Chapter 633
How About Coming to My Territory? (1)
The scriptures of the Salvation Church naturally contained records about the sealing of the Demonic Abyss.
However, since these records were incredibly old, even Gartros could not fully grasp their contents. Many records had been lost, and the remaining ones were filled with incomprehensible illustrations and writings.
The Salvation Church had been continuously interpreting the scriptures. One of the discoveries they made was the story of the Saintess.
"If we find the King and go to the Sanctuary, we will surely be able to break the seal again."
The part about the Saintess sacrificing herself to seal the Demonic Abyss was easy to understand. However, there were contradictory records as well.
One claimed that the Saintess was still within the Demonic Abyss, waiting for her King.
The Salvation Church interpreted this as a metaphor. After all, no human, not even the Saintess, could live for a thousand years.
Besides, it was clearly passed down that the Saintess had sacrificed herself to seal the Demonic Abyss. So, the record stating that she was waiting for the King must have had another meaning.
"Just like she left behind a relic, she must have left something there as well. Something to ensure that the seal couldn't be easily broken. After all, the Saintess knew that the King would be resurrected."
"Hmm..."
Ernhardt rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought for a moment.
Just like the followers of the Salvation Church, those on the opposing side also seemed to believe that the King would be resurrected.
Most records from a thousand years ago had disappeared, so it was puzzling why they had believed so. Faith could explain the Church’s conviction, but their enemies had no such religious reason.
There was certainly a secret that had not been passed down.
"I suppose I’ll only understand once my memories fully return."
Ernhardt had inherited the power and memories of one of the Apostles. It was a final arrangement left behind by the sole surviving Apostle of the last battle.
His power was returning faster than expected. Though still hazy, flashes of memories were surfacing more frequently.
As the King's resurrection drew closer, the divine energy permeating the world grew denser.
His power and memories were also being influenced by that energy. It wouldn't be long before he learned the full truth.
Gartros asked once more.
"But what does ‘the Final Revelation’ mean?"
"It's nothing special. It simply means that the revelation regarding my mission was the last one I received."
"Then… does that mean you failed to unseal the Sanctuary?"
"Yes. The very next revelation that appeared was that demons would sweep across the Ritania Kingdom."
> "Hmm..."
> "The demonic army was too powerful for me to focus on fulfilling my mission. I was forced into endless battles."
> "But… didn't you say that you won?"
> "I did. But only after the entire kingdom was reduced to rubble and mountains of corpses were piled high did I finally manage to slay that demon."
Ernhardt Unknowingly Smiled.
The demon roamed, its burning red eyes blazing as it searched for him. In his dreams, he simply stood there, watching the creature.
For some reason, the demon failed to see him. Instead, it continued to vent its fury, destroying everything in sight.
The sheer hatred and killing intent radiating from the demon were immense enough to bring the world to ruin.
But in the end, the many heroes of the kingdom gathered and managed to bring the demon down.
"I thought that was the end of it."
Since the demon had died, he had expected the revelations to continue guiding him toward his mission. But the revelations simply stopped.
Instead, from that day forward, the revelations reset to the beginning, and his dreams became nothing but chaos. Time and space twisted into disorder, making it impossible to discern anything.
Ernhardt found the answer in one particular person.
"Ghislain Ferdium."
No matter how he looked at it, the only person fitting the role of a demon was him.
How he had managed to shatter even the revelations was still unknown.
However, comparing his dreams to reality, he could grasp a general idea.
"Events that are meant to happen will happen. Even if the one leading and resolving them changes, that is simply the natural course of things."
Droughts, plagues, Rifts, dragons many events had unfolded just as the revelations foretold. Some were influenced by their actions, but others had occurred regardless.
In the revelations, most of these crises had been resolved by the Duke of Delfine.
In reality, the one solving them was the Duke of Fenris.
Ernhardt had a strong feeling about what would happen next.
"The Demonic Abyss… it seems the Duke of Fenris will be the first to discover it. He has already tampered with the Forest of Beasts twice, after all."
"……."
Ernhardt spoke with an amused smile, indifferent to the fact that this could derail the long-standing aspirations of their faith.
Gartros remained silent.
That place had to belong to them. Only then could they revive the power of their God.
Carrying a sense of unease and frustration, Gartros set off once more.
But as he traveled, the rumors he heard along the way left him utterly shocked.
"A dragon… was slain?"
"Yes. The Duke of Fenris led his forces and managed to take it down."
"Ugh… Ughhh…"
Gartros shuddered. Now even dragons had fallen to them. Just how powerful had they become?
For the first time, an irreverent thought crept into his mind perhaps, even if the King were to be resurrected, he might not be able to defeat the Duke of Fenris.
Meanwhile, upon hearing the same news, Ernhardt merely smiled.
After all, he had already known the dragon would die.
To him, the dragon was nothing more than a prerequisite, a harbinger of what was to come next.
The knight who had come bearing news spoke with a serious expression.
"It wasn’t because of the Duke of Fenris that they won."
"What? Then how did they win? Don’t tell me the Prince of the Turian Kingdom stepped forward?"
"No. It was a mage named Alfoi who played the biggest role."
"Alfoi! So that bastard finally…!"
Gartros was deeply shocked.
Alfoi was someone the Church had always considered a high-priority threat within the Ducal House. He had never openly revealed himself, yet there had always been something suspicious about him.
"Come to think of it… that bastard has never once fought against a Transcendent…"
So he really was a secret weapon.
Even throughout all the battles the Duke of Fenris had fought, he had never brought Alfoi to the forefront. That was why the Church had never once encountered him.
"Duke of Fenris! That cunning snake!"
He had been hiding someone powerful enough to slay a dragon all this time. There was no doubt he had been scheming behind the scenes.
"Could it be… that all of the Duke’s achievements were only possible because of Alfoi’s help?"
Thinking that way, many of the mysteries that had puzzled him suddenly made sense.
A mage capable of handling a dragon would possess wisdom that reached the heavens.
With Alfoi at his side, the Duke of Fenris must have been able to act like a prophet, always preparing and moving ahead of others.
It was no wonder they had lost.
"Just wait… now that I know the truth, I won’t be caught off guard again."
Gartros clenched his teeth.
Once they found the King and restored the Church’s power, the first thing he would do was eliminate Alfoi.
That was the oath Gartros swore at this moment.
* * *
Ghislain and a select group had to wait in the Kingdom of Sardina for quite some time.
Suppressing the remaining stragglers wasn’t difficult, but it would take a while for the key commanders of the Allied Forces to return.
Most of the remnants had been wiped out, scattered across the continent. The remaining forces continued sweeping through the regions, tracking down those who had fled.
Only a few commanders led select units back to the Kingdom of Sardina for the final post-war conference.
While waiting, Ghislain immersed himself in training, honing the techniques of heroes he had seen in his dreams.
He needed to expand his mana reserves, strengthen both his body and mind only then could he wield the Power of Will for longer periods.
In that regard, these new techniques were of great help in elevating his martial prowess.
Meanwhile, Julien focused solely on identifying the foreign energy that had infiltrated his body.
He hadn’t told anyone, nor had he let it show, so nobody knew what he was doing.
To others, it merely seemed like he was quietly meditating as usual.
‘I can’t figure it out…’
The energy could no longer be felt within his body.
It hadn’t disappeared it had simply merged so naturally with him that it felt as if it had always been a part of him.
A power that he couldn’t sense. A power he couldn’t wield.
It would be a lie to say it didn’t trouble him.
“Haa…”
For once, Julien let out a sigh, something rare for someone as emotionally detached as him.
This unknown energy unsettled him to the point that even he felt disturbed.
No matter how much he pondered, no answers came. Yet, he couldn’t just ignore it either, leaving him trapped in endless contemplation.
‘Why… did I see the Saintess?’
According to Ereneth, the Saintess had sacrificed herself to seal the Demonic Abyss.
Could this energy be related to that event?
There was no way the Saintess had appeared without reason.
‘Should I ask Ereneth?’
But Julien didn’t believe she would tell him the truth.
Even when they spoke before, she had seemed to be hiding something.
Perhaps he should discuss it with Ghislain and the others instead.
He couldn’t afford to keep the energy he had absorbed from that Mad Dragon within his body any longer.
He knew he should reveal it, and yet…
‘Why… why am I…?’
A deep, instinctual resistance surged from within.
A powerful premonition warned him - not yet. He must not tell Ghislain. Not yet.
Julien had always trusted his instincts. His preternatural intuition had always guided him in the right direction.
But now, was this truly his own will? Or was it the influence of the energy?
Once doubt crept in, he found it hard to trust even his own senses.
“Haa…”
He let out another sigh.
Never in his life had he felt so confused. The uncertainty only made his frustration grow.
Suddenly, a certain figure surfaced in his mind.
‘Gartros… If I meet him, will I understand what’s happening?’
For some time, he had wanted to meet Gartros in person.
If this energy was related to the Salvation Church, then Gartros would know more than anyone.
As soon as the thought occurred to him, his heart leaned toward that path.
Just like when he first learned of Ghislain back when he felt an unexplainable pull to meet him.
Now, that same mysterious intuition pointed him in a single direction, like a compass locking onto true north.
And yet, unlike before, he couldn’t make the decision so easily.
Because now, he doubted his own intuition.
‘Just a little longer… I need to think a little more…’
While Julien remained lost in thought, the commanders of the Allied Forces gathered in the Kingdom of Sardina.
Ghislain had already sent most of his army back.
Only a few remained by his side, Gillian, Belinda, and a handful of knights and attendants.
Yet no one doubted his safety.
Even with just this small group, they were more than capable of massacring an entire legion.
The commanders reunited after a long time, but their expressions were relaxed.
> "It’s finally over now."
"There’s nothing left that threatens us."
"Shall we start forming a pursuit squad to hunt down that so-called priest?"
Now, the only task remaining was to capture Ernhardt and Gartros.
No one seemed particularly worried. With all the kingdoms and churches across the continent searching for them, it was only a matter of time before they were found.
Ghislain and the commanders planned their manhunt while also dividing the spoils obtained from the final rebel suppression.
The most critical issue of territorial division was handled similarly to before.
All regions bordering the Kingdom of Ritania were absorbed into Ritania, while the remaining lands were distributed among the other allied nations.
As a result, Ritania, already a vast kingdom, had nearly doubled in size.
It had undeniably become the strongest nation on the continent.
Ghislain smiled in satisfaction.
"The tedious post-war process is finally over. Is everyone satisfied with the distribution?"
"Ah… yes…"
"Of course…"
"This is… more than enough…"
Yet, their smiles lacked energy.
It wasn’t that they were dissatisfied with the division itself, everyone had agreed that Ritania deserved the largest share.
But…
‘It’s gotten too big and powerful.’
‘It was already one of the largest kingdoms on the continent…’
‘At this point, we might as well call it an empire.’
The sheer strength of Ritania was daunting, leaving the other leaders uneasy and that wasn’t all.
When they returned to their respective homelands, the greedy nobles would undoubtedly criticize them questioning why they had conceded so much.
Just thinking about it was exhausting.
Now that the post-war settlements were complete, it was time for everyone to return home.
Each kingdom would now focus on stabilizing their lands and researching the Rifts.
However, they planned to stay in close contact for the pursuit operation.
Ghislain turned to Julien and asked,
> "So, what will you do now?"
> "I… plan to search for Gartros."
> "Alone?"
> "I don’t have anything else to do. Rather than idling around, I’d rather hunt down dangerous people."
Julien spoke casually.
With the war over, he had no real role anymore.
Returning to the kingdom wasn’t appealing either too many people felt uneasy around him.
He had never been welcomed anywhere, so he figured he might as well spend his time tracking down Gartros.
Ghislain fell into thought.
Although Julien was more than capable of handling himself, those enemies were dangerous.
‘Especially Ernhardt… I still don’t know his true identity.’
There was no telling what tricks they might pull.
Going after them alone was reckless and unnecessary.
"That’s too inefficient. The pursuit squads will already be searching the entire continent, so why wander around aimlessly? It’s better to move when we get reliable information."
"…But I have nothing else to do."
"So you’re saying you’re unemployed."
"……"
Ghislain smirked before making a different suggestion.
"Then how about coming to my territory?"
"My land is a great place for an unemployed man to stay."
The unexpected offer made Julien’s eyes widen slightly.
Meanwhile, Marquis Gideon, who had been listening nearby, narrowed his eyes suspiciously and stepped closer.