Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: The Deception of Eternal Life
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We first climbed up to the inn's rooftop.
To be precise, since this inn didn't have a proper rooftop, we smashed through the ceiling and leaped up to the roof to take refuge.
Looking down, we quickly realized we were surrounded.
Chris muttered.
"Looks like around two hundred of them."
"Keep your heads down. If they're really S-rank level, jumping onto a building like this is a piece of cake for them. The moment they spot us, we're done for."
"We'll get spotted the second they come inside anyway. There's a hole in the ceiling."
"Better to delay it even by a second."
At Rennel's words, we ducked into the cover of the chimney for now.
Arwen spoke up in an oddly excited tone.
"Who would've thought I'd end up on a rooftop like this? Feels like I'm a thief or something—kinda thrilling."
"How do you say that in a situation like this? You're such a fool."
"Now I'm getting called a fool? Hehe."
"Anyway, can you bless every single one of those people down there?"
Oddly enough, Rennel cut in at my question.
"Be serious. How do you expect to bless a crowd of nearly two hundred at once?"
"I can."
"How?!"
"I..."
"No more 'greatest saintess ever' talk."
I'd figured it was around two hundred anyway.
I asked my next question in a solemn tone.
"What about seventy-five thousand?"
Arwen's face finally turned serious.
She hesitated a moment before answering.
"It'll take a lot of time."
"How much?"
"I've never tried it before, so I can't say exactly, but it'd probably take about a week of prayer. The more targets for the blessing, the exponentially longer the prayer takes."
"A week, huh."
Arwen was already what you'd call a 'once-in-a-generation' saintess, but compared to her peak right before my regression, she still had a long way to go.
Back then, she could've blessed an entire territory in just two hours of prayer.
"For now, bless the ones gathered here first. How long will that take?"
"About three minutes."
"Good. Start right away."
"Okay."
Arwen removed her gloves and clasped her hands together.
That was when it happened.
A single voice suddenly rang out from below the building.
"There you are."
Just like with the innkeeper earlier, the Eternal Life Demon King was speaking through one of the townsfolk.
And right after.
"There you are."
"There you are."
"There you are."
The two hundred voices echoed in unison, like a haunting reverberation.
It felt like an attack made of sound itself.
I glanced down and clicked my tongue.
Everyone surrounding the inn was staring up at the roof with blank expressions.
Chris, sweating profusely, said,
"I've spent my life drawing lots of attention, but this feels entirely different."
"An assassin shouldn't be drawing attention anyway."
"I'm a knight."
"More importantly, Chris, Rennel—both of you, protect Arwen for three minutes."
"What about you, Dai-il?"
I perched on the edge of the chimney and replied,
"I'll cheer you on with all my heart."
"Are you insane? You're leaving two hundred S-ranks to us?"
"You all need to train whenever you get the chance. Crises and trials make people grow."
"There's a limit to that."
"I've said it before—you all have overwhelming potential. And in my judgment, with your current skills, holding out for three minutes is entirely doable."
"......"
"Like always, if it gets really dangerous, I'll step in. Don't worry."
The moment I finished speaking.
Thud!
The crowd below suddenly surged toward the roof.
Just from bending and extending their legs, they pulled off such a feat—truly worthy of S-rankers.
"Screw it. Hard Shield!"
Rennel hurriedly deployed a crescent-shaped barrier spell.
The townsfolk soon crashed into it.
Bang. Boom!
Most of them were unarmed, and the few who had weapons wielded only rusted blades or clubs at best.
Even so, the impacts sounded like thunder crashing down.
But the barrier held firm.
Rennel said with a cautious expression,
"They're not really S-rank after all. Easier to hold than I thought."
"It's just that you're beyond S-rank."
"I'm only at six circles."
"Circles are just a measure of total mana capacity. They don't reflect efficiency or control."
Rennel tilted her head, as if to say, Is that so?
Then Chris asked,
"Rennel, can someone inside this barrier go out?"
"Huh? Yeah, of course."
"I see. I'll be right back then."
Before she could ask what he meant, Chris vanished.
Rennel seemed to have completely lost track of him, but I followed his trajectory and inwardly admired it.
Impressive.
Chris darted out swiftly and silently, slicing the tendons in the townsfolk's legs.
They collapsed like marionettes with cut strings, and he methodically tossed them back down.
Thump.
The ones who hit the ground had their tendons heal almost immediately, of course.
But Chris was dropping them faster than they could recover.
"What? How in the world..."
As the Demon King muttered that.
Whoosh. Thud.
After tossing the last one, Chris dusted off his hands and returned inside the barrier.
"All done. I'll head out again after a short break."
"Chris, you should just be a mage. You're faster than any spell."
"Haha. Then you'd have to be the knight, Rennel."
"Ah, they're climbing up again."
"Yes. Time for another round."
That was when Arwen's voice came.
"No need for that."
The prayer was complete.
She thrust both arms forward and cried out,
"Cleanse the foul power possessing them!"
Soon, the familiar golden light descended like a shimmering haze.
As it touched the townsfolk, they began collapsing one by one.
I stood up casually, scanning the surroundings and below, then said,
"Good. They're all down."
"......"
"How's everyone holding up? Easier than expected, right?"
Rennel looked dazed, Chris serious.
Arwen, as always, was beaming.
"We've gotten stronger than we thought."
"Thanks to you, Dai-il. I've felt it for a while now—you seem to already know exactly how and in what direction we need to grow."
"Heh. Must come with being a hero."
I half-listened to their chatter as I focused on one of the fallen figures on the roof.
His breath was steady when I held my hand to his nose.
"The power's lifted, but he's not waking up. Arwen."
"Yes. One moment."
Arwen approached and placed her hand on his head.
But she soon tilted her head and said,
"His body's perfectly fine. Healthy as can be. So why isn't he waking?"
The answer came from behind.
"Because his soul isn't."
Startled, I turned to see Artisha standing there.
I nodded in greeting.
"Does that mean you're joining our party?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
"You never even strayed far from the inn to begin with. Specifically, you were pacing behind the building next door."
"H-How did you..."
"I heard your anxious footsteps. They got drowned out once the crowd arrived. You were probably mulling over my offer."
"Are you a ghost?"
"Coming from a soul sorceress, that doesn't sound like a joke."
"What?"
Artisha's eyes widened in shock.
Then Chris chimed in.
"I heard the footsteps too, elder. In fact, I even caught the clicking sounds. If I had to guess, they were..."
"How did you know I'm a soul sorceress?"
"Sounded like nail-biting... Never mind. Please continue your conversation."
I answered leisurely,
"You just said his soul wasn't fine."
"Don't lie. You've known all along. You knew I was in this territory, that I wanted to die."
I shrugged and changed the subject.
"More importantly, what do you mean his soul isn't fine?"
"......Just as human bodies age over time, souls do too. No body lasts beyond a hundred years, no matter how long-lived. Souls wear down with the passage of time."
"......"
"The Eternal Life Demon King's power only controls the 'body.' Their souls were already dead. They should've gone to heaven as is, but they were trapped in healthy bodies."
She continued with a somber expression.
"That's what I meant earlier when I said their families were already dead. Even if they repeat the same actions as in life, their souls are gone."
"......"
"These people on the ground will stop breathing soon. The power's lifted—they're no longer bound to their bodies, so if heaven exists, that's where their souls will go."
Even a fake saintess couldn't let that slide.
Arwen interjected,
"Heaven does exist. It's clearly recorded in the scriptures. The Papal Court may have done plenty of awful things, but they haven't dared tamper with the scriptures themselves."
"They erased everything about souls and soul sorcery."
"That's not erasure—just not publicizing it to the masses..."
"Fine. I'm not here to argue theology."
Arwen looked a bit dissatisfied but backed off.
I returned to the main point.
"So why is your soul still fine? Yours should've exceeded its lifespan too."
"I'm a soul sorceress, so..."
"If soul sorcerers could maintain soul health, you'd have done it for your family long ago. No matter how legendary our saintess is, she can't extend a predetermined lifespan. Same for you—no matter how skilled a soul sorceress you are, you can't extend a soul's lifespan."
Artisha's pupils dilated.
"How do you know so much? There are hardly any records on souls in the outside world. The Papal Court wiped them out a thousand years ago."
All of it came from you before my regression.
But that's all I heard back then.
I never learned how you'd ignored your soul's natural limit and stayed intact for three hundred years.
We weren't close enough for you to share that much.
But now, maybe.
I urged her on with just a look.
Artisha hesitated, then sat on the roof.
She hugged her knees and murmured her answer.
"A tiny fraction of people have souls stronger than any other. Souls so vast they're impossible to measure."
It was astonishing.
Not the existence of strong souls—that wasn't new.
What shocked me was her revealing a secret she'd kept hidden for years, mere hours after meeting us.
Of course, I didn't show it and asked back,
"And you're one of them?"
"Yes. You all are too."
"...?"
"That's one reason I spoke to you. Your souls are incomparably stronger than others'. Like you've been chosen by the gods."
"......"
"Especially you, old man—you're the strongest."
We exchanged glances and tilted our heads.
Artisha chuckled and said,
"Doesn't ring a bell, huh? No one's ever understood what I meant by that."
"......"
"Except the Eternal Life Demon King."
"What? Why bring him up?"
"He said it: 'You've got real potential.'"
In that instant.
A chill raced from my soles to the crown of my head.
I remembered hearing something similar.
-You've got real potential too. Killing you outright would be a waste of talent. Corrupt you right, and you'd make fine material.
The Erosion Demon King's words, buried in my memories.
That curse-laden remark, tossed out like a drunkard's jest, had ruined my life.
Hearing "potential" again, I couldn't hide my shock.