In the heart of the Holy Land of the Divine Church, the Rosellia Grand Temple.
It had been over two months since Heinrich came here, but his daily routine remained unchanged even today.
Kkigigigik—
"Hup!"
With a sound like twisting metal, a mass of metal connected to chains defied gravity.
"Hoo—"
Swish— clang!
The monstrous weight machine, with its tonnage of metal, diligently tore the muscles of the insolent human daring to use it through its periodic reciprocal motion.
At that moment.
Whaak—
"Huh?"
Like a dam bursting, divine power surged from his body.
[The individual has met the conditions and gained enlightenment. Special skill "Blessing: Fortitude" acquired.]
Simultaneously, the metal he struggled to lift suddenly shot up.
Heinrich froze in that position for a moment, then closed his eyes, feeling the divine power coursing through his body.
'...Finally, I've reached it! The power of a high priest!'
He felt the stagnated divine power, which seemed to have hit a limit at some point, finally breaking through to a new stage.
This must be thanks to the newly acquired "Blessing: Fortitude."
Excited, he quickly set down the chains.
Swish— Boom!
The metal, unable to defy gravity any longer, violently met the ground, but that was no longer his concern.
'Who would have thought that just by exercising like crazy, I could surpass my limits.'
Of course, his time at the Grand Temple wasn't solely spent on physical training.
Basic education in theology, doctrine, history, and additional training as a Paladin in various martial arts, horsemanship, ceremonies, and holy techniques was a given.
At least physical training was manageable thanks to the skill "Boneless," but he struggled significantly in other areas.
Still, he somehow met the standards.
However, his divine power had still been stagnating, short of high priest level, so he was concerned until a senior Paladin casually suggested a solution.
'Just push your body to the limit. Insanely. Fast recovery? Then double the effort. If that doesn't work, increase it several times more.'
A surprisingly simple solution!
Of course, his advice was reasonable.
The condition for having high priest-level divine power was to possess at least one "Blessing."
And the easiest blessing for Paladins to obtain was the "Blessing of Fortitude."
Probably those on the path of priesthood would grow through other types of blessings.
Now that he had overcome the stagnation of his divine power, it would steadily grow until reaching the level of a bishop.
That was his greatest advantage.
Heinrich quickly tidied up the training equipment and headed to where the other Paladins were.
Now that he was officially qualified to become a Paladin, it was time for the corresponding discussions.
As he hastened his steps.
"Hmmhmhm~♪"
He heard someone humming in the garden he passed by.
'Humming here, could it be...?'
As he cautiously approached, he saw the person he expected, crouched down, looking at a flower bed.
'The Saint of the Divine Church, Liesta Saint Hatianus.'
Her soft silver hair fluttered, and her golden eyes, like stars, sparkled as they gazed at the flowers.
The sight of her, with a fresh smile on her face, looked no different from any other 18-year-old girl. "Except for that halo," that is. If one were to exclude the self-illuminating halo of light still glowing around her head. That powerful sign of blessing was indeed the mark of a saint.
"Hem hem, how do you do, Lady Saint? But why are you here alone?" Having already encountered her, it felt awkward to just pass by without acknowledging her, so I lightly cleared my throat and spoke to the saint.
It seemed she had sensed my presence as well, for she turned her head with a bright smile and greeted me. "Hello, Sir Heinrich! I was just watching a ladybug. It was so cute that I lost track of time!" It seemed she had been watching a bug, not flowers.
Although it was premature to call me 'Sir,' as I was not yet a knight, I decided to let it go since correcting it several times had made no difference. One surprising fact became clear during the more than two months I spent at the Roselia Cathedral: this saint, who initially seemed distant, was actually quite informal and loved to wander around in her free time.
She was kind to everyone in the same faith, not hesitating to offer help. A lively and quirky girl, loved by everyone in the cathedral for her gentle nature. Her faith was as strong as the divine power she possessed, showing a particularly friendly demeanor to those who were equally devout.
That's why she had approached Heinrich first, showing favor to him since the baptism ceremony where he exhibited strong divine power. "By the way, congratulations, Sir Heinrich! You've finally received a blessing, haven't you? I knew you would manage it soon!"
Was it her saintly intuition? She clapped her hands joyously as if it were her own achievement. "Thank you. I managed to reach it thanks to the help of many."
"No! The blessing of strength is not something you can obtain with others' help. It's a testament to having surpassed your own limits, so be proud of yourself!" She seemed to have instantly recognized the kind of blessing I received, probably influenced by the sparkling golden light in her eyes.
After a short conversation, she suddenly paused and looked up at the sky. "Oh! The afternoon prayer! How did the time fly by so fast! I must go now. May the divine favor always be with you, Sir."
She gauged the time for a moment, then got up and, after a quick goodbye, disappeared into the temple like the wind. "...Hmm, very... lively today," I thought. Perhaps 'chaotic' was a more fitting description.
Though she might seem careless at times, she certainly didn't show this side to everyone.
'She never compromises when it comes to evil.'
She shows friendliness to those who follow the deity and tries to embrace even those who do not. But she showed no mercy to those tainted by evil.
And recently, the saint was particularly focused on one matter: 'The Descendant of the Immortal King, Hans.' 'Her obsession is almost frightening now.' I heard she prays several times a day and tirelessly seeks to track down 'Hans,' a being that doesn't even exist in this world. Her relentless pursuit had become part of her daily routine.
The side effects of her blessing for tracking down evil meant that those who were caught and punished as a consequence were pitiable. If they were detected by the saint focused on the Immortal King's descendant, it meant they were involved in some malevolent ritual, so it was their own doing.
'I can understand why she shows such a demeanor.'
Heinrich, having been educated in history, understood the nature of the Immortal King and thus could empathize with her feelings. The first Immortal King had appeared suddenly about a thousand years ago.
He, who turned half of the continent into a land of death, sacrificed numerous lives, and only after countless forces, including the religious order, united their strength, could they finally defeat him and reclaim peace.
However, hundreds of years later, whether due to the failure to properly finish off the first Immortal King or through some unknown means, the 'Heart of the Immortal King' containing his power ended up in the hands of a dark sorcerer... And thus, the second Immortal King was born.
The second Immortal King, born after being consumed by the inherited heart, brought chaos to the continent once again. As a consequence, the great empire located in the west collapsed, resulting in the division into several kingdoms as it is today.
Perhaps because it was the second time, the order determined to target the Immortal King made efforts to ensure that the heart was properly dealt with, to prevent a repeat of the past. However, that too ended in failure. They managed to split the heart, but in his last moments of power, he scattered it across the continent, preventing it from being sealed.
This was just a few hundred years ago.
'And two pieces of it ended up in Hans's hands. If the last piece is found, the third Immortal King will be resurrected, so the order is desperate.'
The religious order had always been at the forefront whenever the Immortal King crisis occurred.
It was natural for the saint, who had learned about the sacrifices of the order since her youth, to harbor hostility towards the Immortal King. Especially since she tended to regard her fellow believers as family.
'If only we could all live together in harmony. It's a pity they don't realize what a kind-hearted and gentle person that friend is.'
Yes, Hans, who was to become this generation's Immortal King, didn't wish for the destruction of the continent. Even at this moment, he was earnestly fighting against evil organizations for the public good.
***
Boom!
"Ugh..."
Park Gwangcheon, a dressed-up executive of the Abyssal Conclave, looked around while blocking an attack from Hahoe mask. He had confidently led his troops into a trap, but all his plans had been thwarted by just two individuals.
'Damn, this is all because that damned guy didn't bring the right information! We completely misjudged the enemy's strength!'
He cursed the vague figure in his memory.
The decisive reason for the failure was the unexpected interference of a vampire, but he had no luxury to consider that. A failure was a failure, regardless of excuses.
'What's done is done. Now, I need to handle the aftermath as best as I can...'
He was still fighting against Hahoe mask with the remaining subordinates, but it seemed futile by now. It was as if they were being deliberately allowed to fight to capture them for interrogation.
'At first, it seemed like they didn't care whether we lived or died, but now that they've got the upper hand, are they planning to extract information through interrogation?'
Park Gwangcheon glanced at his fallen subordinates. More than half were dead, but those who had fallen recently were mostly subdued, not killed.
'This is wrong. There's no hope left.'
The commotion from the vampires' side had quieted down, indicating that their situation was likely resolved. This silence was not a good sign for him. It meant he was utterly defeated by just one person.
'If I delay any longer, the vampire from the other side will join here. I need to salvage what I can and escape.'
The area was sealed with dual barriers from the Abyssal Conclave and Hahoe mask, but with his unique skill, 'Spatial Manipulation,' he could escape. This skill had saved his life many times before.
He gathered his mana one last time before activating his unique skill.
***
The situation with the vampires was roughly settled, and the resistance of the Abyssal Conclave was coming to an end.
The remaining enemies were being kept alive and subdued as much as possible to extract information from their memories, but this wouldn't take much longer. Amidst the careful clearing of the battlefield, I sensed that the enemy leader was preparing something. It was already too late for them to do anything significant, but just in case, I stayed on guard. And then…
"All your efforts are appreciated. For the Abyssal Conclave! [Die for freedom—!]"
The last sentence echoed in the space, imbued with magical power. At that moment, the bodies of the Abyssal Conclave members stiffened uniformly, regardless of whether they were resisting or had already lost consciousness due to being subdued.
'What new trick is this!'
Clearly, something unusual was happening. Hans's thinking accelerated. The surroundings seemed to freeze for a moment, and time slowed down. Ssshh...
'What's this?'
An unidentified magical flow penetrated the minds of the living, trying to resonate with something that was embedded in their brains. Simultaneously, in Hans's unrestricted field of vision, he caught sight of the enemy leader glaring this way, grinding his teeth, his figure beginning to blur.
'Self-destruct command to his subordinates. He's escaping.'
Hans quickly assessed the situation. How space travel was possible within the barrier was uncertain, but that was a problem for later. Now, a choice had to be made. To prioritize.
Should he find a way to prevent the self-destruction of the gang members caused by this mysterious flow, or should he abandon the minions and immediately pursue the escaping leader, whose means of escape were unknown? Neither option seemed particularly feasible.
'Only a few seconds left, and the enemy's method is unknown.'
Frustration surged momentarily at the forced choice. In such a situation, naturally...
[Naturally, I won't give up on either option!] Hans, the incarnation of greed and obsession, swallowed his negative emotions. Of course, he had no intention of giving up on either!
All resources of every entity were concentrated on Hans. His thought process accelerated even more. Time almost came to a standstill. Dark magic split into dozens of strands, each targeting their respective goals. A quick trace was left on the leader, almost completely vanished. Though not a proper tracking spell, it might be swept away by the flow of space soon, but it should buy a few seconds.
The rest of the dark magic burrowed into the minds of the survivors, making contact with something resonating with the externally applied flow to gather information.
...Unknown. The unique complex spell formula of the Abyssal Conclave. To fully comprehend and unravel this intricately intertwined formula, Hans's research was still lacking. However...
Parts of the complex spell formula. 'Prohibitions' and 'curses' mixed into it were very familiar to Hans. They had been his frequently used tools recently.
'This is where it starts.'
'Vile Wisdom' followed the familiarity to trace, and 'Forbidden Knowledge' began to analyze. Unraveling the composition of the spell like digging up sweet potato vines, he finally neared the end. Located at the last part was...
It was 'death.' This was more than just familiar to Hans; it was intrinsically linked to his very essence. It was something he had experienced, overcome, and ultimately came to dominate.
'Now!'
He intervened in the resonating formula. Just like carelessly inserting a foreign object into precision machinery parts could cause a malfunction, the formula might go haywire and harm the subject. That would be a failure. Therefore, he removed a part of the formula's cogwheel.
As an eternity-like instant passed, the endlessly stretched noise around him slowly began to return to normal.
Woong—
The formula continued to resonate. However, with a crucial part missing, it could only idle, failing to achieve its original purpose.
[Kekeke... Kahahaha! I am the ruler of death. Do you think you can escape me through death?]
Hans burst into maniacal laughter, having completed his task. Of course, during this, he didn't forget to move the dark magic to knock out the staggering remnants who hadn't lost consciousness. He couldn't risk them waking up and causing more trouble.
[And you, you won't die so easily.]
He immediately tracked the dark magic he had planted on the leader just before he vanished, as well as the traces left while escaping the barrier.
While he was focused on deciphering the prohibition, the traces had already started to fade. However, the situation was better than before. By closely analyzing the prohibition, he identified the magic pattern of the one who created it. This was information he couldn't have discerned from simply fighting.
Using the residue left in the barrier, he estimated the direction and, with the faint traces of dark magic, guessed the distance. Within the range he had determined, he pinpointed the location based on the leader's magic pattern.
He didn't know how the leader had escaped the place. Given that there were no magical traces left in the barrier, it was likely a unique skill. But now, that was irrelevant.
[...Found you.]
He would simply have to search the leader's mind directly.