A Sword Master who had reached 8-star at a young age. The Annihilation Squad Leader of Eurasia.
The Joint Investigation Team Leader appointed by the Papal Office.
And even the bizarre sight of using divine power.
A threat is not something felt simply because an opponent draws a sword and points it at you.
In the eyes of Hoka de Murus, who had lived in comfort in the northern frontier, Killian Eurasia was threatening enough to shake the very foundations of everything he had built, just by his mere existence.
‘I must prove it.’
It was obvious he would be no match in a simple contest of strength.
Therefore.
‘I will prove my value.’
The survival instinct that had not been activated since the political maneuvering to become Chief Priest flared up.
This was why a sense, far removed from that of a temple priest, had awakened.
“I am the apostle of the great God of Barrier! Lord Murus!!”
Hoka de Murus shouted, raising his right hand.
The gray ring on his index finger, a Holy Object passed down through generations of the Chief Priests of the Temple of Barrier, sparkled.
‘Is it a Holy Object and not a Divine Object?’
Unlike the one from Styx, it was a rather crude item.
His shouting did not end there.
“How dare you impersonate the name of a God!”
‘I didn't go as far as impersonating.’
“In the presence of me, the Chief Priest who carries out the divine will! Such insolence to impersonate the name of a God!!”
Flash.
Hoka de Murus spread the front of his robe, revealing a necklace he was wearing.
‘This is a Holy Object too.’
Szzzzz.
His divine power, synchronized with the Holy Objects, began to rise slightly.
“Behold!”
Flash.
He rolled up his left sleeve.
A gray bracelet was fastened to his wrist.
It was a Holy Object.
“There is more!”
Flash.
When he lifted the hem of his robe, a ring fastened to his ankle was visible.
“Not yet!”
Every time he shouted.
“Here too!”
Holy Objects worn all over his body revealed themselves.
He only stopped his actions after the number reached ten.
He panted, exhausted just from how passionately he had shouted.
It was a sight that contrasted in many ways with the priests of Styx, who trained their physical strength and showed agility like rangers.
“…….”
Killian stared at him silently.
He was wondering if there was something else hidden.
“Is that it?”
“You brat! You still haven't come to your senses!!”
Hoka de Murus barked, as if asking what more he could possibly want.
“Grrr…. Fine. I will show you. My full power……!!”
The ten Holy Objects emitted light.
“Ah……”
As if intoxicated with ecstasy, Hoka de Murus let out a groan.
Accordingly, his divine power rose.
Compared to the Temple of Boundary, it rose from the level of a second-class priest to roughly that of a first-class priest.
It was impressive that he could synchronize with ten Holy Objects as the Chief Priest, but the level of the amplified divine power was pathetically miserable.
‘What is this guy doing?’
It was to the point where it was incomprehensible why such a person was in charge as the Chief Priest.
“Synchronization with Divine Objects is what proves one's qualification as a Chief Priest and a believer!”
Hoka de Murus shouted in a grand voice.
“Nothing shall surpass the Barrier of God!”
He recited a Divine Formula and unleashed his Authority.
Rumble.
Gray barriers rose up around Killian.
Four barriers made of divine power.
It was a similar principle to the one Killian had used when facing Colin.
However, the level was disastrous.
The barriers he made were opaque because their density was not perfect.
The emotions of Colin, which I had seen alongside Lokia, came back vividly.
“A guy like you is a Chief Priest. How absurd it must have been.”
“Y-You brat!”
Hoka de Murus raised his voice.
‘Murus. Your believer-farming is a mess.’
I didn't even feel the value of using a sword.
If there was any meaning to be found in suppressing this meaningless fellow, it would be in testing the Hollyheart that I had focused on handling for two days.
Killian drew up his divine power.
His divine power took on a vivid gray color that could not be compared to the lump of flesh before him.
Four barriers appeared around the Chief Priest.
“Uh……?”
The Chief Priest showed a flustered reaction.
[S-Stop it.]
Murus, who had been watching quietly, spoke in a flustered voice.
“I don’t want to.”
Killian rotated his Hollyheart to strengthen his divine power.
Crack.
The Holy Objects worn by the Chief Priest began to break.
[You son of a bitch…….]
The level of the priests was already not high, so they were short on proper Holy Objects.
Crrack.
Killian was showing a sight of destroying not only the Divine Objects kept at the Papal Office but even the Holy Objects passed down in the temple.
When all the Holy Objects he was wearing were destroyed in an instant, Hoka’s face became blank.
“Don't you have a Divine Object?”
[Not the Divine Object!]
“To fix the collapsed discipline, I need to make sure I crush him properly.”
It was a warning, though it was unclear to whom it was directed.
Hoka's face grew paler and paler.
Crush?
Who? Whom?
He was the Chief Priest.
Did he not know that touching him was the same as declaring war on the Papal Office and the Holy Nation?
“You can at least use a recovery formula, right?”
“……!!”
That day.
At the Temple of Barrier, one man begged for his life, and God turned away.
****
It was about ten days later when Julian arrived at the temple.
“Oh, you’re already here?”
Julian, who was immediately guided to the Chief Priest’s office, tilted his head as he saw Killian.
“I thought you were going to stay longer with Chief Priest Lokia.”
“What, to do physical training together or something?”
“It seems you had a conversation through your bodies with the Chief Priest here instead.”
Julian said, looking at Hoka de Murus who was sprawled in a corner of the office.
Having experienced this kind of thing several times, he accepted it without much thought.
He had just arrived after walking the shortest path from the Temple of Boundary to the Temple of Barrier.
Perhaps because he had adapted to the northern climate over the past few months, he looked quite relaxed.
“What about the others?”
“Id and Raven are on their way while mapping the surrounding area. It'll take about two months at the most. Hazard went with Id.”
“That's a good composition for identifying the terrain.”
With a Walker, a half-elf, and even a dragon raised as a detection wolf, it seemed a fairly good map would be produced.
“Still, it’s a temple in name, is it okay to act out like this?”
Julian asked, looking at the Chief Priest who couldn't even meet his eyes.
Subjugating the mind without leaving any external traces.
It was an essential technique mastered by the Annihilation Squad.
“I plan to use the Temple of Barrier as a base for the Annihilation Squad from now on. To do that, I have to clean it up properly.”
“What will you do if we end up in conflict with the Holy Nation because of that? I’m the one maintaining my composure, but this is a more serious problem than you think.”
Julian emphasized the word "serious."
“As long as this guy keeps his mouth shut, no one will know.”
“Are you serious?”
“Hoka.”
“Y-Yes!!”
As if he had never been unconscious, Hoka jumped up and sat on his knees before Killian.
“You’re going through a lot of trouble.”
“That is absolutely not the case! Compared to what the apostle of Lord Murus is doing, my troubles are nothing!!”
With his head bowed deeply to the floor, he looked ready to lick Killian's boots.
“How is it?”
“It’s not bad. We only have to worry about divine punishment.”
“I thought you were an atheist.”
“Still, wouldn't it be necessary to have at least one God to pray to?”
“Don't believe in Murus. That guy is an idiot.”
“…….”
[…….]
Killian shrugged his shoulders at the silent reaction from Julian and Murus.
“I’ve given him the basic training, so I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Are you going back?”
“At this rate, it would be better for Serena to take over the position of Annihilation Squad Leader.”
“I am the 2nd Sword of the Annihilation Squad.”
“I’m worried because the gap between the 1st Sword and the 2nd Sword is too large.”
“I am also a genius who reached 6-star and mastered Carpe Illusion!”
“Isn't it usually embarrassing to call yourself a genius with your own mouth?”
Leaving the shouting Julian behind, Killian headed toward where the Warp Gate was located.
A cowering Hoka de Murus followed behind.
****
“So that’s how it turned out.”
The Pope, upon receiving Lan's report, showed a calm reaction.
“By any chance, did you know that fellow Colin was an insider?”
Lan asked as if demanding an answer.
This was because Claudio de Cronis occasionally showed this kind of reaction. It was usually when Foresight was involved.
“Did you perhaps see the future?”
“Lan, there are bound to be things in this world that one cannot speak of even if they know.”
The Pope indirectly mentioned the Laws of the World, which she was also aware of.
“Still, if you had told me somehow, handling the matter would have been much easier.”
“The child who was so lovely when I brought her from the Temple of Boundary…. As she gets older, she is becoming increasingly fastidious.”
“A child is bound to leave the parents' embrace someday. If you keep acting like this, I’ll go on a trip.”
If she were to leave the Papal Office, the work he would have to do would increase threefold.
Claudio shook his head with a firm face.
“It is not a good time to go on a trip.”
“Only at times like this do you speak as if you see the future.”
“Still, it is a relief that there were results.”
He turned the subject to the two reports.
He examined a sentence written in common in the reports by Pierre de Pantera and Lokia de Styx regarding the Joint Investigation Team.
[Killian Eurasia has refined a Hollyheart and become an apostle of Murus.]
An apostle is a title that can only be given to those who have received a direct revelation from a God.
It was not something that suited a person who had refined a Mana Heart, not to mention someone who wasn't even the Chief Priest of a famous temple.
Killian Eurasia had achieved that impossible feat.
“I wonder what his true identity really is.”
A superhuman ranked among the top in the Continent with his Mana Heart, and an apostle ranked among the top in the Holy Nation with his Hollyheart.
He had achieved two things at a young age, either of which was nearly impossible on its own.
‘At this point, it wouldn't even be strange if he used the power of the Grotesquery.’
From Lan's perspective, she had said it thinking Claudio would evade this as well.
“He is Tatia's son.”
“……!!”
She was quite shocked by his straightforward answer.
He drove the point home as if confirming it once more.
“He is the child born between Tatia de Veritas and Simon Eurasia.”
The bloodline of the Saintess, who was considered blessed by God, and the knight, who was called the strongest knight.
“That must be why he was able to refine a Hollyheart.”
If he had walked the path of a priest instead of the sword, it wouldn't have been enough even if he aimed for the position of the next Pope.
To hide his bitter feelings, he spoke in a dry voice.
“I see. Now his actions make sense.”
The fellow who hadn't even refined a Hollyheart synchronized with a Divine Object.
He synchronized with the Divine Object of Veritas, which even she couldn't awaken, and met the God.
“Now I also know the reason why Your Holiness does not like Simon Eurasia.”
“It is not a matter that can be spoken of so easily.”
Claudio let out a sigh as if he didn't want to mention it anymore.
Eurasia.
To him, it was a place that had made him send away a loved one, and a kingdom he had to watch over to carry out God's revelation.
“But now that I know the Emperor's plan, it would be troublesome to let him move as he wishes.”
The Formula that had been placed on Colin de Styx.
The ancient Formula inscribed in the abandoned temples found in various places.
The Gods who were said to have existed since the beginning.
The Grotesquery that was said to have come from beyond the boundary.
Humans struggling to survive against two transcendental beings.
“I must meet the King.”
The world was in upheaval.
Chapter 222: Chapter 222
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