Chapter 251
Chapter 251
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 251
Chapter Title: Destination (1)
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Demian, who had left the Church, turned his steps toward the Holy Church.
He had decided to heed the advice of the Empire's Greatest Swordsman and the Sword Saint.
There was much for Demian to do right now. He could not afford to be tied down by the Empire.
‘Since I killed Slara, Pandemonium will react in some way.’
Slara was no ordinary great evil. She was one of the top powerhouses in Pandemonium.
With such a figure dead, Pandemonium would not stay silent.
‘It doesn’t matter if they come after me. I can just kill them all. But my family won’t stand for that.’
Demian’s one and only weakness was his family. The mere thought of Pandemonium targeting them made his insides twist in agony.
‘Sticking by my family’s side to guard against Pandemonium’s attacks is the worst option.’
He couldn’t just sit there protecting his family while not knowing what schemes Pandemonium might hatch. That would be no different from handing the initiative to them.
Demian intended to act more proactively.
‘I’ll shake up Pandemonium once more.’
He planned to flip the board again so that Pandemonium wouldn’t have the bandwidth to bother him or his family.
‘To do that, I need to kill the Weaponmaster as quickly as possible.’
The Weaponmaster commanded a force just as formidable as Slara’s.
If the Weaponmaster fell after Slara? Pandemonium would be thrown into turmoil, forced to curtail its external activities.
However, there was one major problem with this plan.
‘The issue is how to get to that place.’
Demian had previously located the Weaponmaster by killing one of his disciples.
But the Weaponmaster’s lair was no place humans could easily reach.
‘Maybe the Holy Church has a way.’
With that thought, Demian quickened his pace.
* * *
With little time to spare, Demian traveled without regard for day or night.
Thanks to that, he arrived at the main temple even sooner than expected.
“This place hasn’t changed.”
Demian gazed at the towering walls encircling the main temple and murmured.
A moat as wide as a river surrounded the walls.
Demian crossed the bridge over the moat. At the end stood two colossal statues guarding the gate.
-Halt. The main temple does not welcome uninvited guests.
The two colossi looked down at Demian and declared. Demian retrieved the emblem of an Honorary Holy Knight from his interspatial pocket.
The colossi’s gazes fixed on the emblem. Moments later, they withdrew their spears.
-Honorary Holy Knight Demian Haksen.
-Identity confirmed. You may enter.
These two colossi were no ordinary golems. Not only did they possess immense combat prowess as weapons of war, but they were also linked to the main temple via divine power, allowing them to handle any task swiftly.
-Enter at once.
When Demian didn’t move, the colossi urged him. Demian addressed them.
“If there’s a Holy Knight named Agnes here, please let her know I’ve arrived.”
Agnes.
One of the Five Great Saints, the direct disciple of Azure Flame.
And the first Holy Knight Demian had connected with after his reincarnation.
He couldn’t navigate a place as vast as the Holy Church alone. He needed a guide.
-Wait a moment.
The colossi’s eyes glowed once more. Soon, they spoke to Demian.
-We have confirmed the existence of a Holy Knight named Agnes.
-She is on her way here, so enter and wait.
Demian passed through the gate and waited briefly. Then, in the distance, he spotted a female Holy Knight running toward him.
“Lord Demian!”
Agnes sprinted over at tremendous speed and came to a stop before him.
Surprise lit up her usually impassive, almost cold face.
“Ah, no… How in the world did you get here…?”
“You wound me. It seems my visit isn’t welcome.”
Demian teased her playfully. Agnes panicked greatly.
“N-No! I’ve always been waiting for you, Lord Demian… I mean, the Church always welcomes you! It’s just… I thought you’d become a knight of the Empire…”
“Me? A knight of the Empire?”
It was news to Demian.
“You won the Helian Tournament, didn’t you?”
“Knights from other nations can participate in the Helian Tournament too. I entered and happened to win.”
“I heard the Emperor bestowed a sword upon you.”
“I just accepted it. I never swore any oath of loyalty.”
“You became a teacher at the Empire’s academy.”
“That was just to catch Slara.”
Agnes let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew… That’s a relief. I thought you’d entered the Empire’s service.”
“As if. My heart is always turned toward the divine.”
Demian said it without batting an eye.
His ties to the Holy Church were incredibly useful, so he needed to gild them however he could to maintain them.
“As expected! Others were saying you’d abandoned your faith, but I didn’t believe them. I was certain you still held true devotion in your heart.”
“As expected, Lady Agnes understands my heart well.”
“I-I don’t know you that well.”
Agnes said, her cheeks flushing red.
“Oh, I almost forgot.”
Suddenly, Agnes dropped to one knee before Demian. Startled, he tried to help her up.
“What are you doing?”
“I heard you slew the harlot Slara. It’s only right that I give thanks for executing the most wicked of heretics and upholding the divine will.”
Agnes bowed her head deeply.
“Not just me—the other Holy Knights feel the same toward you, Lord Demian.”
It seemed Slara’s death had shaken not only the Empire but the Holy Church as well.
The group that despised black mages the most in the world was, naturally, the Holy Church.
Agnes rose and asked,
“So, what brings you to the Church? If… if it’s for me…”
“I came to have this repaired.”
Demian pointed to Dawn at his waist. Agnes’s expression darkened abruptly.
“…You came to repair the holy sword.”
“Does it pain you even to say that?”
“…No.”
Agnes replied in a thorny tone. Demian looked at her, puzzled.
“You’re fortunate to arrive at this time.”
“Fortunate how?”
“My master is away on a mission. If she saw you, Lord Demian, she’d demand a duel without a second thought.”
At those words, Demian felt a chill run down his spine. Knowing Azure Flame’s personality, she absolutely would.
Even on his first visit to the Church, she had attacked him out of the blue just to test his skills—when he was merely Middle-Class and she a Master-Class.
“If you’re here to repair the holy sword, you should see Lord Molta.”
“Shouldn’t I pay respects to His Holiness first?”
“His Holiness entered silent prayer a week ago. It ends this evening.”
The Pontiff periodically offered silent prayer.
A week of prayer in complete silence, without eating or speaking a word.
“Follow me.”
Agnes led Demian to the forge within the main temple.
The Holy Church’s armaments were renowned across the continent. Fitting its reputation, the forge was staggeringly vast.
Even more astonishing were the blacksmiths milling about the forge.
They were child-sized in height. Yet their bodies were packed with muscles like boulders.
The blacksmiths in the forge were not human—they were dwarves.
The Holy Church was a faith that had spread widely not only among humans but also other races.
These were descendants of the dwarves who had become saints at the Church’s founding.
“Young Holy Knight. What do you want?”
One dwarf approached the pair. Agnes gave a curt greeting and said,
“We’re here to see Lord Molta.”
“Do you have an appointment? We don’t let in those who don’t.”
“The gentleman here has the qualifications to see Lord Molta even without one.”
The dwarf eyed Demian suspiciously, his face saying it was nonsense.
“This is Lord Demian Haksen. The master of the Hero-grade holy sword Dawn.”
“…What? Demian Haksen?”
But when Agnes named him, the dwarf’s eyes went wide.
“The master of Dawn certainly qualifies to see Lord Molta. Wait just a moment.”
The dwarf headed into the depths of the forge. Moments later, something pitch-black burst out from within.
“Daaaawn!”
A dwarf with a shaggy beard covering his face came charging, bawling his eyes out.
“You! Demian Haksen! Hand over my Dawn right now!”
Demian grimaced and proffered Dawn. Molta seized it in both arms.
“Dawn! How long has it been! Do you know how lonely I’ve been without you?”
Ziiing! Ziiiing!
Dawn sang joyfully in response. Molta wept even louder.
“Let me see… Let’s check if you’ve been hurt while I wasn’t there.”
Molta drew Dawn from its sheath. The moment he saw the chipped blade, he froze stiff.
“…Demian Haksen.”
“Yes?”
“…What is this?”
“The blade’s chipped.”
Demian said matter-of-factly. Molta’s eyebrows shot up.
“Do you think I don’t know that? I’m asking how you could treat this sturdy girl so roughly that she got damaged!”
“It happened fighting Slara.”
“What? Slara?”
At the name Slara, Molta’s eyes bulged. Clutching Dawn, he muttered,
“The harlot Slara… If it was that monster, wounds like this are… Actually, it’s fortunate it wasn’t worse… To think a weapon I made would end Slara’s life…”
After much deliberation, Molta looked at Demian and said,
“…I’ll let it slide this once.”
“Yes, I’m tearfully grateful.”
Demian replied with an annoyed look. Molta’s eyes blazed again.
“No, I can’t! Dawn! Come back to my arms! I can’t leave you with that fool!”
Ziiiing….
“What? You refuse? You ungrateful wretch! This is why they say raising a daughter is useless!”
Demian stared at Molta wearily.
“And you! Hero-grade holy swords need tempering each time they grow—why bring Dawn only now?”
“I’ve been busy lately.”
“Well, you brought her now! Good job! Very good!”
Molta stroked Dawn’s blade and grinned creepily.
“Dawn, my girl… You’ve grown splendidly in the time I haven’t seen you… With my touch, she’ll be several times stronger than before… Heh heh heh.”
Demian shot Molta a disgusted look. Then he asked Agnes,
“Is he always like this, that dwarf?”
“W-Well… He usually restrains himself…”
Agnes averted her gaze as she spoke.
“Lord Molta, may I ask something?”
“What? If it’s about Dawn’s maintenance, wait a bit.”
“…It’s not that. You lead all the dwarves who became saints in the Holy Church, correct?”
“And?”
“So, do you exchange with dwarves in other regions?”
Molta pondered briefly before answering Demian’s question.
“There are a few cities we keep in touch with.”
Dwarves lived not by kingdom, but by city.
Their cities differed greatly from human ones. Hidden deep in mountains or caves, they were far larger in scale.
“Then, do you have ties with the Notched Hammer city?”
“Notched Hammer? Why there?”
“I heard the name while traveling and got curious.”
It was a lie, of course. Demian had never heard of Notched Hammer city.
Yet the reason he asked about it was simple.
The Weaponmaster.
His next target was there.