Ch.1141The Knowledgeable Elder

After Invidius’s death, Heirek, who had barely managed to recover, headed east according to Elpinel’s revelation.

His attempt to usurp Invidius’s divinity had failed, but regardless, the fiend had met his death and Haschal had survived safely.

It was time to proceed to the next phase of the plan that Elpinel had told him about.

‘Not much time left…’

Staggering through the desert, Heirek sighed deeply and lifted his head to look up at the dark night sky.

His physical condition was beyond what could be described as the worst ever.

The dying curse of the evil god clinging to his soul prevented healing, making his severed left arm and burned right foot completely impossible to treat, while the death mana that had seeped into his blood vessels through his wounds was rotting his body even at this very moment.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was like a terminal patient facing death… no, even worse than that.

Though aged and weakened, he was still enduring because he was a demigod; if he had been an ordinary person, he would have died ten times over by now.

‘Yes, not much time left…!’

But now, the emotion filling Heirek’s mind wasn’t the pain of his rotting body, but only the exhilaration rising like a volcano.

After all, the moment to finally reap the fruits of his long four-thousand-year wait was drawing near.

If he could only avenge the resentment of the dead people of Zarem, if he could only witness that moment clearly with his own eyes, he wouldn’t regret dying on the spot.

An undying flame of enthusiasm and desire guided the steps of the dying demigod.

To the insurance Elpinel had prepared for contingencies. To the third hero and final agent. To the owner of the goddess’s holy sword, Gram.

—-

Having finished his brief reminiscence, Heirek turned his gaze forward again and quickly sized up this generation’s hero, who didn’t seem to even try hiding his wariness.

‘Younger than I expected… and that much weaker. Despite the Wall, he hasn’t even surpassed the “second” yet.’

The third hero—Demian’s prowess was unmatched throughout Hestella and the Empire except for Haschal, but even so, he hadn’t reached Heirek’s standard.

This was inevitable, as Heirek’s benchmark for a hero’s power was based on their prime, while Demian was still a young man in the midst of growth.

Not only his accumulated power but also his physical body had not yet reached its prime, so it was natural that he wouldn’t meet Heirek’s expectations.

…Of course, whether he could surpass the previous heroes even after reaching his prime remained to be seen.

The previous heroes—though there were only two of them—were individuals who possessed tremendous power.

Sigurd, Elpinel’s first chosen hero, was a mighty warrior among the mightiest who had come close to destroying “Baltyr” who had descended with six companions.

Had the World Tree and Varnir not betrayed him at the critical moment by enticing other races, the god of monsters would have met eternal death two thousand years ago.

The second hero, Carlos, was much weaker, barely matching a demigod even with the power of the holy sword… but that wasn’t due to any lack of quality or effort on his part.

It was simply because the power the world allowed him at that time only went that far.

In Carlos the Great’s era, those with divinity had all left the mortal realm or were hiding deep underground, sleeping to avoid the first Heaven’s Wall.

So Carlos had no opportunity to even steal divinity, let alone awaken it.

In fact, the lack of opportunity was rather fortunate.

If he had somehow obtained divinity and awakened it, he too would have had to hide underground and sleep like other demigods.

The first Heaven’s Wall had deteriorated over the long years and now only separated heaven and earth, but at that time, even that single layer was powerful enough to force all demigods on earth underground.

That’s why Elpinel of that time chose to indirectly support humanity’s heroes, including Carlos, with Gram and the Oath Sword, instead of directly sharing her divinity.

Despite these constraints, Carlos built up his strength through tireless effort and reached the limit allowed to those without divinity, which was enough to be worthy of the title of hero.

Because he couldn’t awaken divinity, his lifespan was not much different from other humans, and he aged too quickly, meeting his death before completing his role.

Anyway, compared to those two heroes, Demian was still immature.

Although he had contributed greatly to the World Tree’s death and obtained part of its divinity, he couldn’t even attempt to awaken that divinity as he had not yet reached, let alone transcended, human limits.

However, with the world changing so rapidly, they couldn’t afford to leisurely wait for his vessel to be completed.

To raise Demian into a warrior worthy of the title of hero, a “special measure” was literally needed at this point.

It was for this special measure that Heirek had painfully flown from the Western Great Desert to Hestella with his dying body.

‘…The remaining issue is how to convince him with words.’

If he abruptly said he would give him power if he followed orders, not only would it fail to persuade him, but he’d be lucky if a sword didn’t come flying at him.

On the other hand, if he gave a detailed explanation so Demian could understand all the circumstances, even a full day wouldn’t be enough time.

Heirek, his mind slightly stiffened perhaps due to age, thought hard to come up with persuasive words that would summarize the long story as concisely as possible while not missing the essentials.

—-

“Do you know what duty has been bestowed upon the owner of your sword, Gram?”

After brief contemplation, Heirek finally spoke. His first words were meant to arouse Demian’s interest and attention.

“…You knew the identity of this sword?”

“Yes, I know. Better than anyone… it’s a relic left by the goddess I’ve served.”

“A relic…?”

Demian showed interest at this unusual expression.

Heirek sighed softly and looked at the holy sword with a downcast gaze as if missing it, then turned his gaze to look up at the sky and gave a brief but detailed explanation.

Gram was originally the beloved weapon of Sigmund, the last emperor of Xanten, and was known as the Sword of Balmung at that time.

However, the sword was broken during battle with the ancient demon god “Baltyr,” and his goddess reforged it by melting part of her divine body and divinity, which was the origin of the “holy sword” Gram.

“Goddess? I don’t think you’re talking about Elpinel.”

“Of course not. The goddess this old man has served is the mother of all life who has existed since the beginning, the one who led Elpinel to heaven, the great Earth Mother Goddess Gemina.”

Heirek revealed the divine name of the goddess he had served in a reverent tone.

“Gemina…?”

“You might be more familiar with another name. The villagers in the north changed her divine name to fit their oral folklore as they pleased.”

And that “northern naming” was fortunately preserved through the few remaining records, completely replacing the goddess’s original divine name and establishing a new name in the world.

“Nerthus. Earth Mother Nerthus. That’s what they called her.”

“The ancient god Nerthus?! Old man, so you were an enemy after all…!”

Demian had never heard the name Gemina, but he did remember hearing the name Nerthus.

At the name of one of the four ancient gods officially declared heretical by both the Holy State and the Empire, Demian’s wariness shot up to the top of his head.

“Ancient god…? Well, I suppose by current standards, she is an ancient god… but is that something to be so wary of? And what do you mean by enemy?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? If the god you serve is one of the four ancient gods, then you’re also in league with Wodanaz… I mean, Alfodhr’s apostles!”

“In league with Alfodhr’s apostles…? That’s absurd. Don’t lump me together with such a vicious god like Alfodhr. It’s deeply offensive.”

Heirek, who had no way of knowing that the old faith had been designated heretical, was slightly perplexed by this reaction, but clearly showed his displeasure at the suggestion that the goddess he had served was in the same league as Alfodhr.

“…You’re not in the same league?”

“Of course not. In fact, destroying that god of betrayal and deception has been our order’s long-cherished wish!”

Alfodhr was indeed the head of the ancient gods who had been worshipped as the main deity in the Xanten Empire, but that was only until the true identity of Baltyr, the god of monsters, was revealed.

Toward the end of the great war that ended with Xanten’s destruction.

The Xanten people who were fortunate enough to still be alive at that time realized that Baltyr’s true identity was actually Alfodhr, and in their rage and sense of betrayal, they poured endless curses upon that god.

In particular, the Order of Life that worshipped Gemina took the lead in condemning the betrayal and deception of the god who had been considered the main deity, vowing to avenge his atrocities.

Heirek was one of the key figures in this Order of Gemina, so it was natural that he found it difficult to tolerate being lumped together with Alfodhr’s apostles.

“Hmm… well, let’s say that’s the case for now. I don’t really understand what’s different though.”

From Demian’s perspective, they were all the same heretics, and it seemed they were just engaging in factional infighting, which he found absurd and pathetic.