Chapter 12
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Apostle, Yutenia Hi-Lost (2)
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The First Apostle, Yutenia Hi-Lost.
That was the new name given to her.
"So that was it. I am for you"
Accepting the new destiny given to her, Yutenia closed her eyes and smiled.
An immense amount of magical power from a transcendent being was flowing into Yutenia.
It was an amount incomparable to the speck of magic an individual could possess.
An overwhelming power that transcended perception.
Facing it, Yutenia felt a sense of awe.
Simply receiving the power filled her with a tremendous sense of omnipotence.
If so, just how great was the being who bestowed this power upon her?
"With a power like this, I can surely be of help to you."
Even so, she hoped to be of use to the great one's plan.
For it was the only guidepost she had left.
Thud.
A book fell before Yutenia, who was indulging in the faith held within her heart.
Hearing the sound right in front of her, Yutenia looked down at her feet.
"A book?"
Yutenia picked up the black-covered book lying before her.
The book in Yutenia's hand was bound by a thin chain with ornate decorations.
Contrary to its hefty-looking thickness, the book was quite light.
Click.
Unfastening the chain, Yutenia turned the cover.
On the first page revealed beneath the cover, unfamiliar characters she had never seen before were written.
She couldn't read them, but she could understand them.
The book Yutenia held seemed to embody a contradiction.
"Grimoire. Is this the book's name?"
Divine Artifact, Grimoire.
It was a book that contained a fragment of the great one she served.
The moment Yutenia realized the book's true name, she instinctively knew it was an item made for her.
The size. The feel. The texture against her hand.
All of it was meant for Yutenia.
Even the power held within it.
"Shadow Touch. So it has such an ability."
A true owner would realize its value just by touching it.
It was the same for Yutenia, who held the Grimoire.
Yutenia stroked the Grimoire in her hands, drawing out the power slumbering within.
Shadow Touch.
The Grimoire's ability to convert poured magic into physical force activated.
Countless hands stretched out from her shadow and began to tear through her surroundings.
""
Crack.
A nearby tree was instantly snapped in half.
CRASH!
The ground where the Shadow Touch had passed was gouged out.
Each time Yutenia waved her hand through the air, the touch extending from beneath her shadow exerted physical force.
The landscape changed according to Yutenia's command.
A mighty authority, merely borrowed, made this possible for her.
Lost in the overwhelming power, Yutenia's eyes sparkled.
"Ah, truly"
What a truly beautiful grace.
As Yutenia harbored such thoughts, the voice once again reached her ears.
A majestic voice, echoing heavily in her ears.
It was the same voice that had just called her to be an Apostle.
- "Apostle. Make an offering."
"An offering?"
Hearing the voice call her, Yutenia looked up at the sky again.
An offering. The only thing she had now was her own body, sustained by baguettes.
For Yutenia, cooped up in the mountains, there was nothing of value to present as an offering.
As the bewildered Yutenia's gaze remained fixed on the sky, a different message flowed into her ears.
- "I shall take back the magic I previously bestowed."
"Ah you want the magic book?"
- "Make the offering. Present to me a token of your oath."
Nod.
Agreeing with a nod, Yutenia placed the Grimoire on the ground.
Then she reached for the magic book she had placed nearby.
The magic book in which the Barrier spell was written.
It was the item she had received from the great being not long ago.
"You've been a great help."
Yutenia's hand swept across the cover of the magic book.
This item was, after all, something bestowed upon her by her master.
Being a borrowed item, it was something she would have to return to its owner someday.
As Yutenia prepared to return the gifted magic book, her gaze turned to the Grimoire.
Just as she was about to return it, another obstacle arose.
"But how do I make this offering?"
Yutenia knew what an offering was, in a general sense.
However, she did not know the specific ritual for an offering to her master.
What helped with Yutenia's curiosity was the Grimoire that had been bestowed upon her.
A hand rose from Yutenia's shadow, grasped the Grimoire, and soon flipped through its pages, opening it to a specific one.
What was spread before her eyes was information on the offering ritual.
The necessary preparations and a suitable location.
And in addition, the incantation required for the ritual.
Yutenia's eyes scanned the contents of the Grimoire spread before her.
"This is a truly helpful item."
If she needs power, it lends her great power.
If she needs knowledge, it lends her that knowledge.
It was truly an item befitting an Apostle who follows a great being.
Having scanned the Grimoire's contents, Yutenia picked up the magic book and rose to her feet.
Then, she commanded the shadow hands to begin drawing a pattern on the ground.
"O, life. Construct the stairway."
The ground was gouged out as all sorts of geometric patterns began to be drawn on the floor.
A circle. A triangle. A circle. A square.
Around the sequentially drawn shapes, unreadable characters were written.
Their content was endless praise for her great master.
It was the sole link granted to those who aspired to a heaven beyond their reach.
"One path leads to glory."
Yutenia placed the magic book in the center of the pattern drawn on the ground.
Placed in the spot for the offering, the magic book began to glow.
Having placed the book, Yutenia's lips continued to murmur the incantation.
The altar, the offering, and the incantation. Only when these three became one would the ritual of offering be complete.
"One path leads to death."
Step. Step.
Having placed the offering, Yutenia took a step back.
The Grimoire floating around her also retreated.
A powerful magical energy swirled around the grand altar where Yutenia and the Grimoire stood.
"Revere. Worship. Offer."
Sing the hymn of life.
When Yutenia's ceaseless incantation came to an end,
the light that had been surging from the center of the altar subsided.
The magic book she had placed in the center of the altar had also completely vanished.
Yutenia's eyes scanned the altar where the magic book had disappeared.
The magic book that had occupied the spot was gone without a trace, as if truly offered to a god.
"So this is an offering."
With her own hands, she had given something to the great being.
Even though it hadn't originally been hers, it was an undeniably strange feeling.
Gazing at the altar after the offering was complete, Yutenia's cheeks flushed.
She felt a little giddy now that the offering was done.
Feeling pleased, Yutenia smiled and hugged the Grimoire to her chest.
"This feels nice."
The Holy Land, Crossbridge.
This place, overflowing with all manner of pilgrims every day, was filled with clerics who served the six temples.
The clerics of Crossbridge acknowledged the existence of other gods, but they did not condone their worship.
To them, serving any god other than the six was heresy.
Any outside the great six gods were either evil gods or lesser deities.
That was the only path and truth permitted to the clerics of Crossbridge.
And moving to investigate those who rejected this simple truth were the elite forces of the Holy Land, known as Inquisitors.
"A letter from Hurs."
Evan Alemier.
An Inquisitor, he muttered as he looked at the letter addressed to him.
The sender of the letter was Hurs Alemier of the Empire.
He was Evan's brother and also a 2nd-grade investigator for Cloud.
Having received Hurs's letter, Evan broke the seal and began to examine its contents.
"Hmm"
The contents Evan received from his brother were no simple pleasantries.
The disappearance of an investigator who was chasing an evil god.
The sudden vanishing of the townspeople.
As Evan's gaze moved down the letter, his expression gradually hardened.
When his gaze, which had been moving downward, reached the last line of the letter,
Evan had no choice but to put down the letter and let out a sigh.
"An evil god. He's entertaining a dangerous thought."
Evil gods.
Among the gods other than the six, this was a term for those who tempted people and created chaos.
The acts committed by evil gods were usually harmful to people.
Indiscriminate destruction. Human sacrifice. Curses that use people as offerings.
All of them were things that did not align with order and justice.
Nevertheless, they could not be easily stopped because they were, by their very nature, beings that surpassed humans.
"No Hero has appeared yet."
Where there is darkness, there is light.
The existence of an evil god threatening the peace of the continent would inevitably bring about the appearance of a Hero.
However, no oracle regarding the appearance of a Hero had yet been delivered from any temple.
This meant either the evil god's existence was a lie, or it was not at a level that could endanger the continent.
Any ordinary Inquisitor would have scoffed and dismissed the matter.
Evan, too, would have ignored the letter's contents if the sender hadn't been Hurs.
'Still, it would be best to check it out. There's a chance it could be a heretic, after all.'
But he couldn't just casually ignore a letter sent by his brother.
The fact that Hurs had requested his help like this meant that something had happened for which he needed assistance.
After some deliberation, Evan opened a drawer and took out a document.
Then he began to diligently fill out the paperwork for his departure.
It was preparation to visit his younger brother in the Empire.