Episode 377
“It was a perfect calculation. As you can see, the barrier was completely neutralized in the beginning.”
“But why suddenly?!!”
bang!
The excited appearance of a sword spirit that is rarely seen.
Galen, the Mage of the Cold Wind, glanced at the shattered and scattered table, sighed and lowered his head.
“…I don’t know. But the timing is certain. It was right after that female saint reappeared.”
“That’s all the power of a saint?”
“…I’m not sure.”
It was truly a rare sight to see the famously arrogant Mage of the Cold Wind groveling, but there was no one present who could laugh at that sight.
This is because the war, which was completely on the way to victory, came to a halt due to unexpected circumstances.
“So, does that mean that from now on, we will be able to take over the Holy Kingdom only after we have accumulated enough damage by absorbing the zeal of those fanatics?”
“…That is the worst case scenario. However, it would probably be difficult for the saint to perform such a miracle again.”
“What is the basis?”
“A spy within the Holy Kingdom has confirmed that the Pope’s magistrate, Sententia, has lost its light. It is certain that this is a miracle created by temporarily consuming the power of a holy object.”
“The sacred relics of the Nine Great Gods? So, does that mean that the other eight remain in the Holy Kingdom?”
“No. Three of them are used to maintain the Great Heavenly Barrier, which is said to be the strongest holy law barrier on earth, and the remaining five are said to be scattered throughout the continent. I don’t know why, but it has been investigated that even the church cannot move it arbitrarily.”
“Why do I have to say that now? Then we should resume the war immediately!”
“…To reduce damage, we must wait for the supply of resources for the neutralization magic circle.”
“What if Shingeom awakens in the meantime!?”
“Calm down, Your Excellency. Don’t you know very well that it is impossible even if you are inside the barrier?”
Triss barely suppressed her excitement at Galen’s words.
Yes. The remnants left behind by other people’s Auras leave great aftereffects that cannot be easily overcome by Aura users. In particular, the fiercer the battle, the more severe the aftereffects.
‘It would take me about ten days to recover the minimum force necessary to use Auror.’
Moreover, if it were a divine sword that was on the verge of death, it would be impossible to return to the battlefield any time soon, even if divine power was poured into it.
However, Tris was still troubled by the strange appearance of the saint she saw last time.
“Was ‘that’ really a human?”
“yes?”
“Oh no. It’s just a feeling.”
Well, the saint didn’t seem human for some reason, but Shingeom was definitely human. No matter how great the holy dharma was, it was absolutely impossible to recover within 1 to 2 weeks.
so.
“…You’re right. I guess I got too excited. The victory is still strong, so let’s wait again.”
“Yes. In fact, as you know, if we just wait and surround it like this, the Holy Kingdom will have no choice but to destroy itself. It will take a long time because of the wealth the Holy Kingdom has accumulated.”
“No, that’s…”
“Oh, of course I know very well. We shouldn’t give time for the Holy Sword, the Holy Maiden, and major figures of the Holy Kingdom to escape or for any variables to arise. But ten days, ten days is enough. The magic circle can operate. As soon as we are ready again, we can take over the Holy Kingdom.”
“Ten days…”
This was the period he expected to be able to regain his minimum level of prowess.
In addition, there is a short period of time in which the new sword can never be recovered.
“Good. After ten days, only then will the war with the Holy Kingdom end.”
Tris suppressed the discomfort she felt toward the saint and nodded.
However, no one could have predicted that just a week later, a variable that would cause great trouble broke through their siege and secretly infiltrated Noviens.
* * *
“You are the people sent by His Majesty Logan. Nice to meet you.”
As Ilya, who had a pale complexion, frowned slightly and lowered her head, a handsome man with brown hair and brown eyes stepped forward.
“It is an honor to meet His Holiness the Pope. My name is Aran of McLane.”
A fluent voice with a neutral tone. But is it because he is too young to be a superhuman?
Ilya narrowed her eyes and shook her head as if dizzy for a moment. Then, he looked at Aran and smiled warmly.
“It’s been a while, queen. I really didn’t know that you would come and that you would be an Auror user.”
“100 million!?”
Aran, or rather Eilen, made a sound that sounded like a scream without realizing it.
With a smiling face, Ilya gazed thoughtfully at the other group members who had similar brown eyes and brown hair.
“Lord Viktor, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you. You were such a nuisance before. It’s been a while, Miss Lia, too. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen you since I was volunteering in the slums. But I’m surprised you’re already a mage.”
“!?”
“omg!?”
“The red eyes are Count Ronian. Nice to meet you. I have heard many words from Sir Viktor and His Majesty. There is one person I have never met before. As expected, he is an Auror user… As expected, McLane has a lot of talent. Please take care of him in the future. I’ll give it to you.”
The expressions of the Jokjok group members who made eye contact with Ilia became as hard as stone.
“Oh, how…”
“So, even if I’m a bit overdone, let’s not make everything brown but a different color…”
“It’s not that problem, Ronnie.”
Eilen, who had silenced Ronian with a single word, looked at Illya while biting her lip.
It wasn’t just a matter of her recognizing them. The fact that his identity was discovered at a glance meant that things could go fundamentally wrong.
“Did the high-ranking priests originally have the ability to see through magic? That would make it difficult for us to operate.”
The reason they came here is to help Seongguk as unknown superhumans. I didn’t know where the empire’s spies could be, but having their identities revealed was the worst possible situation.
Because the war between the Empire and McLane will suddenly be brought forward.
“Oh, I was so happy that you excused me. I’m an unusual case, so you can rest assured.”
“yes?”
“You are maintaining and supplementing the transformation artifact with Ms. Lia’s magic. The mana is well concealed, and this is a good way to ensure that neither the artifact nor Ms. Lia go wrong… Oh, was this also rude…?”
At Ilya’s next words, the faces of the group, especially Victoria, visibly hardened.
“How could that be…”
“That’s because I received a grace from God after I recently became Pope. I’m sorry, Miss Lia. Fortunately, I’m probably the only one like that, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
Despite Ilya’s excuse, the group’s troubled expression did not disappear.
‘It’s fortunate that the saint is alone in this room.’
Eilen had been running like crazy, just taking a nap, but it felt like things were going wrong from the moment she arrived.
“You must keep the secret. If even one of us’s identity is revealed, we will have no choice but to leave Chengdu immediately.”
“Yes, queen. I will keep that in mind.”
“And that title…”
“Ah, yes. You keep making mistakes. I won’t forget you, Aran.”
ha.
It was a situation that made me sigh, but I couldn’t just turn around now.
‘But was the saint able to see through Miss Lia’s magic? Is that possible if you become a saint?’
When Eilen looked back with a feeling of discomfort, Victoria also couldn’t hide her embarrassed expression.
– Unless an auror user or mage with a very good sense of humor watches closely, you will never be detected.
It was only natural that the much-vaunted magic was discovered as soon as it arrived.
Ilya must have read the mood of the group and stood up and lowered his head.
“I’m really, really sorry. I’ve been under a lot of stress lately, and I ended up saying too many things when I got to see familiar faces. I’m sorry for being impatient and hurting your feelings.”
That’s not the point.
The same thought occurred to everyone, but at least the sincerity of the apology immediately calmed the group’s confusion.
Above all, she is a real priest who was famous as a saint of the slums in Grand before being called a saint of the religious order. There was not a single person in the group who did not know the value of that name.
‘There is no way the saint would intentionally do something wrong to us.’
Eilen erased his perplexed expression with a short sigh and lowered his head.
“…No, saint. I hope that our coming will be helpful to both countries.”
“Of course. I feel very reassured just by the fact that you came.”
A natural smile spread across Ilya’s pale face.
The group also smiled, naturally following their previous embarrassment.
As the atmosphere seemed to relax, Illya once again praised the group and their kingdom as if they were impressed.
“But McLane is really amazing. In what country in the world would they hide five people who have reached superhuman status? I thought His Majesty Logan was joking.”
It was worth it.
A normal country would rather boast about its national power or at least seek to increase its war deterrence power. Unless that opponent is an empire.
So the question that came out of her mouth was also natural.
“Did McLane anticipate that the Empire would start a war?”
Eilen nodded lightly.
“Yes. My husband, who visited the empire, expected that. The emperor is a greedy person and will never maintain a policy of peace until the end.”
“With just those words, are you ready to go this far? To the extent that you, as superhumans, are willing to disregard honor and take on such an arduous path?”
“Everyone here is a recipient of your husband’s grace.”
There was no hesitation in Eilen’s answer.
In fact, even Bourdell, who had the weakest bond with Logan, would not have been able to become a superhuman if he had lived as a witch hunter.
At least she thought so.
“It means that the people who received His Majesty Logan’s grace have grown so wonderfully. It seems that His Majesty Logan also has a really great eye for people.”
“It’s just a coincidence. Becoming a superhuman isn’t something you can do if you want to. It’s just that your husband has a lot of blessings.”
“I see. Talented people who will become superhumans naturally gather around His Majesty Logan… As expected…”
Would it be a mistake to say that I could sense a strange bone in Illya’s words?
Eilen tilted her head as she felt like the conversation was becoming increasingly strange.
‘Why am I having this conversation?’
If we take away the goodwill that comes from human relationships and look at it, isn’t it almost like interrogating allies who came to help during wartime?
And it seemed she wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
“…Saint, is there anything else you would like to ask us?”
Ronian, who was behind him, took a step forward with a slightly stiff expression.
Then Ilya waved his hand and shook his head.
“No, no. I’ve been having a lot of useless thoughts lately… Ugh.”
“Saint!?”
Ilya sat down without speaking, holding her head.
Everyone just stared blankly at the absurd situation, but only Viktor, who had been looking at her with complicated eyes the whole time, jumped out.
“Ugh. Even though Justice Burr lost his power… Why…”
“Saint!”
Viktor barely helped Ilia up, who was muttering to herself with a pale face.
“Saint, are you okay?”
“If I ask you about His Majesty Logan, you don’t have to answer. “No, don’t answer!!”
The end of the words that came out of Ilia’s mouth as she stumbled repeatedly was a scream-like shout.
The saint’s expression was much paler than when they first met.
And at the end of the conversation, the context of which was completely unknown, Shouting.
The moment the group looked at her blankly with surprised expressions.
Boom!
“What’s going on, Your Holiness?”
“You guys! What are you doing to His Holiness?”
The Holy Knights kicked down the office door and rushed in.
But it was Ilia who stopped them.
“No, no. I couldn’t sleep well… Please introduce these people to Director Harmon. They are people who will be of great help to us now.”
Her voice became quiet again. However, if it seemed like her face was turning pale every time she spoke, would it be an illusion?
“Yes, Your Holiness!”
“Yes.”
The Paladins, who were embarrassed, soon took their posture. He immediately obeyed her orders.
However, the group was still left in a state of confusion.
“What the saint…”
Looking at them, Ilya bit her lip as if she had made up her mind.
“Lord Victor. Can you just stay for a moment? I have a favor to ask you personally.”
“Yes?”
The embarrassed Viktor looked at Eilen without realizing it, and Ilya continued in a trembling voice.
“I’m just trying to prepare for the really, really worst-case scenario, just in case. When I can no longer remain as myself…”
“What on earth are you saying, saintess?…”
Victor with a perplexed expression and the saintess with a pale complexion.
Eilen, who knows the close relationship between the two, tilts her head but takes the stand. I had no choice but to allow time for it.
