Chapter 68
"Why did you fall back?"
Alfredo asked as if he couldn't understand.
"It's better to stay together. Lord Kallias was the first to notice that thing's surprise attack. The aura I sense is faint, but the rumors circulating in the martial world are certainly no empty words."
"The one about being the hero of the North?"
"Yes. Lord Kallias's level is incomparable to what it was three years ago."
The reaction and movement after evading the surprise attack.
And the aura of the sword he drew.
All three elements belonged to a strong one.
"Well, I suppose that's true. I was genuinely surprised just now too."
That was how agile and sharp the Thunder Wolf Dragon's surprise attack was. It was worthy of being called a creature carrying dragon's blood.
If Kallias had been even a little later, Helena would have been seriously injured.
Even now, the shoulder he had pushed throbbed with a lingering pain.
"The two swords at his waist are probably both Spirit Swords. He drew one when the Thunder Wolf Dragon appeared."
When he drew his sword.
Alfredo couldn't move for a moment.
The oppressive pressure crushing his entire body.
"I was overwhelmed by the domineering aura he exuded and momentarily couldn't breathe."
A knight who has reached a certain level or above exudes a subtle pressure just by drawing their sword.
When it contains intent to kill, it is called killing intent.
When it contains an indomitable spirit, it is called domineering aura.
"Lord Kallias's domineering aura dominated the space in an instant. That thing running away was probably because it was flustered by that."
The aura he possesses is faint, but the domineering aura he exudes is immense.
"Perhaps he's intentionally hiding his aura. Could it be that he's been doing this all along since before……."
"That's going too far. Don't you know Kallias almost died to the Pilgrims three years ago? That prideful man wouldn't have hidden his power to such an extent. He probably trained hard or met a mentor."
Or perhaps the power of a mysterious holy relic. Or the power of the sword he carries.
"But why did you fall back? Is it because of that glasses-wearing fellow after all?"
"Fifty-fifty."
"Fifty-fifty?"
"Partly because I don't want to look at that guy's face, and the other part is because of Kallias."
A meaningful smile crept onto Helena's face.
"Are you planning to test him?"
"Hmm…… just watching for now, I suppose."
The lightning bolts the creature wielded, which I glimpsed briefly.
And its scales and horns were clearly extraordinary at first glance.
"I came here to watch in the first place, didn't I?"
"What will you do if he dies?"
"If he dies, he's just a man who would have ended right there, wasn't he? Of course, when that time comes, I'll help him."
If that's all there is to it, saving him, putting him in debt, and parting ways would be the end of it.
But what if he catches the Thunder Wolf Dragon? What if he holds potential greater than she thinks?
"It seems like it'd be worth investing in."
"The position of the mistress of the North?"
"Not that far!?"
Alfredo clicked his tongue as if disappointed.
"Are you constantly trying to marry me off?"
"I merely wish for the young lady to settle down and find happiness."
"You're funny. You probably just want to break free from me and become a free man."
Alfredo shrugged.
"Anyway, the public perception of Kallias is still trash, right?"
If they stood by such a figure, supported and invested in him? They would reap benefits that would snowball like an avalanche afterward.
"Though becoming an Inquisitor in the first place seems like something only a madman would do."
Kallias had changed.
No, he was changing.
The human trash, the scum, the profligate had at some point become the hero of the North.
Him having a daughter was unexpected, though.
"I'll judge with my own two eyes. If I support him from behind, making him the hero of Karpe wouldn't be an impossible dream either."
"You're quite the patriot while pretending not to be, young lady."
"Karpe has been rotten for a long time."
"Wasn't a merchant house supposed to value money over honor?"
"Money over honor, yes. But the place we earn our money is Karpe. In the Empire? Probably possible. Wouldn't be bad."
Merchants follow money, but.
"Chasing only gold without any conviction will eventually lead to gold crushing you."
A merchant dominated by gold is no different from a petty thief stealing what belongs to others.
"That's Bolivian's creed, isn't it?"
And above all else.
"I like Karpe. I like swords too."
"What about the Empire and spears?"
"They're so barren, I hate them."
No romance, she says.
Weapons that are purely practical, and an Empire filled with ambition that only expands territory and tries to erase other cultures and religions.
Helena always says there's no romance when talking about the Empire and spears.
"And earning gold coins is more fun and rewarding when there's a story behind it."
There's nothing as boring as gold coins earned without effort.
What meaning would there be if not a single bit of effort went into a single gold coin.
"I have enough gold coins already anyway."
Click.
The sword at Helena's lower back was drawn out.
The moment she threw it to the ground.
Poof.
With a sound, it turned into a black shadow, and when she threw the other one, the shadow transformed into the shape of a snake.
The shadow, changed like a large python, soon disappeared.
A smile bloomed on Helena's face.
"Found it."
* * *
The Black Forest.
Thanks to the trees radiating heat, this forest is hot and humid.
The trees emit heat, but snow constantly falls from the sky—what would happen? The snow melts into moisture, and that moisture flows, creating a humid environment.
The somewhat ambiguous heat of the trees was also one of the factors creating this environment.
Similar to the White Forest, a forest formed due to the peculiar nature of the trees growing there.
That is the Black Forest.
"Where could that thing be."
"Didn't the Count say he had a guess?"
"If it's the one that took over the Black Forest, there's one suspicious place."
Near the center of the Black Forest, there stands a single tree rising like a spire.
It's a tree of such immense age that one could say the forest began from that single tree.
Having lived through eons, it's huge and tall, so if it's the creature dominating the forest, it's likely there.
Click.
"We're heading toward the center."
"Yes."
It would take quite a while to reach that center.
It seemed like it would take about an hour.
"May I ask you something?"
He nodded at that.
"Why did you accept the proposal?"
"Proposal?"
"The proposal to recommend you as an Inquisitor."
"You're asking that now."
That was quick to ask.
"It was a proposal I conceived, but honestly, for a Count whose succession to the title and position as master of the North has been confirmed, the position of Inquisitor holds little appeal."
Then why did he accept?
Raiven suddenly became curious about that.
Kallias, walking while looking at the forest, glanced at him and answered expressionlessly.
"Because I'll need it now."
He hadn't particularly intended to become an Inquisitor.
Even without being an Inquisitor, even without the Count's title, Kallias would have saved Karpe through other means.
Accepting Raiven's proposal was simply because there was nothing to lose.
Both the Count's title and the position of Inquisitor.
There was nothing bad about having them.
If he had only one of the two, it would have been bothersome, but if he could possess both simultaneously, that was better.
It was simply that reason.
The setting of this world originated from him, but there were many things he didn't know.
It was then.
"There's something here."
When he stopped walking, Brans scrambled behind him.
Something caught Kallias's senses.
"Gasp! Is it the Thunder Wolf Dragon!?"
Not the Thunder Wolf Dragon. It was people.
Then, as if he hadn't been terrified earlier, Brans puffed out his chest and shouted.
"I don't know who you are, but come out at once! This is before Count Zervan!"
When Brans shouted.
A large man revealed himself from behind a pitch-black Fire Boundary Tree.
He was the captain of the Sixth Division.
"Druma."
And.
"Orkal."
It was Orkal, captain of the Third Division.
As if they had gone through a fierce battle, both their hair was covered in dust, and a bit of mud clung to their cloaks and armor.
"Where is it?"
Even at Kallias's question, Druma and Orkal looked at him without answering.
Instead.
They exchanged glances, nodded, and slowly drew their swords.
Kallias's eyes narrowed.
The subtle killing intent emanating from them was tickling his skin.
The quick-witted Brans quietly stepped back.
"I'll ask first. What is the meaning of this."
Kallias asked back without batting an eye at their killing intent.
But what returned in response to his question was Orkal, who had drawn his sword.
Orkal's sword was a bizarre one with multiple holes as if bugs had eaten through it, and Kallias frowned upon seeing that sword.
'Insect Spirit - Anascan.'
Orkal's Insect Spirit - Anascan.
From the holes in the sword that looked like bugs had gnawed through, small black things grotesquely appeared one by one.
As he laid the sword flat, black powder swirled around Orkal and eventually flew about as if dominating Kallias and the surrounding area of the forest.
The true identity of the black powder was none other than insects.
Bugs.
Insect Spirit, as the name suggests, is a sword that produces bugs.
Of course, they weren't ordinary bugs.
They were powerful bugs carrying neurotoxins that ate away flesh and bone.
Depending on the situation, they were bugs that could even chew through swords, so they were enemies he didn't want to fight if possible.
"You see? We have too many points of doubt."
The bugs buzzed and circled around Orkal as he spoke with a smirk.
A deep sense of disgust permeated the sight of hundreds, thousands of bugs.
"Whether the Kingdom's number one profligate suddenly got stronger, or obtained a holy relic, honestly I don't care about any of that. But then, the title of Hero! Hero of the North! appeared…… and that feeble aura of yours is quite bothersome."
This was a place far from the North.
A black forest with no people.
The only thing here was the Thunder Wolf Dragon.
So it was perfect for them.
"In the name of God, I begin the interrogation……."
It was then.
GROOOOONG--!!
Orkal's center, as he walked forward with the bugs, crumbled.
Then an enormous pressure crushed the area, exuding an overwhelming intimidation.
"Ugh!"
"This is……!"
"What!"
Killing intent that smoldered and rose.
A gaze looking down from above.
At the cold eyes of a predator that could be called the epitome of arrogance, Orkal and the other captains' faces contorted in pain.
"Are you lowly ones trying to interrogate me?"
Kallias took out his sword from his waist and held it loosely.
Then, the pressure applied to them grew even more severe.
'Such intimidation from killing intent alone!'
Killing intent that could stop the movements of captain-level opponents! Orkal couldn't move rashly against the overwhelming intimidation that was clearly different from feeble divine power.
Wasn't a direct pressure felt from just the killing intent he exuded!
A being capable of wielding such an intangible aura to this extent would be absolutely impossible without entering a certain level or higher.
'The bugs…….'
Even the manifested bugs, unable to withstand Kallias's killing intent, couldn't fly properly and poured down like rain.
For even the non-living things to be in such a state.
Orkal and the captains' faces were dyed with astonishment.
'Could it be that the divine power appeared weak because the轨道 of purity had changed, like those who had reached Master!?'
Could it be that he had already.
Ascended to the ranks of Master!
An impossible event.
An absurd notion, but what was being shown was everything.
"Master……."
That was the proof of it.