[Raul's POV]
The mission began. Puppeteer's five dolls started wreaking havoc across the area. Three headed toward the eastern sector, while the other two moved west. Observing their capabilities, it was clear that each doll utilized a different type of Nature Mana.
"Sound the alarm! There are explosions everywhere! We are under attack!"
"Move to the eastern area immediately! We've detected three enemies attacking the east!"
The Aques began mobilizing toward the location of the Puppeteer's dolls. With this, I hoped the guards surrounding the Bishop would be spread thin. I leapt onto the rooftops to get a clear view of the surroundings. There were five main buildings within this religious complex:
The Main Temple – Located at the center of the area.
The Education Building – Located in the east.
The Priests' Residence – Located in the south.
The Barracks – Where the Aques live and train, located in the west.
The Medical Camp – Located in the north.
The most logical choice right now was the Main Temple, as the meeting had only just ended. The Bishop might still be inside. Having decided on my destination, I rushed toward the Main Temple. I saw many Aques standing guard; it would be difficult to enter undetected.
Still perched atop a building, I spotted two Aques walking through an alleyway between my current position and another structure. I leapt down and landed silently behind them.
"...."
"Wh-who are you!?"
Both looked shocked and drew their swords. One of them swung his blade at me, but I evaded the strike, grabbed his head, and slammed it against the wall until he lost consciousness. The remaining Aques tried to flee, but I used Acceleration magic to close the gap, kicking him hard enough to send him crashing into the wall. He remained conscious.
I walked over, lifted him up, and said, "If you don't want to die, answer my questions correctly. Understand?"
The man merely nodded in response.
"State your objective and your unit," I asked, pressing a dagger against his throat.
"W-we were heading to the Main Temple," he answered, trembling. "I am in Platoon Two of the First Aques Unit."
"Good."
— Bam!
After the interrogation, I struck his face with my fist, knocking him out. I then stripped him of his Aques uniform—taking his shirt, pants, and helmet—and put them on.
"For now, I don't need to wear this mask," I muttered as I began walking, disguised as the Aques I had just defeated. "No one will recognize my true identity in this gear."
Clad in the disguise, I walked toward the Main Temple. I acted as naturally as possible to avoid arousing suspicion from the guards surrounding the temple. If I were caught, I would have no choice but to fight the Inquisitors, which would make the Bishop even more alert.
"Hey, you! Stop!"
Suddenly, I heard someone shout. I halted and turned toward the source of the voice. An Aques was walking toward me.
"Which unit are you from?" he asked.
"Platoon Two of the First Unit!" I answered loudly.
"Platoon Two, huh? Get inside quickly! There will be briefings for Platoons One and Two regarding this attack," the Aques said before leaving.
I entered the Temple and saw many Aques gathered in the main hall, seemingly waiting for instructions.
"Attention, everyone!"
I heard someone shout, though I couldn't see him clearly from the back of the ranks.
"As you know, we are under attack," the man announced. "We estimate the target of this assault is Bishop Vermind, and the perpetrators are the heretic group, The Masquerade!"
They figured out we were behind this already? The Temple's military unit was quite competent. It seemed they had specific procedures prepared for such an invasion.
"We will escort Bishop Vermind to a more secure building while this attack is ongoing," the man continued. "Inquisitor Meredith and I will lead this evacuation!"
Two Inquisitors? I should be able to defeat them easily if I attacked while they were off-guard. As for the three platoons of Aques, they wouldn't be a problem. One platoon consisted of 25 men.
Once the briefing ended, the platoons formed a formation. I followed their movements, taking a position on the right wing. Shortly after, a man in his 50s wearing priestly robes walked into the center of the formation. That was our target: Bishop Vermind.
"Inquisitor Varo, how are the preparations?" the Bishop asked the man who had given the orders.
"Everything is ready, Bishop! Allow us to escort you to safety!" the Inquisitor replied.
We began moving out of the temple area. I still didn't know where the group was headed. Furthermore, I couldn't kill him immediately; I noticed a Rune on the Bishop's right hand, indicating he was active in maintaining a defensive spell in case of a sudden attack. I needed to identify the type of defensive magic before I could dismantle it with the new ability from the Profound Codex Phantom Thief: Dismantle.
We moved north and arrived at the Medical Camp. In this area, I didn't see many guarding Aques. It seemed most had been deployed to fight Puppeteer's dolls in the East and West.
"First Platoon! You will guard the perimeter! Second Platoon, you will guard the interior!" commanded the Inquisitor named Varo.
My platoon entered the building. I was stationed with four others in a second-floor corridor, while the Bishop was escorted by the two Inquisitors further into the building. Was the Bishop being taken to a secret room? I didn't know, but it was time to make my move.
"Hey, come here," I said to one of the Aques guarding the hall.
"What is it?" the man asked as he approached.
"Look at my hand."
The man leaned in to look at my fist, but his expression turned to shock as I punched him squarely, knocking him unconscious.
"Hey! What are you doing to him!?"
I didn't answer. Instead, I moved to strike and kick the other two Aques simultaneously until they were out cold.
"Dammit! We have an intruder among us!"
The remaining two Aques drew their weapons and rushed me. I dodged their slashes and countered with an uppercut and a kick to the head. Having neutralized the four Aques here, I immediately went in search of the Bishop, who I had seen heading to the third floor.
I climbed the stairs and saw a male and a female Inquisitor guarding a door. Beside the door was an artifact shaped like a palm print. Hmm... is that some kind of scanner to open the door?
"Hey, what is your business here?" the male Inquisitor, Varo, asked me.
I didn't answer and continued walking toward them.
"Stop right there," the female Inquisitor said, drawing her sword. "State your business quickly, or I will cut you down for refusing an order."
Ignoring her words, I focused on preparing a counter for whatever attack they would launch. The woman moved with incredible speed, appearing before me in the blink of an eye. She swung a diagonal slash from bottom to top. I deftly avoided it and launched a kick toward her head.
— Bam!
However, the woman successfully blocked it with her left hand, which was reinforced by Temper magic. She followed up with a thrust, but I quickly jumped back to create distance.
"Raging Slash!"
Suddenly, the male Inquisitor appeared in front of me and unleashed a sword strike enveloped in green light.
— Clang!
I blocked it with the sword I was holding. However, the sheer force of the blow sent me staggering sideways until I hit the wall.
"Puncture Purple!"
The woman's sword glowed with a purple light as she lunged at me with a thrust. I moved my body as fast as possible to dodge.
— Boom!
An explosion occurred where the sword hit the wall, leaving a deep hole. If I hadn't dodged in time, my head would have been gone. Capitalizing on her open defense, I performed a sweep kick that knocked her to the floor. But just as I was about to finish her, the male Inquisitor intervened with a flurry of attacks. I was forced to retreat again to keep my distance.
"This man is strong," the woman said as she stood back up. "Could he be a Performer?"
"He isn't wearing a mask, is he?" the man muttered. "In that case, we'll know his identity once we remove that mask!"
This was bad; fighting two Inquisitors simultaneously would be difficult if I didn't get serious. I decided I would have to trap them.
"Varo, let's do it like usual!" the woman shouted, lunging at me again.
"Alright, I'll prepare it now!"
Hmm...? It seemed they were coordinating a combined attack. I had to be careful.
"Night Owl Dance!"
The woman unleashed a seven-strike combo, which I managed to dodge and parry with my sword. This wasn't a combo meant to wound me; she was simply stalling for time while the man prepared his magic. I evaded her final strike and launched a powerful slash at her chest.
— Clang!
She blocked my attack, sparks flying from the collision of our weapons. However, the momentum of my strike pushed her back.
"Sealing Magic... Green Square!" the man shouted, incanting his spell.
Suddenly, my body was encased in a square-shaped green seal. I tried to break it from the inside with my sword, but it wouldn't budge.
"It's over... Puncture Purple!"
The woman took a lunging stance, her sword again glowing with purple light. She dashed toward me, intending to shatter the seal along with my body inside it. However, they didn't realize they were the ones who had fallen into my trap.
— Crack!
Suddenly, the seal surrounding me shattered. The woman's face was frozen in shock.
— Slash!
Without wasting a second, I decapitated her before she could even react.
"No! Meredith!" The male Inquisitor couldn't believe his partner had died so instantly just as they were about to execute me.
But he didn't have to wait long to join her. A blade erupted through his chest from behind. I had used Shadow Link to emerge from his shadow and stab him through the heart. His body collapsed to the floor, blood pooling around him.
After killing the two Inquisitors, I cut off one hand from each of them and pressed them against the artifacts on either side of the entrance. Shortly after, the artifacts glowed, and the door opened.
Inside the room, I found the man in his 50s sitting in a chair, sipping warm tea.
"Varo, what is it? Has the attack been handled?" he asked without looking up.
I threw the hands of the two Inquisitors onto the Bishop's table. He was so startled that he dropped his tea glass, which shattered on the floor.
"Who are you, stranger?" the Bishop asked.
"You know why I'm here, don't you?" I replied with a question of my own.
I began walking toward him, but my steps were suddenly halted by an invisible force. This is... a barrier...
"It's quite naive of you to think I wouldn't prepare extra defenses in this situation," the Bishop said, showing the Rune on his right hand. "This is a Level 10 Barrier; only an Archwizard could hope to pierce it!"
Oh, really? Are you sure about that?
I wanted to laugh at his overwhelming confidence. With my Profound Codex Phantom Thief, there was no barrier I couldn't break and no seal that could restrict my movement. I snapped my fingers and spoke:
"Dismantle."
The barrier surrounding the Bishop instantly shattered into pieces the moment the word left my lips. The Bishop's confident expression turned to one of pure horror as I approached him with my sword drawn.
"Call of Zy—" He tried to cast another spell, but my sword took his head before he could activate any other ability. His body collapsed to the floor in a spray of blood.
"Mission accomplished... Target eliminated..."
***
[Brian's POV]
Everything was in chaos. The buildings in the area were engulfed in flames, forcing everyone to split their focus between putting out fires and fighting enemies who targeted the weak rather than facing the Aques directly. We were in the western area, fighting three attackers.
These three attackers seemed to feel no pain, despite the many wounds we had inflicted. Their expressions remained flat, and their eyes never blinked. Are they even human? One of them flew toward me—it seemed impossible for a human to fly like that.
— Clang!
I parried his short sword, but he didn't stop, attacking with his feet and forcing me to retreat. For a while now, the others and I had been struggling against these three. Several casualties had already fallen, and my energy was nearing its limit. I decided to use Incursio to wipe them out with a massive attack.
Gathering mana into my sword, I aimed at two enemies who were cornering one of the Inquisitors.
"Brian! Cancel that large-scale magic!"
I heard a woman's voice and saw Inquisitor Elvira fighting an enemy. Her body was covered in wounds, just like mine.
"Why? This magic could kill them instantly!" I shouted back.
"If you miss, your spell risks hitting the building where the Priests are hiding!"
Ugh... I can't fight freely in a place like this.
Following Inquisitor Elvira's warning, I canceled the activation of Incursio. However, one of the enemies fired an ice spear at me. Although I scrambled to dodge, the spear still managed to gash my abdomen. I hadn't been able to dodge in time because I was busy canceling my spell.
I saw one of the enemies crawling along a building, his gaze fixed on a Priestess who was healing the wounded Aques. The enemy then dashed toward her. Activating Acceleration and Justice Spirit, I rushed toward him. But he suddenly spun toward me and lunged with a thrust. I didn't have time to dodge; his sword pierced the right side of my stomach, causing a significant amount of blood to pour out.
Ugh...
I lay on the ground, clutching my stomach. The enemy who had wounded me looked ready to deliver a killing blow.
— Slash!
Blood splattered everywhere as the enemy's body was sliced into two pieces.
"Are you alright, Brian?" asked the man who had just saved me.
"Inquisitor... Marcus..."
It was true; the person who saved me was the mentor who had trained and guided me for the past month.
"Rest for now. I'll clean this place up quickly!" He then sped toward the other enemies.
I tried to stand, but the wound was deep. The loss of blood made my body feel weak and helpless.
"Come on, Brian, let's get you to a Priest to heal that wound." Suddenly, Inquisitor Elvira arrived and helped me up.
"B-but Inquisitor Elvira! Inquisitor Marcus is facing those two enemies alone! We have to help him!" I cried out.
"Hahaha! Even though you're Inquisitor Marcus's squire, you don't realize how strong he really is!" Elvira said as she supported me toward a Priestess. "Heal this boy; he's lost a lot of blood."
The Priestess placed her palms over the wound on my stomach.
"What did you mean by that, Inquisitor?" I asked.
It was true—I had never actually seen Inquisitor Marcus fight at full strength.
"You didn't know? Inquisitor Marcus was one of the candidates to replace the Holy Knight who died fighting a Performer," Elvira revealed. "Even though he wasn't chosen in the end, it shows that his strength is recognized by the Temple."
Hearing this made me admire my fighting mentor even more.
"Hey, Brian! Watch my fight! I'll show you how a veteran handles things," Inquisitor Marcus shouted as he dodged an attack and countered.
He slashed the leg of one enemy, and blood began to flow. However, despite the deep wound, the enemy continued to move nimbly and resumed his attack.
"Inquisitor Marcus! They won't stop no matter how many wounds they take!" Elvira warned. "You have to sever their limbs to stop them!"
Marcus nodded, and his sword began to glow with a red light. One of the enemies held out his hands and unleashed a massive fireball at Marcus. However, my mentor didn't panic; instead, he smiled. He raised his sword with both hands as fire swirled around him, coating the blade.
"Roaring Tiger Flame!"
Marcus swung his sword at the giant fireball. A wave of flame erupted, and the two fires collided. Although the Inquisitor's fire was smaller than the enemy's, it pierced through the fireball and struck the target. A cloud of smoke rose, and soon after, the enemy's body was visible, charred like coal.
"...."
"...."
Just as Marcus finished his attack, another enemy appeared before us and lunged at the Priestess who was healing me.
— Bam!
The enemy was sent flying as Marcus suddenly appeared in front of us and delivered a powerful kick to the enemy's face. Incredible... Is this the power of a Senior Inquisitor?
But the battle wasn't over. The charred enemy Marcus had hit earlier stood back up and rushed toward us again.
"Tch, how annoying," Marcus cursed. "I suppose I really do have to cut off their hands and legs to make them stop."
It was true; these three enemies were somehow immune to all our attacks. Only one had been stopped—the one Marcus had sliced in half to save me earlier. The Inquisitor began exchanging blows with the enemy again.
However, the one he had kicked earlier rose and joined his charred companion in attacking Marcus. It seemed they had decided to defeat Marcus first before coming for the rest of us. Previously, these three had targeted the weakest and only ran around when facing stronger members. It was a coward's tactic.
— Bam!
A loud thud echoed as Marcus kicked one enemy's head, sending him tumbling back. However, the other managed to stab Marcus in the shoulder with a short sword. Surprisingly, Marcus just smiled at the enemy who had stabbed him.
"Got you," Marcus said, gripping the hand of the enemy tightly. The enemy tried to pull away, but it was futile; Marcus's grip was absolute.
— Slash!
The enemy's head flew into the air as Marcus decapitated him without hesitation. He didn't stop there; he proceeded to hack off the enemy's arms and legs to ensure he wouldn't rise again.
"Now, only one left," Marcus said, pulling the sword out of his shoulder.
The final enemy ran toward Marcus, but his movements were strange—he seemed much slower than before. They traded blows again, but this time, Marcus was far superior. What is happening?
"You look confused, Brian," Elvira said with a smile.
"Inquisitor, what's wrong with that enemy's movement?"
"Inquisitor Marcus has an ability called Heavy Touch," Elvira explained. "This ability causes the body of anyone struck by him to become heavier than usual." She added that the effect could be stacked multiple times.
"Watch, the fight is about to end," Elvira said, pointing toward Marcus.
The enemy stood perfectly still, seemingly trying to move his entire body but failing completely.
"Judging by his condition, the stack on his body has likely reached 10 tons," Elvira noted.
Ten tons!? How could a human move with that much weight on their body?
— Slash! Slash! Slash!
Wasting no time, Marcus chopped the enemy into small pieces. In the end, the three enemies we had struggled against at the cost of many lives were defeated by Marcus alone.
"How was that, Brian? Did you see how I fight!?" Marcus shouted, turning back to smile at me.
"You were amazing, Inquisitor! I'm so proud to be your squire!" I replied happily. After this, I vowed to keep training with him to become stronger.
"Alright, let's head toward the Bish—"
Marcus didn't finish his sentence. His body shuddered, and blood began leaking from his nose and mouth. A hand suddenly erupted through his chest, and I could see his beating heart held in that hand right before my eyes.
"Brian... Elvira... Run...."
After gasping out his final words, the hand that had pierced his chest crushed his heart.
"No, no, no!" I screamed, trying to run toward my mentor's bloodied body. However, Elvira and several Aques held me back, forcing me away from the area.
"How is this possible!? Inquisitor Marcus shredded that enemy's body! How could he possibly get back up and attack from behind!?" I asked in total confusion.
"I don't know, Brian... We have to get out of here! We can't defeat them in this state!" Elvira answered, tears streaming down her face.
I could only watch as the enemy stomped on the head of Inquisitor Marcus's corpse—my mentor, who had always guided me toward the truth.
"I won't forgive you! I'll kill you all someday!"
Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!
Why am I so weak!? Why can't I defeat the villains who spread this terror!?
I am so... weak...
***
[Raul's POV]
The battle was over. I was currently standing beside Puppeteer, who had been controlling his three dolls from a distance during the fight with Brian's group.
"Why did you stop me from chasing them, Joker?" Puppeteer asked, sounding annoyed.
"We've completed the mission. It's better to leave before more reinforcements arrive," I suggested, offering a fabricated excuse.
He turned and began to leave. The reason Puppeteer's dolls could return to normal after being shredded was due to one of his Profound Codices called Re-Construct. He could repair his creations from any level of damage, restoring them to their original state.
When Marcus destroyed two of the dolls, Puppeteer intentionally delayed their repair to make his enemy drop his guard. He allowed the Inquisitor to feel the triumph of victory before killing him the moment his vigilance wavered.
The performers of The Masquerade are truly enemies that cannot be underestimated. They are terrifyingly dangerous, especially if you are ignorant of their abilities.