Chapter 88 He Will Grant You Freedom in the Winter
From the solemn Cathedral of Saint Vasok came the vulgar curses of men.
Benedict ignored him and continued walking towards the door. He heard a chaotic sound of footsteps getting closer and closer, and his clothes were grabbed, forcing him to stop.
He turned his head and saw a ragged woman kneeling down tremblingly, grabbing the corner of his clothes.
His expression did not change. He lowered his eyes to look at her, a skinny middle-aged woman. Her hair was not only messy but also had been pulled out in large parts. New and old wounds were visible on her scalp.
The woman's exposed skin was not only bruised, but also covered with scars.
"You bitch!" A fair-looking man reached out to grab her.
The woman shivered, flapping her frozen purple feet vigorously, and hid behind Benedict, without letting go of the corner of his clothes.
Because Benedict could see that she was different from other nobles in her elegance, the man bowed flatteringly: "My Lord, please return her to me."
"No..." The woman exuded fear from head to toe.
The priest who was following closely could not help but stand up straight when he saw Benedict and greeted him: "Greetings, Your Holiness."
The man's eyes widened in disbelief, and he quickly knelt down on the ground and said, "Greetings, Your Holiness."
The woman obviously did not expect that the person she caught was the Pope. Her grip loosened slightly, then she held on tightly to the corner of his clothes.
Her lips, dried up to the point of blood clots, trembled, and she lowered her head even more. If she asked him for help, would he save her? But she had already escaped here several times, and each time, she was caught by the monster that others called her "husband."
Afterwards, what awaits her is an even darker hell.
Is she guilty? Why is her karma in this world so unbearable?
Goddess, please save me...
The Vatican knights, led by Lovery, arrived quickly, and the few passers-by around were cleared out. The cardinals and patriarchs on duty in the church came over one after another.
But without the Pope's order, they had no other action.
"Ms. Webb, please go back with Mr. Webb." The priest bowed his head and said to her, "Your husband is innocent. He is just exercising his rights."
Yes, rights. The church recognized the husband’s right to beat his wife, so she was caught again and again.
The woman shuddered. She wanted to live, but how could she? The man before her was so abiding by the teachings. Would he really save her?
What if… What if…
In my ears, I heard a woman's loud pleas: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Please save me! Save me!"
Not hearing a response, the woman raised her head slightly with tears on her face, and her eyes met Benedict's. She shuddered suddenly, and subconsciously let go of his expensive cloth.
She anticipated that His Majesty might be disgusted, disdainful, frowning, or perhaps, as kind as a goddess. However, there was nothing in his eyes, and when he looked at her, he was only observing her action.
"Ah!" Just as the woman was stunned, the man grabbed her remaining hair fiercely, dragged her away from Benedict, and punched her in the face.
The woman was even more embarrassed.
Lovery gripped the sword at his waist tightly. One of the codes of chivalry was to respect women and protect the weak.
He should step forward, even if... there was no order from the Pope, even if it was the man's right, even if he would be sued in the Lachigo court...
Just as his other hand was about to touch the hilt of the sword, something unexpected happened.
The woman who had been silently being beaten suddenly clenched her fist and hit the man on the nose.
The man was surprised at the woman's resistance, but he wondered how a woman who had not been nourished for a long time could beat a strong man.
The woman was quickly pinned to the cold floor by the man. In a place where no one could see, the man's face was ferocious. The woman seemed to see a huge black monster attacking her again, covering everything about her.
She had resisted and thought about killing the man, her so-called husband, but every time it would be like the next one, she would get an even colder night.
"Help..." The woman squeezed out the words with difficulty. Despair invaded her every limb, but still no one could respond to her. Living was too painful, and she couldn't die.
My dear goddess, why is my karma so miserable? Is this also my sin?
Would dying here be considered returning to your arms?
Is sleeping here also considered bathing in your holy light?
She is very tired.
She turned to the other side with empty eyes. In that case, at least, don't let her see the monster.
I don’t know how long it took, but the cold night in my memory never came.
Warmth dripped down the side of her face.
Are they her tears?
She turned her head with difficulty, like a rusty joint.
The man was motionless, and what was dripping onto her body was his blood.
The man fell uncontrollably, and her pupils suddenly shrank. Then, she saw the elegant young man, the young man called the Pope. His eyes were still indifferent, and there was even a dark tint under his eyes.
He handed Lovery's sword back to him and, at the same time, extended his hand toward the cardinal.
Seeing this, the cardinal hastened to offer his crozier.
Benedict took it, walked to the woman, and under her stunned gaze, gently tapped the woman's head with his pastoral staff.
"God is always merciful, and He will grant you freedom." Soft white light floated out from the pastoral staff and scattered on her wounds.
He did all this without any change in his expression. He ignored the woman's expression, nor did he care about the silence of others present who were shocked by his killing.
No one, not even the members of the Order, nor any of the clergy, had expected their Pope to take such sudden action.
Their always merciful Pope would suddenly take action in front of them.
Under the blood and oppression, he walked slowly towards the gate without looking back.
It was not until he stepped out of the church door that he realized that the sun had come out and the snow had turned into rain.
He walked down the stairs alone. The drizzle in the winter sunshine had a different kind of beauty, and it also made the cold snow on the ground seem a lot gentler.
But no matter how he walked, the sun's light did not shine on him.
——
The Dukedom of Heihefu in the Segarot Empire.
"Bang!"
The last monster's head hit the ground, and bright red blood spilled onto the white snow.
The long sword was stained with blood, which was dripping bit by bit. Leticia breathed slightly. She stared at the dead monster silently with a frown.
"Master Captain!"
The sound of several suits of armor running could be heard, but Leticia did not look back.
The people running over followed her gaze.
Molifen stared at the monster's corpse, unable to make out anything. It was just an ordinary monster. She couldn't help but ask, "Captain, is there anything wrong?"
"Don't you think there are more monsters lately?" Kaihakan, who was traveling with us, took a few steps forward and sniffed around. A look of disgust crossed his face. "Also, there's a peculiar smell."
Ledisia looked at Kaihakan and asked, "Can you describe the taste in detail?"
He lowered his head in thought, trying to find words to describe the smell: "Fresh? No, rich? Corpse?"
"What's that smell?" Murray Finn nudged him with his arm.
"A mixture of floral scent and corpses," Balkas said firmly.
"Huh? The deputy commander also smelled it?" Morifen couldn't help but be surprised.
"I smelled it too." Letixia said solemnly.
"Ah?" Morifin couldn't help but look at the woman who had been silent. "Did Lord Jewanlin smell it too?"
"No." Jewanlin tightened her robe around her body and took a few steps back under everyone's gaze. She said to them with a cold look in her eyes, "You'd better step back too."
As soon as he finished speaking, the monster that had been dead suddenly made sparse sounds again, and the group instantly grasped their weapons again and took a few steps back.
I saw a thick black liquid coming out of the cut on the monster's broken neck, emitting a fresh floral scent, and soon the smell of a corpse. The liquid actually spread towards the head that fell not far away, and finally, in an instant, it was pulled back into the monster's body.
"What... is this?" Morifin and Kaihakan were stunned.
The moment the monster's head returned to its body, a white light rushed over and completely shattered the monster.
Everyone's eyes followed the source of the light. Jevanlin dispelled the magic circle and tucked his hands back into his robes. "My intuition tells me that I must kill this monster before its head returns to its body."
Ledixia nodded and ordered everyone present, "Check the remaining monster corpses and burn them in one place. Be careful."
"Yes! Master Captain!"
Jewanlin also followed the knights. She could not be wrong. She had to report to Lord Salis.
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