“Captain Elias, we’ve got him! It’s the Black Rain!!”

A subordinate who shares his vision with the white guardian owl employed by the Priests of the Holy Church and the Templar Knights as a familiar raises his voice.

A while ago, the sky in an area within the Royal Capital shone brightly, so the Knights had sent the guardian owl who was flying overhead to check the situation.

“What is the situation!? What’s going on!?”

“It seems to have come from the direction of the Royal Academy of Magic and is heading this way!!”

A slender female Knight with brushed up violet hair who wore a pure white cloak decorated with an embroidered cross looks up at the sky.

“…So it came from there, huh.”

Her Distance magic-enhanced vision identified a white owl that stood out in the night sky. The guardian beast tracked Alvesta’s movement from the sky, indicating its position.  

“Shall we pursue it? Captain…”

“Of course, we shall.”

The Special Task Force of the Holy Order exists only to defeat Alvesta, their sworn enemy. That’s why Vice-Captain Cedric’s question seemed absurd, but… All of the past subjugation units have entirely died of sickness, and from here on out, it was their turn to face a dangerous situation from where they might not return alive either.

But nobody would hesitate at Elias’ orders.

“…I’m ready.”

“There have been too many tragedies, this has to stop now.”

“I have been waiting for this day ever since I lost my family… Even if you tell me not to go, I’ll still go no matter what happens.”

That’s right, most of the Knights present are from the Church in Lualad, a city in the Warderian Empire where the tragedy took place almost twenty years ago, where they have lost someone important to them to the Bleeding Disease. Even their Captain, Elias, had lost her parents to the disease when she was 4 years old and was sheltered in the orphanage of the Holy Church.

Around the city where Alvesta had spread the strange Bleeding Disease, many people had died without receiving any healing magic or prayers. Consequently, the Holy Church’s influence crumbled along with the trust and confidence of many of its believers.

However, to keep the trust of its believers, the Church’s post-event response had been very thorough. As a result, some highly religious people who harbored hatred towards the Black Rain grew up in the area and volunteered to join the Special Forces.

Still, when it came to potentially heading towards the land of the dead, she had to reaffirm their commitment. But even if someone were to drop out, she was not going to fault them.

“… I understand how you feel. Let’s go.”

When Elias closed her eyes and made a quick sign of the cross in front of her chest, the other Knights also followed suit. Upon careful observation, it seemed like they were determined to push away their fears.

“Divide the troops into four-person squads! Please keep your distance from each other and make sure that a single blood shower doesn’t incapacitate us all!”

“That said, if you stay too far away from each other, you won’t be able to work together either, so keep that in mind.”

“YES!”

Following Elias’s instructions and Cedric’s advice, the Templar Knights make up four squads of four, which were decided beforehand.

”We’re going to commence the attacks with a half siege! Lumiere’s and Cedric’s squadrons will attack from the left and right, and Raymond and I will conquer from the front! All units spread out!”

“AYE!!”

While maneuvering their way towards the white owl flying in the night sky, Elias’ and Raymond’s squads approached their target in a straight line, while Lumiere and Cedric’s groups made their way towards the enemy on either side.

Eventually, after turning several corners, the Bow Knight Elias’ vision caught the black-robed, white-masked monster.

“I see the enemy!! I’m going ahead!”

She went ahead of him, sliding down on one knee as she took her position, and with a flowing motion, she held up the Longbow in her left hand and held the arrow she had taken out of the quiver. Next to her, another Bow Knight similarly took a one-knee stance and aimed.

“Pierce, Holy Arrows!!”

“AIM, FIRE!!”

Woosh Woosh

The Bow Knights of Elias’s squad fired Light Arrows enchanted with Holy Attribute magic. The arrows cut through the darkness of the night and fly to the white-masked monster. 

“…aah.”

However, the masked entity leaps diagonally and avoids the arrows, then kicks the wall in front of him and brings himself back near the center of the street again, and then increases his speed and closes the distance.

“Y-you deceive people with your false miracles… You impostors.”

“SECOND SHOT, FIRE!!”

Standing behind Elias and the others who are propped up on one knee, Raymond’s squad shoots Light Arrows at the target… but it passes over Alvesta’s head as he lowers himself and crawls on the ground.

“I-it’s no use…”

“… Explode, Sacred Flames of Death!!”

With only several meters separating them from the masked monster, Elias brought up her left hand and shot out small, light bullets.

“Tsk! Repel all attacks, Holy Shield!!”

The white-masked monster held his hand out and deployed a Holy Shield against the Light Bullets that were packed with magic power and traces of Holy attribute magic. The fired Light Bullets exploded in his immediate surroundings and scattered flames of light, but they were blocked by the Holy Shield of Light.

…The Priests, Cardinals, and Upper Clergymen are all aware that the entity spreading the disease was originally a Cleric. That’s why they want to defeat the heretic at all costs, but that fact is kept secret from the Public.

This is because if rumors spread poorly, then the Holy Church’s Authority would fall to the point that it would be irrecoverable. However, as a precaution, they only disclosed the bare minimum to the public that their sworn enemy could repel the Priests’ Holy Magic with equivalent magic of its own. 

”That’s to be expected!!”

The white, glowing flames could not burn Alvesta, but it stops him from advancing as the flames glow brightly around him.

“I’ll hold it back for you! Holy Flames of Death!!”

“Guuuh”

The place she was aiming for was an intersection between two alleys where Cedric’s and Lumiere’s teams were deployed from a distance on either side.

“Now!! Aim, FIRE!!”

Woosh Woosh

Under Cedric’s orders, the team members surrounding both sides of the alleyways readied their Long Bows and fired their arrows.

“Aaaah!”

In response to the surprise attack, the masked monster quickly covered his face with his left hand to hide his weakness and formed a Blood Shield. However, all 8 arrows were aimed at his torso which was easy to hit…

“Guuuh”

As a result, the arrows all hit their mark, but not enough to inflict a fatal wound.
And so, the lack of information about the opponent would later decide the fate of the Templar Knights…