Chapter 138: The Contract of Regression (1)
I was taking care of my characters in the game when I found a message.
It was a long time after I started the game.
A familiar type of message popped up in the message box at the bottom of the screen.
It was a message with a content that I never expected.
-[First Apostle: Eutenia Hyrost] has suffered a fatal damage.
The first thought that came to my mind when I saw the message.
It was that there might be some error in the game.
That was understandable, because Eutenia was one of the most powerful characters among the ones I had.
She had suffered a fatal damage.
It was hard for me to accept that.
“What does this mean…?”
I blinked several times, wondering if my eyes were wrong.
But no matter how much I closed and opened my eyes, the message on the screen remained the same.
Eutenia had suffered a fatal damage.
The message stayed there, waiting for my action.
“Eutenia is in danger?”
My finger that was scrolling down trembled slightly.
I didn’t want to believe it, but it was real.
My first apostle, Eutenia, seemed to be on the verge of death.
If the message was true, I had to save her right away.
After a brief hesitation, I quickly moved my finger and searched for Eutenia.
“What happened? Did a boss appear?”
My finger touched the screen and moved busily.
Swish. Swish.
As I flipped the screen with my finger, many terrains passed by my eyes.
I crossed the mountains and lakes, and reached the canyon in the eastern part of the barren continent.
And when I found Eutenia in one corner of it, my finger finally stopped on the screen.
-“…”
On the screen, I saw Eutenia lying in a pool of blood.
And in front of her, Peter, the horseman, was standing with his sword.
He was trying to protect Eutenia with his sword alone.
On the opposite side, I saw a mage preparing his magic.
Peter shouted at the mage as he faced him.
-“What are you doing here? Your apostle is dying! Don’t just watch and do something!”
Eutenia was bleeding to death.
She was the best character I had created with a lot of time and effort.
I needed another character to help her.
Without realizing it, my finger moved to the <Apostle Selection> skill icon.
It was a desperate thought.
I had to do something, so I chose him as an apostle, and as a result, Peter became the sixth apostle.
-Peter] is selected as an apostle.
-You spend 6400 karma to create a new divine weapon for the apostle.
-[Divine Weapon: Dainsleif] is bound to [Peter].
-[The Sixth Apostle: Peter Enklov] becomes your apostle.
-By the effect of <Apostle Selection>, you share your magic with the selected apostles.
-By the effect of <Apostle Selection>, you can send separate messages to the selected apostles.
I felt strange.
It was a conflicting action.
Choosing him as an apostle.
Spending most of my remaining karma.
I threw the divine weapon to him, who became an apostle.
And then———.
-“The apostle of the evil god is here!”
I don’t remember much after that.
I just wanted to kill the mage who did that to Eutenia.
It wasn’t fun.
I didn’t enjoy playing the game at all.
I was shooting magic mechanically, following the movements of my character, while a surge of annoyance rose from the depths of my chest.
“…What is this?”
Thud. Thud.
I kept tapping the screen repeatedly.
As if to relieve the rising irritation, I tapped the screen with force several times.
But then I finally found a strange message, and stopped my finger that was pressing the screen.
It was because I faced something I didn’t want to face.
-[First Apostle: Eutenia Hyrost]’s apostle contract has been suspended.
I could understand what the new message meant without thinking deeply.
Eutenia was dead.
The character who had been with me for months had suddenly met her end.
A feeling of emptiness settled in my chest.
My finger that had lost its place slowly circled around the edge of the smartphone.
“No… This is a joke, right?”
As soon as I confirmed Eutenia’s death, a hollow laugh escaped from my lips.
All the effort I had poured in was wasted in an instant.
The character I had grown attached to died while looking elsewhere.
Where was such a futile ending?
I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even get angry properly.
“Ah, really… This is ridiculous.”
I stared blankly at the screen with dull eyes.
What kind of game was this that I spent so much money and time on?
I resented my past self for doing so.
“Really… This is so ridiculous…”
The memories of Eutenia that I had experienced flashed through my mind.
I watched her grow day by day as I gave her bread.
I was happy to see her become stronger day by day.
How much money did I spend to nurture her?
But now what I was facing was Eutenia’s fallen figure.
-[The Contract of Regression] is activated.
-The contract details are adjusted.
I leaned on the bed and stared blankly at the screen.
New messages kept popping up in the message box.
Something was still going on even after Eutenia’s death.
But I didn’t feel like focusing on the game right now.
For a while, I didn’t even want to log in to the game.
“What now…”
I ruffled my messy hair and reached for the power button.
I wanted to turn off the screen and forget about it.
And I wanted to stay away from the game for a while.
I would decide later whether to get a refund or quit the game completely.
As I watched the messages on the screen, a large message box appeared in front of me.
It was a choice window that I could encounter when I used a certain skill.
-You used [The Contract of Regression] to adjust the contract.
-You can make a contract for regression under the following conditions.
-Premise: Revival of [First Apostle: Eutenia Hyrost]
Contract terms:
-No interference with the hero for 30 days
-Deactivation of <The Eye of the Observer> within the range including the hero for 30 days
-Increase of causality adjustment by <The Karma of Heaven> by 5%
-Do you accept the contract?
-Yes / No
I had to stop my finger that was heading to the power button at the content of the message that appeared in front of me.
There were unfamiliar items under the name of a familiar item, filling my eyes.
Of course, the most noticeable thing among them was the line with the word ‘revival’.
It was a concept that I had never encountered before on the screen.
“The Contract of Regression?”
It seemed that there was a way to revive Eutenia.
***
The Holy Land, Crossbridge.
In the training ground located in the Temple of Abundance, there was Gilford who wielded the divine weapon Ascalon.
He had been recognized as the hero of abundance and entered Crossbridge, and whenever he had time, he came to the training ground and swung his sword.
He wanted to erase his past self who had lost his comrades because of his weakness.
Whoosh.
Gilford, who was swinging Ascalon and creating shockwaves, stopped his sword at the voice that reached his ears.
-“It seems that we have bought enough time.”
The voice that reached Gilford’s ears, who stopped his sword, was from his divine weapon Ascalon.
Gilford looked at Ascalon with a puzzled look as he heard its story.
From his forehead, thick sweat drops flowed down.
Gilford asked Ascalon, who brought up an incomprehensible story.
“What are you talking about?”
-“The evil god made a new contract with heaven as a price for using his power.”
“A contract?”
Contract.
It was a word that Gilford knew well.
But the story that the evil god made a contract with heaven was hard to understand.
When Gilford asked him more details, Ascalon spoke with a faint light.
-“The god of regression defied the order. He paid a huge price in causality and became unable to interfere with the hero for a month.”
“Then…”
-“The power of the divine weapon has been unleashed to the next level. From now on, it will be hard for any weapon to even scratch you.”
The power of the divine weapon was unleashed.
And the new power he gained from it was more shocking than Gilford had expected.
He obtained a toughness that made him immune to any ordinary weapon.
This would be a huge advantage in a battle with many enemies.
Gilford, who was looking at Ascalon that was glowing with light, muttered as he tapped his skin.
“…Amazing.”
-“There will be no one who can match you as time goes by.”
“If time goes by, that is.”
Thump. Thump.
As Gilford tapped his skin with the blade of Ascalon, a person flashed through his mind.
A girl with ash-colored hair.
She called herself an apostle of the church, and controlled countless shadows.
And she was also the one who killed Gaph, Gilford’s most trustworthy friend.
“Eutenia… Maybe someday I’ll be able to kill that woman with my own hands.”
Apostle, Eutenia Hyrost.
As Gilford recalled the image of the apostle that flickered in his mind, he bit his lips.
After Gaph died, he gave up everything and entered the holy land.
For him, Eutenia was a sworn enemy that he had to kill someday.
As Gilford, who held Ascalon, reminisced about his enemy, a presence came from the door that was connected to the training ground.
Ascalon also felt him and spoke to Gilford.
-“She’s here.”
Creak.
The door opened and a girl in a nun’s dress with jewels appeared.
Gilford turned his head and looked at the unwelcome visitor who came to him.
Serena Ederlent. The one who had the highest authority in the Temple of Abundance looked at Gilford with a troubled face.
“You were in the training ground again today.”
“It’s none of your business.”
“It’s none of my business… I’m the saintess of the temple, you know.”
At Gilford’s words, Serena showed a bit of displeasure, but soon gave up and sighed.
Serena now was not the confident and bright saintess that Gilford had first met.
She was broken somewhere, just like Gilford, after losing her escort knight Lian Crost.
Of course, what Serena saw in Gilford was probably not much different.
They both knew that they could not go back to their old selves.
“So, saintess, what brought you to the training ground?”
Gilford faced Serena and stabbed Ascalon into the ground.
Ascalon stopped emitting light as it stabbed into the ground.
Serena glanced at Ascalon for a moment, then turned her gaze back to Gilford’s face.
And then she told him her purpose.
“I have something to tell you.”
“I don’t care about small talk. Just tell me the important part briefly.”
Hoo.
Serena sighed again at Gilford’s words.
But she seemed to dislike being with him for long as well, so she crossed her arms and told him her purpose with a troubled face.
“The apostle of the church, Eutenia, was defeated by the dispatched heretic inquisitors.”
“Eutenia was defeated?”
“Yes. I thought I had to tell you this story only to you.”
The first apostle of the church was defeated.
Gilford sorted out his thoughts for a moment after hearing Serena’s story.
But no matter how much he thought about it, there was only one conclusion that came down in his mind.
There was no way Eutenia would die by a mere expedition force of heretic inquisitors.
Even if there was a hidden story behind it, his thought was the same.
“There’s no way she would die so easily.”
“Gilford…”
Serena looked at him with a stiff expression, but Gilford’s thought remained the same.
The first apostle of the church, Eutenia Hyrost, was not dead yet.
Even if she was dead, she was the kind of person who could come back from the underworld.
Gilford could not fully trust the judgment of the church.
“More than anything, she has to die by my hand.”
But if she really died by the hands of the heretic inquisitors.
Then he had to drag out even her corpse and punish her.
She had to meet her end by Gilford’s hand only.
Otherwise———.
“If she fell into hell, I’ll chase her to the end of hell and kill her.”
Gilford Plowd would not be able to let go of the countless emotions that were stuck in his chest.
Far behind where she stood, there was a girl with a unique aura.
The girl, dressed in black from head to toe, opened her mouth and looked at Eutenia.
“Are you Eutenia?”
Her clear voice echoed in Eutenia’s ears.
The girl had such a strange atmosphere that Eutenia couldn’t feel her as human at all.
Eutenia’s eyes slowly took in the girl’s appearance.
Her calm eyes seemed to hold darkness.
Her jet-black hair flowed down to her waist.
The girl exuded a dignity that only a transcendent being beyond human could have.
She was sitting at a table, resting her chin on her hand, and smiling at Eutenia.
“Could you be… the Great One I’m chasing?”
The first thing that Eutenia asked the girl was that question.
She had a feeling that it wasn’t the case, but she wanted to confirm the identity of the other party just in case.
The girl tilted her head as if amused by Eutenia’s question, then shook her head and denied it.
Phew.
A short sigh of relief escaped from Eutenia’s mouth.
It would have been the most disrespectful thing if she had failed to recognize her master.
The girl looked at Eutenia, who sighed, and spoke.
“I’m just his agent.”
“Oh… I see.”
Fortunately, the answer from the girl was that she was the agent of the Great One.
She didn’t seem human at all, so she must have been a being who helped the great being closely.
That also explained the atmosphere she felt from her.
Eutenia felt a sense of relief, along with a hint of envy in her heart.
She also wanted to help the great being directly like the girl in front of her.
Maybe someday she would have that chance.
“Are you jealous? That I know him?”
“Yes, I’m jealous.”
“You have a good disciple with you.”
The girl nodded lightly and praised Eutenia.
Eutenia felt proud of the compliment directed at her.
If the girl, who was the agent of the great being, said so, then the great being would also acknowledge Eutenia.
As Eutenia looked forward to meeting him, Estelle tapped the table with her finger and said.
“I’ll tell you something special, just for you. You can ask me anything you’re curious about.”
Apparently, the girl wanted to satisfy some of Eutenia’s curiosity.
Eutenia didn’t hesitate and asked her the most necessary questions.
The first one was about how to address the girl in front of her.
“Who are you?”
“Are you curious about my name?”
“I’d love to hear everything, but if that’s too hard, I’d be fine with just your name.”
The girl tilted her body for a moment, then smiled warmly and gestured to Eutenia.
Eutenia stepped on the clouds that covered the floor and approached her.
She felt a soft and cool sensation every time she took a step.
The girl spoke to Eutenia, who came close to her, in a quiet voice.
“Okay. I’ll tell you. My name is Estelle. But you can’t tell anyone what you heard here today.”
“I guess I have no choice if that’s the condition.”
“Any other questions?”
“Where is this place?”
Hmm.
After a brief thought, Estelle looked at Eutenia again.
Her eyes reflected the scenery of paradise.
“Divine Realm.”
“Divine Realm…?”
“It’s the dwelling that the heavenly god created for himself.”
Divine Realm.
Eutenia repeated the word she had just heard and smiled.
A space created by god.
It felt different when she heard that.
It was a lucky thing for Eutenia to be invited to such a place.
“So this is the place for him?”
“Well, I guess that’s partly true.”
“Is that so? It’s an amazing place. I’ve never seen such a beautiful place before.”
Estelle looked happy to hear Eutenia’s words.
“You have a good eye.”
“Anyone would think so.”
“Really?”
“But Estelle… where is the Great One?”
Eutenia asked, eager to meet her master as soon as possible.
But this time, Estelle made a troubled expression.
She shook her head and denied Eutenia’s words.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t meet him right now.”
“Why not…?”
“He’s still preparing for the meeting.”
Eutenia felt disappointed.
She wanted to face the great being directly, but it seemed that she was not allowed yet.
Estelle said that and got up from her seat.
Eutenia’s eyes followed Estelle as she rose.
“Is that all you want to ask?”
“It’s a pity. I had many more questions.”
“You’ll have plenty of time and opportunities to learn the truth of the world later.”
“The truth of the world…”
Estelle moved through the clouds and put her hand on Eutenia’s head.
A cluster of light poured out from Estelle’s hand on Eutenia’s head.
Eutenia closed her eyes at the dazzling light that burst out above her.
Then, Estelle’s voice flowed into her ears.
“The Great One you revere has given you a gift. He paid a huge price for it.”
“A gift…?”
“You’re going back to the earth. You still have a lot of things to do.”
Ah.
A short sigh came out of Eutenia’s mouth.
She had vaguely guessed that she was dead.
But she never thought that she could come back to life.
Going back to the earth.
Eutenia’s face darkened as she recalled the sight of the earth.
“I see.”
It was a regrettable thing to leave without seeing the great being.
But if it was his command, Eutenia had no reason not to obey.
She still had a lot of things to do.
Estelle’s words were true, and they would be in the future.
She nodded her head and Estelle tapped her head lightly and continued.
“And besides that, I’ll give you one more personal gift.”
“A gift…?”
