Chapter 15: The Key (3)
Thud.
The monster’s body slowly collapsed.
“Hmm.”
As I expected, it wasn’t that easy to cleanly cut through its neck. The oddly shaped neck bones, which were spread out horizontally rather than vertically, were half-crushed and dangling.
Creak.
I stepped on the monster’s neck bone and crushed it, then lifted the cross-section slightly to take a peek.
The size and direction of the mouth were fine, but there was no esophagus or trachea. What a crudely made experimental body.
I flinched slightly and stepped back, avoiding the thick green blood gushing out of the monster as it let out a death rattle, and wiped the blood off my sword.
A sword plated with Divine Silver.
It was one of the items that Support Department Chief Baroque reluctantly, or rather, reluctantly but cheerfully, gave me.
It wasn’t as valuable as weapons made of pure Saint Silver, but it was quite useful in dealing with these low-level demons.
Thanks to it, I didn’t have to waste my divine power in such a useless place.
Of course, no matter how sharp a weapon is, it’s not easy to cut off the head of a bipedal monster that’s a head taller than you.
I may not be as skilled as knights who can wield swords as freely as their own limbs and infuse their weapons with mana cultivated through years of training, but I’ve invested a considerable amount of time in swordsmanship training.
“. . . . . .”
In fact, I failed to completely cut through the monster’s thick neck bone. I only managed to half-crush it.
Fortunately, my current skill level is at least above the minimum threshold, enough to cut off the monster’s breath.
I don’t know if it’s because I inherited the talent of a knightly family or because of the basic swordsmanship training I received at the monastery like other candidates.
Either way, it’s a good thing to have more options.
Whether it’s a sword, magic, or divine power, they’re all good tools in the end.
‘Speaking of which.’
I looked away from the monster that had completely stopped moving and looked up at the top of the mountain. This half-made monster is probably a failed product of the cult. That’s why they must have just abandoned it here.
The nearest village from here is a full day’s ride on horseback. So I guess they thought it wouldn’t cause any problems if they just left this failed product on the mountain.
Since this monster has no esophagus or trachea, it wouldn’t be able to stay active for more than a few hours at most.
‘The entrance must be somewhere nearby.’
I wiped the blood off my sword and looked around.
Originally, I was supposed to wait here for Lefra friar and search with her.
However. . .
“You’re too late. I can’t help it.”
In my eagerness to deal with these evil heretics, I arrived a whole day earlier than the original meeting time.
It can’t be helped in order to carry out the will of the stern god even a moment sooner.
I nodded naturally and slowly closed my eyes. As I focused my mind while catching my breath, I began to sense things that are invisible to the eyes of ordinary people.
Faint magic floating in the air.
It’s not the world seen through the eyes of this body that hasn’t even lived twenty years, but the world seen through the eyes of a soul that reached the great realm long ago.
Clairvoyance.
A high-level magic that only those who have broken through a certain level and shattered the wall blocking their path can use.
It excels in penetrating various barriers and protective shields.
Of course, even those who have fully mastered this magic need a huge amount of energy to activate it.
Whoosh.
Divine power, not the magic I received from the devil, began to pulse and leak out of my body.
For me, who fully understands the Clairvoyance magic, it wasn’t difficult to twist and transform its circuit.
Whoosh.
A gust of wind blew, and a glow slowly began to form above my head.
Roar.
Instead of blood-red eyes gleaming with a sinister light, transparent eyes emitting a holy light blinked and appeared above my head.
It was a somewhat unstable completion since I couldn’t yet handle divine power as perfectly as magic, but it was enough for now.
The half-baked cult here didn’t seem to be capable of using black magic that could counter Clairvoyance, such as the Black Veil of Dsaris or the red mist of Kehalan.
“. . . . . .”
The unstable operation caused a slight pain as a large amount of divine power leaked out.
Of course, if I absorb magic as I did at the village’s graveyard, I’ll be able to use my knowledge and black magic more effectively.
However, divine power and magic can never become one, and no matter how great a person is, it will not be safe if it holds two opposing forces in a single human body.
That’s why I haven’t absorbed any more magic since Anton Revecht sent me the divine power to test me.
‘But that won’t be for long.’
If I obtain the artifact hidden here, I’ll be able to use both opposing powers.
The shining eyes in the air moved quickly and scanned the entire Fehern Mountain in an instant.
‘Ah.’
Ten minutes later.
I was able to find a barrier on a cave located halfway up the mountain. As expected, it’s not that far from here.
I deactivated Clairvoyance and headed towards the cave’s entrance, which was covered in thick bushes, and carefully examined the transparent barrier.
It’s a fairly sophisticated method. The key probably lies in the unique way the Bergezia Cult’s warlocks use magic.
In the past, I would have been able to easily follow their method and cleanly open the door of the barrier.
However, now that I can’t use magic, I have to use a slightly different method.
‘Hmm.’
If I can’t create a key that fits the door, I can just break the doorknob.
Whoosh.
And right now, I had the most effective power to destroy spells made of magic.
Crash!
The holy light that flowed out of my hand exploded and disappeared as it touched nothing in the air. And black smoke began to rise as magic burned.
Creak.
It’s still impossible to break the entire barrier, but it’s possible to create a gap that I can barely squeeze through.
As I twisted and broke the magic barrier, my divine power, infused with my will, seeped into the gap.
And.
“. . . . . .!”
In the underground beneath the cave. Past the long corridor and dozens of rooms.
In the deepest part of the Bergezia Cult.
Something I could feel there.
Thump.
Something pulsed as if greeting me, sensing the aura of my soul infused with divine power.
The first relic I left behind, the Stone of the Gap.
I slowly opened my closed eyes and muttered softly.
“Found it.”
🔹🔹🔹
Thump.
“. . . . . .!”
Godric, the priest of the Bergezia Cult, opened his eyes wide.
In front of the old man, who was looking ahead with an expression of disbelief, a mysteriously shimmering orb was radiating light in the air.
It was an indescribably mysterious sight, but the old man was surprised for a different reason.
“Just now. . . what was that?”
Something had definitely happened.
Despite looking in a different direction, he could clearly feel a surge of power behind his back. And something that caused it was definitely this unknown object.
Crack!
Thinking that something might happen, the old man brought his staff close to the object and hurriedly pulled his hand back from the sparks that shot out, his brow furrowed.
“What the. . . . . .”
Killing wizards and cats was called curiosity, was it?
Even though he knew that it was something beyond his reach, Godric couldn’t stop exploring this relic. It might bring him a future that he couldn’t even dare to dream of.
“The offering is almost ready. Soon. . . . . .”
He muttered, turning his gaze to the altar overflowing with ominous energy. If he made a new contract with a higher-ranking devil, he would be able to get one step closer to this mysterious relic.
At least that’s what he believed.
Bang!
Without even observing the proper etiquette, his door suddenly opened and a warlock rushed in, panting.
“Damn it. . . . . .!”
As if to show off the fact that they were a half-baked cult that had only recently been re-established.
Fehern’s priest, Godric, glared at the warlock who had rushed in, panting vulgarly, with angry eyes.
“P, Priest. . . . . .!”
Does he have something urgent to report? The old man narrowed his eyes.
Yes, let’s hear it.
If the reason for interrupting his thoughts was something trivial, he would cut off the warlock’s limbs and throw them in as an offering.
However, the words that his subordinate uttered were something the old man had never expected.
“H, Heretic. . . . . .”
“What?”
Has this guy gone mad from the side effects of black magic?
“Heretic, inquisitor. An inquisitor from Herentica!”
The priest’s face contorted into a similar shape as the warlock who was delivering the message, after hearing his words.
🔹🔹🔹
Drip.
The woman lifted her head from the puddle of green blood that had temporarily gathered on the damp ground.
“. . . . . .”
In front of her, who was holding two rapiers in both hands, were the corpses of over ten hideous monsters.
As if she would never show herself to others, she was covered from head to toe in chainmail and a thick cloak, and she raised her hand to push down the robe that had become disheveled from the short battle just now.
Inquisitor Lefra.
She was recognized for her talent at a young age and quickly rose to the position of inquisitor, and was considered the most likely to become the youngest chief inquisitor.
“It’s about time. . . . . .”
She seemed to be waiting for someone on Fehern Mountain, where terrifying monsters roamed around without any traces of human habitation.
There are usually two types of people that inquisitors wait for.
Heretics they must punish, or fellow inquisitors.
And the one she was waiting for was the latter. Inquisitor Luciel, a playful inquisitor who hadn’t shown up even though the time set by the Inquisition had passed.
“. . . . . .He wouldn’t have run away, would he?”
There were occasionally such people. Those who applied for the position of inquisitor with an inflated sense of justice.
However, such people soon come to realize.
That the inquisitors of this era, where evil lurks everywhere, are far from being cool people who execute righteous justice.
Ending the lives of those who resist fiercely to the end and those who curse the inquisitors with voices filled with evil even as they die.
Even slaughtering and burning those who kneel and beg for their lives without batting an eye is what the inquisitors of Herentica do.
The work they do, following the will of God, is never humane.
‘He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would run away.’
She thought as she walked quickly.
He was someone Anton Revecht had brought himself. A child recommended by the inquisitor who had burned the most heretics among the chief inquisitors.
As if to prove him right, he was the first to pass the test given to the candidates.
Swish!
Lefra, who had put her hand in her bosom, took out a small pouch and scattered the powder she took out into the air.
The shimmering, scattered powder slowly flowed forward, going against the direction of the wind. A small cave located halfway up the mountain.
After confirming the location once more, she walked quickly.
“. . . . . .”
After arriving at Fehern half a day early, she had been searching the mountain without rest.
It was a difficult and boring process, but she was quite skilled at such tracking, and she was eventually able to find a place where traces of magic remained.
“Hold on.”
Lefra, who was carefully walking into the cave with two rapiers in hand, stopped, sensing something strange.
Although she couldn’t be called very knowledgeable about magic, she had a certain level of knowledge, as befitting an excellent inquisitor.
Lefra, who had carefully stopped walking, examined the suspicious traces she felt ahead for a while, and soon came to a conclusion.
Clench.
Her hand, which was holding the rapier, and the corners of her mouth, which were tightly pursed, tightened with a rough sound.
The meaning of the traces that were left behind, as if they were not even trying to hide them, but rather to let her know that they had gone in first, was clear.
“This. . . This impudent newbie. . . . . .!”
The rookie inquisitor named Luciel had already gone inside.
As if he didn’t need the help of Lefra, who had rushed all the way here to support the inexperienced inquisitor, he had gone in alone, without even waiting for her.