abcnovels
Chapter 182 (Part 1)
Chapter 182 (Part 1)
Chapter 182: Christine in Crisis (Part 1)
Christine shouted at Douglas, who grabbed her wrist and started dragging her without warning.
“Let go of me! What’s going on?”
“It’s dangerous! Quickly, this way!”
Douglas’s urgent voice left Christine momentarily confused.
‘He wasn’t trying to betray me?’
When a typically quiet person suddenly acts out of character, it’s natural to be suspicious.
She had thought Douglas was in cahoots with these people and planned to betray her, but it was a misunderstanding.
‘He’s actually trying to save me.’
Just the fact that they were distancing themselves from the approaching group made it clear.
“Hurry, follow me! We’ll get caught otherwise!”
“Okay, I understand.”
Christine mustered all her strength to run, being led by Douglas.
She ran without looking back, focusing only on moving forward.
She wanted to ask what was happening but had no time.
They were busy getting as far away as possible from the mysterious group.
After about ten minutes, Douglas finally stopped.
“Phew, we’ve gotten far enough. They shouldn’t be able to follow us.”
“Huff, huff.”
Christine, too exhausted to respond, just bent over, gasping for breath.
Finally, she had a moment to look around.
‘Where are we?’
They were in an unknown forest.
Having run frantically, she couldn’t tell which direction they had come from.
“I’ve used the detection skill; it seems we’ve successfully shaken them off. We’re lucky, Chrissy.”
“Douglas, you know who those people are, don’t you?”
After a brief silence, Douglas nodded.
“Yes. They’re from the Church of Despair.”
“The Church of Despair?”
“It’s a cult born from the ideology of plunging the world into despair. It’s a new religion with a strong negative perception of the world, based in America, with over 200 player members. The leader goes by the nickname John Delgado, a necromancer.”
Christine’s jaw dropped as she listened to the explanation.
“How do you know so much?”
“That’s because…”
Douglas hesitated, then revealed as if in a confessional.
“They approached me to join them.”
“What? Really?”
“Yes. Do you remember a newcomer from a few months ago named Berber?”
“Berber? Yes, of course, I know him well. I greeted him today.”
“He’s a high-ranking cardinal in the Church of Despair. He infiltrated our group as a spy to monitor you, Chrissy.”
“What?”
Christine was stunned by this revelation.
‘Berber is… a spy for the Church of Despair?’
She had never even heard of the Church of Despair, let alone imagined there was a spy among her group.
Christine’s eyes filled with suspicion.
Could she trust the paladin before her?
Even though he said he was approached by the Church of Despair?
Noticing her change in demeanor, Douglas smiled reassuringly.
“Don’t worry. I only pretended to accept their offer to gather information on who was targeting you, Chrissy.”
“Oh… they’re targeting me? Why?”
“I couldn’t find out the exact reason since I’m still a low-ranking member. But it’s clear they plan to kill you. The fact that they’ve mobilized 200 followers today proves it.”
“So, all those people gathered… to kill me…”
“They’re probably also aiming to eliminate your followers. They’re likely fighting fiercely right now.”
Christine snapped to attention at those words.
“We need to go back.”
“What?”
“You said my comrades are in danger. If I intervene, I can save them.”
“No, it’s too dangerous. The enemy’s numbers are twice ours.”
“But…!”
“If you step in, you might turn the tide of the battle. But do you think they don’t know that?”
“…”
“The enemies aren’t fools. The moment they see you, they’ll target you first. It’s too dangerous to go out now.”
“I have the dominion skill. I can…”
“The dominion doesn’t work on higher-level opponents. And you can only use it ten times, how will you handle 200 people?”
“…”
“Waiting here safely and monitoring the situation is the only way for you to survive, Chrissy. Do you think I would have taken you and run away for no reason? Going out now is just playing into their hands.”
“Ha…”
Christine couldn’t argue with Douglas’s logical reasoning.
‘Why are they targeting me? What did I do wrong…’
Christine clutched her head in her complex emotions.
She couldn’t think of any reason why they would want to kill her.
She had never even come into contact with the Church of Despair.
‘A necromancer as their leader? I’ve never seen such a class on the rankings.’
‘At least now I know there are enemies who want to kill me.’
Everything was as the prophet had foretold.
‘Then, the one who will save me from this crisis is…’
Christine looked at Douglas blankly.
The paladin, praised as the knight of the saintess among her comrades.
He was the prince on the white horse from the prophecy who would save her.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”
“Oh, no. I’m just grateful.”
She was sure she could trust him.
He pretended to join the Chruch of Despair, acting as a double agent.
Thanks to him, she had escaped danger.
“Thank you once again. You saved my life.”
“I just did what I had to. By the way, is your wrist okay? Did I pull too hard?”
“You were trying to get me out of there quickly. It’s fine.”
“Still, let me see. We don’t want any scars on your beautiful wrist.”
Douglas took Christine’s hand and examined her wrist carefully.
As he fiddled with her hand, Christine’s brow furrowed slightly.
‘What is he doing? At a time like this?’
There was a strange tension.
She could see he was trying to create a particular mood.
“I-I’m fine.”
Christine, not wanting this awkward atmosphere, pulled her wrist away.
“…”
“…”
An awkward silence fell between them.
Christine had never been interested in men.
Even though he had saved her life, she didn’t feel interested in him romantically.
“Thank you for saving me, Paladin.”
“Paladin, huh…”
Douglas’s demeanor shifted.