Episode 629: The last drop of blood (3)
The one who responded to Ludger’s killing spree was the escort paladin who followed Lemria.
“dare!”
Paladins wore pure white coats with a zipper up to the collar, with silver armor on their shoulders, forearms, and shins.
Thinking that this was the right time, they pulled out their swords from their belts and thought to themselves that it was a good thing.
The priest said he had something to see, so I followed him, but I didn’t like wasting time in a place like this.
Since the other party took the initiative and created a justification, they had no choice but to step forward.
“What nonsense are you talking to the priest! “I will cut out your tongue and engrave your words of repentance!”
“What does repentance mean? “Did you say your repentance in front of me just now?”
Ludger stared at the paladin who spoke loudly.
The moment he faced those cold gazes, the paladin felt suffocated.
‘W-what is it?’
I can’t breathe. Her lips trembled, and cold sweat broke out on the palms holding her sword.
The moment he came face to face with Ludger’s murder, he felt like he had encountered an unprecedented being that was difficult to describe in words.
He who is supposed to serve the gods and be the sword that protects the priests, is intimidated by people like this?
This is a reality that cannot happen.
Snapping.
He tried to shake off the momentum by strengthening his hand holding the sword, but the more he tried, the more it seemed like he was sinking in the mud.
At that time, when my face turned red and the whites of my eyes were covered with red veins.
“Can you just stop there?”
“….”
The life that had been constricting my breathing was relieved.
Ludger stared quietly at the priest of Lemria.
Lemria said with a bright smile.
“Still, he is the one who came forward for me, so I can’t just sit back and watch.”
“Re, the priest of Lemria.”
“You two, please stay still until I tell you it’s okay. “I don’t want you running amok here.”
“that….”
“Oh, that’s what I mean. Anyway, no matter what you two do, it won’t work against the person in front of you.”
The escort paladin chewed his lips at those words.
His face contorted as if his pride had been hurt, but he couldn’t respond.
This is because I keenly felt that the difference in skill between Ludger and them was significant just from the momentum fight a little while ago.
“I will continue what I just said. Entry to the sacred object has been permitted, and it has already left its home country and is being transported. “We’ll probably arrive at our destination soon.”
“So, are you telling me to just listen to you tell me you’re going to kill my teacher?”
“Is that possible?”
Lemria tilted her head slightly to the side.
“I told you. “I came here because I wanted to help.”
“help. “It’s help.”
Ludger muttered like that and slowly got up from his seat.
Coo!
At that moment, the surrounding air became twice as heavy and pressed down on Lemria’s shoulders.
Her body, which had been sitting still, stumbled and swayed.
Lemria’s expression, which always had a smiling face, became stiff for the first time.
Ludger looked down at Lemria with a cold gaze.
The guard paladins who were supposed to protect Lemria were unable to take any action.
They were also down on one knee, weighed down by Ludger’s force.
“When did I say I wanted help?”
“Well, that’s….”
“I saw him say something like that with the intention of impressing me, but contrary to his intention, his neck is quite stiff.”
Lemria tried to lift her trembling lips and smile, but it wasn’t as easy as she thought.
“If you came to me wanting to help me, you should have asked earnestly. “I want to be helpful, so please listen to me.”
Those are arrogant words.
The Paladin, weighed down by Ludger’s momentum, thought that Ludger must have gone crazy.
How dare you treat a priest of the Holy Kingdom of Bretus like that?
Are you saying that you are not afraid of being punished?
But something even more surprising happened next.
“sorry…do.”
Lemria.
A priest of the Holy Kingdom of Bretus and a sister of a saint.
I apologized to Ludger.
“My thoughts were short.”
“….”
When Lemria apologized sincerely, Ludger finally regained his momentum.
Lemria, who had finally regained her composure, calmed her breathing with a paler face.
Ludger sat back down, still staring at Lemria with a cold gaze.
“Say it. “What on earth are you trying to do?”
* * *
Grander stood at the top of the mountain.
What looked like a huge crater could be seen beyond the mountain valley.
The surrounding area was lush with forest, but nothing was visible just in that crater, as if there was a barrier.
Even those common weeds and bugs.
“Isn’t it fascinating?”
A man approached Grander and spoke to him.
Cardinal Patrick.
He continued speaking with a benevolent smile appropriate for his status.
“Even after so many years, no life has emerged in that crater. “It was as if death had descended only on that place.”
“What does that mean?”
“Don’t you think this is the perfect place for you to get the ending you so desperately want?”
Grander snorted at those words.
“Do you think I don’t know that? Even that land of death could not give me rest.”
“yes. That alone would be fine. However, if it is a sacred object from the home country, it is a different story.”
God’s stake.
It was like that. The reason Grander remained calm while facing Patricio’s face like that was because he believed in the power of that sacred object.
“In the past, that place was a place full of vast vitality. You can tell just by looking at the thick forests around here. It was also the place where Saint Archenis fought her final battle against the archdemon Surna. “After her sacrifice, the Archdemon Surna was defeated, but because of her demonic energy, only death remained in that place.”
“under. “Defeated it.”
“Why are you smiling?”
“no. “If you don’t know, it doesn’t matter if you don’t know.”
“Hehe. No need to worry. Your death is something our home country also wishes for. A sacred object tempered through prayers to Lumensis, a divine stake, is enough to provide death.”
“Did you gather all that crap for that purpose?”
After falling from the crater, Grander’s gaze turned to the bottom of the ridge behind.
A barracks was built at the bottom of the mountain, and more than 1,000 people were gathered there.
Those who gathered from all over the world in response to the call of the Lumensis Church.
Each one of them was close to the elite, and among them, there were as many as two wizards with the title of color.
Grandeur is probably the only one who can call such people catch.
Because she was the legend and idol of living wizards, the 8th rank wizard who was the pinnacle of all those who walked the path of magic.
“No matter how many of those things I collect, it is of no use to me.”
“I know. Nevertheless, we collected it because our own cause and utility are important to us. “Wouldn’t it be better to have a fierce battle instead of just using stakes without anything?”
“I plan to use that as an excuse to further solidify the achievements of your church.”
Patricio shrugged his shoulders at Grandeur’s point.
“If we’re just doing it, isn’t it better to be good to both sides?”
“….”
As Grander, he did not like the fact that his death coincided with the growth of the Lumensis Church.
But I had no intention of stopping here.
This is the death I so longed for.
For that, I wandered the world for a long time.
‘That idiot disciple bothers me.’
Originally, she should have died at Ludger’s hands.
For that, I taught Ludger and made him stronger.
But since when?
I felt that the days I spent with Ludger were becoming more and more enjoyable.
It was as if the fog of dawn was slowly seeping into my clothes.
When Grander came to his senses, he found his whole body wet and felt his heart grow cold.
‘It’s poison.’
He gave affection to the disciple who was raised to kill him.
Living alone for eternity, she vowed never to form a relationship with anyone else.
For her, not only humans but also elves were just about to die.
Even if they all die, their children are born and die, and their descendants are born and die.
Grander was always alone.
‘It must end here.’
Grander tried to kill himself using Ludger, who would become God’s vessel, as a dagger, but he could not do it.
As I raised Ludger, I watched him grow, learn magic, and grow up.
Since when?
Grander developed warm feelings for Ludger that he had never had before.
Motherly love.
It’s funny.
A vampire of the true ancestor who has lived for a long time feels maternal love towards the blood of the ancestor.
Isn’t it like a monster raising a child of God?
It might have been better if this was just a one-sided feeling.
The problem may be that that ugly student also had a soft heart.
To embrace affection between those who should kill and die.
It couldn’t have happened. That’s why it shouldn’t have happened.
But the mind is so arbitrary and unpredictable.
I was confident that I had reached the pinnacle of the magic hierarchy, but I ended up being swayed by such a trivial thought.
I wasn’t afraid of separation.
What he is truly afraid of is asking his disciple, who is now like his own child, to kill him.
Perhaps the decisive factor was Ludger killing Line’s mother with his own hands.
‘I, the fear of the Holy Kingdom and the monster of eternal life, am fretting over just one human being. It’s truly ridiculous.’
But that too is over now.
She could face death.
With the power of a holy object forged with the power of a god, even the immortality granted within the framework of this world could be eliminated.
‘The disciple has also collected the relics he was targeting, so he won’t be able to pay attention to me. Considering the army of miscellaneous things gathered around here, even he wouldn’t come here carelessly.’
So that’s it.
This was enough.
Grander finally decided to relax and accept death.
* * *
Ludger was standing silently in Grander’s room.
It was a pretty and charmingly decorated room that matched the exterior of Grander, but perhaps because there was no owner, it felt empty, as if an important cog was missing somewhere.
‘Master has left.’
Grander’s purpose is to put an end to this eternal life.
For that purpose, Grander came to the Holy Kingdom, collected the abandoned Ludger, and raised it instead.
To turn yourself into a dagger to kill yourself.
Ludger was not unaware of that fact.
Grander never hid his purpose in the first place, and he always said the same thing to Ludger.
‘He went to meet his end.’
Grander said there was no need to keep his promise and left.
Have you changed your mind?
That wasn’t it.
She always wished for death. I was hoping this hellish life would end.
The reason she canceled her promise was because a new path had opened up.
A way to achieve your goal without having to get your hands dirty with the blood of a student you have become attached to and become like family to.
Ludger closed his eyes and recalled his past with Grandeur.
-You stupid guy. How many times do I tell you not to draw magic like that?
-When it comes to combinations of reagents, quantification is the key. Know that the moment you mess up, you will have to do it again.
-Don’t stop thinking while moving. Are you even a slug? That would be better.
-Don’t be conceited. There are many wizards in the world who are better than you. Even if you play well, you are only average.
My memories of being taught magic by Grander were not that good.
Grander did not give me proper words of praise.
Even if the results exceeded expectations, all Ludger heard was reprimand and criticism.
still.
Nevertheless.
Ludger clearly remembered.
-under. This guy.
Smiling as if it were ridiculous, the pride and warmth shining in his eyes.
Even though he nags and spits harsh words out of his mouth, the kindness in his voice.
Grander always behaved arbitrarily by asking for food to be prepared.
When Ludger first got sick and suffered from a high fever, I nursed him by his side and cooked him porridge myself.
As if he was embarrassed by that fact, he even pushed Ludger to do something as soon as he got better.
Ludger came out of Grander’s room without saying a word.
Alex, who was waiting by the door, leaning back, asked.
“what. let’s go?”
“Did Hans tell you to stop it?”
“No way. “In fact, he was almost certain that the leader would go.”
“And what about you? “Are you going to stop me from going?”
“Well, the leader’s plan is now just around the corner, and the end is slowly coming into view….”
Alex chuckled.
“It’s because it’s not my taste to follow the truth too much. “The leader can do whatever he wants.”
“Even if it’s just empty words, you’re not saying you’ll follow along.”
“You’re not going to give me permission anyway, right? Then there is nothing we can do. Instead, you’re going to come back, right?”
“There was never a time when I went in with the intention of not coming back.”
“That’s a lot of confidence.”
Alex asked Ludger’s back as he slowly walked away.
“Why are you doing this?”
Ludger answered without turning around.
“I received so much.”
