—smile disappeared from her lips, and she apologized to everyone for her sudden departure. The Beastman Saint and Seirna exchanged looks, and they went to their fellow saint.

“What happened?” the Saint of the Flame asked.

“Lady Seirna, Lady Ruro,” Maddie began. “My paladins are currently engaged in a battle against some weird creatures, in an attempt to arrest the ‘Knights’. They are asking for reinforcements.”

“Maddie,” Ruro grabbed her shoulder, “you can’t be telling me you’re going there! It’s dangerous!”

“I will go,” the Human Saint confirmed. “I need to go. Those people are the ones who tried to harm Kuro, and they will pay for their insolence!”

“Oi, calm down!” Seirna told her. “I know you’re itching for a fight, but you should remember that we need to spill as little blood as possible, or your mother would make a short work of us.”

“I’m aware, Your Holiness Lady Seirna. But I think you misunderstood me; while I wanted revenge for what they did to my Kuro, I’m going there not to kill them, but to make sure they won’t escape my grasp.”

The Saint of the Flame then proposed, “If so, then let us come with you.”

Maddie nodded, and answered, “I have no qualms about it. I’ll just change into my paladin armor, and we’ll head off.”