Chapter 1138
"Sigh..."
A heavy exhale escaped Holy King Hoppen as he set a pair of tea bowls upon the pristine, ivory surface of the table.
"Was such an entrance truly necessary?"
A shadow of a scowl crossed his face while he slid a cup of rising steam toward Saintess Olga, who was reclined across from him.
"I beg of you, permit me to retain at least a shred of majesty befitting the Holy King!"
Hoppen shut his eyes tightly, his voice carrying a note of desperate pleading.
"The majesty of a sovereign is not dictated by trifles like those."
Olga gave a slow shake of her head, taking a measured pull of the brew Hoppen had steeped.
"Regardless of my conduct, your worth is measured by the essence of your character."
Her gaze sharpened, scrutinizing Hoppen’s very soul.
"In that regard, you are performing adequately. Your persistent clumsiness hasn't become public knowledge yet. It suggests your underlings are remarkably good at guarding your secrets."
Olga let out a sharp chuckle, remarking that it was Hoppen’s soft-hearted nature, rather than his grandiosity, that truly stirred the hearts of the people.
"I had hoped to become a bit more formidable by now..."
Hoppen’s nose crinkled as he cradled the radiating warmth of the cup in both palms.
"Leave the business of being formidable to others. To individuals like Raon."
Olga dismissed the thought with a flick of her wrist, asserting that descriptors like "formidable" or "extraordinary" were the sole domain of someone like Raon.
"If the benchmark is Lord Raon, then every one of us is a failure!"
Hoppen snapped his head to the side, imploring her to cease the comparisons between him and that man.
"Ah, if only he were to arrive, our burdens would be lightened considerably..."
He clicked his tongue, a brief flash of longing crossing his features.
"Cease that foolish talk."
Olga’s hand balled into a fist and struck the table with a dull thud. The tea within the vessels crested like miniature tides, splashing over the rims.
“He has already extended his hand to us more times than I can count! Simply discharging the debt we owe him would break our backs.”
She shook her head firmly, stating that the Suphren Holy Kingdom would have vanished into history long ago if not for Raon.
"I am well aware, yet we did provide significant reinforcements to Zieghart."
Hoppen lifted a solitary finger toward Olga in defense.
"You in particular, Saintess, have been present in every conflict. You marched during the struggle against the Black Tower, and you lent your strength in the crusade against the White Blood Religion. That is to say nothing of the countless skirmishes..."
"I remember. No, despite all that, Raon would surely fly to Suphren the moment we called. However..."
Olga’s brow drew together in a deep, troubled V as she looked at Hoppen.
"Our borders have been breached, our citizens abducted, and you wonder why we haven't summoned Raon? This struggle is unfolding on our own soil! If blood must be spilled, it should be ours, and if a life must be taken, we must be the ones to take it!"
She shook her head, adamant that despite their bonds of alliance, Suphren had to settle this grievance by its own hand.
"Your logic is sound, but just in case things go poorly..."
"Quiet."
Snap! Olga’s finger collided sharply with Hoppen’s brow.
"Ow..."
Hoppen winced, his hand rushing to cover the spot where she had flicked him.
"My skull is throbbing. I truly cannot fathom where that sorceress emerged from so suddenly."
He let out a weary breath, cursing the misfortune that had found them.
"The world is in turmoil, so the horrors lurking in the shadows are finally showing their faces."
Olga advised him to stop blaming fate and instead focus on the coming slaughter as she laid a small blade, shimmering with a faint radiance, upon the table.
"Is this the tool designed to cleanse the spirit with sacred energy?"
Hoppen peered closely at the slender, elongated dirk.
"Precisely. Once we saturate this blade with Holy Power, it will shatter the sorceress’s mental shackles. We will finally be able to eradicate that wretched creature without a second thought."
Olga squeezed her hand into a tight knot, declaring that her preparations for this moment were absolute.
"I understand."
Hoppen let the weapon rest, drawing strength from Olga’s unwavering poise.
"We launch the assault on the sorceress’s lair at first light tomorrow."
He gave a firm nod, confirming that the elite Holy Knights and high-ranking Priests would be fully mobilized.
"That is the spirit."
Olga tilted her chin upward, securing the dagger back onto her belt. Her expression clouded as she peered through the glass toward the northern sector of Suphren. Whoosh.
In the northern heart of the Suphren Holy Kingdom, a colossal, glowing ring of sacred energy had manifested. Within its boundaries, an eerie pink mist with unnatural currents was beginning to swell.
"What draws your eye?"
Hoppen followed her line of sight, staring at the barricade forged from divine power.
"Every time I look upon that sorceress’s essence..."
Olga’s face twisted in a grimace as she watched the rose-colored vapor churning inside the holy seal.
"It feels as though I have encountered it in a past life."
Her gaze softened into confusion, noting how strangely intimate the energy felt.
"Wait—I have the exact same feeling!"
Hoppen’s hand shot up.
"I kept it to myself for fear you’d think I’d lost my mind, but I also feel like I’ve crossed paths with that aura before!"
He nodded with intensity, realizing he and Olga were of the same mind.
"S-should we perhaps attempt a dialogue one last time?"
Hoppen clicked his tongue, proposing a final effort at diplomacy with the sorceress.
"We have attempted speech more times than I care to count!"
Olga dismissed the idea with a sharp shake of her head.
"Not a single word reached her, and she responded only by enslaving our people and dragging them into the dark!"
Ever since the sorceress had taken up residence, they had tried to reason with her multiple times a day. However, the figure, hidden beneath a deep cowl, would only drone on about how the scent of 'him' lingering there belonged to her and that they must flee. She wasn't merely eccentric; she appeared utterly fractured, making any real exchange impossible.
"One final try..."
"Discard the thought. It is a futile endeavor. Furthermore, that essence is gaining strength."
Olga refused, insisting they must strike before the sorceress grew powerful enough to devour all of Suphren.
"Tomorrow."
She gripped the hilt of the sanctified dagger, whispering the word like a vow.
"We shall sever the sorceress’s head and bring this to a close."
"Wait...?"
Dorian’s eyes stretched wide as the gates of the Suphren Holy Kingdom came into view.
"The portals are barred?"
He tilted his head, seeing that even the smaller pedestrian side-door was bolted shut.
"They are in the midst of a holy crusade, so this is only logical."
Raon moved past Dorian, giving a subtle nod of understanding.
"And yet... something feels misplaced."
Despite the talk of an external crusade, a staggering concentration of sacred energy was pooling within the city walls. It felt as though every high-tier Holy Knight and Priest had converged on a single point.
'Are they gathering for a grand departure? No, this feels different...'
Raon’s brow furrowed as he activated his Azure Clear Eye.
'Has an internal crisis struck the kingdom?'
He had arrived assuming the theater of war was beyond the walls, but it now appeared the antagonist was entrenched within the Holy Kingdom itself.
'The truth will reveal itself once I am inside.'
His mind made up, Raon walked toward the massive gates.
"Stop!"
A Holy Knight, his face obscured by a silver visor, raised an armored hand to halt their progress.
"The Suphren Holy Kingdom is closed to all outsiders today. Entry is strictly forbidden. I apologize, but you must depart."
He shut down any possibility of entry before they could even introduce themselves. While his words were civil, his tone was a wall of iron. It was a clear sign of a desperate internal situation.
'Just as I thought.'
Raon’s suspicions solidified as he read the tension in the knight's posture; clearly, no one was getting through that gate.
'There is trouble within.'
Even if their main host had been sent abroad, leaving the capital vulnerable, they wouldn't react with this level of paranoia. A holy war was being fought inside the city.
'Yet, I can't catch the scent of the foe.'
The kingdom was wrapped in a powerful defensive lattice, drowning out everything but the resonance of holy power. Detecting the enemy from this distance was impossible.
"I understand."
Raon gave a short nod and stepped back without protest.
"If we just give them Lord Raon’s name, wouldn't they pull the bolts?"
Dorian rubbed his chin, suggesting the influence of the Light Wind Palace Master might smooth things over.
"This feels like a pivotal moment for them. I have no wish to intrude."
Raon gave a casual wave of his hand. Out of respect for the autonomy of Olga and Hoppen, he wanted to let them navigate this trial on their own unless the situation turned truly catastrophic.
'Growth often comes from the price of hardship.'
Given they were framing this as a holy war, the adversary was clearly a threat to the nation's existence. However, overcoming such a hurdle would sharpen their blades and their spirits. Watching from the sidelines seemed the wiser path.
"So, we are just staying out here?"
Evelyn offered a smile, her previous irritation seemingly evaporated into thin air.
"No, we are going in."
Raon shook his head with conviction.
"We can mask our presence easily enough, but the holy sensors embedded in the masonry are another matter. Can you handle those?"
He gestured toward the magical wards shimmering along the battlements.
"Naturally."
Evelyn nodded, her confidence absolute.
"Give me five minutes."
She lowered her eyelids, instructing them to be ready to move once the time had passed.
"F-five minutes?"
Dorian let out a sharp, incredulous breath.
"You can neutralize the defensive wards of the Holy Kingdom in five minutes?"
His jaw practically rattled, stunned by the sheer magnitude of such a claim.
"It only takes that long because it’s holy energy. If it were standard sorcery, it would have been dismantled the second she looked at it."
Raon explained for the benefit of his friend while Evelyn focused her intent.
"Isn't that even more terrifying than Lady Chamber or Lady Larian?"
"It’s a different specialty..."
Raon’s shoulders gave a small twitch as he watched Evelyn.
"This is her specific domain."
Infiltration, mimicry, surveillance, trap bypassing, and pursuit. In the realm of shadow-based arts, Evelyn was peerless in this world.
"Get your legs ready."
Raon told Dorian to prepare himself as he stared at the gleaming, alabaster fortifications.
'The battle is imminent. Perhaps the first blood has already been drawn.'
The way the holy energy inside was vibrating, like a pressurized boiler about to burst, suggested the opening gambit had begun. Raon looked toward the eastern peaks. The sun was beginning its slow ascent.
'The timing is impeccable.'
Sacred power reaches its zenith when the shadows of night are banished by the dawn. The war was commencing now.
'I wonder if any foe can survive that kind of radiance?'
-Ugh...
While Raon pondered the identity of the enemy, Wrath suddenly began to shiver violently, as if struck by a sudden fever.
'What's wrong with you? You've been silent for quite a while.'
Raon looked at the small being with concern. Wrath had been full of his usual fire until they reached the gates, but now he was trembling like a sickly bird.
-Some... something is wrong. I feel a terrible chill in my bones...
Wrath let out a pained moan, his vitality clearly flagging.
-I have a wretched premonition. Can we not just turn back?
He looked up with glazed eyes, expressing a sudden desire to return home.
'Is it truly that severe?'
Raon narrowed his gaze at the spirit.
-I-I don't know. The moment we stepped onto this soil, my essence began to bleed away. My head feels as though it’s being split by an axe...
Wrath sighed, looking as though he had been hit by a supernatural illness.
'Just hold on. We will depart as soon as I identify the kingdom's enemy and secure their pledge of support.'
As Raon was mentally comforting Wrath inside the artifact, Evelyn spoke.
"It is finished."
She opened her eyes, her fingertips dripping with dark, undulating mana.
"Prepare yourselves. The hole in the ward will only persist for exactly ten seconds."
She gave a sharp nod, signaling that they had a narrow window to clear the wall.
"T-ten seconds? Can I actually clear it that fast?"
Dorian gulped, his anxiety rising.
"With your current prowess, you could do it in two. Stop being dramatic."
Raon gave Dorian a light tap on the forehead to steady him.
"Then, I am beginning."
As Evelyn pointed toward the Suphren Holy Kingdom, the divine flow on the walls suddenly locked in place, making a sound like a snapping cord.
"Scale the wall and head toward the north, where the energy is peaking."
Raon signaled his companions and pushed off the earth. Whoosh. In a heartbeat, he had cleared the barrier and landed within the city. It was a display of movement that seemed to fold space itself, a testament to how much his physical and spiritual training had evolved.
[Stay close behind me.]
Sending a silent message to the others, Raon began to navigate the interior of the Holy Kingdom with calculated speed.
'Exactly as I suspected. The conflict is centered in the northern district.'
Waves of majestic holy power were radiating from the cluster of spires and the great cathedral. The entire military and clerical might of the kingdom seemed to be concentrated there.
'This feeling...'
He caught a scent of familiar spirits amidst the sea of white energy.
'It is Olga and Hoppen.'
As the Saintess and the King, they were at the vanguard of the assembly, their personal power shining brightest of all.
'I still cannot sense the antagonist.'
Even within the city, the enemy’s signature was buried deep beneath the blanket of sacred force.
'I need a closer look.'
Raon clicked his tongue and accelerated toward the northern heart of Suphren.
-Urgh...
As they neared the epicenter, Wrath suddenly gasped, his hands flying to his head in agony.
-Th-this is madness! Why is that one here!
He shrieked that they had walked into a catastrophe and tried to pull away, clutching his own shoulders in a panic. But they were already perched upon the roof of the grand cathedral. Whistle. Raon let out a low whistle as he surveyed the mass of knights and priests assembled before the holy wall.
'What a staggering force.'
Seeing the Holy Knights lined up with their blades drawn in perfect unison—a force capable of toppling a minor nation in a single afternoon—was a sight to behold.
'Those two are in the thick of it.'
Sure enough, Olga and Hoppen were at the front, rallying their subordinates.
'Now, where is the enemy... hm?'
As he turned his gaze to the far side with a confident smirk, a sudden, chilling sensation stalled the air in his lungs.
"Ugh!"
A muffled sound of shock escaped Raon as his eyes fell upon the pink haze spiraling within the holy enclosure.
'Why on earth is she here...'
The moment he identified the distinct hue of that essence, his jaw dropped in disbelief.
-I-I warned you! I told you we should have left!
Wrath, recognizing the source of the pink aura, screamed in absolute terror.
-This is the pinnacle of bad luck!
'On the contrary, this might be the greatest stroke of luck.'
Raon’s mouth twisted into a grin, contradicting Wrath’s despair.
'I might just be able to tick off three goals in one move!'
