< 28 : The Corrupted Sword (6) >
A small cave in the mountains.
Evan, who was sleeping in the darkness, opened his eyes.
Blink. Blink.
He prepared his eyes to adapt to the darkness without light.
After finishing the dark adaptation, Evan got up from his seat and felt a dull sensation in his ears.
He felt a cold feeling in his body that was leaning against the cave wall and sleeping.
“There must have been some noise…”
What woke Evan from his sleep was an unidentified sound.
Evan moved with his sword to find the source of the sound.
Thud. Thud.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the cave as he stepped.
In the cave where no one was, only Evan’s presence was felt.
Evan came out of the cave and started looking for the source of the sound.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything suspicious.”
But there was no trace outside the cave.
He didn’t even feel any signs of animals passing by.
Under the bright night sky, only the quiet scenery of the forest entered Evan’s eyes.
Evan couldn’t understand what had woken him from his sleep.
It was at the moment when Evan moved to get some fresh air in the peaceful-looking forest.
-“Accept your fate.”
As Evan tried to move away from the cave a little more.
A lightning spear appeared in the sky.
Crackle.
The lightning spear that appeared scattering sparks slowly changed direction.
It started to aim at Evan with the lightning spear and Evan hurriedly jumped into the cave.
Bang! Boom!
As soon as Evan entered the cave, a thunderstorm began to pour down.
He lifted his sword with both hands at the thunderous sound that echoed violently outside the cave.
“O Goddess–!”
A bright light burst out of his hand holding the sword.
It was divine power, a unique possession of paladins who had firm faith.
The bright divine power that burst out became a lantern that lit up the dark cave.
Evan hid in the cave and waited for the lightning storm to pass while praying.
The only thing Evan could rely on now was his sword that emitted light.
“Guide me, please.”
Was it a struggle for survival?
Or was it a desire for salvation?
He couldn’t decide which one his prayer was, and he kept looking at his sword filled with light.
The moment of salvation had not yet come.
There was no promise left when it would come.
But Evan kept holding his sword and praying.
That was the qualification to be called a paladin.
*****
It had been three days since Evan was trapped in the cave.
During that time, he sat in his seat, prayed and slept repeatedly.
Of course, there were moments when he wanted to go outside from time to time.
They were moments when hunger and thirst came up impulsively.
-“Accept your fate.”
Every time he tried to go outside, he saw the falling lightning spears and hid again.
The thunderstorm hit violently every time Evan went outside.
His body, which had not eaten or drunk anything for several days, had become quite weak.
He couldn’t even be sure that he could block the attack of the evil god as before.
In the end, there was only one way for Evan to choose.
“…O Goddess. I swear I will be a paladin who follows your will.”
He was hungry.
And thirsty.
His hand holding the sword firmly didn’t have enough strength.
But Evan kept reciting the oath of a paladin with his dry and cracked lips.
The current pain was only temporary.
To forget the pain in front of him, it was better to focus entirely on prayer.
For that, he chose the oath of a paladin that he had uttered when he first became a paladin.
“I swear I will protect your honor.”
His lips cracked every time he uttered a word.
His throat losing moisture cried out for pain as if it would tear periodically.
The sound coming out of his mouth gradually decreased.
But Evan continued to pray on.
“I swear I will fight for my honor.”
There are many trials in a person’s life.
The current trial was just one of many trials.
To overcome trials, only those who can do so can move on to a more valuable direction.
Evan was a person who had such a thought.
And he chose faith and prayer as a way to overcome it.
“I swear I will annihilate evil ones and save weak ones.”
He followed the light all his life.
He believed that saving others and punishing evil would someday become the light that would save him.
He never doubted that the brightest light shining far away was the answer.
So now he had to go towards that light.
Only the sun shining in front of his eyes could be the signpost for the future.
“So, O Goddess, please guide me to the right path.”
So, O Goddess.
If you hear this voice,
If you see the frail lamb with your eyes,
Please guide me to the right path.
*****
It had been five days since Evan was trapped in the cave.
He could somehow suppress his hunger, but his thirst was unbearable.
So Evan used the water that was pooled on the floor of the cave to keep his throat moist.
But there was a limit to using only the water that was pooled in the cave.
People die without water.
Evan, who reached his limit, eventually drew his sword.
“O Goddess. Guide me.”
He couldn’t survive by being trapped in the cave forever.
He would either starve to death. Or fight and die.
There were only two choices left for Evan.
If there were no sane options left, then there was only one path he could take.
He would not wait for a false salvation.
He had to carve his own way with his own hands.
He would rather die fighting than die miserably.
Evan made up his mind and raised his holy power with a prayer.
“Please guide me to the right path.”
Clang.
The sword he lifted was imbued with a sacred light.
The intense light that rose up was more majestic than ever before.
It was the holy fire that burned everything he had.
Evan stepped out with his sword in hand, feeling that this was his last moment.
He would fight the evil god when he came.
He would cut down the apostles of the evil god with his sword.
That was the path given to Evan, the holy knight.
-“Accept your fate.”
As Evan stepped out, he heard the voice of the evil god in his ears.
But Evan ignored him and moved forward.
He had to go out to live like a human being.
Evan followed his faith and drew his sword and kept advancing.
As Evan’s footsteps moved away from the cave, lightning spears appeared one by one in the distant sky.
The fierce arrows of malice aimed at Evan and demanded him to run away.
“I will decide my own fate!”
It was his destiny to face his end as a holy knight.
Evan took a stance and pointed his sword at the falling thunderbolts.
He could block them if he swung his sword.
He could move forward if he blocked them.
A fierce scream came out of Evan’s mouth as he gripped his sword.
“Come at me! You wicked evil god!”
One more step forward than now.
Evan swung his shining sword.
Clang! Clang!
Every time he swung his sword with a glow, one of the evil god’s blows was cut off.
Evan was stronger now than ever before.
His eyes filled with determination faced the evil god who looked down on him.
“I am Evan Allemier, the Inquisitor of the Holy Land!”
There was only one thing he wanted to protect.
His proud self at this moment.
Evan had to be a holy knight of the Holy Land.
He also had to be an Inquisitor who protected the Holy Land.
That was the fate that Evan chose for himself.
“Evil god! Receive your judgment!”
Evan shouted in a confident voice toward the evil god.
A strong resolve rose in Evan’s heart as he confronted the evil god.
Only to take one more step forward.
He put everything he had into swinging his sword.
And he failed.
*****
A dark and silent cave engulfed in darkness.
There, Evan, who was covered in blood, stabbed his sword into the ground.
A dark light rose from the sword that Evan stabbed in.
It was only now that he had achieved a level of growth as a holy knight.
Even though it meant nothing against the evil god.
“Sigh…”
Crack.
He heard a sound of cracking from his clenched teeth.
Evan felt a metallic taste in his mouth and then looked at the sword he stabbed into the ground.
A clear light flowed from Evan’s sword.
It was proof of a glorious holy knight.
Even in the Holy Land, there were few knights who had such a light on their swords.
“So I… survived again.”
Evan muttered to himself as he looked at his sword.
A white aura flickered in front of Evan’s eyes.
It was a warm and gentle light.
Anyone who faced this light would believe in the existence of the goddess and offer their prayers.
But Evan did not have any faith left to pray now.
“Why…”
He could not die.
Even as he broke down and became ragged, death was always a fear that approached him.
In the end, Evan gave up resisting and returned.
He could not move forward with his own strength.
He needed someone else’s help to get out of here.
And there was only one being left who could help Evan.
“Why won’t you help me!”
Evan’s angry voice echoed in the cave.
Even though the evil god came after him and sought him out, the goddess of honor did not help him at all.
The trial that faced Evan still had no end in sight.
He was hungry.
And thirsty.
But he could not eat even a piece of bread, nor drink even a sip of water.
He, a holy knight, lived worse than a street rat.
“Why are you just watching me from above! When that wicked evil god is constantly watching me!”
If the goddess had helped him a little bit.
Or at least gave him some water to quench his thirst.
He would have kept shouting the name of the goddess in this dark cave.
Believing that one day, the day of salvation would come.
But the goddess never looked at Evan even once.
The closest thing to Evan was the evil god.
The monster of the sky that swallowed innocent people with lightning.
“I keep calling you–!”
There was no answer to his screaming voice.
But Evan kept shouting the name of the goddess.
His eyes that held his sword were red.
At this moment, Evan felt like he was abandoned by everything in the world.
The only thing left was Evan himself.
He felt an endless loneliness rising in his chest.
“I, I, what have I been doing until now…!”
“Accept your fate.”
Evan’s head went cold at the voice of the evil god calling him.
What had he just said with his own mouth?
He had denied God.
He had insulted God, blamed God, and rejected his own foundation.
He who did not serve God was no longer a holy knight.
Evan Allemier.
He was a human who wanted to die as a holy knight.
He realized his situation and let go of his sword.
“Oh Goddess! I dared to doubt you!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
He slammed his forehead hard on the cave floor.
The light that flowed from his stabbed sword became fainter.
He did not give in to the fading light, and he kept hitting his head on the ground.
Blood flowed from his forehead and ran down his cheeks.
“I dared to, doubt you…”
Despite his reddening vision, he continued to offer prayers of apology.
There was no salvation for those who doubted God.
All he could do now was to ask for forgiveness from the Goddess who looked at him.
His voice calling God echoed in the cave.
Even though he knew that there was no response to his act, he never stopped his voice.
*****
At some point, Evan stopped counting time.
He just looked at the sword in his hand.
His light had weakened since he doubted the Goddess.
He could not light up the cave with a strong glow as before.
The only thing left for Evan now was a sword that he held heavily in his hand.
“…”
There was no sound of prayer from his mouth either.
Evan quietly looked at his sword.
The sword that had been through countless battles with him was now badly damaged.
Evan’s sword had always been with him.
Even if the Goddess of Honor completely abandoned him, the sword he held would stay with him until the end.
He looked at his chipped sword and got up from his seat.
“Sigh…”
A heavy sigh came out of Evan’s mouth.
The silent time he spent trapped in the cave.
During that time, he had thought about his future countless times.
What he should do.
What was the right way left for him.
And now he had reached a conclusion.
“What a pathetic life.”
Swoosh.
He brought the sword he held to his neck.
This was the result of a long time of thinking.
He could not escape from the evil god’s sight alive.
If he decided to die in a proper way, this was the only way left for him.
He smiled bitterly and put strength into his hand holding the sword.
“What a pitiful sight.”
A sweet girl’s voice echoed in the cave.
It was a very familiar voice to Evan.
The First Apostle, Eutenia Hyrost.
The apostle of the evil god appeared in front of Evan.
Evan lowered his sword from his neck.
The sacred light rose from the sword he held.
“Did you come to mock me?”
His sword emitted a feeble glow.
It was a weak sight compared to before.
No one would remember him as an Inquisitor by looking at him now.
Click. Click.
Eutenia approached Evan with a relaxed step.
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“…”
Evan raised his light to cut down Eutenia who came closer to him.
His hand holding the sword felt heavier than before.
But until Eutenia came right in front of him, Evan’s sword did not swing.
Eutenia’s hand moved toward Evan who stood still.
“Holy knight, have you broken down?”
Eutenia stroked Evan’s cheek with her hand.
As her cold touch brushed past his cheek, Evan felt no strength in his sword.
He was not bound by any magic.
It was just that his body felt fear on its own and stopped.
What was he afraid of now?
Evan tried to shake off his weakness by recalling the spark that remained in him.
“…”
He liked people’s smiling faces.
He liked the people of the temple who welcomed him.
That’s why he decided to become a holy knight.
He wanted to protect people’s smiling faces with his own hands, and spread God’s will across the continent.
He saved countless people while working as a holy knight.
Even if no one praised him for that obvious deed, it was an act that came from believing that the Goddess would watch over his good deeds.
“I…”
His voice did not come out well because of his dry throat.
He had something to say, but he could not spit it out properly.
He was an Inquisitor belonging to the Temple of Honor.
He always had to be more pure than others, and more devout than anyone in the temple.
The moment his faith was shaken, his value as an Inquisitor was gone.
But he could not say anything about himself.
He had doubted his faith many times.
He had seen God turn away from him in the darkness.
Who would believe him if he claimed to be pure?
“I…”
His eyes looked at Eutenia in silence.
She was an apostle of the evil god.
Maybe he could kill her with his sword now.
But his hand holding the sword did not move.
The light from his sword flickered and mocked his precarious state.
What could he do with this weak sword?
What he held now was nothing but an illusion.
The illusion of his past as a holy knight of the Temple.
-“Accept your fate.”
Accept your fate.
He heard the familiar voice of the evil god.
The fate that was set for him.
What was the fate given to him?
The strength slowly left his hand holding the sword.
He had lived glorious days.
But there was no glory at the end of this road.
In the end, at the end of this long ordeal, he was no longer a holy knight.
He was not a holy knight now.
He was not an Inquisitor either.
And now he was—
“I am… a weak human.”
Thud.
The light of faith went out.
