Chapter 297

“We will kill the Monster Lord.”

Silence fell once more at Killian’s words.

The Monster Lord had appeared without fail in every Great War between humans and monsters.

It was known that he had last appeared more than two hundred years ago.

A being from centuries ago whom no one alive had seen in person.

Damian Eurasia and the White Knight Order were subjugating the mountain ranges with several frontier families instead of taking part in the war.

They knew it was because of a Wave in case of an emergency, but no one had thought it could destroy both the White Knight Order and Eurasia.

“Can a being on the level of a 9-Star appear so suddenly in the first place?”

Raven asked somewhat challengingly.

“No.”

Like humans, monsters gradually made their names known.

To avoid being subjugated, they sometimes annihilated subjugation parties, gaining epithets in the process.

If 7-Star was insufficient, an 8-Star would suppress them. No monster that could not be resolved even by an 8-Star had ever been known.

Yet Killian was saying that a monster capable of killing even 8-Star knights and mages had been born.

It was not easy for Raven, who had received no information about it from Absinthe, to believe.

“Captain, did you perhaps see the future?”

“I’m not the captain anymore.”

Killian answered Aron’s question as though joking.

Serena was now the official commander of the Extermination Squad.

Needless confusion could create problems in the chain of command.

“Then what should we call you? Shall we call you Your Highness?”

“Call me whatever is comfortable.”

“Your Highness.... That is good.”

“I prefer brother.”

“You can call me that.”

“Ha ha ha, Brother. You are as broad-minded as ever.”

Having settled their forms of address, Killian continued.

“If you are asking whether I saw the future.... yes, I did.”

“....”

“If we don’t stop the Monster Lord, every one of you will die.”

At Killian’s answer, the members of the Extermination Squad looked bewildered.

They had expected him to brush it aside as usual, claiming that it came from some ancient document or information source.

‘Did he hear something from the Pope?’

Since Killian was close to the Saintess, it was a reasonable guess.

But annihilation?

“We have lost considerable strength without Yulian and Your Highness, but we are not an organization that will fall so easily.”

Everyone here had reached 6-Star.

Philip had awakened and mastered 6-Star, while Serena had stabilized 7-Star.

Their rate of growth would have been unthinkable in peaceful times.

But they had been able to reach this point because they did not rest on their innate talents and continued to struggle.

‘Their fates changed because of me.’

His teachings and their unexpected encounters must have played a part as well.

The other members of the Extermination Squad were also talents capable of mastering 6-Star.

Thus, although the Extermination Squad was small in absolute numbers, its strength was already equivalent to that of a knight order.

‘Even so, the laws of the world may not tell us everything.’

Killian possessed both a 9-Star Hollyheart and a 9-Star Mana Heart.

Now that he had come into contact with the remnants of the gods, he knew.

What life was like for mortals who received not even minimal protection from the gods.

If the laws of the world had changed because of his influence, there was no telling how his words would apply from now on.

“And what of the kingdom’s strength?”

Simon Eurasia and Escar Schtenberg.

Then Killian Eurasia and Serena Constantine.

They emphasized that even the forces of their allied nations would not be defeated by a Monster Wave.

‘But the Monster Lord is no ordinary being either.’

Behind him stood “Lord,” believed to be the Highest God.

Even as a precaution, there was no need to make them bear more fate than necessary.

“Your Highness, you are thinking something strange again.”

Easygoing Portran spoke.

“I would like to say, ‘You do not have to worry alone,’ but.... You have always been that kind of person.”

Thoughtful Gala spoke.

“Captain Serena aside, you do not have to worry about us.”

Rational Aron spoke.

“Ha ha ha, Brother. We are not fools who doubt a 9-Star knight.”

Almadin, with a dwarf’s characteristic optimism, spoke.

“I must have spent too long with the mercenary corps. I have come to trust people far too easily.”

“Do as you please.”

Miller added, and Raven followed as though it did not concern him.

“I trust you, Sir Killian.”

Kind Id nodded politely.

“Well, to be honest, I intended to believe whatever Your Highness said.”

Philip expressed his conviction while watching Serena’s reaction.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Serena.

“You have not changed.”

“People do not change easily.”

Killian answered with a grin.

“The lives of the Extermination Squad are at stake. Naturally, we cannot act on anything less than accurate information.”

It was true.

One piece of bad information could wipe out an entire knight order.

“If we are to trust the words of someone who is not even the captain anymore, promise us one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Never try to bear it alone.”

“....”

“Do not sacrifice yourself because you do not wish to sacrifice the Extermination Squad.”

“If it is for the mission, be prepared to consider our sacrifice.”

Do not turn your eyes away from their sacrifice.

“That is the condition for trusting your words, Your Highness.”

“Captain Serena is saying the right thing.”

“She has scratched where it itched.”

“Ha ha ha.”

“Quit your damned cackling, dwarf.”

“You little bastard, you are too crooked.”

Almadin and Raven bickered.

Even amid that, every gaze the Extermination Squad directed at Killian held unwavering trust.

“This is something else....”

Killian scratched his head.

He had intended to let the matter pass casually.

This only made the burden of responsibility feel heavier.

“Please answer us.”

Serena urged him.

“All right.”

“That is enough, Your Highness.”

It felt awkward to be called Your Highness by Serena, but apart from that, her answer left him with a strange feeling.

The others nodded as well, responding that it was enough.

Just as he wondered whether Serena had gotten the better of him.

“Where is the Monster Lord now?”

Serena struck at the heart of the matter.

“That is....”

It was the most important matter.

“I also....”

Just as Killian was about to say something.

The priests arrived.

He had expected that the silver-haired knight with the Extermination Squad would stand out, but he had not thought anyone would recognize him at once.

“Killian Eurasia....?”

A brown-haired priest recognized him immediately.

Killian recognized who he was as well.

“High Priest Tomintyul?”

He remembered the promise he had made with the man before.

‘To think I would meet him here.’

And just before encountering the Monster Lord.

It seemed that he might be able to save some time.

***

Tomintyul de Horvis was the person in charge sent by the Holy See to decommission the temple.

“At first, we sent one High Priest and twenty subordinate priests to decommission a single temple, but as you can see, we are now moving with only this many.”

As the war dragged on, priests with healing formulas became important.

The five first-rate priests Tomintyul had brought were examining the bloodstains and formulas on the Empire’s corpses.

“But did you not step down from the post of commander of the Extermination Squad?”

Tomintyul said that he had heard no news since Killian’s visit to the Holy See.

He asked why Killian’s whereabouts had been unknown for the past two years.

But Killian’s relationship with him was different from the Extermination Squad.

Therefore.

“Oh? Did Lady Lan not tell you?”

Killian tilted his head and asked in return.

“....?”

“That is strange. I thought Lady Lan would have told you, High Priest Tomintyul.”

“What in the world is it that....”

“For now, I should remain silent.”

“....”

“His Holiness the Pope can see the future. If he did not tell you, would there not be a reason?”

“Hmm.”

Tomintyul let out a low sound as though he had sunk into thought for a moment.

He seemed to be considering whether he had missed something.

‘Did Tomintyul not take part in making the Makeshift Boundary Formula?’

Horvis’s Authority was Balance.

If he gave something away, he received something equivalent in return.

The reason it came to be called the Temple of Trade was that those who supported him granted what they wanted and paid a price for it.

That the High Priest there, Tomintyul, was worldly was proven by the fact that its wealth ranked among the top three temples in the Holy Nation.

“It seems that His Holiness has taken a dislike to me.”

“You have extorted quite a lot under the pretext of trade.”

“Speaking of trade, do we not have something to settle as well?”

Tomintyul said with a genial expression.

He was right.

Previously, Killian had made a deal with him in exchange for being sent to Pantera Temple with Serena.

That deal was that Killian would come to see Tomintyul once more.

‘Originally, I had intended to visit the temple after meeting Lan.’

But Styx’s consideration had placed him where Serena was, leading to the present situation.

“Of course, I had not forgotten. Since we met here, is that not fate?”

Killian proposed a new deal, saying that it would not be bad to speak here if Tomintyul wished.

Immediately afterward.

FWOOOSH—

Divine power rippled in one of Tomintyul’s eyes.

“You have grown stronger than when I saw you before.”

Tomintyul said it calmly, but the emotion he felt was not ordinary.

In two years, a Hollyheart that had rivaled a High Priest or Cardinal had surpassed even His Holiness the Pope.

‘What change could have taken place....’

Noticing that thought, Killian spoke first.

“Are you not curious?”

“....”

“Make a deal with me.”

He would erase the debt Tomintyul had been owed from before.

“If you promise that you will never demand a debt from me over trade again, I will tell you.”

At the sight of him speaking with a harmless smile, the Extermination Squad began whispering.

“It has begun.”

“The captain’s way of negotiating never changes.”

“Quiet. He is not the captain anymore. He is Your Highness.”

“Everyone, watch what you say.”

Tomintyul tried to ignore the voices that were clearly audible.

“....”

“What will you do?”

“Our positions have reversed.”

“Do positions not change as easily as turning over one’s palm?”

‘It would have been different if the temple had remained....’

Tomintyul, who had led more negotiations than one might expect, was quick to accept it.

“I accept.”

A short while later.

After moving to a corner of the abandoned temple, they finished their conversation.

“You went to the Divine Realm through a Makeshift Boundary....”

“It is true.”

Naturally, it was difficult to believe.

He had said that he used the Makeshift Boundary Formula through Lan and met gods in a place that seemed to be the Divine Realm.

He omitted the existence of the door and the reason he had not opened it.

Tomintyul was not an ordinary High Priest.

‘He should be able to bear this much.’

And he had acted because he felt that Tomintyul, the High Priest of Balance, might have some means available to him.

After gathering his thoughts, Tomintyul reacted with disappointment.

“Goodness.... How could you leave me out of such a plan....”

“I think you should reflect on your usual conduct, High Priest.”

“....”

Wrinkles formed on his forehead.

“In any case, thank you for telling me. I should visit His Holiness the Pope.”

“Now it is my turn to listen.”

Two years ago, Tomintyul had said that God Horvis had given him a revelation and that he would tell Killian when he came again.

“It may be somewhat overdue, but I believe this too is the gods’ guidance.”

Tomintyul cleared his throat and continued with a solemn expression.

“God said, ‘A silver-haired knight carrying an ancient sword will appear. You will make a trade with him, so prepare yourself.’”

“That is somewhat abstract.”

“Revelations are somewhat like that.”

It was something he already knew from Lan.

‘Did Horvis also intend to leave a trace within me?’

“You have silver hair, Sir Knight, and the sword at your waist is an item handed down to the guardians of the Elven race.”

“I do not think this sword is that old.”

“The word ancient can be interpreted in many ways, can it not?”

“An ancient sword.... I see.”

Contrary to his words, a puzzle was coming together in Killian’s mind.

‘The sword mentioned in the revelation is not Anima. It is Adamas.’

The sword that now sealed Edan within it.

Among Eurasia’s direct bloodline, there was someone other than him who could approach Adamas, located between the boundary and the barrier.

A man came to Killian’s mind.