chapter 13
Episode
13 .
Euron laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head as if embarrassed.
“hahahaha, yes. Not everyone is a hero. Even if it’s Sir Aiden, I don’t know.”
Euron can’t be a hero. Sein, who was very resolutely in denial, shook his hand as if he was a little sorry.
“no. If my brother works hard enough, he will be able to leave a line in the Bible. It’s just that Elohim Derk is an Artifact that responds to divine power… and, somehow, my brother can’t handle divine power… Heh, I’m sorry. Did you feel bad?”
“Ah, I’m not such a petty guy, am I? They say it responds to divine power more than that. The answer came.”
Euron shook his head. Sae-in followed him and looked around, but could not find anyone.
Just, the necklace that used to light up the outdoor garden slowly lost its brilliance.
*
Elohim Derk.
It was an artifact classified as an ancient relic, meaning a passage connected to God.
Elohim Derk guides the user to the ruins where the god’s Noble Phantasm rests.
In the game, you had to go through ten trials given by the Pope to obtain it, but a while ago, that was right in front of you.
Iden was thinking of getting the thing. I also made a plan.
The Pope’s Ordeal is famous for its heinous difficulty, but it was an artifact worth it.
I tried to take on the challenge only after a lot of time had passed and I got a little stronger, but I thought it might not be necessary.
Iden seemed to have a rough idea of what was going on.
In the original work, the church seems to have absorbed the artifact after throwing away the siblings. It must have been in the Pope’s hands.
Aiden was seized with a very strange feeling. It wasn’t the swallow that brought luck.
A terribly repulsive half-horse. My feelings for them were instincts that could not be explained by reason or common sense.
Just as humans hate pests, Iden hates demons.
Aiden sat down on the bed and let out a deep sigh.
Would I rather extort Sein’s necklace? no. Then Elohimderk might not respond. If the condition in the game is to pass the ordeal given by the Pope, another qualification will be needed in real life.
Basically, the owner’s approval was required. Sein and Aiden…
Those thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a knock.
“Paladin-nim, I’m Sein. May I come in for a moment?”
Aiden took a deep breath. My lungs inflated to the fullest. I should be able to last an hour or so.
“Come in.”
The door opened and Sein hesitantly opened his mouth.
“Sorry for being late. But, I have something to tell you…”
“Okay, come in and talk.”
As Sein took one step closer, the room became brighter little by little.
The glow emanating from her chest really puzzled Aiden.
If someone else had stood there instead of Sein, he might have greeted him with a happy smile.
On the other hand, Sein’s expression changed to confidence.
She put her hands behind her neck and unhooked the necklace.
“I want to give this to the paladin. I hope you will accept it.”
Aiden was taken aback for a moment. so easy? The moments I was worried about made me feel like an idiot.
I looked for a moment at the blue radiance emitted by the crystal jade.
Sein smiled brightly and held out the necklace.
“Master said so. If a great hero who will rewrite the Bible appears next to me, the jewel will respond. I guess I didn’t know because it was bright during the day. It shines so bright now. please accept I will lead the paladin to the ruins where the relic rests.
Iden had never seen unintended favor. Even more so in this world.
“You’re just giving me this?”
Sein hesitated a little before opening his mouth.
“······In fact, Master said that a great hero appeared and freed my brother and me from an unfortunate fate. But my brother has no such thing. They say the freedom gained by begging is just an illusion. My brother is an idiot and most of what Master said was right, but I think he was right this time.”
Kardak seemed to have taught Sein how to use a hero. That was probably the task Sein, the owner of Elohimderk, had to give.
Liberation from the shackles of the cult. However, Sein and Daryl kicked that opportunity with their feet.
If liberation had been offered as a condition, Aiden might have accepted it.
Would Se-in have said that even if he knew that he was of mixed blood? Aiden suddenly had such a question.
“Sein, do you know why the cult put your siblings in shackles?”
Sein nodded slowly.
“My parents said they had done a great disrespect to God and had to atone for it. The priest said that someday the day will come when God will forgive us brother and sister.”
I felt miserable. God and the church will never forgive them.
“You cannot be saved that way.”
“yes? but···”
Aiden looked at the handed over Elohim Derk.
“But since I owe you money, I will pay it back. Go out.”
*
At dawn, the task force left the inn and headed for the north gate of the city.
The North Gate was the closest entrance to the unexplored region, so most of the people who went in and out of it were adventurers.
Fortunately, the line wasn’t long. However, the faces of the people in front of them were distorted.
The few who failed to pass passed Iden’s side, spitting on the floor.
“f*cking assholes, what the f*ck are they controlling? Could that desert be Serengal’s domain? sh*t.”
“What is monster hunting? It’s a plague. I want you to search for it.”
“Please lower your voice. Do you want your tongue cut out? Ugh.”
Daryl looked at Iden’s eyes and opened his mouth. He was wearing a mask despite the hot weather.
“There, brothers! Why are you all so horny? Apparently, the soldiers picked it up. that’s right?”
A man from the crowd came up and shook his head as if his teeth were shaking.
“Don’t talk. The Lord has sealed everything up there to catch a Death Worm. The contract expiration date is approaching, but I can’t go out, so I won.”
It seemed that the lord of this place had a taste for monster hunting. He’s probably going to take all his troops and hunt them down.
“If your team doesn’t have more than gold adventurers, you’d better leave without wasting time.”
He left only those words and went back to his colleagues with a grunt.
Iden was very uncomfortable and bothered by these trifles, which he faced every time he could not reveal his identity.
While I was looking for words to talk about, my turn was already approaching. All of those ahead seemed to have failed passage.
“next.”
A soldier looked over the party with a very businesslike expression.
“What is your business?”
When Daryl approached and lowered the mask, the soldier’s stiff face relaxed a little.
“Who is this, Daryl?”
The two exchanged conversations for a long time, and at the end the soldier let out a deep sigh.
After a while, the castle gate rattled up.
“Be careful. If the lord finds out, you could end up in a bad way. You or me.”
“Don’t worry. Who am I?”
“Yes, you who eat even the devil are afraid of people.”
“hahahaha…, it’s hard to say that there are scary people.”
Daryl glanced at Iden, then looked away.
After the task force mounted camels, they immediately passed through the city gates.
The early morning desert was chilly. It was much better than hot, so the expression of the party was much more comfortable.
We checked our plan once again and headed for the tomb while chatting from time to time.
Euron was very conflicted when he learned that the siblings were half horses. It was unavoidable. The Church was a group whose mission was to exterminate demons, and Euron had always been brought up in such teachings.
Daryl never spoke unless necessary.
And all of a sudden, everyone shut up.
It was because the desert with such a large daily temperature difference gave off hot heat as the sun went towards mid-heaven, making it impossible to make noise.
Sistina approached Aiden and handed him a leather canteen.
“Sir Aiden, this is the transition point.”
It is impossible to enter the entrance of the ancient tomb confidently. The first destination was Lee Jin, which the divine magicians had worked on in advance.
“How much is left?”
“It’s near the mound over there.”
When Euron and Daryl broke down the small sand mountain, the hidden Suljin appeared.
Everyone got off the camels and sat around the edge of the wine rack.
“Finally, explain. The assembly point is on the 3rd basement level, at the rear of the altar where the ceremony is held.”
No one knew where it would metastasize underground. everyone will be scattered
Euron took a black priest’s uniform from his backpack and distributed it to everyone.
It was to disguise himself as a demonic cult.
After changing his clothes, Iden glanced at the crew members.
“God is with you. Everyone, I hope you are all right.”
Aiden nodded at Sein.
“Everyone please listen to the scroll.”
As Sein recited the incantation, Yijin Jeon burned brightly.
“Now tear it up.”
The annual budget of the small town evaporated in an instant.
All new models disappeared.
*
The place Aiden transferred to was the second basement floor, a corridor lined with ancient warriors.
All of them were as hard as stone statues.
‘The location is not bad.’
Rather, other personnel were concerned. If Sein or Priest Vandel transferred to a distant place, it would be a bit difficult. However, this was an element that could only be left to chance.
Aiden took a step in the direction of the unpleasant voice of prayer.
I was disgusted by the grotesque sound that pierced the walls. It was not the voice of normal people.
The sound gets closer and closer. The occasional scream made Aiden’s mind impatient.
As soon as I could see the exit of the corridor, I felt a presence in front of me.
There was nothing in the aisle to cover Aiden’s size.
Aiden pulled down his hood and walked in the direction the footsteps were coming.
Iden met the demonic priest in black priestly clothes.
“It’s a size I haven’t seen before?”
“I’m Shinjin.”
“Oh yeah?”
He came closer to Aiden.
“Baby, why are you so stiff? lose power strength.”
The man circled around Aiden and touched her body.
“But are you a priest? My body is tired.”
“Belonging to Benzegma…”
“Ah, I knew it. Since the magic beasts are so tough, they are made up of guys like you. ah! You know Benzegma is Schrein, right? That bastard is a classmate with me, maybe he’s the same size as you?”
“yes.”
“Oh, wait a minute. Was her name Schrein right?
Iden was gradually feeling the limit of his patience.
“I don’t know. done.”
The man made obscene gestures with his hands.
“You know the puppies that Marticoras gathered for food, right? If you’re new, you probably haven’t even tasted it, right? Follow me, this baby, it’s fun to squeeze. I will give you a good experience.”
The guy beckoned.
“Are you coming soon? direction······”
Aiden’s hand shot into his mouth like an arrow.
I ripped out the man’s jawbone and opened his mouth wide.
He immediately licked his tongue. The man couldn’t even scream and looked at Iden with dazed eyes.
“Big, huh…”
“Try to whine, too.”
Aiden’s voice was low enough to be chilly.
“Would you like to try it?”
“Big, uh…”
As I tightened my grip even more, the man whimpered.
“You dirty bastard.”
He pulled out his tongue and wrapped it around the man’s neck.
The human tongue was much longer than it seemed, about a span of it left after one full turn.
He collapsed to the floor without even a second thought.
Aiden hid the body behind the stone statue and moved on.