HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kie]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
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Chapter 282: The Secret (3)
***
Holy Empress led Damien deeper into the Church.
"The First Holy Emperor gained a significant enlightennt in his later years."
Holy Empress ntioned as they walked down the corridor.
"I don't know the specifics, but it wasn't a simple epiphany. Through that enlightennt, he split his soul and left a part of it behind for the Church."
Damien felt a surge of curiosity. Splitting one's soul and maintaining it for such a long ti? He had never encountered such a phenonon, not even in his past life.
Even the Imperial Supre Sword, the Sword Saint, and Cheongyeum couldn't achieve sothing like that.
Perhaps the speculation that the Salvation Squad was a group of beings surpassing even the Grandmaster was true.
"The fragnt of the First Holy Emperor's soul remains here. It offers guidance and teachings to those who seek it. Thanks to this, many paladins have been able to overco their barriers."
"Amazing."
Damien responded earnestly. From the perspective of a dark mage, what the First Holy Emperor left behind resembled a 'thoughtform'. However, thoughtforms were typically created monts before death, whereas the First Holy Emperor had divided his soul while still alive.
Moreover, thoughtforms could not maintain rationality because of they were tainted by the fear of death.
But the fragnt left by the First Holy Emperor possessed enough clarity to teach others. Alone this was a truly remarkable feat.
"Why has this been kept hidden? The fragnt of the First Holy Emperor... in a way, it's like the First Holy Emperor himself."
During his previous life, when he attacked the Church under Dorugo's command, he had not seen the First Holy Emperor's thoughtform. Dorugo hadn't found it either.
"The fragnt's power diminishes each ti it interacts with soone. That's why the Church keeps it sealed and only awakens it when absolutely necessary."
A thoughtform with clear rationality couldn't last forever, not even one created by the First Holy Emperor.
'Maybe the fragnt was entirely gone before the War of Destruction began, which is why Dorugo couldn't find it.'
As the Holy Empress explained, they reached the end of the corridor.
"Please wait a mont."
Holy Empress said while approaching a door at the end. She touched the rosary hanging around her neck to the lock and it opened.
"Only one person can enter from here."
She stepped aside. Damien approached the door, feeling a slight thrill at the prospect of eting a legendary hero. The individual might even surpass a Grandmaster in strength. He might receive invaluable advice.
"I'll go in."
Damien entered the room.
Instantly, his vision darkened. When the darkness lifted, Damien found himself on a battlefield.
On a vast plain, humanoid lizards and humans were engaged in combat. The battle was one-sided; the massive lizards were overwhelming the humans, thanks to their size and superior equipnt.
"Don't retreat! We must hold this position!"
"If we lose ground here, we're finished!"
Despite being at a disadvantage, the humans didn't lose their fighting spirit. They charged with even more fervor.
"Hold the line! 'He' will bring us victory!"
A man shouted who also seed to be the leader. The lizards let out eerie cries, seemingly mocking them.
Just then, a shadow swept across the battlefield. Both sides were so startled that the fighting paused.
Everyone looked up and saw a dragon with black wings, erratically flying through the sky.
The cause was a human man clinging to the dragon's body. The man was not only large but also incredibly muscular.
The man clung to the dragon's back and swung his mace. Each ti he struck, the dragon's scales shattered, its muscles burst forth and blood rained down from the sky.
The dragon roared in agony. Slowly, the man climbed towards the dragon's head.
When he reached the nape, he locked his legs around the dragon's neck to position himself and raised the mace high.
A blinding light enveloped the mace, causing it to grow to many tis its original size.
The man brought the massive mace down with all his strength. The dragon's head shattered like a ripe waterlon.
The headless body plumted, skidding along the ground until it stopped.
For a mont, silence fell over the battlefield. Then, the humans raised their weapons in triumphant cheers.
"We won! We really won!"
"Long live Bartholoo! Long live the Order of Salvation!"
The humans cheered in unison, while the lizardn's faces showed clear signs of panic.
"What are you all doing? Drive out those lizard bastards!"
"You beasts! Your master is dead; why aren't you running?"
The humans charged at the lizardn and slaughtered them rcilessly. Damien quietly watched the scene unfold. Just then, he heard a voice beside him.
"Isn't this a magnificent sight?"
Damien turned to see an exceptionally large man, at least half a head taller than himself and heavily muscular.
The astonishing part was that such a large fra was hidden under a simple priest's robe.
As Damien observed the man, he quickly realized who he was. The First Holy Emperor, Bartholoo, the very warrior who had just crushed the dragon's skull with a single strike.
"I pay my respect to the First Holy Emperor."
Damien said, bowing his head. Bartholoo responded with a wry smile.
"Please, don't call that. I'm just a fragnt left behind by the original, not the real thing."
"Then what should I call you?"
"Just call 'the Fragnt.'"
The Fragnt turned his gaze back to the battlefield.
"This is a reenactnt of a past battle. Thanks to this victory, humanity was able to fully secure the southern continent."
"I've often heard the story of how the First Holy Emperor crushed an evil dragon's head with a single mace."
"Haha, yes, everyone who visits brings up that story."
The Fragnt laughed heartily as he looked at Damien.
"I've had many visitors over the years, but you're the first of your kind."
"I'm not a paladin, but I was granted permission to enter."
"That's not what I'm pointing out."
The Fragnt stroked his chin with a massive hand and asked.
"Why has soone who doesn't need my teachings co here?"
***
Damien felt puzzled by the Fragnt's words.
"What do you an by that?"
"Just what I said. I don't see any deficiencies in you. Though I can't be sure, at least to my eyes, it doesn't seem like there's anything I can teach you."
The Fragnt continued as he scrutinized Damien.
"Your body is evenly developed, your mana control is exceptional, and your skills... while I haven't seen them firsthand, I can sense it. You possess an unrivaled talent."
While it was pleasing to be highly regarded by a hero of the past, Damien felt a sense of dissatisfaction. He had co here hoping to gain sothing.
"I'm sorry, but I can't offer you any guidance. If I were to give advice, it might end up doing you more harm than good... hmm?"
Suddenly, the Fragnt's gaze fixated on Damien's wrist. He stared at it with astonishnt and asked.
"Who are you, exactly? How did you co to possess Erebos? It's an artifact that no one should possess."
Damien was as shocked as the Fragnt. There was no information about Erebos anywhere in the world; even the Church knew only that it was dangerous without understanding what it truly was. Yet, the Fragnt seed to know about Erebos in detail.
"Do you know about Erebos?" Damien asked.
"No, I don't."
The Fragnt imdiately denied. Damien pressed further.
"Please, don't hide it. Tell ."
"I'm not hiding anything. I truly don't know."
"Then how do you recognize it?"
"Because the original knew."
It felt like a riddle being exchanged. As Damien's expression grew stern, the Fragnt quickly clarified.
"The original created to advise the paladins of future generations. I don't possess mories beyond combat techniques."
In the end, a fragnt was just a fragnt. Damien couldn't help but feel a deep sense of disappointnt.
"However, if I examine it closely, sothing might co to mind. Would you mind showing Erebos?"
Damien manifested Erebos and handed it to the Fragnt, who carefully examined it.
"It's different from the Erebos I know."
"What do you an?"
"I only have fragnted mories, so it's hard to explain in detail. But while it looks the sa on the outside, the power within is entirely different."
The Fragnt ran his hand along Erebos's blade, then suddenly paused.
"...You've already t my original self."
With that, Damien recalled a mory from his past.
The first ti he visited the Church, he found a mummified body with a fragnt of Erebos embedded in it. It seed that the Fragnt was referring to this.
"Do you hold a grudge?"
"I don't have such emotions. I'm just a fragnt."
The Fragnt returned Erebos to Damien.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. Please, you should go now."
Faced with the Fragnt's words, Damien was caught in contemplation. Leaving without gaining anything felt too disappointing.
Damien suddenly recalled the scene of Bartholoo smashing the dragon's head. It was an incredible strike, far beyond his current level.
Damien was determined to learn sothing so he pulled out Dawn from his subspace. The Fragnt seed surprised by this action.
"What are you doing?"
"You said you rember your combat skills clearly."
Damien had the ability to absorb and replicate the techniques and skill levels of opponents he fought against.
However, there was no guarantee he could replicate the abilities of soone as strong as Bartholoo. Nevertheless, it was worth a try.
"I'll learn what I can by fighting you. Let's have a bout."
The Fragnt laughed at the bold challenge.
"This is the first ti I've had a guest like you."
The Fragnt said as a spark of fighting spirit ignited in his eyes. He conjured a mace with his divine power and said.
"Let's see what you've got."
***
The battle lasted a full day. After the fight, Damien stayed at the Church to review the battle.
'So much for saying there was nothing for to learn... that was a complete lie.'
The duel with the Fragnt had provided him with imnse learning opportunities.
He absorbed the lessons from the fight and delved into the Church's library to study grimoires. Damien focused entirely on training to continue improving his skills, filling in any gaps in his knowledge.
Ten days passed just like that.
Finally, Damien prepared to leave the Church. However, he wasn't alone.
"Lady Agnes, are you really okay with this?" Damien asked with a worried expression.
Two days prior, the Holy Empress had issued an order to send Agnes to the Apple Kingdom. Consequently, Agnes was to accompany Damien. Given that being sent away from the headquarters of the Church was akin to a demotion, Damien couldn't help but worry.
"It's fine. It's all part of the God's will." Agnes replied calmly. His tongue clicked in sympathy, as he found the situation unfortunate.
In truth, Agnes wasn't disappointed at all. It wasn't a demotion.
"Agnes, Damien Haksen is an invaluable asset to our Church."
Holy Empress had said to Agnes a few days earlier.
"However, many others desire his skills. We can't just let him go."
"So, I am assigning you to the Apple Kingdom specifically near the Haksen territory. Your task is to maintain a close relationship with Damien."
For a promising paladin like Agnes, it was a seemingly trivial assignnt. However, she gratefully accepted the Holy Empress's order because it aligned with her own desires.
"Agnes, and this is only for you, if you manage to establish a close relationship with Damien, I'll appoint you as a secular paladin." Holy Empress added.
In the Church, paladins were not allowed to marry freely.
However, secular paladins had the freedom to marry.
In other words, what the Holy Empress ant was that Agnes and Damien…
Agnes cheeks reddened and then suddenly.
Thud!
Agnes didn’t see the tree in front of her and ended up bumping her face into it.
Agnes quickly pulled her face away from the tree and tried to play it off as if nothing had happened.
“Are you alright? That noise was quite loud.”
“It’s nothing.”
Agnes replied, quickly adjusting her hair.
And so, the two of them headed towards the Apple Kingdom.
The journey went smoothly. They arrived in the Apple Kingdom sooner than expected.
Upon reaching the kingdom’s border, they saw the scene before them.
A fortress that was both destroyed and burning.
Hahaha!
A monstrous creature with bat wings laughed loudly from atop the burning fortress.
***
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kie]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
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