My alter ego is becoming a big shot - Episode 96
#96
The abyss opens (3)
When Heinrich, who stored the holy sword in his stigmata, opened the stone gate of the seal and came out, it was the place where he first entered through the ordeal..
Although they had gone through so many trials, the only thing that stood between them was a door..
‘I've known it since the Holy Sword built a virtual world for trials. Even thinking about it again, it’s amazing..’
He smiled contentedly as he looked at the stigmata on his palm..
‘At this level, I don't think I would lose even if I were to face a Paladin head-on.?’
Additionally, like other abilities, “Blessing: Holy Sword” was a skill that became stronger the more it was trained..
It is said that the power he gained right now is not everything..
“It's finally here.”
However, there was a group of people waiting to open the stone door and greet Heinrich as he came out..
“Good job, Sir Heinrich..”
“Ah, Cardinal Donovan.!”
They were elites, including the cardinal in charge of the Great Temple of Picaol..
‘How do you know I'm coming out... No, that was a stupid idea..’
I wasn't there to meet him..
In the first place, Acrich escaped from the center of the Great Temple through an abyss hole, and there was no way the church knew about it..
‘It's natural to prepare. As the spatial isolation through the Holy Sword Trial disappeared, it would have been possible to detect it more clearly..’
Because of that, they ran to prepare for an emergency, but the dark magic inside them disappeared before they could enter, so they were waiting in front for now..
It could have been a distraction to Heinrich, who was undergoing a trial inside..
“Hehehe, just in case, I thought... I succeeded in becoming the owner of the holy sword.!”
The cardinal looked at Heinrich's palm and smiled brightly even though he was surprised..
The reactions of other priests behind him were also similar..
“I never thought it would really succeed.”
“I heard the rumor. I heard that he was a paladin who put his sword into the heart of the Immortal King and defeated him.···.”
“The owner of the holy sword appears again at this time! After all, this must be the Lord’s will.!”
300Everyone reacted violently to the holy sword that appeared for the first time in years..
Now that the Immortal King has returned and the abyss has opened up, the reappearance of the Holy Sword, the symbol of the warrior, was of great significance..
“This too must be fate. Yes, Sir Heinrich. Did something go wrong inside??”
Cardinal Donovan, who was nodding quietly, asked Heinrich and glanced at the door he came out of..
“Ah, after pulling out the holy sword, Abyss showed abnormal symptoms. Afterwards, an Acrich came out there.···.”
“Acrich?”
“I was able to deal with the inability to dance with the power of the sacred barrier. Since he happened to be the one holding the source, I was able to cleanly destroy him on the spot..”
“Is that so...? Still, I'm glad there's no problem..”
He let out a light sigh, looked at the priests gathered behind him, and gestured toward the stone gate..
Then, high-ranking priests and paladins began to enter the interior of the stone chamber where the holy sword was sealed..
Heinrich looked at them with a puzzled look, and the cardinal spoke with a bitter smile..
“Now that I think about it, Kyung doesn’t know about the commotion outside. The abyss suddenly reacted and you must have been very confused..”
“Ah, yes... that's right.”
In fact, Heinrich knew the outside situation better than anyone else, but Heinrich just nodded with an ambiguous expression..
The cardinal explained the situation to him with a stern expression..
Why did such a thing happen in the abyss?.
About the second abyss that opened on the continent, and about future response plans..
“Now that we don't have a holy sword, we'll have to manage that abyss hole more thoroughly. I plan to install additional barriers and have some personnel stationed there just in case..”
The barrier that was currently unfolding was by no means lacking, but since even the Acrich had actually protruded, there was a need to pay more attention..
“There was already a shortage of workers. Hehehe! This is so fucked up... Hmm, this is a difficult situation..”
The cardinal seemed to have expressed his true feelings without me realizing it, but he just cleared his throat and headed outside, taking Heinrich with him..
“They'll finish the work here, so we can leave. Kyung-do: There will be a lot of work to do in the future..”
Because of the current situation, there was no time to take it easy..
After taking a short break, Heinrich went straight to the gate room to return to the Roselia Grand Shrine..
Ugh—
Gate slowly starting to operate.
Heinrich looked back at Cardinal Donovan, who had seen him off with an embarrassed expression..
“Construction will be completely ruined, so you don’t have to come out in person..”
Isn’t it already a busy time?.
It was rather burdensome to have someone as big as a cardinal personally come out to see me off..
“Hehe, now that he has become the owner of the holy sword, Kyeong is no longer just a paladin. This is nothing. More than anything... I have one last thing to say to you..”
Well, now his status would be on a different level than before..
The term “master of the holy sword” meant that it was the sword of the main god representing this era..
“What are your last words?···?”
At those words, the cardinal approached him with a serious expression and placed his mouth next to his ear..
Because of his cautious attitude, Henry listened to him seriously.···.
“What I said last time. You probably didn't forget?”
“···yes?”
“I'm talking about a saint. huh? Do I need to explain this again??”
“···No, I remember. Do not worry.”
“Mmmmm, great! Then go see it.!”
“······.”
For Cardinal Donovan, who was the owner of the Holy Sword and all, that was a separate issue..
***
“Welcome, Sir Heinrich. I thought you could do it too!”
Heinrich, who returned to the Grand Temple of Roselia, was immediately met by the saint who greeted him with a gentle smile..
After exchanging friendly greetings, light topics continued..
“Come to think of it, is Cardinal Donovan in good health??”
“···yes. I heard he was quite old, and he was very strong..”
Heinrich, remembering his muscular muscles despite his old age, answered with a shocked expression..
“Hehe... I was worried because you were so busy after going to Pikaol Daesinjeon, but it looks like you are still exercising regularly. Even when you were here, you were someone who cared for me a lot..”
A small chat that lasts for a while.
But given the circumstances, the light mood did not last long..
“You look very tired, saint. I guess you have a lot of work to do..”
“Phew—this isn’t easy, since this is such a large scale..”
The saint with a dark expression sighed deeply..
The biggest problem was the opening of the second abyss, but the sacrificial rituals that had been held across the continent before that were no less daunting..
“Dozens of sacrificial rituals took place simultaneously across the continent. From small slash-and-burn villages to large towns on the border..”
It was a terrorist attack aimed at places where there was no thorough magical defense and security was lax..
It was so thoroughly hidden that it was impossible to even know it existed before it was activated..
‘Hearing this, I feel like these guys are amazing again..’
Even if it was a slash-and-burn village, ordinary preparations were not enough to target even a small town with a population of well over a thousand people, no matter how remote it may be..
“The extent of the damage is still being investigated, but tens of thousands of people have been identified so far. It is impossible to estimate how much more it will increase in the future..”
All countries on the continent were on high alert due to the unprecedented massacre..
Of course, since most of those targeted were commoners living in places with poor security, the damage itself was not a big deal to the high-ranking people..
‘However, because the scale is so large, even the leadership has no choice but to be cautious..’
Who can guarantee that a threatening force that can do things to this extent will never target them?.
“···In fact, the really big problem is the reappearance of the immortal king Hans and the opening of the second abyss..”
The information of those dispatched to the south was relayed to the Great Hall almost in real time, and they were still investigating the scene..
“What emerges from the abyss this time is ‘madness.’ However, I believe that this time the situation is different from the time of the Immortal King a thousand years ago..”
Unlike the 'Heart of the Immortal King' that completely descended to earth, the madness that appeared this time was brought out incompletely..
Because of this, it was unable to maintain its original form and was scattered across the continent.···.
“That's never a good sign. In some ways, it can be seen as being more picky than the Immortal King..”
Although no major abnormalities were discovered at the moment, there is no way that being pulled out of the abyss will have a positive effect on the continent..
As time passes, problems will slowly begin to emerge..
In addition, because of the madness that had enveloped the world, tracking down demons had become much more difficult than before, which was bad news for the church in many ways..
“And above all, the immortal king who did all of this···.”
Appearing again before the members of the Church—The Immortal King riding the Bone Dragon.
He deliberately waited without leaving the scene, mocked the members of the religious group, and leisurely left..
With only one blow left from the Bone Dragon's Death Breath,.
“···Fortunately, the damage is not that great. The people there were not easy people. It would have been dangerous if the follow-up hit had continued.···.”
The Immortal King just left..
“In other words, we can see how ridiculously he looks at us. I'm telling you to resist as much as you can, and I'm enjoying it as if I'm being merciful..”
The saintess, whose expression was so stern that her usual gentle expression was hard to remember, gritted her teeth and muttered..
“Holy woman···.”
“Haha, I got excited for a moment. Still, this is good news. This is proof that the current Immortal King is that arrogant..”
It was an opening that could target the Immortal King, who had shown extraordinary actions so far..
Even if there is a clear chance to end it, they prioritize their own fun and look down on their opponents to give them a chance..
This is the mindset of a typical strong person..
It was a weakness that caused countless deaths of the strong..
“We're targeting that distraction. For the continent, a moment of humiliation is nothing. In the end, we will be the final winners.”
Heinrich, who was impressed by the saintly woman's determination with a serious expression, also eagerly agreed with her..
“I will help you too, saint. With the help of the Holy Sword, we will definitely be able to kill him this time..”
“I believe it, Sir Heinrich! Gyeong is the opponent of Hans, the immortal king chosen by the Lord.!”
I feel motivated and confident..
Heinrich made eye contact with the saint and nodded slowly..
‘···But they still call me Hans. There is a wonderful name: Hannibal Strauss. I'll have to emphasize it more next time..’
While thinking about something else inside.
***
A stone chamber buried deep in the ground.
“Yes···?”
In the air that had been stagnant for a long time, a second change occurred after the last time..
A pair of red eye lights that slowly begin to glow in the dark..
“···What is this?···?”
However, I woke up without realizing it because of something very foreign, and the voice was still asleep..
Although it was completely sealed and there was no room for outside air to penetrate, something unpleasant that ignored such physical limitations stimulated its existence..
‘···Oh, right.’
Once I woke up, I again felt the abnormality I felt last time..
It seemed like something was wrong with the clan..
‘I have to wake up.’
The unknown situation that seemed to be happening in real time and what happened to the clan were both unusual..
Because it was such a serious matter that I had to hurry up and check it myself..
So the being got off his seat and strengthened his body to stand up..
“really···.”
No, I just thought that way, it didn't lead to action..
A body that keeps shaking as if it wants to wake up.
but···.
“···That's how it should be, haha—.”
My body sagged again due to the yawn that escaped me without my knowledge..
Of course, it wasn't enough to fall asleep again..
Because the stimulating energy around me was too annoying for that to happen..
Even at this moment, the body that had fallen into hibernation was slowly becoming active..
It was difficult to move right away···.
Maybe it won't take that long.
Just like that, Brokoslak's blood awakened from its long sleep..
Comments