All eyes turned to the Priest King as his praise drew everyone’s attention. Morgina confidently shrugged her shoulders as if inviting everyone to admire her Grand Warrior.
However, her true feelings were far from confident. If the emotions she kept hidden had surfaced, she would have already broken into a cold sweat.
That little brat, who usually couldn’t care less about what others are doing, just had to say something unnecessary!
Now, every adult in the Holy Kingdom capable of active duty was focused on Kriel. There was even a chance they might perceive the Abyss power lurking within him.
Of course, Morgina had taken various measures to prevent such a disaster.
Even dressing him in the robes of the Eve Kaha Church had been part of these precautions. The divine power imbued in the blessed fabric was enough to suppress the presence of the Abyss.
While her personal preferences had played a minor role in the choice of attire, it had been a reasonable decision to force Kriel to wear the uniform.
The pendant, the mark of the Grand Warrior, served the same purpose. Since Kriel himself wanted to keep the Abyss at bay as much as possible, there was little chance of the Abyss power being unleashed. Unless, of course, something as incomprehensibly ancient and mystical as a Holy Gate came into play.
…It won’t happen, right?
Well, even if the worst were to happen, Morgina had already prepared an excuse. Morgina was ready to list the achievements of “Kriel, the Ascetic Who Cleanses Souls”.
Fortunately, the Holy Kingdom’s officials seemed more interested in Kriel’s abilities than in Kriel himself. The position of Grand Warrior carried that much trust.
“It’s a single relic, then. Can you explain it in more detail?”
The first to rise and question him was an old martial monk. Kriel was mindful of his temporary role as the Grand Warrior of the Order and carefully gauged the appropriate tone to use.
“Of course. It’s true that each of those fragments emanates the power of the Abyss, but at their core, they’re connected. It seems like something possessing immense strength has been divided into multiple parts.”
“Dividing such a powerful Abyss relic? The spawns of the Abyss have always been mad, but this is even harder to understand.”
“It’s not difficult to understand. The Abyss can consume souls to nourish itself and grow.”
Kriel recalled an anime he had watched back in the days when he went by another name. It was about a journey to collect shattered pieces of an orb.
The orb that was broken into countless fragments granted power to whoever absorbed its pieces.
(TN: Probably Inuyasha.)
The Abyss’s actions were similar, except the shards of the Abyss came with an additional effect. They devoured the owner’s soul.
“To those unable to discern the nature of the Abyss, these fragments would appear as relics that grant immense power simply by being embedded somewhere in their body. However, the Abyss relics would, in turn, consume the soul of anyone attempting to possess it.”
“So the fragments grow stronger by consuming souls?”
“To achieve power comparable to the relic’s original form, it would likely need to devour an unfathomable number of souls. But to develop into an independent entity capable of wielding the Abyss’s power without being connected to the main body, ten souls would probably suffice.”
“A relic of the Abyss at that level could easily create a demon….”
Those tainted by the Abyss were broadly divided into three categories. The first were Demons, creatures into which Abyssal energy had merely been infused. Next were Demonic Beasts, beasts granted not only Abyssal energy but also savage strength and ferocity. Lastly, there were the Great Demons, beings who had acquired human cunning and wisdom alongside their Abyssal power.
Exceptionally, there were those who were so thoroughly consumed by the Abyss that their entire spiritual essence was overtaken by its corruption; such entities were called devils. These devils possessed souls that had been rejected by the world and lived outside the material plane and within the chaos of the Abyss.
The Devils who were unable to easily manifest in the mortal world sought to expand the influence of the Abyss through countless schemes. The ones who directed these schemes on behalf of the devils were none other than the demons.
The old martial monk’s expression hardened.
“The seeds of the Abyss.”
The Priest King who was grateful for Kriel’s explanation clapped his hands, directing the attention of the gathered saints to himself with the sharp sound.
“But fortunately, the devil’s scheme was uncovered beforehand. I find the term ‘seeds’ to be quite fitting. These Abyss seeds are still dependent on their main body.”
“Are you asking us to track down and destroy that main body?”
“Precisely. Here are maps and statistical data detailing the locations where the seeds were discovered by the Holy Knights.”
The maps had been completed over the past few days, and most of the high priests of Temlis had been exhausted by the effort. The Priest King himself had undoubtedly contributed the most.
“If you need a lead for your search, take one of the seeds. May you extinguish them all before they have the chance to sprout.”
***
Morgina had returned to the Grand Temple of Eve Kaha for the time being. The weight of the task entrusted by the Priest King was heavier than she had anticipated.
“Seeds of the Abyss ….”
The witch’s eyes that were hidden beneath the brim of her pointed hat turned toward Kriel. Her gaze wasn’t one of stern judgment befitting an executioner of the Abyss but one filled with worry and concern.
Kriel, who seemed oblivious to Morgina’s gaze, focused on the few seeds he had scattered across the table and was studying them closely.
“Tracking them down shouldn’t be too difficult. If we leave with the other saints, we can resolve this quickly.”
“Hey, wait a minute.”
Morgina reflexively interjected.
“Isn’t the hardest part of something like this usually the tracking? While most of the saints are busy scratching their heads over maps and statistics, wouldn’t it be better if just the two of us went and took all the credit? No matter how powerful the relic was, it’s already been torn to shreds like that. For you and me, handling this wouldn’t be too hard.”
If they could establish unquestionable accomplishments in this way, it would strengthen the justification for placing Kriel in the role of Grand Warrior. Even if it turned out later that he’d been tainted by the Abyss, at least they’d have a reason to hear him out first.
Kriel, however, shook his head calmly.
“Eliminating the Abyss isn’t a competition. This is something for the sake of the entire world, so doing our utmost is the right thing to do.”
Not “good” but “right” he said. Despite that, he still claimed he wasn’t some noble knight. Internally, Morgina cursed this stubborn mule several times before letting out a sigh.
“Fine. Do as you like. As long as the job gets done quickly, it’s all the same to me.”
As soon as the half-resigned, half-impressed Morgina’s words left her lips, the horn knife strapped to Kriel’s waist began to hum and vibrate. The moment Kriel lifted the blade slightly from its sheath, Orishin’s voice burst forth like the wind.
[I think Kriel is absolutely right! The Abyss, no matter how finely you shred it, always swells back up in no time!]
“Like your own corruption, I suppose.”
[Exactly, like my corruption. And that relic, the original source of the seeds. It gets stranger the more I think about it.]
Orishin who was seemingly accustomed to such jabs brushed it off with practiced ease. Morgina’s eyebrow twitched.
“What’s so strange? Kriel already explained it all. They destroyed it because the benefits outweighed the investment, even if it was a powerful relic.”
Morgina’s curt reply came from her belief that Orishin was simply repeating himself. Of course, there was another reason for her tone.
After all the effort it had taken to drag that mule of a knight to the High Temple, the pesky unicorn ghost was making it impossible for them to spend any time alone.
[Not the risk and reward stuff. I mean, what exactly did they destroy that it still retains so much power despite being reduced to so many fragments? It’s no different than being hacked apart, as you said. But wouldn’t a relic that powerful have left some trace in the records of the Holy City?]
Orishin’s point was reasonable. An Abyss relic capable of maintaining its power even after being shattered into hundreds of pieces would surely have left some evidence behind. If they could find such information in advance, it would give them a huge advantage in the upcoming battle.
While bragging about his keen intuition, Orishin declared that they should go to the Great Library of Temlis the next day. As a bonus, he suggested that they also look for alternative purification methods that didn’t rely on the dubious methods of a certain violent saintess.
However, what Orishin hadn’t accounted for was Morgina’s remarkable memory.
Every letter printed in a book was etched perfectly in her mind.
Morgina pressed her index finger to her lips and sunk in thought. She remembered flipping through the forbidden books deep within the Great Library of Temlis.
“Right. If it’s something that powerful, wouldn’t it be on the level of one of the Seven Demon Weapons of the Demon King?”
[The Demon King’s masterpiece? Are you saying the Archdevils destroyed it?]
Orishin questioned her but soon nodded. After all, only his head remained, and it wasn’t as though he had any other parts to move.
[The devils of the Abyss would attach no special significance to the Demon King’s creations. There’s no camaraderie among demons. The culprit, or rather the culprit devil, must be one of the six Archdevils.]
While Orishin muttered to himself, Kriel repeated a word from their conversation that had abruptly caught his attention.
The Demon King.
Kriel mulled over the name, which felt both familiar and strange.
In the original Tirnanog RPG, the Demon King was central to everything. Whether you opposed the Abyss or sided with it to bring about the end of the world, you inevitably encountered the Demon King.
Defeating the Demon King to take their place as the new representative of the Abyss was an essential step in the storyline.
And so, the name “Demon King” was familiar to Kriel. But, in this world, the name was one he never expected to hear.
It wasn’t because people feared uttering the name.
The Demon King was already dead.
The world Kriel had fallen into was set after the game’s ending.
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