My Villains Episode 284
53. The Midnight Sun (3)
I didn’t know it when I saw it from the outside, but the structure I thought was the outer wall of the Seteniora Monastery was actually a kind of curtain wall.
Unlike the walls of the worldly manor that surrounded the keep, my castle, and courtyards, the walls here surrounded the rugged rocks, the abbey church and a small village built on top of them.
I go up the narrow stairs between the rocks, but somehow the back of my head tingles.
I turned around and saw dozens of soldiers stationed on the walls and towers quietly watching our party. It’s not very pleasant because it’s a gaze like watching an intruder, but it’s not something you can’t understand.
About twenty heavily armed outsiders, including a knight in plate armor and a savage big enough to be mistaken for an ogre, have entered the interior. If they weren’t vigilant, they would have thought it strange on my part.
As I climbed the stairs, a small garden unfolded between the three roads leading to the monastery and the cathedral village.
“…lord of light.”
In front of the garden, a few mercenaries including Gidon the Crossbowman crossed themselves and prayed briefly. The voices of those seeking the God of Gwangmyeong Bridge were half
sighs and half amazement .
A tall, bony oak tree and a small arborvitae tree under it were bent and burnt, suggesting the ordeal the monastery had gone through.
Snow was piled up on the whitewashed stone walls and stairs, but here and there it was red and black. A familiar fishy smell brushes the tip of your nose.
Even in the midst of this, a ringed cross stood tall over the arches that decorated the stone walls and the brick pavilion overlooking the cliffs below.
The ringed cross, carved out of stone, stood up against the wind, with the waves of the wind engraved all over the body that could not be erased even with sincere hands.
Guuuuuu –
Beyond the ring cross was full of scenery of white mountains in a snowstorm. At first glance, it seemed as if the cross had blocked the harsh howling winter wind.
The appearance was so cool that the depth of faith that was not there was welling up.
Regardless of whether or not they held a religious belief, even I, who had a vague view of religion itself, was deeply impressed. Looking back, they all seemed to be deeply impressed. Even the nerd-tempered guys like Ponytail Fritz and Heavy Soldier Dervish kept their mouths shut and carved the ringed crosses in their eyes.
…This unexpectedly became like a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
In front of the three forked roads in the garden, the church knight, Sir Kabar, looked at the mercenaries praying with satisfaction, then opened his mouth.
“Only one person can enter the monastery, Lord Phoenix, so the rest of the party should stay in the complex. I’ll give you directions.”
“Where is Dandanga?”
“There sir.”
He pointed to a place I thought was a village. There were six or seven houses huddled together, all made of wood and stone and lime.
“It is a place where believers from the secular world live. You should find a place to stay as you like. Most of them are empty.”
I quietly scratched my eyebrows and glanced at Heila.
Heila, who was quick to judge, would be helpful in case of a sudden problem, so I wanted to take her with me, but when our eyes met, she shook her head slightly. And whispered, pretending to touch my cloak.
“I was attacked recently. Don’t provoke me for nothing, just follow the words of the cathedral knight.”
I nodded, smelling the faint scent of tea, and Heila brushed the back of her hand gently on my cheek before stepping back. It’s a pretty natural performance.
After being guided by the soldiers, the group headed for the capital complex and followed Lord Kabar to the monastery.
Once again, I climbed the stairs between the rocks and passed a stone wall as tall as me, and finally came into sight a group of antique buildings that could be called the main body of Seteniora Monastery.
A fat tower stood at every corner of the crooked square stone wall. Buildings with conical roofs and chimneys with windows on all sides were densely packed.
Strangely, no human could be found in the landscape where limestone, brick, and tile roofs were harmonious with their respective colors.
“…It’s quiet. It must be prayer time, right?”
At the question, breaking the awkward silence, Lord Kabar glanced up at the sky.
“It’s about time to raise the nine-sightedness. However, this monastery has temporarily suspended all of its sacred duties.”
“Then the monks.”
“The brothers are guarding the outer wall and the tower.”
Exterior walls and towers? Then…
“Those soldiers were monks.”
“About half of it. The other half are real soldiers and courageous followers.”
Leaning on the flow of the conversation, I carefully brought up the question I had been putting off until now.
“Who are you?”
“…Who are you? What do you mean?”
“Those who attacked the Holy Land.”
The middle-aged cathedral knight kept his mouth shut and moved on. Then, standing in front of a building with a silver ring cross on it, I looked back at me.
“The Holy Son will answer all your questions, so please wait a little longer. You cannot bring arms to the sanctuary, so leave your sword here.”
As soon as those words were spoken, the soldiers who had followed Lord Kabar leaned their spears and shields against the wall and drew their swords on the stone table beside the entrance.
Unwilling disarmament is quite unfamiliar, but I wasn’t embarrassed. It was common sense in this world to hang a knife at the entrance when entering a cathedral.
The expression of the knights and soldiers softened as they pulled out the black ice, the morning star, and the blade with the multi-purpose dagger in its entirety and put it on the table.
Inside the sanctuary, white silk curtains were hung everywhere. The pattern of the sun and the cross was engraved on the tabernacle.
After passing through a hall-like space and a long hallway, I came to a firmly closed door.
Thanks to the level up two days ago, the stronger magic sensed two small but distinct auras beyond the door. One was divine power, and the other was-
“Your Excellency.”
In front of the door stood an elderly man wearing a black cape and a tall hat over a white robe.
“Lord Kabar.”
When a middle-aged knight of the cathedral approached and bowed, the priest who was called Excellency briefly returned his thanks and turned to me.
“Are you?”
Before I could answer, Lord Kabar stepped forward.
“This is Sir Phoenix, a knight of the Silver Prince.”
Then he turned to me and said, ‘This is Bishop He Cavanco, Vicar of the Special Diocese of Sete Niora. Give me an example,’ he whispered quickly.
Just as I was about to say hello, Bishop Hekavanco frowned and spoke up.
“To bring in an outsider at this critical time. Besides, a knight of Prince Ulkar? What imprudence is Lord Kabar?”
To be precise, it is an open fact that the Church of El Ganore despises Ulkar.
The Elganor Church, which supports the inheritance of the firstborn according to church tradition, had a very close relationship with Zacharys, the first prince of the Milanol Kingdom. Therefore, he looked down on the third prince, Ulkar, who used his natural talent and popular popularity as a weapon to threaten his eldest brother’s position.
However, Ulkar wasn’t the type to notice it that way, so he reached out to the Kalandari, a church in the US Tergerant Empire, which the Church of El Ganor treats as a heresy because the local church didn’t help.
The Church of El Ganore is grinding their teeth at Ulkar because of this.
However, Ulkar is clearly a prince and is a hero who has calmed down various troubles in the kingdom. It was virtually impossible to put such a person on a religious board or excommunicate him, so the Church of Elganore only issued a statement criticizing him or recommended self-restraint through the king.
In any case, given the circumstances, it was only natural that Bishop Hecavenko would be uncomfortable hearing about my status.
However, even in front of an uncomfortable senior, Lord Kabar did not blink an eye.
“I judged that the ‘black snake’ the Holy Son spoke of was the Lord Phoenix here.”
black snake? what is this again?
“…What is the basis for such a judgment?”
“It’s a gut feeling.”
“what?”
The moment the bishop was about to lose his temper at the futile answer, the cathedral knight’s firm voice continued.
“I dare say, it was an intuition close to revelation, sir.”
“timing?”
“yes.”
Bishop Hecavenko kept his mouth shut with a hard face. Then he stared at me and touched my forehead.
“…revelation yes. Wonder is not one to say nonsense. But, of course, that’s the enemy knight of the silver prince. Such an ominous thing…
What is this old man? Why are you babbling about something sinister in front of people?
Unlike Lord Kabar, who had shown me a slight liking for the affairs of Archibald, the snow-white knight, all Bishop Hecavenko showed me was wary and distrustful. However, even this difficult-looking bishop seemed to trust the upright middle-aged cathedral knight.
“…Yes, if this is a trial given by the Lord… As His servant, we must follow it.”
Bishop Hecavenko wiped his face, nodded, and opened the door. A faint herbal scent comes over me.
The cathedral knight, Sir Kabar, gestured as if to take the lead and followed me into the room.
The place I entered was a room of the right size with one window open. It is neatly organized without any special decorations and exudes a luxurious feeling.
Four monks in black cloaks and two priests in white robes were guarding the bedside. And on the bed lay a tall old man with his eyes closed.
An old man exuding a gentle feeling with his hair bald to the top of his head and a full white beard.
It was Abel, the saint of Gwangmyeonggyo.
I got a little goosebumps.
From the fifth chapter, the Seteniora Monastery, to the ninth chapter, the Netherworld, the NPCs that you will meet tirelessly appeared in front of your eyes as a reality.
“Sir Phoenix.”
I was looking at Abel blankly, but Lord Kabar noticed me. I took a deep breath and looked around to see him and Bishop Hekabenko sitting on their knees next to the bed.
I quickly knelt between the bishop and the knight. The plate armor rattled loudly and I unknowingly shrank my neck, but Saint Abel did not open his eyes.
“Wake up the saint for a moment.”
At the bishop’s command, the priests met each other’s eyes. When they showed signs of hesitation, the bishop looked at them, saying, “Come on.”
The priests started praying quietly, but I wasn’t in the mood to listen. It’s because he found a hole in Abel’s chest.
“…. .This.”
“This is what the King of Death did.”
Said Lord Kabar in a subdued voice.
“The King of Death?”
“His cursed armies have attacked the Holy Land. Everyone in the monastery risked their lives to stop it, but it was not enough, and finally the saint himself stepped forward.”
Black smoke slowly rose from the hole in Abel’s chest.
The stench stinging your nose and the ominous licking your spine. It was a feeling I had never felt before.
“Most of the undead were defeated, but a death knight stabbed the saint in confusion.”
“…a death knight?”
Even though Death Knight is strong enough to be called 3x- no 3 knight together with Hell Knight Dark Knight,
“Even a Death Knight is just an undead. You said someone like that stabbed you? How-”
“There was something different about him. It wasn’t just cheating, it was also possessing strange magical powers. It was an ominous power that I felt for the first time in my life.”
At his words, I was able to recognize the identity of the black smoke coming from Abel’s wounds.
The same energy I felt from the evil god Ushtu’s followers and the dark knight. The magic power of the dark realm was commonly called demonic energy.
Just as I was organizing my thoughts, the two priests’ prayers came to an end.
“Wash me with… and with the light.”
The hands of the two priests shone.
Dazzling but warm energy. It was divine power.
As the divine power surged forth, the demonic energy rising from Abel’s chest shrank. Saint Abel opened his eyes for a while.
“…… Uh ”
丁That .
Abel blinked blankly before looking back at Bishop He Cavenko. And before the bishop could say anything, his sleepy eyes turned to me.
“Absorb”
I felt as if my whole body was being stripped naked the moment I met the grayish white blurred eyes. A pair of golden rays that bloomed from the depths of Abel’s eyes seemed to scan my heart and intestines through mine.
I saw you.
“Yes Yes?”
“I saw you. A black snake.”
Abel raised his right hand and tapped the bed with the back of his hand.
“hand. Left hand”
It was an unexpected request, but I held out my left hand as if possessed by something. The moment Abel’s hand touched my hand,
ugh ugh.
“Oh heck.”
My left wrist felt like it was on fire.
I could feel it instinctively. What the White Belt Trickster obtained by destroying the throne in Raven’s Cliff called the ‘dimensional seal’ is working.
But this time, unlike when he entered Ellen’s dream, the black semicircle did not appear. It was just that something unknown flowed into the dimensional seal through Abel’s hand.
As the owner of the dimensional seal and the quasi-dimensional it contained, I knew it instinctively. Abel’s dream was being absorbed into me.
Ugh.
After a series of processes, Abel put his hand down with a face that looked a few years older.
“…You, only you…
He muttered something in a fading voice, then closed his eyes.
“… Holy Son? Holy Son!”
Bishop Hecavenko and Lord Kabar looked at Abel with surprised faces, but I could feel that his breath had already stopped.
Abel, who was the key NPC for clearing the campaign in the game and the only saint of the Gwangmyeong Bridge in reality,
passed away without leaving a will.
