Scout 4

Perched on the second-floor windowsill, Sven Parav looked out over the burning city.

Whoosh! Whoosh—!

Flames roared and twisted as if they would devour everything. However, like hitting a transparent glass panel, the fiery storm could not make contact with the building.

It was as if the building were under divine protection.

Of course, that kind of uncertainty only made sense from a modern man’s perspective. This was a world where fantastical and mystical beings really exist. If locals saw such a sight, they would immediately think of defensive magic circles, artifacts, or holy spells.

“Uh… well, it is a holy spell… so I guess it really is divine protection…?”

The thought crossed Sven Parav’s mind, but he shook his head.

As a paladin who wielded divine power, he knew better than anyone.

Divine power was simply a resource.

Within the church they preached that it was a blessing from the gods, and that if one lost their worthiness, the gods would take it away…

Bullshit.

Sven Parav had seen it far too many times.

Priests who didn’t act like priests. Archbishops who didn’t act like archbishops. Cardinals who didn’t act like cardinals. And…

Paladins who didn’t act like paladins.

Their mouths preached nobility, mercy, and sharing, but their inner thoughts were filthy. Just like his own.

“……”

Sven Parav often thought: If divine power truly couldn’t be granted to the unworthy, it should have been taken from him long ago.

After all, he was an evil spirit who had stolen an innocent man’s body. And he had never lived like a proper paladin.

And yet—

I’m not even a paladin anymore.

However, even after leaving the church, he never lost the power others called divine.

He was proof that divine power wasn’t granted only to those judged worthy, yet ironically, he also proved that the divine truly existed.

[You received an oracle…?]

Surprisingly, he had heard the voice of the Goddess before. This had happened in a dream, in which the Goddess showed him scenes of the future and allowed him to avoid an ill-fated destiny.

But that only deepened his confusion.

What exactly does she want from me…?

What do these gods actually want?

If gods truly existed, and truly held such overwhelming power as the holy texts claimed, then why was the world such a mess?

Lost in those thoughts, he continued watching the burning city.

And after some time—

Whoosh!

The flames shifted strangely.

“…Damn it.”

They were dying down.

***

Fire dying out wasn’t a good sign.

Right now, people were far more dangerous than the flames. If anything, the fire had been protecting them.

Worse, the fire wasn’t dying out on its own. Someone was deliberately extinguishing it, which only deepened his unease.

Badump—!

It felt as though something had suddenly leapt closer to him. Parav pushed the feeling aside and hurried to do what needed to be done.

“Everyone, back away! Over this way!”

First, he gathered the evacuees in one place.

“Miss Marone!”

He asked her to activate the prepared magic circle, then went back upstairs to look outside.

Clank, clank.

As the flames subsided, he saw an army advancing through them. A unit clad in full armor marched in step, extinguishing the fire as they moved.

He prayed they were royal troops.

They weren’t.

Clank. Clank.

More than a hundred troops were closing in fast. Sven Parav pressed himself flat against the wall to stay out of sight, observing the outside with extreme caution.

Clank, clank.

Before he knew it, the troops had reached the front of the building. Sven Parav sat down with his back against the wall beneath the window, focusing entirely on his hearing.

‘Please, please, please, please, please…….’

Please, just pass by.

He prayed and prayed again, but that wish was not meant to come true. And why would it?

If he were a Noark soldier and saw the only intact building in a burning city, he’d check it too.

Just like they were doing now.

Bang—! Bang—!

“Captain, it’s locked.” came the voice of a man

That was the last thing he heard. Sven Parav moved toward the stairs, almost crawling along the floor. He saw the evacuees gathered in the prayer hall, trembling and covering their mouths to keep even their breathing quiet—

BAM—!

A dull thud hit the door, and one of the evacuees let out a quiet yelp.

“…Hic!”

But—

However quiet they tried to be, it seemed the soldiers outside were listening just as closely to the sounds beyond the door as the people inside were.

“Oh, looks like someone’s inside.”

“Don’t let your guard down. Could be Jandel’s companions.”

Jandel’s companions… Parav’s breath hitched.

Did they come because of the two of us…?

“Break the door!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Captain! This thing won’t break!”
“I don’t think it’s because of the material… There’s probably something magical about it.”

“Well… the temple’s still standing, even though everything else around it burned down.”

“The second floor! Climb through the second-floor windows!”

Right, they weren’t going to stop until they got in.

There was no longer any point in keeping quiet.

“…What do we do?”

“Miss Marone, please take the first floor. I’ll handle the second!”

With that, Sven Parav rose from his crouch, no longer worrying about being seen from outside.

And then—

“Oh! There’s someone—!”

A man’s face popped through the window.

Sven drove his sword straight into it.

Crash! Thunk!

“It’s Sven Parav! He’s on the second floor!”

“Get him!”

The moment he revealed himself, greed filled the Noark soldiers’ eyes.

“That bastard’s head is mine!!”

In an ordinary medieval battle, they would have needed ladders to climb up. But this was Raphdonia, a land overflowing with mysterious powers.

Soldiers armed with Essences didn’t need ladders to enter a second-story window.

Crash—!

Like Ninjas, the Noarkans smashed through the windows and slipped in through the second floor. The moment they saw Parav, they swung their weapons with clear killing intent.

“Die—!”

In an instant, more than a dozen enemies occupied the floor.

There was no strategy.

Only chaos.

Slash—!

He swung his white longsword, slashing at his enemies and stabbing when the opening appeared.

Stab—!

If blocking was impossible, he took the hit while minimizing damage to his vitals.

And then…

Swishhhhhh—!

He used holy spells to rapidly heal his wounds. However, he couldn’t secure any advantage in terrain while fighting them.

‘Why the hell are the stairs right in the center…’

Parav fought his ground at the top of the stairs leading to the first floor. However, as more enemies poured in, he couldn’t hold out for long.

He wasn’t Bjorn Jandel.

 

Thud—!

A blunt weapon infused with an ability slammed into his head, and the world began to spin.

Thanks to the holy spell, his injuries were healing in real time, but he still lost his balance and staggered back a step.

Step.

Coming down one stair made the fight even harder.
There was a world of difference between fighting on level ground and unstable footing.

Boom.

He retreated another step.

BOOM—!

A magic spell?

He raised his shield and blocked most of the direct damage, but the impact still shoved him back.

Step.

Moving forward was incredibly hard, while stepping back was far too easy.

‘How am I supposed to stop this many enemies……’

His will cracked.

And as if to prove it—

Step.

He retreated again.

When he came to his senses, he was already halfway down the stairs, close enough to see the refugees just by turning his head.

“……!”

The refugees were squeezed shut, praying that he would defeat the enemies. However, fiction and reality were different.

Instead of awakening new strength in the face of their desperation, he helplessly took another step back. This time, it wasn’t from being struck, but to avoid the blow.

As he was steadily pushed back by the flood of enemies, Lyris Marone, assigned to guard the first floor, began supporting him.

[Lyris Marone has cast Level 5 defensive magic [Iron Wall]

A massive wall rose between Sven parav and the enemy, temporarily blocking the stairs. It bought him a moment to breathe, but…

BANG!

“…It won’t hold for long!” Marone warned

Even without her warning, the explosions from beyond the wall made it obvious.

“…There are too many of them! What do we do?”

What should they do? He didn’t know either.

What more could he possibly do to survive this situation?

Badump—!

His heart pounded loudly, screaming that there was no escape. Even so, no matter how dire things seemed, there was always a silver lining.

After quickly scanning his surroundings, Parav’s eyes landed on the goddess’s statue once more.

‘……What is it?’

Sven Parav couldn’t take his eyes off the statue. For some reason, an intuition began to bloom inside him. He couldn’t explain it, but… it felt like that statue might hold a way to survive.

Dash—

While the magical wall held, Sven Parav dashed toward the statue.

‘Eh?’

After searching around the goddess’s statue, he noticed a small indentation hidden in an inconspicuous spot. He pressed it firmly, and when he touched the statue, it slid back smoothly.

‘Could it be… an escape tunnel……?’

Of course, there was no guarantee it was an emergency exit. But if there was a way to live, this was it.

With that in mind, just as he was about to tell the evacuees the news—

Badump—!

His heart lurched again, and his mouth froze. Even in this situation, that damn intuition was speaking to him.

‘Don’t tell them.’

Don’t tell them.

‘If you want to live.’

Because that’s the only way he could survive. An intuition that shouted without providing evidence or reason. He couldn’t take it anymore.

“Fuck, what exactly do you want from me?!”

Was something toying with him?

Instead of relief at finding a way out, all he felt was exhaustion.

Then—

Something touched his right arm.

“…?”

He looked down.

A small child was staring up at him, on the verge of tears.

“Mister Paladin… does it hurt a lot…?”

“….”

Sven didn’t answer.

Didn’t even ask himself.

He simply pushed the half-opened statue all the way back.

Revealing the hidden passage to everyone.

“Everyone, get down here! Now!”

Even as he shouted, he thought:

Ah… I’ve done it now…

No matter how he looked at it, he wasn’t cut out to be some great hero.

 

If he was going to do the right thing, he wished he could at least do it in a much cooler way.

Well… maybe this suits me.

The evacuees hurried down the stairs beneath the statue.

Aside from the child who had worried about him, no one thanked him.

As if it were only natural.

But he didn’t feel disappointed.

Yeah… people are all the same. They put themselves first.

Though that thought contradicted him.

If that was true, why didn’t he put himself first?

Why did he act for people he’d only just met?

It wasn’t like he was some righteous holy knight.

“Mr. Parav…?”

Why had he done it?

It’s not like anyone would repay him.

“Why are you standing there?! Hurry! The wall’s about to break!”

Sven looked at the statue.

The goddess of the stars, said to govern adventure and relationships, the one who always guided people toward their destiny. But, as always, she told him nothing. Unlike his intuition, which showed him the way even when he didn’t want it.

Badump—

Come to think of it, what was this intuition? He had never really thought about it before, but looking back, it didn’t make sense. He’d often thought he was lucky or had a good gut feeling, but…

It had never been this much.

Thump—

He didn’t know what it was, but he knew this intuition was a blessing. He had survived countless crises because of it. So why was he only now having this thought?

Badump—

Was this intuition always right?

Badump—

Is there something I’ve lost because I followed this intuition?

Badump—

If I didn’t have this intuition…….

Badump—

Instead of being a pathetic human trembling in a dark closet, could I have become a slightly more noble person?

Badump—

Perhaps this ability is a shackle. A shackle that prevents me from walking the truly “right” path.

Booom—!

The magical wall blocking the stairs collapsed, and Marone, who had slipped beneath the goddess’s statue, cried out.

“Mr. Parav…!!”

At the same time, his intuition spoke again.

Thump—

It’s not too late.

Get inside.

And—

Thump—

Abandon them.

Survive alone.

It was the strongest, most vivid intuition he’d ever felt.

Because of that, the decision came more easily than ever before.

“…I’m sorry.”

Sven Parav shoved Marone inside and pushed the statue back into its original position.

His pounding heartbeat became a sensation, the sensation took shape, and soon it turned into a sound. His intuition twisted into something like an auditory hallucination and began to speak to him.

[ …Run ]

[……Follow them quickly! And then, survive on your own!]

This was the reason he hadn’t followed Marone down. If he had gone below, he felt he would succumb once again to the temptation he had only just managed to overcome. Yes, that was why…….

[Hurry, go down—]

Striking his racing heart with his fist, he spoke.

“Shut up.”

Badump……?

“I decide where I go.”

Gripping his sword and shield, he marched toward the enemies pouring down the stairs.

Badump—

His heart beat.

Badump—

More exhilarated than ever before.

[Tsk.]

[The Ancient Evil God clicked his tongue and licked his lips in disappointment.]

 

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