Hero without Blood or Tear

Chapter 16: Meeting Great Evil (3)

Chapter 16: Meeting Great Evil (3)

A calm voice interjected amidst the stunned crowd.

The Canon of Seven Evils?

It was a familiar voice. I let out a small sigh after turning to look at the person who just walked into the room.

Ah

Large well-built body, gentle appearance like a grandmother looking at her grandchild. She was the Abbess Angela of my memories. Although shes a Prioress right now.

Prioress.

The nearby nuns bowed to greet her. I actually felt rather light-hearted to see her. We cooperated closely to fight against the demon lords in the past.

We grew especially closer after Walpurgis death. She was a precious comrade to me and to her a precious daughter-figure. The loss of someone so cherished gifted a bond transcending age to us.

Ive read it before. I can definitely help.

I hoped Angela would take me seriously. However, she suddenly shouted at me in anger.

My! Who is this ruffian? The Canon of Seven Evil? That book is a myth.

All the nuns jolted a little at Angelas rebuke.

The Abbess is ill! Is this really an appropriate time to argue with a mere mercenary?

No, Prioress.

Remove him at once. Do not kick him out of the Convent as he is a guest of Sister Walpurgis; but, all of you should have stopped him from coming into the inner sanctum at the very least!... I said at once!

Angelas stinging disapproval concluded the situation in an instant. I was immediately turned into a liar and several nuns grabbed me to escort me out.

We will not punish you for this, but know your place and spend the rest of your time here quietly. This Convent is under crisis.

I was curious even as I was being pushed out. Angela in my memory was a calm and wise person. She was not someone who would drive a person out just for mentioning the Canon of Seven Evils.

Then she kicks me out screaming all of a sudden?It was strange

The Canon of Seven Evils! My, what is this world coming to for people to indulge in such fairy tales.

Some even mocked me openly. Some nuns who, even for a moment, thought I was telling the truth bowed to Angela in repentance.

Our apologies, Prioress. Our faith was lacking.

In mere moments, I was pushed completely from their interest. Even if I had to leave the convent, I really needed to prove my innocence. But in that moment, my eyes met with Angelas. She was trying to tell me something with her composed look.

Things werent all that meets the eye here. I quietly left the area and Walpurgis followed. We walked down a silent hallway devoid of people.

I am sorry. I did not think the elders would be so against the idea.

Walpurgis apologized to me profusely. It was quite clear she felt disappointed about the situation.

Valler, you tried so hard to prove to them you had knowledge regarding the Darkness You would have been a great help to the Abbess

I dont think you should feel so bad about it.

Hmm?

I pointed to ahead of me. One of the elder nuns from moments ago was standing there. She must have used a shortcut to get ahead of us.

Please, follow me, Mr. Valler.

I understood how the situation was playing out now. This elder was probably sent by Angela to guide us to where we could meet secretly. As expected, we were led to a hidden area.

Please wait here. She will arrive shortly. If you will excuse me.

Angela arrived rather quickly.

Prioress!

Walpurgis went and hugged her like a small child.

My, what an energetic young lady. You can take off your armour in the convent. Its very stiff and cold when you hug me with your armour still on.

I understand.

Walpurgis looked like her obedient daughter. I finally understood why she liked the Order so much. Other nuns filled in the place of the parents she lost at such an early age and siblings she never had.

Mr. Valler, I am Prioress Angela.

Her courteous greeting was just as I remembered Angela. I also took off my feathered cap and bowed to greet her.

Im Valler from Spandau.

I heard that you saved Walpurgis. I extend my thanks regarding the situation.

No, I survived thanks to her. I only returned the favour.

You are a modest man. I see why Walpurgis vouched for you.

Everything from before was an act. She seemed quite friendly to me just by the fact I had saved her. The conversation flowed favourably due to that. However, she skipped right to the point as the Abbess was not faring too well.

Mr. Valler, you have read the Canon of Seven Evils?

Yes, with my own eyes.

Angela nodded when I confirmed it.

Goodness My, such a thing. For a legendary relic to exist.

Do you believe me?

Honestly, I find it difficult to. However, there is no reason to suspect you would be lying either. That is why I prepared this meeting.

She was thorough yet logical as ever. She was the kind of person youd prefer to work with than others.

And it is for your safety as well, Mr. Valler. It may have been to persuade us; but, talking about the Canon of Seven Evils publicly is dangerous. We also do not know if there are other traitors in the Order as well.

I was short sighted.

If I saved the Abbess earlier in front of everybody, it was highly likely for Pejamut to learn about me. He would never forgive anyone who ruined his schemes. Furthermore, the contents of the Canon of Seven Evils were something that even demon lords coveted.

He would torture me to learn everything I knew about it. Angela acted knowing fully what could happen. She was indeed wise.

Thank you for your concerns.

No, I cannot put someone who volunteered to aid this Order in any danger. Even if it is not about the Canon of Seven Evils, it will be best to keep the fact you tried to help the Abbess a secret. You may gain renown, but you will also be Pejamuts target.

The circle of grudge knew no end. I didnt even want to think about what would happen if demon lords were really angry with me. Now was not the time to antagonise them.

Mr. Valler, may I confirm you have indeed read the Canon of Seven Evils?

It was only natural. This was something entirely separate with how she valued my character.

Of course.

Questions flooded out as soon as I gave my approval. They were all information only those versed in Darkness would know. Angela could not hide her amazement at how I could answer all of them without any hesitation.

You are still a young man! But to have learned such knowledge!

I even told Angela that I would answer anything she was curious about. Others would never even believe this situation without seeing it with their own eyes. The Prioress of the Order of Sisters of Walpurgis was renowned as a symbol of wisdom and knowledge.

Since the moment and opportunity was here, I wanted to share as much knowledge as possible. Even Walpurgis sitting beside me was surprised.

... Valler, your knowledge is truly tremendous.

Angela was wide-eyed as well. At first it felt like she was a teacher giving a test; but now, it was more like she was the student. I was fairly well-acquainted with the main interest of the Order, Pejamut.

The Prince of Darkness Pejamut serves has been a secret for a long time; but, I think I can find out if I see the Abbess condition. I have a guess of my own

Ah, you are most wise, Mr. Valler.

Angela swayed her head with her mouth still wide open.

I can only conclude that you have indeed read the Canon of Seven Evils. You wouldnt be able to find the kind of knowledge youve shared today even if you searched the libraries of this Order.

She changed her attitude and asked carefully.

May I ask for the name of the sage?

She probably thought I wasnt who I appeared to be.

A sage? No, you give me too much credit. Im simply an ordinary man.

Surely you do not take me for a fool. I may be an old nun who has severed ties with the secular world, but I know enough to know an ordinary mercenary cannot save the Lady Templar and know the contents of the Canon of Seven Evils inside and out.

Therell come a day when I can reveal myself. Until then, just think of me as a mere foot soldier working hard to defend humanity.

She didnt ask further when I drew the line there. She bowed to me instead.

Thank you for coming to this Orders aid. I will lead you to the Abbess now.

We headed to the chamber deep in the inner sanctum through a secret passageway.

The ones standing guard inside are all trustworthy nuns under my command. Please do not worry. Your actions here tonight will be a secret.

I felt that Angela was trying to protect me as best she could.

Over here.

An evil aura was already radiating out from the sturdy door in front of me.

Please steel yourself. You may be shocked by what is inside.

Angela blessed both me and Walpurgis. It was because you could die from a sudden encounter with a powerful Darkness.

Please, enter.

I followed Angela in to see a rather small Abbess lying in the middle of a holy circle glowing white. For some reason, she looked like a young girl. Around the holy circle were kneeling high ranking nuns praying endlessly.

Ah!

I let out an exclamation after looking at the Darkness that swallowed the Abbess. The pitch black Darkness sprouted spider-like legs from the centre of the chest.

I immediately knew the Darkness identity.

Domineering aura of death.The irrefutable master of the eventuality.

Mr. Valler, do you recognize it?

... yes.

Angela sounded surprised as if she didnt expect me to know it as well. Why not, after all even the most knowledged experts in the Order didnt know. However, the one most surprised was me.

Thats the husk of the avatar of the Prince of Darkness One Crouching by the Grave.

It was only natural for the Order to not know what it was. The husk of the avatar of One Crouching by the Grave was an important feature in the later storyline.

But why was it here now? However, that wasnt my immediate concern right now. The real important matter was that power was something that players could absorb.

A husk of the avatar? Also, I have never heard of the One Crouching by the Grave.

It cant be helped. He is a Prince of Darkness not well known to humans. Only those who read the Canon of Seven Evils would know of him. Also known as the King of Gravekeepers, he oversees the dead. In other words, he controls the powers of necromancy.

Necromancy! How vile

Angela drew a cross in the air as if just the thought alone repulsed her.

That is the power of the avatar of the One Crouching by the Grave, but it seems he died a long time ago and only the husk remains.But even that husk is fatal.

Then what is the purpose of the remains? Is it to kill an enemy by cursing them?

I swayed my head at Angelas question. Purely by the condition of the Abbess, it may seem that way, but that was not the exact usage for the husk of the avatar.

That is a dark relic which bestows power onto the user. Its something that demons covet yet fear.

Walpurgis titled her head in curiosity.

Covet yet fear? Stange. Demons are something that would not hesitate to murder their own parents if they could gain more power. They would not fear a mere curse.

Thats because its not a mere curse. That husk demands your life in exchange for power.

It was definitely one of the worst kinds of dark relic. It bestowed power to those who accepted it, but took their life in exchange.

Pejamut, being the coward that he is, probably struggled for awhile on how to use it after obtaining it. In the end, he seems to have used it as a trap. He probably thinks himself so smart for using it like that. Though to be fair, it did work.

If you knew how to, you could keep the power and still live. I decided this was the time for decisive action.

I can save the Abbess by siphoning all the Darkness from her.

Is it possible?

Is that true, Valler?

Angela and Walpurgis seemed relieved. However, there was a pre-requisite.

But I have a condition.

What may that be?

I looked straight at Angela.

I need the Angels Heart.

Maybe they already had a plan to use the Angels Heart on the Abbess. But, since the Abbess would never accept Darkness power, it would be just killing her twice.

On the other hand, I was different. I wanted to sacrifice the Angels Heart and take the Darkness power.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

If Im right, the class I would get after absorbing the husk of the avatar is One Without Blood or Tear. It was the top necromancy class rivalling even the guardians.  {Editors Comment, Perditor: Roll Credits!}

I still remembered. How the enemy One Without Blood or Tear showed up on a bone dragon guarded by liches. The coldness of death aura froze all living creatures in the vicinity.

It was a truly a sight to behold.

A true lord of the dead.

______________________________

TLer answers some questions from comments.

Q: Is there release schedule? A: No. I will endeavour to make one.

Q: Whats going on with time thing both on the inside and outside the game?A: The explanation is time passes much faster in the game and people get injected with nanomachine to help cope with this. Furthermore, when Han Jae-Woo first started the game, he requested to not be taken out of game until his game was over. For competition, when the IRL deadline pass for the event, only the point he earned until that time would be counted while game continues on for him regardless of end of the competition.

Q:Is it his master (for the char he was playing at the time) who died after talking about the Canon of Seven Evils? A: Its another scholar unrelated to his master.

Q: First!A: Yes.

Q: Still waiting for those Alderamin updatesA: I dropped this series initially because my laptop holding all the raws of various series died. (Also wasnt very popular). I re-picked up this series after talking with certain anon after he offered to provide with Korean raws of the novel. Unfortunately, I have not received them. I am unsure if its because of me, if it got lost in the shipping process, or what. Either case, I do not have them. So you can probably say after this December, you can consider it fully dropped.

Q: Can we have more frequent uploads? A: My intent was to provide readers with sense of pride and accomplishment for reading a new chapter. (EA Battlefield 2 reference for anyone who is not in on this joke)

No, but seriously.

Will work on it. I will work on that along with schedule, but I cannot make it more than 1 chapter per week except special occasions.

Closing Comment

Feel free to post questions within reasonable bounds in the comment sections of HWBT if you have them. I cant answer them every week but I will collect what doesnt get answered by fellow readers and endeavour to go over them every 1~3 months. Your comments really help out in showing support. It is encouraging to see most of the times we get close number of comments to Cooking despite Cooking having 2~3 times the views.

Sky is also planning for a holiday season charity drive. More info on that when its ready. My thanks to editors. Also remember to check out Cooking (the other series on the site right now) and hope everybody bought something nice for themselves on Black Friday sales.