chapter 4
4 episodes
“Isn’t this St. Eileen’s memento?”
“okay. You know it well.”
“Before the final battle with the Demon King, Seong Baek-soo gave himself up. It is an anecdote that a believer cannot know. I heard that the staff is made of holy white water and is strangely pure white.”
What the Pope took out was the healing staff used by Saint Eileen.
After Saint Eileen’s death, it was treated as a sacred object and kept in the church’s storage room.
But Liam had another reason to be surprised.
“Why did the relic become like this?”
The wand, which had a faint glow, had faded to black.
The white jewel embedded in the top of the wand was also broken.
The Pope nodded.
“okay. This staff must have permanent preservation enchantment. In addition, the glass tube it is stored in is also treated with special magic, so that no one can touch it. It was a holy creature that was fine until just a week ago.”
“Isn’t the magic broken?”
“After the holy relics became like this, we conducted various investigations. But no one broke into the storage room where the relic was. The magic was not broken.”
Liam made a bewildered face.
So what is the alternative cause?
And why did the Pope secretly summon him?
‘The changes that have taken place in the Holy Relics cannot be handled by me as a single paladin. I’m just killing dark followers, I’m not very knowledgeable about this kind of magic… … .’
Liam thought about that and opened his mouth.
“Huh, maybe?”
“okay. Just as you predicted. After the death of Saint Eileen, there is a prophecy that has been passed down from generation to generation to the Pope. Would you like to hear it?”
Looking down at the discolored staff, the Pope murmured softly.
“The darkness of the Demon King was so deep that the darkness spread to this staff as well. Right now, I am quelling the magic with my own power, but the balance will be lost in the day when the darkness that has disappeared will bloom again.”
“… … .”
“In other words, it means that the power of magical power, which had been put to sleep with divine power, has grown. It’s the magic that responds to the Demon King.”
“Then, isn’t it a big deal?! You have to hurry to chase where the Demon King is… … !”
“But seeing that the wand doesn’t feel any greater power, it’s still just a sign. If the Demon Lord had started his activities in earnest, the world would not have been this quiet.”
It was then that Liam realized why the Pope had called him.
He knelt again on the floor and said resolutely.
“Sir, give me an order.”
The Pope rose from his seat and placed his hand on Liam’s shoulder.
“I order the 1st Knight Commander. Be sure to find and destroy the seeds of disaster that will bring war again on the continent.”
* * *
Six years have passed since then.
The monastery, which had only been quiet, was beautifully decorated.
Gorgeous flowers were adorned on the plain stone wall.
A variety of food was placed on the table near the garden.
The children of the monastery opened their eyes and ate their mouths.
“I like Holy Day the best in the world!”
“me too!”
“The turkey leg is mine!”
“Why are you trying to eat it all by yourself?”
A monk who was busy roaming the monastery arbitrated the children’s fight.
“Guys, you can’t fight. We should all share it with each other.”
“When do we eat meat?”
“There is a rattling noise from the boat.”
“I want to eat quickly.”
The children followed the monks.
Divine Day.
When the Empire fell and the Age of Evil ended, the Church of Pars declared a holy day.
Since then, every year on the continent of the continent, on Holy Day, families have enjoyed sharing delicious food and singing joyful songs.
It was the same with the usual quiet monastery.
“The world has gotten a lot better.”
With a voice like an old man, Ethan lowered his heavy load.
In front of him was a pile of luggage.
Everything he moved.
However, Ethan did not show any signs of exhaustion despite carrying the heavy load.
“Ethan, how old are you already saying that?”
“That’s the way it is. On the subject of a young boy who is only 15 years old, I am smitten.”
Old monks who were nearby clicked their tongues.
But even as they were bruised, their eyes showed affection for Ethan.
Ethan has matured for his age.
And unlike his peers, he had a strong and strong body.
At the same time, I had no choice but to give affection for helping the older monks by taking the lead.
“Anyway, everything you said has been moved. Is it okay if I take a break now?”
“Okay. Good job.”
“I’ll call you later when the food is ready, so go in and rest.”
Ethan smiled softly and shook his head.
But as he turned around, the smile on his face vanished.
‘Now I’ve gained quite a bit of strength.’
Ethan lightly checked his body.
Monastic life was far from physical training.
So even if I wanted to practice, I wasn’t allowed to, and if I had to say it, it would only attract attention.
Besides, a few years ago, we had to be more careful about our actions.
‘If I had died like this, the dogs of the Central Church would have gone out too.’
It has been over 6 years since the Parsian Temple Knights scoured the entire continent.
It is not clear what their goals are.
But Ethan knew instinctively.
‘It must have been when the Demon King’s eyes first appeared.’
Their pursuit must be related to the Demon King.
So it wasn’t a chase aimed at him, but Ethan paid close attention.
I just acted as if I was a child of a conscientious monastery.
A child who wants to be ordained a priest three years later.
“Would you like to check it out just once?”
Ethan returned to his room and closed his eyes.
Then he concentrated his mind and let the divine power in his body flow.
Divine power engulfed his entire body.
‘Second grade? No, I want to be at level 3 or so.’
Ethan confirmed the divine power accumulated in his body.
At the age of only 15, it was phenomenal to collect divine power equivalent to that of a third-class priest.
Even the Pope had all he had to do was to collect the 7th level divine power.
The Priests of the Pars Church accumulate divine power through the holy power training method.
However, it does not form a circle in the heart, unlike the mana training method or the magic training method.
Because of this, they always spread divine power throughout their body.
Ethan in his previous life had doubts about it.
‘Why don’t you gather Holy Power into your heart?’
However, while he was reincarnated and lived in the monastery, he learned the reason.
When Ethan once asked Stella about this, she replied:
‘The divine power is built up through sincere devotion and deeds. It is an act of blasphemy to dare to control the power of God and cultivate it according to the will of man.’
‘Why?’
‘Unlike knights and wizards, we are not people who seek strength.’
Therefore, the training method of the Pars Church was primitive.
Unfortunately, Stella’s words did not impress Ethan at all.
‘Aren’t you stupid? Why are you shoveling like that on an easy road?’
Ethan used the magic training method as if it were Boran.
Thus, the divine power spread throughout the body was collected in the heart and made into a circle.
Thanks to this, the divine power accumulated as quickly as a snowball rolling in a snowy mountain.
‘How on earth did that woman acquire such skills? No matter how many stigmata there were.’
Ethan clicked his tongue.
It was astounding.
Even after remodeling the magic training method and accumulating a lot of divine power, it was level 3.
But what about Saint Eileen?
He was loved by God from birth and was a being that no one could touch with his divine power.
On the other hand, Edan accumulated divine power through magic training, even while taking risks.
It was a risky gamble, but there was no way out.
He avenged himself and died without regret, but he wasn’t stupid enough to waste his new life lightly.
I had to struggle to survive.
‘Above all, the greatest danger is the appearance of the Demon King’s mark.’
Ethan was gradually getting used to the Demon King’s eyes.
When it changed to black eyes, the time it lasted was getting longer.
It was a sign that the body was adapting.
It was an obvious intruder.
It was because this world was hostile to the Demon King because he rejoiced that he had strong power.
“But thanks to these eyes, I was able to do this.”
pitch black eyes.
It was a term used to refer to the eyes of the Demon King, which are now Edan’s left eyes.
Ethan awakened his jet-black eyes with a sense he had become accustomed to.
Then he looked down at his arm with jet-black eyes.
‘Even if it’s not possible, is the physical ability of a knight in the same position secured?’
The Graven Continent was grading the knights according to a certain standard.
The lowest rank was a bronze knight, and above it, silver, gold, platinum, and gold were listed.
Although Ethan was not yet an adult, he had secured the physical abilities of a knight in uniform using his jet-black eyes.
“This is how you could become such a monster.”
Ethan thought of the Demon King with a complicated feeling.
The unique ability of the jet-black eyes was ‘the will of the devil’.
It was the ability to absorb the life force of a dead creature and transform the body with it.
The vitality in the jet-black eyes was limited to being consumed, but that alone was an amazing power.
At first, he too felt reluctant to use this power.
But Ethan did a trick.
It was decided to absorb life force from by-products such as dead animals or monsters.
It was not comparable to human life force, but it was not lacking in Ethan’s physical abilities.
“Well?”
That was then.
I heard someone walking towards me from beyond the door.
* * *
Ethan, feeling popular, wiped away the energy that had overflowed from his body.
smart.
At the same time, there was a knock on his door.
Ethan calmly opened the door.
“Stella?”
“Can we talk for a moment?”
“yes. Come on in.”
It was a sudden visit.
But Ethan greeted Stella with a smile.
“It’s a new thing, but the most mischievous person in this monastery has already grown up like this.”
“You are a joke. That is a misunderstanding.”
“yes? Could it be? It seems like yesterday that you had a tangled fight with your brothers.”
“Ugh.”
Ethan couldn’t help but react.
Stella’s words were not exaggerated at all.
The eyes of the children looking at Ethan, who is reputed to be a holy child, were not very good.
‘I think Ethan is really great!’
‘What’s great. She’s not even Saint Eileen. Sheesh!’
While there were followers, there were also many who waged a fight.
At first, Ethan laughed at the children’s teasing and pranks.
Although he looked like a child, he was an adult on the inside.
But Ethan’s attitude stimulated the children even more.
‘It’s unlucky to pretend to be an adult.’
‘I’m just pretending to be like that because the adults next to me compliment me.’
‘right. Last time I saw him digging his nose outside. What kind of adult is that?’
‘Oh, it’s dirty.’
Even arguing with them wasn’t enough, so they even made strange rumors.
As we got there, Ethan realized he couldn’t stand still any longer.
‘Because these bastards want to see you!’
Eventually, Ethan had to spend days quarreling with his peers.
“Fufu, that’s a joke.”
Stella laughed softly.
Ethan wrote.
Even though he won, it was a victory that left only scars for him.
Ethan’s eyebrows twitched.
While he calmed the boiling inside, Stella continued.
“I’m just kidding and I’ll tell you the point. Ethan, do you know that your fame has spread in this region?”
Whoops.
Stella took out a letter from her arms.
“This is a letter from the Central Church.”