Chapter 227
Chapter 227
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 227
Chapter Title: Part 2, Chapter 11: Tell Them We'll Meet Soon (1)
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"You've been doing a lot of good deeds lately, it seems."
Jamie was gazing up at the night sky alone, lost in thought.
And well he might be, for recently he'd started to feel like all he did was good deeds.
After five years of secluded training, he'd gone to Harmonia for his first mission and essentially saved the country.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but even Fatal, now the king of Harmonia, bowed at a full ninety degrees every time he saw Jamie.
This time had been the same.
There had been some major misunderstandings between them, but he'd helped a family that had suffered for so long.
And he'd even saved the knight who had become an undead to continue his mission after death.
"At this rate, am I doing the 12 Gods' jobs for them?"
As he reflected on his recent actions, he felt an intense irritation toward the 12 Gods.
He'd always found them distasteful, but today it grated especially hard.
Incompetent fools.
They called themselves benevolent deities, yet what had they done while the world fell into such ruin?
"Well, what can you expect from those bastards? They see humans as nothing but spare parts."
Jamie clicked his tongue in disgust and pulled a rosary from his pocket.
It was an item a priest had given to Irina as a ward against evil.
He no longer needed it, so he could have returned it to that family, but curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he'd kept it.
"Whose divinity is sealed inside this thing?"
To be honest, Jamie could only clearly distinguish a few of the 12 Gods' divinities.
He knew Pyro's, which he carried with him; Zenith, his longtime nemesis; Dran, master of the divine beast Basilisk whom he'd slain recently; the sun god Ra; and the dragon god Brahman.
The others he'd clashed with a few times but never directly confronted.
Of course, if he could confirm the divinity for sure, he could make educated guesses even if it was ambiguous, but the divinity emanating from the rosary was extremely vague.
It was hard to even identify its type just by looking.
"Which means it's definitely not one of those five."
He was confident he could detect even the tiniest speck of those five gods' power.
Their connections ran that deep.
"Breaking it should reveal the truth."
Anyone else would call it blasphemy and try to kill him, but this was a quiet forest with no one around.
Jamie snapped the pure white rosary without hesitation.
Crack—the breaking sound echoed through the silent woods.
And Jamie's eyes went wide.
He wore an incredulous expression, then furrowed his brow.
"...Why is everything defying my expectations today?"
Jamie let out a hollow laugh as he stared at the divinity flowing from the broken rosary's cross-section.
This was impossible.
Thank goodness it was such a remote forest.
If not...
"I might have lost control and killed everyone."
Before he knew it, a massive surge of black mana had erupted, spreading through the entire forest and devouring grass and trees alike.
If anyone had witnessed the spectacle, they would have screamed and fled.
The shock had been so great that he'd momentarily lost control of his power.
To calm himself, Jamie covered his violet-tinged eyes with his palm and stood still for a moment.
The black mana slowly receded, absorbed back into his body as if nothing had happened.
When he looked around, the area had become a barren wasteland without a single blade of grass.
"Damn it."
Jamie pressed his forehead, sighing at the devastation he'd wrought.
Truly fortunate that no one was around.
He looked back at the broken rosary.
"How can something like this even exist?"
With troubled eyes, he lifted the halved rosary upward.
Divinity flowed from the jagged break.
Jamie could state with absolute certainty.
"This... whose divinity is it?"
It wasn't one of the 12 Gods.
Even if he confused it with one of the other seven, he wouldn't forget a power he'd felt even once.
Yet the rosary's divinity belonged to none of them.
It made no sense.
How could a thirteenth divinity exist?
...
"Damn. My head hurts."
At least in Diablo Volpir's time, no gods existed besides the 12.
The 'ancient gods' from previous eras had all been eradicated by the 12 Gods.
To claim dominion over this world.
Thus, a thirteenth divinity was impossible.
Unless the 12 Gods had created a new one—but Jamie knew they wouldn't.
Even though they were now divided, they hadn't splintered until the era of the first king, Gab.
The division was recent.
Before that, the 12 Gods had been 'twelve as one.'
There was no reason to make a thirteenth.
'Could some ancient god have survived?'
Jamie shook his head.
He'd confirmed their annihilation personally.
Their followers might linger, but the ancient gods themselves could not.
And even those followers would be gone by now.
That much time had passed.
"Should I ask her?"
There was actually a quick way to confirm.
Pyro.
But it came with risks.
Jamie and Pyro were bound by contract, after all.
They moved in ways that benefited each other.
Asking about an unknown divinity... he had no idea how she'd react.
One thing was certain: it wouldn't be positive.
'It might even cause trouble.'
If she demanded it, he'd have to hand it over, like it or not, in his current position.
That would be humiliating, and he'd lose any chance to trace its origin.
Since he couldn't predict her response, better to save that as a last resort.
"For now... Isis?"
The leader of Frontier, someone very close to the world's secrets.
She might know something.
He wasn't sure of her reaction either, but even if negative, she'd be easier to handle than Pyro.
At least his power worked on her.
"Sleep for now."
Jamie wrapped the broken rosary in black mana and stored it in his subspace.
"This is worth researching."
A thirteenth divinity.
He didn't know where it came from, but it might prove a powerful weapon.
Back at his lodgings, Jamie shed his outer coat and perched on the bed.
He had no more business in this village.
He planned to tell Jin first thing in the morning that they were leaving.
But first, there was something to wrap up.
"Time for proper introductions."
Jamie closed his eyes, and his mind shifted elsewhere.
When he opened them there, he saw a small village built on barren earth beneath a violet sky.
The village had no name.
He'd considered giving it one at first, but since it'd likely be their only home forever, he saw no need.
He blinked again, and his mind arrived at the village center.
Walking skeletons and half-rotted corpses roamed about.
They froze at the sudden appearance of Jamie, then saluted in startled unison.
Fortunately, they couldn't speak, so there was no commotion.
Jamie waved them off casually.
"Carry on."
At his command, the undead resumed their activities.
This was the inner space of Defying Heaven's Gate, Jamie's world where he reigned supreme.
Then, from a fair distance, came the clang of metal striking metal.
The sharp sound carried clearly in the quiet space.
When he went to investigate, his fears were confirmed.
"Arrrgh! You're really dead this time!"
"Hmph. All talk and no bite."
Azad swung his dagger mercilessly, while Bianca defended with ease.
Behind Azad lay Ashtar, already defeated and sprawled flat; Raiza watched the fight with a troubled expression.
"Damn! Why are you so fast?!"
Azad aimed for vitals with fluid dagger work, but every strike was parried by Bianca's swift blade.
Surprisingly, she only defended, making no counterattacks.
"This is impressive."
Jamie watched their duel with interest.
He'd initially worried Azad and Ashtar might rough her up.
He hadn't expected even a Death Knight to handle them easily.
So he'd hoped Raiza would mediate until he arrived.
As expected, a fight had broken out—but the outcome was the opposite of what he'd imagined.
"She can't even touch her?"
Ashtar was a skilled assassin from the warrior clan Kara, and Azad had honed himself here to the level of a decent Expert knight.
Yet Bianca surpassed them both handily.
"I underestimated Bianca."
Earlier, when they'd briefly clashed, he'd subdued her quickly and hadn't properly gauged her swordsmanship.
He'd thought her Death Knight abilities were superior, but her knightly prowess exceeded expectations too.
"Gah!"
Azad cried out and flew backward.
Bianca, who'd stuck to defense, suddenly closed in and drove her elbow into his solar plexus.
Vital strikes meant little to undead, but the impact was real; the burly Azad looked like a paper doll for a moment.
"You're a thug with some skill... but that's not enough to graze my clothes."
Bianca spoke like a true knight, then turned to Raiza, who stood with arms crossed.
"Will you challenge me as well?"
"Hm."
Suddenly singled out, Raiza glanced at his fallen brothers and sighed deeply.
He knew well that if they'd lost, he stood no chance either.
He shook his head.
"If they've lost, the outcome is obvious. No point fighting and taking a loss."
"Wise, unlike them."
Bianca nodded and sheathed her sword.
Raiza sighed and looked up at the sky.
What in the world was this?
This woman had suddenly fallen from the sky, Azad and Ashtar picked a fight, and now the two lay unconscious on the ground.
He wanted to wake them and give them a good knock, but that wasn't the priority.
"No idea what to do."
"Even the great Raiza gets flustered sometimes?"
"Master!"
At the murmur, Jamie stepped forward, and Raiza greeted him with a rare bright smile.
"Welcome."
"Hm. Didn't expect this scene right away..."
Jamie inspected the two fallen ones up close, then turned to Bianca.
"You've arrived, my lord."
"Yes. You're adapting faster than I thought."
"They challenged me, so I accepted."
"I see, I see."
Not that I expected you to thrash them like this.
Jamie swallowed the afterthought.
"You haven't introduced yourselves properly yet, have you?"
"No time for that."
"Because of these two?"
"Yes."
Raiza glared at them with a hint of resentment.
Of course he wouldn't have wanted this; it must have been frustrating for him.
Understanding his plight, Jamie patted his shoulder.
And introduced him to Bianca.
"This is Raiza, commander of the undead legion."
"I see."
"And this is our newest member, the Death Knight Bianca Adley."
"But... wasn't she ascended?"
"It's a long story. You can share details later among yourselves. For now, greet the key figures who'll lead the legion."
Pushing Raiza's back, Jamie prompted him; Raiza approached her with a slightly displeased look and extended a hand.
"Raiza."
"Bianca Adley. Let's get along."
"Indeed. We can have a rank match if needed."
Jamie glanced at Azad and Ashtar, still out cold.
"...Though it might not be necessary."
In any case, Bianca's addition strengthened the undead legion considerably, so it was all good.
Jamie decided to think positively.