< 31 : Apostle of Thunder (3) >
“It’s just… a simple mark.”
Mark.
Evan’s eyes narrowed as he heard Peter’s story.
Evan reached out and grabbed Peter’s arm.
He then rolled up Peter’s sleeve, trying to confirm the mark that was engraved on his arm.
Peter, who was flustered, tried to shake off Evan’s hand, but his strength was no match for Evan, who had trained in martial arts all his life.
Evan, who rolled up Peter’s sleeve, opened his mouth as he saw the black pattern engraved on his arm.
“This is…”
“Do you know this mark?”
“The mark of a hero.”
Peter’s face hardened as he heard the story.
The mark of a hero.
Peter, who had lived away from the temple all his life, did not know the word hero.
Heroes were beings that came out of old stories from his family.
They each had special weapons and excellent combat skills, and they were strong warriors who defeated the evil god.
Peter’s chest began to tighten as he heard stories about heroes.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
He felt dizzy as his heart beat wildly.
What he thought was the mark of the evil god was actually a mark that indicated a hero.
Peter wondered if he had heard it wrong and asked Evan.
“Hey, hero…? Really?”
“It’s definitely the mark of a hero. And it’s a hero chosen by the goddess of honor.”
Peter’s hand began to tremble faintly at Evan’s confident voice.
The other person was a knight who belonged to the holy land.
There was no doubt that what he guaranteed was true.
If the story was true, the situation was very dangerous for Peter.
The person in front of him was an apostle who served the evil god.
For him, a hero would be a thorn in his eye.
“Um…”
Peter’s head spun furiously as he tried to say something.
He was a hero.
The only threat to him was not Evan, who he was facing right now.
Apostle Eutenia. And Archbishop Roan.
It didn’t matter which side found out about his mark, Peter’s life would be in danger.
He had to keep his identity secret from everyone in the order to survive.
“What do you want to say?”
The choice that Peter made in desperation was to ask for help from the apostle in front of him.
He didn’t know why he made that choice.
But it was the only way that Peter could think of right now.
Evan laughed bitterly at Peter’s story.
He let go of Peter’s arm and asked him.
“Do you want me to keep it a secret?”
“Yes, yes… I don’t want to cause everyone trouble because of one mark.”
“You chose a difficult path. It will be a tough fight from now on.”
“Yes.”
I have to hide the mark among the countless followers of the evil gods in this place.
Peter also knew the risk of that.
He even thought of wrapping it with a bandage, that’s how serious it was.
But Evan’s words that followed were more shocking than Peter had imagined.
“If you’re going to hide it, hide it thoroughly. From the church’s followers, and from the people of the holy land, all of them.”
“…”
“If either the church or the holy land finds out about the mark you have, they won’t leave you alone.”
It meant that not only the church, but also the six temples of Crossbridge might try to kill Peter.
Peter couldn’t help but wonder why.
Originally, heroes were beings who fought against the evil gods with the temples.
At least the heroes in the old stories that Peter knew did that.
But Evan’s words warned Peter of an unexpected danger.
His words contradicted the common sense that Peter knew.
Peter asked Evan for the reason.
“What do you mean by that? Why would the holy land try to kill me?”
“It’s not hard to change a hero in the early stages of the mark appearing. If you’re the only survivor of a village sacrificed as an offering, you’re a risk factor from the holy land’s perspective.”
“You can change a hero?”
“If the divine power hasn’t been assigned yet, it will take some time, but a hero will appear again.”
It will take some time, but a hero will appear again.
It meant one thing.
If Peter revealed his connection to the church to the people of the temple, he would be killed.
Peter was already deeply involved with the church.
If his past actions were discovered by the holy land, it was natural that they would try to eliminate him.
His head hurt as he clenched his hand around the hero’s mark.
Because of this damn mark, he was in a situation where he couldn’t even think of running away.
“Of course, it’s better not to reveal your identity even after enough time has passed.”
“Yes.”
“If you reveal your identity to the temple after some time, I’ll take care of you myself.”
Evan’s sharp eyes looked at Peter.
He smiled coldly with his mouth, but his eyes showed complex emotions.
It was a good thing that he didn’t kill Peter right now.
But was this apostle in front of him really someone he could call an ally?
Gulp.
Peter swallowed his saliva without realizing it as he faced Evan.
Evan patted Peter’s tense shoulder and walked past him to approach the steep road.
“You seem to have trouble understanding why I made this choice.”
“That, that’s…”
“I was a paladin who served the goddess of honor.”
“Ah…”
Evan looked at the night sky where no one else was.
The bright moon reflected in Evan’s eyes.
He looked at the dark night sky for a moment, then moved his gauntlet to clench his fist tightly.
The sound of metal friction echoed from Evan’s clenched gauntlet.
“I was trapped in a small cave, avoiding the threat of death, and constantly shouting the name of the goddess.”
“Yes.”
“God never answers the call of humans. The only ones who are interested in the weak are the gods from another world who want to take over this world.”
The evil gods who looked down on their world.
The huge presence that looked down on the ground every time he performed a ritual flashed through Peter’s mind.
The god that Peter faced was always one.
The being that coveted the offerings on the ground with its huge eyes.
And the monster that swallowed Peter’s village whole by sending Euteneia.
It was something from another dimension that a mere human could not oppose.
Yet, the great gods who were revered by everyone on the continent never intervened.
All they did was engrave a crude mark on Peter’s arm.
“Even if I was a paladin, I never got an answer from the goddess.”
Crunch.
The sound of grinding teeth resonated around.
Unlike his calm voice, Evan’s eyes were filled with malice as he looked at Peter.
Evan, who faced the sky, raised his hand with the gauntlet in the air.
He looked like he was holding something in his hand.
Evan called out the name of his divine power in a solemn voice.
“——Astraphe.”
The moment Evan called out the name of his divine power.
A blue flash began to spread from his hand.
Crackle. Sparkle.
Sparks flew from the flash in his hand as it gradually grew in size.
The flash in Evan’s hand formed the shape of a huge spear as time passed.
A strong light that brightened the surroundings.
Evan, who carried the heavy thunder spear, changed his angle and aimed at the sky.
“Those who do not look down on the lower ones do not deserve to rule from above.”
As if answering Evan’s heart, the thunder spear in his hand trembled violently.
Evan threw the thunder spear in his hand toward the sky.
Kwaaaaang!
The thunder spear that flew from Evan’s hand pierced through the clouds in the sky.
A blue trail pierced through the clouds, and at the same time, the clouds that were penetrated by the thunder spear began to emit lightning.
Kwang! Kwarrang!
The thunderclouds that appeared in the sky poured down lightning toward the ground.
Peter’s mouth opened wide at the sight of lightning pouring down to the ground.
As lightning rain continued, thunder sounded in Peter’s ears one after another.
“…”
The atmosphere that shook.
And below it, the rain of thunder that poured down.
Peter could understand what Evan wanted to say by looking at the scene in front of him.
This was a warning.
Evan, who had become an apostle of an evil god, warned Peter and the goddess who had given him the mark of a hero.
The lightning that filled his sight was not an attack that a human body could withstand.
The moment Peter got out of the church’s sight, Evan’s attack that he had just seen would fly at him.
“Do you understand what I’m thinking now?”
“…I think I have some idea.”
“Good. I’m going to drag them down myself.”
A declaration to the sky.
Evan, who spat out a declaration of war, stretched out his hand with a gauntlet toward the air.
Crackle.
A blue thunderbolt burst out of his gauntlet.
Peter looked at his gauntlet wrapped in light and asked Evan.
“Is that really… possible?”
“Do you think it’s impossible?”
“That…”
“I rolled on a battlefield and crawled on the ground. I drank muddy water and starved my stomach, but still kept calling God’s name.”
Peter remembered Evan’s miserable appearance.
Evan’s appearance when he was brought by Euteneia was very different from when he first met him.
The proud paladin of the first day was gone, and all that was left was a dirty man who was exhausted by hunger and thirst.
If he had such hardships during that time, it was understandable why Evan was so broken.
“I held my sword and prayed for years. I doubted my faith constantly, but tried to keep my mind steady.”
“…”
“If not today, then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then next time. I believed that salvation would come someday.”
But still, the hope of a paladin was cruelly trampled on.
What he saw was not the goddess he served, but an evil god from another dimension who observed humans.
It broke. It snapped.
He rolled in an abyss and was crushed by darkness.
His firm faith collapsed and beyond that appeared human evil that had no end in sight.
“And yet! And yet if they say this is some kind of joke——!”
Evan’s bloodshot eyes looked at Peter.
Squeak.
He smiled a smile that did not suit his previous solemn appearance.
A twisted smile that felt out of place.
Evan smiled like that and declared to the being who had engraved the mark on Peter.
“Now it’s time to pay the price for my long faith.”
Kwang!
A blue lightning bolt fell behind Evan’s shoulder as he looked at Peter.
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