chapter 20
20 – 5-The presence of a god
As Helga Sentel said, exactly after 15 days, Paretta Island was visible from afar.
“Well, that’s chilly. We haven’t even crossed the enemy line yet.”
I watched Paretta Island approach from the bow as I adjusted my clock.
Jin trembled in the air as if surprised by something in her.
[I can feel the energy of the demon king Moloch this far. The last time I ran into it, it wasn’t this strong…….]
“A thousand years have passed since you were sealed. The Demon King must have come up with some kind of countermeasure.”
[What are you talking about and getting lost in? Who do you think is the creepy idiot that’s crawling in there right now?]
…… How is it, Jin, are you talking more and more harshly?
Anyway, that wasn’t good news.
The one who threatens my life right now is my father, Kanniel De Yeevitz, but the one to be killed ultimately is the demon king Moloch.
If the demon king was alive, it would be meaningless to run away to the edge of the continent.
There was really nothing special about Paretta Island.
The port with only an assortment of colors and the outpost built erratically with wooden fences were unattractive.
Except for a few wooden buildings, they were all tents.
It’s not some kind of ancient Vikings.
I could roughly guess why the Humanity Lighthouse Knights assigned to Lighthouse Village were as desperate as those assigned to Keldarin Castle.
If other knights had been put in a place like this, a rebellion would have occurred right away.
It was possible because it was the Humanity Lighthouse, which had no rank.
“Hey, something comes out every time you breathe.”
“What? Really? Uh, so do you!”
Seeing this for the first time in their lives, the candidates exclaimed in amazement.
Enjoy the moment.
Do you have to watch until you get tired of it?
The sailboat anchored in the harbor loaded and unloaded the knight.
Candidates also set foot on Paretta Island under the guidance of the instructors.
“Now I can see the glacier from a distance.”
“Yes, you can see it occasionally on sunny days. Snow comes much more often than before.”
The candidates went into the outpost, breaking through the chatter between the knights and instructors who boarded the ship to change.
At dawn, the candidates of the Humanity Lighthouse were scheduled to celebrate the beginning of a grandiose ancient ceremony at the outpost.
For the rest of the time, the candidates relaxed their travels by making friends with the lighthouse knights.
The outpost warmed up and gave the candidates a drink.
It was only two or three cups before the ceremony, but that alone made the faces of the candidates much brighter.
“Don’t forget the bet. If there really is a devil, ten thousand liv is mine.”
“……I don’t know yet.”
Barton didn’t seem to believe it until he saw it with his own eyes.
Or maybe it’s because he doesn’t want to lose to Amber, who’s really ready to take off Libra.
Either way his future didn’t look so bright.
After a long dark night, the dawn began to break in the distance.
All the candidates boarded a small boat.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid.
Setting foot in the legendary homeland was not a privilege granted to just anyone.
Only the Humanity Lighthouse was possible.
Before departure, the outpost saw us off.
“Everyone who has come this far. Congratulations. Do you know where this is? This Paretta Island is the end of the world that humans can go to. There are only a few people who can come this far.”
He gave a short word of encouragement to his candidate, spitting out words that many military writers have heard.
“What you guys have to do is very simple. Kill the first demon you encounter in Homeland and bring its corpse back here. The corpse will be used as a sacrifice and the resolution of the Lighthouse of Humanity that has been handed down from generation to generation in this outpost. Will be hardened. Good luck.”
After a brief encouragement from the outpost, the ship departed for Homeland.
*
The hour of dawn, when even the rising sun seems hazy because of the haze.
The knights slowly drove the boat, using mana to boost their eyesight.
“Now, the candidates are crossing the enemy line.”
At those words, I also injected magic into my eyes.
Then I saw a huge line dividing the huge sea in a straight line.
The red line shone red between the blue and black.
‘It’s strange. But why is it red?’
I knew that no matter how bad my aesthetic sense was, you couldn’t get red by mixing blue and black.
It was a phenomenon that did not even make sense scientifically.
Jin answered my question.
[Because this enemy ship is a magic circle.]
‘A magic circle?’
[Yes. What do you think is the reason why the continent of Esteria is warm? It’s all because me, Dragonak, and the World Tree protected this continent.]
‘What do you mean by that?’
[During the war against demons in the past, I created numerous volcanoes in the sea to weaken the power of the demon lord Moloch. I was thinking of getting rid of Moloch’s coldness by raising the temperature of the world.]
‘Wait! No way, that volcano…….’
[Yes, that place is probably Red Hill.]
My God.
The red hill that spreads ashes all over the continent of Esteria is this guy’s work?
How many accidents has this guy gotten into?!
[At that time, my strategy was quite effective. The temperature soared, halving the power of the demon king Moloch. Furthermore, the super dragon Dragonak used the mana from the volcano to create a magic circle.]
“Is that the enemy ship?’
[Yes, this enemy ship was originally a trap to trap Moloch. If it had gone according to Dragonak’s plan, Moloch would have died slowly without being able to escape in the rising temperature and the union of the three gods.]
‘You thought it was a checkmate, but you got it reversed?’
In her folktales, Jin is presented as an idiot intoxicated with her own strength.
Draigonak’s strategy pushed Moloch to the limit and tells Jin.
I’m alone, so why are the three against me?
Jin, are you afraid of me?
Jin, who fell for the devil’s provocation, fought against Moloch alone, and was eventually defeated and sealed.
The Three Gods Union, which drove the demon king to the edge, could not finish off the demon king Moloch due to Jin’s absence.
[…] … Not much different.]
“Wow, I didn’t see that. You’re more stupid than you look?’
However, Jin told an unexpected story.
[Moloch, trapped inside enemy lines, slaughtered the people of Esteria.]
As if recalling the incident, Jin’s voice was covered in darkness like frost.
Jin said to Dragonak and the World Tree.
We, who came down to lead the humans, can’t let the slaughter go unchecked.
Dragonak and the World Tree ignored Jin’s words.
If you hit Moloch now, the sacrifices you’ve made so far will be meaningless.
When the population of the Esteria Continent was reduced by half, and even the groans of agony faded, Jin led his followers and stood in front of Moloch.
[It was Moloch’s ploy to target me, who is easily swayed by emotions. I went through it knowing that. Moloch precisely bit off the weak link.]
Then, it was the same as letting go of Moloch for the sake of mankind living in Esteria at the time.
It was a foolish act to throw away the pole for the cow.
Still, the heart to criticize Jin has completely disappeared.
[By the way. I can understand if it’s being pierced by Moloch’s power, but why is the enemy line itself fading? Red Hill is the same, but something is strange. What happened to Dragonak?]
Jin looked at the enemy ship in a serious tone, as if the past was good.
I didn’t get an answer saying yes.
Leaving Jin’s worries behind, the boat arrived at the frozen coast of Homeland.
“I’ll walk from here.”
The instructors also drew their swords and lowered their bodies as if they were nervous.
Candidates also started slowly.
This is the realm of the devil.
A backcountry untouched by human hands for a long time.
No one knew what was going to happen, no matter how coastal it was.
The soft snow on the frozen sea made my feet splatter whenever they touched. Feeling quite different from Jae, the candidates looked at their feet several times awkwardly.
Visibility was not properly secured due to the thick fog.
I calmly scattered mana and searched for it.
Fortunately, only a few of the lowest-ranking demon icicles were caught.
This is where the demon king’s rule comes directly, so it was much stronger than the icicle dog in the dungeon where Jin was sealed.
A single sword user would do anything, but if there were more than one, their lives were in danger.
Of course, that only applies to sword users.
There were only five sword experts here, including four instructors.
“I’ll go through this ritual comfortably.”
The instructors who completed the search just like me breathed a sigh of relief.
“Was it difficult?”
A curious candidate asked the instructor.
“Yes, our top jockey seniors said that the first demon they encountered was Death Nitra, when two instructors and 8 out of 15 candidates died.”
“Yeah, that’s terrible.”
Although the candidates had never encountered a demon, they were familiar with its strength by learning demonology.
Even if it was a lieutenant demon, it was only possible to compete with a sword expert.
But a high-ranking demon?
It must have been hell for the candidates at the time.
It was good that he came back alive.
‘I must have been overly worried, Jin.’
Jin, who should have responded to my sarcasm, did not respond.
Come to think of it, at some point, I couldn’t see the lump of flame that should always be fluttering around and flying around.
I don’t know the details, but something was happening.
That’s probably a very bad thing.
“…Help me…Give me…”
At that moment, a sound that I shouldn’t have heard pierced my ears.