Chapter 113 : Our Assistants

Description

Long ago, there was a great cathedral where hymns praising the goddess once echoed.

It was a place where the goddess, who descended in response to prayers, was bound by cursed chains, and where devout worshippers were all offered as sacrifices.

To erase all evidence, the entire cathedral sank deep underground.

Several people gathered there—the ones who had cast the goddess Lunia down to the ground, bound her with chains, and exploited her power for thousands of years.

They gathered to check their own bodies.

“With this, we can properly operate outside again.”

“Damn those pesky interrupters. The plan was delayed too much… but now it’s over.”

“It’s all thanks to the ‘Paladin.’ She herded all the sacrifices into one place like clockwork.”

“If only Robert hadn’t failed, we could’ve saved a lot of time. What a mess we’re in.”

“You’re blaming me for what we all missed?”

The underground worms, recovering from wounds inflicted by Alvis’s radiance—which absorbed the goddess’s divinity—looked over their bodies and spoke.

The source of energy used for healing was the blood and souls of refugees gathered in shelters, collected during Bryden’s relief efforts.

When Bryden’s troops moved away from the shelters, a pre-set spell would activate and wipe out all citizens there without exception.

Unknowingly, Bryden had been helping the underground worms recover.

Finally breaking their long silence, the underground worms ground their teeth at Alvis, now able to act outside the underground again.

“The goddess and that damn rat both fled, so now we have no choice but to fight to the death.”

“They’ve been conspicuously busy. If that guy has eyes and ears, he must know where we’re aiming.”

“Then he’ll come to the Auguster Shelter.”

“Good. This time we’ll wipe them out there—”

“If we leave it to you, bugs, nothing will get done.”

Their words were cut off by a low, deep voice from the deeper darkness.

At the sound, the underground worms hastily stepped back a few paces and bowed slightly toward the voice’s direction.

A man appeared with jet-black hair and vertically slit yellow snake eyes.

The underground worms spoke hurriedly in alarm.

“G-Great Being! Though there were some setbacks in the plan, it’s no longer a problem! We have already offered enough sacrifices, and we can operate outside again. All that remains is to eliminate the Paladin—”

“Even here in your home, you missed and were pitifully defeated. You couldn’t even leave without absorbing sacrifices. What do you think you can do outside? Do you think he’ll surrender easily?”

The speaker was Solaris the White Dragon, one of the goddess Lunia’s first creations, the sole son of the sun, and also the leader of the underground worms.

At his words, the underground worms fell silent.

“This time, I will go.”

“W-What?! Great Being, but the wounds you bore—”

“Almost healed. Have you confirmed Liniares’ location?”

“Yes, we went to the mountain you mentioned, but there was nothing at the spring there…”

Solaris clicked his tongue.

“Those wounds were such that no healing spring could save you. If Liniares had died, I would have sensed it. The fact that she disappeared without a trace means the goddess’s puppet was up to something.”

“Are you saying the daughter of the Three Stars is still alive?”

“Yes. And she’s probably joined the Paladin’s group now. That’s why I must go. No matter how weak she’s become, you pests couldn’t face Liniares easily. Of course, to do that…”

Solaris stretched out his arm, and most of the underground worms were sucked toward him as if pulled.

“Ugh?!”

“G-Great Being?!”

The pulled worms called out to Solaris in panic, asking for an explanation, but instead of answering,

Solaris plunged his hand deep into one worm’s heart.

Crunch!

A horrifying sound of flesh being pierced came, and when Solaris withdrew his hand, the worm’s heart was pulled out of its body.

“Ku… uh…”

The worm died without even managing a last word, and flames suddenly ignited on the heart placed on Solaris’s palm.

Mana and corrupted divinity oozed from the melting heart and were absorbed by Solaris.

One by one, the underground worms were slain by Solaris’s hand.

Soon, only Bastol and Dan Talion remained in the dark cathedral with Solaris.

Looking down at the two trembling in fear, Solaris spoke with a calm voice.

“Much better now.”

The two bowed their heads and trembled, awaiting Solaris’s judgment.

“Where is the other one?”

At Solaris’s words, Bastol immediately answered.

“Ro-Robert is already heading to the Auguster Shelter to secure the next sacrifice—”

“Even if you absorb a million more sacrifices here, nothing will change. To become perfect, I need the last piece of divinity—the heart of the Paladin.”

“H-He must be heading to the Auguster Shelter right now.”

“Absorb the sacrifices however you like. If Liniares appears, I will deal with him. If you let the Paladin escape, be prepared for the consequences.

I’m keeping you alive only because you’re a little less useless—not because I favor you.”

“Y-Yes, Great Being!”

“I will continue to recover my strength. Call me when the time comes.”

After Solaris returned to the deepest darkness of the cathedral, Bastol and Dan Talion sighed in relief.

In fearful voices, they hurriedly discussed countermeasures.

“This mission absolutely must not fail.”

“We need to get to where Robert is quickly. We also have to secure the sacrifices just in case.”

“That goddess’s pawn will do everything to interfere with securing the sacrifices.”

At Bastol’s words, Dantalion snorted.

“Even if they try to interfere, they can’t completely stop us. When my spell activated in Arbones, that damn guy did all sorts of tricks and drained almost half of the blood and souls. But that was the limit.”

“Are you talking about the numbers?”

“Yes. Back then, the elves might have been cooperative or not, but now that guy is wanted internationally as a terrorist. Do you think people listen to a terrorist? Even if the missing goddess, Liniaras, is involved, there are only six of them. That number isn’t enough to evacuate all the people in the shelters.”

“That’s true. We aren’t many either, but we never needed large numbers in the first place.”

“Let’s get to Robert quickly.”

The two opened a distorted space and entered the portal formed there.

Robert must have prepared the exit nearby, so once they passed through, they could immediately start the operation.

With that thought, Bastol and Dantalion crossed the portal and saw a very different scene than expected.

“Truly, the Paladin and the goddess’s first creation watch over us!”

“Evacuate the refugees! Get as many out as possible!”

“We won’t let those underground worms win!”

“Fear not death! The true apostles of the goddess are with us!”

“The Paladin is fighting desperately, so we can’t slack off! Move faster!”

It was a large force of 500, fearless of death, led by Alvis, evacuating refugees from the shelter.

Because we had to transport such a large number, I activated Ascension of Light and created a strengthened Bifrost with my enhanced power.

Upon seeing this, the priests within the Goddess’s Sword unit who could wield holy power were the first to be stunned, and once they realized it was true divine power, they fervently revered me and hailed me as the Paladin.

The Goddess’s Sword members and Celine, who saw the rainbow bridge — not magic or sorcery — stared wide-eyed at me.

As they sensed the divine power I possessed, tears began to stream from their eyes.

“Th-this is truly the goddess’s power…”

“The goddess’s power cannot be wielded by the impure… so that means…”

“You really weren’t a terrorist! You are the true Paladin wielding the goddess’s power!”

Because opening my power implied so much, the Goddess’s Sword members quickly accepted Celine’s claim that Bryden’s accusations were false and that I was innocent.

Having witnessed the goddess’s power for the first time, which had never answered prayers before, they cried and tried to hold my hand even once.

Celine also approached me with a mixed expression of shock and awe, gently stroking my hand.

“Alvis… you… this power is really… how…”

“Now you can be sure I’m not a terrorist, right?”

At my words, Celine hugged me tightly.

“Of course… You were the one I truly should serve! I was meant to be with you! I will do my best! Please never abandon me!”

Celine seemed a bit emotionally fragile from the wound Bryden inflicted, but she didn’t seem too unstable and would cooperate fully, so this might actually be okay.

“Well then, let’s board this rainbow bridge. It will take all of us to the Auguster shelter.”

“Oh… the rainbow the goddess used when descending to earth…”

“How glorious…”

The Goddess’s Sword members boarded the rainbow bridge in tears, while Linian refused to board again and spread her wings.

“I’m not riding. I’ll fly.”

Seeing Linian’s dragon wings, the Goddess’s Sword members were stunned again.

“D-dragon wings…?”

“Unbelievable, they sprouted from her back!”

“This isn’t magic or an illusion! These are real dragon wings…”

“Dragons are the only three creatures made by the goddess… Then those blue scales must be…”

“Lady Liniaras… the daughter of the Three Stars!”

“Divine one. Lunias…”

“To think that along with the true Paladin, the goddess’s first creation was with us…”

Sob sob.

The fierce reaction of the Goddess’s Sword members seemed to please Linian, who proudly snorted and put her hands on her hips.

“Hmph, unlike you humans, they have respect and awe for me. I like it.”

“When have I ever disrespected you?”

“You used me as a healing potion!”

“You’re so petty.”

After some light teasing with Linian, I took everyone and headed to the Auguster shelter.

The rainbow bridge quickly transported hundreds of people to their destination, and we soon arrived at the Auguster shelter and disembarked.

As soon as I got off, I spotted a familiar face approaching the outskirts of the shelter and immediately spread my wings and swooped down.

The man, who was about to activate a prepared spell, saw me and stiffened, gripping his sword tightly.

“… You.”

“Hey, long time no see, you vermin. I was wondering why you disappeared, but I have some revenge to repay for Benjamin’s sake.”

At the same time, Celine also shouted with an angry voice and jumped down.

“You are… Captain Robert!!!”