Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: God's Poison Apostle
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While Havel was charging ahead recklessly.
Baria, the spear wielder, and Edler were secretly searching for the keys inside the citadel.
Since Möbius had drawn major attention outside.
They began retrieving the keys while circling the locations Möbius had pointed out.
This was one room in the citadel.
Miscellaneous items were piled high, making it look like a warehouse at first glance.
But it was actually a secret chamber where important objects were hidden away.
Baria was rummaging through such a room alongside the spear wielder.
And at last, they discovered a safe hidden behind a bookshelf.
'It suddenly got awfully quiet outside.'
In the midst of that, Baria sensed how unusually silent it had become outdoors.
Feeling something amiss, Baria approached the room's window.
And soon enough, Baria's body went rigid.
What met his eyes beyond the window was none other than Havel.
"Lord Havel?"
Baria panicked—he'd never imagined Havel would come in person.
And rightly so, since Penbola was the one originally supposed to show up.
"Lord Havel is here?"
The spear wielder mirrored his shock with a startled look.
Möbius had made a bet with Havel.
The purpose behind Möbius staking that bet.
'It's to get them to view Lord Havel's alliance with the Whisperer in a positive light.'
The spear wielder didn't know the full details, but the Whisperer clearly needed Havel's power.
In that case, he—as a subordinate—had to prioritize orders above all.
'Maybe I should grab all the keys and head out to win the bet for him.'
The bet's condition was to collect fifty keys first.
There were easily more than fifty keys in August territory alone.
If he snagged them all and linked up with Möbius, victory in the bet was assured.
"Don't even entertain it. That's veering off-point because you're blinded by the bet."
Right then, Baria issued a sharp warning.
He'd seen right through the spear wielder's scheming.
"Lord Havel repays in measure whatever's done at his side. Circling around needlessly for the bet will only piss him off."
Baria's follow-up advice jolted the spear wielder wide awake.
Just as he'd said.
This whole operation was ultimately about earning Havel's goodwill.
They couldn't afford to stoke his irritation instead over some bet.
"Thank you. That was shortsighted of me."
With that, the spear wielder promptly owned up to his error.
Baria could only offer a wry smile at the gratitude.
That man Havel had so many folks racking their brains on his account.
Yet Havel himself seemed fixated solely on Banpellyon, nothing else.
'God forbid any of the Five Great Families ever move against Banpellyon.'
If it came to that, one of the Five Great Families would vanish from the world for good.
"Let's link up with Lord Havel."
So he resolved to do everything in his power to prevent it.
Firmly affirming to himself that he represented Graiza right now.
Boom!
It happened in that instant.
The spear wielder suddenly went flying, slamming into the wall.
"Gahk!"
As Baria whipped his head around at the abrupt turn of events.
He could scarcely believe his eyes.
There stood a lone figure, hand raised.
The perpetual grin and steadfast faith in the divine.
The devout priest Edler.
He'd sent the spear wielder soaring with a single blow.
"Hmm, not unfolding nearly as amusingly as I'd hoped."
"Edler?"
Baria stared at him in bewilderment.
An inexplicable revulsion began surging through Baria's body.
Edler, unperturbed, scooped up the key from the floor.
"Is God's trial falling short of expectations? No fun at all. This isn't what I had in mind."
Edler flashed his usual kindly smile.
Sensing the stark disconnect, Baria had already drawn his dagger.
In that instant, the dagger flicked from Baria's hand toward Edler.
The zigzag path carried it straight for Edler's throat.
Halt—.
The incoming dagger froze right before Edler's neck.
As if clutched by an invisible hand, it quivered faintly.
"Planning to flee?"
The moment Edler lifted a hand to seize Baria.
A massive spear hurtled toward him, splintering the room's furnishings.
None other than the spear wielder's own weapon.
The sturdy fellow had countered on reflex.
"Baria!"
Catching the spear wielder's shout, Baria grasped the intent.
Get outside now and fetch Havel.
The brief clash had revealed Edler's frightening prowess to both Baria and the spear wielder.
Time spent at Havel's side had honed their instincts for true powerhouses.
Thus, Baria hurled himself straight at the window.
The instant he burst through the shattering glass.
Crash!
Baria was tumbling in a corner of the room.
The shocked Baria sprang up at once.
There loomed the shattered window—empty before him.
'I just leaped out the window a moment ago?'
Why was he rolling around inside again?
A chill raced down his spine.
Something was deeply wrong.
The moment Baria lunged for the window once more.
Crash!
And he encountered the exact same predicament.
He'd cleared the window, only to sprawl in the same room again.
"Ugh!"
Baria hurled his dagger at the window.
But no sooner had it crossed than it boomeranged back.
The space felt utterly cleaved into an isolated realm.
Kwaaaaang!
A gale-force blast erupted behind him.
Books shredded by the wind whipped through the room.
Through the billowing smoke, the spear wielder lay sprawled.
His spear, cloven in two, was useless now.
Baria's gaze slowly shifted back to Edler.
Edler grinned, keys jingling in his grip.
"Lord Baria, what's the rush?"
"......Edler, what are you?"
The Graiza house excelled in intelligence above most.
Naturally, they held dossiers on the entire Golden Generation.
Edler was unequivocally a mundane, pious priest.
That was their intel—yet now he defied all categorization.
Edler fell briefly silent at Baria's question, then chuckled.
"Just your faithful devotee."
No hint of divulging anything.
"What do you gain from this farce? You've seen Lord Havel up close yourself."
Havel was practically next door.
Pulling this stunt meant he'd never walk away unscathed.
Edler merely barked a carefree laugh at the query.
"I do it 'cause I want to test him."
Test.
Baria's eyes narrowed at the word.
To speak of testing Havel.
That confident in his own strength?
Yet doubts lingered apart from that.
'Even Lord Havel never suspected Edler.'
Havel perceived the world on another plane entirely.
If he'd overlooked Edler too.
Then perhaps Edler was a force of similar magnitude.
Baria clenched his dagger tight.
'He spared the spear wielder's life.'
No killing intent, then?
Baria methodically gauged the situation.
What could he accomplish here?
'Extract information.'
Feign combat to stall.
Praying Havel noticed this place.
"You always think things through, Lord Baria."
But Edler knew Baria from their time together.
"Hope it pays off as you hope."
Baria bit his lip at the man's nonchalance.
His luck was truly abysmal.
'Keep at it while I can.'
The instant Baria moved to loose another dagger.
Crunch!
A warping sound echoed from beyond the severed space.
Edler whipped his head that way too.
This realm was Edler's arbitrary isolation.
Someone was forcing entry now.
"......This soon?"
Even Edler betrayed surprise.
Crunch! Shatter!
The clamor rang out as the space splintered.
"I caught a whiff of calamity stench, and here you were."
The ruptured space cascaded like gleaming glass shards.
There stood a figure, sword draped in pristine dawn glow.
Silver hair, nearly white, drifting in the breeze—Havel himself.
"Lurking like a rat."
While menacing the adjutant outside, Havel's nose had twitched.
A telltale sign of nearby calamity.
Sensing it, he'd vaulted over—and there it was.
A warped pocket of space right ahead.
So he'd smashed straight through on sight.
Even the constant smiler Edler flickered with startlement this time.
"Figured it'd last at least ten minutes. How?"
Edler's bespoke severance realm, calamity layers upon layers distorting space.
Trapped? No escape eternally.
Exit? Equally impossible.
Yet Havel had pierced it in seconds flat.
His retort was the real kicker.
"Smashed my way in."
It left even Edler momentarily stunned.
His prized space breached by raw power?
Havel flicked a glance at dagger-wielding Baria and the downed spear wielder.
Then fixed on Edler and queried.
"So, Edler."
Havel cracked his neck loose.
"What's your deal with God's Poison."
The hitherto unflappable Edler stiffened at last.
Thick killing intent radiated from Havel's gaze.
Letters had arrayed themselves before him anew.
Others couldn't tell, but Havel knew.
The Demonic Palace embedded in his body flagged every calamity-related thing.
That bastard Edler was an apostle dispatched by another entity—God's Poison.
'First the Whisperer, now a fresh one.'
Havel clocked it staring at Edler.
Post-Whisperer, other calamity overlords were taking notice.
And God's Poison dispatching an apostle meant it couldn't peek at him directly.
Likely probing via Edler.
'The Demonic Palace keeps stonewalling their sight.'
That realization made Havel lower his sword.
Was this the rival calamity lord the Whisperer mentioned?
Or was God's Poison bulking up against foes, like the Whisperer?
One certainty: Havel's mood soured hard.
No backroom schemer had ever proven decent.
At minimum, the text's blatant avarice grated.
"Whatever."
Dawn light blazed fiercely from Havel's blade.
A warped grin twisted across Edler's face in tandem.
"Let's chat after you take a beating."
Time to kneel God's Poison's apostle.