Chapter 222
Chapter 222
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP. 49: The Most Frightening Creature in the World... (8)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Grand Temple.
The grand headquarters of the temple that upholds the light of glory.
A fortress temple that had existed for hundreds of years, yet had never once been breached.
The cradle where countless saints were born.
The treasure trove housing all of Pendragon's cultural heritage.
It was known by many names, but none could deny they all proclaimed the majesty of the Grand Temple.
And yet, this sacred heart of the faith...
Roar!
...was burning.
Perfectly, as if set to burn everything to the ground.
At this moment, its wretched state made the title "Apocalyptic Flames" that could destroy the world seem entirely fitting.
And to make matters worse.
"Sh, shit?"
There were poor souls who had ended up right in the middle of this fiery hell.
They didn't know why they had suddenly been allowed to exit.
Whether it was because the holy sanctuary had properly activated after they slew all the hellish monsters and enemies, or if that four-eyed freak had actually been playing around, pretending it couldn't use its power...
Either way, they had escaped unharmed, which was a tremendous relief for them.
But.
Roar!
"What the hell? Why is it like this here?!"
The moment they emerged, they couldn't help but panic at the sight of the soaring inferno.
The Grand Temple—no, the entire mountain—was ablaze.
Whoosh!
"What kind of mess is this the second we get out!"
Lee Han desperately steadied his dazed mind, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and tying it over his mouth.
Carbon monoxide poisoning would be the end of him.
"You guys too, hurry and cover your mouths with something! We're escaping!!"
Lark and Maximus seemed even more shocked than Lee Han, slower to regain their wits. Only after his shouted advice did they belatedly come to their senses and cover their mouths with handkerchiefs.
The intense heat and "flame poison" (carbon monoxide) left them no choice.
"You two, hop on quick."
"Oh? You're carrying us too?"
"As expected of No. 8. Even though we're former rookies, you're still looking out for us."
"Shut your mouths, or you might bite your tongues."
Unlike the knights who could still move on their own, Dina and Yan had exhausted all their stamina fighting the hellish monsters. Hoisting both onto his back at once, Lee Han swiftly descended the Grand Temple.
Bang!
In an instant, his body shot forward like an arrow.
He had propelled himself with the Divine Arrow Flight technique, slicing through the air as he escaped the Grand Temple.
And adding to that.
Tak, tak.
By layering on the Sky Treading Step technique, his movements became otherworldly, akin to a flying squirrel gliding through the air.
In less than a minute, he covered the vast 1km distance, repeating the feat over and over.
Crack!
But midway, an ominous sound came from Lee Han's body.
Had he pushed too hard after all?
'If it were normal conditions, this wouldn't have happened... Damn it!'
The 100-minute raid against the hellish monster had clearly taken a massive toll.
Not just stamina, but his body wasn't obeying him in various places.
A side effect from the deathly miasma the hellish monster had spewed, still lingering throughout his body.
His recovery wasn't normal either, and his stamina was draining in real time.
To top it off, the thousands-of-degrees heat from the blaze, the smoke, the carbon monoxide—they constantly tormented him, testing his limits.
And those limits were being reached.
"Th-this... is getting dangerous."
"How much farther do we have to go..."
By the other two knights as well.
They were traversing at speeds rivaling Lee Han's Divine Arrow Flight, but their conditions weren't normal either—their exhaustion was plain to see.
They usually needed rest after a major battle, yet here they were, plunging straight into another desperate flight for survival without a break...
In truth, everyone here was being pushed to their limits.
'No good. We can't hold out like this much longer.'
Lee Han quickly realized that running through this inferno was nearly impossible.
The heat was one thing, but he was starting to feel faint.
Even with precautions, the massive amounts of carbon monoxide were gradually darkening his vision.
'Where? Where should we go?'
In this hair-trigger moment, just as Lee Han felt himself on the verge of passing out...
—Drip.
"?"
...A water drop wet his head.
And not just any.
Plip, plip plip.
Plop, plop plop plop.
Drops falling with an ominous intensity.
The rain began pouring down with tremendous force, soon turning into a deluge.
An enormous volume, like a waterfall cascading down. As it drenched the blaze-covered Grand Temple and mountain, before they knew it...
Shaaaa!
...it started extinguishing the fierce flames that had raged to consume everything.
Quickly. Decisively.
"...Huh."
Lee Han and the others stared blankly at the waterfall-like downpour.
Rain itself wasn't strange.
The sky was already thick with dark clouds.
But the sudden torrent, with raindrops from the clouds seemingly concentrating solely on the Grand Temple—it defied explanation, looking utterly artificial.
'An artificial phenomenon caused by a mage.'
And as far as Lee Han knew, there was only one spellcaster capable of conjuring such absurd weather anomalies with dark clouds.
None other than.
[Instructor!! Where are you!!]
A voice piercing through the fog from the rain and flames meeting, and the night's veil.
Along with water-blue mana cutting through the darkness and swaying golden blonde hair.
Lee Han knew who it was, feeling—for the first time ever—genuine delight at seeing a spellcaster.
"...I acknowledge you. Among all the spellcasters I know, you're the most human and outstanding one, little chick..."
For the first time in his life, Lee Han voiced approval of a spellcaster. As if hearing his mutter...
"Ah! Found you!"
Irene Windler flew toward them with a joyful expression.
Today, Irene Windler was beyond worthy of MVP, chattering nonstop without pause.
"I was so shocked! A fire suddenly broke out at the Grand Temple, they said. So the kingdom urgently summoned me. I'm the best at water magic in the kingdom, so of course. I came and prepared my spell, and Young Master Roan told me you'd be at the temple. The moment I heard that, I poured out all my mana. I'm pretty tired now, but seeing you're safe makes it all worth it, hehe!"
"...Thanks for saving us, little chick. I mean it."
"Aw, no need to thank me! Compared to everything you've done for me, this is nothing!"
"Have I done anything for you?"
"Y-yeah, in, in various ways?"
"......"
For someone claiming exhaustion, she sure wasn't shutting up, looking perfectly fine.
Lee Han was carrying the self-proclaimed tired Irene Windler on his back, pretending not to notice her greedily groping his lats.
Offering his lats to today's MVP was only natural, right?
He willingly endured the sexual harassment.
But that was that.
"So what the hell happened? Why is the Grand Temple burning like this?"
Lee Han asked about the cause of the fire.
He wondered what could have attacked the Grand Temple, covered in all sorts of holy spells, to cause this.
To that, Irene Windler hesitated.
"...Uh, w-well, you see."
At that moment.
"-No. 8, do you remember our mission?"
"...No. 7?"
"Call Dina."
The woman who had dismounted his back as the fire died down—Dina—spoke to him. Before he could tilt his head at her out-of-left-field remark...
"Our mission was precisely to hold you... no, to hold all of you."
"...What?"
"Not to kill or subdue you. Just to capture and hold you—that was our order. ...Thinking back now, we were just sacrificial lambs."
"What are you talking about?"
Dina's words were full of incomprehensible nonsense.
They had been waiting there to capture them?
Using them as sacrificial pawns?
...Why?
'What does that even mean?'
He couldn't make sense of it.
As he wore a puzzled expression...
"[The Prophet], our organization's strategist, said this: The most vicious culprits ruining the organization's plans are none other than you three. So, if we just block you three, we can achieve our 'goal' somehow."
"The Prophet..."
The schemer who had screwed them over—no, the entire kingdom.
The moment he finally learned of its existence through her mouth.
But only for a moment...
"The Prophet said: As long as you three are out there, you'll interfere with what 'he' wants to do, no matter what. So, we need to get rid of you."
"......"
"That's why the Prophet moved the Grand Temple. He orchestrated a situation where you, No. 8, Galahad, and Lionel had no choice but to move. That's why the Pontiff King and the hardline priests died. ...Foolish, right? They didn't even realize from the start that this was a 'purge,' and trash like Bishop Michael got used."
"...What are you saying?"
It seemed they had been played again.
Lee Han's mind couldn't comprehend her words.
And it wasn't just him. Maximus and Lark looked utterly confused too.
As if they had become fools. Dina, perhaps drained of strength, leaned against a tree and murmured wearily.
"Still don't get it? The Prophet's goal from the beginning wasn't the royal family, the ducal houses, or the North. The Prophet had only one target."
She pointed in one direction with her finger.
Their gazes naturally followed, and they saw it.
Torchlight—countless torches—brightly illuminating the night.
And those holding the torches...
Roar!
...were burning crosses.
And Lee Han realized.
What the organization's—no, the Prophet's—true target was.
"...The Temple."
"Precisely, the Grand Temple and all the corrupt priests."
"......"
"'Victims' who lost everything to the Temple punish the corrupt priests. ...Heh, not a bad story, huh?"
"......"
Lee Han's eyes clearly took in the people shedding bloody tears of rage before the blazing crosses.
Each one was an ordinary person.
Farmers, or bakers, or regular merchants, by the look of them.
The kind you could see anywhere...
Yet seeing them, Lee Han felt a chill and eeriness unlike anything before.
A more terrifying aura emanated from them than from the hellish monster, and his fingertips trembled.
Dina continued with her piece, without even glancing at Lee Han's paling face.
Perhaps the decisive core that had sparked this entire incident.
"You know what, No. 8? The Prophet said the most frightening creature in the world is none other than..."
—Parents who have lost their spouses and children.