How a Reincarnated Warlock Lives – Chapter 132

Chapter 132: The Underground and the Tower (3)

I looked around.

The foot of the mountain. The beautiful and peaceful scenery that this place used to boast was devastating.

It was as if a storm had passed. To be precise, a storm of fire.

The mountain paths were blackened and carved out by flowing flames, and the rocks were half-melted. Collapsed stones and trees burned black and turned to ashes.

It was as if a volcano had erupted.

Mount Calimphus, which was full of green and life, had become desolate.

“This is not a natural phenomenon.”

Kazan, who carefully looked around the vicinity, spoke as if making a judgment. I nodded at his words.

No further explanation was needed. The traces here were clearly artificial.

The range of the flames was precisely the foot of the mountain. The blackened marks formed a clear boundary as if drawn with a ruler.

“If it’s an artificial phenomenon.”

Marchena, who was looking around with a frown on her face, spoke in a surrounding where no signs of people or wild animals could be felt.

“Who on earth……?”

I scanned the surroundings silently.

Magic inevitably leaves traces of the caster. Even more so with magic of this magnitude.

Of course, it was a clean magic without any frills, and at the same time, it had become faint due to the passage of time, but it wasn’t to the extent that I couldn’t find it.

“……”

A familiar form of trace and reverberation, albeit slightly different from what I had seen before.

Powerful Grand Magic that distorts the ley lines as a whole and draws out the flames of the mountain.

This is not something anyone can imitate. I twisted my lips into a smile and pointed out the culprit’s name.

‘Jurutreu. That crazy pyromaniac was still alive.’

🔹🔹🔹

It wasn’t that surprising.

The remaining three High Priests of the Catacombs, unlike their appearance, are not human in the first place. Since they are a race with a lifespan that easily lives for hundreds of years, it was natural in a way that they were still alive.

‘I guess they felt impatient.’

That arrogant bastard who had been huddled in their hideout until now would crawl out here. It seems that the closure of four Catacombs already stimulated them considerably.

Of course, they wouldn’t have recklessly stormed this place alone.

They probably made considerable preparations. And among them, the Grand Temple located on the high mountainside would have been the perfect stage for him to show off his specialty.

“We need to go up.”

There is a limit to what can be known from the entrance area. It was necessary to climb up to the middle of the mountain, where there is a wide area, to grasp the exact extent of the damage to the Grand Temple.

However, the problem is.

The steep path that connects to one has completely collapsed and disappeared.

In addition to that, due to the aftermath of the fierce battle that took place above, the mana in the air is still unstably distorted, making it somewhat difficult to use flight magic.

Of course, it wouldn’t be that difficult if I used Magi or the power of absorbed souls, but I didn’t want to take the risk.

Anyway, this was the Church’s territory.

Of course, there was also a way to consume a little more power and approach while hiding my appearance and presence, but there was no need to do that now.

There was another way from the beginning.

“……”

Swipe. My gaze turned to Marchena. Kazan also seemed to have noticed my thoughts and looked at her with me.

“Why, why are you looking at me?”

She flinched and asked back at the sudden gaze.

I lightly ignored her reaction and asked calmly.

“Marchena, what is the biggest winged animal you can transform into?”

At the calm question, as if asking about the lunch menu, Marchena tilted her head and answered.

“The most comfortable one is a bat. A little bigger animals are crows or eagles. Ah, I have transformed into a giant bat that lives in the Cloud Mountains before. Maybe that’s the biggest─”

She, who was talking about her abilities with a bit of pride, suddenly stopped talking and looked at me, feeling something strange.

“……”

“……”

Silence followed for a moment.

Only then did Marchena, who grasped the intention of my question, open her mouth.

“W-wait. Are you saying that right now.”

She looked at me and Kazan, and then at the top of the towering Mount Calimphus, and asked in disbelief.

“You’re going to ride me?”

I calmly nodded at her question.

“……”

Did she feel humiliated? Her face, which had been pale, turned bright red.

A vampire blushing with a pale face. It’s a bit refreshing.

“I’m not some kind of steed that carries anyone─”

The moment she snapped with a sullen expression, as if her pride as a vampire who hunts humans was hurt.

Flutter.

The sudden sound of flapping wings. At the same time, a huge shadow covered the sun in the sky and cast a shadow on the ruined ground.

I raised my hand to Marchena and Kazan, who hurriedly prepared for battle with wary expressions, and slowly approached those who were approaching.

Approaching from above. A group of people riding a huge winged animal. They seemed to have received a considerable level of training, as the sound of their wings was barely audible until they got close.

It wasn’t difficult to guess their identity.

“Inquisitor?”

A strange voice came from above the animal with large wings, sharp beak, and claws, and fluffy fur.

I looked at them, equipped with weapons that reflect light, which animals do not have, and smiled slightly.

“There were survivors.”

“Unfortunately.”

Click. The knight, who lifted his face cover, lowered his straight lance and answered with a dark expression. Looking at him, Kazan muttered softly.

“……The Sky Knights of the Grand Temple.”

Considering the location, it wasn’t that strange, but considering the situation, it was a very unexpected encounter.

“The lady in the back doesn’t seem to belong here.”

The Knight Captain, who sharply noticed the energy emanating from Marchena, which was slightly different from that of humans, put his hand on the hilt of his sword and said.

The energy emanating from him was not light. It was at a level that was not inferior to the Knight Captain of the Holy See that I had seen before.

“Ah, I can vouch for that.”

But I lightly broke his momentum and answered. A brief silence.

The knight, who looked at me and Marchena alternately, shrugged.

“Well, if the Inquisitor vouches for her. I’m sure she’s fine.”

At the confident words of the Inquisitor, who is an expert on suspicious beings, the knight nodded as if he wouldn’t question it any further and stepped down to the ground.

Flutter.

Following the knight’s gesture, the large animal landed on the ground and flapped its wings, causing a strong wind to blow. I stared at it intently.

Anyway. The important fact is that the fastest way to get up has come to me on its own feet.

The Griffin, looking at me, snorted.

🔹🔹🔹

The story of the man who introduced himself as Berit Termesa, the Captain of the Sky Knights, was as expected.

A sudden explosion. Huge fireballs flying endlessly from the boiling flames and cracked ground.

“It was a fierce battle.”

Berit continued. His voice, after confirming each other’s identities and showing courtesy, was calm.

“It was the first time I’ve seen such magic. It looked like demons from hell were crawling out of the cracked ground.”

The view of Mount Calimphus from above, passing through fog and clouds and circling the mountain range, was devastating.

The remains of the collapsed tower and temple. Corpses and distorted remnants of magical power that were almost completely gone, covered in lava and flames.

“We lost many comrades, but we finally succeeded in defeating the enemy.”

However, the word’defeated’contained a bit of bitterness. Although the enemy retreated, the Grand Temple had collapsed.

It’s highly likely that the sanctuary was also closed. They probably came here for that purpose in the first place.

Of course, not just anyone can close a Catacomb or a sanctuary.

It’s something that can only be attempted with vast knowledge and the power of the soul, as well as an unimaginably strong mental strength.

Considering that the only person who has achieved that feat in a row so far was me, it wasn’t difficult to guess.

But if it’s the High Priest of the Radechione Catacomb…… Yes, it was quite possible.

Considering the last appearance I saw, it might be a little lacking, but he wouldn’t have just been playing around for the past five hundred years either.

I was lost in thought for a moment.

“……”

Should I be happy that he saved me the trouble, or should I be sorry that the Church’s power has weakened before I could destroy all the Catacombs?

“By the way, you seem quite familiar. Have you ever ridden a Griffin before?”

Perhaps thinking that he had only told too negative stories, the Knight Captain asked a question as if to change the mood a little.

“I briefly rode a wild Griffin before. I can’t say I’m familiar with it, since it was a short experience.”

When I briefly told the story of when I rode a wild Griffin and visited the birdmen’s nest to solve the problem of the Aerial Garden, the Knight Captain exclaimed in surprise.

“Oh my. That’s amazing. If you had come here, you would have become a great Griffin Knight.”

Considering the pride of the Sky Knights, it was a very high compliment.

The Sky Knights, who climb cliffs and find their own Griffins from a young age and repeat harsh training, were not called the best Knights on the continent for nothing.

There was even a saying that the lance charge performed at a dizzying height is an art in itself.

“You flatter me.”

I tilted my head slightly towards the Knight Captain. The Grand Temple, which did not properly defend itself, blinded by the offering, was proudly named as one of the factions due to their influence.

Of course, the amount of money required to train one Griffin Knight is unimaginable. If it weren’t for the extremely wealthy Grand Temple, they would never have been able to afford it.

That huge investment, anyway, has paid off at least minimally.

Because they finally succeeded in repelling the High Priest of the Catacomb, who must have prepared for a long time, from the mountain.

Of course, it was a half-baked victory. No, considering that the opponent achieved what they wanted, it was virtually a defeat.

While the conversation continued, the Griffin, which had quickly crossed the sky, reached the middle of the mountain.

“You can’t step on it yet!”

The Knight Captain, who was gliding down, feeling the heat remaining from below, shouted loudly. The Griffin, which fearlessly jumped into the heat under the Captain’s guidance so that I, the Inquisitor, could examine the traces as closely as possible, growled lowly.

I quickly examined the traces below.

The battle that must have taken place here was drawn in my mind.

A loud shout. The High Priest’s Grand Magic that shakes the ley lines.

Huge fireballs and red-hot rocks gushing out from the cracked ground.

The collapsing tower and the Griffin Knights desperately soaring into the sky and pouring attacks from the sky.

A fierce battle. And finally, even the symbol of the sanctuary breaks.

“……”

I opened my closed eyes and raised my head. The hot air hit my face.

“I’ve checked everything!”

Soon after I shouted, the Captain nodded and skillfully steered the Griffin upwards.

Passing through the collapsed temple and towers, we flew up again and soon began to cross the blue sky.

The next place we headed to was Hesterica.

The only place that practically functions as a normal base, excluding the Papal Palace and the Grand Temple, which have lost their function as a sanctuary, the Cradle that stays hidden deep in the Cloud Mountains, and the fifth sanctuary whose existence is not even clearly known.

Flutter.

The appearance of the shining city, Hesterica, seen from the air, was no different than usual.

We slowly descended onto the vast square with the sun, the Griffin, and the symbol of the Church carved largely, receiving the gazes of people looking up at the sky at the sudden shadow cast.

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