Chapter 238
Chapter 238
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 238
Chapter Title: The Star That Turned Its Back on the Light (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Decagram's Ninth Seat, the "Star that Calls for Peace," Paxstan, loved peace.
Many misunderstood him because of his golem-like stoic appearance and intimidating divine armament. But truly, he swore by Elga that no one cherished peace more than he did. The iron dove dangling from his mace clearly proved that love, prioritizing symbolism over practicality.
Thus, he could never tolerate it. Any groups disrupting the continent's peace—the demons, the heretics, the unbelievers, and all the strife and sinister deeds their existence spawned.
One who loves cleanliness must sweep away the trash. For the same reason, Paxstan naturally joined the Heresy Inquisition. By spreading "peace" to demons and unbelievers numbering well into the ten thousands, he proudly became a Special Inquisitor and claimed a Decagram seat in a mere decade or so.
To him, the "Crusade" was the perfect opportunity to spread and propagate peace to his heart's content. Upon hearing the news, his heart even pounded in a way uncharacteristic of him. He thought that when this war ended, the entire continent might reclaim true peace.
The feeble alliance soldiers, the filthy barbarians, the swarming refugees... Every being that did not believe in Elga was a target for disposal. Yet the primary target Paxstan hunted on the battlefield was this one.
The alliance's "Ogre," who conspired with demons and heretics and dared to fell even Elga's stars.
As long as that absolute embodiment of discord remained, true "peace" would forever elude this continent.
Though even the preceding stars couldn't handle this foe, Paxstan was confident he could face the ogre. His stigmata, the "Star that Calls for Peace," was like deadly poison to any "armed" existence. While spreading peace across alliance territories, he always kept his senses sharp, probing for the ogre's presence.
And that effort was rewarded at an unexpected moment.
- Whiiiiiing - !
He yanked the reins hard. His radiant steed reared up on its forelegs and halted. The following Arch Paladins and High Paladins reined in their mounts as well.
"What is it, Captain...?"
"Is there a problem, O Honorable Star...?"
"......"
In this urgent time chasing the fleeing "Border Butcher" and alliance forces, where every second counted, Paxstan pondered deeply before speaking.
"You lot grant peace to the 'Border Butcher.' I have something to confirm, so I'll head back for a moment."
"Pardon?"
"What do you mean...?"
He ignored their bewildered stares. Without hesitation, he wheeled his horse and galloped back the way he'd come. The foul stench of demon blood and a chillingly vicious aura... Signs carried on the distant wind announced the arrival of the target he'd so longed for.
And sure enough, his intuition was spot on.
Returning to where the stone slab had been shattered, Paxstan finally came face-to-face with it. A demonic form cloaked in barbarian hide, a silver hammer weighing at least a thousand pounds, and... a voice that heavily shook the soul.
"...You. One of Elga's stars, huh."
There was no room for doubt. It was the ogre, the infamous alliance "Ogre" without question.
He nearly betrayed his excitement. With this "stigmata," he had to suppress emotions as much as possible. Regaining his composure, Paxstan spoke flatly.
"Indeed. And you must be the ogre who felled Elga's stars."
"I did beat those guys down, but I'm no ogre."
"Criminals who readily admit their guilt are rare. Spies who confess just as easily are too."
"Then go ask that 'Star that Pierces Truth' guy. He'd know well I'm no ogre."
A ripple stirred within him. His already golem-like face hardened even more fiercely. Had he not heard in advance that Hendark had colluded with the enemy, he surely couldn't have maintained his calm.
The alliance ogre, Kadim, continued in a flat tone.
"Anyway, why are you here? Don't tell me this is the central front."
"...Are those eyes and thick skull just for show? You don't even know where your own feet have taken you."
"Had my reasons. Well, whatever—looks like it worked out. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down."
"......"
"But one more thing I wanna ask..."
His hollow gaze swept the surroundings briefly. Past the flattened piles of corpses, his finger pointed to the shattered stone slab.
"Turning these Atalans into meat paste and smashing the ruin's stone slab—was that all your doing?"
"......"
Beneath the parched tone lay an axe-edge-sharp menace. Even under the imminent tension, Paxstan stood firm.
"Half of it. I broke the slab, and the heretics summoned some vicious power against me only to self-destruct."
"...Why smash this thing."
"All for the light, and for true 'peace.' Vermin gnawing at the world's peace lurked within that slab."
"...What nonsense. There was only one old shaman inside."
"No, that was the 'Border Butcher's' and these heretics' hideout. Unbelief and heresy are seeds of all discord. Destroying that foul lair and granting them eternal life in hell brought this world one step closer to 'peace.'"
The ogre's face stiffened darkly. Paxstan interpreted it as rage over his allies' deaths. In truth, it was bewilderment over the shaman's whereabouts and how Goltaran had found and hidden here...
No matter what words they exchanged or feelings stirred, their courses of action were set from the start. As Kadim loosened his taut muscles with a heavy sigh, Paxstan firmly raised his mace.
"But even granting eternal life to all unbelievers won't bring true 'peace' to this world. Not while you, the root of all evil, the 'ogre,' still walk it."
"......"
"Ogre, I've long awaited the moment to spread 'peace' to you. This encounter is surely the arrangement of the supreme guide of light. Now, I, the 'Star that Calls for Peace' Paxstan, shall grant you eternal life..."
His words cut off. By the axe blade flashing like lightning.
Shrieeeek - !
Paxstan urgently slammed his divine armament, "Pacifist," into the ground.
Ku - Wooong!! Guuuuung - !
The iron dove let out a white cry. A pure white wave spread circularly. The thrown axe, swept by the surge, turned translucent and passed harmlessly through the target's skull without shattering it.
But not all weapons became illusions. Some retained their full mass and destructive power.
For instance, that massive hammer plummeting from the sky.
"...!"
――――――― Kwa - Aaang!!!
The moment the hammer struck the ground, the earth quaked.
The footing sank, throwing off his balance. Instinctively, Paxstan leaped backward. It allowed him to narrowly dodge the hammer surging back up from the impact point by a hair's breadth.
―――― Bwoooong - !!
A chill grazed his spine; he didn't grasp the situation right away. Only upon seeing the hammer charge again did he realize: the ogre had thrown the axe, then leaped with the hammer to evade the disarming wave.
Whoooong - ! Bwoooong - !!
He'd anticipated the stigmata's power being seen through. But he hadn't expected the ogre to react so swiftly. The battle erupted in an instant against an undisararmed foe, the relentless assault shaking his composure.
But if he buckled at mere peril like this, he never would have earned the name of Elga's star.
Paxstan quelled his agitation. Then, carefully tracking the hammer's trajectory, he struck it preemptively with his mace at the perfect moment.
"Love 'peace,' you harbinger of discord!"
―――――― Kwaa - Aaang!!!
Eardrum-shattering clash, a spherical shockwave bursting from the impact.
Guuuuung - !
The disarming wave didn't require slamming the ground; direct contact with a weapon worked too. The silver hammer, swept by the wave and illusorized, slipped from the ogre's grasp.
Ku - Hung!
Paxstan kept his expression impassive. He couldn't quite suppress the faint gleam in his eyes.
"It seemed a fine weapon. My condolences on losing your prized tool."
"......"
Kadim smirked faintly at the "Star Crusher." Yeah, it was definitely a fine weapon. Fine enough for an Elga zealot holding the Seventh Seat to come running after it...
Anyway, with the enemy disarmed, the scales tipped obviously. Paxstan relaxed his grip on the mace.
"Yet thanks to that, this world draws a few steps nearer to true 'peace.' Are you prepared to enjoy eternal life in hell, ogre?"
"......"
Kadim averted his gaze from the hammer without regret, flashing a sinister smile.
"Well, it's a pretty appealing spot... but seems a bit early to head there."
"...Hm?"
"First, I'll beat down the Elga zealot who trashed the ruins I finally found, then think it over."
"......"
Lightning-sharp, a sense of doom slithered down his spine. An unarmed foe challenging him with divine gear in hand—impossible, yet... The rift between reason and instinct plunged the "Star that Calls for Peace" into great turmoil.
In conclusion, instinct proved right.
In that instant, the ogre's form vanished.
Kwa - Aaang!
A black shadow engulfed his vision, then a thunderbolt flashed before his eyes.
――――― Ppeok - Eok!!
"Hup!"
His nose bridge crunched, skull ringing. No time to savor the pain. Paxstan reacted on instinct—backpedaling to avoid toppling, swinging his mace in a vertical arc for a counter.
But far too late.
Whoooong - !!
The iron dove missed even the afterimage. Meanwhile, the enemy effortlessly evaded and landed blow after effective blow. Gut, lower jaw, side, other side, then the opposite flank.
Ppeok, Teo - Ggeok! Ppuk! Ppeo - Eok, Ppe - Eok!!
"Keurgh, heuk! Haa..."
Blindingly fast combos, impossible to track. Despite full plate, the impacts were unimaginable. Like beaten all day, guts rupturing with blood and nausea surging, bones aching throughout.
Paxstan soon became certain.
This was no power bare-handed. He must have drawn some hidden weapon. To identify it, he focused utterly, tracing attack paths.
His prediction was wrong. Bare fist.
"What..."
―――――― Peo - Ggeok!!
"...Guhk!!"
The price of confirmation: a straight punch to the face's center.
This time, he hit the dirt. The ogre looked down with indifferent eyes.
"All that flashy power, but your fighting sucks. Or are you pretending to suck to protect 'peace'?"
"......"
"What, pissed? Then disarm this too."
Kadim shook his bloodied fist. A vein throbbed on Paxstan's forehead.
An Elga "star," neither stripped of stigmata nor disarmed, pummeled and mocked bare-handed... Humiliation and rage churned within, emotions spilling over.
Standing to fight yielded the same. Heightened senses, invoked divinity, predicted moves... All futile; he was battered unilaterally. The ogre's overwhelming might denied even the Church's pinnacle holy knight any resistance.
Ultimately, the "Star that Calls for Peace" resorted to desperate measures.
"Eternal Lord of Radiance, Elga!! Your apostle, striving for true peace, beseeches You—grant this land 'Absolute Peace' that eradicates all conflict - !!"
⟨ Absolute Peace ⟩
With the cry, he resolutely slammed "Pacifist" into the earth.
Doo - Wooong ――――― Kwaaaaang - !!
Like waves becoming a tsunami, the white surge became a vast barrier enveloping the area. Sacred radiance peacefully embraced the wide domain without blind spots.
"Absolute Peace." The advanced realm of the stigmata "Star that Calls for Peace's" disarming power.
Its effect: absolutely forbidding all attacks borne of hostility.
Within this domain, hostile attacks passed through targets unconditionally. Like illusorized weapons losing physicality. Even the caster wasn't exempt. A power living up to its name, guaranteeing "Absolute Peace."
Yet Paxstan knew one critical flaw.
The banned act was solely "hostile attacks." He never thought of killing enemies in daily purges, viewing it as granting eternal life—for reason. Through conscious and subconscious self-indoctrination, he could wield this power while "granting peace."
In short, he could block enemy attacks outright while striking unilaterally.
The "Star that Calls for Peace" raised his mace. Sadism and hatred twisted his lips uncontrollably. His golem face turned devil-carved statue, eyes gleaming with madness.
"At last, the time has come to restore true 'peace' to this world. Ogre, may you repent your heinous sins eternally in hell..."
But what he'd overlooked.
―――――― Peogeok - !
"...Keurheok!!"
Kadim already knew of this power from Hendark.
The fist pierced plate. Massive shock hammered the gut. Clutching his caved-in belly, collapsing in disbelief.
"Kuhuk, kuhk, keurheo... How, how... Even with 'Absolute Peace,' you can attack..."
Kadim looked down, tilting his head curiously.
"What're you on about? This isn't an attack."
"...What?"
"This is education. Proper schooling for a deranged Elga zealot."
Ppeo - Eok!
Brutal fists followed, recited emotionlessly.
"Before this fist kills you, I pray you learn true 'fighting spirit,' Elga zealot."
Ppeo – Eok! Ppeo – Eok!! Ppeogeok - !!
Atala's great warrior, champion of struggle and wilderness, thoroughly suppressed hostility and sincerely imparted lessons to Elga's star with utmost devotion.