The Case of Being Reincarnated as a Heretic Mob Character in an Eroge Where Everyone is Extremely Determined - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Nasal Salt

As I made my way to the city centre, trying to keep my face hidden as much as possible, I spotted a female knight sitting in seiza on a rooftop.

(That is…)

Clad in thick alloy armor, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed holy knight let her long ponytail sway in the wind as she kept watch over the city below.

Her beauty possessed a purity like that of snow. Without makeup, earrings or any accessories, she was clad only in plain metal armor.

There was an unadorned beauty about her, an undeniable wildness blended with her unembellished beauty as if she had stepped right out of a painting.

(Is Pomett here too? So far, there are two Orthodox Executives, Celestia and Pomett.)

Judging by her appearance, the holy knight perched on the roof must be Pomett Yosta, ranked fourth in the Executive hierarchy.

Pomett is one of the most popular characters in the original work, and when it comes to popularity in the fan-made books, she’s right up there competing at the top with Celestia.

It’s no surprise, given her ‘Defeat Attribute’, which is more than evident from her appearance as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed female knight.

(In fan creations, for some reason, she tends to be defeated easily in two-panel comics, but being ranked fourth in the Executive hierarchy means she’s also a monster. She’s not someone I can handle. Maybe I should run.)

I walked past Pomett, heading towards the center of the city where the church and the square were located.

Just before turning the corner, I felt like she was glaring at my back—but maybe it was just my imagination.

“…”

(No, I should trust my intuition and proceed with caution. There’s no such thing as being too cautious.)

After turning the corner, I dove into an alleyway and hid in the darkness.

Immediately after, Pomett landed in the spot I had just vacated.

She began to look around as if searching for me.

As I thought. Pomett has sharp instincts. She must have sensed that I’m not an ordinary person.

Once she confirmed my absence, she leaped away towards some other location.

It seems better to use the back alleys to head towards the city center from here.

Of course, it’s game over if they’ve got the alleys covered too, but if that happens, my only option would be to run like hell and summon the Executive.

Normally, I wouldn’t expect to have the chance to escape, but they can’t make a careless move until they confirm that I’m a Heretic.

As I cautiously moved from the back alley to the main street, I occasionally caught sight of other Orthodox Executive members.

Cress Walker, the third in the hierarchy; Noun Tilty, the sixth; and Saren Deputy, the ultimate weapon of the Orthodox, who ranks first.

Saren’s magic, in particular, is specialized for combating Heretics, so if she enters combat mode, it’s pretty much hopeless.

At the very least, Joanne wouldn’t stand a chance against her.

Since my face is obscured and I’m blending into the darkness, I shouldn’t normally be noticed… but something feels ominous.

As I finally approached the center of the town, I was wary of the strange commotion on the main street.

I feel like I’m being followed… but by whom? Pomett?

I looked up from the alley to the rooftops, but of course, there was no one there. Even glaring into the darkness behind me, there wasn’t a single figure.

It’s unlikely for anyone to be lurking in the unsanitary and dangerous back alleys.

Just as I thought that and was about to enter the final stage of the plan—there was a sound, like a pebble being rolled, echoing through the alley.

“!!”

I was right… For some reason, I’m being marked by someone.

Even though I’ve disguised my face, maybe it was a mistake to act so suspiciously up to this point.

However, the fact that I can’t see anything at all is eerie.

It must be the work of Cress, who is ranked third and can manipulate electricity and magnetism to create optical camouflage, or Celestia, who is ranked seventh and can distort the air to make herself unrecognizable.

In any case, with the likelihood of being targeted by the Orthodox Executive being close to one hundred percent, I must take some action or I’ll get caught.

If someone talks to me, I’ll have no choice but to respond, and the outcome will be my facial scars being healed and my identity exposed.

Trying to find a way out of this situation, I decided to take a big gamble, hoping that the invisible opponent was Celestia.

If successful, I could get information from the Orthodox side and escape from Celestia.

Even if I fail, I won’t die for nothing.

“Celestia Hotthound. You’re here, aren’t you? I’m an ally. Let’s talk, just the two of us.”

I turned around and spoke into the void.

From the darkness, where no one should be, a faint gasp could be heard.

That delicate voice was unmistakably that of a woman.

It seems I’ve won the bet.

After a few seconds of pause, Celestia appears from the stagnant air.

Her high-quality nun’s habit emerges from the darkness, showing a black sheen as it catches the faint sunlight.

Her eyes are narrowed in a glare at me, with a knife poised in one hand.

She is clearly ready for battle.

My own equipment consists of only a lighter, a knife, and a small amount of poison.

Even considering the assumed physical abilities and the presence or absence of healing magic, there should be no chance of victory against an Executive.

However, the mental advantage is tilted in my favor.

Celestia, unable to grasp my true identity, maintains a certain distance, enveloped in the wind.

“Who are you?”

“A friend of the Orthodox Church.”

“…”

Celestia’s wariness intensifies. With that statement, she must have deduced that I am a Heretic—Celestia sends a wind-claw slash with just enough power to avoid causing damage to the town.

Even though she’s holding back, it’s a strike powerful enough to kill me.

The wind-claw slash’s attack is naturally invisible, but it’s not an attack I can’t dodge, having fully grasped her method of attack.

Given her personality, she’ll aim for the head or neck first.

Judging from her gaze, this time it’s the Adam’s apple.

I collapsed backward from my knees to avoid the sickle weasel, then raised both hands to show that I truly had no intention of being hostile.

“Stop it, please. I really just want to talk to you. I don’t want to fight.”

If Juanquiro were here, she could have confirmed that my claim of being ‘A friend of the Orthodox Church’ was true.

I try to act nonchalant, but my heart won’t stop pounding.

It’s natural to feel unsettled, as I’m in the middle of a gamble after failing to stealthily make it to the city center.

However, it’s also true that there was something I needed to confirm.

If my true identity was going to be exposed to Celestia anyway, I had no choice but to approach her while this delicate balance was still maintained.

“The other day, the city of Metashim fell. Is the survivor… is Alfie doing well?”

“…”

There is no response to my words.

Eyes filled with suspicion and doubt pierce through me.

“That child is the hope of humanity. Someday, he will be the key to defeating Aaros. So please… make sure to protect him.”

As I bow my head, Celestia shakes hers, showing a refusal to comply.

“….what have you done to that child? Don’t tell me you’ve brainwashed that child?”

With those words, I reach a conclusion. Indeed, Alfie was alive.

He had successfully escaped from Metashim and had been taken under the protection of Kenneth Orthodox.

However, it seemed that Celestia had misunderstood Alfie as an accomplice of the heretical cult—

(Could it be that Celestia is convinced that the Heretic has done something to Alfie? No, that’s not it… Is she just suspicious because I, the Heretic, mentioned the sole survivor?)

While scratching my head and trying to explain myself, I decide it’s best to just say what I need to say for now.

I want to make sure that Alfie is protected at all costs, because with her awakening and promotion to Executive, she could at least kill some of the heretical Executives—

“—Your words are unpleasant. I do not wish to hear any more.”

Celestia, seemingly irritated, swept aside the air with wind magic, destroying the houses in its path.

Since the distance was shorter than before, I couldn’t completely dodge the gust of wind and my left leg was severed.

A large amount of blood splattered, staining the back alley red.

“Ugh… ah, Celestia, listen to my story…!”

“Show me your face, pitiful Heretic. After I confirm who you are, I shall send you to the heavens.”

My left leg slipped and I rolled on the ground. Losing my balance and leaning against the wall, I stumbled back several meters as if collapsing.

No matter how desperately I struggled, I couldn’t escape from Celestia, and she began to unwrap the bandages while straddling over my dying body.

As the blood-soaked bandages were removed, the burns and cuts were treated all at once.

As the throbbing in my face subsided, I could see the noble face of Celestia changing dramatically.

“Ah… you are Joanne’s right-hand—”

Realizing my true identity, Celestia’s purple eyes widened.

An unusual moment of vulnerability for her.

Thinking this was my only chance to escape, I pulled up the pendant I had hidden inside my clothes, tore it off with a flourish, and held it up high for her to see.

“Why…Why didn’t you listen to me, Celestia?! I just wanted to warn you!!”

Seeing Heretic suddenly start screaming, Celestia’s expression stiffened.

Her body became rigid, and her gaze was fixated on the pendant held up in my right hand.

(—This rage is a fake. It exploits the psychological falsity that people who are cornered tend to rely on effective and simple means of recovery.)

Then I threw the pendant far behind her.

Presumably mistaking it for containing Joanne’s flesh marker, Celestia diverted her gaze from me and unleashed her full magic power on the pendant.

Of course, that pendant was a decoy.

I had acted with the certainty that she would be distracted by the pendant.

Celestia had previously allowed Joanne to be resurrected and was forced to retreat because there was a marker in an unexpected place.

Believing that the unpleasant image from that time was still seared into her memory, I had reserved the use of that pendant as a last resort.

A person with a proper sense of ethics would never imagine that my body had the bodies of five Executives implanted within it.

The very act of carrying a ‘marker’ inside the pendant is a powerful tactic, and they would never expect that I have devised an even more superior strategy.

That’s why Celestia took her eyes off me. She became obsessed with trying to destroy the pendant.

Well, it’s not like the Executives of the Aaros Temple Order would come up with the ‘mobile fortress plan.’ either in the original work.

It’s safe to say that there is not a single person in this world who could defeat this strategy, which is the epitome of a first-encounter killer.

(With this, the mobile fortress plan will be completed…)

To prevent my escape route from being revealed by bloodstains, I cauterized my wounds to stop the bleeding and headed toward the center of the city.

Using the wall skillfully to bounce around on one leg, I made a discovery for the first time in my life: if I don’t fall, I can run faster than a brisk walk.

Having shaken off Celestia, who was distracted by the pendant, I hung my head in solitude in the back alley.

It seemed a waste to leave behind my severed left leg, so I brought it with me.

Since I managed to escape, it all turned out alright in the end. Now, if I can summon the five Executives, I can finally return in one piece.

(…Just barely… I’ll make it through safely…)

I was discovered by Celestia at the very last moment, but if I can successfully summon the five Executives, victory is mine.

With the last of my strength, I severed the fingers of my right hand.

Then, I cut off the fingers of my left hand—and Joanne’s ring finger reached the ground.

The sensation of touching the ground was shared with Joanne, and in the dim light of the alley, five ‘demons’ were ‘transferred’ away.

The first thing that came was the indelible smell of blood. Bones were generated as if passing through the core of the body, followed by flesh being laid out as if to pave over them. Then skin clung over muscles, and in no time, a person was formed.

“―Excellent work, Oakley-kun. Leave the rest to us.”

The charisma of evil, which had crawled out from the darkness, was now, before anyone realized, clad in a mask with a cross and a pitch-black costume.

‘I never got to see his true face’ I thought so as my consciousness gradually faded.

It was anemia. It seems I’ve bled too much today.

Between the human experimentation and the encounter with Celestia, too many events had unfolded.

“Ah… Aaros-sama, there are five enemies… Celestia, Noun, Cress, Pomett, Saren…”

“! Ah, I have duly noted it, Oakley-kun.”

Aaros solemnly nodded and, as if reading the situation, pulled Joanne along.

“Jo… anne-sama, I’m sorry… I couldn’t… drape the robe…”

I stripped off my tattered cloak and offered it to Joanne, who was in the darkness.

Joanne gently enveloped my hand and pulled me close, as if embracing my body.

“Thank you, Oakley. I understand exactly how you feel…”

―With that, it’s time for a little rest.

As Joanne spoke, my mind wavered, and slowly, I lost consciousness.