Preparing for the Trial (1)
Flinch.
Pokryong, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, knit his brow slightly.
Turning his head, he saw that Pean, the Blind Sword Master, was also staring out of the cave with a grave expression.
Slowly rising to his feet, Pokryong picked up his sword.
"Could it be you too...?"
Pean nodded in response.
"Yes. It seems to be a summons from Midtemple."
Tsk.
Pokryong clicked his tongue. Grabbing the back of his neck as if a headache were coming on, he grumbled in annoyance.
"There are over a dozen Sword Masters out there. Why the hell are they targeting us specifically?"
"Who knows? Perhaps it is because we are the closest to the Holy City."
"Sigh..."
Pokryong let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
"What a pain in the ass. If I'd known this would happen, I would have trained somewhere else."
Under normal circumstances, he would have ignored Midtemple's summons. Unless one was bound by a special contract like Heukgol, the priests' calls carried no actual binding authority.
However, there was exactly one scenario where a Sword Master could never refuse a summons...
"Damn it. Which crazy bastard caused trouble this time?"
"Ahaha. Indeed."
...And that was when another Sword Master was named as the defendant in a divine trial.
"Well, what can we do? To subdue a Sword Master, fellow seekers of the path must step up in person."
"I know, but..."
Whenever a divine trial was held with a Sword Master as the defendant, the rules dictated that at least three other seekers must be summoned to the Holy City.
"...Still, it doesn't make it any less of a chore. Tsk."
While Pokryong continued to mutter complaints to himself, Pean chuckled, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Don't you think the world has been rather lively lately?"
"What?"
"Think about it. Camilo von Taribas is dead, and only a few weeks after a new seeker was born, another divine trial is being held. Haha."
"...You're laughing? Do you find this situation amusing?"
"It is a welcome distraction from the boredom. After all, isn't it because we have nothing better to do that we shut ourselves in a cave to train?"
Pean shrugged and continued.
"Well, putting that aside... I did not expect the revelation granted by the Great Ones to be fulfilled so quickly."
"Revelation?"
"I told you earlier. I received a revelation that I would soon encounter an incredibly strong opponent."
"...Ah."
Freeze.
At that moment, Pokryong's eyes narrowed.
Right. How could he have forgotten?
The Blind Sword Master had come here to undergo one final training session before facing a powerful foe.
Though it was still just a hunch, Pokryong suspected that the powerful foe was Gaon.
Given the current circumstances, it was the most plausible guess.
Unlike the other seekers who remained secluded in their respective territories, that guy had been roaming the continent, stirring up waves of change.
At this point, he was practically the only Sword Master likely to have done something to warrant a divine trial.
In that case...
A broad, eager grin spread across Pokryong's face.
...We meet again, Gaon.
The irritation that had been so clearly etched on his face just moments ago vanished without a trace.
"Good. Let's move out immediately."
"Yes? Already?"
Pean asked, looking surprised. He clearly hadn't expected Pokryong, who had been complaining so much, to head to Midtemple so willingly.
"Why the rush? It hasn't even been five minutes since we received the summons. We could take our time..."
"Then you come later. I'm going ahead."
"...What?"
Thud, thud.
Pokryong's footsteps grew distant. He didn't seem to care at all whether his companion followed him or not.
Pean, who had been sitting cross-legged, let out a dumbfounded laugh and slowly stood up.
"Fine, then. Let's go together."
Holding his sword, Frost Sunset, still in its scabbard, he began to walk with light, graceful steps.
"A total of three seekers have responded to the summons."
"..."
"Heukgol, Pokryong, and the Blind Sword Master are currently on their way to Midtemple."
Inside a conference room within the temple, silence fell over the chamber the moment the priest finished speaking.
The senior council members seated around the table could only look on in sheer dumbfoundedness.
After a tense silence, the council members began to read each other's expressions and speak up one by one. The room quickly erupted into a clamor.
"This is strange. They responded to the summons just like that?"
"First the last divine trial, and now this. Why have the Sword Masters suddenly become so cooperative?"
"Their willing compliance makes me even more uneasy."
Murmurs rippled through the room.
The fact that the notoriously free-spirited Sword Masters had responded to Midtemple's summons with unprecedented speed only fueled the council members' anxiety.
They could not fathom the intentions hidden behind this cooperative front.
As the other council members whispered among themselves, the priest, who had been quietly watching the scene, finished his report.
"All three are expected to arrive within two days."
"..."
"Therefore, the divine trial for Sword Master Gaon will be held three days from now in the morning. Please keep this in mind."
With that, the briefing concluded.
Yet, even though the meeting was over, not a single council member got up to leave.
The heavy atmosphere kept everyone rooted to their seats. Bewilderment was etched deep into their faces.
"Sigh..."
"Does this mean four Sword Masters will be staying in the Holy City at the same time?"
"I'm already exhausted. There's never a quiet day."
Arwen kept his lips tightly pressed together, silently observing the room.
Ever since he had received the official document from his butler, his mind had been in a state of turmoil.
First of all, he couldn't understand the circumstances that led to this divine trial.
It was shocking enough that a Sword Master had allied himself with the Five Nightmares, the very axis of evil, but to also act as the leader of the Shadow Society?
But what shocked him more than anything was that Gaon, who was facing these accusations, had been appointed as a Sword Master less than a fortnight ago.
...Just what on earth are you planning, Lord Gaon?
He couldn't begin to fathom Gaon's intentions.
Nor could he understand why the man had gone out of his way to confess to something that could have easily been swept under the rug.
Granted, Gaon had given him a brief hint about his plans before leaving Midtemple, but even then, he had never mentioned taking such drastic measures.
As his thoughts spun in circles, Arwen took a long, deep breath and let it out.
He raised his head and looked across the conference room.
"..."
Jacques von Heibrun. The old man who led the Traditionalist faction sat silently in his seat.
Though his face was blank, Arwen immediately detected the deep turmoil hidden beneath the surface.
His shallow breathing, the slight tremor in his fingertips, and the way he habitually spun the ring on his thumb...
All of it pointed to the anxiety gripping Jacques.
The unpredictable movements of the Sword Master were placing immense pressure on the leader of the Traditionalists.
You.
The moment their eyes met, Jacques silently mouhed the words.
Follow me outside for a moment.
While the council members continued to murmur in confusion, Jacques von Heibrun quietly slipped out of the chamber.
Arwen stared at the empty doorway for a moment before silently rising from his seat.
Whoosh!
"..."
At the top of the spire, the wind sweeping across the observatory lightly ruffled Jacques von Heibrun's hair.
Resting both hands on the railing, he gazed down at the panoramic view of the Holy City of Midtemple in silence.
The white marble buildings gleamed in the sunlight, but his eyes remained hollow, focused on something far beyond them.
After staring at the view for a while, he spoke quietly.
"Did Sword Master Gaon tell you anything separately?"
"No. Nothing."
At Arwen's reply, Jacques unconsciously touched his right arm.
It was the very limb that had been severed by Gaon's blade.
"So he didn't give even you a single word of warning..."
After pondering for a long moment, Jacques spoke again.
"I need to meet Gaon before the divine trial begins."
Arwen said nothing. He simply stared out at the distant landscape of the Holy City.
Understanding the meaning behind his silence, Jacques continued.
"Of course, I know. Contacting the defendant before the trial violates the regulations. But this is no ordinary trial."
"..."
"Why did Sword Master Gaon confess? Why choose this specific moment, in this manner, to make his crimes public? I cannot understand his choice at all."
Jacques looked at Arwen and went on.
"The seekers of the sword are unpredictable beings. Didn't a disaster occur just during the last divine trial, where my nephew Cedric was killed?"
"..."
"No one knows what kind of catastrophe might happen this time. Especially in Gaon's case... it's impossible to read his mind. I have absolutely no idea what he might pull."
After a brief hesitation, Arwen nodded. He, too, was dying of curiosity to know what Gaon was thinking.
"Let's go. I will accompany you."
Thud, thud.
The light of the setting sun filtered through the marble buildings, dyeing the entirety of Midtemple in shades of crimson.
Arwen and Jacques walked down the corridor in silence.
Both men were lost in deep thought. Knowing this, neither made any effort to break the silence.
As they walked, only one thought circled in Arwen's mind.
A Sword Master facing a divine trial.
Even searching through the history of Midtemple, it was an event with barely any precedent. It had happened only once in hundreds of years, which spoke volumes.
Yet Gaon had brought this divine trial upon himself. And he had done so by laying bare every single fact that worked against him.
It is entirely deliberate and intentional. Knowing Lord Gaon, he must be aiming for something.
Lost in these thoughts, they soon arrived at the topmost floor of the spire.
Despite being a defendant awaiting a divine trial, Gaon was staying in a guest suite rather than a dark, cramped dungeon.
The reason was simple. He was a Sword Master. One could not lightly disrespect a seeker who carried the will of the Great Ones.
Of course, that is merely the surface reason.
In truth, they had no choice but to accommodate him in the guest suite because keeping a Sword Master locked in a subterranean dungeon was practically impossible...
"W-we're saved! It's the two giants!"
"Thank heavens!"
Freeze.
It was at that moment.
The investigators guarding the door let out sighs of relief the instant they saw Arwen and Jacques.
Even Sikan Bauer, famous for his lack of emotional expression, was sighing in relief and clutching his chest.
What is going on?
While Arwen was taken aback by this completely unexpected reaction, Sikan Bauer stepped forward to speak.
"It seems you have heard the news. Thank goodness. I was just debating whether I should go look for you..."
"...?"
Arwen knit his brow slightly.
He whispered in a voice quiet enough that others couldn't hear.
"What news? Has something happened?"
"...Did you not come here knowing what happened?"
Arwen shook his head.
Looking slightly flustered, Sikan Bauer explained the situation in a deliberately calm voice.
"Well, you see..."
He paused briefly before finishing.
"Lord Pokryong and Lord Pean suddenly showed up and barged into the guest suite without permission."
"...What?"
"You absolute fraud!"
A loud shout echoed through the guest suite.
"Draw your sword right now! How does it make any sense that you have the energy to run around the continent causing trouble, but not the energy to fight me?!"
Whoosh!
Pokryong bellowed, swinging his giant flame sword, Pokyeomdo, in a threatening manner.
Beside him, the blind elf stood, chuckling as if he found the entire situation thoroughly entertaining.
Ah.
I massaged my throbbing forehead at the incredibly headache-inducing situation.
...Seriously, I'm going to lose my mind.