“Apostle?”
When Kreon asked, looking shocked, Noah smiled.
“I understand your surprise. Even I was surprised when I was suddenly called the apostle.”
“… I didn’t hear the news about the apostle being born.”
“it is the will of God. There is no need to let his believers know.”
Kreon frowned at Noah’s words, which said that Zenith’s sword was a believer.
“Are you referring me as just a believer?”
“Hahaha. Of course, you aren’t just a believer; you are still Zenith’s Sword. But…”
Noah smiled and asked Kreon.
“How long do I have to stay silent?”
“What?”
“I continue to respect you; however, having seen how the other believers act, I just can’t help but wonder, is this how you’re meant to treat someone above you? “
“Above… me?”
“Am I wrong?”
Noah spread his arms widely.
“I was chosen by father, Zenith, and turned into his alter ego. I am the second highest being in the church after father, and you? Ah. Of course, I know you aren’t a lowly one. But even so, you aren’t in the highest position, right? You haven’t even sworn your allegiance.”
Kreon was puzzled as he looked at Noah, and he laughed.
“Kikikikiki! Kuakakakaka!”
“Oh. What is so funny?”
“Father, oh Father! Is this a test you inflicted on me?”
Kreon looked up and shouted like a madman.
“I see.”
And he reached for the corpse of the soldier he killed. The sword held by the corpse got pulled into his hand.
As soon as he held it, an aura erupted around him. The power was unrefined and yet felt like a Grand Master aura and began to swirl like a storm.
Noah mumbled.
“You must have been tired for the past 5 years.”
And then he slowly raised his hand.
“it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start changing your habits. One way or another, you are father’s sword, and I cannot cast you aside without father’s permission…”
The pure white holy power of Zenith began to condense on his fingertips.
“It is said that the nature of a hunting dog gets refined through training, meaning this can be seen as education.”
“You have been spouting nothing but nonsense!!”
Unable to hear it any longer, Kreon burst into anger and ran to Noah.
Even if this man was Zenith’s Apostle, Kreon was a Grand Master.
Unlike before, he sincerely swung his sword, intending to kill Noah at once.
“I will show you the difference between us!”
Noah reached ahead and slightly extended his hand, and Kreon immediately tried to chop it off.
Tuk!
Noah’s right hand was merely pushed back a little, no visible damage being dealt.
The fluttering aura on the sword burned in the air without inflicting as much as a scratch, leaving Kreon flabbergasted.
No matter how strong the hand, his sword should have cut it down.
Right now, the aura on his sword could cut down a massive rock as if it was paper, but it didn’t cut a human hand?
He couldn’t understand it.
The opponent didn’t even use much force. Nor could he feel a large amount of holy power.
And Noah said.
“I told you, I am the apostle.”
Apostle.
God’s representative.
God’s body.
The one ordained by God.
“It is definitely a great thing to be born as a human and acquire power that exceeds a human’s limits through the sword. But that is all.”
Kreon’s aura shook.
An unknown and unprecedented power began to scatter Zenith’s holy power. Kreon couldn’t help but be flustered by it.
It felt like everything in him was succumbing to what was happening.
As he was about to step back, Noah grabbed the blade.
It was such a light pull that he felt as if he could fight it without breaking a sweat. However, Kreon didn’t draw it back.
It was impossible no matter how much he tried.
Being a Grand Master represented reaching the pinnacle, which only served to further Kreon’s shock. While thinking that, Noah calmly spoke.
“Seems like I have a lot of power.”
“Why… why didn’t your hand fall?”
“Huhu. You seem to be misunderstanding things.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Noah answered Kreon.
“You can’t even take back the sword, and you are asking why my hand didn’t fall?”
“You think I cannot take it back?”
It couldn’t be.
Kreon was still struggling to take back the sword.
See.
Aren’t the arms of the Grand Master trembling? It sure was that.
‘Why am I the only one struggling?’
The man was holding it, but he didn’t seem to be straining himself.
Why was he having the illusion of pulling?
No, he was really pulling it, so why?
“There’s no point, Sir Kreon.”
“You… what have you done?”
“I did nothing. This is a natural thing.”
“…”
“I am father’s representative, his alter ego, and the savior whom father sent down to this land. And you are the sword which is supposed to protect father, in other words, protect me.”
“No…”
“It is impossible for a guardian sword to target its god, right? It is against the holy law and cannot exist, especially under father.”
Noah put down the sword and took a step toward Kreon.
Kreon stepped back. He tried to kill Noah a second ago, but now he couldn’t.
No, something was welling up within him. It was incomprehensible, but he knew what this was.
Kreon stood facing Noah and knelt down on one knee. And he said,
“This knight swears to dedicate his body to the representative of God.”
“Right, Sir Kreon. I hope we get along well.”
A light shone through the cracked ceiling. Believers gathered around and joined hands as they began to pray to their father, Zenith.
The church’s main hall, where five colors of light poured through the stained glass.
An impressive boy with silky brown hair was kneeling and praying.
The boy looked like he was in his mid-teens with a pure white robe and holding a rosary made of pure gold in his hand.
And someone opened the door and entered the hall. A handsome man with blonde hair and paladin clothes.
He bowed his head with his right fist on his chest and said to the boy.
“Holy Executioner Lars Armetic has arrived.”
“You are back?”
“If I had known you were praying, I would have come a little later, sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize; we are quite close. The Goddess must have commanded me to receive Sir Lars’ greeting right now.”
At that, Lars smiled and shook his head. And the boy, too, got up.
“Phew. Today’s prayer is done. Shall we eat something?”
The boy, Ricky, turned with a smile. Seeing that cheerful look, Lars smiled and nodded.
“They said the food is ready.”
“It is easy to talk when it’s just the two of us.”
“If it is just us two, we should be more serious. You are no longer a child.”
“13 is a kid.”
Ricky had turned 13 this year and was fulfilling his duties as an apostle of Goddess Pyro.
As a result, Lars and the others didn’t treat him like a child anymore.
Ricky himself thought that he had grown up, but he still referred to himself as a child because he felt he had given up on his childhood too early.
“Anna?”
“The saintess seems to have gone out for a while.”
“Well. It is fun to go around.”
Ricky smiled, thinking of his younger sister.
Anna, who was blind, fully awakened her holy power a year ago, and her eyes finally opened.
After spending 10 years in the dark, she regained her sight from that day, and she couldn’t stop going around.
“And the condition?”
“Well. the nations of <Kariren> side have Masters, and <Olvia> is also in a state of balanced power, so only small-scale battles are happening.”
The eastern continent <Kariren> led by Zenith church.
In order to subdue the Zenith Church, the northern <Olvia> alliance and Pyro church united around Seldam.
Because the cause was in the northern continent of <Olvia>, <Arisha> and <Brion> expressed their intention to intervene.
And the central continent <Haron> didn’t speak their choice.
But the leaders all knew.
“There hasn’t been a proper engagement yet, but when the war begins in earnest, there is a high possibility that <Haron> will join the Lily church.”
Zenith, the God of War and Peace, Brahman, the God of Dragons, and Lily, the Goddess of beauty, were part of the same faction.
The God of Dragon will not intervene as he cannot make dragons move for this. And if he uses the dragons, the high elves and Ran would not stand still.
But with Lily, it was a different story.
“We should expect other churches to check it. In fact, it seems that negotiations are already happening.”
“I am so glad that the world is made of churches.”
What is very strange is that this continent had freedom of religion. No matter how corrupt the nation is, no one can impose religion.
Ricky thought that it was because the influence of the 12 Gods was too strong.
In this land, the 12 Gods are absolute and not abstract beings but actual transcendental beings, so even the king of a nation wouldn’t dare speak recklessly about the churches.
So no one could reject it. Because it feels like an insult to the church.
Due to that, it was often the case that a country’s military would follow the allegiances of their church. And yet, there were also plenty of cases where the military refused to help.
Churches are more likely to be unified, which gave the Lily Church a significant amount of freedom.
“I am glad that <Olvia> has a perfect alliance.”
“The Seldam Kingdom played a huge role.”
Seldam, the northern nation, criticized Zenith for summoning demons through ritual and united the power of the north.
But behind the scenes, contracts were being drafted, and the churches opposing Zenith were making their moves.
“The system of 12 Gods has collapsed. We need to attack first to survive.”
“That means…”
“I need to meet her.”
Although he looked young, he was both the alter ego of Pyro and the highest ranking person in the church.
His will is the will of the church, and his decision is the decision of the church.
“Right now?”
Ricky smiled at Lars’ question.
“First, we need to eat. We need to eat well to do anything, right?”
With an innocent expression, Ricky spoke.
Lars smiled and nodded.
“Right.”
“But.”
“Please speak.”
“Is Jamie doing well?”
“Jamie…”
Five years ago, they met in Apton for the last time.
And there was news about him from time to time.
“I heard a few months back, and it sounded like he did a great job.”
“I know he played a huge role in turning back the God Drian and transforming Harmonia into a new nation.”
“He is such a cool guy. Can I meet him?”
“We will meet soon. Because Jamie knows it is time.”
Even if the content wasn’t mentioned, Ricky knew. So he nodded.
The time wasn’t far off.
The great war of life and death of the northern and eastern continent was approaching.
