〈 Chapter 273 〉 The Holy Knight Doesn’t Believe in God (3)
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Right after Karioth headed to the blacksmith, Rania rested her chin on her hand and fiddled with the Holy Grail on the table. The two challengers before had not become superhumans.
‘Honestly, I thought Nadion would make it.’
Although he was an old man with white hair, Nadion always looked up at greater heights. In Rania’s view, Nadion was fully qualified to become a superhuman.
She looked at the wall. She keenly felt her own weakness.
She bowed her head in despair, but she never gave up. She lifted her gaze once more, wishing to reach what was unachievable.
That was the essence of being a superhuman (??), and the mindset that Nadion possessed. Rania felt bitterness at the thought that someone like Nadion could not overcome the wall.
The reason Nadion could not overcome the wall was brutally harsh.
“If only I were a little younger, I could have crossed that wall. What a pity. The passage of time is cruel.”
Old age (?).
Nadion’s soul desired strength, but his body could no longer keep up with the strength of his soul. The body, swept away by the passage of time, had already become broken.
‘… It has been too long.’
Even the heroes of history grow old and frail.
As long as one is born human, they cannot be free from the passage of time, and eventually, they will grow old and die. Lost in thought about the world’s providence, Rania suddenly let out a laugh.
“Neither you nor I will grow old and die.”
Maybe it was the price of meddling with means that go beyond providence.
In response to Rania’s words, Galahal smiled bitterly.
“That’s true.”
The time given to both of them was not long.
They lived lives that were light-years away from ordinary life. Naturally, the ordinary ending of growing old and dying was not possible.
“By the way, Rania.”
Galahal changed the subject.
“Who is that person called Karioth?”
“Hmm?”
“You said his alias was Immortal (死), right? I’ve never met him.”
“Hmm.”
Rania pondered.
Who exactly was Karioth? It was not an easy question to answer. He could not be summed up in just one sentence.
“It’s not easy to explain what kind of person Uncle Karioth is, you see.”
“From the way you call him ‘Uncle’… he must be someone you like?”
“Hmm? Why do you say that?”
As Rania tilted her head, Galahal answered with his eyes half-open.
“Someone you don’t like usually gets cursed out regardless of age difference, you know?”
“People deserve to be treated like people.”
As Rania lightly brushed off Galahal’s words, she continued to ponder.
The immortal Karioth, or the blasphemous Karioth.
The first time she encountered him was when she received a telegram about the late reinforcements from the Deloheim Church and headed to the church’s grounds. There, Rania had seen him.
“Move aside, Karioth.”
“I won’t budge even if I die, Your Eminence. I can’t concede this.”
Karioth was single-handedly blocking the Deloheim Church’s army.
Looking at the soldiers facing off against Karioth, she thought of how many orphans there were in the church.
Children abandoned by their parents are taken in by the church and raised as soldiers. Those children currently facing off against Karioth were also such orphans.
However, even considering that, they were far too young.
Rania, who had not realized that the reinforcements were organized in such a ‘ridiculous’ manner, frowned. Meanwhile, Karioth shouted with his arms wide open.
“I won’t kill them, but I’ll make sure they can’t walk for a month. This Uncle is merciful.”
Recalling what Karioth had said to the cardinal earlier, Rania responded to Galahal’s question.
“… A person who doesn’t believe in God?”
There was no certainty in Rania’s words.
Galahal blinked in surprise.
“Someone who doesn’t believe in… what?”
“Right.”
“He’s a Holy Knight, isn’t he?”
“That’s right.”
“And yet he doesn’t believe in God?”
“Hmm. It’s a bit complicated to explain.”
Rania made a mysterious expression.
“He doesn’t believe in God, but he thinks the existence of God is necessary. Apparently, people need an object of faith or something like that…”
“That sounds complicated.”
“To be honest, I don’t fully understand it myself. I just grasped the nuance of it all.”
Rania shrugged.
“If you’re really curious, why not just go meet him?”
She pointed toward the direction of the blacksmith.
“I’m sure you’d understand right away what kind of person Uncle Karioth is.”
2.
What is the will of God?
And where is that will located?
At that question, Sara blinked. It wasn’t because she was flustered. She blinked in disbelief at the ridiculousness of the person in front of her, who posed such an obvious question.
“Are you asking because you don’t know?”
“I haven’t learned anything so I’m asking. Would the smart Saint Miss help this Uncle out?”
Karioth chuckled awkwardly.
Sara opened her mouth with a sour expression.
“Save people. Head towards where the light points. Salvation is the wind of Deloheim. That’s the most basic verse.”
“Do you think there’s God’s will in that?”
“Of course. What the perfect Deloheim desires is the salvation of humanity… Isn’t salvation the ultimate goal we should pursue?”
Sara, the face of the church, was experienced in standing before crowds. Connecting fancy words to explain vague concepts was her specialty.
“Saving humanity. That’s the will of God.”
Sara shrugged.
However, that was not an answer for Karioth.
“If Deloheim wishes for salvation, then… why does the all-powerful Star remain silent on human salvation?”
Karioth, who had also been a member of the church for much longer than Sara, asked her again.
“Even though the world looks like this, salvation doesn’t come. Deloheim is silent. He won’t even reach a hand toward dying children.”
Karioth said with an expressionless face.
“Is it because God cannot interfere with this world? Maybe that was a plausible answer centuries ago. But it’s not the case now. There are already poisonous beings like that in this world.”
The Demon Lord (?).
“Even though such beings exist, God still remains silent. I don’t know how long he will remain silent. Perhaps he won’t speak until this world comes to an end.”
“God sends heroes and saints to….”
“A history that has repeated for centuries. It’s a brutal act of forcing fate upon innocent children.”
Such a twisted hobby.
Muttering that, Karioth frowned. At his response, Sara squinted her eyes.
“You sound like an atheist. Are you an atheist, Karioth?”
“I’m not an atheist. No matter what anyone says, I’m a Holy Knight who uses God’s power. I have no intention of denying God’s existence.”
“Really?”
Sara snapped back with annoyance in her voice.
“For someone who thinks so, you sure have doubts about God’s existence.”
“I’m not doubting God’s existence.”
Karioth tapped his forehead.
“I’m doubting God’s perfection.”
“… What do you mean?”
“It means that God is not a perfect being. Deloheim is not always the one providing answers. He is certainly not a being to give favorable intentions.”
He reached out toward the window.
The fingers pointing towards the sky. A brilliant star that would be looking down on this place from beyond the sky.
“There is no will of God anywhere, Saint Miss.”
If such a thing truly existed, then…
Karioth pointed to his own head.
“It would be here.”
“… What do you mean by that?”
“If you believe in God and act in what you think is right, then God’s will would reside there.”
“That’s a logic that heretics would love.”
“Ha ha. That’s also correct.”
Karioth answered with a bitter smile.
“But, I did say it, Saint Miss.”
“What did you say?”
“God’s will is not always right. Countless people perform God’s will in their own ways. However, not all of them are right. The heretics you speak of are those who say that the wrong path is also right.”
Some walk the wrong path while proclaiming it to be God’s will. Karioth had seen such people. He had stained his hands with them, too. Quite a lot.
“Those who walk the wrong path while proclaiming the will of God are even more numerous. The current church is exactly like that.”
“… I see why you’ve been branded a heretic. That’s difficult to digest.”
She’s starting to find it annoying.
Sara ruffled her hair and glared at Karioth. The green-eyed gaze perceived Karioth’s body to be well-trained. Moreover, that body was accompanied by divinity.
The divinity that dwells within fallen believers (??).
The more one believes in God, the bigger the identity of this unfathomable force becomes.
The divinity that this man possessed was greater than any Holy Knight of the church. Comparable even to that of the Pope. That fact made Sara even more irritated.
“Then what exactly is the will of God that you believe in?”
Sara asked with annoyance in her voice.
Without the slightest hesitation, Karioth answered that question.
“A God who reaches out to children.”
A God who reaches out to crying children, to parentless children, to broken children.
“If I had to embrace the will of God, it would definitely be just that.”
As Karioth muttered, he pointed at Sara.
“I think you’re still young, Saint Miss.”
“How old do you think I am?”
“Twenty?”
“Twenty-five.”
“Then you’re still a child.”
Karioth chuckled as he began walking again, carrying the coffin on his back.
“Everyone younger than me is just a kid.”
3.
On the outskirts of Kateron Castle, there was a blacksmith.
Its size was small, but the forging equipment set up here would not fall short compared to the large workshops in the Royal Capital.
“I think I heard someone once called a master smith moved all his equipment here.”
I normally wouldn’t visit a blacksmith, and Kyle’s Holy Sword (??) didn’t need any maintenance, so I didn’t really have a reason to show up here…
“If it’s the blacksmith of Kateron Castle, isn’t it Master Stos? I owe him quite a lot.”
I remembered that Kalte used this blacksmith often.
I also remembered that the sword Kalte currently used was made by the blacksmith at the request of Uncle Kuntel.
“I haven’t met him personally, I’ve only heard rumors. Since my weapon never gets damaged…”
“The weapons of heroes are something else entirely.”
I glanced at the Holy Lance that Galahal carried on his back. Considering it was a spear, its length was excessive. I was sure if an ordinary spear was made that long… it would break before being swung a few times.
“Does it make sense that long spear doesn’t break?”
“Haha, it does bend somewhat.”
“Which makes it even more of a hassle. Don’t you end up jumping around with the recoil of the spear?”
“Exactly. A spear can do more things than one would expect.”
As we continued chatting about trivial things, we eventually arrived in front of the blacksmith. The heat was already palpable, and I slightly frowned.
Clang, clang!
The sound of metal being struck rang continuously through the cracks of the open door. Following the sound, we stepped into the blacksmith.
Clang!
Through the intense heat, someone was striking the metal while shirtless. Is that the blacksmith, Stos? I thought briefly, but that probability seemed low.
His back was covered in various scars.
Bite marks, cut wounds as if from a blade, and burn marks as if burned.
The man, with every kind of wound etched into his back, turned to look at us.
“Oh, what’s this?”
It was Karioth.
He put down the blade he was striking and waved his hand at us.
“Hey, it’s that girl I saw earlier. And the Hero of the Holy Lance is here too. What brings you here?”
“I’ve heard a lot of rumors, but it’s my first time meeting you, so I wanted to have a chat.”
Galahal smiled awkwardly as he approached Karioth.
Karioth blinked before bursting into laughter.
“To have the most heroic hero take an interest in me, what an honor!”
Putting down the blade and hammer in his hand, he stood up. Then, he reached out to Galahal who came forward, offering a handshake.
“You seem to have a lot of questions for me.”
“Yes, a bit…”
“But I can’t just give everything away for free.”
Karioth pointed outside the blacksmith.
“How about a friendly match?”
“Pardon?”
“I just want to see how skilled the Hero of the Holy Lance is. I like to challenge young guys to fights.”
Galahal looked bewildered and turned to me.
I shrugged and mouthed.
‘You get it, right?’
Karioth had displayed the same reaction when he first encountered me and when he first met Kyle.
‘No, I don’t understand at all….’
In response to Galahal’s silent mouthing, I smiled.
‘You’ll find out soon enough.’
The immortal Karioth.
A Holy Knight who has lived for thirty years in the Phantom Territory.
Once you engage with him, whether you like it or not, you will come to understand who this person is and how he lives.
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