The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 121



Only Krnovel

Episode 121 Star that pierces the truth (6)

The Holy Knight sat cross-legged on the ground. His helmet and spear handle were thrown away. Kadim also lost his excitement now. The strain on the body was too great to continue maintaining it.

However, he still did not let down his guard and thrust the ax blade into the enemy’s neck.

A paladin who calmly opens his mouth despite the eerie chill.

“Let me start with my self-introduction. I am Hendark El Bernieta Elgarus, Arch Paladin of the Elgar Order, Third Seat of the Decagram, and the ‘Star that Pierces Truth.’ And you are… … the mercenary who killed many demons on the Golden Road, the ‘Demon Slayer,’ right?”

“… … .”

“Hmm, I guess that’s right. As I said before, I did not come to fight you. I came here to talk. So there is no need to keep holding that axe for no reason.”

“… … “I think it would be better to trust the words of a street vendor than to trust the words of Elgar’s dog.”

“Hmm, then I swear on Elgar’s name that I won’t lie when I talk to you.”

“… … .”

Kadim didn’t move.

300 years ago, if a member of the Elgar sect had said something like that during the time when justice was still in place, I would have probably believed it. But now, I couldn’t believe it at all. I had already been severely beaten several times by the stubborn and self-righteous knights of the present era…

Archpaladin and Hendark also smiled bitterly as if they understood.

“I can see what you’re thinking. Yes, the weight of the name has been greatly reduced by the swindlers who make fun of the name of God. But you can trust what I say. Because I… … absolutely cannot lie.”

“… … .”

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you.”

I stared at it intently, wondering if the coral would grow.

It wasn’t like that. Hendar took off his gauntlets and revealed the backs of his hands. A clear 10-pointed star pattern was drawn on it as well.

He raised the back of his hand to the sky and spoke solemnly.

“… … I am Atalain.”

Then, from that distant sun, a sharp ray of light poured down and struck the back of my hand.

―――――― Ugh!

The pungent smell of burnt flesh, dark gray smoke rising from the back of his hand. Hendark frowns and shakes his hand.

Kadim opened his eyes wide.

He had no time to think about the outrageous content of the lie. He had witnessed a phenomenon very similar to this before.

When the truth that should not be revealed to the world was revealed, when Illenia leaked the fact that ‘Elga’ was fake.

“What happened? Just now… … Wasn’t it Elgar’s ‘celestial punishment’?”

“Hmm… … ? Do you know about ‘Heavenly Punishment’? That’s surprising. Even within the religious community, not many people know this information… … . Then, do you also know about the saying, ‘The sun is the pupil of Elgar’s eye that looks down on the world’?”

Kadim silently nodded in agreement. Hendark stuck out his tongue and put his gauntlets back on. Then, he muttered, “This will be quicker,” and continued his explanation.

“What I just showed you is the ‘stigmata.’ It is a sacred mark that only the 10 specially selected Archpaladins and Decagrams of the church can receive. If you carve this into your body, you will gain a transcendent ability. However, in return, great limitations also arise. And if you break that restriction, the Lord of Eternal Light will personally punish you as before.”

It wasn’t such an unfamiliar concept. It would be similar to the ‘unique trait’ of a main character or the ‘power’ of a high-ranking demon.

However, it was surprising that the Arch Paladins had gained new abilities. They were already difficult to deal with even without those things… … .

“The stigmata I have acquired are the ‘Stars that Pierce Truth.’ They are the stigmata that see through all truth and lies, false pretenses and unclean signs. No matter how clever the tricks and lies, they can never deceive me.”

“… … .”

“But in order to see all the light of heaven and earth, I also have to reveal myself clearly to heaven and earth. The restriction I was given was that I could never lie. “If you tell a small, harmless lie, it will end in the same way, but if you tell a big lie, you will definitely be punished and burn to ashes.”

Hendark kept his hand on his gauntlet, as if his wound was stinging. If he was able to survive being hit in the forehead with an axe, then it was definitely a fatal limitation.

Anyway, seeing as no punishment has been inflicted so far, it would not be a lie to say that he came to talk to me.

Of course, that didn’t stop my suspicions. On the contrary, the fact that he was leaking confidential information and revealing vulnerabilities from the very first time I met him started to seem even more suspicious. It’s possible that the stigmata themselves are a trick of the eye…

Kadim pushed the axe in closer, allowing the blade to cut into his flesh.

“That might be a reason to trust what you say.”

“… … .”

“But I don’t think that’s a reason not to kill you. Didn’t you receive orders to kill me too? Rather than leaving you alive for no reason, it seems better to nip the bud of future trouble right away.”

“… … I won’t deny it. Surely I came with orders to punish you. But continuing to fight against me would not be a wise choice.”

Kadim glared at the knight who was making the assertion, his mouth tearing fiercely.

“Are you sure you don’t have enough strength and think you can’t kill me?”

“… … .”

Hendark lowered his eyelids and calmly denied it.

“No. Honestly, I’m not sure I’ll be able to defeat you safely. I meant the repercussions around here.”

“… … .”

“If you and I fight against each other with all our might, a 10 kilometer radius will be devastated. Then, nearby villages will be destroyed, and countless innocent lives will fall into bloody dew. likewise… … Even the man who appears to be your colleague will not be safe.”

The moment those words came out, Kadim’s pupils lit up.

That was something that should not be touched. I pressed down on the ax blade with all my might, with the intention of breaking my neck muscles at any moment. Hendar pressed his neck and hurriedly added his words.

“Wow, the threat… … no… … . Maybe you… … A person around the Paladin… … Great harm… … Looks like you have experience… … . I understand. but… … We haven’t had similar experiences here either… … .”

“… … .”

“The Arch Paladin, Helia Munel, whom you… … killed a few months ago… … was… … my… … disciple whom I raised since she was a baby… … .”

Slowly, the axe blade that had been pressing down on my throat lost its strength.

The emotions in his eyes died down like a bonfire hit by rain. Instead, an inorganic calm took its place. Kadim looked down at the paladin coldly and asked.

“If you’re talking about Helia Munel, are you referring to the Arch Paladin who wielded the flaming sword?”

“… … That’s right.”

“I’m sorry. There was nothing I could do because I would have died if I didn’t kill that guy. But why don’t you try to get revenge on me?”

“… … After receiving the stigmata, my perspective on the world changed a lot. Rather than being swayed by other people’s words or my inner feelings, I began to trust the truths I had seen and experienced myself. Even without that, Helia, I was already seeing signs of things going wrong with that child… … Have you ever unjustly killed an innocent knight?”

“no.”

“Then, are you perhaps an evil spirit who has conspired with the followers of a forgotten god and accepted the power of the devil?”

“… … “I’m not a demon.”

“That’s it. It’s all true. “I will not be against you.”

The proof was surprisingly simple.

I could feel a sense of emptiness as images of enemies covering their ears and only saying what they wanted to say came to mind one after another. Kadim sat down on the floor with a helpless expression on his face. Roughly wiping his face, he pondered for a moment and eventually decided not to immediately kill this Archpaladin who seemed to have gone out of his way.

Kadim lets out a dry sigh and opens his mouth.

“Tell me.”

“… … “Why do you want to talk to me like this?”

“okay. “I don’t even take revenge on the enemy who killed my disciple. I just listen to what he has to say.”

A bitter smile flashed across the paladin’s lips for a brief moment. However, she soon erased her expression like a mirage and turned to a serious look in her eyes.

“You must know this. There are countless evils in the current Elgar Church. One of them is the short-sighted attitude of being only concerned with destroying the pagans, infidels, and devils right before their eyes.”

“… … .”

“That coercive stance may have been a great help in increasing the power of the church, but it did nothing to solve the royalties problem. Rather, the number of enemies of the church is increasing day by day, and antipathy is growing more and more. In order for the church to truly become a force worthy of Elga’s will, it should adopt mercy and order as its banner instead of violence and oppression, and make efforts to find and eradicate the fundamental cause of the devil’s spread… … .”

“… … The introduction is too long. Skip it and just get to the point.”

Hendark willingly did so.

“I believe that the culprit that caused the spread of demons on the continent is the ‘Magic Tower’.”

“… … .”

silence.

Kadim’s fierce eyes wavered for an instant. When I asked to skip it, it suddenly seemed like I skipped too much content. Hendark waited for Kadim to regain his concentration and then calmly explained.

“To be exact, I’m guessing that even if it’s not the direct culprit, it’s at least largely related.”

“… … “What is the basis?”

“The first official record of the demonic outbreak was recorded in the 28th year of the imperial calendar, exactly 220 years ago. It was a time when the Magic Tower was firmly established and its power was growing in earnest. And this period, coincidentally, coincides almost exactly with the time when a major event occurred.”

“What kind of thing?”

“I’m talking about the incident where ‘Ancient Mana’ disappeared from the entire continent.”

Kadim’s eyebrows furrowed.

Ancient mana, a supernatural energy that was the source of magic until 300 years ago.

I remembered a conversation I had with a wizard who was Remtana’s assistant but died with the body of an ogre. They said that ‘ancient mana’ has been depleted and now you have to use ‘mana’ to use magic, I guess.

That’s why even Kadim, who had extremely low mana sensitivity, no, ancient mana sensitivity, could sense the magic of the time. Because there was a faint magic mixed in with the ‘mana’. However, I couldn’t help but wonder. How could all the ancient mana that was left over, even when Melissa used great magic, disappear in an instant?

It might have been a chance to resolve the mystery he had not figured out at the time. Kadim asked.

“Why was ancient mana depleted?”

The answer I got back was disappointing.

“I don’t know that either. and… … “One of the things I would like to ask you to do is to investigate him.”

“under.”

Kadim lets out a cold laugh. I heard that only the magic tower lord and the magicians of the Elder Council know information about him. Hendark opened his dry lips again.

“Think about it. The rampage of demons and the depletion of ancient mana. Isn’t it too obvious that these two major events happened one after another to be a coincidence? Moreover, even when the Magic Tower faced the crisis of losing the energy they used, rather than collapsing, they found a substitute, which they now call ‘mana’, as if they had expected it.”

“… … .”

“If I were to carefully guess, I think the Magic Tower may have conducted a magic experiment on a global scale and failed. As a side effect, ancient mana was depleted and demons were rampant, and the Magic Tower realized its preliminary plan and created mana… … .”

“Then shouldn’t you go to the Magic Tower yourself and investigate the truth? “If you feel uncomfortable going out on your own, you can also use the Elgar Church on your back.”

Hendark swung slowly.

He said that he wanted to do it so badly, but it was impossible. He said that since it was an overly sensitive guess, he couldn’t go forward based on his own experience. He explained that if ‘Decagram’ approached the magic tower, a war would definitely break out. In fact, he had taken a huge risk just by coming here.

Although Kadim’s reaction was still lukewarm, Hendark was undeterred and continued to speak passionately.

“The Archbishop of the Church was once again short-sighted and ordered me to kill just one demon, you. Since your student lost his life to you, you must have thought that I, who had a grudge, was the right person for you.”

“… … .”

“But I broadened my horizons and saw this as a greater opportunity, an opportunity to uncover the cause of the demonic outbreak. Then it seemed that you were not an enemy but the right person to handle this important task. You have no particular affiliation, and even if you fall into danger, you have the strength to escape from the wizards’ den… … .”

“… … .”

“You have come here because you have business at the Magic Tower, right? Please, investigate the demonic rampage and the ancient mana there. If you uncover the truth, you may be able to find a way to end this terrible rampage. Then, all the people of the continent will praise your name for a long time, and the Elgar Church will surely not be able to treat you lightly.”

The paladin’s perspective on the greater good without being caught up in personal feelings was certainly something that could be said to be noble.

however… … In the end, this side had to play an important role, and saving the continent did not necessarily mean avoiding the cult’s pursuit and receiving endless praise.

Kadim is lost in thought with a faint expression on his face.

“… … .”

After struggling like a swamp, I decided to accept the request.

Anyway, he was concerned about the reason why ancient mana disappeared. The reason why demons are rampant is also the same. Above all, the paladin only spoke of his thoughts, but Kadim had more practical reasons.

Hydra’s words that the one who revived the demons and caused them to spread is one of their colleagues.

And the fact that the Magic Tower collects the corpses of demons and uses magic as magic.

Maybe… … Melissa was involved in all this.

Additionally, there was information that could be requested from the paladin in return for accepting the mission.

“good night. “Accept that offer.”

“Really? Thank you! I will do anything I can in return, so speak frankly.”

“… … My conditions are simple. “I’m going to ask you a question, so tell me everything you know about him without lying.”

Hendark revealed his stigmata and nodded solemnly. Kadim took a deep, slow breath and parted his lips.

“Gordon Elgaroch, a priest who served in the Elgar Church about 300 years ago. He defeated the Archdemon together with a warrior who received revelation from God, but for some reason his name was completely forgotten by the world. “Do you know anything about him?”

An important question that may determine your destination after the Tower of Eden.

However, I didn’t ask with high expectations. Even Arch Paladin, who was a disciple of Iza, didn’t know anything. If the sect had decided to erase the records, there might not have been a single person left in the world who knew of Gordon’s existence.

But Hendark muttered the name seriously, and then at one point opened his ringed eyes and shuddered.

Then he cautiously asked:

“… … When you say Gordon, are you referring to ‘Gordon who turned his back on the light’?”

Instead of answering, his gaze was distorted with suspicion.