Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Bancheon Society (1)
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The holy site of the Church of the Main God, at the heart of which stood the grand Roselia Cathedral.
It had been over two months since Heinrich arrived here, but his daily routine remained unchanged even today.
Kkiiigik—
"Hup!"
With a sound like metal twisting, the massive metal block chained to the equipment defied gravity.
"Hoo—"
Chalrruk— Clang!
The brutal-looking exercise machine was fitted with tons of metal weights, methodically shredding the muscles of the insolent human who dared to use it through its rhythmic back-and-forth motions.
And then, at some point.
Hwaaak—
"Huh?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity has met the conditions and attained enlightenment. Acquired Special Skill 「Blessing: Strong Body」. At the same moment, the metal he'd been struggling to lift shot upward effortlessly.
Heinrich froze in that position for a moment, then closed his eyes to gauge the holy power surging within him.
...Finally, I've reached it! High Priest-level holy power!
He could feel his holy power, which had seemed to hit a plateau and stop growing at some point, finally breaking through to the next stage.
This was surely thanks to the newly acquired 「Blessing: Strong Body」.
In his joy, he hurriedly set down the chains.
Chalrrruk— Boom!
The metal block crashed violently into the ground, unable to overcome gravity, but that was no longer his concern.
To think I'd actually break through my limits while working out.
Of course, he hadn't spent his time at the cathedral solely on physical training.
The basics included theology, doctrine, and history lessons, plus additional training as a Holy Knight in all sorts of martial arts, horsemanship, ceremonies, and holy spells.
Thanks to his 「Marrowless Body」, the physical training had been manageable, but the other subjects had been quite a ordeal.
Still, he'd somehow met the standards.
But even after all that, his holy power had stagnated short of High Priest level, leaving him troubled—until a senior Holy Knight offered a casual solution.
"Just work your body nonstop. Push it like a maniac. Recovery's fast? Then double it. Still not enough? Quadruple it. It'll sort itself out."
What a profoundly simple fix!
Of course, it made perfect sense when you thought about it.
The requirement for High Priest-level holy power was possessing at least one 「Blessing」.
And for Holy Knights like them, the easiest one to obtain was the Blessing of Strong Body.
Priests walking the clerical path probably grew through other types of blessings.
Now that he'd surpassed the holy power bottleneck, he'd steadily grow again until reaching Bishop level.
That consistent growth was his greatest strength.
Heinrich quickly tidied up the equipment and headed to where the Holy Knights gathered.
Having now qualified to become a full-fledged Holy Knight, he needed to discuss the next steps.
As he hurried along.
"Hmm hmm hum~♪"
A humming tune echoed from the garden along his path.
A hum in a place like this... don't tell me...
He cautiously approached and found the expected figure crouched, gazing at a flower bed.
The Saintess of the Church of the Main God, Riesta Saint Hatianuus.
Her soft silver hair swayed gently, and her starlit golden eyes sparkled as they fixed on the flowers.
With her fresh smile, she looked just like any other 18-year-old girl.
If not for that halo.
Excluding the self-emanating glow around her head, of course.
That powerful blessing's trace was proof of her sainthood.
"Ahem, greetings, Saintess. What brings you here all alone?"
Having already been spotted, he couldn't just walk past, so he cleared his throat lightly and greeted her.
Sensing his presence, she turned with a bright smile and returned the greeting.
"Hello, Sir Heinrich! I was watching a dung beetle. It was wiggling so cutely, I lost track of time!"
...So it wasn't the flowers, but the beetle.
He wasn't a knight yet, so "Sir" was premature, but after correcting her several times with no change, he let it slide.
Over the past two-plus months at Roselia Cathedral, one surprising fact had emerged.
The Saintess, who initially felt distant, was actually extremely casual and loved wandering around in her free time.
She treated all believers of the Church of the Main God kindly and helped without hesitation.
Her sweet nature made her the lively, quirky girl beloved by everyone at the cathedral.
Her faith matched her immense holy power, so she was especially warm to the devout—like him.
Thus, since his baptism when he'd unleashed strong holy power, she'd approached him first with friendliness.
"Congratulations, Sir Heinrich! You've finally obtained a blessing, haven't you? I knew you'd pull it off quickly!"
As expected of a saintess, she somehow knew and clapped her hands, rejoicing as if it were her own achievement.
"Thank you. I couldn't have reached it without everyone's help."
"No! The Blessing of Strong Body can't be gained through others' aid. It's proof you've surpassed your limits through training, so take pride in it!"
She'd even discerned the exact blessing at a glance.
Probably the effect of the blessing in those sparkling golden eyes.
As they chatted amiably with her beaming, she suddenly paused and looked skyward.
"Oh! Afternoon service! How did time fly like this? I have to go. May the Main God's grace always be with you, Sir."
She gauged the time briefly, then stood, bowed, and vanished into the cathedral like the wind.
...Hmm, she's as energetic as ever today.
"Hyperactive" fit better.
She might seem scatterbrained at times, but she didn't show that side to everyone.
She never compromises with evil.
She was friendly to Main God followers and tried to embrace even nonbelievers.
But for those tainted by evil, she showed no mercy.
And lately, the Saintess had fixated on one issue...
The "Heir of the Immortal King, Hans."
Her obsession is getting downright scary.
Word was she prayed several times a day to track "Hans."
Since he didn't exist in this world, it was futile, but her persistence had become routine.
The only pity was the side villains getting purged as collateral from her anti-undead blessings.
They were mid-evil ritual anyway, so self-inflicted.
I get why she acts like that.
Heinrich, having studied history, understood the Immortal King's terror and empathized.
About a thousand years ago, the first Immortal King appeared abruptly.
He turned half the continent into a land of death, sacrificing countless lives until the Church and other forces united to barely defeat him and restore peace.
But centuries later.
Unable to fully end the first, the "Heart of the Immortal King" containing his power fell into a black mage's hands...
Thus, the second Immortal King was born.
Devoured by the inherited heart, he plunged the continent into chaos again, leading to the western empire's fall and its splintering into kingdoms.
Perhaps learning from the second, the crusade targeted the heart thoroughly to prevent recurrence.
But that too failed.
They succeeded in shattering it, but he used his dying power to scatter the fragments across the continent, preventing sealing.
That was just a few hundred years ago.
And two ended up in Hans's hands. One more piece, and the third revives. No wonder the Church is desperate.
They'd always been at the forefront during Immortal King crises.
The Saintess, raised on tales of their sacrifices, naturally hated the Immortal King.
Especially since she treated fellow believers like family.
It'd be nice if we could all get along. That guy's actually sensitive and kind-hearted, but they don't know.
Yes, Hans—the next Immortal King—had no designs on continental doom.
Right now, he was diligently fighting evil organizations for the public good.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Thud!
"Urk..."
Park Kwangcheon, a Bancheon Society executive in a suit, blocked Hwalot Mask's attack and scanned his surroundings.
He'd confidently led his forces into a trap, but two enemies had ruined everything.
Damn it, all because that idiot didn't bring proper intel! We completely misjudged their strength!
He seethed, picturing the vague-faced man.
The decisive factor was a surprise vampire, but he had no bandwidth for that.
Excuses aside, failure was failure.
Can't change what's done. Time to clean up at least...
He and his remaining subordinates were still resisting Hwalot Mask, but it was pointless now.
It felt like they were being spared deliberately for capture.
At first, it seemed like kill-or-be-killed, but now with leeway, they want to interrogate for info?
Park Kwangcheon glanced at his fallen men.
Over half were corpses, but recent ones were subdued alive.
This is hopeless. No chance left.
The vampire-side commotion had quieted, signaling their defeat.
And such silence wasn't good news for him.
It meant his side got wiped by one guy incompetently.
Delay more, and the vampires join. Salvage what I can and escape alone.
Though bound by dual barriers from Bancheon Society and Hwalot Masks, his Unique Skill 「Space Manipulation」 could break him out.
His lifesaver many times over.
Before activating it, he mustered mana one last time.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The vampire side was mostly wrapped up, and Bancheon Society's resistance was fizzling.
Subduing survivors alive for memory-reading intel was taking time, but not much longer.
As he methodically cleared the battlefield, he sensed the enemy leader preparing something.
Far too late for tricks, but wary just in case...
"You've all done well. For the Bancheon Society! [Die for freedom—!]"
Mana-charged words echoed through space.
Instantly, all Bancheon Society members stiffened rigidly.
Resisting or subdued, didn't matter.
What trick now!
Clear anomaly.
Hans's thoughts accelerated.
The world froze momentarily, time crawling.
Ssss...
What is this?
Mysterious mana flow invaded living minds.
It sought to resonate with something embedded in their brains.
Simultaneously, Hans's omnidirectional vision caught the leader glaring, teeth gritted.
And his form starting to blur.
Suicide command for minions. He's fleeing.
Quick assessment.
Didn't know how space-shift worked through barriers—otherworldly weirdness—but details later.
Now, prioritize.
Block the unknown flow's suicides, or abandon rabble and chase escaping boss?
Neither easy.
Seconds left, method unknown.
Forced choice irked him momentarily.
In such cases, obviously...
[Obviously, abandon neither!]
Swallowing negativity, Hans—embodiment of greed and obsession—opened his eyes wide.
He'd yield nothing!
All resources focused on Hans.
Thoughts hyper-accelerated.
Time nearly halted.
Black mana split into dozens of strands, targeting objectives.
He hastily marked the nearly-vanished leader.
Crude tracking spell—would fade in space flow—but buy seconds.
Remaining black mana pierced survivors' minds.
Contacted the resonating foreign element, probing info.
...Unknown.
Bancheon Society's complex ritual.
Too intricate for full decode; Hans's research insufficient.
But.
Components within.
The intermixed "restraints" and "curses."
Famously familiar to Hans.
His recent go-to tools.
Start here.
「Wicked Wisdom」 traced familiarity; 「Forbidden Knowledge」 analyzed.
Peeling like sweet potato vines, unraveling structure, nearing end.
The finale.
'Death.'
Beyond familiar—tied to Hans's essence.
What he'd experienced, overcome, dominated.
Now!
Intervened in resonance formula.
Like jamming foreign matter in precise gears, it'd overload and harm caster.
Failure.
So he removed a gear tooth.
Eons in an instant passed; stretched noises normalized slowly.
Wooong—
Resonance persisted.
But missing key part, it idled harmlessly.
[Kukuku... Kuhahaha! I am he who rules death. You think you can flee it before me?!]
Task complete, Hans laughed maniacally on-site.
Even then, he black-mana'd the staggering conscious remnants into unconsciousness.
Who knew what they'd pull awake.
[And you... shan't die easily.]
Tracked pre-fade black mana and barrier-exit traces.
Focused on restraints, traces had faded.
But better now.
Analyzed restraints deeply, grasped caster's mana pattern.
Intel impossible from pure combat.
Barrier traces suggested direction; faint black mana estimated distance.
Narrowed range, pinpointed via pattern.
Ignored escape method.
No magical traces on barrier—likely Unique Skill.
Irrelevant now.
[...Found you.]
Just rummage his mind directly.