Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 468



Only Noblemtl

468. Congratulatory remarks (8)

Boy, Nate’s eyes were flashing with vivid scenes from the past that would have been impossible to observe otherwise.

The gravedigger’s wife is screaming while hugging her son’s corpse. A woman in black robes approaches her and whispers comforting words to her.

The grandiose demon summoning ritual they performed in the Primrose Oratory, and the deaths of countless people caught up in it.

Yes, it is because of the woman right in front of you. That woman has completely corrupted the soul of the poor mother who lost her child, and has caused her to accumulate heavy karma from which she cannot be saved.

Slurp.

Nate slowly drew his old longsword.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to change the future that had been completely fixed. However, at least he could now punish the mastermind behind this situation, that passionate subordinate.

“Surely you are… … ?”

At that moment, the woman muttered as if she had realized something.

“Those mysterious eyes! Ah, you are the boy the Archbishop spoke of! I had imagined you to be a much smaller, weaker child, given your unfortunate childhood.”

The atmosphere changed in an instant. The woman, who had erased the tension that had been tightly wrapping around her body, took a step toward Nate while neatly closing the hem of her black robe.

“Let me formally introduce myself. I am Taiara Hao, the parish priest of Dunstan. Would you please put away that sword? Our brothers of Ae-yeol are by no means your enemies.”

“… … .”

“I don’t know if you’ll believe it, but the Archbishop of Ae-yeol has been saying for a long time that you would visit this place. And he has prepared many things to welcome you as a brother.”

It was an attitude that was pretending to be friendly to the point of being annoying.

When Nate frowned and raised his sword straight up, Tia stopped walking and smiled awkwardly.

“I tell you again, I am not your enemy. I just went to the orphanage occasionally, following the Archbishop’s wishes, and I was counting the days until you showed up here. How is it? Did you like the gift I prepared?”

They were a group that would not be satisfied even if they were cut down with a single stroke of a sword, but Nate couldn’t help but react to those words.

“…gift?”

“Yes, it is a gift prepared by the Archbishop himself for you.”

“… … .”

I thought it was just one of the many evil practices that devil worshippers engage in on a daily basis, but was there really something more to it?

Nate concentrated and studied Tia carefully. Then, the strange journey she had been through so far flashed before his eyes.

The power of the Oracle was the ability to completely see into human life.

It was around this time that she had just become the Bishop of Dunstan and was welcoming a new Archbishop.

Chi-chik-!

Suddenly, a faint noise appeared and Nate’s vision became blurred. It was a sign that it was sensitive information that had a direct impact on his future.

“… … !”

Nate quickly looked away from the sight. It wasn’t that hard for him to peel back a layer of that thin curtain.

but-

– Remember, Nate. The most effective way to clear sewage is to simply let it sit and let the impurities settle on their own. If you try to straighten it out, the water will only become even more muddy because of your light touch.

Yes, that’s what Mother always said.

However, if you try to look into it thoughtlessly, at that moment you will attract even worse possibilities and become a powerful wedge that fixes the future.

Blink.

Blinking once to distract himself, he chose the most basic method to obtain the information he needed: hearing it directly from the person involved.

“Explain. What do you know about me?”

Then, Taia answered obediently with a happy face.

“I just received a few words from the Archbishop about you. He said you were a descendant of a secret clan and a valuable key to securing the future of the underground cult.”

“Key? What does that mean?”

“I don’t know the details either. I just know that your presence is more important than anything else in order to welcome the one the underground cult is waiting for.”

“… Then why is the Archbishop of Ae-yeol trying to drag me into the underground religious order?”

“It is to protect you to the fullest extent. The Archbishop said that it was all for the sake of [passion]. So please put away your sword and come with me. We will protect you with all our heart.”

I don’t know the exact reason either. Am I just doing whatever the Archbishop of Ae-yeol tells me to do?

A feeling of discomfort slowly rose inside me.

“Then what is that ‘gift’ you prepared?”

“There you are. As you can see, a great high-level demon is having a blast destroying the monastery. Isn’t it quite a sight?”

“How can summoning demons and causing chaos in the world be considered a ‘gift’?”

Then, Taia’s face became filled with deep joy.

“It is a gift without a doubt! Strictly speaking, it is a gift for everyone here, including you. Ah! It is also the utmost love of [Ae-yeol] for this world full of worldly desires!”

As Nate’s face distorted faintly, she poured out her explanation urgently.

“Of course, I fully understand the confusion you feel. Ordinary people have difficulty understanding the profound meaning of Ae-yeol, and sometimes they even seriously misunderstand him. However, I can assure you that [Ae-yeol] is nothing less than all the love in this world.”

“… … .”

“And so, as always, He responded to us in a loving way. He responded to the human longing for life with love, and He also responded to the sorrow of a mother who has lost her child with love.”

“… So you sold her soul to the devil and led her to commit massacre?”

“That’s a misunderstanding. All of this was going to happen anyway. It was just that Ae-yeol personally intervened to bring the time forward a little and greatly reduced the number of those who would be caught up in the fate of massacre.”

“… … .”

“The Archbishop said that you would probably understand everything.”

Yeah, that was the weird part.

Originally, most of the people in the monastery, including the orphans, would not have escaped death.

But in that certain fate, there was a causal relationship that allowed him to squeeze in a little. How on earth?

As soon as the question arose, the Oracle’s intuition immediately extracted the answer from his mind. It was Dasha’s face smiling brightly at him.

-Father Gustav! Father Gustav sent you here!

In reality, the only person who survived in that orphanage until the end was the Varsha girl I had met during the preliminary investigation.

‘Oh, you said you weren’t Barshain.’

But the moment he met the girl, Nate realized that somehow she had escaped his predetermined fate and was precariously twisting his future.

If it weren’t for this incident, Dasha would have left the orphanage after another year or so and joined an assassination organization.

It is a well-known fact that even then the abbot continued to sell poor orphans into the entertainment district.

Then, the gravedigger’s wife, who had finally figured out how to make a contract with the devil, raided the monastery, and everyone there was killed by the devil in an instant. That was the future that should have happened exactly one year later.

“Do you understand now? That the response that Ae-yeol sent was nothing but ‘love’?”

Taiya asks with a strange smile.

“… … .”

Yeah. At least Nate had to admit that one fact.

The future that changed due to [Ae-yeol]’s intervention is more positive than you might think. Because that woman instigated the summoning of demons in advance, countless orphans who would have been sold to the red-light district in the future were saved.

So, what on earth happened in Dasha’s case?

It is true that she also has a significant stake in this changed future. It was thanks to the girl’s struggle alone that Priest Gustav came to the guild, and he called her here as a new mercenary.

And by inscribing a simple prayer into the abbot’s soul, he was able to create a sliver of a gap that would save the orphans’ lives.

“Then, by any chance, that girl named Dasha… … .”

“Dasha?”

“… No, it’s nothing.”

Nate nodded after being lost in thought for a moment.

“Very well. If the gift your Archbishop has prepared is the lives of the children in the orphanage, I will gladly accept it.”

“Ah, is this finally what you mean? How wonderful!”

“Isn’t it too early for that? If we leave the erosion to continue like this, those children will all die soon. If you prepared it as a gift, you must have come up with a proper way to purify the children’s erosion, right?”

In order to save the life of someone who should have died, you have to make them experience something similar to death instead. That was why Nate, who had foreseen today’s tragedy, couldn’t hastily evacuate the children far away.

‘Besides, if things continue like this, the damage will get out of control. With just my power and that of the Astros mercenary group, we won’t be able to stop that high-level demon.’

A well-trained platoon of Paladins or equivalent priests with divine powers are required.

But causality wouldn’t allow Nate to make any further adjustments, and for some reason Nate’s intuition also felt that that level of preparation was sufficient.

‘Why on earth?’

As Nate looked down at the ruined monastery grounds with worried eyes, Taia noticed that his guard was not the same as before and took a step closer to him and said.

“There are many ways to save them. The Archbishop of Ae-yeol will be happy to give you the answer. Now, come with me to the church.”

“… … .”

“You don’t seem to believe it. After all, the Archbishop said it wouldn’t be easy to convince you. So if you don’t seem to be very interested, he told me to tell you this as well.”

Taia approached with a somewhat sinister smile and whispered in Nate’s ear, her voice slightly lowered.

-The stigma that holds you back is engraved in a place you can never see.

“… … !”

WHEEK!

The sharp sword struck her nape like lightning. At the same time, Taia, who was faced with the boy’s icy eyes, flinched and raised both hands.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute! Don’t be angry with me! I’m just a messenger delivering the Archbishop’s message!”

“Tell me the truth. Where did you hear that information?”

“That’s why I’ve been saying this all along. Everything is what the Archbishop of Ae-yeol has commanded me to convey to you!”

Nate frowned.

The brand. There are only a handful of people who have a vague idea of ​​its existence. Even those who know the exact identity and location of the brand are all dead and no longer in this world.

‘Archbishop of passion… … .’

What on earth is he? How does he know things about that woman’s past that are not easily seen and that no one should know anymore?

Trying to remain as calm as possible, Nate applied pressure to the tip of his sword aimed at her.

“Yes. What other nonsense did the Archbishop of Ae-yeol say?”

“No, that’s nonsense… … .”

“If this isn’t nonsense, how on earth do people brand something that can’t be seen?”

Nate’s increasingly sharp demeanor was quite threatening. For the first time since facing him, Tia lost her composure and panicked.

“What I have told you is not empty words. The Archbishop has spoken clearly! The reason you have not been able to find the location of the mark until now is because it is engraved on the soul, that is, the Bion, and not the body!”

“… … !”

“Now, come to the underground cult and become our brothers. Only the Archbishop of Ae-Yeol can release the heavy restrictions engraved upon your soul and unleash your true powers!”

…bion.

Yeah, that’s what it was.

Nate remained silent with a complicated expression. And after a while, a soft laugh escaped his mouth.

“Hahahaha… … .”

While Tia was bewildered by the sudden reaction, Nate took his sword away from her and let out a sly smirk.

“Yes, it’s not the lives of orphans. The gift the Archbishop sent me must have actually meant this.”

“… … ?”

“You were used by that guy.”

Nate now fully realized.

The woman’s mission wasn’t to take her to the Ayeol sect. It was just a means to convey the location of the hidden mark.

[Ae-yeol], who had intervened in the future in a subtle way, would have already known. The fact that Nate would never spare anyone who mentioned the ‘brand’ in front of him.

So, even in his insight, there is no future for that devil worshipper. There is no future left for that woman.

‘It is probably true that the brand is engraved on the bion.’

Nate could tell intuitively.

The only thing that concerns me is how the Archbishop of Ae-yeol knew about this and what his purpose was in approaching me.

‘But at least this much is clear.’

Who will purify the erosion and save those children? Who will slay the superior demons that are destroying the monastery?

Why did his premonitions whisper to him that everything would work out just fine, despite his obvious lack of preparation?

“… I don’t really like this method.”

There is no time left to find another solution.

Nate, having made up his mind, raised both arms high while holding the sword in his hands.

“… … ?”

Taiya, who had been blankly watching the scene without really understanding it, slowly opened her eyes as she realized the meaning of the action.

“Wait a minute? What are you… … doing right now?”

But before she could finish speaking-

Phew!

A sharp sword, loaded with aura, pierced Nate’s chin and came out through his back.