Ch.9131. Into the Cathedral (3)

The basement of the worship hall was far more dangerous than I had imagined.

It was a place that required holy relics of the Cross Society to suppress the demonic energy. Not only had the basement transformed into a dungeon with abnormal terrain, but there were also numerous monsters appearing.

‘Without Soso, this would have been really difficult.’

If I had been with Yuri or Arini, we probably couldn’t have continued descending into the basement like this.

Yuri is strong, but a mage’s firepower requires continuous mana consumption to maintain. There’s a limit to her endurance.

Conversely, if Arini were here, she would extremely boost the sustainability of others, but right now it would be too much for me to properly use fire spells.

‘On the other hand, Soso…’

Originally, swordsmen are awakened ones who use their internal mana most efficiently. And Soso possesses the Heavenly Demon Divine Technique.

She handled the ghost-type monsters filling the basement without any difficulty.

Although Soso would normally be terrified of spirits, perhaps because I was with her now, she fought extremely well against them.

‘But she seems concerned about the poison.’

The basement was filled not only with spirits but also with poisonous mist condensed with demonic energy.

Fortunately, Wind Cutter immediately detected and pushed away the poison, but a terrible stench like rotting corpses filled the basement.

“Sniff sniff-“

Perhaps because of this, Soso was using the sweatshirt I lent her like a mask or gas mask to block the smell.

‘Wait. Come to think of it, she was doing that even before I mentioned the poison.’

Since wearing that sweatshirt this morning, I’d occasionally seen her doing that.

‘Does my clothes smell bad?’

They say when a man lives alone, he gives off what’s called a bachelor’s smell. But Arini visited my apartment often, so it didn’t have that smell.

Arini also did the laundry regularly. Since she even blended fabric softener and added it separately to the washing machine, my clothes had a relatively pleasant scent.

‘Ah, that could be why.’

At that moment, my eyes met Soso’s. And she made an extremely embarrassed expression.

“Th-this is… not with any strange intention… the smell around here is terrible…”

“I know. If I had known it would be like this, I would have brought gas masks.”

“N-no. Your sweatshirt smells nice so I feel… Ah! I-I mean, it blocks the basement smell…”

It seems Arini’s fabric softener had a good scent after all.

Soso’s cheeks turned red. It wasn’t something to be so embarrassed about, but her reaction was peculiar.

‘Well, Soso is just that kind of person. A bit strange somewhere…’

The two of us descended deeper into the basement. The air became so polluted and thin that it was hard to breathe, but with Wind Cutter, there was no problem.

It continuously supplied air by moving between above and below, and finally, we found Parma’s Sacred Flame.

The deeper we went, the darker it became around us, but at the deepest part of the basement, the surroundings became slightly brighter.

“Is this… Parma’s Sacred Flame? It’s so small.”

But as Soso said with a hint of disappointment, the fire illuminating the basement was much smaller than expected.

A candlestick stood on the basement floor, and a pale green fire burned dimly at its tip.

“This is just a candle? It looks weaker than a turbo lighter…”

Soso seemed more disappointed than me. If it was the sacred flame the Archbishop had mentioned, it would have been a miraculous power that could greatly enhance my abilities.

“No. There’s nothing strange about it.”

I brought my right hand with the sacred mark closer to the candlestick. The light emanating from the mark grew stronger.

This definitely meant that this candle was Parma’s Sacred Flame.

“A flame sorcerer is someone who creates fire. At the same time, they’re also someone who strengthens fire.”

Soso made a puzzled expression at my words.

“What does that mean…”

“If I’m qualified to be the master of Parma’s Sacred Flame, the flame will burn in its true form. Don’t worry.”

I closed my eyes. For a moment, I sank my consciousness deep into my inner self.

The basics of magic that every elemental sorcerer learns: Elemental Imagery. It’s training to visualize the element in deep meditation and strengthen that image oneself.

Naturally, as a flame sorcerer, my elemental imagery is fire. A blue flame burns in that deep place.

‘Blue Flame.’

And I intended to use this Blue Flame to reignite Parma’s Sacred Flame, the celestial fire that burns even demons, into its true form.

Blue sparks flew from my fingertips. And those sparks transferred to the candlestick.

“Burn, Parma’s Sacred Flame.”

Simultaneously, a massive fire was summoned, completely consuming the candlestick.

***

The massive fire soon began to take shape.

Like a curtain, like a vast cloth, the fire spread out and then transformed into the shape of clothing.

The priest’s robe of a saint was formed.

That burning fire completely enveloped my body. The surrounding space darkened, and for a moment, I entered a space different from the basement.

I stood in a space that was completely white all around.

Then, from within me, no, the flame surrounding me spoke to me.

– Was it you who awakened this fire?

Instead of answering, I nodded. Although I wasn’t a believer of the White Cross Society, that voice resonating in my head like the word of God momentarily made me feel reverent.

– You carry a fire in the deepest part of your heart.

I was surprised for a moment. Parma’s Sacred Flame, the will of that ancient saint, seemed to immediately recognize the state of my body.

After all, a red jade resides in my mana heart.

– But that fire burns by consuming your body and mind. Even so, do you wish to continue burning like this?

I nodded.

My fire is an unquenchable fire. I swore to the red jade. Until I complete my revenge, I will never extinguish this flame.

‘I swore that if mana, the fuel, is insufficient, I would create fire even by burning myself. Both my flesh and my soul.’

Parma’s Sacred Flame seemed to read even this oath of mine.

– I have never seen such a fire, not in the celestial sacred flames nor in the infernal flames. You are fire, unable to live without burning something.

And the priest’s robe surrounding me began to emit an even more intense flame, as if it would burn me to death right there.

‘Ugh…’

That flame was burning my body. The burning pain I always felt in my mana heart was an extreme pain like my heart being torn to shreds, but the pain of Parma’s Sacred Flame burning my entire body transcended even that pain. It felt like my entire body was melting in fire.

– But fire is such a dangerous tool that also burns itself. And it is blind. Whether you wish it or not, it will burn not only yourself but everything around you.

I shouted to Parma’s Sacred Flame.

“I am not so foolish as to be unable to distinguish what to burn.”

He fell silent at my words. For a moment, the burning sensation consuming my entire body subsided. Instead, the surroundings began to burn.

As he had said earlier, the celestial sacred flame and the infernal flame alternately flickered, burning everything around me.

– I see. The fact that you have reached me after such a long time means you are chosen by Ayel. But even though I am called Parma’s Sacred Flame, I am a being that can become both sacred flame and infernal flame. The will of God is not as gentle as humans think.

I answered him.

“But isn’t that what fire is in the first place? And to me, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a celestial sacred flame or an infernal flame.”

As long as that fire can burn down everyone at the Red Lake, I don’t care whether it’s sacred or sacrilegious.

The Sacred Flame seemed to read my will. After a long silence, he spoke to me.

– You are worthy of using this Sacred Flame. I understand your will and will give you the power to burn what you desire. However, only until the moment you return to ashes, which is not far off.

At that moment, I felt Parma’s Sacred Flame entering me.

Like my mana heart, the red jade, was wearing new clothes, I felt a new pale green sacred flame burning on the surface of the blazing red jade.

Then everywhere went dark again. It seemed I had returned to the basement.

“Minsu, are you okay?”

Soso had a very worried expression. The Sacred Flame had suddenly grown larger and I had been engulfed in it. But my body, now returned, was fine.

And I could clearly feel the sensation of a new fire burning within me, different from the existing flame-attribute mana.

“Yes, I’m fine. I’ve obtained Parma’s Sacred Flame. Let’s hurry back now.”

At the same time, the candlestick that had been burning Parma collapsed gently to the floor. At that moment, a violent tremor shook the underground space.

Something that had been suppressed by Parma’s Sacred Flame had awakened.

***

Violent tremors continued as if an earthquake had occurred.

But it wasn’t the ground that was shaking. It was definitely vibrations transmitted through demonic energy.

“Let’s get out of this basement first!”

Soso nodded. Parma’s Sacred Flame’s seal had been broken. So it was natural that the demonic energy suppressed by the flame would be released.

“Will… a demon suddenly appear or something?”

Soso asked me as we hurriedly climbed up. But there was no demon sealed in the basement.

‘We’ll need to get out of here first to understand the exact situation.’

The oscilloscope stopped working. It meant the demonic energy had exceeded the measurable limit. I checked Soso’s MCI.

’72. There’s still 20 left until the limit, but Soso is in danger now too.’

Perhaps due to the release of the seal, the number of spirits in the basement had increased.

No matter how much I was with her, if Soso continued to face the spirits like when we entered this place, her MCI would eventually reach the limit.

‘Spirits have an even worse effect on Soso.’

I used Wind Cutter to blow away the poisonous mist swarming from all directions. But I couldn’t do anything about the spirits that had gathered.

‘Wind spells are difficult to inflict significant damage on spirits.’

Even Soso, who had been active as a dealer until now, could no longer push herself. Reading my concern, Soso tried to be even more proactive, but I calmed her down.

“The mission doesn’t end just because we leave this place. Save your strength.”

“But without dealing with these spirits…”

As Soso said, spirits were clinging to every staircase and slope leading to the surface.

‘But it’s not a problem.’

I shouted to Soso.

“I’ll clear the way now. You can rest.”

“But your physical condition isn’t good, so fire spells…”

“No, it’s not a problem now. Because I have Parma’s Sacred Flame.”

I gripped the handle of Wind Cutter more tightly. Not being a believer of Ayel, I had never used sacred spells before.

‘But Parma’s Sacred Flame is fire. I just need to follow my instinct.’

That imagery I had recalled to awaken Parma’s Sacred Flame. The self-burning fire. I recalled that fire and ignited a different fire in the air, unlike flame spells.

“That fire…? It’s not Blue Flame.”

As Soso said, an aurora-like pale green fire began to rise around me.

“Just follow behind me! We need to hurry now!”

Parma’s Sacred Flame had been summoned. It’s different from Blue Flame, which creates fire by burning mana. The celestial sacred flame began to illuminate, no, burn the surroundings.

Whoosh-

And the result surprised even Soso, an A-rank hunter, or rather, soon-to-be S-rank hunter.

“To burn more than 10 spirits at once… what kind of firepower is that…”

As Soso said, all the spirits surrounding the two of us had disappeared. Being a sacred flame, its effect against spirits was remarkable.

‘No, it’s not just that.’

There was no mana consumption at all. But the pure firepower of the fire alone was comparable to Blue Flame.

‘With this level of firepower, it might be at least a 5th-tier flame spell or higher.’

I had gained more than I had expected. With no mana consumption, there was none of the recoil and burning pain I experienced when using Blue Flame.

‘Rather, the sacred power of the flame seems to be calming my mana heart.’

Since the priest robe-shaped sacred flame surrounded the red jade, it seemed to be acting as a kind of seal, preventing the leakage of life force.

‘If that’s the case, I might be able to use the power of the 2nd-stage seal release more freely.’

But I decided not to experiment now. Using only the sacred flame to deal with the spirits, Soso and I finally reached the surface again.

“Haa… I never knew the surface air could be so clean.”

As Soso said, we could breathe freely again upon returning to the worship hall. But soon both of us became serious.

“The demonic energy is abnormally high. It must be the effect of the sacred flame’s seal being broken.”

As I said, I felt an instinctive sense of foreboding. Since the sacred flame that had been suppressing the region’s demonic energy was released, the Ash Forest seemed to have been affected somehow.

Beep beep beep-

At that moment, a signal sounded from the radios both of us were carrying. They were satellite radios distributed by the priest.

“A call signal?”

I hurriedly pressed the receive button on the radio. And a voice came through from the other side.

“P-please save me! Why is Father Romeo… Aaaaargh!!”

It was a death scream.