#86 Picaol Great Temple (1)
A training ground in the Roselia Great Temple.
“Haap!”
Clang—!
Luthers, a former paladin now retired, parried the attack of the young man swinging a sword before him and inwardly marveled. ‘His growth has gotten even faster.’ He had already been keeping an eye on him, since the man possessed enough potential for the Order to grant him special treatment, but some time ago, that growth had begun to accelerate.
To the point where it was impossible to predict his limits. ‘Heinrich Landguard...’ Since the upper ranks of the Order and even the Saintess herself had stepped forward to support him, Luthers had not shown it outwardly, but inwardly he had been displeased by the situation of pushing him forward.
He acknowledged the man’s potential and possibility, but he thought they were placing far too heavy a burden on a fledgling who had only recently been ordained as a holy knight. ‘Divine power isn’t everything to a holy knight.’ Of course, the proof of one’s faith deserved ample respect, and naturally, the more one had the better...
But separate from that, for a holy knight who had to stand on the front line rather than a priest protected from behind, one’s personal martial prowess was bound to be far more important. ‘That’s what I thought, but...’ In truth, Heinrich’s martial strength had not been lacking from the start.
He was not quite at a commander’s level, but he was at least on par with a decent upper-rank holy knight.
“Hup—!”
His sword bent in an unreasonable direction in an instant and thrust toward Luthers’ solar plexus.
It was a method that placed an enormous strain on the wrist, but Heinrich paid it no mind.
Clang—!
The sword, knocked away by a defense made as if it were nothing, used even that recoil to draw a half-circle and immediately sliced toward his leg.
Luthers deflected even that attack without difficulty, but... ‘Light?’ There was no weight behind the attack.
The instant he sensed that, he took one step back from where he stood.
Whoosh—!
A mass of metal swept fiercely past the spot where his ankle had been, like an iron mace.
It was Heinrich’s leg, his whole body wrapped in armor.
A peculiar gleam appeared at the corners of Luthers’ eyes at that attack, but Heinrich only clicked his tongue in regret. ‘I tried using it the way it was used on me, but it didn’t work. Is my opponent just a bad match?’ The weight of his body, completely encased in armor, must have been a factor as well.
Frisia, the trueblood of Brokoslak who had first used this technique, had been fast and light in each of her movements, so it was only natural that differences would arise in their fighting styles.
However, Luthers, who had taken on the role of Heinrich’s swordsmanship instructor, was nodding at his sense, which was better than expected. ‘He certainly isn’t ordinary. Even right now, he’s no worse than a veteran holy knight. At this rate, he really might reach paladin within a few years.’ While inwardly acknowledging Heinrich, he maintained a stern expression without showing it outwardly.
It was to avoid giving vain airs to a talented person who was already doing well.
“We’ll end today’s training here.”
“Thank you, Instructor!”
After several hours of training ended like that, Luthers left the training ground first with a pleased expression. ‘After all, stamina is the source of all strength. As expected, he’s been different from the sprout.’ No matter when he saw it, Heinrich’s overwhelming stamina allowed him to fill the training time completely and spend it in an extremely dense manner; for Luthers, who took pleasure in raising his juniors, there was no way he would not be satisfied.
Left alone in the training ground after Luthers departed, Heinrich slowly loosened his body and tidied up the area.
Several days had passed since he had heard about the Holy Sword from the Saintess, but all he had done in the meantime was train.
All kinds of combat techniques, training in holy arts, and even personal conditioning. ‘It’s nice that I can focus only on growing stronger in comfort.’ Perhaps thanks to the acceleration in growth speed added when he strengthened his unique skill, his daily growth was now visible to the eye, and since results appeared immediately, there was no way training would not be enjoyable.
Then, one day, after about half a month had passed with him devoting himself to training in that satisfying environment.
Saintess Riesta summoned Heinrich.
Knock, knock.
—“Saintess, it is Heinrich. I have come at your summons.”
“Yes! Come in!”
The Saintess’s office had nothing special in it aside from books filling the shelves and ornaments carved with the Order’s symbols.
Just as he lightly looked around the frugal office...
A girl’s privacy was something to be respected.
Unaware of Heinrich’s consideration, the Saintess sprang up from the desk where she had been sitting and welcomed him.
The documents she had been groaning over until just before he entered had already been cast aside on the desk, no longer in her thoughts.
Most matters were handled by the working staff according to the decisions made by the cardinals, but in order to build the Saintess’s experience, there were tasks that were handed over to her like homework.
The documents she had been looking at just now contained one such headache-inducing issue, and she had used Heinrich’s entrance as an opportunity to throw it away at once.
Of course, leaving it alone now would not solve the matter, so she was merely putting it off...
But for the moment, the Saintess was satisfied that she could escape from a headache.
Her future self could handle future matters!
“Greetings, Saintess.”
“Hello, Sir Heinrich! There is much to discuss, so please sit down first.”
Heinrich sat on the sofa across from the Saintess with the reception table between them.
“I heard the reports. There are many demanding instructors, yet every single one of them has been full of praise for you, Sir Heinrich.”
“You flatter me. It is all thanks to the excellence of those who teach me.”
After compliments and words of humility were exchanged for a while, the real conversation soon began.
“After hearing everyone’s evaluations, I think it’s about time you challenged the trial of the Holy Sword.”
“The Holy Sword, you say... That is sooner than I expected.”
Less than a month had passed since Heinrich heard about the Holy Sword from her and entered intensive training.
No matter how rapidly his level had grown, he had thought he would still need to train a little more...
“To be honest, I would have liked to take more time and prepare calmly, but I have a bad feeling.”
“A feeling?”
“Like a premonition that something major will happen soon? I’m not certain, but it seems the Immortal King may be about to make a move before long.”
“Ah... Is that so?”
They said the Saintess’s intuition was close to foresight, but this time it seemed she had missed the mark.
After all, Hans was still devoting himself to volunteer work on Earth.
“So the Order has raised its alert level and is preparing for every possible situation. Warnings will soon arrive at the other forces as well, telling them that something may happen, so they should be fully prepared.”
But seeing the Saintess so full of conviction, it seemed she really had sensed something.
It might not be because of Hans, but she must have detected something for her to go this far.
“Then shall we return to the matter of the Holy Sword? We received word that you may begin the trial at any time at the Picaol Great Temple in the western part of the continent.”
About three hundred years ago, the Second Immortal King, who had risen in the western part of the continent, destroyed the Sarv Empire that had held sway there.
And after the suicide squad defeated the Immortal King, what took its place was the Kingdom Alliance, composed of four nations that claimed to be the heirs of the Sarv Empire.
The kingdoms of Talia, Sharoti, Tulk, and Resk finally succeeded in erasing the scars of the Immortal King War after long years of effort.
Of course, as a result, each nation’s power was not particularly strong, but they had pursued their own development by uniting and exchanging assistance with one another. ‘And among that Kingdom Alliance, the Great Temple built in the southern kingdom of Resk is...’ Picaol Great Temple. It was the most recently constructed Great Temple, built during the postwar reconstruction process three hundred years ago, and the place where the Holy Sword was sealed...
As well as the place where the suicide squad, including the previous Hero, had brought down the Second Immortal King.
“But although they succeeded in subjugating the Immortal King, they could not properly seal his heart.”
And perhaps because of that aftermath, or simply because he had played some trick before dying, the place where the Immortal King fell began to be stained by the abyss.
“To purify it, the previous Hero and the Church of the Main God thrust the Holy Sword into that place, sealed it, and built the Great Temple directly above it.”
That was the Picaol Great Temple, which oversaw the west.
As the existing Great Temple in the west had collapsed along with the Sarv Empire, it was also a time when the need for one had just emerged.
“Then if I pull out the Holy Sword, won’t the seal be undone? Is it all right for me to pull it out and bring it back?”
“It has already been three hundred years. At the time, there was no other way, but now it has been sufficiently purified, so there will be no problem even without the Holy Sword.”
That was why, starting from the previous generation, they had been periodically attempting to retrieve the Holy Sword.
After all, was the Holy Sword not far too valuable a weapon to simply leave abandoned in one place?
Of course, the result was obvious.
“They all failed. It seems to be no ordinary challenge.”
The Saintess sighed and shrugged.
In order to become the master of the Holy Sword, one had to pass several difficult trials, and if the same person challenged it multiple times, the required level increased with each attempt.
So the best method was to receive the Holy Sword’s recognition on the very first try.
“But how can you be certain that I will succeed right away?”
“Because you are the destined opponent who will defeat the Immortal King, Sir Heinrich!”
There was not the slightest hint of doubt in the Saintess’s words as she answered with sparkling eyes.
Feeling a pang of conscience at that upright faith, Heinrich quietly turned his gaze away.
“Understood. Then when should I head there?”
“Right now!”
“Pardon?”
“I already told the gate side in advance! If you go now, you’ll be able to move to the Picaol Great Temple immediately.”
The Saintess, who had answered at once without a moment’s hesitation, shrugged with a proud expression.
It was a gesture that suggested she was quite satisfied with her swift handling of the matter.
When he looked at her as if dumbfounded, she tilted her head with an innocent expression and merely blinked. ‘Well, it’s not as if I have anything in particular to prepare, so it doesn’t matter if I go right away.’ Heinrich let out a small laugh and rose from his seat.
Of course, as he did so, he did not forget to leave the Saintess with a word.
“Then I will depart immediately. I hope you finish the remaining work smoothly as well, Saintess.”
“Ah! Aah...”
As if she had recalled the assignment she had forgotten, the Saintess’s brightly blooming expression rapidly withered.
For her to react that much, it seemed to be quite a troublesome issue.
After leaving the Saintess’s office like that, Heinrich headed straight for the gate room.
To move to the Picaol Great Temple in the western part of the continent.
And to obtain the Holy Sword that would defeat the Immortal King!
***
Whoooosh—
[Hmm... It seems things are more or less wrapped up now.]
The rooftop of a high-rise building in the middle of the night.
There was a being who, surrounded by pitch-black darkness, looked down upon the city.
Korea’s dark hero, hunter of criminals, the unofficial strongest.
And the calamity of the otherworld, Auterica, death that came from the abyss.
It was the Immortal King Hans. ‘Things are certainly much easier now that the power of an organization has been added. There’s a limit to what Hans can do alone.’ There were times when a reasonably useful many were more helpful than a single absolute powerhouse.
With the Blood Alliance, including Heterosis, working together, the efficiency of the work had increased greatly. ‘To begin with, the difference starts with information-gathering ability.’ Hans had the limitation of being able to target only criminals caught red-handed within his detection network.
A heinous criminal could escape his grasp through sheer luck.
But now the situation was different.
He gathered information through the Blood Alliance, which was expanding its reach nationwide, and Heterosis, who had become much stronger than before thanks to the “Refined Blood Essence,” hunted them down.
And any opponents even they could not handle could simply be cleaned up through Hans.
It was a perfect division of labor.
[It seems there are no major figures left that I need to pay much attention to.]
Hans manipulated Heinz II’s work burner phone and checked whether any other information had come in.
But perhaps because he had been moving busily over the past few days, there did not seem to be any cases left that required him to step forward personally.
[Hrrm... There really are none? ...In that case, shall I return now? Khehehe.]
He was not talking about home.
If he had to put it into words, it would be closer to his hometown. ‘I was already bothered by what the Saintess said anyway. Shall I look into that as well?’ And so, the terror of the continent, the Immortal King, headed back to Auterica.