Chapter 195
Boom!
"How dare something like Carpe confine a princess of the Duchy!!"
"The Grand Duke will not stand for this!"
"Release the princess at once!"
Rumble. Clank.
Beria's Catacomb.
Beria's Catacomb, located beneath the royal castle, imprisons all sorts of vicious criminals. However, it would be more accurate to call this place a tomb rather than a prison.
This is because the catacomb, constructed like a maze, was built in such a dark and complex formation that even those who know the way would get lost.
Prisoners thrown into the maze wander the catacomb with their hands and feet bound.
The duchy's delegation, pushed into such a place, disappeared into the maze each holding a loaf of bread and a water canteen.
"They went in surprisingly quietly."
I thought they might throw a massive fit, but surprisingly, they didn't.
She only stared intently at Callius and smiled a smile of unknown meaning.
Her somehow chilling appearance made Callius frown unnecessarily.
"There was no need for Your Majesty to come."
"I had to come. Even a little princess is entering the catacomb, after all."
Callius left the princess's final appearance behind and climbed the stairs with the Queen.
Perhaps because it was underground, it was needlessly damp and chilly, making it not a place one would want to stay for long.
"Do you know much about the catacomb?"
"I know it well. It's where Beria's tomb is located beneath the royal castle."
Beria.
Her origins were as the leader of a criminal syndicate, but when the country was in danger.
She was the one who led them onto the battlefield and seized victory.
However, her crimes were too deep and severe to receive a pardon, and at that time, what Beria wanted was only one thing.
To build a tomb named after herself beneath the royal castle.
Skilled not only in swordsmanship but also in hexes, she was called a witch and is said to have disappeared underground with her comrades.
"Her crime was the murder of a royal descendant."
Even though it was a crime punishable by extreme execution, she was a hero who saved the country, so the king of that time highly prized her resourcefulness and granted her request.
However, he made it into a maze so she could never come out, and over time, it became Beria's Catacomb.
"According to the tales passed down, Beria is still alive and roasts and eats the sinners who enter. Because of the stories calling her a witch, everyone fears the catacomb."
Oops.
The old stairs had grown moss from the moisture, causing the Queen's foot to slip.
"Are you alright?"
"Ah, yes."
Callius, having caught her hand, climbed the stairs ahead with his usual expressionless face.
'Catacomb.'
There was no particular reason for pushing the princess into the catacomb.
The justification was sufficient, and it was an excuse.
They were thrown into the catacomb to die, but there was no way to confirm whether they died or not.
Carpe could claim the same, and so could the Duchy, meaning they could make excuses.
It gave them cause to bring down the hammer with bloodshot eyes.
If they had killed her immediately, the Duchy would have come charging while foaming at the mouth, but that was not the picture Callius desired.
This much was just right.
Carpe only needed to say the princess was alive. And there is an unwritten rule in the catacomb.
It is a long-standing tradition of the catacomb that whoever brings back Beria's head will be pardoned of their crimes.
Beria's head is precisely the words that give painful hope to the sinners.
However, not a single person has ever brought back her head.
No one knows whether they found the head but died from not finding the way out, or if her head simply doesn't exist.
Because of that, voices could be heard suggesting that Beria might still be alive.
"What do you think, Count?"
The Queen, who had emerged from the underground entrance with a bright smile, asked.
Callius let go of the Queen's hand he had been holding and replied.
"She might still be alive."
"You seem to be the type to believe in legends."
It has been well over four hundred years since the catacomb was created.
If she were still alive, Beria would be over four hundred years old, but the Queen chuckled behind her hand as if that was absolutely impossible.
"I don't believe in legends."
"Pardon? Then..."
"Let's just say it's a hypothesis."
Hypothesis.
Callius's eyes narrowed slightly.
"A hypothesis? I'd love to hear it. There's no harm in hearing the story of the Count called the Sword Demon of Carpe."
Just as Callius was about to open his mouth at the sight of the Queen's sparkling eyes.
"Your Majesty."
Viktor interrupted the conversation.
"Ah... are you already here?"
"Yes."
"Count. We'll have to leave that story for next time."
"Understood. Then, next time."
"Yes, see you again."
Looking at the Queen's disappearing back, Callius walked *tok-tok* down the grand corridor of the royal castle.
Clank. Every soldier who saw him and every noble he met bowed their heads with eyes full of respect.
Ignoring them, Callius ruminated on his conversation with the Queen.
"Legends, huh."
Four hundred years.
They would probably think so.
But Callius knows.
A normal human cannot live for four hundred years.
But what if they are not human?
'It's entirely possible.'
A massive maze.
The tombs prepared there.
Isn't there a possibility that a non-human has been living alone there for over four hundred years? A witch who was originally human but is no longer human.
It's a sufficiently attractive story.
Of course.
They wouldn't cross paths with him, though.
"Anyway, it worked out well."
The Duchy will be burning with anxiety.
If they hear that the princess is trapped in Beria's Catacomb, there's a high probability they will lead their army immediately.
What they want is the princess's safe return.
They will make a proposal.
The reason the Queen hastily disappeared was probably also because of a communication from the Duchy or the Empire.
What proposal they will make, or what deal will bring benefits, was now out of his hands.
That part is for the Queen to decide.
[You have achieved an unbelievable feat...]
[Title: Solitary Fighter...]
[5 Goblin Gold Coins are awarded as compensation.]
[A page of the epic is adorned.]
[As the scoundrel representing the nation becomes the sword representing the nation, the epic begins...]
[The pages of the epic have increased. Your rank has slightly increased.]
『Callius von Zervan』
[Title] - Hero of the Nation, Dragon Slayer. One who ended corruption, Solitary Fighter.
[Class] – Pilgrim
[Divine Power] – Grade 2
[Holy Power] – 26341/39105
[Talent] – 【Bard's Blessing】 【Instinctive Intuition】
[Trait] - [Grace] [Noblesse Oblige] [Realization of Past Wrongs] [Prodigal Son of the Order] [Glutton] [Three-Colored Eyes] [Scent of Enchantment] [Efficiency]
[Constitution] - 『Fused Bones』
[Stats]
Strength – 251▶260
Agility – 234▶239
Dexterity – 72▶75
Vitality – 276▶288
Faith – 164▶182
Courage - 136▶147
Demonic Power - ???
[Bards praise your fame to the high heavens through song.]
[The people of Carpe will recognize you at a glance.]
[The Duchy is hostile to you.]
[The Empire begins to watch your every move.]
'Nothing special.'
His rank increased as the epic's pages grew, but since it was only a slight increase, he didn't feel much about it anymore.
For transcendents, achievements imprinted on the world are written as epics, which can be seen as another status.
It is the act of imprinting oneself onto this world, and at the same time, a difference in rank occurs depending on the degree of the achievement.
However, since it wasn't such a great achievement this time, the increase in rank was low.
Lately, quests rarely appeared, so such messages didn't excite him either.
'But it's about time national quests started triggering, so there's no need to be disappointed.'
Once the main quests begin to trigger, there will be opportunities to receive valuable rewards like before.
[You have sunk Lapherion into the sea. Half of Krasion's believers have also perished.]
[An amazing achievement.]
[A page of the epic is adorned.]
[The beginning of the epic is from the dragon that could not break its egg...]
[Your rank slightly increases.]
[5 Goblin Gold Coins are given.]
[You have acquired a Siren's gill.]
[If you inform the Sirens that you are the master of Beati, you will receive their favor.]
"...I told them to give a warning, but what the hell are they doing."
I thought they would do it moderately and come back, but to sink Lapherion into the sea?
How does one even sink Lapherion into the sea?
It's absurd.
It's frustrating because the distance is too far to grasp the situation.
"I'll have to give them a scolding when they return."
[Ashen Legion - General. Beati's rank has increased, evolving into a High General.]
"...I'll let it slide just this once."
* * *
The Order's forge.
Callius was facing familiar faces after a long time.
"It's been a while."
"It's been a while. Have you been well?"
"As you can see."
The one who greeted him was a dwarf with a short, stout build and a stubborn look.
It was Dexter.
Seeing the cloth wrapped around his head and the beads of sweat, he seemed to have been working at the forge.
"A noble guest has arrived."
"It's been a long time."
"I've been waiting."
Dexter and Archbishop Gregory.
Callius warmly shook hands with the two and exchanged light conversation.
"So, how was your pilgrimage this time? I heard you caused a huge scene in the Empire."
The rumors have already spread, I see.
Callius nodded slowly.
"There were a lot of things."
"Did you really meet a dragon?"
"I did. I cut the dragon's neck in a single strike."
"Ooh!! Amazing! To slay a dragon!"
"A, a sword from a dragon? Did you make a sword?"
Callius handed over the Flame Dragon Sword from his bosom.
"Ooh! So this is the Dragon Sword!"
"It was quite damaged, so it didn't reach the rank of a Phantom Sword."
Because Bitan drank the dragon's blood. Thanks to that, Bitan's rank rose, but.
'It wasn't bad.'
If it weren't for Bitan in the match against Karina, enduring her heat would have been quite troublesome.
Come to think of it, he now possessed four Phantom Swords.
Thinking back to when he didn't have a single Spirit Sword, a feeling of being worlds apart washed over him.
"Amazing. As expected of a Dragon Sword!"
Archbishop Gregory kept blabbering about the Dragon Sword, while Dexter looked at the Flame Dragon Sword with repulsed eyes.
"By the way, how did the work I entrusted go?"
"As expected, you didn't forget."
"Of course."
There was a separate reason Callius had immediately sought them out.
"Sword Demon Callius! I've been waiting only for you to visit the forge again!"
"Don't call me by such a weird title."
Sword Demon. It's just childish.
"First, look at this! It's Dexter's and my masterpiece!"
The two soon showed Callius the armor hanging on a mannequin.
It was light armor with a small surface area.
"What I entrusted to you was a sword."
"This is also a sword."
Looking closely, chains in the shape of very small swords were interwoven.
The interwoven chains were a single sword, and they had a microscopically sharp edge.
"It is a sword. But you can wear it."
A wearable sword.
They made armor out of the Strong God Sword.
"If a sword doesn't maintain its sword form, doesn't the power of the god disappear?"
"Originally, yes. But as a result of research upon research! We managed to change its form while still imbuing a small amount of the god's power!"
The effect of the Strong God Sword's unique ability, Strong God, had clearly become negligible.
The important point was that it didn't disappear entirely.
'It's not like I'll be using the Strong God Sword much now anyway.'
It's a broken sword anyway.
If I can use it like this, isn't that actually better?
'My armor broke recently anyway, so this works out.'
The armor he had brought from his family had long been ruined from battles.
Callius's combat style focused on speed, so he favored leather or chainmail over proper plate armor.
But this was light armor where chain and leather were unified as one.
It belonged to the category of light armor.
"What's the name?"
"None. Something like Strong God Armor will do."
Not a bad name at all.
A sword made from a troll.
The unique ability of the Strong God Sword is Strong God.
It is a powerful sword that absorbs the troll's strength throughout the entire body.
Even if the effect became negligible, if it's armor, that's a different story.
'Rather than a sword, it's virtually become an artifact.'
It was probably possible to create because of Beatrice's power.
Regardless, it's an excellent armor.
"Truly an excellent armor!!"
A new dwarf appeared from behind Callius and let out an exclamation of admiration.
"This is..."
"Hehe, I'm Aldu."
"Ah, Aldu!? Could you be the master craftsman Aldu, the eldest son of Alfredo?"
"Hehe, you know me?"
"Of course I do! How could I not know the eldest son of Grand Master Alfredo?"
They seemed to know each other.
But that's not the important part.
He received an excellent armor.
It would be good to give them appropriate compensation. They are the ones who will create many things for Carpe in the future too.
"Where is Beatrice?"
It's good to praise their achievements together.
And there are mountains of tasks I want to entrust to Beatrice.
"Ah, she is..."
Gregory scratched the back of his head.
Just as Callius was about to ask why.
"C, Lord Callius!!"
A woman with a cute appearance peeked her head out from one side of the workshop and appeared.
"Beatric...e?"
She was Beatrice's other personality.
A woman with a cute look, holding onto a sword in one hand and not letting go.
"I, it's been a while! Lord Callius!"
Not Beatrice.
Her other personality.
It was Maria.