Chapter 241
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 241
Chapter Title: The Star That Turned Its Back on the Light (9)
If someone realized that a friend they'd shared a decade with had betrayed them.
They'd tremble with a sense of betrayal. They'd vent their injustice to everyone they met. The floor might even be littered with empty bottles for a while.
If someone learned that the parents they'd relied on for decades weren't their birth parents.
They'd plunge into unavoidable turmoil. The sense of loss from having been abandoned once would be hard to erase. They might even live consumed by suspicions of neglect because they weren't blood.
But what if someone realized that the god they'd served their entire life was a fake.
And what if that someone was a holy knight hailed as the church's star for their exceptional devotion, pious faith, and noble character—what if it was an arch paladin, granted the stigmata that pierces truth and called "The Star That Pierces Truth."
What reaction would they show?
What attitude would they reveal?
Before a truth too overwhelming to bear, the response from Decagram's Third Seat, "The Star That Pierces Truth," Hendark El Bernieta Elgarus, was...
"......"
...utter chaos, and silent denial.
This elderly holy knight wasn't a blind fanatic who worshipped Elga zealously. He was merely a follower who humbly accepted the irrationalities of human affairs and received the god's will. He firmly believed that the church's corruption stemmed from humanity's imperfections alone, and that almighty Elga harbored grand designs and benevolence to guide the world with light.
But lately, fundamental doubts had crept in. He'd desperately suppressed them due to doctrines that forbade suspicion and his position of setting an example for others... but now he could no longer avoid asking.
Was Elga truly a benevolent god who protected "light and order"?
Since the Holy War, Elga and the chosen grand bishop's actions had been far removed from light, order, or benevolence. No matter how grand the cause, the sacrifices it demanded were excessively brutal and vicious. Then came Kadim's bombshell: "Elga is a fake." It was like pouring oil on a fire.
Yet "The Star That Pierces Truth" couldn't abandon his faith.
Because that would deny his entire life. Because it would mean forsaking the lives of his disciples. Because he'd walked too far down a path with no return.
Inevitably, he turned a blind eye to the truth he'd witnessed... and rationalized his faith.
"Such blasphemous questions aren't worth answering... Elga is undoubtedly the true god who has watched over this world from the beginning until now..."
But even that rationalization began to crumble.
"Then why would a priest who saved the world and was revered as a saint say such things?"
"He too... 'Gordon Who Turned His Back on the Light' must have had a fundamentally weak side... My master said as much. 'Gordon Who Turned His Back on the Light' surely fell to the harshness of his mission..."
"No, Gordon was the most resolute and devout priest there ever was. If he deemed something wrong, he'd stand unflinchingly before even a mad arch paladin, and no matter the ordeal, he'd offer prayers toward Elga's very eyes. Being closer to the divine than anyone, he must have seen through the falsehood first."
"How... how would you know that?"
"I am Atala's great warrior, who three hundred years ago slayed the archdemon alongside him."
Hendark's eyes widened in shock.
An utterly unbelievable tale. Yet the stigmata still proclaimed that this warrior spoke only truth. Fierce turmoil shook his mind on the brink.
Now, only one way remained to preserve his faith.
"You... you're not a demon... you're a madman... a madman lost to blood and slaughter..."
Dismissing him as a lunatic spouting delusions.
The man who'd once lived a life utterly untainted by madness wore a bitter sneer.
"Only now do you see. I am Atala's sharpest axe, the god of struggle and wilderness. The great warrior tasked with exterminating all evil in this world..."
"......"
"...and at the same time, a berserker gone mad to butcher the followers of a false god and the demons."
The final admonition had failed.
―――― Kuoooo...
Beneath skies blazing as if about to spew lightning, "Elga's Star" and "Atala's Great Warrior" prepared for their final clash.
Guung, guung, guung, guung - !!
The glowing stigmata and rampaging flashes pierced even the gauntlet covering his hand, radiating brilliant energy. The turmoil transferred to the gripped spear, instantly turning "Lucaon's Meteor" into a torch igniting solar flames.
Hendark raised the burning spear.
"Guardian of radiant truth brighter than the brightest light, Elga—!!" "Let your star, which yearns for truth, annihilate all falsehoods upon this land—!!"
⟨ Wings of Truth ⟩
The wrathful sun, rather than personally striking the heretic with divine punishment, granted its proxy the power to judge all arrogance and falsehood.
―――――――― Kuhoooo - !!
Divine energy poured like a waterfall, linking to the blazing spear tip. As radiance wrapped his form like silken threads, it burst into bloom in an instant. Amid feathers scattering with sacred fragrance, the holy knight's figure emerged, wings unfurled like a seraph.
"Wings of Truth," granting overwhelming attack and defense to the star pursuing truth. An advanced realm utilizing the stigmata "The Star That Pierces Truth."
This mighty blessing of Elga, permitted only to the most faithful, was Hendark's final bastion upholding his faith. He naturally assumed Kadim would counter with Atala's divine blessing.
He was completely wrong.
"I'll offer the week of life I have left."
Guuuung...
The silver ingot gleamed azure, blue energy enveloping Kadim's form. The source of that brilliant azure glow and steam was the decagonal star pattern harvested by pulverizing a star.
The effect of the stigmata, "The Star That Burns Life."
"Wh-what...? How... how can you, "The Star That Burns Life"..."
Even with altered hues, he recognized it at a glance. As Hendark muttered in astonishment, the tip of one wing crumbled to dust.
Passs...
Elga's divine power scaled with faith. The encroaching shock shook his faith, affecting even the divine energy forming the wings. But this was unavoidable. How could someone who didn't serve Elga wield a "stigmata"...
Kwa – ang!!
No time for gaping. A blue flash flickered before him, wind pressure from a thousand-ton ingot surging forth.
Hendark hastily folded his wings for defense.
――――― Kuhwaaaang - !!
"...Hup!!"
One wing shattered in a single blow, pressure threatening to rupture his organs flooding in. A strike whose power rendered defense meaningless.
Hung, whoo – ung!! Who – ung!!
No respite; combos followed relentlessly. Their force and speed doubled each time. Hendark barely parried by exploding his spear blade, then retreated with fierce wingbeats. Scattered feathers transformed into light-infused blades and assaulted him.
Shwaaek, shwe – aek!! Shwe – aek, shwe – aek!!
Each feather packed devastating explosive power. Their all-encompassing trajectories left no escape.
Kadim didn't clumsily dodge; he slammed his hammer into the ground.
―――――― Jje – eong!!! Kwagwagwang - !!
The earth cratered deeply. Like a giant's palm slapping water, soil surged like a tsunami. The surface became a towering barrier, shockwaves a fierce headwind. The feather blades were swept away or blocked, vanishing as feeble sparks.
An unreal defense that beggared belief. No matter how he flapped, the feathers were always halted the same way.
"Huaaaaaah - !! "
The berserker didn't focus solely on wide defense. He pierced the layered barriers with ferocious charge. With the momentum of a fired shell, faster than one.
Kuhwaaaang - !!
"...Hup."
Caught in it, another wing vanished futilely.
Human life isn't equal in value. Kadim's offered week outperformed over a century from the stigmata's original owner. His already transcendent inaction now overwhelmed even the Third Seat's advanced realm.
Worse, the stigmata's effects weren't merely physical. The mental blow was immense. Using Elga's miracle as a heretic shook his faith, causing wings to shatter one by one even at rest.
The battle's outcome was clear. The arch paladin's seraphic form soon resembled poultry awaiting slaughter. No path to victory seemed possible for him.
Yet "The Star That Pierces Truth" didn't surrender to doom.
"Hoo, haa, hoo..."
Hendark gazed skyward. He'd just barely completed his ultimate technique before death. Even Kadim subtly raised his head at the oncoming presence. What entered his eyes was...
A spear.
An otherworldly spear of immense scale, formed from gleaming particles.
―――― Woooung, woooung, woooung - !!
A colossal spear had appeared in the sky unnoticed. Its blade alone spanned hundreds of meters, its shaft's length incalculable. A weapon fit for celestial gods.
"Holy Spear that Annihilates Falsehood," the ultimate secret art forged by drawing every ounce of faith, battle spirit, and will from a supreme holy knight. A killing blow guaranteeing destruction to all falsities.
A faint shadow crossed Kadim's face. But only for an instant.
"Quite the sticky colossus. Didn't expect you to hide something 'bigger' than this hammer..."
"Hoo, haa, hoooo..."
"...Mine's nothing to write home about either."
Wooong, wooong, wooong - !!
Enchant runes glowed, signaling shock absorption. The berserker resolutely raised "Star Pulverizer." He activated "Hydra's Tattoo" and offered this final week's lifespan via stigmata.
"Come on... Let's see whose weapon's craftsmanship reigns supreme."
"......"
The arch paladin followed, raising "Lucaon's Meteor." As if linked by invisible strings, the celestial colossus mirrored his divine weapon's movements.
――――― Kugugugu...
The spear tip aimed earthward, its edge more aurora than blade, gleaming coldly.
By size alone, Kadim resembled an ant defying natural disaster. Yet his crimson-gleaming eyes held no fear. Rather, they blazed with competitive thrill, eager to test himself and his masterpiece's limits.
But Hendark wasn't watching Kadim.
His gaze fixed on the sun lingering midday despite dusk.
――――― Kuooong...
A sudden invocation, like a sigh.
"Elga..."
His turbid pupils contracted narrowly, admitting not even a sliver of light.
"My light, my beacon, my sun, the solemn guide of light who will one day lead us to fields where the sun never sets..."
His chapped lips quivered faintly. His tongue parched like earth swept by flames. The question refusing to leave his throat was forced out like vomiting entrails.
"Is the reason you've watched over this world all this time... not to aid and save your foolish creations?"
No answer came.
Hendark pressed.
"Are you... truly Elga?"
This time, an answer returned.
―――――― Kuoooo - !!
By scattering light beams to ignite hellfire everywhere.
That response incinerated the last shred of his faith.
It turned a holy knight who'd devoted his life solely to god into a renegade. It made him abandon faith for conviction. Forsake falsehood for truth. Cast off submission to an inscrutable god for struggle.
Hendark made his choice.
"If you would condemn, then condemn. If judge, then judge. If smite with heavenly punishment, then smite..."
If that was your answer.
If your will was to rage only at disbelief denying you alone.
If your intent was to abandon blind fledglings to eternal abyss.
"I, Hendark El Bernieta Elgarus..."
He reversed his grip, spearhead skyward.
"...as 'The Star That Pierces Truth,' shall turn my back on false light."
And with all his might, hurled "Lucaon's Meteor" toward the sun.
―――――― Shwaaaaaaaa - !!!
A sonic boom tearing the atmosphere, the divine weapon's launch sending the majestic holy spear skyward against heaven's will. Its momentum seemed poised to pierce a primordial god's eye in one thrust.
But it was mere illusion for an instant.
――――――― Jje – eong!!
Heavenly punishment shattered "Holy Spear that Annihilates Falsehood."
The anomalous miracle devoured the inferior one.
The sky's will annihilated impudent human resolve.
A killing blow guaranteeing doom on earth was but a petty trifle in the heavens. After pulverizing the rebellious blade, the judgment light turned toward the star defying heavenly law—precisely, the "stigmata" he'd inscribed.
Hendark raised his hand. True to his bold declaration, humbly accepting punishment.
But at that moment.
―――― Peo – ggeuk!!
A heavy trajectory struck first, smashing his hand.
In a blink, everything above the wrist vanished. Gauntlet, fingers, bones, skin, stigmata "The Star That Pierces Truth." Leaderless, heavenly punishment pierced only innocent earth.
―――――― Kwagwagwang - !!
Hendark, dumbfounded, turned his gaze.
"What do you think you're doing."
Kadim wiped blood from his hammer, reciting sternly.
"That 'stigmata' was mine as payment for what I couldn't receive. Why offer it to some unrelated bastard on your own."
"......"
Woooong...
A new decagonal star pattern appeared beside the enchant runes on the silver ingot's surface. Unmistakably the stigmata, "The Star That Pierces Truth."
Harvested via "Star Pulverizer's" special effect.
Speechless, Hendark grimaced, clutching his bloody stump. But soon realized that despite the words, Kadim saving the stigmata had spared his life. Heavenly punishment burned not just the struck wound like lightning, but the entire body.
Yet he couldn't smooth his furrowed brow. Having interfered with judgment, the sun's next target was surely...
――――― Jje – eong!!
...the warrior who'd stolen the stigmata.
Execution swifter than expected. The absolute's light to judge creation shot forth. Hendark's eyes widened, intuiting Kadim would burn and evaporate.
His intuition missed.
Guuuung - !
―――――――― Kwaaaaaang - !!!
The silver hammer swung full force, brilliance exploding to banish darkness even from his pupils.
The absolute's light was nullified. By a certain smith's masterpiece reaching the heavens, and a warrior fearing not even celestial gods.
His transcendent gaze pierced the blazing sun.
"Don't interfere, Elga."
Kadim thundered with absolute arrogance forbidden to mortals.
"I'm. Talking. Here."
"......"
Beneath silence freezing all particles and cells.
"The Star That Pierces Truth" gazed at the back boldly blocking the sun.
For a moment, it felt as if a winter field had turned to wilderness.