Chapter 274
Chapter 274
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 274
Chapter Title: Freyja's Return
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There was no need to convince the Holy King was a follower of the Demon King right here and now.
Nor was there any way to do it.
No matter how many suspicious circumstances and pieces of evidence Seowoojin shoved in her face to persuade her, Freyja wouldn't believe it until she saw it with her own eyes.
‘For now, getting her to make one promise is enough.’
If it turned out the Holy King really was an Apostle, she wouldn't interfere with Seowoojin's actions.
That was the goal.
“If what you say is true…”
Freyja squeezed her eyes shut.
She wrestled with her thoughts for a long while before finally speaking.
“I will abide by your will.”
‘Yes!’
Seowoojin inwardly cheered.
He'd achieved what he wanted, so there was nothing holding him back now.
But her words weren't finished yet.
“However, if it proves to be false, you will pay dearly for it.”
Freyja glared at Seowoojin with cold eyes.
“Of course.”
He smiled as he replied.
He was certain his words were true, after all.
“Hmph. Wasting my energy like this has left me fatigued. Shall we find a place to rest?”
“Ah!”
Come to think of it, there was still one unresolved issue.
It was their travel speed.
“Is it difficult to move a bit faster by any chance?”
He asked cautiously.
At this rate, it would take far too long, so they needed to find some way.
“You'll understand what it means when your body no longer obeys your will once you reach my age.”
It meant it was tough.
‘What to do…’
He couldn't leave her behind and go on alone.
He would have done it already if that were the plan.
Now that he'd made a promise leaving the Holy King in play, she absolutely wouldn't let him go off by himself.
‘I need a means of transport.’
A train would have been ideal, but this was Iair.
There were no trains crisscrossing the land like in the Empire.
‘Should I procure a horse or carriage in the next village?’
Seowoojin considered it seriously.
But the nearest village with anything to sell was two days away at their current walking pace.
‘Haa, what should I… Huh?’
As he pondered, something flashed through Seowoojin's mind.
‘It might work!’
It hadn't been much help so far, but it was originally a being of extremely high rank.
“Whirateon.”
Seowoojin summoned the Wind Divine Beast.
Whooooosh—!
A gentle gust swirled, and a blue ball of fluff appeared.
Freyja cried out in shock upon seeing it.
“D-Divine Beast?”
She couldn't believe her eyes.
It was only natural.
Divine Beasts were said to have gone extinct in the distant past, yet here one was again.
“…It really is a Divine Beast!”
Freyja exclaimed once more as she observed Whirateon perched on Seowoojin's shoulder.
Its appearance wasn't particularly mythical.
Just a fluffy ball with ears.
But she wasn't looking at the surface.
She saw within.
Its power was still immature, but its rank soared to immeasurable heights.
“How in the world? No, where did you…”
“I picked it up in Heldein.”
Seowoojin gave Freyja, who couldn't hide her astonishment, a brief explanation of how he'd acquired Whirateon.
“Heh!”
She let out a hollow laugh upon hearing the story.
‘A demon tree?’
She'd heard of demon trees in Demon Realm Heldein.
But she hadn't paid much attention.
Heldein was too far from Iair for her to ever visit.
Yet an egg of a Divine Beast had been found inside one.
‘The world still holds many things beyond my understanding.’
She regretted not seeing more of it in her younger days.
“But why did you suddenly call it out?”
They'd just been talking about travel speed.
‘He seemed eager to move faster.’
So she wondered why he'd abruptly summoned the Divine Beast after agonizing over it.
“I want to try an experiment.”
“…An experiment?”
“Yes, just a moment.”
Seowoojin got Freyja's permission and spoke to Whirateon.
“Could you lift that lady up with the wind?”
Pip!
It shook as if to say, of course.
Even if it hadn't fully matured, it was still a Divine Beast.
Lifting one person was no issue.
But the real question was what came next.
“Can you move quickly in that state?”
Seowoojin's idea was to carry Freyja on the wind.
Given Whirateon's power, it seemed entirely feasible.
But the creature gave a negative response.
Ppip!
The fluffball shook side to side, as if saying no.
“Hm? You can't? No, why not?”
He hadn't expected refusal and asked in confusion.
Instead of answering, Whirateon floated into the air and approached Freyja.
“Oh…”
Freyja's eyes widened as the Divine Beast drew near, welcoming it.
She'd wanted to touch that soft fluff anyway.
She reached out.
But it twisted away, circled behind her, and—
Plop.
Stuck right to her back.
“Huh?”
“What are you doing, you little…”
As the two tilted their heads in confusion at Whirateon's actions, a gust blew in.
Whooooosh—!
It wasn't ordinary wind.
Infused with Whirateon's energy, it swirled rapidly around Freyja before converging in one spot.
“This is?”
Seowoojin's eyes widened.
Whirateon was transforming into wings.
The atmosphere in the Holy Order was pure chaos.
Defeat after defeat poured in daily, each bringing conscription and requisitions.
It was far worse than when Aeron had visited before.
In the end, those who couldn't bear the exploitation tried to flee the Holy Order, but it was impossible.
The Holy King had ordered it sealed.
No one could take a single step outside without permission.
Defy the order and get caught escaping, and you'd be executed on the spot.
As a result, countless headless corpses hung along the outskirts.
A warning that defying the Holy King's command would end you the same way.
It was a sight unbelievable for the capital of the Holy Kingdom.
“Unbelievable.”
Freyja said.
The Holy Order she remembered and this one were like different cities entirely.
“This isn't a temple to the Main God—it's more like Pandemonium.”
Instead of praises and kind laughter to the Main God, it was filled with death and screams.
Even though the cries couldn't possibly reach this far, Freyja felt as if she could hear the pained groans of the people.
“I didn't realize it was this bad.”
Seowoojin was shocked too.
He'd heard the general state from Yohan.
But there was a big gap between reports and seeing it firsthand.
Even Seowoojin, who'd witnessed countless deaths, furrowed his brow.
“Is it truly the Holy King who…”
Freyja swallowed the rest.
Nothing was certain yet.
Still, the thought that Seowoojin might be right was growing in her mind.
“But we're lucky to arrive quickly. Any more delay, and there'd be even more innocent deaths.”
Surprisingly, they'd made it here in just one day.
Thanks to Whirateon turning into wings to carry Freyja.
The speed was astonishing—even Seowoojin had struggled to keep up.
‘Who knew it had this ability…’
In hindsight, Seowoojin had only been injecting Chaos Energy whenever he had time; he'd never properly checked what powers it had.
‘It might have even more abilities than I thought.’
Once this was over, he'd look into everything he'd been putting off.
Whirateon, and even ‘Luden Gardo,’ which he hadn't had a chance to use properly yet.
If he could utilize them fully, Seowoojin would gain far greater power than now.
‘Well, first things first—deal with what's in front of me.’
Seowoojin approached the Holy Order alongside Freyja, who stood speechless in shock.
After a long walk in heavy silence, they reached the gate allowing entry.
“Halt!”
A guard's overbearing shout rang out, as if he'd been waiting.
Seowoojin stopped naturally.
Then another shout.
“State your identity!”
It felt overly aggressive and hostile for a routine check.
Seowoojin glanced at Freyja.
She, who had been silent until now, stepped forward with a scowl.
“My name is Freyja Ka Roian. Former Captain of the Holy Knights, faithful servant of the Main God, returning by order of His Majesty the Holy King. Report thus.”
Her voice carried immense holy power.
It proved her identity while expressing her fury at the current state.
“Urk!”
It was obvious, but the soldier nearly fainted from the frontal assault of her aura.
The constricting holy power was bad enough, but her name was the real problem.
“L-Lady Freyja?”
Her name was legendary in Iair.
A transcendent being, called the Main God's first sword—the strongest knight.
With the war on, her name came up even more.
People said if Lady Freyja were alive, neighboring nations wouldn't dare invade.
Yet the legend, thought dead, had returned alive.
He couldn't dismiss it as fake.
The holy power she displayed was real.
A transcendent rank only a holy knight at the peak could achieve.
Experiencing it firsthand left no room for doubt.
The soldier ran inside in a daze.
“This is going to cause a stir.”
Seowoojin said calmly.
“It will…”
Freyja agreed.
She imagined what would follow.
Her expression darkened.
The return of a legend.
That alone would plunge the Holy Order into uncontrollable turmoil.
But the real uproar would come after.
If Seowoojin was right and the Holy King truly was an Apostle?
When Seowoojin severed its head and exposed its identity to the world.
The Holy Order—and all of Iair—would face chaos on a whole new level.