Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: A Call to Arms
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The movements of the Faith Division were remarkably fluid.
Though not a word was exchanged between them, they each seemed to know where to go.
As they left behind afterimages like faint glows, capturing the children's attention, the children mercilessly swung their daggers at these new enemies.
Their movements were impossibly fast for their age.
But the members of the Faith Division, as if expecting it, lightly deflected the attacks.
*Thwack—!*
A series of strikes followed.
The blows, precisely aimed or brought down upon a single point, shone with a strange light.
As the children collapsed one by one, Hans gave a light gesture, ordering his members to bind them.
Lucas also joined them to help Adrian.
The situation was resolved all too quickly.
"..."
Loan was still lost in thought.
He felt a sense of déjà vu from the Faith Division's movements. Or perhaps it was like seeing his own reflection in a mirror.
But the brief spectacle couldn't overcome his anger.
*Those bastards who did this to the children...*
He thought he had seen hell long ago.
He believed he could control his heart well enough.
But his boiling heart and the violently swirling Convection refused to calm down.
Hans was watching him.
"It seems your heart has become a thousand swirling blades. As if you could tear the world to shreds at any moment."
"..."
"But those blades will tear you apart from the inside first. And through those cracks, evil will seep in. Facing evil is just that difficult. It is difficult."
Loan asked back in a low voice.
"Am I supposed to endure my anger?"
"Vague anger is not helpful. It only weakens your abilities."
"Then, Commander, are you unaffected by what you see?"
"No, no. I am angry. I simply try to set that anger aside for a moment and remain calm. It's a constant awareness that my current rage will not help what I'm trying to do."
Loan shook his head slightly.
"That's not as easy as it sounds."
"Of course, it's difficult. In fact, I think that might be the hardest part of living as a member of the Union."
"..."
"The Union must not become a tool for revenge. That will only make things harder for you, Loan."
"I didn't come to the Union just for revenge."
"Then focus on yourself all the more. Aiming for peace and the people's welfare is not some vague slogan."
His voice and tone were very warm. The advice seemed to come from the heart.
After Hans spoke, Loan fell silent for a moment.
The things he had to achieve to prevent his own death and the end of the world, and the things he had to do to achieve them.
Perhaps left behind for that very purpose—
The legacies of the departed, engraved upon his heart.
He recalled them one by one, calming his mind. The Convection surrounding him also began to flow gently, as it usually did.
Only then did Hans move to Loan's side and pat his shoulder.
Loan looked up and asked.
"Can you, by any chance, see my heart?"
"I can feel it."
"Is that how you knew the children's locations beyond the stone wall, and how the seniors could predict their movements?"
"Is that where this conversation is heading?"
Before he knew it, the fiery glint in Loan's eyes had softened into a mystical teal.
Hans, inwardly impressed, asked back.
"The priests' hands are quite something, aren't they?"
"Yes. It was as if they were reading the flow of mana."
"The flow of mana, you say. An interesting expression. But we don't know anything like that. It would be more accurate to say we feel evil. The darkness that controls those children."
With that, Hans approached the children lying neatly in a row.
Loan followed him forward.
The seniors from the Faith Division naturally stepped aside. Loan thanked them and then watched Hans from his side.
Hans gazed at one child's face for a moment before kneeling beside them.
"Fortunately, it's not possession. It seems to be the sorcery of a dark priest, a servant of a demon, and it wasn't done in a day or two. The dark energy is ruining the children."
The child was unconscious but sweating profusely and in agony.
Hans placed a hand on the child's forehead. Soon, the knuckle duster he wore began to emit a faint glow.
It was a tangible light.
"Oh..."
Lucas let out a sound without thinking and received a glare from Adrian.
Hans, still focused, slowly recited the ritual prayer.
The language itself wasn't identical to what Loan knew, but since its origin was the same as the ancient tongue, he could interpret some of it.
"...May the Great Mother's sorrow and longing reach you. May the wind of light drive out the darkness and pain hidden in the distorted shadows. O wounded, innocent children, the powerless archipelago of evil..."
His calm voice warmly enveloped the bleak space.
And a moment later.
The murky mana that filled the children's bodies began to seep out through their pores.
From one child, and then from the child next to them.
Gradually, the darkness flowing from all the children's bodies met the light blooming from Hans's palm.
The darkness seemed to envelop the light, but then it began to fade.
As the darkness receded, the light grew even larger.
Covering the child, passing over the one next to them, until it filled the entire hall.
*Ah, so that light is divine power.*
The antithesis of darkness.
That's what he felt.
The darkness was like fuel for the light.
When Hans finished his prayer, the bright light in the hall also gradually faded.
Inside the children's bodies, once filled with murky mana, a small halo of very bright, primal light was now budding.
Loan intently reverse-engineered the process in his mind.
*It's not that different from what I did.*
It was a process very similar to when Loan had channeled the Libertha gang's mana into the torch in the bridge district.
But that was only possible because he had the magical tool, the torch.
So, if he could add that divine power, which seemed even stronger than the torch, couldn't he achieve what he desired?
While he was contemplating, Hans finished giving orders for the children's care and the return.
The members of the Faith Division swiftly exited the building, carrying the children. Loan ran alongside Hans and asked.
"Can't you turn ghouls back into humans even with holy magic?"
It was an abrupt question, but Hans didn't seem annoyed; instead, he smiled.
"It seems you felt something watching the purification ritual. The answer is no, it's impossible. Purification is only effective on those who haven't been completely consumed, like these children."
"What do you mean by 'completely consumed'?"
"It refers to completely taking a demon into one's body, or when darkness has seeped into the very domain of one's species, like with ghouls."
"Why can't it be done for those two?"
Even while running up a hill and sprinting at full speed, Loan's breathing was remarkably steady.
Hans let out a small sigh at the sight. The boy was admirable in many ways.
"You're as good at asking questions as you are at running, Loan."
"I'm sorry. Ever since I was young, I couldn't stand not knowing things."
"It's fine. Your questions have a clear purpose."
"Thank you for seeing it that way."
"Holy magic is the Great Mother's divine power with magical influence added to it. Ah, can you understand if I put it that way?"
"Yes."
The concise reply was filled with confidence.
Smiling, Hans caught his breath for a moment and continued.
"The divine power bestowed by the Great Mother is threefold: the power to feel darkness, the power to hold light within one's body, and the power to create light."
"Ah... So that's why the seniors' fist strikes were imbued with light."
"Yes. It's a bit different from magical power. It's especially effective against the forces of darkness and their minions."
Loan wanted to witness them fight more closely, in a full-scale battle.
Hans continued.
"Creating light is a bit more difficult than holding it in one's body. In our Faith Division, only those at the Seeker rank or higher can do it. The purification I performed was to burn the darkness drawn to the light, with the light itself."
"So you hold the darkness in place with your magical power, Commander."
"That's right."
"So that's why it's magic. Then what about drawing out the murky energy from inside a body without any light?"
He had done it several times.
He asked just in case, but the answer he received was different from what he expected.
"Is that a hypothetical question? Of course, it's impossible. Not only can you not see inside a human body, but even if you could, pulling out an intangible energy makes no sense."
"It doesn't make sense?"
Loan tilted his head.
Hans answered firmly.
"It can't be done. That's why nothing can be done about darkness that has completely consumed someone."
"I think something could be done..."
"Pardon?"
Depending on how you heard it, the words could sound like a challenge, but Hans didn't pick up on that.
It was because Loan's expression was very serious, and he seemed to be deeply engrossed in some thought.
Instead, he grew curious about what the boy meant by that.
As he waited patiently, Loan looked at Hans with a bright smile, like a child who had just finished his homework.
"If we happen to encounter a ghoul, could you lend me your strength? There's something I want to test."
Hans nodded before he even realized it.
* * *
Upon returning to the Varcino urban district, the Faith Division immediately had the children treated at their own facility.
Loan and Lucas decided to take a short break in the meantime. They were led to a room by a member of the Faith Division.
Familiar faces were there.
"Welcome. I heard you've been very active."
"You've worked hard, both of you."
Oscar and Sienna greeted them with praise.
Lucas, with an expression like he was bursting to use the restroom, asked Sienna.
"You're here early?"
"We've taken care of all the Libertha members who were operating secretly in the branch. Aside from that, things went well thanks to you two."
With that, Sienna looked at Loan.
As Loan blinked rapidly, Oscar answered for him.
"You gave the torchbearers quite a gift. I was truly surprised to see the Libertha torches."
"Ah, yes. Their situation seemed pitiful, and Lucas happened to pick a fight with those guys at just the right time."
"Hmm... I doubt it was intentional."
Oscar looked at his son with disapproval.
Lucas didn't seem to care in the slightest, just grinning from ear to ear.
"But what did you mean when you said things went well thanks to us...?"
"The second torchbearer, the old woman, told me something. She said some impatient kids didn't stay to hear the whole story."
"Was that us?"
"Yes. As a sign of her gratitude, she said she would block access to the Greve bridge district for the time being. She said she was short on hands, so she asked us to do it."
Loan and Lucas looked at each other with surprised eyes.
Oscar smiled with satisfaction.
"That's a significant achievement. The Faith Division's reinforcements are ambushing and cutting off Libertha in the bridge district, so there should be a disruption in their troop support."
Loan and Lucas were overjoyed at the good news. Their shared hardships had borne great fruit.
As they were bursting into loud laughter.
*Knock, knock—*
Following the knock, the door opened, and Adrian of the Faith Division entered the room.
For a moment, Lucas was struck dumb, looking back and forth between Adrian and Sienna.
Adrian, in a concise posture, delivered the message.
"Libertha is gathering at the battleground. Commander Hans has sent word requesting support. The Le Tell gang and ghouls have also been spotted on site, and..."
Before Adrian could even finish, Loan shot up from his seat.