Chapter 206: Return of the Hero

[The User had indirectly ruined the plans of the disciple of Pestilence and Famine by calling over a punitive force from the church.]

[Congratulations to the User for completing the S-Tier Quest: Exodus!]

[The punitive force that the User had summoned shall cleanse the Village of Tulog]

[The User is deemed qualified to receive additional rewards!]

[The additional rewards will be deposited in the User's inventory after the Version Update!]

[The System will be undergoing a Version Update.]

[The User might experience a few bouts of headaches throughout the day while the Version Update is ongoing.]

[A Patch Note will be available after the Version Update for the User's perusal.]

"Hahaha..." Heisenberg fell on his knees. The expression on his face distorted with relief.

Ricardo's eyes teared up.

Finally, it was over...

The nightmare was done.

They could finally go home.

To their families.

And to the place where they belonged.

"Calvin..."

"Are you all right?" Ricardo asked with this lingering smile on his face.

"Yeah, I am..." Calvin returned Ricardo's gesture with his own smile, "So, it's finally over. Eh... We can finally go home."

"Why do you look so shocked as if you didn't expect the church to send a punitive force after us?" Ricardo teasingly asked, "What? You didn't want us to survive?"

"No, no, no." Calvin hurriedly waved his hand, "Don't you find it strange how awfully quick they are to send a punitive force towards a village situated in such a deserted place like this?"

"Now that I think about it, that's actually quite confusing." Heisenberg interrupted their conversation as he fell into deep contemplation, "I wonder, just what is the reason why they came here in the first place? Is it because they've detected the sinister aura of that monster there in the village center?"

"What do you think?" Calvin mysteriously smiled, "I already know the answer though. Perhaps, maybe even Ricardo knows about it too."

"Damn it, you sure do know how to tease your seniors, eh?" Heisenberg glared at Calvin.

"Senior? Do you mean the elderly?" Calvin retorted.

"Shut up!" Heisenberg hissed.

He turned his attention to Ricardo and asked, "This guy says that you know the reason why the punitive force of the church came here. Since it seems like this guy is not going to talk, can you answer the question in his stead?"

Heisenberg's tone of voice as he said all of these was very commanding.

Ricardo raised an eyebrow and said, "Hmmph. Is that the tone that you should use when you're asking someone a question, old man?"

"Goddamned it, just answer me already! I'm about to die of curiosity here!" Heisenberg cried out, annoyed.

"Hahaha, keep him in the dark, Ricardo. It would be more amusing to look at his astounded face later when the punitive force discovers us."

Calvin fanned the flames.

"What the fuck? You dare?!" Heisenberg glared at Calvin once more.

"Old man, are you really a Priest of the All-Encompassing Light? How come your curses are so crisps and succinct?"

"Fuck off, it's none of your business."

Heisenberg rolled his eyes at them, eliciting laughter from both Calvin and Ricardo.

Calvin and Ricardo understood that Heisenberg was a straightforward man who never really liked to put pretenses. But of course, since he had a professional job, then he had to put on a respectable air around him.

Right now, he didn't really have to do that though since the three of them could already be considered as buddies that had survived through a life and death ordeal.

In short, their relationship was the closest as friends could be.

"Hey, why do those people around there seem to be holding someone familiar?"

Heisenberg audibly muttered.

The punitive force had descended onto the village center and was now in a battle against the Queen of Plague.

At least a dozen high-ranking members of the Cavaliers were present.

Not to be outdone by the Cavaliers, the remaining two Judiciaries also sent their members to join the punitive force.

"The Missionaries and Evangelists are also here?" Ricardo asked in confusion.

This was the first time that he saw a punitive force of such scale. To think that high-ranking members from all three Judiciaries would join hands together just to purify this village! This was indeed an unprecedented scene.

"Now that I think about it, Ricardo... You're an executor from one of the three Judiciaries, right? Which one?" Heisenberg asked.

Ricardo's footsteps froze.

He turned around in a dramatic fashion to face Heisenberg before he lifted his arm and drew the symbol of the God of Medicine and Poison on his chest, "I'm a member of the Missionaries and a firm believer of the Merciful God of Poison and Medicine, Aesculapius!"

Heisenberg's pupils constricted.

"You..."

"You bastard..."

"You are comrades with those bunch of ingrates in Ashmelion?!" He pointed a finger at Ricardo and continued, "Fuck, fuck, fuck... I thought for sure that you're a believer of the Goddess of All-Encompassing Light! Fuck you, man. How dare you deceive me like this?!"

"Hey, calm down... Heisenberg. It's just a difference in faith, you don't have to be so radical."

Calvin interrupted with a frown.

"I don't have to?!" Heisenberg's fury exploded.

He glared at Calvin and said, "You bastard, do you even know how much these Missionaries mock me when I'm on my patrol to clean the cemeteries in Ashmelion?!"

"Dude, you won't believe it..."

"Those bastards are always sitting on the entrance of the Angel's Cemetery just to mock me whenever I am doing my job!"

"Let someone else handle the dirty work, they say. But bitch, please! They can't even handle the wraiths, and Corpse Eaters popping left and right in their own cemetery! Yet, they're mocking and trying to provoke me every day?!"

"Damn, they are a waste of taxpayers' money!" Heisenberg huffed and puffed as he tried to catch his breath when he ended his spiel.

"Heisenberg... You... You do realize that it's a part of your job description to frequently cleanse the cemeteries, right? Why are you complaining?" Ricardo asked in doubt.

"Did your mother drop you on your head when you were a baby or what?! Didn't you even understand what I said? I'm so frustrated by you freeloaders because not only you do not appreciate the job that our Priests do, your friends also come to pester us every day!"

"All right, we get it..."

"Your Priests are stronger than us, but that's because we specialize in cleansing. Not killing! Unlike you murderers!"

"Enough!" Calvin shouted.

Heisenberg's figure stiffened. He turned his head to look at Calvin and he noticed that there was a cold expression on his face.

"Heisenberg. Did Ricardo do to you whatever his comrades did to you?"

"Umm... No?"

"Then, why the fuck are you venting your anger out on him?!" Calvin scolded.

Heisenberg's expression changed, "Yeah, that's right... Damn it... The sense of relief that I felt and the frustration washing over me after those close-calls in the battle earlier must've made me erupt. I'm sorry, Ricardo."

He was quick to apologize as he slightly bowed his head in Ricardo's direction.

"Ah, it's okay, it's okay... You don't have to do that. It's not like you did it on purpose."

Calvin smiled when he noticed that Heisenberg seemed to have calmed down.

"Just why did I explode in anger?" Heisenberg stared at his own hands.

He stood there frozen and unbeknownst to Calvin and Ricardo...

A ray of sinister aura briefly flitted across his eyes.

If Calvin had noticed this sinister aura, then he would've immediately recognized what it was.

It was because that aura was incredibly similar to the Sinister Heart!

The group continued on their journey in a completely relaxed state.

In fact, they looked so relaxed to the point that if an outsider was looking at them at this moment. That person would feel as if he was staring at three friends casually walking on the street while chatting and laughing with each other.

Calvin was wondering as to why Heisenberg suddenly burst into anger.

But when he recalled how the Missionaries, Evangelists, and Cavaliers were always against each other and comparing notes. He shook his head and thought that Heisenberg's resentment against the Missionaries and his stories about them were probably true.

Though, it was unknown whether Ricardo was one of those people that often harassed the Priests of the All-Encompassing Light.

"Wow, wow, wow... This place sure is lively, isn't it?" A man with a towering stature casually floated above the Village of Tulog. On his feet was a mystical artifact from the church. It looked like an ordinary rag, yet it actually had the ability to carry a person up in the air.

"Cain, would you like to take over in cleansing this village? Fighting's the only thing that you're good for after all." Another man commented.

If Calvin was here, he would immediately recognize him. It was because the person who replied was Ron Samuel. Behind him were the remaining members of Ashmelion's Branch of Cavaliers. All of them had serious looks on their faces.

"Oh? Ah, I remember... But to think that you'd actually be so caring for your juniors. You sure did change, Ron. Is it because you've gone rusty from the peacefulness of the land?" Cain Abraham was the name of this buff and towering man.

He was also the leader of Ashmelion's Branch of Evangelists.

And as a member of one of the three Judiciaries, he strongly believed in the power of the Eternal Fire.

"Do you think I would've successfully done all of these—if I had gone rusty?"

Ron Samuel mocked.

"Ah, yeah. That makes sense."

Cain glanced at the man that Ron Samuel was holding with both hands.

The poor man was that high-ranking official that had issued that erroneous mission order to Calvin, Rosales Ayala. The poor guy was scared shitless when Ron Samuel and his comrades suddenly descended onto him and demanded his obedience or else, he would be killed.

Rosales was never a confrontational person.

Furthermore, with a knife against his neck. He had no other choice but to bey. Using his authority and sacrificing several of his rights to some of the church's limited resources. Rosales organized an unprecedented punitive force, and for what...?

Just to recover the remains of an already dead member of the Cavaliers?

Sure, Ron Samuel's actions were indeed noteworthy as a leader of the Cavaliers.

But someone in this group had much to say.

It was the leader of Ashmelion's Branch of Missionaries, Jose Panganiban.

"I say, you went too far, Ron. Don't expect that you'll go unpunished once His Eminence, the Cardinal, hears of what you have done."

Jose coldly spat. He swept his glance at Ashlynn and stared in disdain at the shattered crystallize gem that she was holding.

"Going this far for a dead man, do you want to go down the annals of history as the most selfless leader among the three Judiciaries of all time?"

"What a joke!" Jose mocked.

The Cavaliers turned their cold gazes at Jose.

But the Missionaries behind Jose were not to be outdone.

They stood stiffly behind their leader and their gazes were incredibly sharp. It was obvious from the churning mana in their bodies that the moment the Cavaliers did something fishy against their leader. They would immediately retaliate with their strongest abilities.

Ron Samuel remained muted. He had no time to waste on such a person.

"All right." Cain clapped both of his hands, "I'm off to handle that monster with my team. Are you going with us, Jose?"

"Of course. I can't possibly let you steal the limelight."

"Hahaha, you've got to try harder than that if you want to get the limelight from us!" Cain boisterously laughed in response to Jose's words.

Ron Samuel turned around and was about to leave with his comrades when Rosales suddenly spoke.

"Umm... Sir, can you let go of me now?" Ron Samuel's arms were still around his neck.

The reason why he hadn't spoken at all throughout this entire ordeal was that he was afraid that Ron Samuel might squeeze his arms too tight, forcing him into a world of agony and possibly in a coma.

"No..." Ron Samuel simply said, "You're going to stay with us until we recover Calvin's remains."

"But please... we're already here! I've already done what you sa—"

"Are you going to shut up, or do you want me to shut you up?" Ron Samuel interrupted the poor guy with a death glare.

Rosales immediately cowered and he didn't dare to say anything anymore.

Ashlynn felt Ron Samuel's gaze and she softly nodded her head before starting a divination ritual.

With the shattered crystallized gem serving as the catalyst for the ritual, an arrow made out of divine light soon manifested in front of the group.

"It's there!" Ashlynn gestured and the Cavaliers followed the pointed arrows.

Eventually, the arrows pointed towards a dark alleyway.

"His remains are in that alleyway?" Bruce muttered in anger, "Damn, how dare that bastard dump Calvin's body in such a filthy place!"

"Be quiet. Let's go." Ron Samuel warned before the group continued to follow the arrows.

However, the moment they took that turn into the dark alleyway.

The scene that they saw surprised them to the extent that their hearts figuratively leaped out of their chests.

It was because the reason for this commotion—and the subject of their search—the supposedly deceased member of their group...

Was casually standing there with a smirk on his face.

Calvin turned his head to look at his comrades and asked with a wink.

"Yo!"

"What's up?"