< Chapter 22 : The Order (3) >
A beautiful sword wrapped in darkness.
It was clearly a blessing from the divine.
Gulp.
Roan swallowed his saliva unconsciously as he faced the sword.
He was about to approach the sword placed on the altar when suddenly.
Boom!
A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky.
“Ahh!”
“What, what is that? Lightning?”
The believers who were watching the scene screamed in terror at the sudden lightning.
Crackle. Sparkle.
The lightning that hit the altar sparked for a moment, then was absorbed into the sword.
Everyone who surrounded the altar became solemn at the sight of the phenomenon that occurred.
But the anomaly that happened to the altar was not over yet.
As soon as the thunder that shook Roan’s ears subsided, spears of lightning fell from the sky one after another.
Bang! Boom!
The sound of thunder was so loud that it seemed to burst their eardrums.
The believers covered their ears at the sound of thunder that shook their heartbeats.
“O, O Lord!”
“O Mighty One!”
Powerful lightning strikes continued to hit the ground.
Every time a bright light flashed in front of their eyes, they heard thunder roaring in their ears.
It was a scene that only a transcendent being could create.
Many people shouted the name of their god at the awe-inspiring scene that followed the ritual.
Boom!
Every time the spear of lightning collided with the sword on the altar, dark energy spewed out and swallowed up the remaining current.
Once. Twice.
The lightning that fell like divine punishment struck several times.
After a final blow that resembled a firework to mark the end of the ritual, the barrage of lightning that fell toward the sword ended.
“How, how can this be…!”
Roan let out a sound of astonishment as he watched it all.
At the last moment of the sacrifice.
Their god gave them a clear answer.
Crackle.
A faint current flowed from the sword that absorbed the power of lightning.
It was a sight that no mere human could imitate.
Roan looked at the sword on the altar and remembered the conversation he had with Eutenea in the past.
‘If you practice the ritual of offering that you learned from me, surely He will answer you.’
Eutenea said this to Roan.
She said that there would surely be an answer from Him to Roan.
Then that meant that the sword on the altar was meant for Roan.
Thud. Thud.
Roan approached the altar and looked at the sword.
The sword that had been spewing out darkness tempted Roan with its beautiful appearance.
The blade had a refined shape and a splendid handle.
There was nothing he didn’t like about it.
“O Mighty One! If this is Your will for me, I humbly accept it.”
Roan grabbed the sword with his trembling hand.
Clack.
As he held the sword given by God in an awkward posture, he felt a tremendous force coming from his palm.
What Roan was holding was not a simple object.
It was a magic sword that swallowed magic and returned it back.
That was the identity of Ednos, which Roan was holding.
Roan muttered to himself as he realized what he was holding.
“Ednos… I see. That’s what this thing is called.”
He felt a sense of omnipotence as if he could wield great power with just holding it.
It was an object given by God who watched over them.
It was a treasure worthy of being called a miracle.
This Ednos would be a symbol of Roan’s authority from now on.
Perhaps understanding what it meant to receive Ednos, Eutenea congratulated Roan who held it in his hand.
“You got a good thing. Congratulations, Roan.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Master.”
“You’re still humble.”
A hand stretched out from the shadow and lightly tapped Roan’s shoulder.
Tap. Tap.
It was a gesture of encouragement for Roan.
Eutenea smiled and asked him as she tapped his shoulder.
“Don’t you have something else to do for His Holiness?”
“Yes. I have something to do.”
“I hope you succeed.”
“…Yes.”
As soon as she withdrew her hand from his shoulder, Roan walked back to the front of the altar again.
He then turned around and looked at the believers who knelt down behind him.
They all looked at Roan with different expressions.
Fear. Awe. Admiration.
He faced each emotion one by one and lifted Ednos in his hand.
“I declare in the name of Archbishop Roan Hebris at this place.”
Flash!
Ednos in Roan’s hand began to emit light.
The light was so bright that it blinded their eyes, and the believers naturally bowed their heads.
“We will build a temple here! A temple to serve the Mighty One!”
A temple to serve their master.
That was the most important plan in Roan’s mind, who became an archbishop.
He would build a temple for God.
And he would gather the followers of God.
That was the only way he could repay a little bit of the authority he had received.
“Everyone, cheer! For the Mighty One!”
Roan’s sword tip flashed and turned into a spear of lightning that shot out.
Boom!
The magic that Ednos fired flew straight to the mountain next to it and collided.
A huge explosion and thick smoke rose up.
The believers who witnessed all these miracles spontaneously applauded.
Cheers and applause.
The sound of clapping was so loud that it echoed throughout the mountain.
Roan smiled with satisfaction as he watched the scene.
Archbishop, Roan Hebris.
It was the moment of the birth of the Order led by him.
*****
The Holy Land, Crossbridge.
In the Temple of Abundance, which had the most influence among the six temples, there was a saintess who was respected by everyone in the Holy Land.
The girl who folded her hands and prayed devoutly to the sky was Serena Ederunt.
She was the saintess who led the Temple of Abundance, and also the closest being to God in the Holy Land.
Her prayer echoed softly in the silence as she closed her eyes.
A faint light flowed from her body as she prayed.
“O Goddess of Abundance who watches over all——.”
Next to Serena, there was a knight with a sword.
It was customary for a person who matched her status as the most important person in the Holy Land to have a guard.
Knight, Lian Crost.
He was a chosen knight with a white holy sword, and also the vice-captain of the Knight Order.
Lian watched Serena praying with a devout expression and guarded his surroundings.
How much time had passed since Serena started praying?
The light that wrapped around her body disappeared, and Lian, who had been guarding her with his holy sword, moved.
“Phew. The prayer is finally over.”
Serena got up from her seat and looked at Lian as she finished praying.
Maybe because she had been holding her posture for a long time, her legs lost strength and she wobbled for a moment.
Lian didn’t miss that small gap and went to her side to support her.
Thud.
Serena, who was caught by Lian’s hand, looked at him for a moment and then straightened her posture and smiled at him.
“I guess I’m not as fit as I thought.”
“Be careful. Everyone in the Holy Land will worry if you get hurt.”
“Thank you, Lian.”
“It’s nothing. But did the Goddess of Abundance say anything to you?”
It was a regular prayer time, but sometimes Serena received a revelation from God.
Revelation.
Also known as Divine Grace, it was something that only she could hear as a saintess.
Lian’s question to Serena was also about the Divine Grace that the Goddess of Abundance gave.
Nod.
Serena nodded her head at Lian’s question and said.
“Yes. I received a Divine Grace.”
“Divine Grace… I see.”
“Aren’t you curious what it is?”
“Of course I’m curious. What kind of Divine Grace did you receive?”
The content of the Divine Grace was not disclosed to anyone except for the core members of the Holy Land.
But Lian was a knight who guarded the saintess, and also a person who held the position of vice-captain of the Knight Order.
He also moved around with Serena most closely on normal days.
He was someone who had enough qualifications to be told the content of the Divine Grace by Serena.
So he didn’t hesitate to ask her about it.
“She said that a new hero will appear in the temple soon.”
“A new hero? Could it be… that the evil god has started to interfere in this world?”
Lian’s eyebrows twitched when he heard the word hero from Serena’s mouth.
Hero.
It was a name that referred to the owners of the six divine artifacts that appeared with the Divine Grace.
There was only one condition for a hero to appear.
The evil god who disturbed the world had appeared.
The gods who watched over the six temples in the Holy Land did not exert their influence on the ground except for certain exceptions.
And the appearance of the evil god was an exception that made them move actively.
Lian was surprised to hear the name of the hero and agreed with Serena’s answer.
“The evil god has started to move. No, actually, it seems like he started moving much earlier than we expected.”
The evil god’s movement.
That alone was enough to cause an emergency in the whole Holy Land.
But he said that he had been moving much earlier than Lian expected.
Lian asked again at the successive bad news.
“What do you mean by that?”
“For some reason, causality has been reset. That’s why Divine Grace came down later than usual.”
“…”
“Karma is fair to everyone, so if it doesn’t tilt enough, divine artifacts won’t be released either.”
Lian’s face darkened as he recalled the appearance of divine artifacts recorded in history books.
Without using their power, most heroes were nothing more than talented humans.
Even if they were chosen as heroes, they would have a hard time blocking Lian’s sword without divine artifacts.
Divine artifacts were objects that had a lot of meaning for heroes.
And what Serena said implied that the heroes’ divine artifacts would not be able to exert enough power for a while.
“That’s a difficult story. The elders will have a headache for a while.”
“That’s right. It’s hard enough to bring the heroes here safely.”
“What are you going to do, Saintess?”
“I guess I’ll enjoy my freedom for a while.”
“Freedom…?”
“Anyway, the Inquisition or the Knights will take care of finding the heroes, so I’ll be relaxed for a while, right?”
When the temple became busy preparing for the arrival of the heroes, paradoxically, Serena’s schedule as a saintess decreased.
It was because most of the official events were suspended due to the mobilization of most of the manpower outside.
Chuckle.
Lian let out a faint laugh at Serena’s words.
He rarely smiled, but Serena smiled back at him as she saw his smile.
“You won’t be quiet if you’re lazy.”
“Oh, lazy. Rest is also a preparation for facing the evil god.”
“Of course I didn’t expect you to have no excuses.”
“I can’t beat you, Lian.”
They smiled at each other and looked beyond each other at the shadow of the evil god that loomed over the continent.
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