abcnovels
Chapter 253
Chapter 253
Chapter 253
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
—————–
Chapter 253: Destination (3)
***
Damien looked at the door with a dumbfounded expression.
He had expected that killing Sla would have significant repercussions, but he had no idea they would be this severe.
“All the people from the main building are gathering here now.”
The sounds from outside were growing louder in real-time.
This meant that the number of people outside was increasing steadily, just as Radiant Light had said.
“Sir Damien! Show us your face!”
“Sla is dead! Sla is dead! Sir Damien killed him!”
“Ugh! I knew that witch would die!”
The voices of the people grew clearer and clearer. But despite their cheers, Damien only felt fatigued.
‘I tried to avoid trouble by not even going to the imperial palace….’
He couldn’t help but think that he might have come to a place even more troublesome than the Imperial palace.
“Oh, it seems it’s too late to run away. People gathered faster than expected.”
Radiant Light said, looking back at Green Wind.
“Green Wind, I have a favor to ask. Please take me and Sir Damien to the Her Holiness.”
“Sister…”
“Didn’t you just say that it was the Emperor’s order?”
Radiant Light’s voice turned cold again. Green Wind swallowed dryly.
“Everyone, gather around me.”
Damien and Radiant Light approached Green Wind. Agnes asked Radiant Light.
But Agnes remained still. Instead, she spoke with a regretful expression.
“Sir Damien, please come back.”
It was a place where the five Great Elders gathered. Agnes was too low-ranking to accompany them.
“Then let’s go.”
Green Wind raised her divine power. Then, Malta came running in a hurry.
“Me too! I want to come too!”
“Why are you coming, Sir Malta?”
“I have a favor to ask the Her Holiness.”
Green Wind made a bewildered expression. But she didn’t ask any more questions.
“Let’s really go.”
A wind began to swirl around the four people. The storm obscured their vision.
A moment later, when the wind died down, the four people were no longer in the workshop.
They had arrived at the heart of the main building.
‘It’s still amazing to see it again.’
The sect ‘Bound Winds’, to which Green Wind belonged, was a group of paladins who could transform their divine power into the wind.
The paladins of Bound Winds could transform their bodies into wind and were famous for their peculiar movement technique.
However, only Green Wind was able to move others along with him in this way.
“Shall we go in then?”
Radiant Light took the lead and walked. The three of them followed Radiant Light.
As they entered, they saw the throne placed on top of a flight of stairs.
An old woman with a wrinkled face was sitting on the throne.
“Damien Haksen, welcome.”
Holy Empress greeted Damien.
***
Holy Empress, whom he had not seen in a long time, had become very thin.
It seemed that her health had suffered greatly from a week of silent prayer.
‘There’s one more person.’
There was someone else besides the Holy Empress. There was another man who looked middle-aged.
There were dark circles under the man’s eyes. It made him look very tired.
Black Snow.
The leader of the Mixed Blizzard and one of the Five Great Elders.
He was a famous figure known as the second-in-command among the Five Great Elders, following Cheongyeum.
‘It seems Silent Night is not here.’
Thinking of another Five Great Elder, Damien bowed his head to the Holy Empress.
“Your Holiness, it has been a long time.”
“It may be a long time, but it seems like it hasn’t been long since we last saw each other. Hasn’t it been less than a year?”
The Holy Empress continued with a smile.
“I’ve heard so many rumors about you, Sir Damien, during that time. I heard you went to the Mercenary King, won the Helian Tournament, and even killed Sla.”
“I’ve been a bit busy.”
Damien’s joke made the Holy Empress burst into laughter.
“Reaching Master Class and killing Sla in less than a year… I’m sorry, but I thought the Empire was spreading false rumors. But seeing you like this in person…”
Surprise gradually dawned on the Holy Empress’s face. She spoke in a tone of disbelief.
“You’ve really… become incredibly strong.”
The Holy Empress was not a knight. She had never even held a weapon in her life.
However, Damien knew. He knew that the Holy Empress had a strange insight like the Imperial Supreme Sword.
“Black Snow, how strong is Sir Damien now?”
At the Holy Empress’s question, Black Snow bowed his head and said.
“He is at a level that is not much different from us Five Great Elders.”
The Holy Empress was even more astonished.
“To have the ability to subdue Sla at such a young age… It’s hard to believe even as I see it with my own eyes.”
“I share Your Holiness’s thoughts. Until a moment ago, I thought it was an outrageous lie.”
Black Snow turned his gaze to Damien. His dark eyes bore into him.
“But the world is vast, and there are many who have received divine grace. The Imperial Supreme Sword also left many unbelievable stories. Although not as many as Damien Haksen.”
The Holy Empress nodded at Black Snow’s words.
“It’s a pity Cheongyeum isn’t here. He would have been thrilled to see how splendidly Sir Damien has grown.”
The Holy Empress spoke with a hint of regret, but Damien was actually relieved.
If that old man had seen Damien, he would have insisted on testing his skills and started throwing punches immediately.
“Sla was one of the pillars of Pandemonium. Not only the Empire but the Church lost many talents to Sla.”
The Holy Empress’s expression darkened slightly.
“Among the previous Five Great Elders, there was one who lost their life to Sla. She committed unspeakable atrocities to his remains.”
Sla was not an ordinary Giant Evil.
She had lived for over a hundred years and killed countless people.
Among them were many renowned warriors whose names everyone would recognize.
“Church has been chasing Sla for a long time but to no avail. To think I would witness her demise before my death…”
The Holy Empress rose from her seat. She slowly descended the stairs.
“Y-Your Holiness!”
Green Wind tried to stop the Holy Empress, but she gently brushed his hand aside.
“Damien Haksen.”
The Holy Empress descended the stairs completely and stood before Damien. She grasped Damien’s hand and spoke.
“Sla was an abomination, an affront to the divine, and a disgrace to our Church. Thanks to you, we could eliminate that dreadful heretic.”
The Holy Empress bowed her head slowly. All the Five Great Elders around them were taken aback.
“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”
She repeated her gratitude several times before raising her head.
“How can we repay this deed?”
“I did not do this seeking a reward.”
The Holy Empress shook her head.
“Sir Damien, you acted on behalf of God and killed Sla. Therefore, it is only right that we, who follow the divine will, provide a fitting recompense. Moreover, you are Church’s honorary paladin.”
Damien was internally very pleased with the Holy Empress’s words.
‘As expected, she is truly magnanimous.’
In truth, his previous response was merely a polite formality.
Damien had no intention of refusing any rewards from the Church.
“In that case…”
Just as Damien was about to speak, Malta stepped forward abruptly and shouted.
“Your Holiness! I have something to say!”
“Malta, could it wait until later? We are currently discussing Sir Damien’s merits.”
“It’s related to that!”
Malta knelt down and cried out.
“The reason Damien came to the Church is to repair the Holy sword! The previous Holy sword he received was damaged in his battle with Sla!”
“Is that true?”
The Holy Empress looked at Damien with a surprised expression. Damien gave a wry smile and nodded.
“Repairing it isn’t difficult, but there’s another problem! As Your Holiness knows, a Holy sword of the legendary grade needs to be reforged as it grows. The one given to Sir Damien has grown significantly.”
“You can breathe while you speak.”
At the Holy Empress’s words, Malta took a deep breath.
“To reforge this sword, we’ll need significant resources, and we’re running low on rare metals in the warehouse. Since Your Holiness is discussing Sir Damien’s merits, I would like to request support!”
“Support… Would that be enough to repay him?”
“Your Holiness! The Church’s metallurgy is the best on the continent! Even the Empire cannot compare to us! We should reward him in the field where we excel the most!”
“What do you think, Sir Damien?”
The Holy Empress asked Damien.
Damien glanced at Malta. Malta looked at him with a pleading expression.
‘I was originally going to ask for a legendary elixir…’
Damien pondered for a moment.
While having more elixirs is always beneficial, the situation was a bit different this time.
Currently, Damien possessed a fragment of a Dragonheart and Elysian elixir.
There were very few elixirs on the continent that could compare to these two.
‘It will take some time to fully absorb these two…’
Even if he received new elixirs, he couldn’t consume them immediately. It wasn’t a bad idea to ask for something else as a reward.
Furthermore, Damien understood the immense value of an exceptional weapon.
“I agree with the proposal.”
“Since Sir Damien agrees, Malta, your request is granted. Go to the warehouse and take the rare metals you need.”
The Holy Empress readily agreed. However, Malta shook his head.
“Your Holiness, I am not asking for rare metals!”
“Then what do you need?”
“I request the divine metal, Shintel!”
As soon as Malta mentioned its name, the Holy Empress’s expression hardened.
It wasn’t just the Holy Empress. The other Five Great Elders reacted the same way.
“Malta! Don’t be ridiculous! How could you ask for Shintel, knowing what it is?”
“I know. It was a gift from the First Holy Emperor.”
The First Holy Emperor, Bartholomeo.
He was the first to awaken divine power and was a legendary figure who smashed a dragon’s skull with a single mace.
The mace he used was the divine artifact known as ‘Morpe’ said to be a direct gift from God.
But after the First Holy Emperor’s death, Morpe melted away like water.
The melted Morpe was what Malta referred to as ‘Shintel’.
“Your Holiness, the legendary-grade Holy sword ‘Dawn’ given to Damien Haksen is my life’s masterpiece! It was made using meteoric iron from the heavens! Such a magnificent sword has grown immensely through numerous battles!”
Malta spoke excitedly.
“Among the opponents Dawn has faced was Sla! It withstood the battle against that monster without breaking! I have never seen a Holy sword grow as much as Dawn!”
Malta prostrated himself on the ground and shouted.
“Your Holiness! I’m not asking for all the Shintel! Just a small amount, the size of a goblet!”
The Holy Empress fell into deep contemplation at Malta’s plea.
“Your Holiness, this cannot be allowed.”
Green Wind objected again.
“Damien Haksen is not formally affiliated with the Church. Granting him a legendary-grade Holy Sword was already an extraordinary favor. To provide him with Shintel is unthinkable.”
“Green Wind’s argument has a point.”
The Holy Empress nodded. Malta’s face twisted in frustration.
“But… Damien Haksen did kill Sla. Such a merit might justify giving him a small amount of Shintel.”
“That… that is…”
The Holy Empress’s words, which were almost like a half-permission, left Green Wind speechless.
“Sister! I mean, Radiant Light, what do you think?”
Green Wind urgently looked at Radiant Light, seeking the help of another of the Five Great Elders.
“Hmm… I think it’s a bit excessive too. Asking for divine metal, Shintel is a bit much.”
“Right?”
“But since he did kill Sla… it might be justified.”
Green Wind’s eyes wavered wildly.
“Well, Black Snow, what do you think?”
Green Wind turned to Black Snow. Black Snow yawned as he spoke.
“Shintel is too much.”
“Right?”
“But since Sla was defeated… I don’t mind.”
Despair settled on Green Wind’s face.
“Since the other Elders have agreed…”
The Holy Empress cleared her throat before continuing.
“We will provide Shintel for the reforging of Damien Haksen’s Holy sword.”
***
After the Holy Empress gave the order, the Five Great Elders left the Holy Empress’s palace.
Green Wind was greatly shocked and left with her shoulders slumped.
“Please don’t hold it against her.”
The Holy Empress suddenly spoke to Damien.
“She may seem inflexible, but it’s because she loves the Church dearly.”
At the Holy Empress’s words, Damien recalled the time he had killed Green Wind.
Even with her heart pierced and she was dying, Green Wind had called out the Holy Empress’s name.
“How could I harbor ill will against one of the Five Great Elders? That would be asking for trouble.”
“It’s a relief to hear you don’t.”
The Holy Empress laughed at Damien’s joke.
“Why did you ask me to stay?”
Unlike the other Great Elders, Damien had remained at the Holy Empress’s request.
“There is one more thing I need to ask.”
Damien looked puzzled.
The Holy Empress paused before asking him.
“Did this recent event bring you any relief?”
Damien closed his mouth at the question. After a long moment of contemplation, he spoke.
“Not at all.”
When he had just killed Sla, he felt a momentary sense of relief. But it was very brief.
In the end, killing Sla did not save his sister from his past life. What Damien had done was merely self-satisfaction.
“Killing someone like Sla doesn’t change anything.”
Moreover, there were still many more he needed to kill. Too many scum still breathed, those who had tormented his family.
The Weapon Master took his father’s soul and placed it in the carcass of a dog.
He screamed and writhed in agony as his flesh rotted and maggots ate at his flesh.
The reason?
Because he was not chosen by Erebos. Because Damien had taken Erebos.
Out of mere petty jealousy, the Weapon Master had desecrated his father and plunged him into a pit of suffering.
“Your Holiness, it’s far from over. There are still plenty of vermin left. Until I kill all those bastards…”
Damien’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
“I will never stop.”
***
“……”
The Holy Empress silently gazed at Damien.
The Holy Empress possessed the power to see through a person.
When she had previously looked at Damien, she had seen blood-soaked land and a dark knight.
The dark knight was shedding tears of blood while cutting his own body.
And now, the Damien that the Holy Empress saw…
“…Nothing has changed at all.”
At the Holy Empress’s murmur, Damien asked back.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing at all.”
In truth, the Holy Empress had been hesitating to provide divine metal to Damien.
However, this conversation cleared her hesitation.
If this wounded lamb could be saved, what harm was there in giving him some divine metal?
“Do you have any other requests? Please, tell me anything.”
Perhaps it was because her heart had softened, the Holy Empress couldn’t help but ask Damien, knowing it was excessive.
“Ah, then may I make one more request?”
“As many as you like.”
Damien stated his need to the Holy Empress. Upon hearing his request, the Holy Empress blinked in surprise.
“Is that really all you need?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“That’s such an easy request…”
“It’s essential to me.”
The Holy Empress couldn’t help but feel a bit deflated.
She had been prepared to grant any request, but she hadn’t expected such a simple one.
“Follow me. I will guide you right away.”
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]