The Villain Carries the Holy Sword – Chapter 177

Chapter 177: The Mirage’s Oath (1)

In most major cities across the continent, countless newspapers are printed, distributed, and discarded.

This is the scene brought about by the printing revolution that began in the merchant city of Delft.

However, the Great Wall is different.

The companies, ultimately driven by wealth and power, saw no profit in selling newspapers in a land of warriors consumed by endless battles.

Therefore, discarded newspapers from the continent, like white snow spat out by the sky, gather sporadically in the Great Wall, resembling wastepaper.

Flip—

Lord East, Cain, unfolded one such newspaper in the corner of a dimly lit tavern.

The pages were out of order, the paper wrinkled. However, the articles themselves remained intact, making it bearable to read with a bit of patience.

“Lord, what are you looking at?”

The warrior, Turtle’s companion, whose mouth possessed a uniquely sharp voice, inquired.

Cain casually showed him the section he was reading.

「Today, the Iron-Blooded Princess drinks the blood of her enemies once more. We must immediately drag down the merciless princess who knows neither pity nor tears and is uncertain whether she is a princess or not.

Are there no heroes?

Just as the hero of ‘Summer’ fought against the Demon King, a hero of the empire must rise to confront the demonic Iron-Blooded Princess. We must not forget the spirit and history of Kreuz.

…….」

The warrior, Snout, grimaced with a wry smile.

“Such an emotional article.”

“It’s probably written by a faction opposing the Iron-Blooded Princess. They can’t match her in terms of justification, so they’re resorting to emotional propaganda.”

One of Cain’s few pleasures in the Great Wall was reading the newspaper.

It wasn’t that he was particularly curious about anything. It was simply a habit from his childhood, reading whenever there were words before him.

However, if there was a topic that piqued Cain’s interest, it was the story of the Iron-Blooded Princess, who was uniting the fragmented empire.

“I heard the state of the Alsace territory, recently seized by the Iron-Blooded Princess’s forces, was appalling. The lord himself, despite possessing abundant fertile land, was said to have fallen into heresy, offering human sacrifices to devils.”

Cain glanced at Snout.

A face that was as white as snow.

His slender physique seemed more fitting of a Holy See priest than a warrior of the Great Wall.

“Do devils truly exist?”

“Of course. Why else would wizards study something called demonology? It’s to covet the power of those beings that have existed since before the dawn of human history.”

A faint smile.

Even his smile seemed sacred.

However, Cain, already aware of Snout’s true nature and why he had come to the Great Wall, shook his head.

“I’ve slain thousands of monsters, but none of them were devils. If they haven’t appeared until now, they likely won’t in the future.”

Snout looked at Cain with a slightly troubled expression before nodding.

“You’re probably right. The human density in the Great Wall is too low.”

“Density?”

“They possess knowledge of everything and the potential to do anything. But they are incomplete beings who require humans to utilize their power.”

“Why is that?”

He wasn’t particularly curious.

However, in the Great Wall, where even trivial conversations could serve as entertainment for months, he found himself asking, drawn by Snout’s eloquence.

In the Great Wall, perhaps even in the entire continent, the warrior most knowledgeable about devils, Snout, answered without erasing his smile.

“They are inferior fragments of sacred treasures that grant human wishes. Mere crumbs of the seasons. Imitations of the Sacred Treasures of the Four Seasons, the true transcendental truths beyond our universe.”

“So, you’re saying they’re insignificant without humans to make wishes?”

“If a devil were to willingly abandon its devilish nature, it might be able to act independently. But otherwise, they are no different from frozen statues until someone makes a wish.”

Would he ever encounter a devil in his lifetime?

Cain etched Mouth’s complex words into his memory, recalling that he was once a professor at the most prestigious academy in the Holy See.

🔹🔹🔹

“Whatever you do, don’t respond to any whispers.”

Lourens handed Princess Elena a silver, cross-shaped earring.

Clink—

He, as well as Headmaster Wiseman, who would be accompanying them into the dungeon, wore identical earrings.

“The Devil of Lies, Procell. It hasn’t been long since this ‘night’ began, and the hero has the one he would have made a contract with apprehended, so he shouldn’t have any contractors yet.”

Elena nodded as she put on the earring, threading it through her pierced earlobe.

Lourens walked past her, took out the remaining earring, and approached Cain. However, he stopped, a wry smile on his face, and put it back in his pocket.

“It seems a hero has no need for an artifact that blocks a devil’s whispers.”

His gaze fell upon Cain’s waist. There, gleaming brilliantly, was the golden holy sword, ‘Summer’.

In the face of such absolute holiness, a thousand such artifacts would be meaningless.

Cain shook his head.

He extended his right hand.

“Still, better safe than sorry.”

Lourens took the earring out of his pocket again and was about to hand it over when he paused, his eyes fixed on Cain’s palm.

Calluses upon calluses.

Scratched, torn, and split.

And hardened once more.

Just as a person’s life is etched onto their face by the time they reach forty, Cain’s life was etched onto his right hand.

A noble of the empire would be just starting their academy days, spending their time drinking and playing with children their own age.

But Cain’s hand told a different story.

“……Your hand resembles…”

Unlike his usual self, who carefully considered his words before speaking, Lourens blurted out.

Cain took the artifact from him, pierced his ear, and put it on, asking,

“Resembles who?”

“I once saw the Knight Lord Duke’s hand, and it gave off the same feeling.”

The Strongest Sword of the Empire.

The invincible knight, said to have been capable of slaying the Demon King in eleven days if only he could wield a holy sword.

The one who stood at the pinnacle of all knights in the empire with his overwhelming might, holding the position of one of the three dukes for decades.

Piamon Arangot.

Lourens himself found it incredible that he sensed a resemblance to Duke Arangot in Cain.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Cain gave a slight nod.

‘It would be interesting to meet him someday.’

The Sword of the Empire, Duke Piamon Arangot.

The Sword of the Holy See, Master Paladin Leonardo Andrea.

The Sword of the Great Wall, Lord East Johnny-Walker.

If asked to name the strongest individuals on the continent, Cain would mention these three.

If he were to choose four, he would naturally consider Edmund Ethelred as well, but he didn’t want to include Edmund in this.

As someone who also walked the path of the sword, Cain was curious and had intended to visit the Sword Tower if possible while in the empire.

He also needed to find clues about the new sword he had obtained at Ethelred’s Cliff.

[‘Winter’ says that she would choose Cain.]

[‘Summer’ says that it’s no use trying to compete with him.]

[‘Winter’ erases her smile and clenches her fist.]

Preparations to enter the dungeon where the devil Procell was hiding were complete.

Headmaster Wiseman looked at Cain and the other two and spoke.

“The dungeons here are normally used by academy students for their final exams. It wouldn’t have been too difficult, but with Procell inside, there’s no telling what might have happened.”

Thump—

She struck the ground with her staff.

“Even with the artifacts I gave you, it might be difficult to block the devil’s whispers. From the moment he hijacked this ‘night,’ Procell became a devil beyond human comprehension.”

Shhhhhhh—

The lake parted.

The mana-infused water split precisely down the middle, like clay, towards the center of the lake.

And there, in the center, was a door made of red-tinged stone, created by Wiseman’s target magic.

The four of them exchanged greetings with Anje and Mauve and stepped into the lake. The sight of the water rippling beside them was spectacular, even though no living creatures inhabited it.

“Dungeons below 3-star have a simple structure with less than ten rooms. You just need to defeat all the monsters that appear…”

Wiseman’s narrow eyes darted towards Princess Elena.

She was a wizard, and Lourens was an intelligence agent who had once outsmarted her. Moreover, Cain was a true hero, so she had no worries about him.

However, she wondered if it was wise to bring Elena, who had nothing to her credit other than the number 13th princess.

“I understand.”

Elena lightly acknowledged Wiseman’s worried gaze.

Her attitude was so nonchalant that one might think she was unaware of the dangers of the dungeon.

‘Her demeanor has changed quite a bit.’

Cain observed Elena.

When they first met, Elena was a timid but outspoken girl.

Then she was a princess, and now she was a dignified and strong woman, to the point where he almost forgot who she used to be.

He wondered if this was the true face of the Iron-Blooded Princess, but he couldn’t be sure.

‘There are so many princesses with similar names.’

If they lined up all the 99 princesses named Elena, they could probably fill an entire academy classroom.

Cain continued to observe Elena, who was giving off a strange aura, before speaking.

“Let’s go in.”

“Good. I don’t care who does it, just catch Procell quickly and end this damned ‘night’.”

Wiseman and Lourens nodded. And so, the four of them entered the 1-star dungeon simultaneously.

🔹🔹🔹

Whooooosh—

A pleasantly cool, moist breeze blew. When Cain opened his eyes, he saw a pitch-black night.

A river of stars flowed across the sky, and brilliant lights flickered around it, illuminating the ground.

And on the ground……

Fwoosh—

A rather heavy, chilly wind blew, as if something was breathing.

It ruffled Cain’s black hair and lifted the beautiful blonde hair of the expressionless Elena, who was standing next to him.

They both realized, upon seeing each other, that they had been separated from the other two.

“It’s hydrangeas.”

Elena correctly identified the sea of red and blue flowers that stretched to the horizon.

“A field of flowers on a clear night.”

It was endless.

He smiled wryly at the vastness of the space, unlike the usual 1-star dungeon, which typically consisted of a single large room. It was clear that the devil had influenced the dungeon.

“Have you been inside many dungeons, Cain-nim?”

Elena tilted her head.

“Quite a few. But this is my first time in a dungeon with a devil.”

“I see. It’s my first time. But I’ve always wanted to see the inside of a dungeon.”

Clench—

Elena clenched her fists.

Cain silently stepped behind her and crossed his arms.

“I heard that if you’re unlucky, you might end up in a different room from your companions.”

“Just like now.”

“Yes. I’ve always wanted to be unlucky. There were so many things I couldn’t do outside because of all the eyes watching me.”

Rustle━

The magic that concealed her appearance faded. It was as if she had gathered even the power that maintained the illusion into her fists.

Cain gestured with his chin towards the front.

A heat haze rose from the blue hydrangea field, where blood-red hydrangeas bloomed here and there. It then transformed into small monsters with green skin.

Based on the vastness of the flower field, there were at least two hundred enemies. This was definitely not the level of a 1-star dungeon.

Elena smiled as she watched the enemies appear.

“There’s one here too, but I believe you’ll pretend not to see, being a hero and all.”

Before Cain could answer.

Thud—

Elena’s left foot, which seemed to have been born for a beast but lived as a herbivore, stomped on the ground.

She instantly crushed the flower petals beneath her foot.

Crash!

The next moment, she appeared before the nearest green monster, her knee smashing into its head.

Splatter—

The dying monster’s green blood and flesh splattered onto the flower field, and she unleashed a storm of green, her fists flying.

‘Clean.’

The storm was so fierce that there was no need for Cain to uncross his arms.

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