Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Hunter Who Grows Stronger Through Sacrifices
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Who protected and upheld the White Church?
If you asked anyone, they would answer without hesitation: the Holy Knights.
The Holy Knights defended the Church in the name of the Goddess and judged those who disturbed the continent.
In doing so, they risked their lives, staking everything on their missions.
Thus, it was fair to say they were the ones upholding and sustaining the Church.
Gerard, the Captain of the Holy Knights leading these very warriors, was currently receiving a report in his office.
"Contact with Berter has been lost?"
Liana, who was delivering the report, nodded at the Captain's question.
She was a Holy Knight and also served as the Captain's aide.
"Ha."
Berter Leobain, the Vice-Captain of the Holy Knights, had vanished, yet Gerard's expression seemed brighter for it.
"Finally, the trash has been dealt with."
Berter Leobain had never truly been a member of the Church from the start.
He was blood of the ducal house of the Karn Empire, and the Church had merely been an option for him.
For an outsider like that to hold the position of Vice-Captain in the Holy Knights, the very force sustaining the Church?
It hadn't made sense from the beginning.
However, even the Church needed to maintain some goodwill with an imperial ducal house, so they had bestowed the empty title of Vice-Captain upon him.
Of course, Berter had shown some competence, at least.
But Gerard couldn't stand the sight of him.
What was a Holy Knight, after all?
Even now, many endured grueling asceticism to temper their bodies and purify their minds for the Church and the Goddess.
Yet this so-called Vice-Captain barely trained and showed no true devotion to serving the Goddess.
His conduct was hardly exemplary.
Gerard despised everything about Berter.
That was why he was so pleased with the current situation.
"What of the casualties?"
"Excluding Vice-Captain Berter, contact has also been lost with a total of nineteen Holy Knights."
Gerard tapped his fingers on the desk at Liana's words.
Tap tap.
"Well, that's not a bad outcome."
Gerard's goal from the start had been a purge within the Holy Knights, including the Vice-Captain.
Even the purest water stagnates and rots if left standing.
In Gerard's eyes as Captain, the current Holy Knights were stagnating.
Some had lost the will to advance, while others had entered through impure means despite lacking skill.
Rot in a place that should be the most incorruptible could lead to fatal consequences.
That was why he had decided to use the Church's ongoing vampire extermination operation for this purpose.
The Vice-Captain, never truly one of their own, made for an ideal scapegoat.
It also provided the perfect chance to cull those Holy Knights with poor performance or who had reached the end of their growth.
Of course, he might have overlooked some diamonds in the rough, but he believed he had given them ample time.
And it had succeeded beyond expectations.
The thorn in his side, Berter, was gone, and he had simultaneously weeded out those who lacked ability but lusted after the Church's power.
"Still, Captain, this incident has grown quite large. The Church will hold an inquiry, and if they discover we tampered with the equipment—"
Gerard raised a hand, cutting Liana off.
The Church had announced that only the absolute elite Holy Knights had been dispatched for this operation.
Which was true, for half of them, at least.
Half of the dispatched Holy Knights had indeed been true elites.
But those assigned to Vice-Captain Berter? As mentioned, they were the expendables.
Berter, who had no real interest in the Church, naturally had no interest in the Holy Knights either.
Though he held the title of Vice-Captain, he had no means—or inclination—to investigate who had been assigned to him.
And as Liana had just noted, Gerard had taken extra steps to ensure certainty here.
The equipment itself.
All gear issued to Holy Knights was top-quality.
But equipment was still the product of human hands.
Among them, some pieces had flaws, not quite reaching the highest grade.
Gerard had pulled strings to acquire such flawed items.
All it took was handing them to Berter and his assigned Holy Knights—a simple matter.
How worthless they all were, failing to notice any issues with the gear assigned to them.
'Trash through and through.'
For Gerard, having excised the rot left him feeling refreshed.
"No issue there. Proceed to the next report."
Even if an inquiry was held, the responsibility would end with Berter.
He had been the highest authority on site, after all.
And Gerard stood to gain much from this.
First, the higher-ups would be shocked by the disappearance of the Holy Knights.
Disappearance in name only—it was effectively annihilation during the operation.
In response, they would heighten vigilance and bolster support for the Holy Knights.
Which meant greater authority for Gerard, Captain of the Holy Knights.
'My era is coming soon.'
The corner of Gerard's mouth curled upward.
Berter Leobain held a Cursed Sword in his hand.
The very Cursed Sword he had so desperately desired.
He had suffered for days to obtain it, but now it was finally in his grasp.
Though the Holy Knights he led had been wiped out, what did it matter?
Now, simply drawing the Cursed Sword would grant him immense power.
With that power, no being could bar his path.
Berter slowly drew the Cursed Sword, his eyes filled with greed.
Zzt.
Pain shot through the hand gripping the blade.
It hurt, but Berter continued drawing it.
And when the Cursed Sword was fully unsheathed...
"Kuh...!"
The pain from his hand spread up his arm and throughout his body.
A groan escaped him naturally.
'I never expected it to be easy...!'
Once this process ended, he would gain power on another level entirely.
The pain intensified.
And soon...
"Graaaah!"
It felt like his entire body was burning alive.
The agony was enough to make him wish for unconsciousness.
He had surpassed his limit for enduring pain.
Something was wrong.
Regret suddenly flooded his mind.
The world didn't call it a Cursed Sword for nothing.
"Please..."
Kill me.
The pain was so excruciating he could barely speak.
All Berter could do was shed tears.
"Oh? How are you feeling right now?"
Someone addressed Berter amid his torment.
Even in his agony, Berter twisted his body with effort to look beside him.
There stood a woman with silver hair.
She possessed an incredibly alluring beauty.
'M-Monster...'
The large horns atop her head marked her as no human.
"Humans really are so simple. A touch of charm, and you draw the Cursed Sword without a second thought."
The monster before him spoke.
But Berter couldn't focus on her words.
The intensity of his pain kept rising.
"...!"
Another surge of searing pain hit him.
"Gaaaaah!"
Perhaps the shock would stop his heart first.
Yes, that might be better.
He just wanted release from this endless torment.
So he pleaded.
His voice failed him, but his lips formed the shape: please kill me.
Fortunately, the woman before him reacted.
"Now, think of those who put you in this state."
Even through the horrific pain, Berter listened intently.
She was the only one—monster or not—who could save him. He desperately pondered.
Those responsible for this?
It was Obvious.
The family that cast him out.
If they had only let him compete fairly for the heir position, he wouldn't resent them.
Without being exiled, he never would have crossed paths with the Church, nor ended up like this.
"Looks like you've thought of them all?"
Berter nodded frantically.
He had, so please just kill him now, he begged.
"Good. Now, I'll save you."
Berter closed his eyes.
As long as it ended this pain, he didn't care how.
Celia gazed at the foolish human with closed eyes.
That was her assessment of him.
Then she summoned another being.
"Death Knight, if you please."
At Celia's command, the Death Knight slowly drew its sword.
Then it swung toward Berter's neck.
Amid the gruesome whoosh of wind and spraying blood, Berter Leobain's head hit the floor.
At the same moment, Celia swiftly sheathed the Cursed Sword he had held.
He had already expended most of its power with his body as the catalyst, making it possible.
"This belongs to Master."
Celia carried the Cursed Sword toward the altar.
Simultaneously, two Holy Knights guarding the dungeon entrance entered and followed her to the altar.
"Oh."
A monster acquired out of nowhere.
And it was a 4-star grade, no less.
Should I check out what it is?
I tapped my smartphone to switch to the monster screen.
There was one monster that looked anything but ordinary.
It stood out immediately because it had no head.
Just a neck, with nothing above it.
I found the head's whereabouts in an unexpected place.
It was holding its own head in its hand, the expression one of extreme agony.
"Isn't this a dullahan?"
Dullahans were the classic headless monsters.
So this new acquisition seemed no different.
"Well, a 4-star isn't bad regardless."
I hadn't even spent gems on a pull for it.
The smartphone alarm didn't end there.
"Cursed Sword?"
The name alone screamed danger.
But the real issue was elsewhere.
That causality term again.
And now even the Cursed Sword's stats were being restricted—how powerful must it be to warrant that? My curiosity piqued.
"What? Two whole weeks?"
Claiming the sacrificed Cursed Sword would take a whopping 14 days.
"Ha...!"
For someone like me eager for quick gains, this was disappointing.
"No other sacrifices? Two weeks is too long..."
As I pondered, thankfully, more alarms chimed in.
Two Holy Knights offered up consecutively.
And it would take 6 hours to absorb their abilities.
Having confirmed these alerts, I faced the same situation as before.
"......"
Sudden drowsiness washed over me.
"So that's why I get sleepy every time this happens..."
Looked like I needed to address this.
I'll mention it to Celia next time, I thought, surrendering to sleep.