Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Worship
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The hand gripping the sword trembled faintly.
A tension he'd never felt in any battle against a formidable foe.
In the decades past, such a blood-curdling sensation had come only a handful of times.
"......"
Croft held even his breath.
Even he, a swordsman who had reached the pinnacle, couldn't predict what lay even one step ahead.
To prepare for the slightest contingency, he had deployed his awareness across every domain.
And it wasn't just Croft.
All those guarding the holy site.
Even the pagans who had been revering the birth of a great warrior and the saintess herself—all fell silent, their faces etched with doubt.
"Why... why hasn't he emerged?"
Unable to bear it any longer, Germin asked.
It had already been over ten minutes since Reinhardt entered the holy site.
The holy site was said to grant greatness after forty steps, and reveal the end after a hundred.
Reinhardt should have emerged within five minutes, but even after far more than ten, there was no sign of him.
It had already been over ten minutes since Reinhardt entered the holy site.
But no one could answer Germin's question.
The holy site was said to grant greatness after forty steps, and reveal the end after a hundred.
They simply didn't know.
Neither the saintess, nor the pagans, nor anyone else.
They didn't know how long the holy site truly was, where it ended, or what lay at its conclusion.
But no one could answer Germin's question.
They simply didn't know.
Neither the saintess, nor the pagans, nor anyone else.
Of course, they had no means to reply.
'Should I have stopped him?'
Regret came too late.
Thinking coldly and objectively, he should have dissuaded him.
He should have absolutely prevented entry.
The powerful curse emanating from within the holy site.
It was something even Croft had never witnessed before.
So potent that even he wouldn't last long inside.
And yet he'd let the crown prince enter such a place. Unless he was mad, what difference was there from sending him to his death?
But if he could turn back time, Croft would make the same choice.
Those clear, resolute eyes of Reinhardt left him no alternative.
'At the very least.'
Yet, one undeniable fact remained.
'If anything happens to Your Highness Reinhardt.'
He would fulfill his duty.
He would kill the saintess, then himself.
Rumble!
It was then.
The holy site began to quake with a roar.
The tremor, originating from deep within, rippled across the surrounding area.
"The god is enraged!"
The saintess cried out in hysteria.
An earthquake around the holy site was unprecedented.
"The unpermitted one has entered and provoked his wrath!"
For the empire's devil to set foot in the holy site, it was only natural for the god to be furious.
Croft wanted nothing more than to slice off that mouth right then, but he had no time to spare for her.
"The mana barrier at the cave entrance blocking the curse is thinning."
Edis spoke.
If an 8th-circle mage like him sensed it, then it must be true.
To Croft's eyes as well, the curse bound at the holy site's entrance was straining to break free.
"How long can it hold?"
"Even pouring in all my mana, only thirty minutes at best."
Once thirty minutes passed, the mana barrier would collapse, unleashing the curse upon the world.
The 30,000 warriors gathered here would be slaughtered to the last.
Beyond that, the entire northern frontier would be tainted by that curse.
The 200,000 imperial soldiers, Germin and Edis, Kaizel, and even Reinhardt.
None would escape its influence unscathed.
'Your Highness.'
Croft unleashed his aura.
Releasing all of it, enveloping his body.
"C-Croft?"
"Where are you going?!"
He hurled himself into the holy site.
He should have done this from the start.
He shouldn't have let him go alone so recklessly.
Thus, his first step.
"Guh!"
He couldn't lift his foot.
From the very first step, he felt the curse coiling around his entire body.
His aura, meant to cleave and repel all, was being devoured by the curse at a rapid pace.
He could visibly see the curse invading his aura.
This was the trial of the holy site.
The weight of the curse that had claimed countless warriors' lives— one that Reinhardt had also endured.
If he turned back now, he could preserve his life.
But.
Thud.
What use was that?
Croft moved. He lifted his foot and advanced.
By the tenth step, the aura enveloping him was nearly depleted.
It had blazed like the sun, but now it vanished like smoke.
Beyond the twentieth step, his aura vanished entirely.
At the thirtieth, every force sustaining his body finally snapped.
And upon reaching the fortieth, bodily mutation began.
His hands and feet swelled.
He felt his face bloating.
'Farther than a hundred steps.'
Only after forty steps did he realize the cave ahead stretched much longer.
An endless cavern, its end nowhere in sight.
Great warriors abandoned hope here, despairing at that infinite tunnel.
Convinced they could never reach the end anyway.
Turn back, or die...
'I have no regrets about my life.'
He did. As a man, how could he not cling to his own life?
But now, he cast it aside.
He abandoned everything.
He let it all go.
His sole purpose was one.
To reach the ultimate.
Sacrificing his life to save Reinhardt—that was enough.
It was in that instant.
Whoosh!
The faint aura lingering in his heart bloomed like a flower.
With all else cast away and only one purpose remaining, that tiny aura ignited like wildfire, once more enveloping Croft's entire body.
This aura was far more intense than before, and clearer.
'Ridiculous.'
Croft couldn't help but laugh in disbelief at the situation.
'Only by truly forsaking everything can one surpass the wall.'
The moment he shed all attachments, he broke through the barrier.
A wall he'd devoted decades to after becoming a Sword Master, yet could never overcome.
He'd dismissed it as mere fancy, his own limit, and given up.
Despaired at its insurmountability and abandoned hope.
Yet now, that wall crumbled.
It was akin to the 9th-circle realm mages dreamed of.
A legendary realm spoken of only in myths.
Sword Emperor.
'I can see it.'
Having surpassed the wall, mana came into view.
The myriad manas existing in the world.
'That's... mana?'
But soon, he couldn't help feeling puzzled at a form utterly unlike his expectations.
Countless insects flitted through the air, wings fluttering uniformly.
All identical, down to the last one.
Anything but natural.
Croft shuddered.
This world was not natural.
Artificial.
It felt as if a dormant part of his mind had awakened.
Like his brain had unlocked.
New things visible, tangible, birthing questions.
However.
'This is no time for such thoughts.'
Croft cleared his mind and pressed deeper into the holy site.
No matter that he'd surpassed the wall, this curse wasn't something he could endure for long.
A hundred steps, a thousand—finally, Croft stood before the door.
But by then, his form had already mutated into something monstrous.
His body crushed and mangled, all hair fallen out, white blood oozing from every orifice.
He could walk no further.
Couldn't even think.
Thud. Thud.
Had a man not appeared with footsteps.
"You... Highness."
The man—Reinhardt—looked down upon him.
Something had changed.
It felt like encountering an entirely alien being.
Was it an illusion?
Exhaustion-induced hallucination as he collapsed?
"You did well, Croft."
Reinhardt extended a hand.
Sleepiness washed over him. Whoosh.
"Leave the rest to me and rest."
Croft surrendered to the drowsiness.
[Congratulations, one who has surpassed the boundary.]
[You have been selected for the '???th Feat.']
[Assigning a dragon befitting your stature.]
[We will notify you upon completion of assignment.]
***
......Unexpected.
I'd never imagined Croft would enter the holy site.
The idea that someone might come to rescue me? I'd never even considered it.
The mad emperor.
The traitor who must be slain.
Everyone was too busy wailing and cursing me.
Someone coming to save me?
A first.
So I couldn't speak for a long while.
Seeing Croft collapsed before the door left me flustered.
Flustered in a way I hadn't even been facing the dragon.
'Why?'
My first thought was, 'Why is Croft here?'
Hiding in the cave?
Or pursuing someone?
'Come to save me?'
Ha.
What a foolish notion.
If he weren't certain, he wouldn't have entered.
What worry drove him to distrust me and come in?
It was throwing away his life. No different from suicide.
Yet, it didn't feel bad.
'Zero. Can you treat him?'
[Exposure time to radiation was short; possibility is not 0%, at 1%.]
[With assistance from autonomous nerve A.I. 'Gluttony,' survival probability rises to 10%.]
There was a chance of survival.
That was enough.
Placing my hand, Gluttony devoured the radiation.
Then, shoving unauthorized nanomachines infused with psionic energy into his body, Zero began healing the damaged areas.
A temporary measure, but color already returned to his face.
[Cells are rapidly reconstituting.]
[Defies common sense in natural recovery.]
[Such a situation is not covered in error codes.]
Color returning, hair regrowing, fresh flesh sprouting.
Just removing the obstacle, and Croft was recovering on his own.
'Mana shower.'
I knew what to call this phenomenon.
The mana shower that mages and swordsmen experience upon surpassing certain walls.
It's said to restore their youth.
First time seeing it firsthand.
And it was far from a typical mana shower.
He was being entirely recreated. Every cell in his body.
Beyond wondrous—truly awe-inspiring.
The nanomachines had increased dramatically, too.
Perhaps he'd surpassed even the Sword Master realm.
I hoisted Croft over my shoulder and headed outside.
"......!"
Stepping out, the first sight was the saintess's dumbfounded expression.
She stared at my return with eyes screaming disbelief.
I understood.
The empire's devil had challenged and gloriously succeeded at the holy site.
But she didn't know I'd reached the holy site's end and met the god they revered.
Hoo.
Taking a deep breath, I addressed the saintess and warriors.
"Kneel."
Roooar!
In that moment, a massive black dragon's form materialized above my head.
The dragon's full body. Exactly as transmitted in myths.
Everyone's eyes widened enormously. The saintess's pupils shook like an earthquake.
After Gluttony devoured the dragon, I could borrow its form.
The dragon's hide fused with Gluttony formed an absolute armor tougher than anything in the world.
The armor could change shape, regenerate, and devour on its own.
A symbiotic relationship of sorts.
The most valuable treasure from the north. Not even the palace treasury held such a thing.
So, kneel.
"For I am your god."
Worship.
Bow your knees, lower your heads, and press your lips to my feet.
[ Worship ] End