Episode 448 ‘Now the 7th holy relic.’
The western tip of the continent.
White steam escaped from the mouth of Harman, who was looking down from the mountain at the temple located at the northwestern tip of the Torre Kingdom.
The chaos on the continent that started last winter continued until spring, but the weather here near the sea was still chilly.
And Harmon’s heart was frozen even colder than the cold temperature.
‘Start with exploration.’
His body began to race rapidly down the mountain.
The Pope’s holy relics, Sententia, and Terra and Flamma, collected from the central temple of Licentia, never thought of falling from his neck.
And over the next two months, it wasn’t that difficult for him to collect two more holy relics with minimal movement. Rather, it was much more difficult to subdue the paladins and priests who were once his colleagues without killing them.
However, the problem started from now on.
Unless the Holy Kingdom’s new commander is an idiot, he or she would have realized that he or someone else was targeting the sealed holy relics.
‘It will be different from before.’
Pot.
The moment his will arose, the reacting holy power created a transparent barrier around him.
Ugh.
At the same time, the holy object Richentia hanging around his neck reacted and amplified the barrier several times from its original level, completely blocking his presence.
The only use for this cursed object I recently discovered.
That was to hinder awareness and strengthen the sacred barrier.
‘The sacred relics of the gods of heaven and freedom…’
The dual actions of the gods came to mind once again, to the point where sacred relics came out. He smiled bitterly at the fact that even now that he had betrayed God, or even now that God had betrayed him, his holy power was reacting according to his will.
Perhaps now, he will be able to demonstrate a hiding ability better than that of the legendary Great Sword, Veil Shadow.
‘At this level, you can’t sense it unless you’re an Auror Master or Grand Mage.’
Harmon let out a long sigh and increased his speed even further.
‘I thought I would never use my abilities like this in my life…’
I can’t help it.
It was a path I was already prepared to take when I realized that the faith I had devoted my entire life to was false. At the very least, he hoped that his colleagues would not be exposed to the threat of God.
Furthermore, as he himself was once a devout believer, he knew that he could never persuade others with words.
That’s why I took action.
‘This is the best I can do right now.’
Just until all the holy relics from this place and the other two places are recovered.
‘I just hope that we can achieve our goals without hurting our brothers and sisters in the church.’
The priest of the past, who had lost a place to pray, cast his gaze into the empty space and repeated the wind with no one to listen to.
However, as if to prove that the ominous premonition was definitely correct, the security at the Torre Temple, also known as the Temple at the End of the Earth, was extremely tight.
To the extent that it far exceeded his expectations.
‘That’s…’
From the paladins guarding the entrance to the temple that can be seen at a glance to the soldiers patrolling the surrounding area. It seemed as if they had gathered a force several times greater than all the temple troops in the Kingdom of Torre.
After checking the barrier again, Harman slowly approached them and listened.
“It’s still cold. What trouble is this?”
“I know.”
“What’s the reason?”
“I don’t know. They just told me to be very careful.”
“Why did Gaia and Linden’s brothers come?”
“Aren’t you guys? The archbishop isn’t telling me. They don’t seem to know either.”
A group patrolling around the temple.
The conversation between the Paladins at the forefront made me understand the situation at once.
It seemed that Linden and Gaia’s temple troops, whose holy relics had already been stolen, were concentrated on Torre. However, because the fact that the relic had been stolen was not announced, the paladins seemed to be exchanging words like that.
Harmon’s complexion immediately clouded as he grasped the situation.
‘This is going to be difficult…’
I didn’t mean that stealing the holy relic would be difficult.
Although it is said to have been considerably downgraded compared to before, it has the power of a top-level Auror user, as well as divine power and the transcendental ability to hide using Richentia.
However, it meant that it would be difficult to keep the temple’s priests and troops from being harmed. Aside from infiltration, you have to reveal your power to break the seal of the holy object, and from then on, it will be difficult to maintain secrecy.
‘What should I do…’
A possible robbery of the gods’ souls.
The more religious a priest is, the easier it is to fall victim to this vicious tactic.
A conflict arose as to whether harming the brothers of the religious denomination in order to prevent it was a reversal of truth.
But that time of worry was short-lived.
‘…I can’t back down.’
He realized that the cause he habitually thought of was not the ultimate goal of everything he did now.
Not only was my life wasted, I was mortgaging my soul.
The original resolution to take revenge by eliminating the passage through which the gods could descend eliminated the conflict in his heart.
Mercy and forgiveness.
The two things he had emphasized so much in the temple no longer had a place in his heart.
At least against the gods.
‘Minimize sacrifices, but if it is unavoidable, there is nothing you can do about it.’
The moment when Harmon clenched his teeth to the point where his jaw was dizzy.
His body climbed over the temple wall without any sign.
Concealment of the sacred power barrier through Licentia.
In addition, the superhuman movements unique to Auror users turned many people guarding the temple into fools.
Harman’s body, which was running quietly but without hesitation, stopped for a moment in front of the main chapel of the central temple.
Kiiiiig.
This was because the Holy Knights could be seen coming out of the large door of the chapel.
“Why are we strengthening our security like this?”
“That’s right. There is something worth taking to the temple.”
“Why isn’t it there? Like the offering boxes or the money piled up in the bishops’ private residences…”
“Ah… that’s true. But why are we guarding this place?”
“I mean…”
“The offering box has already been moved. Shall we patrol around the bishops’ quarters?”
“The Archbishop…”
Seeing the paladins who were more talkative than expected, Harman smiled an invisible smile.
‘If you do, I’ll be grateful.’
Breathe.
Harman’s body leaped into the air without a sound and jumped into the gap in the door where the Holy Knights came out.
But they could not have imagined that someone invisible had passed over their heads.
I’m sorry.
widely.
Even the small noise caused by my mistake when landing was drowned out by the sound of the door closing.
‘phew.’
Harmon sighed and looked around the chapel.
Ugh.
Soon Richentia, which was clinging to his neck, responded.
‘It’s over there.’
In my experience, the relic reacted towards the direction of its other brother. Harmon followed the response and walked quickly.
however.
‘There is someone like this.’
Harmon had no choice but to stop in front of the door that appeared to be a single-person prayer room in the corner of the chapel.
‘Should I wait?’
Due to the nature of divine power, priests recover the consumed holy power through prayer. It was inevitable since he was not wearing a holy relic like he was now.
And if the person inside is a high-ranking priest, in the worst case scenario, he could just pray for three days and nights.
A situation where hiding must be broken even before facing the seal.
I couldn’t help but worry…
‘No.’
Harmon’s choice was quick and his action was even faster.
bang!
“…?!”
The old priest turns his head when the door to the prayer room is suddenly broken.
The moment he saw that surprised face, Harmon was once again conflicted, but his fists did not stop.
Ugh.
“Huh…”
“…I’m sorry, Archbishop Dalan.”
dump.
Nosaje fainted without hearing his apology.
The force contained in the gauntlet that hit the solar plexus must have shaken even the divine power, so it would take quite a long time for even the archbishop to come to his senses.
Judging by his reaction, it seemed like he had seen his own face, but he couldn’t help it. He was already under suspicion anyway, so he couldn’t kill a priest he knew just to destroy the evidence.
Harmon blamed himself for thinking that way even if only for a moment and quietly looked inside the narrow prayer room.
And soon I was able to find a device that was cleverly hidden but easily responded to sacred objects.
Sweet.
Drurr.
Just by pressing a hidden button and pulling the statue, a narrow staircase leading down to the basement was revealed.
A sight similar to what I have experienced many times before.
Without the slightest hesitation, Harmon stepped on the stairs and went down into the darkness where there was not a single ray of light.
Jump and jump.
And when the echo of the footsteps seemed to gradually disappear, a light appeared, illuminating the completely black space without a single torch.
A sacred object that radiates holy power simply by existing.
For those who could see its divine power, it was like a guide brighter than the light of the sun.
‘And among them, a particularly bright light.’
Not long after following the light, Harman was able to discover a sacred object in an unusual shape.
A gold coin the size of a person’s fist. The only engraved emblem was a gold coin with nine concentric circles of different colors floating in the air, illuminating the darkness of the underground.
Aurum, a sacred relic of Ageron, the god of gold and commerce.
‘The name of the holy object is just a gold coin.’
Although it is a fact that I can only face now, I thought that perhaps Ageron was a being that blatantly symbolized the selfish side of the Nine Gods.
Feeling that his faith, which had long ago disappeared, was running out again, Harman smiled and approached the holy relic.
The holy object, which radiated more brilliant golden light than anyone else, gradually radiated stronger light as if trying to push away the approaching Harman.
It sounded like the voice of God rejecting him, and Harman smiled coldly.
“Yes, it would be meaningless, Ageron.”
After spitting out a single word as if he were saying something to a god who had abandoned him, Harman took a deep breath and slowly pulled out his sword.
Although it was officially known that the seal placed on the holy relic could never be broken without the Pope’s permission.
“It cannot resist the power that cuts through space itself.”
This was already my third time doing it.
Harman’s sword swung without hesitation, turning the space previously covered in golden light into silver.
Flashing.
Wow!
The sword strike that cut through the seal struck the sacred object floating in the air, and a gold coin the size of a human fist was buried in the wall.
Seeing that, Harman let out a long sigh.
“Is it still not possible?”
The strike that attempted to shatter not only the seal but also the relic itself did not work.
‘If I take it to King Logan, will he be able to destroy it?’
That young genius should now be able to master the power of an Auror Master. Since the Auror Master had never attempted to destroy a holy relic before, it might have been possible.
Anyway, the remaining two relics can only be obtained by going to the eastern end of the continent. The world was noisy due to war, but if it was their relationship, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to meet at least once.
Thinking so, Harman forcibly pulled out a large gold coin stuck in the wall.
Wooooow.
An even more intense golden light emanated from the gold coin that vibrated as if in defiance, but Harman just ignored it and put the gold coin in his arms.
As had been the case so far, the moment the seal on the sacred object was broken, an alarm would have sounded throughout the temple. Moreover, due to this heterogeneous sexual power, it is impossible to hit a perception-impeding barrier.
Judging by the number of people guarding the four sides of the temple, it was clear that a bloody fight would break out when leaving, unlike when entering.
‘Reduce sacrifices as much as possible, but if it is unavoidable…’
You will have no choice but to see blood.
The moment when Harmon made such determination.
A strange thing happened.
– To live towards the same servants of God. done. You finally crossed the line.
– Now it will no longer be yours, foolish servant.
Aurum and Licentia.
Two voices coming from two holy relics.
In particular, the moment he heard the voice of Aria, who had cut off communication by sealing half of his soul, Harmon felt goosebumps rising all over his body.
And that voice began to once again restrict his body, which he thought had regained complete freedom.
“This profit! It’s huge!”
– It’s you, foolish servant. I’ve done some truly terrible things during this time. Now you will have to pay the price. Your soul is in endless hell…
– …Jibrik’s resurrection is not far away, Ageron. This is not the time to worry about a single human being.
‘Do you think you’ll be fooled again!?’
Crackling.
Ignoring the voices of the gods echoing in his head, Harman tried to control his soul and body again.
– Huh. Is this guy still rebelling?
Crack.
The sound of every bone in his body shifting was heard, but Harmon did not give up his resistance.
“I am the owner of my own body!!”
– Such foolishness….
“I will never, ever give in!”
Despite the gods’ bitter ridicule, the force in Harman’s bloodshot eyes only grew more intense.
And that moment.
– The archbishop was defeated!
– Down! It’s an intruder!
The sound of numerous temple troops coming from above his head was heard.
But Harmon didn’t recognize those voices at all.
The direction the wide-open eyes were looking was east.
‘You must destroy the holy relics. Prevent the gods from descending. ‘King Logan, please…!’
Imagine a person somewhere far away.
Jeez.
Harmon barely took a step with his veins protruding all over his body.
