Chapter 136: Leaving a Legacy for the Future
The forces of evil advance like stains that darken the sky and taint the earth.
Slowly and steadily they cover the surface of the earth.
The scouts watching them cover the ground in horror are overwhelmed by the sound of their heavy breathing, shaking the heavens and earth.
“……This is the end of the world.”
The enemy’s march, which can only be described as horrific, is not the march of a well-organized army.
Their clicking fangs and bloodshot eyes reveal their poverty.
The potions the demons of wisdom and inquiry brew are vile narcotics that cloud even the soul but it gave them an insatiable hunger so much so that they would die to satisfy it.
“I see the traits of the Chaos Demons. Twenty years ago, I remember a race of distinctive horned beings.”
The head of the Order of the Gifted remembers well those horrible things that destroyed the Empire.
The Chaos Demon Lord and his legions were the first to invade this world but that’s not all.
“Truly…the end of the world.”
Twenty-three years ago, the emperor of the Empire summoned the Demon Lord.
The system was destroyed, and the entire Empire crumbled in an instant.
Eventually, the Lionheart King appeared and defeated the Demon Lord of Chaos and his forces, but it was only the beginning.
“I thought that with the Lionheart King… we might be able to win.”
Walter, leader of the Gifted Division, the survivors of the Empire, felt his will break in the face of destruction, only to see it finally arrive.
He was no knight of the gods.
He knew honor and loyalty, but he was a man.
The only thing that has kept him going so far is the miraculous presence of the Grail Guardian, who will save them in the end but the endless hordes of evil were too much to overcome.
The destruction of mankind is certain, and they themselves will soon die.
It was said that when a person dies, they are taken to the paradise of the gods… but if there are no humans left to worship, can that paradise be maintained?
Walter pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind and rode his horse to the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods.
* * * *
Holy Knight Antoine has ascended.
The news of the Holy Knight’s ascension and the deaths of most of his comrades spread throughout the city.
Some wept, some mourned, and some were numb as they waited for their turn.
“Your Majesty, it is Gildus.”
An aged knight entered the king’s tent urgently and the king greeted him.
“Lord Gildus, is Lord Galleon with you?”
Leon turned to see the younger knight following close behind Gildus.
“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen you.”
“Never mind your Majesty. Call me uncle.”
“My, how could I…….?”
The grumpy Kingdom Knight, Gildus, chided Leon.
“Your Majesty, he’s being spoiled.”
“What. I’ve been taking care of him since he was in diapers. I am his godfather.”
“And Sir Aren?”
“On a scouting mission. I informed him of Sir Antoine’s ascension, but he said he could not abandon his duties.”
“Uplifting, like his father.”
Leon was both pleased and saddened by his uprightness since he wanted to share his last moments with his son.
-Thump! Thump!
Just then, a sound that could not be ignored rang out from outside the tent. It was the sound of a giant “wooden giant” moving, its steps seemingly angry.
“The entrance is small.”
Lifting the tent, the wooden giant entered.
The Tree Man sage laid out a suitable seat and sat down.
“Good job moving your heavy ass.”
Gildus said playfully, and Gunnar replied.
“I do not have what you might call an ass, old friend.”
“Paraphrase, so that I may understand. For a sage, you’re not so stupid.”
“Oh, that’s not what I want to hear from a drunken knight charging at a windmill.”
“Why are you talking about something that happened seventy years ago, and I’m not the only one who got screwed over, but I won!”
“You beat that again?”
Leon looked at them and remembered a long time ago.
When he was still doing his quest, he had met three people.
The knights Antoine and Gildus, and the tree man Gunnar.
They had met on their way to save a village from an orc attack.
These long-standing friendships are surely a blessing.
A friendship so old, it won’t be strange if one of them leaves.
So there is no need to be sad.
It’s just a parting of the ways.
“Antoine was an old friend of ours. I thought for sure Gildus would be the first to go.”
“I thought so too.”
“What, you’re making fun of me?”
The hard-boned commander of the kingdom’s Warnights grumbled in front of his friends who had gotten too far.
Leon took over.
“What a blessing it is that his last days were spent in glory and honor, and it is only right that we, his friends, should bid him farewell with love and friendship.”
Gildus raised his flask.
“To our friend Antoine!”
Gildus gulps down the entire bottle.
Galleon worries for his father.
Gunnar had never understood the drinking culture of the humans, and had used the fruits of my body as a substitute for a toast.
The ceremony was short, and ended with enough mourning and love.
“We must now continue his legacy. Gunnar, how do you like the finished product?”
“It could not be more perfect. The blacksmith god has blessed it well enough.”
“And the will of the forest?”
“The sages are united in their opinion. We will now distill its essence and place it within.”
“I am ever grateful for the service of the sages.”
Leon hid his sadness in his gaze then called to those waiting outside.
Anak, High Priestess of Light along with Holy Knights Gillingham and Loxley and Balter, the leader of the Imperial Gifted Knights, and Captain Steelhammer, the leader of the dwarven survivors of the Steel Mountains. The Rangers of the Fairy Folk, who coexist with the Tree Men and tend the forests.
It is now time for a military ceremony.
“Sir Walter, the demonic forces are advancing?”
In response to Leon’s question, Walter answered with a reverent bow.
“Yes… the armies that broke out of the castle are on the move. We have confirmed the demonic survivors of the Sloth of the Randolce Plains, the hordes of the Beast God’s Cultists… and the Fallen of the Empire.”
The enemies of the Alliance were coming from all directions.
“Estimated numbers?”
“Ten million…….They are marching here with all their armies.”
Ten million, it’s a number that freezes you to the bone just hearing it.
It was so unreal that it left them speechless, but it was a reality they would have to face someday.
“The end is near. Prepare for battle. They’ll be here soon.
The final battle of mankind is about to begin.
* * * *
The Great Wall is not a fortified city by nature.
It is a religious shrine that spans continents. It lies at the very center of the Lionheart, alongside the Royal Castle.
With a Holy Knight and a High Priestess to guard it all the time no madman would ever try to invade it.
It was the closeness of the gods’ power that made this religious shrine a fortress in the first place.
The collective power of the gods, known as the All-Seeing Eye, provides direct backup for the worshippers, allowing them to be more powerful than ever before.
“We can’t just rely on the walls. We must be prepared for a war of attrition.”
Holy Knights Gillingham and Loxley, and the heads of their respective coalitions, took up positions overlooking the Great Temple and manned the bastions built into the inner walls.
Ha-ri’s men were also to be prepared for this battle, but they were spared.
“Your Majesty, we want to help too…….”
Ha-ri voiced her opinion, but Leon shook his head.
“You will wait in the main camp, where you will not be harmed.”
Leon kept Ha-ri’s group strictly organized. He believed that either Beatrice or Yappy, both Holy Knights, had the power to save themselves, but not the other four.
“Your Majesty… I have power, and the future… Your Majesty has recognized it.”
Chun So-yeon was also unhappy about not being able to fight.
Ha-ri, So-yeon were also true S-class power. They would be the mainstay of any attack anywhere.
Of course, Leon had good reasons for his judgment.
Unlike Leon, who was merely a recreation of the past, Ha-ri’s men were real people but even so, if they die inside the gate, they really die.
That’s why Leon excluded the four from the battle.
“You have other things to do.”
“Do what?”
“Go to the recuperating High Priestess of the Moon and Purity, I’ve already told her.”
“????”
The four tilted their heads in disbelief.
* * * *
Leon’s orders led the four to the depths of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods. This is where the seriously wounded are kept.
In the Lionheart Kingdom, most wounds and illnesses were cured by eating the Blessed Crops, so a doctor was usually a surgeon who treated those seriously injured in war.
Isabelle, High Priestess of the Moon and Purity, was wounded in a different way.
“Ugh…….”
The moment they opened the door, they felt the air flow differently.
It was a small private room, bare except for the frame of a wooden bed, large for a single person, small for two.
The smell of blood fills the room and the priestess, her white robes stained with fresh blood, speaks in a disgruntled voice.
“……You should be resting.”
“It’s okay, the king has given me permission.”
The voice sounded cool, but without its characteristic wholesomeness.
“Come in.”
The voice’s owner waved the four inside.
“Over there…….”
“Why?”
Forgetting his usual lighthearted demeanor, Jae-hyuk looks at the woman sitting on the bed.
She was seriously injured, with crusts of blood everywhere and used bandages piled up one after another.
The deepest wounds are in her eyes.
The bandages, tied over and over again to cover both eyes, completely block her vision.
“You must be… the High Priestess of the Moon?”
“Yes, I am the first hunter of Dinah, goddess of the moon and purity. I’m Isabelle, second in line in the kingdom’s power hierarchy, with the Lion King as my brother-in-law.”
“Do not lie to the young.”
At the words of the Goddess, Isabelle responds with an invisible wink.
“I’m the only one with free hands, so I suppose His Majesty can’t help it.”
The Goddess smiles bitterly at Isabel’s words, and with that, she leaves the room.
“Now, sunflowers, I’m sure you’re wondering why you’re here.”
Isabelle giggled and even her bandaged eyes seemed to smile.
“There are many gods in the pantheon, but there is a class of gods called the Lords, who are the most powerful, except in certain circumstances.”
With a snap of her fingers, a subspace opens up and boxes stack up inside.
Some are large enough to take up half a bed while others are barely the size of a ring.
“Arianna, goddess of light and justice, worshiped by all knights and the first deity of the kingdom.”
Isabelle kicked the largest of the boxes open and light poured out of it.
“A…room?”
Soo-ho felt the power of the astonishingly brilliant light from within and Isabel continued.
“Poma, god of the sea and waves. Petos, god of war and flame. Ultima, god of the sky and thunder. Water, fire, and lightning were considered the most feared furies of nature.”
Their power represents nature itself, and as such, they are the most powerful of all.
A bracelet with a blue aquamarine gemstone.
A lance with a heart of unquenchable flame, so brilliant it would burn at the mere touch.
There was no mistaking the identity of the things Isabel showed them.
Those who had seen the hammer of Georgic and the relics of Leon up close could not fail to recognize them.
“These…are they all holy objects?”
Isabel replied with a wry smile.
“They are the relics of past Holy Knights and Priests.”
By nature, when Holy Knights die, they ascend to paradise with the objects they used but there are also those who ascend, while laying down their relics for the sake of the kingdom.
Heroes who left their treasures for the sake of the world in its most troubled times, through the Age of Dynamism, the Age of Orcs, the Age of Beasts, and the Age of Chaos.
“This shield was given to me by Sir Amalek, Holy Knight of Light and Justice, two hundred years ago, and the fiery heart was given to me by Duke Renaud, Saint of the Saviors and Orc Undertaker, as he lay dying.”
Isabel explained the history of each of the holy items and Ha-ri asked.
“…Why are you explaining these things to us?”
“Because you will inherit them.”
“……!”
The four knew the value of the holy objects since the elusive Sir Georgic’s hammer has yet to find its owner but to hand over the holy relics of the Holy Knights and Priests so easily?
“Do not misunderstand. You are not ‘yet’ qualified to handle these holy objects, and they do not recognize you.”
“Then why…….?”
“His Majesty seems to believe that you will survive so…I’ve decided to put the future in your hands.”
Isabel doesn’t realize they are from another world.
She doesn’t know that they are inside the Gate, a mere recreation of the past.
She simply trusts Leon’s judgment and puts her all into preparing for the future.
“You will use it better than I, who will soon be dead. I will pass them on to you but it’s up to you to make sure you’re recognized.”
Isabel chuckled and spoke of death in a nonchalant manner and then──
“There you are. You’re the one with the dark aura.”
“……I’m Chun So-yeon.”
“Then you… why don’t you do me a favor, something that only you, a follower of Mr. Ventasis, can do.”
“????”
While Isabelle performed the ritual of passing on the holy relics to future knights, the sages of the forest extracted the essence and prepared for the advance of the demons.
Knights and soldiers from everywhere began to return for the final battle.
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