abcnovels
Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Chapter 19
EP.19 The One Who Became a Sacrifice for Oneself
“Please… just kill me… I beg you….”
Kim Minjun, captured by Celia, pleaded in a desperate voice. His face was pale, and dark circles had formed under his eyes.
‘Such a being shouldn’t exist…!’
Kim Minjun gasped for breath, inwardly horrified. He had experienced a long dream. Among them were pleasant dreams, but sometimes, terrifying nightmares appeared. The bittersweetness following the sweetness made the gap even more pronounced. This process resulted in Kim Minjun’s mental strength being worn down.
How much time had passed?
When Kim Minjun finally woke up from the long dream, he realized that not even ten minutes had passed. Then, despair and fear overwhelmed him.
“Please… kill me….”
The entity in front of him had the power to manipulate a person’s dreams at will. She had introduced herself as Celia and showed him his dream. When she first mentioned showing him a dream, Kim Minjun had laughed it off, thinking it was just a dream.
After all, what could he do with just a dream? He had thought he could return after a short dream. But now, his thoughts had changed.
The being in front of him was not an ordinary succubus.
‘If such a being appeared on Earth…’
Even thinking about it was horrifying. No, when he thought about it, this dungeon itself was nonsensical. There were Death Knights and Goblin Lords here.
But he didn’t dwell on these thoughts.
“How was the dream?”
Celia approached, smiling.
“Please…”
He pleaded desperately.
If he closed his eyes, he would dream again. He would endure agony for an eternity. What was even more terrifying was that in reality, only a few minutes had passed. His mental strength had already reached its limit.
“Oh, so you’re finally considering becoming my master’s sacrifice?”
Celia was amused.
Kim Minjun nodded vigorously. He couldn’t believe how sweet her words were.
“Yes… yes! I’ll become a sacrifice! Please make me a part of that glorious place!”
At first, Kim Minjun had dismissed Celia’s words as nonsense. He had questioned why being a sacrifice was considered glorious. But now he understood.
If it made him feel comfortable, he would consider it an honor to be a sacrifice at any time.
“It’s truly an honor to see you sincerely admire our great master…. This Celia is deeply moved.”
Kim Minjun wanted to curse and yell at her, but he restrained himself. He found solace in the fact that he could avoid dreaming again.
“Now, come this way.”
Kim Minjun slowly rose and followed Celia’s instructions. He saw a modest, hastily constructed altar.
What had he lived for until now? Had he really lived just to meet this end? Perhaps his past deeds might be the reason.
Kim Minjun thought about many things as he walked slowly into the altar. It was his last moment in this life.
Soon, flames shot up from the altar.
Thud…
Thud…
Thud…
The fire went out, and the alarm on his smartphone continued to ring.
“Goodness, why does the alarm keep ringing?”
Lee Kang-hyun, who was sleeping peacefully, woke up in annoyance. He then reached for his smartphone.
“What’s this alarm about?”
When he checked the alarm, it was a game that he had started in this otherworld after returning.
– Intruders have appeared in your dungeon. –
“Intruders…?”
But he quickly realized from the next alarm that the situation had been resolved.
– Successfully repelled all intruders! –
– Rewards are being given! –
– The movement range of your minions within the dungeon has increased. –
– Minions can now operate within the dungeon and up to a certain point in the mountain range. –
“…..”
Lee Kang-hyun, looking at the alarm, was still in a dazed state after being abruptly awakened.
– Celia offers ‘Kim Minjun’ as a sacrifice to Master. –
– Absorbing the abilities of ‘Kim Minjun’ (Remaining time: 6 hours) –
“Huh?”
However, upon seeing a familiar name, he regained his senses slightly. Of course, it wasn’t a name he recognized, but it was a Korean-style name.
“Why is a name like this suddenly appearing?”
Kim Minjun? Wasn’t the game set in the El Dorad Continent? After a brief thought, Lee Kang-hyun could deduce one thing.
“Oh, is this realism?”
There were indeed people from Earth in El Dorad. They were the hunters who had been summoned to the continent. Could it be that they included this level of realism in the game? Lee Kang-hyun marveled at the meticulous details the creators had put into it.
Still, receiving an alarm in the middle of the night was going too far.
“But what’s this ability absorption?”
And it took six hours, as written.
“Well, I’ll figure it out somehow. Let’s get some sleep…”
However, as drowsiness suddenly poured over him, his thoughts didn’t continue. Lee Kang-hyun collapsed on his bed and soon fell asleep.
Thud…
Thud…
Yet, the smartphone alarm didn’t stop.
– Absorbing the abilities of ‘Kim Minjun’ (Remaining time: 5 hours 50 minutes) –
– Absorbing the abilities of ‘Kim Minjun’ (Remaining time: 5 hours 40 minutes) –
The alarm continued relentlessly.
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***
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Several people gathered around a round table.
This was the heart of the White Order, the highest center of the order. Representatives from various institutions, including the Grand Vice Cardinal and the Supreme Inquisitor, as well as those in charge of law, administration, military, and other branches of the Order, were gathered here.
This was such an important meeting that they had all assembled. They were the most powerful figures in the Order after the Pope.
Therefore, the meeting was filled with various discussions and debates.
“This time, His Holiness the Pope officially requested the dispatch of inquisitors to the Sael Kingdom.”
Titan, who managed and supervised the inquisitors, spoke.
Some of the clergy present let out expressions of amazement.
“Wow, finally, our Order will establish its roots in the Sael Kingdom.”
The fact that Yuel, the trainee priest, had disappeared was to be expected since the last destination was the Sael Kingdom. It was only natural that the Order would investigate.
Trainee priest Yuel, who had garnered attention within the Order, went missing. Given that the final destination was the Sael Kingdom, it was only natural for the Order to investigate.
As a first step, the Inquisitors in charge of the investigation were dispatched by Titan himself. As a former Inquisitor, Titan took great pride in this mission.
“Yes, among the Inquisitors, we have selected ‘the best elite.’ Now, all that’s left is to use the Sael Kingdom as a stepping stone to enter the Demon Realm.”
He emphasized the ‘best elite’ part, perhaps anticipating different reactions from the others. However, this place was not all smooth sailing, as there were factions that did not want any more power to go to the other side.
“But there is a somewhat concerning point.”
Ferent, who was responsible for monitoring within the Order, spoke up. Titan furrowed his brow at his words, but Ferent continued.
“You must be aware of the incident where a succubus breached our boundaries and was unsealed.”
Everyone nodded quietly, as this was not just any succubus, it was a succubus that had inherited the blood of the primordial being. This event had the potential to shake the fundamental teachings of the Order, which held that there was only one primordial being, ‘the Goddess.’ Therefore, the Order captured the monsters born from primordial beings apart from the Goddess in an indiscriminate manner.
The succubus that had been unsealed not too long ago was the last line of descent of the continent, and it had thrown the upper echelons of the Order into a frenzy.
“However!”
Thud!
Ferent slammed his fist on the table.
“An Inquisitor, who represents the Order and judges heretics, has been involved with the Succubus Queen. Can this even make sense?”
The people around him flinched at his intensity, but his point was valid. How could a succubus breach the Order’s defenses and be unsealed? The Order immediately launched an extensive investigation, and it was revealed that one of the Inquisitors had collaborated with the Succubus Queen. Furthermore, it was discovered that the succubus had sent a secret letter to the Queen after being unsealed. Of course, this was due to the succubus being enamored by her.
Titan responded with a stern tone.
“That is true. I will take this opportunity to apologize on behalf of this place. The Inquisitor in question has been immediately dismissed, classified as a heretic, and is currently under investigation.”
Titan’s tone was firm, and his gaze carried a sense of gravity.
“But, I believe that Ferent’s statement has gone a bit too far.”
“What! Are you mocking me and the Inspection Division?”
Ferent rose to his feet and raised his voice, but Titan gestured for him to calm down.
“No, that’s not it. We just need to make one thing clear. While it is true that the Inquisitor was in league with the Succubus Queen, he was not present at the scene on the day of the incident.”
Ferent stepped back slightly, realizing that the Inquisitor had been involved with the Succubus Queen, but he wasn’t present on the day of the incident. He had tried to connect the Inquisitor to the event, but that was not the case.
“And this succubus that escaped this time,” Titan continued, “was sealed as a result of a past deal between the Order and the Succubus Queen.”
“Enough,” someone interrupted Titan’s words. It was Aurel, the Grand Vice Cardinal.
Titan also fell silent at his words. Aurel changed the topic of conversation.
“Regarding the dispatch to the Sael Kingdom, what is the Empire’s reaction or that of the other kingdoms?”
Sending inquisitors to the Sael Kingdom was a necessary measure from the Order’s perspective, as one of its own priests had gone missing. However, they couldn’t act unilaterally without informing neighboring nations, so they formally informed them. In practice, it was more of a notification.
“Both the Kalen Empire and the Orovis Empire have expressed their support for the Order.”
“Of course, when it comes to opposing the Order’s affairs, there are no fools.”
“Since two empires have voiced their support, it’s quite obvious what the others will do. It’s a given.”
The clergy’s words made Aurel close his eyes in silence. With two major empires on the continent supporting them, the situation seemed favorable.
“Anyway, let’s move on. How is the vampire hunt going?”
The conversation shifted to the vampire hunt, and the laughter that had been present when the topic changed disappeared.
This was a covert operation that the Order had been pursuing. “At the moment, the Holy Knights are storming their dungeons.”
Their plan involved attacking the vampire dungeons to weaken their power. They weren’t planning to directly subjugate the powerful 5-star vampire, Baalzerith, but rather to eliminate the surrounding vampires and weaken their influence.
5-star monsters were extremely dangerous.
From the perspective of the Order, which unofficially conducted covert operations, dealing with beings of 5-star strength was quite challenging. Beings of this level could easily reduce a city to ruins. If left undisturbed, they could easily handle a major city as well. This level of danger was why the Order had avoided a direct confrontation with Baalzerith.
“All the Holy Knights participating in this operation are elite, so there shouldn’t be any major issues!”
“Hmm…”
It seemed that this discussion could be moved on from. Grand Vice Cardinal Aurel returned to the first topic after a brief pause.
“It’s only a matter of time before the Order uses the Sael Kingdom as a base. However, the bigger problem is when we venture into the Demon Realm.”
The Demon Realm was an unknown land. While occasional adventurers entered it, when looking at the overall scale, it was no more significant than a speck of dust under a fingernail.
Thus, they could only speculate about what beings might exist there without providing precise guidance.
“Perhaps beings like Baalzerith will be there. To prepare for that, the Holy Knights and Inquisitors need to be able to face 5-star monsters. And even beyond that, 6-star…”
Aurel intended to mention 6-star beings, but he was interrupted.
“Hmm. Let’s leave it at that.”
Aurel cut the topic short and closed his eyes. It was now up to the remaining clergy to continue the discussion.
“A 6-star being…”
The existence of 6-star beings was only recorded in the past. They had caused the downfall of an entire small nation, and they were considered calamitous-level entities. Thankfully, their appearances were incredibly rare, and there were no records of 7-star beings. According to legend, when a 7-star being appeared, stars fell from the sky. In other words, they were non-existent in the present.
Therefore, the continent had set 5-star strength as the maximum. However, when it came to venturing into the Demon Realm, no one knew what kind of situation might unfold. Aurel was concerned, so he wanted to increase the training intensity of the Holy Knights and Inquisitors. If they succeeded in conquering the Demon Realm, the power of the Order would transform into absolute authority. The entire landscape of the continent would be overturned.
Aurel looked forward to that future, but at the same time, he couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
‘Is it worth awakening sleeping beings for this…
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