# 438
Helmut
Episode 438
The temple was all bustling.
Everyone was busy taking care of the injured and cleaning up after them, unable to rest even for a moment.
The high priests expended enormous amounts of sacred power restoring the buildings that Elaga had destroyed.
Because only high-level sacred magic that can be performed at the level of a high minister makes this possible.
Fortunately, Elaga passed through the temple in a straight line.
It was relatively easy to repair because it was so beautifully destroyed.
With all the materials and divine power invested, the temple was restored to its original state within a few days. As if asking when such a disaster had ever struck.
However, even though traces can be erased, shocking memories are not forgotten that quickly.
The atmosphere inside the temple was very dark. Everyone went to the prayer room with worried faces and leaned in, searching harder than ever for the lumen.
“Ah, what will happen next?”
“Lumen, give us the answer.”
Their worries stemmed from anxiety and despair.
This was my first crisis and I had no idea what to do next.
Everyone in the world thought so, even if they kept denying that they had been defeated and had simply retreated.
It is their sacred duty to exterminate those who possess the germ of darkness.
I couldn’t just stay silent like this.
However, even if he went out again, he was not confident that he would win the fight against Rinosa.
The temple lost two experienced priests. That loss is not something that can be made up right away.
Moreover, what if that monster appears again while you are on the campaign trail?
Regardless of whether you are dealing with a Rinosa or a monster, you must fight with all your might. One side is determined to be destroyed.
Dividing the troops into two is not possible.
But even if you do that, what if you fight to the point of abandoning the temple and don’t win?
Public opinion about the temple was already not good.
Although some believers were still steadfast, many were separating their faith in Lumen from the temple.
At this point, when the cause and support had been lost and enemies had grown, it was difficult to be optimistic about what would happen next if the temple lost its power.
So what will happen to this world if the temple dies?
For a thousand years since the end of the Demon War, the temple has firmly protected the world.
Even though there are conflicts big and small, the world has prospered slowly but stably.
It was the temple’s credit that the world was safe from the power of demons.
The Demon King’s War has not completely ended.
It was a dormant volcano. The volcano will someday become active again.
The temple knew that. In a realm that cannot be explained, as the lumens engrave into their souls.
However, if the volcano becomes active after the temple loses its power, who can stop the overflowing power of the devil?
Wizards who are prone to corruption? What about swordsmen who have to deal with physically much stronger monsters?
Only a temple can do that.
That was why Lumen bestowed his power on humans and made them build temples.
However, the power of the demon that came this time was too great. So much so that they can’t fight it.
The Demon King’s War hasn’t even started again, but this crisis is already here.
In the midst of swirling confusion and skepticism, the Round Table Conference was established.
High Priest Levina greeted the high priests with a pale complexion.
“welcome.”
Naturally, the ministers had doubts.
“Levina, why did you convene the round table?”
“Are you making such an important announcement when we are busy repairing the temple?”
“Has there been any major revelation?”
All of the high priests who sat down did not have a good look on their faces.
After opening the gate and going on an expedition, upon returning he spent a huge amount of sacred power treating the injured and restoring the temple. There was no time to properly rest.
Even though they were blessed by Lumen, the schedule was so unreasonable that they were at risk of death from overwork.
It was the same for Levina, but no matter how tired she was, she couldn’t fall asleep.
Because I figured it out.
Levina let out a sound like lightning.
“The sacred barrier will soon be broken.”
Soon those words hit them all with a huge wave. A breathtaking silence was weighing down on the round table.
Three pairs of eyes were fixed on her in astonishment. The look in his eyes was blasphemous, questioning the true meaning of those words.
High Priest Romlo opened his mouth.
“How much is left?”
It wasn’t an interrogation like ‘What are you talking about?’ or ‘Is there any basis for it?’ He was the first to digest the shock with reason.
“That is…”
Levina blinked heavily. A terrible feeling of anxiety was raging inside her.
And that anxiety will now be passed on to others, so it will no longer be hers alone.
She told a harrowing story.
“The pace is accelerating. A couple of months at most. After that, the sacred barrier disappears without a trace.”
An unbelievable reality. Who can accept it obediently? One of the high priests asked.
“How did you know?”
The answer flowed smoothly from Levina’s mouth.
“They said the monster that attacked the temple came from the Forest of Pahe. That’s why I looked into the sacred barrier a little while ago. You can go to the sanctuary and see for yourself.”
Urgent questions poured in.
“Is it the work of those archmages? Did they even become warlocks?”
“I don’t know. “They are suspected to be the cause.”
This is the first time that a high priest has personally gone to restore the sacred barrier.
This incident must have something to do with the archmages who disrupted it back then.
But there was no demonic energy felt in them. They are not appointed for their merits in the temple or for their connection to dark powers.
If they had become warlocks, there was no way the high priest would have known about it, even if the opponent was an archmage.
Besides, there was something more related.
“Isn’t that what Mr. Rinosa’s successor did? As he came out of the Forest of Pahe, maybe…”
Didn’t Helmut defeat them just then?
Of course, this is the one who invaded, but it was Helmut who revealed his identity by telling them to attack as many times as they wanted.
A person with a sprout of darkness can be so proud.
Judging from the results, it is clear that he had already made all preparations before becoming Rinosa’s successor.
Perhaps the sacred barrier was one of his tricks.
“Yes, he may have damaged the barrier. “It’s hard to believe, but he’s already escaped from Pahe Forest twice.”
Levina nodded with a serious face.
Romlo opened his mouth again.
“If we give power to the barrier, wouldn’t we be able to stop it? “All of us this time.”
If all four high priests granted divine power to the sacred barrier, wouldn’t the situation be resolved?
But Levina easily crushed their hopes.
“The barrier is out of balance. From the source. “It felt that way.”
It was already one of the possibilities she had thought of countless times in a short period of time.
I didn’t know if I could have delayed the situation a little longer if I had done that earlier.
But the cracks have already grown too big. Surrounding the crumbling sacred barrier is a huge forest of dug-out trees.
Even if four high priests do their best to extract divine power, it is like pouring water into the sea.
“High Priest Levina, didn’t you restore the barrier with divine power? But how?”
“Perhaps the divine power I gave to the barrier at that time was only able to temporarily prevent the situation, but could not completely restore the barrier. “I don’t think that was possible in the first place.”
At that time, it was not a sign that the barrier was shaking, but a sign that it was starting to collapse. The sacred barrier is a sacred relic of Lumen that is elaborately woven with tremendous divine power. What the sacred barrier is oppressing is demonic energy that is enough to turn the world into ashes, and the barrier itself is a seal.
It is unknown whether there is a definite cause or whether it is the result of a sum of minor causes, but the balance of the barrier was broken due to the influence of all of them. And now all that remains is collapse. For the first time in a thousand years, the world will face a forest of raw, exposed dug-out trees. The very demonic spirit that only existed in legends.
“Okay then. “What should we do?”
The voice that always rang out calmly and reverently in front of the congregation began to tremble.
Even the high priest with thousands of priests and paladins had become a lost child at this moment.
Levina lowered her head and lifted her chin. She spoke as if admitting defeat.
“We should announce this to the world.”
“High Priest Levina!”
One of the high priests cried out her name like a scream.
These words sounded as if they were proclaiming the powerlessness of the temple.
Why, at a time like this, when everyone is pointing their swords at the temple!
“It was a short time, but I thought a lot. But… there was absolutely no way. Even if you take all the holy relics and priests from the temple and pour out divine power, the sacred barrier will eventually collapse. “We can only delay it by at least a month.”
A high priest shouted in a panic.
“If we can delay it even a little, shouldn’t we delay it?”
“Then who will stop the monsters flooding in like a torrent from the Forest of Pahe?”
There was a deep silence in the room at that low, realistic question.
“If all of their strength is used to protect the barrier, when the barrier is broken, humans will have to face the monsters bare-handed, without divine magic or the protection of Lumen. No, it’s not just a monster…”
Levina’s calm voice gradually began to tremble. As if suppressed emotions came rushing out.
“What we have to deal with is the devil.”
In the end, the moment those words were said, the bodies of the priests trembled slightly. As if I had witnessed the appearance of a terrible monster.
The evil and ominous word devil.
“When the seal is released, the Demon King will appear. “It is the second coming of the Shinma War of a thousand years ago.”
It was as if an old myth had come to life from an old book. It was so unrealistic and distant.
But that was a situation that was happening now and was coming in the future.
The ministers were frozen and listening to her.
“We are unstoppable. “You just have to be prepared to face it.”
High Priest Levina spoke as if she had made a promise.
“We need to tell everyone about this.”
Now there was no one who could refute those words anymore.
