Chapter 431: Two Days is Enough
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 431: Two Days is Enough
Audin turned his gaze inward, examining the restrictions placed upon his body.
Soon, a mental image manifested: golden chains tightly binding his entire frame. Because he had recently drawn upon his divine power, the thin strips of cloth covering the chains appeared frayed and worn, but the links themselves remained intact.
The chains were a restriction he had placed upon himself; the cloth was a seal imposed by others.
Examining these shackles after so long brought a flood of memories rushing back—moments he had deliberately tried to bury.
"Defending heretics? Do you truly believe that is the duty of an Inquisitor?!"
The first memory was the roar of a corrupt bishop, his face twisted in rage.
"We only favored you because you worshiped the God of War. Hmph!"
The sneer of another priest echoed in his mind.
"What do you intend to do now?"
Then, there was the man who had taught him and guided him to this point: the former Pope, a blind man said to glimpse the futures of others. He had abdicated his throne just ten days after his coronation.
"This is not the place for me, my brothers and sisters."
After casting aside his authority, he had whispered to Audin in secret.
"I did it because I felt I wouldn't live long if I stayed in that seat."
It was an absurd reason, but he had added that it was a conclusion reached by divining his own future.
Though his memories were a tangled mess, Audin had found it difficult to answer the man who had shown him the affection of a father when he was but an orphan. It was right after Audin had become a sinner by failing to fulfill his duties as an Inquisitor.
"Do you not know what to do?"
"Yes. I have lost my way," Audin had said, kneeling.
"There is only one place for a lost shepherd to go," the former Pope spoke in a stern tone.
"I must go to that place in the subterranean depths, embraced by darkness," Audin replied.
It is the God of Scales, ruler of the sun and moon, who judges sin. If one sins, they are sent to the side of the God of War to be judged. And those punished by the God of War are locked away in the subterranean prison. This was the doctrine, the words etched into the holy scripture.
Audin worshiped the God of War, while the former Pope worshiped the god of two faces. One of those faces was the jailer of the divine prison and the God of Love; the other was the God of Judgment, symbolizing radiance and holy light.
Though the two aspects seemed entirely contradictory, the holy scripture stated they were originally one and the same. There was a god who had descended into the deep subterranean prison solely to bestow love. He sought to illuminate the earth by leaving the light within his body behind on the surface.
Thus, one aspect of the god became the jailer of the subterranean prison, symbolizing darkness and love, embracing sinners. The other became the punisher of sinners through radiance and holy light.
"You are one destined to lead the light of radiance."
Drawn by those words, Audin became one who punished heretics.
Since the God of War had blessed him with an extraordinary physical vessel, Audin immediately transitioned to a martial priest during his days as an apprentice. Naturally, even among the martial priests, Audin was exceptional.
"You are the first to delve so deeply into Valaf-style martial arts and achieve such enlightenment."
His extraordinary talent immediately led him to divine power. As the light of radiance and holy light settled upon his body through the god of battle and war, the praise was universal. Everyone blessed him.
"It is a miracle!"
While training to become a paladin, Audin was appointed as an Inquisitor.
"Pray there, and hone your body and mind there."
Those were the words of the Archbishop. The Archbishop, a man with a mean appearance and slit eyes, commanded Audin to become a judge who would punish heresy.
Audin obeyed. As an Inquisitor, he resolved to punish the wicked with the light of radiance and holy light.
Then, during a mission, he executed the bishop's hidden son, who had committed a grave sin. He was in the middle of handling several more matters after that when doubt began to fester.
In a small city he had traveled to by the bishop's order, Audin watched a man accused of heresy set himself on fire to prove his innocence. Watching the man burn, Audin instinctively felt that something was fundamentally wrong.
But what was it?
Was it him, for believing in God? Or the corrupt temple? The Archbishop, drunk on power? The man who had abandoned the papacy after glimpsing the future?
Or perhaps...
‘Must I consider it the fault of the God who gave strength to someone as lacking as me?’
Surely not. It was simply that he had failed to understand the will of the Lord Father.
He began to wander. His faith wavered. The very foundation of Audin’s being cracked and crumbled from its cornerstone. His dream of "Exorcising Demons and Eradicating Evil"—of becoming a paladin to lead the charge against darkness—was shattered.
The tower built of faith collapsed.
"If you loathe punishing with radiance, go into the darkness and hide yourself."
Following the words of the man he considered a father—and in truth, simply because he no longer had the will to act—Audin imposed restrictions upon himself. As if that weren't enough, several other wielders of divine power added their own seals to Audin's body.
"I am sorry, brother."
One brother there would have gladly given his life in Audin's stead.
"Why did you do it?"
A sister who, until yesterday, had laughed with him, now looked at him with pure hatred.
Audin accepted the restrictions without a single word of excuse, relinquished his position, and left the temple. On his way out, the words spoken by his father figure, the former Pope, remained vivid.
"On the day the path you must walk becomes clear, you will step forward of your own accord."
"Is that a prophecy?"
"Prophecy? Nonsense. Let me be honest with you. I cannot prophesy. It is merely a guess, a prediction. If one becomes the Pope of a temple where those who hate him outnumber those who follow him, it is obvious someone will try to kill him."
It was his father’s confession.
"One cannot know everything inside a person's heart, but having watched you all this time, I know a part of yours. If it is easier for you to think of it as a prophecy, you may do so; it matters not. I am simply speaking the part that I know. On the day you step forward of your own accord, God will gain His sturdiest shield to protect His child."
With those words, his father turned away. Half a year later, he was branded a heretic and stoned to death. The only divine power he had possessed was a simple healing spell.
Audin heard the news another half a year after that. Immediately, he felt a boiling rage. He wanted to run to the temple right then and slaughter them all.
But he couldn't. To do so would be to rip out his last remaining roots, burn them, and erase even the ashes. Nor would it have been what his father wanted.
‘Lord. Must I die quietly like this?’
He knew he was in this position because he had killed the bishop's hidden son. He knew he was here because, despite being an Inquisitor, he had refused to punish the "heretics" designated by the temple.
Audin knew all of this. Yet he did not act. He couldn't. His hands were merely tools meant for striking and crushing.
After wandering aimlessly, he ended up in the Troublemaker Squad. At the point where he had given up on everything, he saw someone who had given up on nothing.
That man had survived a knight, won a war, led a revolution to victory, and did not flinch even when confronting a demon. He had even caused the King of the East to seek him out in person.
Audin pondered. Could he avoid 'giving up' without breaking his restrictions?
Audin sought to dream the same dream once more. To become the fist that acts on behalf of God, a shield and sword of radiance that eradicates evil. He wished to fulfill his duty and walk the path laid before him, but there was still an unresolved problem.
He had sworn to uphold the restrictions, and he could not break that oath on a whim. Furthermore, no one currently in the temple would agree to lift them.
The past tangled and twisted, eventually reaching the question he had thrown into his inner self.
Legion, a monastery in a corner of the Holy City. He had been parentless since birth.
"What is the reason for my birth?" Audin had asked countless times. What was this needlessly massive body for? It was the same when he obtained divine power. Was it to kill the enemies of the temple, those called heretics?
Surely not.
I shall become the fist that eradicates evil.
He had made that his goal, but there was a time when he could not achieve it. He cast that time behind him. Forgetting the past for a moment, he looked toward a new sun—toward the coming tomorrow instead of the today that had already passed.
"What did you say you would do once you became a knight?" Audin had asked, and Encrid had answered.
"A battlefield where children do not step, knights who uphold chivalry, a world that reveres what is right—I want to create such things."
Ah, Audin had wept on the day he heard that answer. He had wept while praying in a secluded spot behind the barracks, trying not to let anyone catch him. Sachsen and a few others had seen it, but they ignored it. It wasn't the first time Audin had wept while praying.
While he was praying, Teresa approached. She waited patiently until he finished, then spoke.
"I believe my body and talent are insignificant. I tried to govern my mind by learning to sing, but it is not easy."
"Why do you seek to go further?"
"Because I want to walk the path I believe is right. I believe that path lies beside that man. Above all, my heart is filled with the desire to protect this place."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I want to prove myself by sparring with him, and I want to be of help on the path he walks."
To establish a purpose and execute it—that is indeed the greatest light a human possesses. It may not be holy, but it is a light that will not fade.
Reciting the words of the holy scripture, Audin nodded.
"I heard you selected a few squad members. Let us begin our serious training together," Audin said.
Teresa regretted sharing her worries for a very brief moment afterward. Just hearing the words 'serious training' gave her a premonition. It would be the kind of training where being locked in a subterranean prison might actually be preferable.
This happened while she was in the process of forming a unit by selecting large, strong, and devout squad members, as she had been instructed.
And in that moment, Audin realized that one of the restrictions binding his mind had shattered.
‘The words of the temple are absolute truth, so do not disobey them.’
In that case, he would have to go to the temple and change that "truth" a little. Because if necessary, he would have to lift the restrictions.
However, until he received permission, he would not lift them at his own whim. That was the nature of Audin's faith. Even if he were to die, he would not lift all of them. Lifting the restrictions would only happen after he spoke of what was right to the temple.
Even if doing so proved difficult and led to his death, he would do it. It was as if another person's life had changed solely because of the dream one man had shown.
* * *
Ragna realized the change the moment he woke up.
‘The cold air.’
The breath inhaled and exhaled. The fallen leaves. The drifting dust. Everything felt several times clearer, as if within his grasp. He felt that if he reached out his hand right now, he could even snatch the axe of that ignorant barbarian sitting twenty paces away.
Ragna exerted his will and clenched his hand in the empty air. Naturally, unless it was some supernatural power or magic, there was no way a distant axe would fly into his grasp.
However, at the exact moment he reached out and mimicked the gripping motion, Rem tightly grasped the shaft of his axe. It happened almost simultaneously.
Rem, who had moved in response to Ragna's gesture, looked at the "lazy sluggard" and snapped, "You crazy bastard, get the hell away from me."
It was as if Rem had read Ragna's desire. Yet, it was also something that hadn't actually physicalized.
‘This doesn't work.’
It felt like he could do anything, but there were many things that didn't work. He had realized something and crossed the wall, but there was too much to figure out.
Ragna recalled the sparring match between the King of the East and Encrid. He remembered the sight of Encrid resisting the knight's martial prowess without taking a single step back. The King had held back significantly. While it wasn't exactly an instructional spar, he had practically helped his opponent pour out all of his strength.
Ragna had seen all of it. He had also felt the power flowing out of the weapon held by the King, accumulating in Encrid's sword.
‘Can one gather their will and manifest it in reality?’
For instance, could he have brought Rem's axe to himself earlier, ignoring physical distance?
‘Yes, it is possible.’
Though to do so, he would have had to take a step and close the distance. He simply couldn't do it by just reaching out his hand without moving his feet.
Naturally, Ragna also realized the principle of Intimidation. It wasn't something achieved simply by glaring at an opponent with fighting spirit and murderous intent. It was manifesting one's will into a phenomenon.
In other words, speaking to the opponent through Will.
The sword strapped to the waist, the spear slung across the back, the fork used to stab steak—it was letting them know that whatever was in one's hand could kill them.
‘No, even the edge of a bare hand is enough.’
One visualizes the movement and subtly conveys it to the opponent. By doing so, their survival instinct would constrict their hands, feet, and heart. That was Intimidation.
Before he knew it, Ragna was sitting in the dining hall, experimenting with a fork.
First, on Rem.
"Has this bastard lost his mind?" Rem glared back fiercely with his characteristic barbarian temperament.
"Brother, please restrain yourself." Audin spoke with a smile, but a small vein bulged on his forehead.
Dunchabel backed away with a sharp hiss. Teresa furrowed her brow and quietly recited a passage from the holy scripture, while subtly pulling her food tray closer to use as a shield.
The fellow named Ropode endured right beside him, trembling violently. Cold sweat dripped onto his food.
"You're going to kill the kid at this rate."
It was the fellow known as the Shepherd of the Wilderness. He subtly drew his sword a fraction of an inch. A black blade was revealed—the sword named Idol Slayer. Ragna could see something condensed upon that blade. They said it was a sword that devoured souls, and indeed, it was a blade that cut through the very will of an existence.
He could feel a certain presence, but he couldn't tell exactly what was contained within it. To know, he would have to grasp and swing it himself.
Next was the Big-Eyes bastard, Krais. He remained completely oblivious, simply asking if it felt a bit chilly today.
‘So there are those who react sensitively... and those who do not.’
Could this be used to gauge someone's skill or talent? It seemed highly possible.
Ragna devoted himself entirely to swinging his sword, excluding the time he spent eating and sleeping. What the King of the East had said before leaving was correct: he had to set his path straight right now.
He felt a sense of omnipotence, as if he could do anything, but actually doing something required a process. Could he split a mountain with a sword? While there was no single sword strike that could split a mountain, he realized:
‘I can kill the mage who tries to use magic to split that mountain.’
Distinguishing and recognizing what he could and could not do was the key. To that end, he repeated his basic training every single day. Moving his body without rest until he was drenched in sweat, he had even taken to snoring in his sleep at night.
After repeating the same routine for several days, Encrid unwrapped the bandages tightly wound around his hands and asked, "When will you be ready?"
It was an invitation to fight.
Ragna looked inward for a moment and said, "Two days is enough."
It seemed doable. Though he struggled even to control his strength right now, two days would be plenty.
It was insane talent. Normally, even if one crossed the wall and set foot in the realm of a knight, it would take at least three to six months to readjust their body. But Ragna was different.
For him, even a fortnight was too long.