chapter 133
133 – At dawn (1)
#At dawn (1)
The inside of the palace was quiet.
The hallway, which had become tidy after the tentacles of the high-ranking demon Ketyalhill had disappeared, gave Julius a slight sense of aesthetic comfort.
“Evacuating people… “It seems difficult.”
Engraved with an archaic pattern.
A small voice came out of Julius’s mouth as he opened the door in the hallway.
Beyond the threshold, the sight that caught his eye.
Furniture, people, and sounds.
It was a pure white space with nothing in it.
“…… “Is the magic on the palace separate from Ketyal Hill?”
I guess the magic that shuffles the space in this damn palace had nothing to do with tentacles.
Carefully closing the door that would have originally led to “Conference Room 1,” Julius took a deep breath.
“What a thorough devil.”
A capable enemy always presents a difficult problem.
And Julius was always in a position to solve difficult problems.
My head feels a little dizzy.
Thinking of the residents of Darkana who were still waiting anxiously for rescue somewhere inside the palace, Julius began to walk calmly.
Trump─ Tudge─
“… ….”
I keep thinking as I walk.
Arnhill… It seems that the act of ‘destroying the building’ was made an absolute condition for destroying the spell cast on the palace.
So, at present, it was close to impossible to liberate all the hostages who were imprisoned in ‘guest rooms’ rather than the palace hallways.
Inside this “Maze-like” Palace, heading correctly to the desired location inevitably involves ‘destruction.’
Julius, whose goal was to save the hostages rather than kill them, had no choice but to refrain from making hasty moves.
“…… Hmm.”
Here and there. As you walk, try to infer the activation conditions of the magic traps you see.
Definitely… They say the world is only visible to what you know.
Now that I was able to handle magic, I seemed to see ‘incorrect choices’ lurking throughout the palace that I had not seen before.
Cesil also probably noticed these traps in Arnhill, so she didn’t move hastily.
Even though she became a devil, she was still a woman with a kind heart.
“You are too hard on yourself. “It would be okay to be a little selfish.”
Well, she actually seems to think of herself as some kind of vicious villainess.
In Julius’ eyes, she just seemed like an angelic woman.
─Julius! Love you! I love it!
“…… Under.”
I can’t wait to see you.
Cecil.
… ….
As she remembered her angelic wife’s bright smile, she took a moment to walk.
Hung on the other side of the hallway, at the edge of Julius’s field of vision.
A picture frame caught his eye.
“…… That.”
In the picture frame, there was a drawing of a pure white girl who looked very familiar.
I turned around and slowly approached the place where the painting was.
“…… “I wondered where he had gone, but he was trapped in a place like this.”
Somehow, it strangely resembles Cecil’s childhood.
Julius’ sword and also a sacred relic of the church.
“You are so stupid all the time.”
A portrait of the holy sword “Nerondir” Was hanging on the wall.
Somehow.
No matter how many times I called, there was no news, and it seemed like Arnhil had been harmed while Julius was gone.
Looking at the holy sword trapped in the painting – unlike the cursed portraits that moved alone, Nerondir’s painting did not even move – Julius narrowed his eyes.
This picture frame, which looked like an ordinary picture at first glance, was woven with complex and vast magic that was difficult for the criminal to even imagine.
“…… Anyway, whatever. “This trick is truly artistic.”
Originally, there was no way to completely seal the holy sword like this… It’s normal if it doesn’t exist.
Nerondir, who is close to being a bundle of pure divine power, destroys sophisticated magic techniques just by existing.
“What a f*cking b*tch.”
But who is Arnhill?
Isn’t he a damn devil who possesses cowardice and meanness that no one in the world can match?
“…… “It is a space that expands infinitely.”
The plan that Arnhill came up with to prevent the Holy Sword from answering the calls of Lionelta and Julius was a move that caught the opponent off guard.
In this picture frame that you see in front of you, you build a space that has the property of infinite expansion. A holy sword was inserted into it.
“The holy sword was unlikely to escape. Certainly, it would be close to impossible to escape on your own.”
In the palace that has been turned into a “Maze” By Arnhill’s magic, ‘acts of destruction’ are essential to get to the right place.
However, ‘acts of destruction’ cannot occur in an infinitely expanding space.
So, no matter how much it is a holy sword with the power to transcend space, there is no way to get out of this picture frame by one’s own power.
It was truly a clever plan like Arnhill.
“Just wait a moment, I’ll get it out soon.”
However, Arnhill’s [Picture Frame] Was basically a plan focused on preventing the ‘magnetic escape’ of the Holy Sword.
No matter what, it was said that it was only a temporary measure that could not seal the Holy Sword forever.
So, in short, this is it.
───Quaaang!
If there is someone outside who can cause destruction in place of the Holy Sword, Arnhill’s clever plan is.
I heard that it was surprisingly easy to destroy.
I raised my right hand, wearing a black glove, and lightly struck the picture frame with a pure white girl on it.
With a bloody sound like a battering ram knocking on the castle gate, the outer wall of the palace where the picture was hung collapsed and was completely reduced to powder.
-… ….
But the picture frame with the Holy Sword sealed in it…… Surprisingly, let alone breaking, it didn’t even move.
It was as if nothing had happened, just as it was. It’s just stuck in the air.
“…… “It was a success.”
But it doesn’t matter.
What are the ‘conditions’ for heading to the right place? Because it was satisfied by destroying the outer wall of the palace a while ago.
All that’s left is to wait.
“… ….”
I adjust my clothes for a moment while waiting for the Holy Sword to appear.
For a while, I was wasting time without any use.
────Wow!
Click!
With a sound like a glass window breaking, a holy sword emitting a strange scream suddenly jumped out of the picture.
“Waaa!”
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
──Cheolpudeok.
Have you lost your sense of direction? He flies around the hallways, hits his head, and rolls around on the floor.
Really, it was a sword that had not even the slightest trace of dignity.
“It appears so loudly.”
Showing new obscene things every time you see him is, in a way, a talent.
Julius walks towards the Holy Sword, which is crawling on the floor as if it were some kind of caterpillar.
“It’s a big problem.”
He laughs and shakes his head as if he is dumbfounded.
“You are just tarnishing the name of the denomination all by yourself.”
Really, even if I were to do it on purpose, I wouldn’t be able to do it.
To be stupid.
He approached the fallen holy sword with a sarcasm that bordered on teasing.
In the meantime.
“…… Yes? Here…… Where are you?”
The Holy Sword must have finally come to its senses after hearing Julius’ voice, and stood up shakily, holding its head.
The hair was frizzy and the shoulder straps were falling down.
Anyone could see that he looked like a drunkard suffering from a hangover.
“Did you at least drink alcohol? “You’re out of your mind.”
Julius narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, looking at the holy sword rather than speaking.
Although he somehow came to his senses, he still couldn’t distinguish between up, down, left, right, east, west, and north. The holy sword, which had been spinning its head around in place, jerked its head at Julius’ words! And turned it around.
“Ah, ah! Julius!”
The pupils of the already large holy sword grow as big as the full moon.
Has he finally noticed that Julius is there? With his mouth wide open, the Holy Sword pointed at Julius and pointed at him with his finger.
“That finger. “You’re so arrogant.”
“Hey, hey—!”
“Hmm? …… 2?”
“This, this!”
You ungrateful bastard who knows no grace!
──You bastard! ──You bastard! ──You bastard!
I wonder if they boiled and ate a train barrel.
As soon as he came to his senses, Nerondir was full of energy.
As soon as her eyes met Julius’s, she leapt towards him and let out her yell.
“…… Ingratitude? As soon as I saw her, I saw that she was talking nonsense, so I guess she had a serious head injury. “What are you doing to the owner who saved you from danger?”
Julius’s eyebrows furrowed as he felt not only bewilderment but also embarrassment at that sight.
What an ingratitude. When it comes to ingratitude, wouldn’t it be more fitting for a holy sword to point a finger at the owner who saved him than for Julius?
Julius’ head tilted to the side due to the Holy Sword’s anger, which he could not understand at all.
“Hey! You! “I told you not to do such strange things!”
What… Julius may or may not be confused as he looks at the angry holy sword.
As soon as she came to her senses, her eyes rolled back and the Holy Sword just continued to yell.
“An angel’s representative! The owner of the holy sword! You must be more pure and pure than anyone else in the world! But Magi. And of all the demons, it’s Nirhil’s demon!”
As a representative of angels. He denounces Julius’ mistake in breaking a taboo that should never have been committed.
It seems that the Holy Sword had already noticed that Julius had accepted Cecil’s power.
“Nirhil is not as good as his magic power. She is a woman who has had a demon deep in her heart since she was a human. “It’s a being that brings misfortune on a different level than other demons disguised as humans!”
“… ….”
“An anecdote about Nirhil. You know it well, right?! A demon that sucks the luck of the land and brings misfortune just by existing. “That’s your wife!”
“… ….”
“There is no turning back. There is no turning back! If you accept its magical energy even once. I can never go back to being a pure priest again, my very existence is tainted with evil! “But, but you!”
…… Without even saying anything to me.
How can that be?
You are my master.
“… ….”
With that said in conclusion. Seonggeom pursed his lips. There was deep despair in the twinkling eyes.
“…… Ugh.”
It seemed like he was out of breath because he was shouting so loudly without taking a breath.
The Holy Sword silently lowers its head.
“Hmm.”
That look… Julius just looked at me in silence.
He rubbed the back of his neck, thinking over the words the Holy Sword said a moment ago. And then, he slowly blinked his eyes.
…… What can I say?
The backlash is much stronger than I thought.
At best, ‘Hey! I thought it would end like, ‘Did you get into an accident again?’
It seems that the owner’s corruption is a more sensitive issue for the Holy Sword than one might think.
“Your words. Got it.”
I was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected anger of the holy sword.
Julius calmly gathered his thoughts and spoke to the Holy Sword again.
“It’s all over now. Done.”
But the Holy Sword.
Nerondir, a holy relic and a minor angel.
It seemed like he had no intention of listening to Julius.
“You can never lift me again. A person affected by magic loses the right to hold a holy sword. It was the same back then and Telmere. After being fatally wounded by Arn Hill, he suffered from the fluid all over his body. I could have lived if I had carried him. He couldn’t lift me. “I couldn’t do it!”
His former master who died a heartbreaking death at the hands of Arnhill. He thinks of Tellmere and his eyes fill with tears.
It was as if he was looking at Julius, who had lost the right to carry himself, and Telmir, who died in vain before his eyes a long time ago.
“Everything… Cecil It’s because of that b*tch. Cecil, that b*tch… Cecil, that b*tch defiled my master! It’s dirty! ───aaagh!”
“But it’s wrong.”
However, Julius had no intention of listening to the Holy Sword’s heartbreaking complaints to the end.
If your emotions are dry… It wasn’t.
I just didn’t have time right now. Also, in order to slay Arnhill, a weapon called the Holy Sword was essential.
That was all the story.
“Because I accepted Cecil’s demonic power. “They said I had magic.”
He grabbed Nerondir’s head with his hands as he made a strangely harsh noise.
Julius raised the holy sword as if he was drawing a sword and continued speaking in a low voice.
All of a sudden, it became a strange scene of a ‘special Heretic Questioner swinging in the air while holding a girl’s head.’
He didn’t care.
“It can’t be any harm to me.”
─aaah! What! Why do you listen like this!
“Because.”
Julius did something bizarre that went beyond his common sense.
The Holy Sword, which hastily returned to its original sword form, screams.
“Because Cecil is my light and my heart.”
Julius obviously lost the right to hold the holy sword.
The pure white and transparent sword body, which seemed to have been carved from a perpetual snow cap, was still emitting a brilliant light in his grasp.
As if it were natural.
Julius, who gained the qualification again as soon as he lost the qualification to hold the holy sword, smiles faintly.
“Also, she is an angel who brings me luck and happiness.”
Julius loves every aspect of Cecil.
Her goodness too.
Her evil too.
Her strengths too.
Her shortcomings too.
Just to get joy, joy, and a reason to live from everything about the devil named Cecil Lionelta.
Even if the devil accepts the demonic energy and bad luck of a woman named Cecil into his pure body.
“Even if I end up walking the path of a demon. “There is no reason why I cannot lift you.”
Julius is not polluted.
He does not lose his innocence.
Because the woman named Cecil is half of the being named Julius. Her power does not cause any harm to Julius.
It just harmoniously blends into his body.
“An angel’s representative accepted the angel’s power.”
─… ….
“That’s all. Nerondir.”
Slowly, he placed the holy sword on his waist.
Julius neatly took off his uniform jacket.
The day is cold.
The angel of Julius, who is very sensitive to cold, sometimes got sick from the cold morning wind.
If the Inquisitor’s thick uniform, which emphasizes warmth, is not worn, Julius’ mind will feel uneasy as if he were sitting on a thorn cushion all day.
“So now, let’s go to Cecil’s side, Nerondir. If Cecil fights it while wearing thin clothes, she will definitely get into trouble. “If you don’t put this on, I will feel anxious and have trouble sleeping tonight.”
─…… It doesn’t work either.
“…… Hmm?”
─It’s nonsense, it’s nonsense.
Nonsense!
Of course, unlike Julius, who has a bean pod that will never come off.
For Nerondir, who has an extremely sane mind, this current situation is simply absurd.
No, it’s beyond absurd.
I even feel fear.
─Cecil, that crazy b*tch? What a damn angel!
Aren’t you really crazy!?
I can’t admit this.
I can’t admit it!
How can you use a holy sword like this?
─aaah!
Just like that, the curtain on the final stage has risen.
Along with the sorrowful scream of the Holy Sword.