Chapter 394: Clark(3)
Chapter 394: Clark(3)
Kate recalled the oracle Luminous had delivered after a long silence: Go to the darkest, most hideous place and welcome a distinguished guest.
As expected of a divine oracle, it was cryptic, but she found herself wondering more about why the message was so vague in the first place.
Since the defeat of the fallen Cardinal, her divine power had been amplifying day by day. Now, she could perceive the future directly, much like Isaac, rather than relying on mere omens.
Normally, the God would have bypassed such abstract riddles and simply told her exactly where to go.
However, Kate accepted it all with humility, believing it to be the will of God. Besides, she wasn't entirely ignorant of the message's meaning, so she set out without much further thought.
She felt a pang of regret at having to be away from Isaac for a while, but she figured it would be an easy journey—just pick up the guest and return.
That was, until word of the incident at the underground temple reached her ears.
"Did you say a skeleton appeared?"
"Ye-yes! And it's an entity intelligent enough to speak."
A single skeleton had resurrected in the underground temple without any warning. Kate couldn't help but furrow her brow the moment she heard the report.
What was a skeleton? A being brought back against the natural order through wicked necromancy.
Its very existence defied providence, making it a massive headache for the gods, including her own Lord Luminous.
And it could speak? Most skeletons lacked intelligence and merely followed a necromancer's orders.
Of course, it was possible to summon an intelligent skeleton or undead through high-level necromancy. In such cases, the necromancer themselves was usually exceptionally powerful.
Having served as a Grand Inquisitor, Kate had encountered such beings before. Most of them had been infused with the souls of heroes.
Occasionally, there were naturally occurring monsters like 'Dullahans,' but they didn't pose a great threat to humanity. Those types usually guided souls wandering the world, unaware of their own deaths. It was easiest to think of them as something akin to grim reapers.
"How many casualties?"
"Casualties... there are almost none, aside from a few minor injuries."
"None, except for minor injuries?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Kate looked puzzled as she listened to the investigator's explanation. It was surprising enough that it possessed intelligence, but for there to be no fatalities?
If the investigator's words were true, it meant the skeleton was stronger than the entire investigation team.
The Minerva Empire wasn't foolish; they had deployed elite soldiers just in case. Furthermore, there were priests present—the natural enemies of the dead.
"What did the creature say?"
"Th-that is..."
The investigator hesitated for a moment, swallowed hard, and spoke quietly.
"...It asked for the location of Sir Xenon."
"...Excuse me?"
Kate's fine brows knitted as if she had misheard. At first, she thought her ears were playing tricks on her.
"It also asked for Sir Xenon's location and the whereabouts of his father."
But the moment she heard the follow-up explanation, the thread of her reason snapped. Kate's mouth flattened into a thin, expressionless line.
Though she usually wore a soft, fresh smile like a country maiden, she had a habit of turning cold and stern whenever her patience reached its limit.
That moment was now. She drew the mace she had prepared from her waist.
She wanted to don her full armor, but there was no time. She had to deal with this impure entity immediately.
Startled by her sudden change in demeanor, the investigator hurriedly followed her, trying to talk her down.
"W-wait! Please listen to me! Even if it's a skeleton, it might be someone we can reason with!"
"It is still a member of the undead. A being that defies the natural order ordained by God."
"Th-that being wasn't even affected by divine power! The priests cast all sorts of divine spells, but they had no effect whatsoever!"
"Hmm?"
Perhaps the investigator's desperate words got through. Kate stopped in her tracks.
The previous explanation was strange enough, but the idea that divine power didn't work was even more bizarre.
"You're saying divine power didn't work at all?"
"Yes, yes! That's right."
"Not even a wisp of smoke?"
"Nothing!"
"Hmm..."
Divine power not working. Kate thought for a moment before resuming her pace.
It was an undeniable fact that divine power was the natural bane of wicked beings like demon worshippers.
For it to have no effect... was a bit strange. It was so nonsensical that even Kate, filled with fanaticism, found it questionable.
It doesn't matter.
Regardless, it was a skeleton—one of the undead. There were many suspicious points, but it was hard to believe them without seeing it for herself.
Above all, hadn't it asked to meet Isaac and Hawk? She didn't know what gutter this bag of bones had crawled out of, but that was absolutely out of the question.
Then who on earth is the distinguished guest?
The situation was incomprehensible in many ways, but Kate didn't stop. Verification was the first priority.
The investigator following her tried everything to stop her. The situation had been reported to the higher-ups, but no countermeasures had been ordered yet.
If an accident happened here, it would be a massive headache. Despite the investigator's pleas, Kate marched on silently.
Eventually, after passing through the corridors of the underground temple, she arrived at the area with the stone statues.
"Is that the one?"
"Ye-yes. That's him, but..."
Kate looked at the skeleton standing boldly in the center of the temple. A knight was scurrying away in the distance, but he wasn't her concern.
Thus, the Apostle of God and the Passing Hero stood face to face. Sensing the ominous atmosphere, the investigation team began to back away slowly.
...He's huge.
Kate carefully observed the skeleton, who carried an axe with a broken blade over his shoulder. Despite being nothing but bone, he was tall.
The tattered, ancient armor he wore only served to emphasize his imposing frame. But the most striking feature was the brilliant golden light glowing within his eye sockets.
They weren't real eyes, but the color immediately reminded her of someone. Golden eyes weren't exactly common, after all.
One peculiar detail was the cigar clenched in his teeth. He shouldn't have had lungs, yet smoke billowed out as he exhaled.
A woman blessed by God.
Meanwhile, the skeleton, Clark, was also scrutinizing Kate. She looked like a delicate beauty on the surface, but the aura she possessed was extraordinary.
Her divine power was as vast as the ocean, but what impressed him most was her fighting spirit. You didn't see that kind of grit in people her age.
He surmised she must have fought in countless battles. One couldn't possess such spirit otherwise.
She was a completely different opponent from the riffraff he had dealt with so far. Clark waited silently for her to make the first move.
Stepping forward recklessly might cause unnecessary trouble. Seeing as she wasn't attacking immediately, she seemed to be lost in thought as well.
She reminds me of Eli. They even look a bit alike.
While Clark reminisced about the past, Kate recalled what the investigator had said. Divine power supposedly had no effect on this skeleton.
Could that really be true? Had a demon worshipper increased its resistance to counter priests?
Hearing that there were no deaths or even serious injuries suggested it wasn't an evil entity. However, this skeleton was a wicked undead that defied providence.
Thus, for the sake of a 'test,' she placed her empty left hand over the center of her chest, rather than her right hand which held the mace.
Beneath her habit hung a necklace she always wore—a necklace bearing the symbol of Luminous.
"O Luminous. Upon the undead before me..."
"..."
"Grant thy divine punishment."
Flash!
The moment Kate softly whispered the divine spell, a pillar of golden light slammed down onto Clark.
It was a pillar far larger and more brilliantly radiant than the spells the priests had cast earlier.
It granted beneficial effects to allies but could easily obliterate wicked beings like demon worshippers.
Furthermore, Kate was a Grand Inquisitor. With a simple spell, she could burn a demon worshipper to ash.
[Phew.]
Contrary to expectations, however, Clark was perfectly fine. The cigar was still in his mouth, and he even exhaled a puff of smoke as if he found the whole thing tedious.
Moreover, his skull looked even more polished than before, as if he had actually received a blessing.
"H-how..."
"What the hell is that guy?"
"Even the Cardinal's divine power doesn't work..."
The investigation team watching the scene couldn't help but be horrified when even Kate's divine spell failed.
It was surprising enough that she had come here, but Clark's very existence defied logic.
How could a skeleton withstand the blessing of a Grand Inquisitor? It was a situation that completely bypassed common sense.
[Hey. Since we've gone this far, isn't it about time you let me out?]
Clark spoke grumpily, tucking the cigar between his fingers. He didn't know why he was going through all this trouble the moment he was resurrected.
First an unexpected battle, then getting pelted with divine spells, and now a Cardinal showing up.
If it was going to be like this, he should have just let his soul pass on without resurrecting. He had intended to bring his body along as Hawk wanted, but he had been too naive.
Kate's eyes twitched at Clark's casual demeanor before she spoke quietly.
"...A strange entity indeed. An undead like a skeleton is a being that defies providence. And yet, divine power does not work."
[The gods gave me their permission, if only for a moment.]
"Do not speak of God so lightly, undead."
Kate shot back in a cold voice. To a fanatic like her, God was life itself.
Naturally, an undead was not fit to utter His name.
[Hah?]
Clark, immediately noticing her fanatical streak, let out a huff of air. Meanwhile, Kate's aura was growing more ferocious by the second.
He shook his head and rubbed his scalp. Feeling nothing but smooth bone felt quite strange.
[Fanatics, then and now... Anyway, are you going to let me leave?]
Kate pondered Clark's question. This being certainly defied providence, but the fact that he was unharmed by a direct hit from a divine spell suggested something was amiss.
That didn't mean she could let him out. His goal was to find Isaac and Hawk.
If she let him out and he turned on them... she didn't even want to imagine it. Hadn't there been a demon worshipper recently who could change their own soul?
The skeleton before her could be a similar case—one that gains trust before revealing its true form.
Besides, she had business here. An oracle delivered personally by Luminous to find and bring back a distinguished guest.
She had no intention of leaving the underground temple until that was accomplished.
"No."
Kate replied with a firm voice and gripped her mace. Simultaneously, a golden haze began to envelop her.
It was a spell to reinforce the body using divine power. Normally, one would need to recite a prayer, but she had no such need.
[I figured as much.]
Whoosh—
Clark snorted at the expected result and slowly lowered the axe from his shoulder, gripping it with both hands.
Its massive size alone exerted a tremendous sense of pressure with just that simple movement.
As the two radiated an aura as if they were about to clash at any moment, the investigation team scrambled to evacuate.
"Don't fight too violently! Please! Just leave the site intact!"
"There's still a mountain of things to research!"
"My books! My books are over ther—!"
"Shut up and just come on!"
It seemed the archaeologists were more upset about losing the chance to study the underground temple.
One of them, in particular, looked like he was about to lose the books he had painstakingly collected—the Xenon Biographies he had given to Clark.
Once everyone except the two of them had evacuated, Kate spoke to Clark in a solemn tone.
"Prove it."
[Prove what?]
"That you are not an evil entity. Otherwise..."
Boom!
Trailing off, Kate suddenly lunged forward like an arrow. It was a speed that truly deserved the description 'in the blink of an eye.'
"...I will crush your skull."
By the time she finished the sentence, Kate had already reached Clark.
The mace, held firmly in both hands, swung upward from below, aimed at his jaw.
Just as the tip of the mace was about to connect with Clark's chin—
Whoosh!
Clark evaded it effortlessly by taking a single step back. He didn't even block; he simply dodged with minimal movement.
[Honestly. Really...]
Having casually avoided Kate's opening attack, Clark clicked his tongue and muttered. Meanwhile, Kate, undeterred, prepared a follow-up strike.
[This is why fanatics are such a pain.]
Ptui—
Clark spat the cigar onto the floor. As the cigar fell, the axe he held in both hands slowly rose.
By the time the cigar hit the hard ground and sent up a spark of ash, Kate had likewise raised her mace high.
The mace was wreathed in golden energy like a flame. Originally, her title was 'Blue Flame,' referring to the color of her fire.
However, due to her ever-increasing divine power, the flames had gradually turned golden. Naturally, their power would be several times greater than before.
On the other hand, Clark's old, nicked axe showed no such signs. It looked like an ordinary axe, no different than before.
To an onlooker, it might seem like Kate had the advantage, but...
[You're green.]
To Clark, she looked like nothing more than a novice who couldn't even properly contain her own strength.
CRASH!!