Chapter 251
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter 251: Destination (1)
***
After leaving the Academy, Damien turned towards the Church.
He had decided to heed the advice of the Imperial Supreme Sword and the Sword Saint.
Damien had a lot to do now. He couldn’t stay entangled with the Empire.
‘Since I killed Sla, Pandemonium will react in some way.’
Sla was no ordinary giant evil. She was one of the strongest in Pandemonium.
With such a figure dead, Pandemonium couldn’t just sit still.
‘It doesn’t matter if they come after me. I’ll just kill them all. But my family won’t able to defend itself.’
Damien’s only weakness was his family. What if Pandemonium went after his family? Just imagining it made his insides churn.
‘It’s cowardly to stay by my family’s side and wait for Pandemonium to strike.’
He couldn’t just stand by and protect his family while Pandemonium plotted who knows what. That was no different from handing Pandemonium the initiative.
Damien was determined to be more proactive.
‘I’ll shake up Pandemonium one more time.’
He planned to upset the board once more so that Pandemonium wouldn’t have the time to worry about Damien and his family.
‘To do that, I need to kill the Weapon Master as quickly as possible.’
The Weapon Master was a Giant Evil with power comparable to Sla’s.
If the Weapon Master followed Sla in death? Pandemonium would be thrown into great shock and its external activities would have to be curtailed.
However, there was one big problem with this plan.
‘The problem is how to get to that place.’
Damien had previously killed the Weapon Master’s disciple and learned his location.
However, the place where the Weapon Master was located was not easily accessible to humans.
‘Maybe I can find a way at the Church.’
With that thought in mind, Damien quickened his pace.
***
Not having much time, Damien traveled day and night.
Thanks to that, he was able to reach the main body of the Church sooner than expected.
“It’s still the same here.”
Damien said as he looked up at the high walls surrounding the main body of the Church.
A moat as wide as a river surrounded the walls.
Damien crossed the bridge over the moat. When he reached the end, he saw two giant statues guarding the gate.
– Stop there. The Church does not welcome visits from strangers.
The two statues said as they looked down at Damien. Damien took out the insignia of the Honorary paladin from his subspace.
The gaze of the two statues focused on the insignia. After a while, the statues cleared the path and said.
– It’s Sir Damien Haksen, the Honorary paladin.
– Your identity has been verified. You may enter.
These two statues were no ordinary golems. Not only were they powerful weapons with great fighting power, but they were also connected to the Church with the Divine Power, so they could handle any task quickly.
– Come on in.
The statues urged Damien, who was standing still. Damien said to the statues.
“If there’s a knight named Agnes, please let her know I’m here.”
Agnes.
The disciple of One of the Great Five Elders Cheongyeum.
And he was the first elder Damien had met since his regression.
He couldn’t just wander around a place as big as the Church alone. He needed help.
– Wait a minute.
The eyes of the statues glowed again. Then the statues said to Damien.
– We have confirmed that there is a paladin named Agnes.
– She is on her way here, so please go in and wait.
Damien went inside the gate and waited for a while. Then, he saw a female knight running from far away.
“Sir Damien!”
Agnes ran at an incredible speed and stopped in front of Damien.
On her face, usually expressionless to the point of coldness, surprise was now visible.
“Ah, no… How on earth did you get here…?”
“You’re being kind of rude. It sounds like you’re not happy I’m here.”
Damien replied playfully. Agnes was very flustered.
“Oh, no! I’ve always been waiting for Sir Damien… No, no, that’s not it! The Church always welcomes Sir Damien! However, I thought Sir Damien had become a knight of the Empire…”
“Me? A knight of the Empire?”
It was new news to Damien.
“You won the Helian Tournament, didn’t you?”
“Knights from other kingdoms can also participate in the Helian Tournament, right? So I just participated and won.”
“I heard you received a sword from the Emperor.”
“I just received it, but I never pledged allegiance.”
“Didn’t you become a teacher at the Imperial Academy?”
“I only went in to catch Sla.”
Agnes sighed in relief.
“Ah… that’s a relief. I thought you had joined the Empire, Sir Damien.”
“How could that be? My heart is always turned towards God.”
Damien spoke with a shameless face.
The connection to the Church was very useful, so he needed to maintain it, even if it meant lying.
“Of course you did! Other people were saying that you had abandoned your faith, but I didn’t believe them. I was sure that you were still deeply religious, Sir Damien.”
“As expected, Lady Agnes, you understand my heart well.”
“N-n-not that well.”
Agnes blushed and said.
“Oh, I almost forgot.”
Suddenly, Agnes knelt before Damien.
Damien was surprised and tried to get her up.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I heard that you killed the succubus Sla, Sir Damien. Thank you for punishing the most wicked of the heretics and setting God’s will right.”
Agnes bowed her head deeply and said.
“Not only me, but the others also feel the same way about you, Sir Damien.”
After all, it seemed that Sla’s death had shaken not only the Empire but also the Church.
It was natural, considering that the group that hated dark mages the most in the world was the Church.
Agnes got up and asked.
“But what is the matter with the Church? Ho, or did you come here because of me…?”
“I came to fix this.”
Damien said as he pointed to the Dawn at his waist.
Agnes’s expression darkened immediately.
“…You came to fix the holy sword.”
“Are you upset?”
“…No.”
Agnes replied in a prickly tone.
Damien looked at her with a puzzled expression.
“It’s a good thing you came at this time.”
“Good thing?”
“The master has gone out on a mission. If the master had seen you, Sir Damien, he would have challenged you to a duel without hesitation.”
At that, Damien felt a shiver run down his spine.
Considering Cheongyeum’s personality, that was definitely the case.
He had even attacked Damien out of the blue when he first visited the Church. He said that he was curious about his skills.
At that time, Damien was only a middle class, and Cheongyeum was a Master class.
“If you came to fix the holy sword, you should go see Sir Malta.”
“Don’t I have to greet Her Holiness first?”
“Her Holiness went into silent prayer a week ago. It ends tonight.”
Holy Empress periodically went into seclusion something called silent prayer.
For a week, she would pray without saying a word or eating anything.
“Follow me.”
Agnes guided Damien to a workshop inside the main body of the Church.
The armaments of the Church were so outstanding that they were recognized throughout the continent. True to its reputation, the scale of the workshop was enormous.
Even more surprising was the sight of the blacksmiths who were walking around the workshop.
They were as small as children. On the other hand, their entire bodies were covered in boulder-like muscles.
The blacksmiths in the workshop were not humans but dwarves.
The Church’s religion spread not only among humans but also among other races.
These were the descendants of the dwarves who had sacrificed themselves when the Church was founded.
“Young paladin. What is it?”
A dwarf approached the two. Agnes greeted him briefly and said.
“I came to see Sir Malta.”
“Did you make an appointment? Those who have not made an appointment will not be admitted.”
“This person is qualified to see Sir Malta even without an appointment.”
The dwarf looked at Damien with a crooked gaze. It was as if he was saying ‘What nonsense is this?’
“He’s Sir Damien Haksen. He is the master of the holy sword, Dawn.”
“…What? Damien Haksen?”
But when Agnes revealed Damien’s identity, dwarf eyes widened.
“If you are the master of Dawn, you are qualified to see Sir Malta. Wait a moment.”
The dwarf went inside the workshop. After a while, something dark and hairy emerged from inside.
“Dawnnnnnnnnnnnn!”
A dwarf with hairs all over his face and head was running towards them, about to burst into tears.
“You bastard Damien Haksen! Hurry up and show me Dawn!”
Damien grimaced and held out Dawn. Malta hugged Dawn with both arms.
“Dawn! How long has it been! Do you know how lonely I’ve been without you?”
Ziiiiing! Ziiiiing!
Dawn also seemed to be happy and hummed. Then Malta cried out even louder.
“Let’s see… Let’s make sure you’ve been well and haven’t been hurt.”
Malta drew Dawn from its scabbard. And as soon as he saw the notch in Dawn’s blade, he froze stiff.
“…Damien Haksen.”
“Yes?”
“…What is this?”
“The blade is notched.”
Damien said indifferently. Then Malta’s eyebrows shot up.
“Who do you think I can’t see? I’m asking why Dawn is in this condition?”
“It happened when I fought Sla.”
“What? Sla?”
Malta’s eyes widened at the name Sla. And Malta muttered and hugged Dawn.
“Succubus Sla… If it’s a monster like that, this much damage is… It’s rather fortunate that it ended like this… The weapon I made was used to cut off Sla’s breath…”
After a while of pondering, Malta looked at Damien and said.
“…I’ll forgive you just time once.”
“Yes, Thank you, thank you so much.”
Damien replied with an annoyed expression. Then Malta turned on his temper again.
“No! Dawn! Come back to my arms! I can’t leave you with that bastard!”
Ziiiiing…
“What? You don’t like it? You ungrateful bastard! That’s why they say there’s no point in raising a daughter!”
Damien looked at Malta with a tired expression.
“And this bastard! A holy sword has to be tempered every time it grows, so why did you only bring Dawn now!”
“I’ve been very busy lately.”
“Anyway, you brought it well! You did a great job!”
Malta stroked the blade of Dawn and laughed strangely.
“Dawn… You’ve grown so wonderfully in the time I haven’t seen you… Just a touch of my hand will make you several times stronger than this… ughhhhh.”
Damien glanced at Malta with a disgusted expression. Then he asked Agnes.
“Is he always like that, that dwarf?”
“Well… he usually exercises self-restraint…”
Agnes said while avoiding Damien’s gaze.
“Sir Malta, I have a question.”
“What is it? If you’re going to ask me how to polish Dawn, wait a minute.”
“…I’m not going to ask that. Sir Malta, you lead all the dwarves who have sacrificed themselves to the Church, right?”
“So what?”
“Then do you also have contact with dwarves in other regions?”
Malta thought for a moment at Damien’s question and then replied.
“There are a few cities with which we have contact.”
Dwarves were a race that lived in cities rather than kingdoms.
They were very different from what humans thought of as cities. They lived hidden in mountains or deep in caves, and they were much larger.
“Then do you also have contact with Hammerfell City?”
“Hammerfell? Why there?”
“I heard the name on my travels and thought I’d ask.”
It was a lie, in fact. Damien had never heard of a city called Hammerfell.
However, there was another reason why Damien asked about Hammerfell City.
Weapon Master.
His next goal was there.
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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