Ch.8328. To the Slavian Kingdom (3)

At the mention of “Fama’s Sacred Fire,” the Inquisitor was greatly surprised.

“Archbishop! What are you saying? Fama’s Sacred Fire is the greatest sacred relic that proves the holiness of the Cross Order! How could you give Ayel’s fire to a mere hunter who isn’t even a cleric of the Cross Order…”

“Be quiet. We should hear his answer first.”

Fama’s Sacred Fire. The celestial flame created by Ayel’s power manifested on earth.

It’s a legendary flame that a guardian saint of Ailetan received directly from Ayel, the god of the White Cross Order.

A sacred fire of power that directly annihilated demon archdukes beyond great demons. That sacred fire remained on the priestly robe the guardian saint wore before death, and it is said that the fire has been passed down to the White Cross Order to this day.

The reason I know about Fama’s Sacred Fire is because in the original story, Cha Min-ah received that sacred fire directly from the Cross Order in an episode.

Of course, that special relic is confidential to the White Cross Order. But Archbishop Enrico was telling me, an outsider, about that sacred fire.

He continued speaking.

“So tell me why you manipulated your MCI records.”

It’s not easy to lie in front of a high-ranking cleric. Ayel’s power makes it easy to distinguish truth from falsehood.

I told the Archbishop:

“Actually, I constitutionally have an MCI of 0 from birth.”

At those words, the expressions of Archbishop Enrico and the Inquisitor changed.

“Is that true?”

In response to the Archbishop’s question, I unfastened my necklace.

“This is just an ordinary mana stone. When I store mana in this stone, magical energy leaks out. I manipulated my MCI through this mana stone.”

“So that’s why your MCI records were discontinuous. And the reason you went through the trouble of deceiving in such a cumbersome way was to hide your unique constitution?”

“That’s right. It’s mandatory to submit MCI records after missions related to the Association. If my MCI was 0, things could get quite troublesome…”

“I understand what you mean. While there are people with naturally high thresholds, cases like yours with zero are extremely rare. Because of that constitution, you might be prevented from participating in missions or even joining a guild.”

“Exactly. I… needed to work as a hunter. But I didn’t manipulate my MCI with bad intentions.”

His words were accurate. While it’s a blessed constitution for a hunter, I had preemptively blocked any troublesome situations that might arise due to a constitution so different from others.

‘Wait. He said extremely rare.’

Although the Archbishop was surprised by my words, saying it was “extremely rare” meant that such people do exist, even if uncommon.

Those two seemed to know something about this constitution.

The Inquisitor sighed. Then, breaking his silence, he spoke:

“There are only two cases where one is completely unaffected by magical energy. Those with holy bodies blessed by the Lord who are elevated to sainthood…”

“Or the very unholy mages with blasphemous bodies cursed by evil gods. Throughout Ailetan’s history, there have been only these two cases.”

I immediately understood what he meant.

‘Immunity to magical energy through Ayel’s blessing. Or cases where the body itself becomes demonized through an evil god’s curse and doesn’t receive the influence of magical energy. So there are two types.’

The two men fell silent. But after some contemplation, the Archbishop said to me:

“This isn’t something I should say in front of Marco, the Inquisitor, but you probably already know. In fact, holy bodies and blasphemous bodies are like two sides of the same coin. Their essential origin is one and the same.”

“Archbishop…”

“This might sound like blasphemy, but what I mean is that your constitution, Lee Min-soo, is a unique body that, to use a crude analogy, could become either an angel or a demon.”

The two men looked troubled, but I understood what he meant.

‘If it’s a body that could become either a saint or a demon’s apostle… that would be troublesome for the Cross Order.’

The reason they hid all information about Cha Min-ah in the report about this cooperation mission was obvious.

Since Cha Min-ah was a nun belonging to the White Cross Order, it would be absolutely unacceptable for the Cross Order if it became known that Cha Min-ah, a nun famous for her devoutness, had fallen and become a demon contractor.

‘I guess he means I could be a similar case.’

But fortunately, the Archbishop’s expression wasn’t too negative.

“However, Ayel always provides answers to the world’s problems. Judging from your actions so far, you undoubtedly possess a holy body.”

“Archbishop! You shouldn’t make such hasty judgments. Confirmation of a holy body must be done through a religious trial…”

“Then why don’t you verify it yourself right here? Marco, you are a high inquisitor with the authority for summary judgment.”

There was a reason the Archbishop was so relaxed.

Whether I had a holy body or a blasphemous body could apparently be confirmed right here.

“But Lee Min-soo, you need not worry. It’s just a simple verification.”

Though he said that to reassure me, I realized I was cornered in this moment.

‘If the Inquisitor declares me as having a blasphemous body, forget revenge—I’d be headed straight to Saint Helena Detention Center.’

I was tense. At this moment, even I had no way out. Being declared an enemy of the Cross Order would be tantamount to being labeled a villain.

The Inquisitor named Marco looked at me.

“The summary judgment is nothing special. You’re a hunter. Just repeat the hunter’s oath that you would have written when you received your hunter’s license, right here in front of us.”

But contrary to his words suggesting it was nothing significant, his gaze as he looked at me was extremely sharp.

***

When all the oaths were finished.

The two men were speechless. No, their faces were filled with astonishment.

“Forgive my presumption, but I believe there’s no need for doubt.”

“I felt it too. Hmm…”

Both men remained silent with serious expressions. After a while, Inquisitor Marco was the first to speak.

“It’s like the resolve of priests performing exorcism oaths directly to Ayel. I’ve never before seen such intense hatred toward villains and demons, even myself. Especially that oath regarding the Red Lake…”

I had repeated my hunter’s oath in front of Marco. The main content of my oath was the extermination of villains and the Red Lake.

Against them, I had the resolve to return exactly what Juan Soriano did in the video from the conference room earlier.

It seems Marco read all the determination contained in my oath through his holy power. I could see cold sweat forming on his forehead.

The Archbishop continued:

“…I see. I felt it too. Well then, there’s no room for doubt.”

“Indeed. A blasphemous body would instinctively harbor goodwill and interest toward demons. This man undoubtedly possesses a holy body.”

“Very well. Then it seems we are in a position to ask for his help instead.”

The Archbishop then stood up and respectfully said to me:

“An age of chaos is approaching. But your defeat of the Red Lake villain and the recent confirmation of Krosel’s appearance—all must be the Lord’s will. You are worthy of reaching that sacred relic.”

At the Archbishop’s words, Inquisitor Marco also gave me a respectful nod.

And so my time in the office ended. I left the office.

After some conversation, I learned that Fama’s Sacred Fire was not here at the Far East Diocese.

‘Fama’s Sacred Fire is both a sacred relic and confidential to the Cross Order. As something to be passed on to the promised one like now, the place where it’s hidden must be no ordinary location.’

Being a sacred relic, its storage location is also extremely dangerous, they said. After receiving all this information, I left the place.

‘It would be too much for me alone.’

However, since it involved bringing out a Cross Order relic again, the Archbishop sent an official cooperation document to Flame in his name.

This means I can rightfully request anyone’s cooperation, whether it’s Yuri or Soso.

‘Well, those two would naturally follow if I asked them to come.’

In fact, I gained an unexpected opportunity. While the Far East Diocese episode exists in the original story and I had been thinking about Fama’s Sacred Fire…

I hadn’t expected that I, rather than another Flame member, would directly obtain that fire.

‘According to the original story’s plausibility, I thought Arin would get it.’

But it was I who received this opportunity. Thinking about it, Arin’s priestly position and holy power haven’t yet reached those of Cha Min-ah at the original story’s point.

‘Still, this is a great opportunity.’

Though it’s fire created with holy power rather than mana, that makes it much more useful to me now.

After unlocking the second stage of Hong-ok’s seal, the stability of my spells has decreased significantly due to the strongly leaking mana.

Pure firepower has strengthened proportionally to the increased mana, but it’s difficult to immediately use sophisticated application spells like increasing the rotation of blue flame or attempting fusion compression with wind spells.

‘I need time for my body to get used to the backlash of releasing the second stage seal.’

But there’s a mountain of work ahead. Flame will be moving much more actively than before.

And during that gap in time, Fama’s Sacred Fire is the opportunity that can fill the firepower void.

Moreover, it’s not just filling a gap. Once I get used to the second stage seal, simply possessing Fama’s Sacred Fire will multiply the power of my flame spells several times.

‘And if the target is a demon contractor or demon, the effect will increase even more.’

So for me, it was actually an important opportunity that I would have had to steal from the Cross Order if necessary.

‘However… it bothers me that this opportunity came to me rather than a main character from the original story.’

I decided not to think too much about that part.

As long as I move as a member of Flame, and as long as Flame’s purpose is the annihilation of the Red Lake, I won’t greatly distort the story. And regarding Fama’s Sacred Fire, I plan to go find it with one of Flame’s guild members, not alone.

‘Then the person who should go with me to receive Fama’s Sacred Fire is…’

Lost in thought for a moment, I soon got into the car provided by the Archbishop and headed to the hotel where the others had already returned.

***

Yuri was restless.

The meeting and exorcism ordination at the Far East Diocese took longer than expected. But since they had already booked rooms at a nearby hotel…

There would be no problem staying overnight and returning to Seoul tomorrow. All guild members had now returned to the hotel.

No, except for Lee Min-soo. The Archbishop of the Far East Diocese said he had something to discuss with him separately.

The Archbishop told the worried Yuri it was nothing serious, but she couldn’t help being concerned about Min-soo.

‘Inquisitors are no different from fanatics. So if you get on their bad side…’

They are people who would risk their lives for religious discipline. Naturally, they have sworn to define those who go against Ayel’s discipline as evil and punish them.

While there should be no problem for Min-soo who hates villains and demons, Yuri knew that Min-soo’s constitution was somewhat unusual.

‘Still, it’s a constitution completely unrelated to demons.’

As she worried about Min-soo, she couldn’t stay still in her room.

Using her authority as guild leader, she sent an email to the operations team to check the room numbers of all employees participating in this business trip.

‘If I wait in front of Min-soo’s room… I can know whether he’s back or not.’

She had already sent dozens of messages and made dozens of calls to Min-soo, but he didn’t answer. So just as she was about to go to the room number sent by the operations team…

Yuri noticed something strange.

“Why is Seong A-rin in the same room?”

For a moment, she was so shocked that her heart froze. Of course, guild members of the same gender can share a room. But Seong A-rin is a woman.

Having two people share accommodations like this on a business trip was against common sense.

‘What’s going on?’

And when she arrived in front of that room and double-checked the number and name just in case, someone opened the door and came out.

Pink bobbed hair and eyes of the same color met Yuri’s gaze.

“Oh my. What brings you here, Guild Leader?”

Seong A-rin with her usual friendly voice. But she looked at Yuri as if seeing an unwelcome visitor.