Ch.85Secret (1)

Deep beneath the cathedral.

The air was heavy with moisture, creating an intensely damp and eerie atmosphere.

Durin lit a torch the moment he set foot at the bottom of the stairs. The flames burst to life, illuminating the pitch-black world around them.

“This is the place.”

The light swept across the walls.

History that had been hidden for hundreds of years was revealed under the bright flames. The murals depicted fierce battles.

Beyond the flickering shadows, angels and demons crossed swords, killing one another.

“This is the moment demons were cast out of heaven.”

“It was a conflict between two races over the right to govern humans.”

Ludmila spoke with hazy eyes. The sorceress was speaking while gazing at a scene from the distant past.

“There couldn’t be two gods under one heaven created by the Creator God, and they could no longer accept a life where both received worship from humans.”

“Could they not have chosen coexistence?”

The elf’s voice suddenly interjected. Both demons turned to look at her.

The elf, who had spoken without thinking and suddenly received attention, flinched and stepped back. Ludmila continued her explanation, paying no mind.

“The faith they could receive from humans was limited, and their greed wouldn’t allow them to divide it between two.”

“Even great beings aren’t so different from humans.”

“Only the lifespan differs. In the end, they’re the imperfect children of the Creator God, so it can’t be helped.”

Ludmila gave a bitter smile. She carefully traced the mural with her hand.

“Born with inherent deficiencies, they fought endlessly and struggled ceaselessly to feel their mother’s love more deeply. But could they ever defeat the half-sibling born and raised in the warm sunlight?”

“In the end, they were banished to the demon realm…”

“Yes. No matter how bright the night might be, it could never become day. The children who desired worship were defeated in war and expelled from all regions of heaven.”

The sorceress’s gaze now turned elsewhere. A mountain filled with corpses. Thick blood flowing from heaven formed rivers and poured into the human realm. The children of the night made their escape along those streams. Some couldn’t hide their sorrow and looked back, but the angels in the clouds dared not permit it.

Their faces were filled with mockery, as if telling them to be grateful for surviving.

A history of pain. The origin of when those who were not children of the goddess began to be called demons was revealed.

“But the children of the night didn’t give up. They left traces for the day they would someday return to heaven.”

The tips of angels’ spears mercilessly pierced demons. But they did not yield.

Some grabbed sacred texts and fled to the demon realm, while some warriors donned divine garments and headed to the human realm. If direct warfare wasn’t possible, they would simply divert humans’ attention and torment them to the end.

“Just as the current demon realm disrupts faith…”

“If they couldn’t be worshipped, they would gain power by other means. That’s how demonic energy was born. The Demon King who descended upon the human realm carved the fear of death everywhere and shook faith in God. Because salvation couldn’t be found at the scenes of massacre.”

The final image showed a continent in ruins. There were no survivors.

Humans, angels, and even the demons who had been the invaders.

The final warrior resisted at the edge of the continent. The origin of the crusaders, and humanity’s last struggle to survive the massacre. He met his death while directing all that resentment toward himself. In exchange for his life, he left an indelible scar on humanity.

Fear and terror toward demons who would someday descend.

It exerted such a strong influence that it remained even after a thousand years.

“So they left those traces, which they prepared at the cost of their lives, here in this cathedral?”

“No. This is merely a place where history is recorded. It’s like a guidebook for those who touch fate.”

Ludmila took the torch from Durin. They moved to another mural.

There, a map of the human realm continent was drawn. Symbols were marked on every location, including the southern continent where they were currently located. The sorceress sent magical energy from her fingertips, and thin lines resonated together.

Three points of light shone on the map.

One in the south, one in the east, and one in the papal state that highly praised the God of Light.

“To buy time against the mighty heavens, great warriors willingly wore divine artifacts.”

“Divine artifacts?”

“The armaments symbolizing the Goddess of Night. They’re currently sealed by the Creator God’s power across the continent. They’ve become cursed objects that shouldn’t emerge into the world.”

Fragments of a sleeping god. Ludmila spoke of power that humans couldn’t even imagine.

The elf gathered courage once more and asked:

“Couldn’t they erase them? The traces of the forgotten god.”

“If it were power that could disappear so simply, it wouldn’t have been called the God of Night.”

“But the opponent is the Creator God…”

She raised a fundamental question. No matter how divine, could resistance be possible before the Creator, the father of the world?

Unfortunately, Ludmila remained silent on this matter.

“You’ll find out when we get to the next ruin.”

“The place where the divine armaments are sleeping.”

“Yes. I’ll explain some of the remaining mysteries there. The future we’re tracing is so vast that I can’t explain everything at once.”

Ludmila giggled. Then, she turned to the hero who was standing quietly beside them.

“Finally, it’s your turn. The hero’s appearance.”

“The warrior created by humans to defeat the primordial Demon King you mentioned.”

“Half right, half wrong.”

She swung the torch and extinguished it. Pitch darkness descended.

Red eyes floating in the darkness stared at the hero. A hidden smile was eerily drawn.

“The Creator God’s final mercy for the Goddess of Night whom he loved. The feelings of a father who could only watch helplessly.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The hero was humanity’s guardian who existed before that. The Creator God’s warrior. Not a vain being who wields holy power. Rather, you were being constrained. You were pitifully played with, your authority reduced from being heaven’s guardian, not humanity’s.”

“I mainly received divine revelations from gods other than heaven. The same goes for helping the Demon King escape.”

“Everything follows the flow of fate. All your pain and suffering are the foundation for future resurrection.”

“Are you saying Eiley had to die for me?”

“Awakening must be secured with someone’s blood. Her soul awakened the hero.”

Cael couldn’t answer. The sorceress’s words were disorganized and fantastical, leaving him confused.

She seemed to be reciting prophecies but was like a diseased spirit. If that was the essence of demons, he could understand, but those he had observed closely were different. Their yearning and striving for something was no different from humans. They didn’t enjoy indiscriminate slaughter as described in the scriptures bestowed by angels.

This sense of dissonance kept holding the hero back. His empty mind was already overwhelming enough without having to deal with prophecies.

Seeing Cael like this, Ludmila, shrouded in darkness, offered comfort.

“Don’t worry. Your path will open the moment you touch the divine armaments.”

“Will the Goddess of Night send down a light?”

“No. The opposite. You’ll react the moment you touch the divine power. The moment will come when you, as a noble warrior stripped of all emotion, will unleash all your memories and feelings.”

The end of emptiness. The hero’s path that the sorceress must find.

“Follow Durin and find your lost essence. Both your fates ultimately touch the divine fragments.”

“It’s time, Ludmila.”

This time Durin interrupted. The demon regent who had been quietly listening to the sorceress’s story relit the fire.

His eyes, burning more intensely than the flames, gazed at the hero and the sorceress.

“I understand your words well enough. Let’s head outside now.”

“Hmm? Don’t you want to hear more? It’s not every day you get to hear old tales from a sorceress.”

“Listen to the sound.”

At those words, everyone fell silent.

Dust was rising slightly. The ground was trembling. It was about time for news to arrive.

On the first day of invading the human realm, they occupied one ruin, and in the next week, they dealt with one apostle—the Dark Order couldn’t just stand by. Especially the Demon King waiting for Durin wouldn’t remain idle.

“We’ll continue the rest next time. Ludmila, seal the underground entrance.”

“We’re moving by spatial jump. Is that really necessary?”

Ludmila asked. Durin nodded and answered.

“I need to see how far the traitor has expanded their influence.”

The dead at the cathedral were beyond what he had imagined.

It wasn’t power achieved solely through human souls and thoughts. He had thought there must be a greater source, but while listening to Ludmila’s story, he could only think of one possibility.

-Lucretia has somehow obtained a divine fragment.

That was the only way to preserve the power from the Demon King era and stand against the heavenly crusaders.

Otherwise…

“Go. We’ll see each other another day.”

The possibility of collusion with heaven.

He could only think of one impossible scenario.