Simple logic.
During the Floor 10 defense mission, the allied soldier and cavalry NPCs couldn't perceive us. But these guys clearly recognized us. As I approached, they gave me hostile glances. Meaning they weren't ordinary NPCs.
Iolka asked, sounding flustered, "B-But they might not be enemies?"
"There's a small chance. Don't worry. I didn't kill them."
"They look half-dead though..." Iolka muttered.
Murmur, murmur.
A crowd gathered, drawn by the sudden spectacle. One witness began explaining, gesturing wildly with his hands and feet. "W-Well, the soldier just suddenly collapsed, spewing blood from his nose! And what about the one next to him? He just slammed his own head into the wall! Like this, like this!" The balding man mimicked hitting his head against the wall.
Thanks to the crowd gathering, the path to the plaza cleared up slightly. I snatched the whistle from the soldier's neck and tossed it into a sewer drain.
"Let's go. No time."
Passing through the gateway, we entered the plaza. The plaza was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people. The area was noisy with the clamor of hundreds. I listened intently to the chatter.
"If I could just touch Her hand once, I'd have no regrets."
"I don't believe it. Bet it's just a bunch of nonsense."
"Who are you to doubt? A drunkard who spends all day drinking!"
"What, you bastard? Wanna die!"
"Come at me if you dare, old man! I've hated you for a long time..."
Most of the talk was useless, but one word kept repeating among them: 'Her.' They referred to someone with a pronoun, not a name. 'She' seemed to be the reason all these people gathered in the plaza.
'High probability it's the target.'
In the center of the plaza stood a huge, ornate, castle-like building.
"Is that the Hall of Silver?"
"Yes," Aaron confirmed.
About 20 meters tall. The building material was white marble, the windows were multi-colored stained glass. On the dome-shaped roof stood a statue depicting the twin goddesses. Meaningless scenery and patterns were intricately carved into the walls.
People's gazes were focused on the Hall of Silver, specifically on one point: the temple's terrace, built at a height of 15 meters.
"Wait a minute, Oppa. Looks like someone's coming out?" Jaina pointed to the terrace entrance. True to her words, someone was walking out: an elderly man in white priest robes. The old man scanned the crowd once, then tapped the floor with his staff.
[Silence, all!]
A deep, dignified voice spread throughout the plaza. The clamoring crowd instantly fell silent. Iolka muttered, "Magic amplification."
[The Successor of the Sun enters. Maintain silence!]
'No time.'
We didn't come here for sightseeing. The countdown was still ticking down, bit by bit.
"We're going inside the temple now."
"Inside the temple?" Jaina asked.
"Yes."
It wasn't clear who the escort target was. We hadn't gathered enough information. But there was no time to hesitate. It was time to decide. If a stage featured an event like this, the escort target was likely a key figure in the event.
'Quick decision.'
I glanced towards the temple entrance. Armored soldiers stood lined up beside the large doors carved with wings. They were strictly controlling entry. Suddenly, my eyes met with one of the soldiers.
I drew my sword from its scabbard. Horror filled the soldier's eyes.
'Those guys can see us too.'
With my sword lowered, I approached the entrance.
Soldiers rushed forward. One who seemed to be the captain stepped forward with a wary expression.
"Who are you?"
"Move. If you don't want to die."
"The temple is off-limits! Are you heretics!"
"Heretics?"
"That's right. We serve the Goddess..."
I kicked the plaster goddess statue standing nearby. The statue snapped at the waist and shattered noisily.
"Is this heretical enough?"
"Y-You insane bastard! Kill him!"
A warning window popped up along with a sound effect.
[Warning!]
[Human Soldier Lv.13] X ?
[Unidentified Enemy Lv.???] X ?
A combat message indicating enemies.
"Correct answer."
"Hoo, you really are aggressive," Iolka commented.
"Are you guys followers of that Goddess Order or whatever too?"
"No, sir," Aaron replied.
"I only believe in myself. And Oppa," Jaina added.
Aaron brought out his spear. Jaina nocked an arrow.
"Break through these guys and enter the temple. The escort target will be inside."
Shliing!
The soldiers drew their weapons in unison. Swords, spears, and halberds.
"Purge the heretics!"
At the captain's command, the soldiers charged.
I slung my shield onto my left arm and said, "Break through."
"Yes!"
The soldier in the front swung his halberd. I deflected it with my shield and stabbed his neck.
"Urk! Kuhk!"
As he collapsed spewing bloody foam, the soldier behind him thrust his spear. I twisted my torso, and the spear grazed the side of my leather armor. A long slice. The blade cut through the thin metal plate and severed the flesh underneath.
"Guaahk!"
"Hyaaaaa!"
Another one charged with a halberd. I ducked low and swept him off his feet with my shield. He flipped once in the air. Thunk, I plunged my sword into him.
"Don't fight every single one! Run inside!"
No need to fight them all. I kicked away a soldier charging from the side and started running. The three followed.
Some people in the crowd spotted the bodies.
"Ugh! What's this? Someone's— someone's dead!" A high-pitched scream echoed through the plaza.
We reached the stairs leading to the main gate. The captain swung his sword and yelled.
"Block them! Protect the temple from the heretics!"
Thwip!
Thud!
An arrow pierced the captain's forehead between his eyes. Jaina fired rapidly at the pursuing soldiers while running up the stairs, aiming for legs and arms. Soldiers hidden behind the marble pillars beside the stairs emerged.
"Ignore them! No time."
Aaron struck a soldier guarding the door with the shaft of his spear.
BANG!
I kicked open the large doors leading into the temple's interior. After confirming Iolka was inside, I slammed the door shut with my back.
"Iolka."
"I know!"
Iolka quickly chanted a spell. Wooden planks inside the temple rose on their own and jammed themselves between the door handles.
Thump! Thump-thump!
Loud banging echoed from outside the door.
A middle-aged priest reading a book at the altar widened his eyes.
"Wh-Who are you! How did you get in here..."
Quickly scan the interior. Passages led off to the left and right. From the right passage, seven armed soldiers burst out, drawing their weapons.
"Who dares trespass here!"
"Clean them up and follow," I said to my party.
"What about you, Oppa?" Jaina asked.
"Going ahead."
"We'll catch up quickly."
Ducking into the left passage revealed a corridor lined with white carpet. Stairs leading upwards were at the end of the corridor.
"I'll kill..."
I slammed the sharpened edge of my shield into the helmet of a soldier rushing towards me.
Thwack!
Climbing the spiral staircase. A door along the way burst open, and a heavily armored knight jumped out. The knight raised a jewel-encrusted sword high and declared in a dignified voice,
"I am Kyle von Strauss! Scion of the Strauss family! As a Holy Knight acting as the Goddess's wrath! I shall punish the wicked foe before me..."
I bypassed the knight and continued upwards.
"W-Wait. I'm introducing myself... wait! Don't ignore me!"
Beside the stair railing. I saw a cylindrical pillar with a vase on top. I kicked the pillar over. It clattered loudly as it began rolling down the stairs.
"Oh, shit, wait...!" the knight yelped from below.
I continued climbing. At the top of the spiral stairs was a long hallway. The plaza scenery was visible through the hallway windows. I scanned the area outside the plaza. Armed soldiers were converging on the temple from all directions.
Walking down the hallway. One of the many doors lining it opened.
"I am..."
BANG!
I kicked the door hard. The half-open door slammed shut violently, hitting the knight who was about to emerge square in the face.
"Oof!" The knight clutched his face and collapsed onto the floor.
Running deeper into the hallway. I encountered a few people along the way, but they passed me by with oblivious expressions. It seemed even within the temple, there were people who could see us and people who couldn't.
At the end of the hallway lay a large, splendid garden. Sunlight streamed into the garden through gaps in the ceiling. Beyond the garden was the terrace seen from the plaza. Human shadows were visible behind the terrace curtains.
'There she is.'
Only about 3 minutes remaining. No time.
Opening the garden door and stepping inside, three knights emerged from beside the shadows of the trees. The knights stared this way with gloomy eyes, then pulled down their visors.
"Death to the heretic." The knights leveled their longswords at me and approached slowly. Their stances were formally trained in swordsmanship, unlike the previous soldier fodder.
The shadow inside the terrace moved. Another shadow, bearing the shape of priest robes, appeared behind the curtain.
"Is it my turn now?" a female voice asked.
"Yes, Princess. The people gathered in the plaza await," an older male voice replied.
"But what is this commotion outside?"
"An assailant seems to have intruded. They will be dealt with shortly, please pay it no mind."
The two behind the terrace curtain conversed. Meanwhile, the three knights approached, surrounding me. A coordinated pincer formation, without hesitation.
I took a deep breath and tightened my grip on the sword in my right hand.
"Hup!" The middle knight exhaled sharply and thrust his sword. Block with the shield. The two flanking knights delivered timed thrusts. Stepping right, I deflected one thrust with my sword. The three immediately unleashed a barrage of follow-up strikes. The three swords moved harmoniously, attacking me without encroaching on each other's space.
A blade grazed my cheek. A spray of blood stained the leaves of a flowerbed.
I rolled on the ground, dodging two slashes, then swung my sword wide. As expected, a knight blocked it. As I got up, I stomped hard on his right foot.
"...?!"
Stab.
I twirled my sword downwards and drove the blade into his left foot. The knight staggered. I snatched the sword he was holding and slashed his neck. Then I threw the bloodied sword at the knight behind him. The knight stepped back several paces, swinging his own sword to parry it.
I pull the sword embedded in my own instep free. (T/N: MC seems to mean the sword he just took and threw? or maybe the first one? Wording unclear, likely a typo/slight error in original text or needs interpretation. Sticking to direct meaning for now.)
The knight in front delivered three lightning-fast thrusts. Deflect them all with the shield. Then shove the sword into the gap of his visor. Blood trickled down from the visor slit. He collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
One knight remaining. He readjusted his grip on his longsword with both hands, taking a ready stance.
I chuckled softly, then charged straight forward and slit his throat with my sword.
Parts of the garden turned red with blood sprayed from the corpses. I flicked my sword, clearing the blood, and strode past the garden towards the terrace.
"...I thank you for granting me this opportunity. I shall not forget it," the female voice said.
"Think nothing of it. The Goddess herself will rejoice," the male voice replied.
"Then I shall go."
I pulled aside the terrace curtain. I narrowed my eyes against the sudden flood of sunlight. As my vision partially cleared, the scene on the terrace came into view.
"...!" My eyes met with the old priest standing inside the terrace. His wrinkled eyes widened in disbelief. The priest hastily raised his staff. But the staff wasn't aimed at me, but at someone heading towards the terrace railing.
Dark energy swirled at the tip of the staff. I'd seen it before. The magic arrow the Black Priest used on Floor 10.
Slice.
I cut the priest's head clean off.
Kiiiiing!
The energy gathered at the staff's tip erupted, shattering the terrace ceiling and shooting upwards. Only then did the someone else on the terrace turn towards me.
A girl in a silvery-white dress. She wore a golden circlet atop her flowing silver hair. Mid-teens, at a rough guess. Seeing me, the girl raised her voice in alarm.
"Wh-Who are you!"
I replied curtly. "You don't need to know."