Reverse Dungeon

Two horses thundered down the boulevard, drawing the eyes of those who had pulled their curtains shut and bolted their doors. Curiosity overcame fear, and one by one, they peered outside. What they saw was a Holy Knight clad in white armor and a robed priest charging forward.

Everyone recognized the knight in the lead. In the Vatican, there was no one who did not know him.

Their savior. God’s beloved. “The Agent of God,” Sir Keith.

The Pope had excommunicated him, yet the people struggled to understand why. After all, Sir Keith was still... Sir Keith, wasn’t he?

“He is not God. He must have committed some terrible sin,” some declared loudly, but when pressed about what exactly he had done, they faltered and changed the subject.

Sir Keith had been different from others since childhood. He could never turn away from injustice, and he loved helping people. When his remarkable courage and divine power were recognized and he entered the path of a Holy Knight, the orphanage that had raised him and the surrounding community merely said, “We always knew he was special.”

By the time he became commander of the Holy Knights, everyone in the Vatican knew he was extraordinary.

Half the Vatican’s population had likely received his blessing in one form or another. Even those he had not saved directly had family, lovers, or friends who owed him their lives.

He truly seemed like a knight worthy of God’s love.

Then what could it mean that he had abandoned God?

The people knew he had been cast out of the Vatican. They had heard that the Pope had dispatched the Holy Knights to pursue and kill him.

Then black clouds settled over the Vatican’s sky, and demons prowled the streets. When the people whispered among themselves, the Pope declared that all of it had happened because Keith had forsaken God.

Even so, the people doubted.

This was Sir Keith.

“Sir Keith is back.”

“Sir Keith has returned.”

Without realizing it, they leaned out of their windows. Keith rode on with unwavering determination. The streets were empty except for demons, and Keith crushed them beneath his horse’s hooves and cut them down with his sword, advancing with unstoppable force.

Keeeeek!

The hideous demons were reduced to ash by Keith’s sword. Radiant white light gleamed along the blade, leaving trails of brilliance wherever it passed.

Keith was using divine power.

‘Didn’t they call him a heretic? How is this possible?’

The people were bewildered.

One brave soul opened his door and stepped outside. Keith did not so much as glance at him as he rode past. The man did not stop at merely watching. He began to follow Keith.

“What are you doing?”

“Sir Keith is heading for the Vatican.”

The townsfolk hiding in their homes already knew. There was only one direction he could be going.

The brave man asked, “Did Sir Keith really summon these demons? Then why is he killing them?”

“You shouldn’t call him ‘Sir.’ He is a heretic. An excommunicated man.”

“But why is Sir Keith a heretic? God has not forsaken him.”

It was the question on everyone’s mind.

Another curious resident opened the door and stepped outside. It had been so long since any of them had dared venture out, trapped indoors by fear, unable even to see their neighbors.

Hesitantly, they began to follow Keith. Though he was on horseback, the demons he cut down slowed his advance, allowing them to keep pace on foot.

One by one, more people emerged from their homes and joined the growing crowd trailing behind Keith.

Sir Keith had returned.

But why?

He had always been their savior.

Could it truly be that these demons had been summoned by Sir Keith?

Was he not here to save the Vatican from its corruption?

‘Why are they following us?’

Ian could sense the crowd moving behind them.

“The people are following us.”

“Yes, I know. I am dealing with the demons to ensure their safety.”

“They’re following because of you. Isn’t that dangerous?”

“They are Vatican citizens. Who could stop them from walking through their own city?”

Keith answered with unwavering principle as he cut down another demon.

Ian spoke bluntly.

“It looks like you’re on your way to kill the Pope.”

“I am on my way to have a conversation with him.”

“Will it really end with a conversation?”

Keith fell silent for a moment. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

“I hope so.”

“If it doesn’t, don’t hesitate.”

“......”

Ian had said everything he needed to say.

‘Make up your mind—run or fight.’

It would be a problem if Keith hesitated at a critical moment. Ian was already considering the possibility that the crowd following them might become enemies. Even if they did not turn hostile, they could still become obstacles, which would be just as dangerous.

If that happened, Ian might have to stay behind and deal with them. After all, in the later stages of Keith’s route, Vatican mobs relentlessly attacked him in an attempt to break his resolve. Those mobs, however, came from inside the Vatican buildings, not from the streets like this.

‘Wait a second...’

Ian looked back at the people again. They were neither armed nor hostile. Their gazes, fixed on Keith, held no malice.

This reaction was unexpected. Even though the Pope had branded Keith a heretic, the people of the Vatican were not treating him as an enemy...?

Suddenly, Ian realized something.

‘The timeline is different.’

The Pope was cunning and skilled at manipulation. In Keith’s original route, the Pope had had enough time to turn the people against him. He had planted the idea that “Keith is the enemy.”

But now, things were different. Keith had only recently been excommunicated, and he had just slain a Demon Duke. The demons once commanded by that Duke were ravaging the Vatican, leaving the Pope no time to shape the narrative.

The Pope might not have managed to brainwash the people yet.

This game really did pay attention to details like that.

‘Wait. What does that mean?’

At the gates of the Vatican, soldiers barred the way. Keith raised his sword and commanded them.

“Move aside.”

Ian tensed, but the soldiers hesitated for a moment before stepping out of the way.

The same thing happened inside. Many people were within the Vatican, yet none of them stopped Keith. Even the crowd following him did not waver.

Keith strode toward the Pope’s chamber like a knight leading a rebellion. Before the chamber doors stood a lone knight, young and almost boyish in appearance. Keith addressed him.

“Maverick.”

‘Keith’s squire.’

Ian recognized him at once.

Maverick blocked the door.

“Sir Keith, do not come any closer. Have you forgotten the respect due to His Holiness?”

“He was the first to disrespect me. Maverick, stand down and lay aside your sword.”

Maverick clutched his sword tighter, biting his lip.

“I cannot.”

“The Pope you serve has been offering people to demons. He made pacts with the ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) demon tribe and sold our people. Do you not know this?”

“I do.”

“And yet you still protect him?”

Keith’s voice rose in fury. Maverick shouted back.

“It was all for the people! Who do you think ensured our safety and happiness? Wasn’t it thanks to His Holiness’s sacrifices? If a tiny sacrifice is necessary for the greater good, isn’t that a price worth paying? Or are you saying everyone should have died and suffered instead? I refuse to accept that!”

“Foolishness!”

Keith’s voice thundered.

“God commanded us to protect the weakest among us. Can you truly call yourself a knight who serves God?”

“You yourself once said the Vatican is always right!”

“Maverick!”

Boom!

In the next instant, their divine auras collided. Both had decided that words would no longer suffice.

To Ian, it looked like two fanatics butting heads.

When had reason ever worked on fanatics?

What surprised Ian more, however, was the squire’s skill.

‘Why is he struggling against him?’

Ian was not assisting, yet the squire was being pushed back. He could not match Keith in strength or speed.

Was this the result of confronting the squire earlier in the timeline?

It seemed plausible.

After all, Maverick was Keith’s squire because he was still learning the way of a knight and honing his swordsmanship under Keith’s guidance.

If Maverick’s skills were not yet fully developed, it made sense. On top of that, this was before he had received the Pope’s buffs.

Still, that did not mean Keith could easily defeat the squire on his own.

‘The difference in weapons is too great.’

Keith had brought several swords from the dungeon and was using them one by one against the squire’s holy sword. Already, several of Keith’s swords lay scattered on the ground, their edges dulled or cracked.