Chapter 2: The Innocent Prisoner (1)

Nameless birds streaked across the sky, where fluffy clouds tangled together against a canvas of blue. Below, the landscape burst with the vibrant colors of spring in full bloom. It was, without a doubt, a perfect spring day.

The sun had just begun its slow descent toward the western horizon. It should have been the most peaceful and quiet afternoon, but it sure didn't feel that way to some folks.

Certainly not for the long line of prisoners snaking across the plain like a trail of ants.

Clank, clank—

Iron shackles bound their arms. Every step they took rang out with that grinding metallic sound. The prisoners' faces were all clouded over with the same gloomy expression. They weren’t expressions of remorse, but of bitter frustration at having been caught.

“Hey, I’m tellin’ ya, I’m innocent! It wasn't me who killed that wench, it was the baker's son!”

“Damn it, are you deaf?! That goddamn idiot died playing with his own knife, I swear!”

"I only stole one bronze ring! I swear I didn't even know there was a silver necklace in there!"

The prisoners kept protesting their innocence with crude language. Of course, the soldiers just barked at them to shut up and ignored everything else. They were used to these damn criminals lying with every breath during transport.

But not everyone was actually lying about being innocent. There were exactly two people in this procession who really hadn't committed any crimes at all.

One was a merchant who'd been captured near the border.

“Soldiers, good sirs, please! I'm truly innocent! I never sold any demon byproducts! Someone planted those things to frame me! For instance, the one who inspected my bag…”

“Shut up! Do you dare suspect one of Elga’s own Paladins?”

"N-no, that's not what I meant..."

The soldiers weren't stupid. They all knew what had happened. The young Paladin leading them had set the merchant up. It was all about inflating the numbers to make his record look better.

But none of the soldiers were about to stick their necks out for some merchant. A regular soldier had nothing to gain from getting on a Paladin's bad side. So the merchant was stuck taking the fall and getting dragged all the way to the Holy Capital.

The other innocent prisoner was some barbarian from god knows where.

Clank, clank—

This guy was also a sacrificial lamb caught for the Paladin's performance metrics. But this one couldn't be treated like just another criminal.

The barbarian's build was so massive that it made the other thugs look like children. His furious muscles bulged like they could snap those iron chains without breaking a sweat. One look into his feral, incomprehensible eyes was enough to make a man swallow hard without even realizing it.

The soldiers were secretly resentful of the Paladin for this one. If this barbarian decided to throw a fit about being wronged, they had zero confidence they could stop him. But weirdly enough, the barbarian just followed along quietly without a single complaint.

Kadim, the barbarian, went along peacefully for two main reasons.

First, he had no clue what the hell was going on. Second, he didn't have the strength right now to break free from these chains with his bare hands.

The Great Warrior of Atala who had slain an Archdemon, or rather the modern man who just wanted a cold beer and a comfortable bed, had finally crossed the threshold from that dark space. He'd squinted through brilliant light, stumbled around getting his bearings, and woken up to find himself in this mess.

Kadim was completely baffled. His body felt familiar but so much had changed.

The madness and guilt that had been eating at his mind were gone. The power he'd built up before was gone. And his freedom was gone.

The first two changes made sense. According to that damn 【 New Game +】 message, he was starting the game over from scratch just like before.

But being transported as a prisoner? That part didn't make any sense at all.

‘This isn’t how the game started, not even once.’

Kadim frowned deeply. The other prisoners got spooked and started edging away from him. He grabbed the merchant who was standing a bit further off and asked, "Hey, why am I being held as a prisoner?"

“Y-Yes? Are you asking me, sir?”

"Yeah, you."

‘What’s with this guy? Is he crazy? He doesn’t even know why he was caught?’

The thought flashed through the merchant’s mind. But since he valued his life, he kept those thoughts to himself and stammered out an explanation.

"Uh, well... this isn't Free Cities Alliance territory, it's the Imperial Territory. As you know, the Empire's Paladins and Priests are extremely hostile toward heathens. Since you're a barbarian who worships Atala, even if you didn't commit any real crimes, you'd still be grounds for arrest... Oh god, I'm sorry!"

When Kadim's face hardened, the merchant got scared and apologized.

But Kadim wasn't angry. He just couldn't understand a damn word the merchant was saying.

"Imperial Territory? There's an empire on this continent?"

“…Excuse me? You mean to say you’ve never heard of the Lucanian Empire?”

"Lucania? Wasn't that a kingdom in the center of the continent?"

Now the merchant couldn't hide his 'this guy's completely nuts' expression. One of the soldiers who'd been glancing over at them shouted.

"Hey, quiet down! You think this is a picnic? No talking during transport!”

"Yes, yes, sorry! We'll be quiet!"

The merchant scurried away with a 'yes sir.'

Left alone, Kadim fell deep in thought.

Something was seriously wrong. He'd thought this was just a second playthrough with some high-difficulty events, but apparently, something way more fucked up was happening.

‘Did I fall into a parallel world where the lore is slightly different…?’

It didn't seem like a completely different world. That prisoner had called him a barbarian who worships Atala, and there was a nation called "Lucania." He'd need to gather more information to get a solid grasp on the world setting.

But right now he had more pressing matters. Like figuring out his current situation and what was about to happen.

Kadim casually asked one of the nearby soldiers.

"Hey, where's this procession headed? Prison? Or are we getting sold as slaves?"

The soldier flinched. He'd been intentionally ignoring the barbarian. He was too scared to try controlling him like the other prisoners, but letting that fear show was a blow to his pride.

Now that the barbarian had spoken to him first, he had no choice. The soldier gulped and tried to look stern.

"Watch your mouth, heathen. You're under arrest as a criminal. Don't speak to us without permission."

To Kadim, that trembling voice just sounded pitiful.

"Sorry about that. My apologies, soldier. Just answer this one thing and I'll shut up. Could you kindly tell me where I'm being taken?"

"...You're all being transported to Lucaon, the capital of the Lucanian Empire. When you arrive in Lucaon, the other prisoners will be judged by Elga's Adjudicators and receive lawful punishment. But since you're a heathen, you'll probably meet with an Inquisitor instead."

"Is that so? That's a relief then."

Kadim felt somewhat reassured. The clergy of the Order of Elga were generally rigid, but they were also just and fair. Once they learned he’d been wrongfully arrested, they would surely release him.

To everyone else, this seemed completely absurd. One of the nearby prisoners let out a bitter laugh and butted in.

"Hey, what's so relieving about that? Those Inquisitors are all torture-obsessed bastards who get off on torture! When they see a heathen like you, they'll hammer nails into your gums and pour boiling metal down your nostrils!"

"Can't you shut up! How dare you slander the clergy who carry out Elga's will!"

"What, did I say something wrong? Come on, isn't what I said true? Has anyone ever come out of their hands alive? Even three-year-olds in my village know! If you’re taken by an Inquisitor, you’ll just be tortured all day until you’re a broken mess and die like a dog—”

The prisoner couldn't keep up his defiant tone to the end as a sharp spear point had suddenly appeared at his throat.

"What an insolent tongue you have. Why don't you try running your mouth some more?"

"...Ugh, urk."

"Tsk, what a terrible stench. It smells of faithlessness. The smell of the faithless…”

It wasn't a soldier who'd pointed the spear. It was some young man with a boyish face who'd appeared out of nowhere.

The youth looked even younger than the youngest soldier, but the prisoner couldn't move a muscle. All the other prisoners who'd been mouthing off to the soldiers fell completely silent too.

Cobalt-colored plate armor with a ten-pointed star emblem. Heavy armor completely different from the other soldiers. The spear in his hand was no ordinary weapon either. The metal shaft was engraved with subtle wave patterns, and the blue spearhead was eerily emanating a cold aura.

Kadim instantly recognized the young man’s station.

‘A Paladin of Elga. Still a green rookie though...’

The way he gripped the spear was strangely stiff. Plus that face drunk on his own authority. No experienced Paladin would show such tells.

Thunk—

That wasn't all. The Paladin didn't just threaten with the spear blade; he actually stabbed it into the prisoner's throat.

"...!"

Even the soldiers were shocked. Only Elga's Adjudicators had the authority to execute prisoners who'd already been arrested. This was clearly overstepping his bounds.

The Paladin, however, was unfazed.

"Those who insult an agent of Elga must wash away their sins with death."

"Gurk, gurrrrr..."

The prisoner clutched his throat, choked on a mouthful of bloody foam, and collapsed. He never got up again.

The Paladin made a crooked smile and drew a holy sign. Then he withdrew his spear and turned his arrows of blame toward the soldiers.

"What the hell are you all doing? Why were you just standing there letting prisoners run their filthy tongues? Getting attached after escorting them for a few days?"

“Our apologies, Sir Linton. We didn't mean to..."

"I don't want to hear your excuses. Just tell me who started this mess. Was it that big heathen over there?"

The soldiers kept glancing at Kadim. The Paladin took those looks as confirmation. Before anyone could stop him, he thrust his spear again.

Thunk—

Kadim's eyes widened. The spear blade had dug about half a span below his shoulder. The feeling of it striking bone was followed by a searing cold that spread through him. The blood froze and stopped the bleeding on its own, but venomous pain followed.

"..."

Kadim didn't scream. He just swallowed the pain and stared silently at the Paladin.

“...Hn.”

The Paladin unconsciously flinched.

He may have been a rookie, but he was still a knight. In Kadim's eyes, he saw the cleanly refined killing intent of a butcher looking at a slab of meat.

He hurriedly withdrew the spear shaft and backed away, hiding his fear.

To others, it looked like a natural gesture as if he'd finished his business.

“Hmph, clean up the corpse and keep a close eye on this heathen. If he shows any signs of trying something, execute him immediately."

The soldiers reluctantly nodded, though they hesitated.

Meanwhile, the barbarian warrior had made up his mind. He was getting the hell out of this damn procession. Now.

That rookie Paladin's spear thrust had made him realize something crucial. The Order of Elga wasn't the same as in his old memories. It was painfully obvious what would happen if he let them drag him to an Inquisitor.

The situation was far from ideal. He didn't have the strength to break these chains, and now he was injured on top of that. Escape was already tough, and now the odds were stacked even higher against him.

‘If I still had my power from the first playthrough, these chains would've been child's play...’

There was no time for regrets. He quickly shook off the useless thought and calmly surveyed his surroundings, looking for anything that might help with an escape.

That's when Kadim's eyes caught sight of a large crate at the back of the convoy.

A breeze was blowing from back to front. Mixed in with the wind was a faint foul stench. Kadim could smell something terribly familiar and disgusting in it.

The smell of a demon.

His eyes narrowed viciously. Kadim clanked his chains and moved urgently, grabbing the same merchant again.

"Hey, what's in that crate back there?"

"A demon's corpse. The Paladin bought it with his money from a village we passed through earlier. But are you alright? That wound looks pretty deep..."

Kadim didn't hear the merchant's last words.

He bought a demon corpse with money? That was completely unbelievable.

‘In my last playthrough, you could hardly ever see a demon outside the Demon Scape. In this world, they’re common enough to be bought and sold?’

Kadim couldn't tell if this was good news or bad news.

Kadim's Unique Trait, [Blood Berserker], was an ability that let him gain a special buff for a certain time by drinking demon blood. In other words, the more common the demons were, the easier it would be to get powerful buffs.

But the same went for the side effects.

If he used demon blood frequently, the madness that had tormented him so badly in the first playthrough would definitely return. And if he could get blood easily, he'd use it up just as easily, making the madness eat away at his mind even faster.

Still, he had no choice right now.

To break these chains and run away with his injured body, he desperately needed the power of a demon's blood.

‘...Whatever happens, it's better than getting dragged to an Inquisitor.’

The barbarian warrior made his decision. He deliberately slowed his pace, gradually approaching the crate.

"..."

"..."

A silent, tense battle of wills broke out among the soldiers.

The Paladin had ordered them to execute the heathen if he tried anything funny. Leaving the procession and moving to the back was clearly "trying something funny." But none of the soldiers dared to step forward.

While they hesitated, the barbarian reached the crate. The leader guarding the rear decided he couldn't just watch anymore. He pointed his spear at the barbarian and gave a firm warning.

"Stop, heathen! Get back to your original position at once—”

Kadim completely ignored the leader's words.

He kicked off the ground and leaped, bringing both shackled fists down on the crate.

CRASH—!

Wood splintered and flew everywhere. The sturdy wooden crate made from logs crumbled like a straw box. The nearby soldiers and prisoners backed away in panic.

"Aaaah!"

"Uhhhhhh!"

"Huh? What, what...?"

It was absolutely ridiculous strength. A normal person would have trouble breaking even a single plank, but he'd smashed that solid crate to pieces with his bare hands while shackled? Everyone stood there with their mouths hanging open.

But it was too soon to be shocked.

Kadim looked down at the demon's corpse with dry eyes. Like a warrior who'd slaughtered demons as casually as eating, he instantly analyzed the demon's information.

;Dead for about three days... no horns on the head so it's a low-grade demon... the type is an 'Original'? Not sure exactly what kind of buff this'll give...;

If he'd had a dagger, he would've just slit an artery and drunk the blood, but right now he had no choice. Kadim bared his teeth savagely.

CRUNCH, RRRIP—

A crimson carnival unfolded on the idyllic plains under the afternoon sun.

As they watched the barbarian tear into the demon’s corpse like a wild animal, a primal, nameless terror seized the soldiers.

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