Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: The Path Forward
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***
“First, the Apostle of Sacrifice, true to its name, is an apostle that converts the corpses of monsters—or any living creature, for that matter—into its own power.”
I listened intently to Kalli's calm voice as she began to speak.
“The first time I encountered the Apostle of Sacrifice was about half a year after I was commissioned as an officer. I was quite inexperienced back then. Both in terms of my power and my character, I was severely lacking. I faced the Apostle of Sacrifice then, but I didn't even properly recognize it as an apostle.”
But her words about not recognizing it struck me as odd.
Apostles have a presence that sets them apart from other monsters. Most of the time, the monsters known as apostles are immediately identifiable upon encounter.
“Forgive me, Instructor. But aren't apostles usually distinguishable the moment you face them?”
“That's right. Your question is a natural one, Cadet Han Cheon-seong. You seem to have a good sense of what an apostle feels like.”
“...I just thought an apostle would be distinctly different from other monsters.”
“You're right. A ‘normal apostle’ would be. They are usually quite distinct from other monsters. Their appearance, the aura they possess, even the strength of their presence can be felt from a distance.”
*Tap.*
As Kalli continued, she suddenly tapped the table lightly, and my gaze followed her hand.
*Tap.*
And again, the gesture of tapping the table.
As I stared at Kalli blankly, she gave a faint smile.
“Cadet Han Cheon-seong, how did you react just now when I tapped the table?”
“...As for my reaction, my eyes were drawn to your hand, Instructor.”
“Right? Even now, your gaze is drawn to my actions. And on the battlefield, any officer or soldier would have their senses heightened to the extreme. Their lives are on the line, after all. They're forced into a state of extreme tension. So what do you think would have happened if, like my tapping just now, an apostle had drawn their attention?”
“If an apostle drew our attention, our gazes would naturally follow. Don't tell me...”
“Exactly. When the Apostle of Sacrifice appeared, we were already engaged with another apostle. Our attention was severely divided.”
...My eyes widened in an instant.
A single ‘apostle’ was a catastrophe for the officers and soldiers on the battlefield.
That's how threatening a monster an apostle was classified as.
‘Not just one, but two apostles appeared…?’
That was a situation that would demand a retreat under practically any circumstances.
“Seeing you so surprised is a bit novel for me too.”
As Kalli laughed, as if to lighten the heavy atmosphere, I awkwardly composed my expression.
“To be honest, the first apostle was in its final stages, so looking back, it wasn't a life-or-death crisis. But its final struggles drew a great deal of our attention. That's why, at that moment, no one noticed when the Apostle of Sacrifice appeared. In hindsight... that was the beginning of the tragedy.”
...Tragedy.
As Kalli finished her sentence with that ominous word, I was left speechless.
The weight of the battlefield, a place where even now, at the empire's borders, many were fighting and confronting monsters—I couldn't dare claim to understand it.
That's why I couldn't even bring myself to respond easily to Kalli's words.
“It was then, as we finished off the apostle nicknamed 'Brute Force,' that the corpses of the countless monsters we had slain suddenly began to converge in one spot. Soon, it even absorbed the apostle we had just killed, taking on a bizarre form. A purplish ogre, you could say. It was like seeing another apostle. We managed to defeat even that purple-tinged apostle in the end, but we had to accept some sacrifices...”
*Sigh.*
Kalli, who had been explaining the events of that time, suddenly let out a deep sigh.
“But. That wasn't the Apostle of Sacrifice's true form. It was just a clone.”
As she spoke, Kalli seemed to be filled with some regret, as if reliving that moment.
And I, too, could naturally imagine it.
The signs of Leteia's appearance in the story.
It was always after a great deal of blood had been shed. Leteia never reveals its true form first.
Even when it does reveal itself, it always appears in a different form.
A small animal like a squirrel, or the form of a bird as it appeared to Karite, or even disguised as other monsters, it uses various corpses as sacrifices to manifest its power.
The defining characteristic is that a trace of purple always remains somewhere on its disguise.
“When you kill an apostle, there's usually a distinct feeling, but with that purple ogre, there was nothing. The moment it died, it vanished like a mirage. It was only later, through proper investigation, that we learned about it. That the Apostle of Sacrifice exists and rarely reveals itself. Honestly, it was a long time ago. The shock I felt back then was immense, but I've faced so many other apostles since.”
Watching Kalli speak, I came to properly recognize a few facts I had overlooked.
‘Corpses...’
It felt like I had realized the key point far too late.
Until now, I had focused on Karite being sacrificed in the first episode, "The Sacrificial Condition," but the most important keyword related to Leteia was ‘sacrifice.’
Without ‘corpses’ to manifest its power, Leteia would never reveal its true form.
“......”
For a moment, it felt like my breath had stopped.
The possibility of Leteia directly revealing itself to kill Karite and manifest its power was practically zero. No, considering its habits, it was impossible.
In the story, Leonhardt had struggled immensely because of that very fact.
...Then this was all too strange.
‘Then who on earth kills... Karite?’
This means the prerequisite for Leteia's appearance isn't met.
Leteia definitely doesn't appear unless there are corpses.
This leads to the conclusion that the one to kill Karite isn't Leteia.
If Leteia really isn't the one who kills Karite, then there must be someone else who does.
‘...But who?’
The group field lecture is next Wednesday.
Even though Leteia was the culprit targeting Karite, I had to assume another perpetrator existed.
“Cadet Han Cheon-seong?”
Hearing my name, I blankly raised my head.
“...Yes, Instructor Kalli.”
“What's wrong all of a sudden? You look so serious...”
Seeing her concerned expression, I couldn't help but give an awkward smile.
“I think I was unconsciously... picturing the battlefield.”
Even as I answered, I felt a cold sweat break out all over my body.
In the story, the first episode, ‘The Sacrificial Condition,’ simply ends with the unfortunate sacrifice of a cadet.
The apostle-level monster that appears as a result is quickly suppressed and dealt with by the instructors. But that's all.
The exact cause was never revealed.
The world of Grand Royal Academy, which had been presented as a calm romance story until then, suddenly became tense, and the atmosphere grew heavy.
Looking back now, it wasn't something that could be dismissed as just a creepy first episode.
‘There's an entity that was never revealed in the story.’
Something connected to the Apostle of Sacrifice, Leteia, existed.
I couldn't know if it was another apostle, or if Karite met her end in an accident involving monsters.
Because it was never properly shown in the story.
However. I didn't think this culprit was an apostle or a monster.
‘The field lecture is conducted under the strict supervision of the instructors.’
In that case, let alone an apostle, there's no way an instructor wouldn't notice an approaching monster.
Their levels are far superior to ours. At the very least, the monsters we'll face during the field lecture are no match for the instructors.
Then, while Leteia is the fundamental cause, there must be someone helping it.
Someone among the humans. One of the cadets moving with us, or...
‘An instructor...?’
As my thoughts spiraled uncontrollably.
*Grasp.*
Suddenly, I felt an unfamiliar warmth on my hand.
“Cadet Han Cheon-seong.”
Her firm voice snapped me out of my daze.
It felt as if I had approached a shocking truth. At that moment, when I had even forgotten reality, she called me back.
“I don't know what you're thinking, but don't get too lost in it. It's a good attitude to want to learn about apostles. But there's no need to get scared preemptively.”
Kalli's words made me belatedly aware of my own condition.
From the hand Kalli used to grasp mine, I felt warmth, and also moisture.
It couldn't have come from Kalli's hand, so it was obviously my own cold sweat.
I had been feeling fear without even realizing it.
“...Instructor Kalli.”
“Yes.”
“During the field lecture, is it possible to encounter an apostle?”
...Overwhelmed by a sense of crisis, I found myself asking Kalli.
I knew such a thing had never happened before. Still, I had to be sure.
If this world was somehow different from the Grand Royal Academy I knew...
At my question, Kalli smiled brightly and shook her head.
“Cadet Han Cheon-seong. I can assure you, that has never happened, not even once. Having cadets face an apostle? That is something that should never happen, and will never happen.”
Kalli met my eyes and spoke with a tone full of conviction.
As if telling me not to worry needlessly, she spoke, and I numbly nodded.
“...I see. Understood.”
“Hmm... I don't know why you're so worried, Cadet Han Cheon-seong. Was the text on the Apostle of Sacrifice that serious? It's certainly a dangerous apostle, but you will probably never see it. The texts I've read stated multiple times that the Apostle of Sacrifice has never reappeared within twenty years of manifesting its power. I suppose manifesting that much power takes a great toll on it as well.”
As Kalli spoke with a gentle smile, I could only manage an awkward one in return.
For a moment, I was overcome with the urge to correct her, but I barely managed to hold it back.
Kalli's reaction was perfectly normal.
The field lecture wasn't even going outside the empire; it was just about exterminating monsters that existed within its borders.
Although the reason for how apostles came to be was not clearly known, there had been no cases of an apostle appearing inside the empire until now.
It was safe to say that the dangerous species within the vast imperial territory had been subjugated, and even now, extermination squads were steadily clearing out monsters from the lands inside the empire.
So how could I, a mere cadet, suddenly claim that an apostle would appear inside the empire and cause an incident?
Especially without any solid evidence or reason...
“Instructor Kalli.”
“Go on.”
Hearing her calm tone, I managed a faint smile, contrary to my troubled heart.
“Thank you for explaining everything in such detail.”
“Is that all you wanted to know about the Apostle of Sacrifice? I can tell you more about other apostles, too.”
Seeing her smile brightly, as if she found my nervousness cute, I thought that, conversely, there was still hope.
A world that had changed from the story I knew.
That means there are variables.
‘Kalli is currently teaching the C-Class cadets.’
So even during the field lecture, although she's in charge of the ‘Supernatural Phenomenon Track,’ it means she won't be too far from where I am.
That alone would make the situation vastly different from when the incident occurred in the story.
If Kalli, one of the pillars of the empire and holder of the title Crimson Dawn, is on site, things will be brought under control quickly.
It might even be resolved easily.
‘I can't be optimistic yet, but there's no need to be too pessimistic either.’
I calmly began to settle my mind.
“I think I've heard enough for today. Thank you very much.”
“Not at all. It's my job as an instructor to teach cadets about apostles. Ah, and one more thing.”
“Yes, Instructor.”
“Can I ask you something too, Cadet Han Cheon-seong?”
As she suddenly met my eyes, I nodded in a daze.
“Did something happen yesterday with the cadet named Karite?”
“...I just had a short conversation with Karite.”
I was momentarily surprised that she knew about Karite and me, but I had no hesitation in answering.
“A conversation?”
“Yes. Yesterday, during the specialization lecture... Karite, who was in the same lecture, didn't look well. I couldn't just ignore her, so I went to talk to her.”
I didn't avoid Kalli's gaze as I told her the truth.
Her gaze was direct, yet it held no anger or coldness.
Just a gaze looking at me.
“...I see.”
“Just so you know, nothing happened that would cause you to misunderstand, Instructor Kalli...”
“Ah, no! I'm not misunderstanding you or anything! I've decided not to look negatively upon relationships between cadets. You don't have to be so conscious of it.”
As Kalli became more flustered than I expected at my words, I just accepted it with an 'is that so?'.
Today, from an unexpected question, I had gained a great deal. It wasn't a complete solution, but I was able to clearly set a direction for what I needed to do.
—Protect Karite.
At the very least, I could be by her side on that day. That meant I could protect Karite myself.
That alone was the greatest answer.
The simplest answer was that I just needed to become stronger.