#96
As the Abyss opened (3)
When Heinrich, with the Saint Mark on his palm, stepped out by opening the stone gate of the Sealed Area, he found himself in the same place he had entered for his first trial.
Despite undergoing so many trials, there was only a single door blocking his way.
“I knew it from the moment the Holy Sword created a virtual world for the trial, but it’s still impressive when I think about it.”
He looked at the Saint Mark on his palm and smiled contentedly.
“At this rate, I feel like I could take on the Paladin head-on without losing!”
Moreover, 「Blessing: Holy Sword」 was a skill that grew stronger the more it was trained, meaning the power he had gained was only the tip of the iceberg.
“Finally out, huh.”
However, there were companions waiting for Heinrich outside the stone gate.
“Well done, Sir Heinrich.”
“Oh, Cardinal Donovan!”
It was the elite members led by the Cardinal in charge of the Piccaol Temple.
“How did you know I was coming out…? No, that’s a foolish thought.”
They hadn’t come specifically to greet him.
After all, an Archlich had emerged from the Abyss, which the church was surely aware of.
“Of course they were prepared. Especially since the space isolation from the trial of the Holy Sword had dissipated, they must have sensed it more clearly.”
They rushed over just in case, but before they could enter, the Dark Magic inside had vanished, so they were waiting outside for the time being.
It would have been an issue if they disturbed Heinrich, who was in the midst of a trial.
“Hoo hoo hoo, I was worried but it seems… you’ve succeeded in becoming the master of the Holy Sword!”
The Cardinal looked at Heinrich’s palm with astonishment, yet wore a bright smile.
The reactions of the other clergy behind him were similar.
“I can’t believe you really succeeded.”
“I heard the rumors. The Holy Knight who defeated the Undead King by stabbing the sword into the Heart of the Undead King…”
“To think the master of the Holy Sword has appeared again in this time! This must surely be the will of the Holy God!”
Everyone was fervently reacting to the return of the Holy Sword after 300 years.
With the Undead King returning and the Abyss opening, the emergence of the Holy Sword, a symbol of the hero, had great significance.
“This must be destiny. So, Sir Heinrich, did something unusual happen inside?”
The Cardinal, nodding thoughtfully, glanced at Heinrich and the door he had exited from.
“Ah, after pulling out the Holy Sword, the Abyss showed some abnormal symptoms. Then an Archlich came out.”
“Archlich?”
“I was able to handle it because of the power of the Holy Barrier. Since it was the one holding the source, I could cleanly eliminate it right there.”
“I see… It’s a relief that there were no major issues.”
He let out a light sigh and gestured to the High Priest and Holy Knights behind him, who began to orderly enter the stone chamber where the Holy Sword had been sealed.
As Heinrich watched them with a puzzled expression, the Cardinal continued with a wry smile.
“By the way, it seems you’re unaware of the commotion outside. You must have been really confused when the Abyss reacted suddenly.”
“Ah, yes… that is correct.”
Although he knew the situation outside better than anyone, Heinrich merely nodded with an ambiguous expression.
The Cardinal explained the details to him.
The reasons for the recent events in the Abyss.
The opening of the second Abyss on the continent and the upcoming response measures.
“Now that the Holy Sword is gone, we need to manage that Abyss hole more thoroughly. I’m thinking of adding more barriers and stationing some personnel there just in case.”
While the current Barriers were not inadequate, the emergence of an Archlich necessitated more vigilance.
“Just when we thought we were short on manpower… Hoo hoo! This is quite a troublesome situation.”
The Cardinal seemed to have unwittingly revealed his true feelings, but he cleared his throat nonchalantly and led Heinrich outside.
“We’ll leave the work here to them, so we should head back now. You have plenty of work ahead, too.”
It was a situation where there was no time to relax.
After a brief moment of rest, Heinrich moved directly to the gate room to return to the Rosellia Temple.
Woo-ooong—
The gate began to power up gradually.
Heinrich looked back at the busy Cardinal with a troubled expression.
“You shouldn’t have come out yourself when it’s such a busy time.”
Wasn’t he in the middle of a crucial period?
It felt burdensome for someone of the Cardinal’s stature to come see him off.
“Hoo, now that you are the master of the Holy Sword, you are no longer just an ordinary Holy Knight. This is nothing. More importantly… I have something I need to tell you at the end.”
Indeed, his status would undoubtedly change significantly now.
Being the master of the Holy Sword meant he represented the Holy God in this era.
“What do you want to say at the end…?”
As Heinrich asked, the Cardinal leaned closer, bringing his mouth to Heinrich’s ear with a serious expression.
With such a cautious demeanor, Heinrich listened carefully, but…
“Don’t forget what I said last time.”
“…Huh?”
“The Saint‘s words. Do I need to explain again?”
“…No, I remember. Don’t worry.”
“Mm-mm, wonderful! Then off you go!”
“….”
The foolish Cardinal, despite being the master of the Holy Sword, found this a separate matter altogether.
*
“Welcome, Sir Heinrich! I knew you would succeed!”
Upon returning to the Rosellia Temple, Heinrich was greeted by the soft smile of the Saint.
After exchanging pleasantries, they shifted to lighter topics.
“By the way, how is Cardinal Donovan?”
“…Yes. I’ve heard he’s of considerable age, yet he looks quite sturdy.”
Heinrich replied with a grimace, recalling the puffy muscles of a man in his twilight years.
“Ho ho… I was worried that you were too busy after heading to the Piccaol Temple, but it seems like you’re still keeping up with your workouts. You were quite kind to me when you were here before.”
They engaged in small talk for a while.
But given the circumstances, the light atmosphere didn’t last long.
“You look quite tired, Saint. I guess it’s been a lot of work for you.”
“Hoo— this task is immense, so it’s not easy.”
The Saint, with a dark expression, let out a deep sigh.
The most significant issue was the opening of the second Abyss, but prior to that, the sacrificial ceremonies conducted across the entire continent were no small matter either.
“Dozens of sacrificial ceremonies were triggered simultaneously across the continent. From tiny peasant villages to larger border towns.”
It was a targeted terror against areas that lacked proper magical defenses and had loose security.
What was more alarming was that it had been so well-concealed that it was impossible to detect its existence before it was triggered.
‘Hearing this makes it seem like they are formidable.’
While the peasant village was one thing, if they were targeting towns with populations exceeding a thousand in the outskirts, it showed how thorough their preparations were.
“The scale of the damage is still under investigation, but… as far as we’ve gathered, it’s in the thousands. We can’t predict how much that figure may grow.”
An unprecedented large-scale massacre had put all the nations of the continent on high alert.
Of course, the targets were mostly ordinary citizens living in places with poor security, making the actual damage insignificant to the upper classes.
‘But with such a vast scale, even the leadership has to be concerned.’
Who could guarantee that a threatening force capable of causing this much turmoil wouldn’t target them as well?
“…The real major issue is the return of the Undead King Hans and the opening of the second Abyss.”
Information from those dispatched to the south had been relayed to the temple almost in real-time, and they were still actively investigating the scene.
“The Abyss has released ‘Madness.’ However, this time it’s different from when the Undead King appeared a thousand years ago.”
Unlike the fully manifested Heart of the Undead King, the Madness that emerged this time was only partially released.
Because of that, it couldn’t maintain its shape and scattered across the entire continent.
“That is definitely not a good sign. It might be more troublesome than the Undead King.”
Even though no major anomalies had been discovered immediately, nothing arising from the Abyss would bring good influence to the continent.
As time went by, problems would gradually start to surface.
Moreover, the Madness enveloping the world made it much harder to track Magic, which was a further setback for the church.
“And above all, the Undead King behind all these events…”
The Undead King, revealed again to the church members— riding a Bone Dragon.
He purposely chose not to leave the scene and waited, taunting the church’s companions before casually departing.
Leaving behind a destructive breath from the Bone Dragon.
“…Fortunately, the damage isn’t too severe. Those present there aren’t pushovers either. If the follow-up attacks had continued, it would have been dangerous…”
The Undead King simply left.
“To put it another way, it shows how little he’s taking us seriously. He’s inviting us to resist to the best of our ability, enjoying it as if he’s bestowing mercy.”
The Saint, with an expression far from her usual gentle demeanor, gritted her teeth and whispered.
“Saint…”
“Haa— I got a bit worked up there. But this is good news. It shows how arrogant this Undead King is.”
This was a vulnerability they could target against the Undead King, who had so far exhibited greatness.
Even with an opportunity to end it, he prioritizes his own enjoyment, looking down on others while giving them chances.
A classic mindset of the strong.
That mindset had led to the death of countless strong individuals.
“We’ll be taking advantage of that complacency. If it’s for the continent, a little humiliation is nothing. In the end, we will be the last victors.”
Seeing the Saint resolve with a serious expression, Heinrich was similarly inspired and expressed his commitment.
“I will help too, Saint. With the assistance of the Holy Sword, we can surely take him down this time.”
“I believe in you, Sir Heinrich! You are truly the chosen adversary of the Undead King Hans by the Holy God!”
Their spirits soared as conviction filled the air.
Heinrich locked eyes with the Saint and nodded slowly.
‘…But she still calls him Hans. He’s got such a splendid name, Hannibal Strauss. I should emphasize that more next time.’
He reflected inwardly while conversing.
*
In the depths of the earth, within a buried stone chamber.
“Huh…?”
In the stagnant air of years gone by, a second change occurred.
A pair of red eyes slowly began to glow in the darkness.
“…What is this…?”
But it was an incredibly alien ‘something’ that caused them to wake up accidentally, while their voice remained heavily drowsy.
Despite being completely sealed and with no airflow from outside, this ominous presence disregarded all physical limitations and stimulated their existence.
‘…Oh, right.’
Once awake, they felt the same anomaly they had sensed before.
It seemed that something had disturbed their clan.
‘I need to get up.’
The events unfolding in real-time and the troubles in the clan were no ordinary matters.
It was critical enough to rush out and confirm for themselves.
So, they gathered their strength to stand up.
“Really…?”
No, they only thought so and found it hard to act.
Their body fidgeted as if trying to rise.
But…
“…I should be doing that, uh-haam—.”
Yawning without realizing, their body went limp again.
Although it wasn’t enough to fall back asleep.
The energy surrounding them was too annoying to ignore at the moment.
Even now, the body that had been in hibernation was gradually being activated.
It was too soon to move, but…
Perhaps, it wouldn’t take too long.
Thus, the Pureblood of Brokoslac— awakened from their long slumber.
