episode_0320

The first floor of the separate building, the drawing room.

Siron gathered himself up to greet the guests who had been visiting since morning. He wanted to take a bath immediately because of the sweat he had sweated all night, but the identity of the guest made him be polite.

Deviale Jebiel.

A smiling adult whom I cannot help but respect along with Hugo. It’s also because I can’t imagine that he came this morning for something trivial.

“Sorry for calling you out so early in the morning.”

Devialet nodded briefly as soon as Siron entered.

Siron looked at him with slightly surprised eyes, because his smiling appearance was not much different from Siron’s.

Hair sticking up, cassock with wrinkles not even out as if it was worn in a hurry. He had a thick beard growth on his chin, and his breathing was a bit heavy, as if he had been running.

“I guess it was quite urgent business?”

“Shamefully, it is such an urgent agenda.”

Clack- Devialet emptied the glass of water in front of him in one go and let out a deep sigh.

“Actually, it’s because of a scorpion from Lucerne.”

“In Lucerne?”

“Yes.”

When Siron asked in surprise, Devialet nodded seriously.

“As far as I know, the warrior… received a loan of a holy relic with His Majesty’s permission.”

“Yes. Received the Shield of Chesed. But that…?”

“His Majesty has ordered the recovery of the shield of Chesed.”

“……Yes.”

Siron immediately took out [Hesed’s Shield].

10 years ago from now. A treasure from Lucerne that I borrowed for the opportunity to have a private meeting with the King. Shield of Chesed.

This shield is limited to ranged attacks and can nullify attacks at the cost of the user’s mana.

If you look at its effectiveness alone, it is an item of such great value that it can be described as a fraud. Siron also recognized its value and borrowed Chesed’s shield from an early age, and over the past 10 years, in many places, his life has been saved thanks to the shield.

The most recent place I wrote about was the Labyrinth of the Six Apostles and the battle with future Siriel.

It completely blocked the black pillar of light filled with the energy of destruction, and was also able to block [Killer Whale Siriel’s] Holy Spirit, the Swordless Mirror.

An item that can be said to be a lifeline for Siron, who has not yet mastered self-defense skills. Nevertheless, Siron willingly wanted to return Chesed’s shield.

[Hero. Isn’t this the holy relic you said was used during the time of the three apostles?]

Even though it is a key item in conquering the three apostles.

‘That’s true, but… the owner told me to give it up, so I have no choice.’

Although I didn’t set a specific deadline when I borrowed it, the owner of this item ended up being prosperous. At that time, Siron had not even proven to be a hero, so she had no choice but to rely purely on his favor.

Rather, it was a miracle that nothing had been said until now.

However, for some reason, Devialet did not readily touch the shield.

“Hero. At the risk of being rude, may I tell you one more thing?”

“You don’t look good. Did something happen?”

“That is…”

Perhaps because it was quite difficult news to say out loud, Devialet’s expression grew increasingly dark. But soon, his fists clenched as if he had made up his mind.

“The warrior added that you should return it yourself.”

“…Why the fuck?”

Siron did not hide his unpleasant feelings. As expected, Devialet let out a groan full of pain.

“That’s… I’m not sure. I guess it’s because there have been some disturbing rumors going around at the top recently.”

“Rumors?”

“Rumors that the world will be destroyed.”

“…Um.”

Siron groaned softly.

“There is something I don’t understand. Can you tell me?”

“Yes.”

“What does the end of the world have to do with me personally returning the relics? It’s hard to find a connection…”

“Honestly, this is something I find difficult to understand.”

Devialet also crossed his arms and groaned.

“The scriptures tell us to solve our own problems with our own strength. Therefore, it makes sense to return it directly to the person who borrowed it.”

“That’s right… But…”

“But no matter how much of a theocracy Lucerne was, it was not such a tight-knit group. So I thought it had something to do with the recent rumors going around at the top, um…”

As the sigh deepened, so did the depth of the water.

“Honestly, I don’t know. This is not just the opinion of His Majesty the King, but also the agenda of the Cardinals’ Council. Perhaps, I would like to take retaliatory measures for acting too arbitrarily on the topic of rank-and-file priests.”

“…Okay.”

Although there were many questionable parts, Siron managed to nod his head.

It’s okay to not have Chesed’s shield. All you have to do is take the time to learn self-defense skills, but the power is overwhelmingly greater than what you expected when you rented it.

However, now there is only one step left, and only one apostle and a demon god are left.

In this situation, I don’t want to fight with a headache in my head. Siron thought that if he earned the cardinals’ hatred, the trouble would only increase.

“Then, how long can I go?”

“They probably know that moving in winter is impossible. It will be okay to leave after spring comes.”

“…Okay.”

Siron said so and took the shield back.

‘Is there about 2 months left?’

His mind was filled with thoughts about how he could use his shield effectively during the remaining time.

*

Killed six of the seven apostles.

The mansion’s training hall two months later.

Siron, holding only a shield, stared at the staff that was about to fire powerful magic.

“Shoot.”

Quaaa! A flash of light is fired as soon as a signal is given. The entire earth melted without even touching it, and so much light was emitted that it made your eyeballs evaporate just by looking at it.

A death ray that doesn’t even allow to pass by. It was such a terrible power that you would think it would be 100 out of 100, but Siron did not move a single step from the target.

Instead, he just takes a deep breath and raises his shield.

The moment the flash engulfed Siron holding the shield, a strong bursting sound rang out.

The magic disappeared at the cost of a huge amount of mana.

“…Good.”

Siron, with a satisfied expression, checked the remaining mana in the dagger.

‘Is it about 2/3? Mana capacity has increased. Even two months ago, once I received it, only half of it was left.’

“One more time!”

Siron brushed off the soot on his shield and gave a hand signal to Seira again.

“Phew…”

Seira took a deep breath and prepared for the new moon season, [White Nights]. It wasn’t just the size of Siron’s Danjeon that changed. This was training for Siron, but it was also for Seira.

[I’m ready. All you have to do is shoot.]

In a corner of Seira’s consciousness, another self spoke cheerfully.

Gooo – The spell is formed at a significantly faster rate than when [White Night] is first cast.

Magic can only be activated if a certain amount of mana is sacrificed and there is a technique that twists the logic, but now, as if the second process was ignored, magic was formed on the tip of the staff.

This was an achievement that came with acquiring two selves.

Saying that you have two egos is the same as saying that you have two heads to prepare a magic trick. Unlike before, where each technique was developed sequentially, future Seira was now able to prepare the next technique to be used.

Quaaa!

The power is the same as before. Chesed’s shield consumed as much mana as the destructive power of the attack it was blocking, and soon only 1/3 of Siron’s mana remained.

“Phew…”

Siron broke into a cold sweat from the rapidly draining mana. Lucia, who was looking at this, was worried and opened her mouth.

” Poetry, no matter how little time is left, that’s true. Aren’t you overdoing it? And then, what are you going to do if your Danjeon gets shattered like your father did?”

“So you leave about 1/3 of it.”

Siron answered, wiping the sweat from his forehead. And he handed the shield to Yoru next to Lucia.

“Okay, now it’s your turn. Did you see what I did? I got a real dose of magic. If you feel dizzy, just ask to stop.”

“…”

Yoru suddenly accepted the shield, remembering the ignorant training Shiron had just done. A flash of light that wouldn’t be strange even if it erased an entire mountain. The scent of death is so terrifying that you can feel it just by looking at it. Although he had tried it several times before, not just today, Yoru still wasn’t confident in this ‘sacred relic’.

“Sa, please be gentle…”

However, he was unable to resist in the end and approached Seira at a slow pace.

A gruesome beheading seen in the fog.

Shiron really mechanically killed the future Yoru without any emotion. No matter how hostile he was, he had the same face, body, and voice… Shiron killed the future Yoru without hesitation.

And that too, with just one knife.

From that day on, Yoru didn’t complain a single word about anything Shiron told him to do. After seeing Yoru walking away, Siron looked at Lucia again.

“Okay, we have to train next time.”

Siron pulled out a long rapier from his arms. Not the holy sword I always used, but a sword made of ordinary black iron.

He sat down holding his sword.

“…Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard these days?”

Lucia placed her hands on Siron’s shoulders and muttered. The training to be conducted this time was about manifesting strength through the use of mana.

“Expressing strength is more a matter of qualifications than effort. Unless you’re a genius, it’s average to break away from sword skills after reaching 30 lines.”

“You, Yoru, and Siriel are drawing strong energy, but I’m the only one still stuck at sword energy. So, I have to train harder.”

Siron muttered as he added mana to the rapier. The training paid off, and the high-purity mana quickly burned like a flame.

“And now, there is really only one apostle left.”

“…You said the three apostles, right?”

“Yes, that bastard is in the Tower of Despair in the Demonic World. No matter how good the holy sword is and how good the recovery is. I feel anxious if I don’t wear a self-defense device. Since there is not much left, I want to do it for sure.”

“In that case…”

Lucia, persuaded by Siron, kept her mouth shut. It was always like this. Even if he shows pure concern without much ulterior motive, he is refuted by the logic of poetry and quickly bends his will.

Since it was a life-threatening matter, I could not oppose his decision to proceed cautiously.

Lucia, who had almost died due to the Four Apostles’ tricks not long ago, had become even more inclined to do so.

-Protect my brother even to my share.

2 months ago. That’s what Siriel said in the imperial palace.

-…Why are you setting the mood?

-You didn’t set the mood!

-Ji, calm down. Is your unborn baby surprised?

-I can’t fight anymore.

After that, Siriel did not add any more reasons. However, since they were friends who had been together for half their lives, Lucia was able to clearly understand what was being said.

Siriel trained harder than anyone else because she wanted to fight alongside Siron since she was young. She conceived Siron’s child out of love, but if she hadn’t been a competing rival, Siriel would never have become pregnant.

‘It’s hard to breathe…!’

A triangle in her heart stabbed Lucia in the chest.

*

Siriel led her body, which had difficulty moving, to the dock to meet Siron. Even as the day of departure approached, Siriel remained the same.

“Oppa! Have a nice trip!”

A lively kiss was poured on the cheek. Siron hugged her back, holding her back so as not to crush her swollen belly.

“Sorry Siriel. I’ll be back by the time the baby is born.”

“Ugh, don’t worry about me. It’s sadder that my brother gets hurt while rushing.”

“I’ll buy ice cream when I come.”

Siron smiled and hugged Siriel tightly once more. I don’t like the idea of having to leave my pregnant fiancée behind, but thankfully Siriel understands Siron.

‘I didn’t get pregnant to hold you back. ‘You just have to protect the family until your brother comes back.’

Siriel silently stared at the people boarding the ship one after another. The story of asking me to help my brother instead of me was at the top of my lungs, but if I said it that far, it would only cause unnecessary denial.

Siriel, who was silent, stroked her swollen belly until the boat left.

“The spring breeze is cold. Let’s go in now.”

Hugo hugged her lonely shoulder.