## Chapter 230 – The Holy Knights
Elise grabbed me with tremendous force, and I had no choice but to be dragged along, regretting my curiosity about the Holy Knights.
ㅡClap.
As Elise took a step, their gazes focused on us.
ㅡSqueak.
The sound of mismatched metal grinding.
A Holy Knight in a bizarre helmet that could only be described as a being from hell turned to look at us. It was an utterly mechanical and murderous movement, devoid of any sense of life.
Red light poured out from the gaps in the helmet.
“…Shit.”
In that moment, I knew.
The murderers I had seen until now were just kind, tender, pure, and playful little children.
The Holy Knights clad in that bizarre equipment were genuine serial killers, so terrifying that I couldn’t even bring myself to say the words.
I could feel it instinctively.
Those guys are the ‘real deal.’
ㅡGulp.
Feeling extreme tension, I tried to walk while hiding behind Elise. As I approached, the Holy Knights in their monstrous helmets raised their visors.
ㅡClang!
Oh, oh…!
Such hideous faces…!
Their bodies, as well as their faces, were covered in all sorts of scars! I, Kim Katt, pride myself on being a macho with my fair share of scars, but compared to them, I was nothing more than a drop in the bucket!
The ultimate machos!
Butchers in the truest sense!
The Holy Knights opened their mouths ominously as they looked at us.
Sharp teeth were revealed as—
“Oh! Elise! You were here!”
“Welcome!”
“Wow, I missed you!”
“I had a feeling you’d be here, Sister Elise.”
ㅡWhat?
I was momentarily taken aback. The monstrous men who looked like they could be the gods of serial killers were smiling brightly and waving their muscular hands.
“I am also very happy to be reunited with you, brothers and sisters.”
Elise greeted them with a straight posture. I was still too scared to come out from behind Elise. My body trembled.
“Huh? Elise? Who’s that behind you?”
A barely-wearing-pants Holy Knight asked in a light tone.
“This is Saint Katt, whom I mentioned before. He has the most devout heart. Together with him, I have annihilated evil beings in the past days.”
“What? This guy?”
“Saint. Please greet them. I have already told them a lot about you, so you don’t need to feel pressured.”
I’m feeling pressured as fuck, you bitch!
I awkwardly stepped out from behind Elise and opened my mouth.
Anyway, since they look so menacing, it would be best to greet them politely.
I had often heard about the infamous Holy Light Cross Society when I lived in Krassheim. I had been with Elise, so they seemed a little better, but they were religious thugs in the truest sense.
“Ah, hahaha… Hello? I’m a barbarian who can’t control his violent impulses when he sees evil beings. I’m KattKatt Kim Katt. Nice to meet you.”
Silence.
“…”
“…”
“…”
I greeted them cheerfully to give a refreshing impression, but all eyes in the room were focused on me. For a moment, I felt like I was naked like them.
They were tearing apart my soul…!
To see if I was evil or good!
“Kuh, kuh heh heh heh…”
“Kee hee hee hee….”
“Heh heh, heh heh heh…”
Suddenly, the Holy Knights began to laugh.
The dreamy laughter flowing from the cold, sharp gaps in their helmets was enough to crush the minds of those who dared to listen.
Ah, shit.
Elise, why are you doing this to me?
“Haha… Haha! Haat, hahahahaha!!!!”
Thinking about it, the same thing happened when I went to the arena, so I burst out laughing too. My legs were shaking so much that I couldn’t bear it without laughing.
I was the type to laugh along when others were laughing.
“Yes, yes! This is the righteous man who helped Elise!”
“He has slaughtered countless evil monsters!”
“You have a very good body. Nice to meet you, KattKatt Kim Katt.”
Since I was laughing with them, the Holy Knights seemed to accept my greeting and began to approach me, asking for a handshake.
When I first saw them, they seemed so tall, but when they stood in front of me, they were all shorter than me. Did they seem tall simply because their vessels were large?
Anyway, I shook their hands.
“Haha! I am very happy to meet you too! The Holy Light Cross Society is a gathering of righteous people who deliver just judgment to the wicked! I have always hoped to meet you someday!”
And I blurted out whatever came to mind.
“That’s right, young man, you have the right idea!”
“Haha! If there were only people like us in the world, there would be no evil!”
“That’s right! You are exactly the man Elise described!”
“That’s right! I am a person who thinks of nothing but beating to death all the wicked people I see! I have been very happy to be able to release my impulses with Elise’s help!”
I don’t even know what I’m saying.
“Oh, oh…! To think that there was such a righteous man outside the church!”
Their energy was truly extraordinary.
Even I, who am not particularly knowledgeable about the energy of divine power, could feel the sacred aura. I was afraid that if I said something wrong, I might get hit, so I just kept talking randomly.
It seems to have worked.
“I am very happy that you will get along well with Saint. Brothers and sisters! This is Saint Katt! A Holy Warrior of the God Hwanung who came from a distant foreign land to eradicate evil!”
Elise, who had become more excited, shouted loudly and began to introduce me to the people of the church. I was completely surrounded by the Holy Knights and was bombarded with questions.
“You said you caught the Queen of the Fallen Kobolds with Elise?”
“That’s right…! Those vile heretics! Those bastards captured the Kobold Queen, corrupted her, and were plotting some kind of evil scheme…! I was so angry that I smashed them all and judged them!”
“Of course, you should! You’re a really cool guy!”
This is bullshit of the highest order.
It felt like that strange neighborhood church tucked away in the corner of an alley where I was dragged by a slightly peculiar friend when I was young.
That friend received a set of pencils in exchange for selling me out, and I was forced to sing bizarre hymns until that night as payment for those meager pencils…!
Ah, Yai-Yeh! Yehobapatan!
Ah, Yai-Yeh! Yehobapatan!
Ah, Yai-Yeh! Yehobapatan!
“Ah, Yai-Yeh…! The song! That song!”
Surrounded by demonic Holy Knights in fear, I was about to lose my mind as I answered questions about gutting the insides of evil beings. Then, I heard a woman’s voice that I had heard somewhere before.
“Oh, hello. Is this the second time we’ve met?”
A blonde nun taller than me.
She was the nun who came with Elise to the undead festival last time. The person Elise called “Sister”… Her name was Sera something…
It was so long that I don’t remember it well.
“Uh… Sera, was it Sera?”
She, fully armed as a combat nun, was smiling with her long hair completely soaked in the rain.
A strong person whom Claudia evaluated as being of a high level…
“That’s right. To introduce myself again, I am Sera Blaret Akserun, a seeker paladin belonging to the Holy Light Cross Society. That is my name, baptismal name, and title. Anyway, it’s been a while. I am grateful that you have taken care of Elise during that time.”
“Sister Blaret. I did not receive care.”
Elise expressing her dissatisfaction.
“It seems to me that you have been taken care of enough. I would like to thank you once again for doing various things with Elise, who is still inexperienced due to her lack of experience.”
“There’s no need for thanks. It’s nothing. Annihilating evil beings is what Elise wants, and it’s what I want too.”
“Hehe, you know something, then…”
Sera began to explain something to Elise. Listening to the story, Sera was here as the commander of the Holy Light Cross Society’s Holy Knight Corps, and she was going to meet the commander here accordingly.
“Then, Elise. Could you find accommodation where the members of the Order can rest?”
“Of course, Sister Blaret. I will guide you.”
Sera disappeared towards the hall, leaving me, Elise, and a squad-sized group of Holy Knights belonging to the Holy Light Cross Society and some combat nuns in the room.
“Brothers and sisters! From now on, we will move to find a place to use as accommodation! Please move in an orderly manner according to my guidance!”
“Okay, okay.”
“I understand, Elise.”
Elise’s rank was much lower, and her age and length of service were also inferior, but the Holy Knights listened to Elise very well.
What, are they like uncle fans?
“Saint, please follow us too.”
“Uh… okay.”
So, we headed through the heavy rain to a place that could be used as accommodation.
It seemed that Elise had a place in mind.
“Saint. What do you think? Of our Order’s believers.”
“I can feel a very strong muscle and faith… And the armor is amazing too.”
Looking back, the Holy Knights, dressed as if they were making a living torturing people in some basement of hell, were silently walking in three columns, getting rained on.
“…To be honest, I don’t understand, but those brothers think that they can maximize their service by wearing such low-defense armor and fighting against heretics.”
“…Is it something like asceticism?”
They’re a bit twisted.
Elise simply thinks that smashing evil beings is a sacred service, while they go one step further and feel a greater sense of service satisfaction by ‘suffering themselves and smashing heretics.’
“That’s right. In our Order, we call them Ascetic Holy Knights. Of course, as they are the main force of the Order, each individual’s martial power is immense.”
“That’s very reassuring.”
I think that even the most formidable murder bosses would be terrified and piss their pants if those guys rushed in as a group and wielded their blades.
In fact, aren’t they beings no different from paladins?
If they organically attack while buffing and self-healing with all sorts of divine skills, there will be almost no one who can stop them.
Originally, paladins are a bit of a scam.
They have tanking, dealing, healing, buffs, and even long-range attack spells.
ㅡClatter, clatter.
ㅡSqueak. Squeak.
…That sound of metal rubbing was really unbearable. As we moved completely soaked, we came to a large building that felt like a guesthouse.
“I saw this place the day before yesterday. This place should be able to accommodate all the people. Let’s go in.”
We opened the door and all 30 or so people went inside.
“Welcome… Heok!”
“What, what is it! This is crazy!”
As soon as we entered, the waitress and the innkeeper sat down, having a fit. Even our family would do that if a squad of muscular, brutal machos suddenly burst in.
Elise said shyly.
“…It happens often.”
“Is that so.”
But why did I follow them here…
“Thank you for guiding us, Elise.”
Not knowing what to do, the black-pants Holy Knight, covering only his nipples, stepped forward. Unlike his appearance, his voice and attitude were very refreshing. He took off his helmet and slowly helped the innkeeper up.
“We are Ascetic Holy Knights dispatched from the Holy Light Cross Society to conquer evil heretics. We are looking for a place to stay for about 30 men and women… Do you have any rooms?”
“…Of course.”
Well, no matter what people look like, money is the best after all. The innkeeper, who had gotten up, began to calculate.
“Okay, okay. Everyone, go to your rooms and work hard on importing your equipment. Gather again when I call you. Oh, and you said you were Saint Katt? Talk to us for a moment.”
“Yes? Is something wrong?”
“We can’t just pass by when we see a righteous man!”
