Chapter – 73
✠
I retraced my steps. My destination was the place where I had fought the host of the Dark Sword.
As I climbed the slope, the scene of the tragedy came into view at once. Hundreds of corpses lay scattered on the reddened ground.
As expected, Tesilide was right in the middle of the hill of corpses.
<Good heavens…>
Agnes muttered, as if seeing something utterly absurd.
<What kind of saint is he? And here he is, doing this in a situation like this?>
Tesilide was carefully laying the bodies straight and closing their eyes one by one.
Even though his body hadn’t fully recovered, the first thing he did was this. It was no wonder Agnes was taken aback.
<Seems like there’s something wrong with his personality. Honestly, being hypocritical would’ve been easier to understand.>
“He’s not that lacking in humanity. He helps because he needs to, not because he wants to.”
<Needs?>
What Tesilide was doing now fell under the “Charity” virtue of the Seven Pillars. He was, in his own way, farming holy power.
I summarized it briefly.
“There’s a buff that makes you stronger when you do good deeds.”
I leaned against a tree on the hilltop, waiting without disturbing him. After offering his requiem prayer, he approached me.
“Ailet.”
He spoke with an apologetic expression.
“I thought I’d just go and come back before you woke up… did you have to search long?”
“I found you in one go.”
I skimmed over the organized corpses. Tesilide’s face showed a hint of embarrassment.
He was aware that his actions weren’t something that would be universally understood, so he worried about my reaction.
“This is…”
“Out of duty, I suppose. Good work. Drink this.”
“….”
I handed him a potion to quench his thirst and restore his energy. He accepted it awkwardly and then spoke.
“By the way, I’m late in saying this…”
“For what?”
“Thank you for saving me, Ailet. I wouldn’t have survived without you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“The ciabatta sandwich by my bedside was delicious too. Your cooking is still excellent.”
“Want some more? I have plenty.”
I rummaged through my satchel, and Tesilide smiled.
“You’re still endlessly trying to feed people.”
I let out a small, embarrassed cough.
“Was that me?”
“Yes. Thanks for the potion too. I’ll drink it.”
He shook the bottle slightly and drank its contents. I collected the empty bottle afterward.
For a reunion after ten years, I thought the atmosphere was natural enough. Still, I said it anyway.
“Long time no see, Teri.”
“Yeah… long time, Ailet.”
Tesilide suddenly seemed curious and asked me:
“How did you get here?”
“It’s hard to explain, but think of it like a dungeon sync.”
“A dungeon sync? What an incredible coincidence. If I hadn’t understood ‘strict order and virtue,’ I’d have thought it was a miracle granted to me.”
Agnes coughed awkwardly at the pointed remark.
<Well, our god is a bit strict.>
Suppressing the urge to encourage him to convert to the Creed of Words, Tesilide asked another question.
“You were using an aura earlier… I thought your main ability was holy power.”
“My main ability is holy power. I just felt it wasn’t enough, so I learned swordsmanship too.”
“You mastered the sword as a sub-ability… and became an Aura Expert?”
“Yeah. Specifically, Expert—highest tier.”
At this, Tesilide’s eyes flickered slightly.
Aside from the forcibly awakened holy power from the stigmas, his main ability was aura, yet he had reached the highest Expert tier.
“The kid who struggled even running during hide-and-seek in the Toy Mansion… how did he…”
“Yeah, that’s why I was shocked and started sword training.”
“Your swordsmanship is unique too. Isn’t it the secular style of Saint Agnes?”
“Oh, exactly. My necklace is a relic of Agnes. Her soul is contained in it, so I could learn the swordsmanship. She’s still beside me. She’s waving at you.”
“…Really?”
“Really. Are you doubting the words of the person who saved your life?”
“No! Not at all.”
“Right? Then say hello to Agnes.”
“Um… it’s an honor to meet the continent’s hero. I am Tesilide Argent of the Inquisition of the Paladin Bureau.”
<Welcome, brother. But not the side you’re looking at. Look the other way.>
After properly introducing Tesilide, the conversation naturally turned to Agnes.
As I explained that the fame of the Church’s number-one instructor wasn’t for nothing, I also shared details of my training life.
After listening to how I had lived, Tesilide smiled.
“You’ve been doing well.”
“Yeah. I lived diligently and well.”
My story ended, and now it was his turn.
“I…”
“….”
“I’ve been well too.”
A lie.
Even if I read the original work dozens of times, I couldn’t trust his words completely.
Recently, he must have endured hell in the dungeon called the ‘Valley of Heretics.’ Even there, he would have walked alone among corpses, closing the eyes of those who couldn’t die on command. Certainly, that might have looked hypocritical.
Those corpses were of people he had personally ended to stop the Dark Lord’s ritual.
This event became the reason Tesilide gained high recognition at the Church and earned fame as a paladin. His deeds spread beyond the Church to the kingdom.
Anyone unaware might have pretended to be friendly just once, but…
“Really? Glad to hear that you’ve been well.”
I pretended not to know anything.
That was enough for our greetings. I removed my back from the tree trunk.
“Teri, how’s your body?”
“As you can see, fully healed. Thanks to you.”
“Good. Then let’s deal with the Dark Sword host. I want to finish it before the reinforcements arrive.”
The host must be waiting, stretching their neck for the Church reinforcements. They would need sacrifices to regenerate their right arm.
Tesilide said apologetically:
“The reinforcements might become a hidden danger, so you have no choice but to take the lead. I’m grateful that you willingly lend your strength to the Church.”
“I’m not lending it to the Church. I’m lending it to you.”
“….”
“Why are you opening your eyes so wide again? Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to repay the favor. Anyway, let’s go find your sword.”
Decision made. Tesilide and I began moving toward the hill filled with magical energy.
✠
<Krhh…>
At the far west of the dungeon ‘The Hill Where the Holy-Demon Sword is Sealed,’ in a swamp filled with blooming saffron flowers, Eleon Odrek was recovering.
Eleon gripped his throbbing right shoulder. The more he thought about it, the more his body trembled.
<How dare… how dare they take my arm… my arm as the wielder of the Holy Sword…!>
His right arm showed no signs of regeneration. Though he had killed hundreds while wielding the Dark Sword, there weren’t enough sacrifices to regenerate a severed limb.
He needed to kill more, but in this dungeon, it was only Tesilide and the woman. Two wouldn’t be enough. And even if it were Tesilide, that woman was completely out of the question…
<Ugh…>
Eleon shivered anew as he remembered the moment Ailet had cut his arm.
Fear consumed him.
Would he be slain by that terrifying woman?
At that moment, he was startled by a voice.
<Do you want power?>
<…!>
Eleon looked around in shock. No one was there. Instead, black energy rose like ash throughout his vision.
He suddenly looked down. A crimson summoning circle glowed faintly at the waterlogged swamp floor.
<Do you want power?>
<Who… who are you?>
Piiing—
As ringing struck in his ears, a vision struck his mind.
Someone reclined lazily on a throne of stone in utter darkness.
A young man with blond hair that grew red toward the tips. The moment their eyes met, he flashed blood-red eyes.
<I am Carpeios, master of the Sand Abyss. Bow your head, wretched livestock, before me.>
<Kuh?! Phuh…!>
An irresistible force forced Eleon to bow to the ground. His face pressed into the water, struggling for air.
<I will ask you one last time, livestock.>
<Phuh… kuh…>
<Will you make a contract with me in exchange for power that surpasses your limits?>
Power beyond limits.
Even while nearly drowning in knee-deep water, Eleon’s ears caught the words clearly.
No hesitation. He clenched his only remaining fist.
<For livestock, that was a clever choice.>
A bloodthirsty smile passed across Carpeios’ face.
The black, ash-like energy dissipated across the swamp. The skies cleared, and wind blew.
Sand mixed with grit swirled in the gust.
✠
Tesilide and I noticed the strange phenomenon after crossing about five hills.
“Huh? Why is there sand in the wind…?”
“Ailet, look.”
Tesilide pointed to the sky, where a bizarre event unfolded.
The day rapidly turned to night. A blood-red moon swallowed the sun, causing a solar eclipse.
As if proving this wasn’t a world of humans, the moon dripped red like blood. It was like a surrealist painting come to life.
A blood-dripping red moon. It symbolized the presence of a demon.
“Carpeios…”
Tesilide muttered the name of the Sand Abyss Demon King through clenched teeth.
I, too, couldn’t hide my shock at seeing the symbolic form of Carpeios.
‘Random interference by the second-ranked demon…?’
This was nowhere in the original story!
[‘Inspector of Secrets’ says all of this is karma brought on by your reckless intervention.]
Even so, the Inspector insisted that the weak protagonist must be protected at all costs.
<What? What’s happening?>
Agnes asked, concerned. Tesilide explained in my stead.
“The ritual to expand the demon king’s domain has begun. Someone offered a sacrifice to the Sand Abyss Demon King. The only one left to be used as a sacrifice here is Lord Eleon. He offered himself.”
“Hah… so it’s true that becoming the Dark Sword host makes one lose intelligence.”
He probably made a foolish contract, blinded by power. Obvious.
“Ailet, if this continues, this place will turn into desert and become part of the Sand Abyss.”
“I’d rather not see Carpeios’ face just yet.”
“There’s only one way. We must take Lord Eleon’s life before the ritual completes.”
Pain was evident in Tesilide’s voice.
The information he was sharing came from the hellish experiences in the ‘Valley of Heretics.’
I silently placed my hand on Tesilide’s shoulder.
Agnes asked worriedly:
<If he’s empowered by a demon king, isn’t he incredibly strong? Ailet, can you handle him alone?>
“That’s…”
At that moment:
Whoooosh.
A gust of wind blew. It wasn’t strong enough to be mistaken for a storm, more like a breeze.
However, the sharp blades of grass carried by it made me shout hastily:
“Barrier of Mercury!”
