chapter 163
163. Crow Hunt (1)
Something caught Yuma’s eye.
A member of Malpas’ side, and a saint at that, came to kill Malpas, the god she serves?
It was a statement that was impossible to understand with common sense.
“What do you mean?”
The young man slowly raised his body, bowed his head deeply toward Yuma, and then raised it again.
“First, let me introduce myself. I am the younger brother of Elphin, the second saint of Figero, a sect created by the god Malphas.”
Yuma stared at the young man. It seemed to indicate that he should continue speaking. The young man continued.
“A pendant that the Astes Empire used to find information about our Figero. The owner of that pendant is my older sister.”
Yuma recalled that day at the young man’s words.
The day a nun who had possessed a god approached him.
And Belle killed the black beings he had summoned.
‘It seems that nun was the second saint.’
And I was finally able to find out the name of the evil spirit that had possessed the nun’s body.
“Malpas, is that the name of the god who created the sect called Figuero?”
The young man nodded.
“Yes, it’s Malpas.”
Yuma began to ask questions about things that were questionable from his perspective.
“Why is the saint of the Figero sect trying to kill Malphas, the sect’s god?”
“The current saintess, Lady Yulysia, considered the first saintess, Lady Mayen, as her benefactor. When I saw her a few years ago…the two of them seemed almost like sisters.”
The young man continued.
“Like my older sister, the first saint also died at the hands of Malphas. It was not long ago that Lady Yulysia found out about this.”
Yuma was very surprised. When he heard the reason, he was even more surprised that it was understandable. However, there was still a high possibility that it was a trap.
“Let’s assume for now that all those words are true.”
It was difficult to rationally understand that the saint had decided to kill the god she served.
“Kill them? How do you kill them?”
At Yuma’s words, Elfin’s younger brother, Garon, let out a faint sigh and opened his mouth again.
“The gods descend.”
“Spirit?”
“The saint said that she would use any words to coax Malphas into becoming a spirit.”
Calling God to the body.
“so?”
“Either you somehow get the demon Malphas out, or you kill him while he’s still demonized. He said he’ll keep his demonic power, so you have to figure out a way to kill him.”
It could not be said that the saint’s attitude of asking for a method to be found here was arrogant.
For Saint Julian of Figueiro, trying to somehow make the spirit come alive and maintain that state would be the best she could do.
Knock- Knock-
Yuma tapped the desk with his index finger.
“What’s your name?”
“This is Garon.”
There is a possibility that the current saintess, Yulysia, and the younger sister of the previous saintess in front of you, Garon, are lying under Malphas’ orders.
It can’t be completely ruled out. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that from Malpas’ perspective, there was no reason for him to confront Yuma himself, the god of war. In fact, it would only increase his chances of dying.
‘The probability of it being a trap is slim. If it is a trap, it is a very stupid trap.’
Yuma continued his thoughts.
It wasn’t an issue that could be concluded with a quick thought.
Knock- Knock-
The conclusion has been reached.
“Garon, tell the saintess. I will find the methods I mentioned. Tell her to decide on a date for the séance and a place to meet on that day.”
<The Eight Evil Gods>.
There were now five left. I couldn’t miss the opportunity to kill one of them.
“…All right.”
Yuma looked out the window. The sun was setting darkly.
“The night has deepened, so let’s leave tomorrow morning.”
Brigitte quickly added to Yuma’s words.
“I’ll assign you a place to stay.”
“thank you.”
Squeak-
Garon bowed his head and went outside.
Brigitte stared at Yuma through the wall.
“are you okay?”
“There’s no reason why it wouldn’t be okay.”
“It’s like killing a god.”
“How many times have you not done that?”
Brigitte sighed, lost for words at Yuma’s words.
“Yeah, that’s right… killing a god has become a natural thing. I just haven’t gotten used to it yet.”
Brigitte leaned against Yuma’s shoulder, warmth flowing through their bodies.
Yuma stroked Brigitte’s face. It was normal for Brigitte to be tired.
It was literally a peaceful year and a half. When something like this suddenly happens, you can’t help but feel exhausted.
“Even if Saint Yulysia succeeds in instilling the god Malphas into her own body, will she be able to kill that god?”
“We have to figure it out, now.”
Brigitte still couldn’t understand what Yuma was saying.
In contrast, Yuma was thinking about what to do.
‘Is there anything that is possible with magic?’
I had to check with Kirjev, a wizard of the Zou tribe who had become one of the apostles, to see if he had any magical methods that could be used in addition to divine power. I also had to ask Rhea, the goddess of the earth and eternity, a foreign god I had encountered several times. The gods themselves would know better how to defeat gods.
Musin Yuma was too new to know about such things.
***
The next morning.
I sent Garon, the younger brother of the second saint of Figero, Elphin, back to the church. I ordered him to follow the path back to the church with an escort, in case there were any followers of Malphas hidden in the church, or even fanatics.
Yuma moved towards the training ground.
A woman was seen lying on the floor, and a girl was seen sitting on the stairs.
“…Oh my god, my back hurts.”
At Belle’s groaning, Clone burst into laughter.
“Sei-Abern-nim’s training is indeed harsh.”
“Yeah, it’s really bad… Yuma was an angel….”
Bell closed his eyes and the image of Seiabern, with her gentle face, wielding a merciless sword, came to mind in his dreams. It was just before lunchtime. He was resting after finishing his training.
Their teachers, Kirev and Seiabern, had already gone to eat first.
Jeokbuk-
The sound of footsteps echoed from the front of the training ground.
Bell and Clone’s eyes turned straight ahead. As soon as Bell stepped onto the training ground, he realized that it was Yuma. For the past year and a half, whenever the intensity of Seiabern’s training had weakened even a little, Yuma had appeared.
I recognized it as Yuma just from the sound of footsteps and the interval between movements from a distance.
“Yuma… I never thought I’d be saying something like that to you, Yuma. You should’ve come a little earlier….”
“It looks like you’re still good at making jokes like that.”
Bell, who was still lying down and talking, sat up with her pink eyes flashing as if she was struck by Yuma’s words.
“Not at all! Not worth doing!”
The blue-haired inspector was making a very strong appeal that it was not a case of malingering.
“Hestia.”
Just two months ago, Hestia was also in this training group. But now, I can’t see her anywhere.
“I carried it because it was hard!”
That’s right.
It could be said that the privilege of being able to do something difficult was something that only Hestia had. This was because Yuma had not ordered Hestia to learn the essential things from the elf swordsman Seiabern.
Belle blinked her pink eyes and opened her mouth again as Yuma seemed to believe what she said.
The body that had been suddenly raised up slowly sank back to the floor.
“…That’s a lie. I trained hard in the morning and headed to the temple.”
“okay?”
As expected, even though he was working as a high priest, it seemed that his ego towards being a prosecutor was still intact.
“But what brings you here?”
Belle suddenly added to Clone’s words.
“Surely there was something special going on here? You just came for no reason.”
Yuma didn’t find Bell’s words strange. In fact, there were many days when he stopped by the training ground for no reason these days. After all, Brigitte was in charge of the affairs of the Astes Empire. It was the role of the High Priestess Hestia and the Saint Ermel to evangelize the military god Yuma.
All Yuma did was learn swordsmanship under Balmung’s guidance.
Not only Seiabern, but even Belle would not be able to teach Yuma swordsmanship that matches his talents.
-You know I’m the only one who can teach you, Yuma, right? I’m the only one who can teach you at eye level.
Balmung began to teach Yuma, who was dull and dull, very slowly over the course of a year and a half.
I learned how to hold a sword, how to swing it, how to combine sword energy and divine power. I learned it step by step.
-It is still difficult to use in actual combat, but if you practice a little more, you will be able to display swordsmanship worthy of a warrior.
When Yuma heard those words at the time, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of irony.
Because it wasn’t a sound that a god could hear.
Yuma shook off the thought and got back to the main topic he had come to know in the training ground.
“I came to see Kiriev. Looks like he went to eat first.”
“Ah, you came to see the teacher.”
Clone answered lightly. Belle muttered, still stretched out on her haunches.
“…You should just say you came to see, in times like this.”
“Please wake up, Sister.”
Clone grabbed Belle by the shoulders and lifted her body up.
At that moment, someone approached from behind. It was the elf demigod inspector Seiabern and the great wizard of the Join tribe, Kirjev.
“Your Majesty, have you come to engage in a duel?”
Seiabern, who was blind, asked Yuma with his eyes still closed.
“I told you.”
Yuma did as he was told.
“I can’t control my black power.”
The iron plate was laid.
-I don’t want to kill my disciple’s teacher with my own hands.
Just like when Seiabern applied for the match a year and a half ago.
“Still, I want to gain insight someday.”
Seiabern believed those words outright. Of course, it was natural, since he had witnessed the scene in which the god of steel and war, Yuma, slaughtered Duke right before his eyes.
“This time, it’s not you I have business with, it’s Kirev.”
“hmm?”
A cold sweat ran down Kirev’s brain. There was always something about the god in front of him that made him nervous.
“You must kill one evil spirit like me.”