Episode 370 Have you ever felt a sense of satisfaction when your entire body was completely weak?
Have you ever experienced an experience where your body felt like it was going to collapse from exhaustion, but your soul was filled with joy?
Harman, known as the Divine Sword, had experienced something like that in his distant memories.
‘The first time I held a sword.’
A time when seeing myself improving day by day brought joy and happiness. To be honest, there were many such cases back then when I was happy about my own growth rather than God’s will.
But after reaching a certain level, that didn’t happen. There was no one around him who could compete with him, and it had been several years since he had reached the end of his training.
I wasn’t sad that the experience of pushing my body to its limits and overcoming that wall was over.
The level of the soul rises, and the resulting increase in power leads to a rise in the realm of superhumanity. Meaningless physical abuse is not helpful to training.
I thought so.
Until a little while ago.
‘That wasn’t it!’
Burrr.
The aftermath of the collision, which still remains thrilling, was very gratifying. Although there were no injuries, the aura left an aftereffect on each other’s bodies.
Both he and he would have a hard time regaining their strength for a while, but it was well worth it.
The force of being squeezed to the bottom for the first time in over 10 years and the resulting exhausted body lifted my spirit to the extreme. As if blaming myself for neglecting physical training, I could clearly see a way to get there beyond the wall that had been blocked.
The ‘enemy’ visible through the settling dust seemed to be feeling the same way. A similar feeling was conveyed through the trembling energy waves and momentum.
And it was a great fortune for him that the place where he fought was inside Noviense.
‘I lost a little, a little bit.’
The difference was not big.
It can be overturned with just one mistake or mistake.
However, there can be no mistakes in the attack and defense of adepts who have reached the highest level. In other words, if the attack and defense had continued in a state where both sides were close to exhaustion, they would have ultimately been defeated.
However, this was the center of the city. Unlike the Sword Spirit, which only had six thousand imperial knights with it, there were paladins everywhere.
As if to reflect this, most of the approaching energy was that of a paladin.
“…It’s a shame. I’ll have to plan for next time.”
The Imperial First Sword glaring at you. I’m sure he also looked through the wall, but the look in his eyes was more of disappointment than expectation.
As an Auror user, he is an old general who boasts worldly power even as his body grows older.
A wonderful monster that creates auras stronger than itself, with divine auras that are unrivaled in recovery and endurance.
But it was clear that the time left for him would not be very long. Time to reach a level beyond the wall we have experienced together.
That’s how Harman interpreted the feeling of regret seen on the sword spirit’s face.
“This is…”
Before the hard-faced Tris could say anything, Harmon bowed his head first.
“I think we were both impatient. I’m also at fault, so just bury it.”
As I gained as much strength as I could, my heart that was burning with the desire to win became calm.
‘It was a foolish thing to do.’
Although the gain is great, it is only an individual achievement. For the representative of the Holy Kingdom, this is nothing more than a hasty stabbing.
And it would be the same for the sword spirit as well.
However, the outward attitude was bound to be different.
“Can I take Jerome with me?”
“…Go ahead.”
“flaw.”
This was because they both implicitly knew that Harman gained more from this hasty and meaningless battle as an envoy of the nation. Above all, Harman also did not back down for the sake of respect, and Jerome’s actions were not that important.
The first meeting of the continent’s strongest players ended in such a tumultuous manner.
* * *
“…How did you see it?”
Jerome was embarrassed by the sudden question asked by his teacher who left the castle gate without saying a word, but he answered right away. Because I was already replaying it in my head.
“It was an incredible fight. It felt like a blind man opening his eyes.”
“…Okay. Then, are you confident about getting involved in that confrontation?”
“…I think it’s still too much.”
The teacher sighed at that honest answer.
Jerome’s expression hardened as he wondered if he had done something wrong again, and his teacher’s inexplicable lament continued.
“Huh. If only we had met 10 years earlier…”
“…Master?”
Triss, who remained silent despite her student’s rebuttal, opened her mouth again only when she almost arrived at the imperial camp.
“Remember one thing. If war breaks out with the Holy Kingdom, Shingeom must be killed first.”
If it’s obvious, it’s obvious.
“No matter what it takes.”
However, Jerome’s complexion could not help but become darker at the heavy words added there.
“What… does that mean, Master?”
“It’s literally true. If war breaks out, you have to kill Shingeom at all costs. If you can’t kill him even if you occupy the Holy Kingdom, the empire will get a curse that will lead to a terrible disaster within a few years.”
“….”
“The disaster of an Auror Master with saint-level divine power.”
The sight of Tris mentioning a monster that had never existed throughout human history was serious.
* * *
– The Holy Kingdom had nothing to do with the death of the imperial corps commander and the disappearance of the prince.
The official position of the Seongguk remained unchanged.
However, the empire’s stance toward it had subtly changed.
– Cardinal Tracy, a key figure in the Holy Kingdom, and the Black Snakes, enemies of the empire, conspired to kidnap the prince.
– The death of Corps Commander Max Ileya was also related to them. The Empire will hold the Black Snakes and the Holy Kingdom strictly accountable.
“Black snake? What is that?”
“They say you’re an enemy of the empire?”
It adds to the story of magicians who use the so-called black snake symbol of the Kassel Magic Tower, which was unknown to the general public.
In addition, the empire announced that they were behind the terrible terror attack on Aserians and that they were an evil group that controlled people’s minds and created bizarre monsters.
– Kidnapping the prince was also intended to manipulate him and cause chaos in the imperial family. Unfortunately, he will be expelled from the imperial family as of this time.
– Demand an explanation for the Holy Kingdom that collaborated with the enemies of the empire and put the imperial family in trouble.
Of course, Seongguk did not sit still.
– Cardinal Tracy is a conman who deceived the world. He is only a black snake wizard and not a priest.
– In the first place, she was the one who tried to manipulate the Pope into giving the Holy Kingdom to the Empire. The kidnapping of the prince is simply the result of a deal gone wrong between them and the empire, so they demand an explanation regarding the behind-the-scenes deal.
The Holy Kingdom cited Pope Austin’s friendly movements toward the empire at the beginning of his reign as evidence.
But the empire did not take a step back.
– The commander of the corps died and the prince went missing. There could be no clearer evidence than this.
After a series of announcements and refutations to make a justification, the emperor, who had been silent, finally spoke.
– As a representative of the human kingdom recognized by the Holy Kingdom, I will punish and purify the corrupted temple.
It was a de facto declaration of war.
Accordingly, the western legions of the empire began to head to the capital, Noviense, and the public’s attention naturally focused on the capital.
“In the end, the emperor showed his ambition.”
“Isn’t that what you expected?”
As Ilya looked out the window with worried eyes, the middle-aged knight standing next to him calmly responded.
“They might not guess, but we needed time too.”
Ilya’s expression as she looked back at the middle-aged knight Harman seemed to have taken away some of her worries, as her confident attitude quickly regained her composure.
“…Are you ready?”
“The Holy Knights from all over have already donned their uniforms and are gathering in droves. There are also a lot of applicants for the Holy Corps. The preparations from that day have been effective.”
Yes.
From the day the 2nd Prince disappeared with Tracy, they had already been preparing for war.
“The Emperor is going to start a war anyway… It’s a good thing you followed His Majesty Logan’s words this time.”
“…may the gods bless him.”
In response to Ilia’s words, Harman made the sign of the cross and put his hands together, and she followed him and slightly bowed her head toward the east.
At that moment, the two felt a slight vibration of divine power within their bodies. They met his gaze for a moment and realized that it was not an illusion and smiled.
There was no longer any fear in the eyes of these devout believers, now confident that the great gods were looking down on them.
Then I heard a voice outside the door.
– Your Holiness the Pope.
“Your Holiness?”
“No, until yesterday…”
The moment they looked at each other in surprise, the door opened and an old man with a pale and gaunt face came in.
The man who was already very old seemed to have become even more gaunt. As soon as they entered the room, the people watching were shocked and approached the old man coughing.
“His Holiness!”
“You shouldn’t overdo it yet!”
“Hehe. It’s okay, it’s okay! It’s okay. A sinner who brought disaster on the church can’t just rest in peace forever, right?”
There was only deep self-reproach on Pope Austin’s face as he said that.
“You should rest comfortably until your body recovers. It’s a miracle that you came to your senses again.”
Ilya’s words were not an exaggeration.
The situation of being treated like a doll, with even the slightest expression of emotion being controlled, continued for more than three months. Ascetic priests who mainly treated the mentally ill declared that the Pope would not recover properly even if the unknown magic disappeared.
Nevertheless, the Pope’s mental strength in protecting himself and regaining his memory deserved full respect.
“That’s right, Your Holiness. Rest now. Shouldn’t you lead the kingdom in good health?”
Despite Harmon’s words, Austin calmly shook his head.
“No. In the first place, a saint should have been in charge of the church, not just me, who is older than me. If so, such an unfortunate incident would not have happened…” “
How can you say such a thing, Your Holiness…”
“Please stop saying that.”
The two people fell to their knees at the same time at the words that were so powerful.
Then Austin smiled with a bitter expression and instead knelt down in front of them.
“His Holiness!”
“You can’t do this!”
While the two men and the paladins who followed the Pope were embarrassed at the same time, Austin sighed with a sad expression.
“…It should be like this. Rather, the two heroes who saved the Holy Kingdom from the quagmire should not bow down to this sinner.”
Soon, he took off the pure white robes he was wearing and held them out in front of them, directly in front of Ilya.
Sententia, the Pope’s magistrate and one of the nine sacred relics.
However, Ilia’s face became hard as she faced that brilliant and holy light.
“no way…!”
“I, the 45th Pope Austin Fluid, take this opportunity to step down from the position of Pope. And I will hand over the position to Saint Ilia Gavon of Amunda.”
“His Holiness!”
Everyone who was listening to the unconventional declaration could not believe their ears.
However, the person who said those words seemed more at ease.
“Due to the circumstances, we will skip the ceremony, but this is the final command of Pope Austin Pluitt. Please receive the sententia, Sister Ilia.”
“…How can this happen?”
“Your Holiness…”
“Please just call me Austin from now on. Everything is finally falling into place now. It was right to be like this in the first place. My greed to leave a mark led to disaster. Now, I want to live the rest of my life repenting that mistake.”
A bitter yet relieved expression.
Everyone who saw that face could see
that his mind could no longer be changed.
So Ilya ended up holding the court with trembling hands . I accepted it.
“Can I really do it?”
“It is a holy relic that supported my weak spirit. If the saint accepts it, you will be able to hear the prophecy even more closely. The original role of the Pope is to convey the will of the gods to humans. “I should have passed it on when I found out…”
The brief handover ceremony ended with a lament mixed with regret and self-reproach.
However, the expression on the face of the person who accepted the magistrate was not so good, but those who watched thought it was simply because of the heavy sense of responsibility.
Of course , It was true that Ilya felt responsible. But even more than that, a strange feeling was gripping her.
‘Why do I feel so uncomfortable?’
The holy relic was unpleasant.
It was something a saint could not say.
However, for some reason, the brilliant light emitted by the holy relic and holy magistrate felt very burdensome to Illia.
