Chapter 16: What’s This? Take It Away Part 1

Released:

Morgina’s mind was busier than it had ever been before. Most of it had to do with Kriel.

It wasn’t because she was thinking about her romantic prospects with him. It was obvious that Kriel played a major role in keeping her volatile nature, which was often described as downright “reckless” by the inner circle of the Eve Kaha Church in check.

But this time was different. What occupied Morgina’s thoughts now was Kriel’s constitution. The very constitution that had caused such trouble at the Holy Gate.

Normally, bringing Kriel before the Saints would have been a semi-suicidal act. While they would not have executed him outright, since his position as a champion of Eve Kaha afforded him such protection, they would have left him half-dead in order to neutralize him.

But the circumstances were different now.

Why doesn’t divine power work on him? Why can we sense the echoes of the Abyss in his body? All of it can be explained.

The reduced efficacy of divine healing on his body? That could be blamed on the curse of the Seven Demon Weapons. The faint echoes of the Abyss? Again, the curse of the Seven Demon Weapons.

And if it turned out that even a direct application of divine power at the Saint level didn’t cause him pain but instead healed him effectively, then any suspicion of him being a “Spawn of the Abyss” would be off the table, at least for now.

This was why Morgina had dragged a reluctant Kriel before the Saints and insisted on having him treated.

If I can just get through this, no priest or saint in Temlis will have any grounds to accuse Kriel of anything!

Morgina had even prepared some carefully thought-out arguments, which was an uncharacteristic move for her.

“……?”

But she quickly noticed that something was off about the way the Saints were looking at her. Their gazes carried a mix of near-terrified bewilderment, curiosity, and… pity?

“What? Why are you looking at me like—”

“Shh.”

Kriel swiftly cut Morgina off before she could blurt out something vulgar. Morgina scowled and groaned in frustration but grudgingly corrected herself.

“Just hurry up and heal him. I can’t handle this on my own.”

The Saints refrained from pointing out something like, “Aren’t you a Saint yourself?” They had realized there were far more entertaining ways to provoke Morgina’s temper. Besides, healing Champion Kriel might also yield some interesting tidbits of information.

“Old man, take this.”

Morgina forcefully ignored the Saints swarming Kriel, or rather, the ominous anticipation etched onto their faces and tossed the Sampling Sword Gratoun to the old monk.

At first glance, it resembled a tangled mass of crimson chains. The monk caught it with little effort, but upon sensing the sinister pulsations emanating from inside, he clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“What is this? Even when it is wrapped in your divine power, its aura is this menacing.”

“Gratoun.”

“The Seven Demon Swords? Ha, I never imagined one of them would suddenly surface in a backwater like this.”

“Since you seem to be the leader of this group, you can report it to the Holy City. As for me, I’m taking him straight to the Eve Kaha Church.”

The monk scratched at his white hair with a thoughtful expression. While Saints typically wandered off in search of personal missions rather than staying put in the Holy City, this situation felt different.

“Didn’t the two of you recover one of the Seven Demon Swords? If you report this to the Holy City, they might throw a welcome parade. Well, maybe not a full ceremony given the security measures around the Demon Swords, but you’d at least receive a reward.”

“…He doesn’t want to.”

Morgina murmured softly. Her voice was so quiet that even the monk, with his heightened senses, wasn’t entirely sure he’d heard her right.

“Hmm?”

“He doesn’t want to stop by the Holy City. Damn it.”

The end of the sentence, which didn’t suit a saint, was filled with deep frustration.

***

Behind me, I could hear Morgina grumbling.

“Look, if we just go to the Holy City, that Priest King brat will probably dig out some ancient armor that’s been sitting in the supply vault for 300 years and hand it over. Stop being so stubborn and just go with me.”

“I have no business in Temlis.”

To tell the truth, it was a place I preferred to avoid.

I hadn’t realized just how advanced the abyss detection capabilities of the Holy Gate were. At first, I’d been stunned, wondering if I was about to be raided then and there.

Since the time I was just playing Tirnanog RPG, the Holy Kingdom has always been portrayed as the beacon of abyss eradication. It was the gathering place of those who led the charge against the abyss and served as its last line of defense. For players choosing to align with abyss forces, it was the final enemy, the frontline of the ultimate battle.

While I hadn’t done anything as foolish as worshiping the abyss, the thought of visiting the Holy City and having a personal audience with the Priest King again felt burdensome. What if he said something like, “Sir Knight, you seem to be tainted by the abyss”?

Following Morgina’s suggestion, I had allowed the saints to perform divine power healing on me and successfully convinced them, “Ah, there’s no way that guy’s with the Abyss, right…”

It was the kind of excuse that only someone who had seen it firsthand might believe, something like, “I’m usually a clean person, but I just happened to get stabbed in the chest.” It wasn’t exactly a story anyone would find easy to swallow.

The real issue, however, was entry and exit. Every time I passed through the Holy Gate and it lit up, it would cause no end of trouble. Sure, it was fine when I carried the Champion’s Mark, but I had fully intended to return it as soon as my task was done.

“Hey, horse head! Try talking some sense into this stubborn mule!”

[Me? How? I’m just a sword. My fate is to go wherever my wielder decides to take me.]

At Orishin’s apathetic response, Morgina immediately began squabbling with the ghost again. It was a scene that made me shake my head in exasperation. Their petty arguments had become so frequent that they now felt like part of the daily routine.

Hard to believe they only met a few days ago.

It wasn’t as though Orishin and Morgina genuinely hated each other. If anything, they seemed like begrudging friends who couldn’t resist poking at one another.

I waited for their bickering to settle down before asking,

“Can’t you handle the process of returning the Champion’s Mark on my behalf? If I remember correctly, they just tossed it at me without much ceremony.”

“Well, that’s because we were at the Great Temple. They had already completed all the formalities beforehand, so all that was left was the presentation. But believe me, they followed proper protocol.”

Morgina had stubbornly clung to me when I tried to part ways after returning the Champion’s Mark on the spot. Apparently, while giving it out was simple, returning it required a special ritual.

The process had to take place at the Great Temple in the Holy City or at a similar high-ranking location. It needed to be overseen by a senior clergyman, with a proper ritual marking the relinquishment of the position.

The whole thing made me wonder if these rituals weren’t more complicated for appointments than for retirements.

That said, the Eve Kaha Church happened to be near my intended route. Since I was essentially on indefinite leave from the military anyway, spending another day or two wouldn’t hurt.

“So, why are you heading to the Empire? It’s in the completely opposite direction of the Western Army.”

“Well, magic is the most advanced over there. Officially, I left the unit to handle this horse head’s purification mission.”

“…You know it’ll be difficult to eliminate corruption through magic if divine power can’t purify it, right?”

“I know. Still, when I return later, I need to have as much material as possible to include in my report about ‘attempts made’.”

[Huh? Do you know someone at the Imperial Magic Tower? Or are you just planning to barge in like you did with the Holy City?]

“I do know someone, but…”

I trailed off. Even if I remembered them, I wasn’t sure if they would remember me.

“They’re just someone I crossed paths with while working as a mercenary. Even if I meet them, they might not recognize me. If they happen to introduce me to another mage, that would be great. If not, I’ll just have to keep running around as usual.”

“Come to think of it, you mentioned you worked as a mercenary in various places before joining the Western Army, right?”

“I traveled a lot. Once, I got involved in a mining dispute between elves and dwarves in the Great Mountains. In the Empire, I dabbled in a few territorial disputes while pretending to be a knight.”

[Pretending to be a knight? Did you ride a horse too?]

“You’re hitting a sore spot. I didn’t have a horse willing to carry me, so I wasn’t a proper knight.”

[True enough. If you can’t ride a horse, you’re no knight!]

I humored the conversation as I quickened my steps. Meanwhile, I was creating the outline of a face-saving report for my eventual return to the unit.

I confirmed the possibility of purification with a divine power expert regarding the corruption of Orishin. Next, I should consult a magic expert. If possible, I’ll also contact shamans or spirit mages.

I made a bold decision.

As soon as I finish the report stating, “Despite all efforts to purify, I ended up resorting to temporary measures due to three failed attempts”, I’ll spend my time traveling wherever I want.

***

After the old monk handed over the Sampling Sword Gratuon to Morgina, the group of saints split into two major factions.

The first group was similar to Morgina and Kriel. They had urgent matters to attend to where they had originally been staying, so they decided to part ways here instead of returning to the Holy City.

This group made up about two-thirds of the total. Only three saints remained on the journey to the Holy City.

“They don’t care about any sort of triumphal ceremony, huh? Everyone’s so ridiculously uptight. What did Morgina say to you at the end, Elder?”

“What did she say? She told me to ask the Priest-King to make sure Eve Kaha gets plenty of funding since they were the ones who captured it. Then she ran off to follow that guy.”

“That reckless girl actually fell for someone? Makes me feel like the end times are near. Haah.”

On the surface, it seemed like a peaceful conversation. However, the saints remained on high alert. This was because they were currently transporting one of the Seven Demon Weapons.

Gratuon no longer appeared to be bound by chains. This was thanks to the combined efforts of Morgina and the other saints, who had exerted their full strength to reinforce the seals.

Even the saints who didn’t head to the Holy City had contributed to strengthening the seal before setting off on their respective journeys. As a result, Gratuon was now tightly bound under more than ten layers of different holy seals, each infused with divine power.

To the eye, Gratuon’s seal now resembled a pure white coffin. Perhaps because it was shaped by divine power, the coffin exuded a holy atmosphere, as if a saint might be lying within. In reality, this form reflected the saints’ collective will to bury this abomination forever.

A containment so strong that no demon, not even one aided by external forces, could escape. It was a level of suppression that would leave even devils in despair.

Now, they only needed to take Gratuon to the Holy City and bury it deep in some forgotten corner. Once done, this dreadful weapon would disappear from history, at least for the foreseeable future.

The saints moved swiftly toward the Holy City.

Of course, none of them had the thought of breaking the seal or peeking inside.

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