After Tiana left for the Holy See.
Matyos went to find the Noim Mercenary Band.
The aging mercenaries sat in silence, tending to their weapons. Their battered armor bore layer upon layer of scratches, each one a scar from some forgotten battle.
"This is your first assignment."
At Matyos's words, a man splitting firewood paused his axe mid-swing.
"What is it?"
"Head to the Sanctum City-State right now and wait there. I'll follow in a few days — we'll link up and fight together."
"Who's the enemy?"
The moment the question fell, the air grew strangely heavy.
Matyos looked at each of the old mercenaries in turn.
Deeply lined faces. The dying embers of war still smoldering in their eyes. These were not men you could deceive.
"The Holy See."
A small ripple passed through the group.
Someone cleared their throat. Someone else tightened their grip on a scabbard.
"We're going to rescue a girl the Holy See has imprisoned."
"Did they truly do such a thing?"
"Worse things, too. You wouldn't believe me if I told you — see for yourselves."
A brief murmur passed among them. But it didn't last long.
They already wore the faces of men who knew the answer.
Those who had lived through war understood exactly how far an organization could fall once it began to rot.
"Understood. We'll be there waiting."
A calm, settled conclusion.
"…Are you sure about this? We're going up against the Holy See."
He'd added that almost without thinking. Just in case faith might trip them up.
The Noim Mercenary Band were former soldiers.
Soldiers who lived with death as a constant companion tended to hold their faith deeply.
Halshtein, the band's commander, wore a cross around his neck right now.
The silver had worn dull, darkened with years of handling.
"Employer. Do you know the three duties a soldier must uphold?"
"What are they?"
"To serve the state, to defeat the enemy, and to protect women and children."
Matyos nodded with genuine respect.
He had once been a soldier himself — these were words he'd heard all his life.
"Here's the map. The marked location is their hideout."
The red markings drawn across the map were stark and clear.
"What's their strength?"
"Estimated at around seventy Holy Knights."
The Noim Mercenary Band numbered thirty.
Twice as many on the other side.
In practical terms, it was tantamount to a death sentence.
"If it's too much to ask—"
But.
"Enemies, then."
Halshtein laughed — a broad, unguarded laugh.
The deep scar that crossed his cheek twisted with it.
"We've fought enemies twice our number for the Emperor before."
"…"
"And those Holy Knight bastards — I've been wanting to break that smug pride of theirs for a long time. This works out nicely."
"…Should I hire more mercenary bands?"
"No. Mercenaries are jackals who don't keep their word. The moment they learn we're fighting the Holy See, they'll turn on us instead."
Halshtein took Matyos's hand in his — the hand of a man old enough to be his grandfather.
"Trust us. Employer."
*
Ofilienne moved the family's influence quietly.
She touched the accumulated grievances of the north the way one touches a bone-dry pile of kindling.
The reformist factions — long fed up with the Holy See's corruption and oppression — had been seething for years.
'Return to the Scripture.' The slogan had already been spreading from mouth to mouth like a lit fuse.
That anger had piled up like autumn leaves. Ofilienne dropped a single spark into it.
And it caught.
It began as unrest in a single city, but the Holy See — which had been watching the north with a sharp eye — responded immediately.
The Imperial Army, wanting no part of a religious dispute, stood back and watched.
"I'll buy you time, so go carefully. And follow Quistian's orders without question."
Ofilienne said this, her ornate coat sweeping around her, and turned toward the Holy See.
Matyos nodded and looked at Quistian.
A refined old man with a monocle. His genteel appearance belied the fact that he was counted among the family's most formidable fighters.
"I will always place your safety above all else, Young Lord."
"Because you were ordered to?"
"Yes. Should the situation deteriorate, I will see to you even if it means leaving Miss Pilrn behind."
"That won't happen, so don't think about it."
"Of course."
In the dark of evening, Matyos walked a gloomy path.
Quistian followed in silence behind him.
Moonlight filtered through the leaves and fell in fragments across the ground.
In the shadows, Joi sat sketching.
"Oh — Maty?"
Joi startled and stood up.
Joi — Henri — was an assassin disguised as a girl.
Every evening, he came here to draw.
"What brings you out here?"
"I could ask you the same — sketching at this hour?"
"This is my major. I have to keep at it."
"What are you drawing?"
"…A portrait. Want to see?"
She hesitated, then held out the sketchbook.
Professor Vilhelmine looked back from the page.
"That's the Professor."
"Her features are so defined. Easy to work with, I suppose."
Joi laughed softly.
But that wasn't the real reason.
The sketchbook was probably full of the same face.
"By the way, Maty — why are you loaded up like that? And who's that gentleman?"
"I'm going to see Tiana."
"But… she became a nun, didn't she? That was a shame. Professor Vilhelmine was rather fond of her too, in her own way…"
"Want to come?"
"Just like that?"
"I'll give you a photo of Professor Vilhelmine in return."
"…You think that's enough to win me over?"
"Fine, never mind then."
"…Actually, thinking about it, that's not a bad deal. Drawing from imagination alone is hard."
Joi — Henri — joined them.
Quistian asked in a low voice.
"…Young Lord. Is it wise to involve this girl in this matter?"
"You think it's irresponsible?"
"Yes. She could die."
I almost smirked at Quistian's concern.
Die? That slippery assassin?
Henri was no ordinary assassin.
He was a former Head of the Imperial Guard.
Dying wasn't something I needed to worry about on his behalf.
"That concern is wasted."
We were about to leave the academy grounds.
The sound of a sword cutting through the air rang out from the training field.
I went closer. It was Taibeon.
Alone. No opponent. Just swinging his sword at empty air like a man possessed.
Slash, and slash again, and again.
Like someone trying to tear apart something invisible.
I walked toward him.
He didn't notice me even as I drew close.
He was completely gone.
Lost in himself.
"Taibeon."
Only then did the blade stop in midair.
"…Matyos."
"What are you doing out here."
"Nothing. Just… here."
Taibeon lowered his sword.
His clothes were soaked through with sweat.
"…Before."
He opened his mouth.
"Before, I thought it wouldn't matter if my sister wasn't around."
He tried to smirk, but the expression crumbled before it could form.
"Always teasing me, mocking me, treating me like a little kid."
His voice trailed off.
He covered his eyes with his hand.
Drew a rough, ragged breath.
"But."
That single word fell with unusual weight.
Tears slipped through his fingers.
Sweat and tears mixed together, indistinguishable, running down his cheek and dripping from his jaw.
"But that wasn't true…"
His voice broke.
"She can't be gone. I wanted her beside me always. And she just… left…"
There was no resentment in those words. No anger.
Only a loss he couldn't catch up to.
I couldn't say anything.
"…Did you come to comfort me?"
He asked, lowering his hand.
His eyes were red.
"You don't have to. It must have been too much to ask of you. I understand."
He nodded, as if trying to convince himself.
"No."
"Then."
"I'm going to bring your sister back."
The air seemed to stop.
"…What?"
"I said I'm going to get her. Your sister."
His eyes wavered.
The eyes of someone who wanted to believe, but was afraid to reach for hope in case they grabbed the wrong thing.
"…I'm coming with you."
Taibeon seized my shoulder.
"I'm coming too."
Looking into those green eyes — the same green as Tiana's — I knew no words would shake him loose.
Not that I'd intended to try.
So I just nodded.
"All right."
And so the Tiana Rescue Avengers (?) assembled.
Me, Taibeon, Joi, Henri, Quistian.
A surprisingly formidable party.
'…So this is how it diverges.'
This kind of incident happens in the original story too.
With Taibeon in the picture, Cardinal Teo — unable to win Tiana over — would resort to other means.
He would never give up on her.
He would simply abduct her outright.
In the original, Taibeon assembled a party to rescue her.
Back then it had been Huana and Yuri. Now it was Henri and Quistian.
A more reliable force, all told.
"…If we're just going to visit your sister, why are you packing guns?"
Taibeon still hadn't fully grasped the situation.
Quistian looked at me as if to ask whether this was really all right, but I ignored him and asked:
"Taibeon. If your sister were in danger, what would you do?"
"Save her. No question."
Not a moment's hesitation.
"Even if the enemy was powerful?"
"Even if it were the Emperor himself."
"Our enemy is the Holy See."
"…The Holy See?"
The air shifted.
It was time to talk.
I calmly explained the situation to Joi and Taibeon.
"Tiana went through all that…"
Joi's expression clouded with worry.
And Taibeon—
Crrrk!!
Pure, murderous fury.
His fist trembled, veins standing out against the skin.
"While our sister draws the Cardinal's attention, we'll infiltrate the hideout and extract Tiana. Are you in?"
"Hehe… I'm not much use in a fight, but I'm going! I can't just let something like that happen to someone I was close to!"
The most reliable member of the party answered first.
"…Obviously I'm going."
Taibeon nodded, his eyes like a beast's.
"After we extract Tiana, we'll link up with our family's army waiting outside the Sanctum City-State."
Even if we escaped the Holy See successfully, the Holy Knights would give chase — and that would be the end of it.
But if we slipped into the Moretti regular forces, there was nothing they could do.
Touching the Moretti regulars would mean actual war.
We slipped out of the academy.
"Hold on just a moment! Where do you think a group of students is going at this hour of the night?"
To the guard who stopped us, we extended a small measure of 'goodwill.'
"Ha ha. One must step outside for a breath of fresh air now and then. They'll be back shortly."
Four warhorses, prepared in advance.
I rode with Quistian.
"…I don't know how to ride."
"I do! Taibeon, ride with me."
"Fine."
Taibeon rode with Joi.
Hoofbeats split the night road.
We left Porca behind and rode for the Sanctum City-State at full gallop. Both lay on the same Talia Peninsula — a day's hard riding between them.
When the horses tired, we switched to the two spare mounts we'd brought along, and rode without a single stop until we reached the Holy See within the Sanctum City-State.
We halted on a hill overlooking the Johan Palace, where the Pope resided.
We melted into the shadows and slipped quietly into the Sanctum City-State.
"We are ready."
On my order, the Noim Mercenary Band — who had arrived ahead of us and been waiting — joined up with us.
They carried Imperial-issue armor and their distinctive large square shields that covered the whole body.
"These men are…"
Quistian's eyes widened.
I shrugged.
I checked the time on my pocket watch.
Sister had arrived in the Sanctum City-State as well. We'd finish the job while she was buying time at the Holy See.
By now she'd be stalling them inside.
We'd timed it well.
"That's where my sister is…"
Taibeon gripped his sword tight.
The outer slums.
It looked like an ordinary building, but it was a clandestine biological experimentation facility the Holy See had constructed in secret.
"Frontal assault?" Halshtein asked.
Men in shabby robes stood at the entrance.
Holy Knights.
"No. Quistian — you brought what I asked for?"
"Of course."
Quistian produced a large crystal.
An artifact charged with explosive magic.
"Tiana is probably being held in the basement. Rather than forcing our way through the front, we'll blow straight through the floor and drop directly into the basement."
"Yes."
"If we go in like that we'll be surrounded, so we need to hit the entrance at the same time…"
I looked over our people for a moment.
Someone who could hold their own against Holy Knights at the entrance…
"Joi."
"Me?"
Former Head of the Imperial Guard. A senior assassin of the Black Moon Pact.
Holy Knights would be nothing to her.
"Bat your eyelashes and buy us some time."
"Am I really that cute?"
"…Yeah."
"I'll give it a shot!"
She'd have trouble fighting at full strength with eyes on her.
So I needed to give her an environment where she could operate freely.
"Then we move in."
We shifted quietly to the rear of the building.
I pictured the floor plan in my head and placed the explosive at the right spot.
I nodded.
"Do it."
Quistian channeled mana into the explosive crystal.
We stepped back.
And then—
BOOM!!!
The floor caved in, revealing a hollow underground space.
"Move in!"
Halshtein led the charge, stepping over the broken rubble.
Disciplined and swift. They seized the advantageous position first and snapped their shield wall into place.
I drew my sword and leapt down after them.
I activated Ink Star. The black star surged.
I reinforced my vision with mana.
Cutting through the dust, I held my breath and swept my gaze around.
My vision was blurred.
And then I saw her.
Wreathed in radiance, hands clasped together, praying.
Tears ran silently down her face, glinting like silver thread in the light.
Like someone clinging to the last remnant of their faith just to hold themselves together.
I walked toward her slowly.
The sound of my boots on the broken stone felt unnaturally loud.
She raised her head.
Shock. Disbelief. Relief flooding in almost immediately after.
But all of it tangled together at once, none of it able to surface cleanly.
She looked up at me with a face that didn't even know how to cry.
"I told you to wait."
I couldn't keep the tremor from my voice.
"Uh — ah. Ah…"
Sounds that couldn't become words spilled out of her.
The hands that had been clasped in prayer fell limp.
"I'm sorry. I took too long."
Her lips quivered.
"Maty…"
My name had never broken like that before.
The joy of reunion lasted only a moment.
Whoosh!
A Holy Knight's sword came slicing through the air.
A blade condensed with holy power carved a blazing arc straight toward them.
Clang!!
Taibeon threw himself between them.
He planted himself in front of Matyos and Tiana and caught the blow.
The force of the impact traveled straight up through his arms.
The difference in size was obvious. The Holy Knight's strength drove him back, boots scraping across the floor.
But Taibeon ground his teeth together. Bit down until his gums felt ready to split.
One single thought: protect his sister.
That obsession blazed through his arms and shoulders like fire.
"Raaah!"
He roared until his throat felt ready to tear, and forced the strength through.
He deflected the Holy Knight's sword and drove his leg up in a front kick.
Thud!
The Holy Knight staggered back.
Taibeon raised his sword again and fixed his glare on the man.
Then immediately spun around.
"Are you all right?! Sister?"
Tiana's lips moved without sound.
Matyos. And now Taibeon too.
She wanted to ask how they'd gotten here, but the words wouldn't come.
Her chest was too full. She could barely breathe.
"Intruders. Kill them all."
A Holy Knight in a distinctive helm shouted the order.
The commander, apparently.
The Holy Knights around him blazed with holy light in unison.
"Do not let them take the test subject!"
The Holy Knights charged toward Tiana.
Matyos quickly broke her shackles and helped her up.
But her legs gave out beneath her — she half-rose, then sank back down.
"Stay down."
He said it shortly, and turned his back to her.
He raised his sword. Black mana rose from it like heat shimmer, coiling around the blade.
The black mana swallowed the white light the Holy Knights were radiating.
A Holy Knight's sword came crashing down from above.
Matyos met it head-on.
Clang!!
Not the ring of metal on metal — something stranger. The sound of something fundamental being shattered.
The black mana tore through the holy power as if grinding it apart.
The opposing blade shattered cleanly and scattered in fragments.
"!!"
"!!"
Both of them were startled at the same moment.
The Holy Knight was shocked that his intact sword had broken. Matyos was shocked that something he hadn't expected to work had actually worked.
As the Holy Knight reached for a backup weapon, Quistian drove a dagger precisely through his eye socket.
Shu spoke.
"See? You're stronger than you think."
"I suppose I am…"
"Don't be afraid. The mana of Ink Star sits above all other forces. Even in a direct clash, you may not win — but you won't lose."
She moved her fingertips.
Formless mana swept the feet of the Holy Knights.
"Whoa!"
One stumbled and fell, and those standing beside him toppled in a chain reaction.
At that moment, the Noim Mercenary Band — who had been holding their shield wall like a tortoise — spotted the opening and advanced as one.
The seasoned soldiers surged toward the gap like ghosts.
Bang!
They drove forward with their shields.
The Holy Knights were clad in heavy plate, but the coordinated push overwhelmed them helplessly. Several went sprawling across the floor.
But the enemy were elite as well. And numerous.
They reformed their lines quickly and struck back.
The Noim Mercenary Band raised their shields again and absorbed it. The clash of steel and screams tangled together.
"Why aren't the ones at the entrance coming in!"
"There are enemies outside as well!"
"Who?!"
"Some pink-haired little bi—!"
Just as planned.
Joi — Henri — was drawing aggro exactly as intended.
The battle dissolved into a melee in an instant.
Quistian and Taibeon plunged back in.
"Maty! Take my sister and run!"
Taibeon — his sword broken somewhere in the fighting — shouted as he drove his boot into a Holy Knight's groin.
Matyos hoisted Tiana onto his back.
He stepped off the rubble from the ceiling and leapt hard.
Cool night air cut through his hair.
White moonlight fell over them.
If they could just reach the army waiting outside the city—
Ping!
A white flash came streaking toward them.
He twisted his body on instinct and dodged.
The air where the beam grazed scorched and burned.
"…Sacrilege. This is sacrilege."
Thud. Thud.
Cardinal Teo stepped into view.
Condensed holy power rippled quietly around him.
Behind him, Holy Knights closed in with swords and spears, tightening the encirclement.
"Not content with causing chaos in a sacred city — now you attempt to steal what is mine."
"Go to hell."
"Ha ha. Don't expect to walk away this time. After the spectacle you've made, I have more than sufficient grounds to have you executed."
"Go to hell."
"…Well. If I were to offer you a chance. Simply hand that over, and we can discuss—"
He gestured toward Tiana.
"Then I might let you leave quietly—"
Bang!
Teo's head snapped to the side.
He hadn't fully dodged it.
His cheekbone split open. His ear was torn.
Blood pattered into the darkness.
With Tiana still on his back, Matyos had one hand leveled with a pistol.
Cardinal Teo's arrogance — his assumption that Matyos's hands were occupied — had cost him.
A thin curl of white smoke rose from the barrel.
"I said go to hell."
A thick vein pulsed at Cardinal Teo's temple.