Woosh!
Chapter 292: The Prophecy Points to Death (4)
*
The Deloheim Church has fallen.
To be precise, it’s in the process of falling. It’s been like this long before Sara was even born. For centuries, the Deloheim Church has faced a steady decline.
Despite that, the church still holds a considerable influence, but it’s a mere shadow of its past glory.
The higher-ups in the church chase after their former glory, wishing to climb higher with the divine’s might. They long for the brilliant past when even the king had to remain silent before the church.
Dreaming of a past they never experienced and can’t even reach is delusion at best. Under normal circumstances, it would have remained just that—a delusion.
Until the emergence of a new saint, a candidate capable of carrying the future of the church for the next few centuries.
“This child is a gift from the divine.”
“Child, your name will now be Sara.”
“You will become the representative of the church.”
Born with divine blessings.
In the church’s long history, no one else has been born with such powerful blessings as this girl. Therefore, the church locked her in a small room and repeatedly educated her.
All believers exist for the divine.
You are the divine’s apostle, so the believers exist for you. Use them as you please. They are your children, just like your possessions.
They instilled a distorted faith.
By arranging meetings with nobility who shared this distorted faith, Sara bestowed blessings upon the aging nobles. This allowed the church to grow its power.
“This can’t be happening.”
“We can’t let this happen···!”
“Kyle, Kyle Toven!”
Until the hero appeared, that was how it was.
Kyle Toven. From the moment that powerful figure with Starlight appeared, the church’s plans went astray. When the hero requested the saint’s company, the church could not refuse him.
Tradition built over centuries demanded it.
No matter how corrupt the church had become, they could not change a tradition built over centuries. Thus, when Sara joined the hero on his journey, the church’s elders whispered in her ear.
“Sara, do you know the true nature of that hero? He was originally a noble’s slave. A lowly man doing menial work under a noble.”
“That kind of person dares to pretend to speak the divine’s will. That person is a heretic. Do not get close to him. Drive him away, return to the church.”
Sara faithfully implemented their words.
And so, in the early stages of the journey, Sara frequently tormented Kyle, until one day she stopped.
“I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you···.”
She had once been captured by the Demon Lord’s Army due to her own mistake.
They did not kill Sara immediately but locked her away in a room where divine voices could not reach. In that room, Sara had to spend sleepless nights in fear.
No one came.
For someone who had lived every day hearing the divine’s voice, the disconnection was a fear like never before.
“Deloheim, Deloheim, O Divine.”
In her terror, Sara cried out to the divine. Her voice did not reach the divine. Although it ultimately failed to reach them···.
Rustle.
It reached one human.
“I’ve come to save you, Sara.”
The hero she had bullied.
“Grab it. We need to escape quickly.”
Sara could no longer dismiss Kyle, who appeared before her, cutting through the darkness. Thus, she faced this human called Kyle for the first time.
Curiosity piqued. Interest sparked.
It didn’t take long for that to twist into affection.
*
“Kyle.”
Sara sees the human standing before her.
The one who broke down the walls surrounding her. The human she has come to cherish most.
“Let’s leave it here.”
The human accounted for a larger part of her than Deloheim. Looking at Kyle Toven, Sara said.
“There’s no need to face the Death’s Blade, right? All we need to do is share this information and sound the evacuation order in the north. We don’t need to step into this battlefield···.”
Prophecies only see the future that must happen.
Prophets cannot change the futures they see. Only others, who have not seen that future, can create variables.
“So.”
So, what she is saying now means absolutely nothing. With that knowledge, Sara continued speaking.
“There’s no need for Kyle to risk his life, right?”
“······.”
“Isn’t that right? Who is supposed to face the Death’s Blade? Who can face a monster that swings a sword and obliterates canyons?”
Sara pleaded.
“It’s futile. You’ll just die if you go.”
“Did I die in a dream?”
At Kyle’s words, Sara gasped.
Kyle continued to silently look at Sara. Overwhelmed by his gaze, she eventually turned her head.
“Sara.”
“······.”
“Sara, let me ask you one more thing.”
Kyle placed his hand on Sara’s shoulder.
“Who was beside me?”
“···That’s.”
“I think, if this prophecy spreads and we gather forces powerful enough to stand against the Death’s Blade··· that person will definitely be included. That person will surely appear there.”
His voice was filled with conviction.
“Even if I don’t go there. Even if Destel or any other superhuman don’t show up, and the odds become nonexistent··· that person will go there alone.”
If it’s that person, they will surely do so.
Hearing Kyle mumble with such certainty, Sara felt an inkling of madness.
“Raniel.”
Kyle spoke.
“Raniel van Trias. Wasn’t that person by my side?”
Sara couldn’t say a word.
If she affirmed that statement, Kyle would undoubtedly go there. Ultimately, in the silence, Sara shook her head, but Kyle, who had spent so much time with her, was not easily deceived.
“I knew it.”
That level of lie wouldn’t work.
“In that case, I’m going too.”
“Kyle···!”
Sara raised her voice, but it seemed Kyle wasn’t listening. Sara looked at Kyle. Because they had been together for so long, Sara could pierce through Kyle’s thoughts just as he could with hers.
So, observing Kyle’s expression, Sara bit her lip.
He had already made his decision.
That decision would never be overturned. Kyle Toven was undoubtedly obstinate in some ways.
‘Why···!’
She couldn’t understand.
Why, even after she pushed him away, was he so obsessed with Raniel? Why did he keep worrying about the wizard’s actions?
In the midst of this, Kyle spoke.
“I must go.”
Kyle adjusted his sword’s hilt.
“If that person goes there, then I must go too.”
Not a choice, but an obligation.
It was almost as if Kyle was saying that.
*
“Don’t you use a greatsword?”
“Pardon?”
“I mean a greatsword, a big sword.”
“Why suddenly a greatsword…?”
Rania pointed at the axe held by Lac.
“Do you have any thoughts about handling a big weapon? Doesn’t a greatsword seem like it would fit in your hands? Perhaps a weapon you would use more comfortably is a greatsword…?”
Even as she spoke, she felt it was unlikely, so Rania trailed off. She questioned what she was doing, but it was a necessary confirmation process.
“I’m best with an axe.”
Lac tilted his head, pulling out the axe strapped to his waist. The spinning handaxe he caught in midair was quite impressive.
“The first weapon I held as a child was an axe, and swords just don’t feel right in my hand.”
Lac scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“They’re easy to throw, and there’s a certain pleasure in swinging down. With swords, it feels like there’s something missing in the sensation of breaking.”
Having spoken so much, it felt odd to ask more.
Rania sighed inwardly and recalled what she had seen at the holy site in the north. The hollow greatsword placed at the center of the lake.
Ganikalt van Galatrick.
The Holy Sword used by the First Hero (???).
Even after such a long time, the starlight contained in that sword had not dulled. And Rania, who had witnessed the past in the north’s tower, understood how absurd that sword was.
‘A sword that exterminates demons (?). It was called something like a sacred blade…’
To Rania, it was not something so simple.
The sword itself radiated starlight. The sword wielded by the first Sword Saint was something beyond mere blades.
“It really seems like you should be using it.”
Rania subtly shot a glance at Lac.
Lac, blinking as if he didn’t understand, swinging the greatsword was an image even Rania found hard to imagine.
Yet, without a doubt, it was a sword prepared for Lac.
The connection between Ganikalt and the Grace family.
Rania could not ignore it. Before, she had been uncertain, but now, through Lac’s trials, the connection with Ganikalt had become evident.
“Should I start teaching you to wield a sword now…?”
“Is that why you called me?”
Rania glanced sideways.
There sat Kalt, looking extremely tired, perched on a tree stump. He looked so weary one might want to tell him to go take a nap.
“You always look sleepy every time I see you.”
“I actually am sleepy. Lately, eschatologists have been swarming the royal capital, and these little bugs keep sneaking in during the chaos.”
After Galahal’s death, many have started preaching that a dark age will soon arrive. And there are those who wish to manipulate such people from behind.
“No matter how many I catch, it never ends. Every time those punks think they’re getting away from me, it just makes me laugh. It’s problematic because that actually works.”
“…What on earth did they do?”
“I grind up the ones I mark.”
“Grind up?”
“Yes, literally… um. That’s not a conversation for a student like you.”
Rania shot Lac a glare.
Then, she flicked her finger. Lac nodded and plugged his ears.
“Now, tell me.”
“…Is that enough?”
“Yeah. That’s fine. So, what do you mean by grinding?”
“I tear them apart and throw them everywhere. I toss them into every corner, so tracking becomes impossible… I end up coming back empty-handed every time.”
“…I think you know the person.”
“Yeah, that’s the problem.”
Kalt nodded.
This method was one that the Demon Lord’s Army had utilized when Kalt was still on the battlefield. Once he marks a target, Kalt doesn’t lose it. Therefore, using that point, they sealed Kalt’s tracking.
“I can’t help but feel that there’s something odd about whoever’s orchestrating this from behind.”
Kalt said.
“At first, I thought it was just some petty criminal trying to cause a bit of chaos, but it doesn’t seem like that anymore. Following the trail, I discovered traces of a biological experiment, and the scale keeps growing. That’s why I’ve been so busy lately.”
“I see.”
“And just when I thought I might finally have a breather to catch up on sleep…”
Kalt glanced at Rania with sleepy eyes.
“You called me, after all.”
“Guess it turned out that way.”
Rania smiled awkwardly. She hesitated to say anything and eventually opened her mouth.
“You know, I stayed up for ten days straight, and it was more manageable than I expected…”
“Is that supposed to be comforting?”
“No, I just thought I’d mention it…”
Kalt sighed and gestured to Lac.
“So you want me to teach that kid how to use a sword?”
“Yeah.”
Rania gestured to Lac.
Lac dropped his hands from his ears and stood before Kalt.
“Hmm.”
Kalt scanned Lac.
“Your body is well built, and honestly, I think you’d handle anything well. You have a basic physique.”
“Isn’t that right?”
“Let’s see how you do.”
Kalt called Lac closer and unsheathed his sword, handing it over to Lac.
“This is a sword among swords. It will never break, so swing it as hard as you can. Aim for that tree over there.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lac took his stance.
Gripping the sword tightly, he swung it down like he would with an axe. The sword was swung with enough force that it sank into the tree with a THUD!
CRACK!
The bark of the tree shattered.
It was not merely cut; it was smashed. Upon closer inspection, the wood around where the sword had sunk in had completely splintered.
“Whoa.”
Kalt exclaimed.
“I doubt I could even do that if asked.”
Just swinging with sheer strength was enough to easily fell a tree. Seeing Lac swing at it like chopping firewood was…
“I don’t think he has a talent for swords, Senior.”
He was astonishingly devoid of talent with swords. Kalt shook his head as if teaching him would be of no use. Just as Lac was about to return the sword to Kalt…
Thud, Boom!
Suddenly, a tree fell with a loud noise. Kalt and Rania both froze. Their eyes locked onto the fallen tree, but the problem was its position.
It wasn’t the tree the sword was embedded in.
From a distance, another tree suddenly tilted and hit the ground with a THUD, followed by several more trees falling with a booming sound. Kalt and Rania turned their heads in sync to look at Lac.
“Pardon? What’s going on?”
Only Lac blinked, totally clueless.
The distant trees had been shattered into pieces.
