245th Episode
Inside the Light Temple, Ray sighed.
It wasn’t easy to imagine that the story of Anthonyus’s lineage would be a great secret, but nonetheless, it was something Ray needed to pay more attention to.
Ray reproached himself for his mistake and massaged his forehead.
“Ah, this is troublesome.”
Given that it involved his sister, Anthonyus wouldn’t back down easily either.
If Ray were to remain silent, Anthonyus would undoubtedly stop at nothing to get the answer he wanted, as he was a fanatic who worshipped his sister.
‘What should I do…’
To argue with the renowned High Templar, Ray would have to reveal quite a bit of his own power.
Ray didn’t want to exhaust himself here, nor would knocking Anthonyus down solve the problem.
Ray reached into his robes and caressed the dagger bestowed by the Emperor.
If he showed this to Anthonyus to prove he was from the royal family, there was a high probability Anthonyus would accept it and let it go—for now.
Since the Imperial Intelligence Bureau knew about the blood relation between Anthonyus and the Sacred Maiden, and if Ray belonged to that organization, the current situation would make sense.
However, even if Anthonyus let it go for now… given his nature, he would undoubtedly try to investigate where the information had leaked from, turning the entire order upside down.
If things escalated this way, Ray would only find himself in more trouble later on.
Imagining having to explain the situation to the Emperor when summoned, Ray clicked his tongue.
‘Anyway, Anthonyus practically has no personal relationships…’
His private relations could be considered almost completely broken.
Anthonyus possessed talents and skills that even ordinary geniuses couldn’t reach, and thanks to the influence of his lineage, he was smoothly acknowledged as a High Templar.
But due to his personality flaws, rumors spread openly that further advancement would be difficult for him.
Anthonyus distrusted people and was extremely stingy about conversing or sharing information even with fellow clerics.
This wasn’t based on any rational judgment but stemmed purely from Anthonyus’s compulsions.
‘Hmm… If Anthonyus talks about what happened here and the information reaches the order, it might not be bad.’
If the information reaches the order, it would also be shared with the upper echelons controlling the South, and they would surely attempt to contact Ray.
For Ray, who was hiding Lea, creating a connection with the South was necessary preparation for any eventualities.
Of course, he would need to be careful not to raise unnecessary suspicions from the Emperor or Ernst.
“Hm.”
After organizing his thoughts, Ray shrugged his shoulders, turned his back on Anthonyus, and walked toward the sealed wall.
As Ray walked step by step, he eventually reached the edge of the castle and extended his hand toward the fortress wall.
Anthonyus silently watched Ray.
The currently deployed divine barrier was absolutely impossible to break from the inside within a short time.
No matter what tricks Ray employed, he wouldn’t be able to break through the barrier and escape immediately.
Ray was aware of that too.
This Light Castle was a sturdy prison created by stacking various types of divine barriers.
The interacting divine barriers were prepared for all kinds of attacks.
Among the divine barriers forming the Light Castle was also the “Penitence Barrier.”
A barrier that burns away the sins accumulated over a lifetime by humans.
As Ray placed his hand on the wall, the Penitence Barrier lit up to burn away human sins.
Tzzz…
Heat spread, burning Ray’s palm.
However, the sin-burning barrier began to burn itself out upon resisting Ray’s touch.
The Penitence Barrier focused on Ray.
The part of the barrier that touched Ray’s palm continued to burn itself until it finally faded.
“…”
Witnessing this scene, Anthonyus narrowed his eyes.
There was no trace of amazement in Anthonyus’s eyes regarding the phenomenon occurring right now.
But confusion and curiosity were definitely present.
Trdruk!
Ultimately, the Penitence Barrier, which formed one pillar of the Light Castle, completely disappeared.
Although the Light Castle, woven together with multiple divine barriers, remained strong, it was undoubtedly weakened overall.
Ray, withdrawing his hand from the wall, turned around to face Anthonyus.
Facing Anthonyus with a resolute expression, Ray raised his finger.
“It’s hard to explain logically, but…”
“…”
“To me, it’s like an intuition… No, a revelation. That’s what I see and feel.”
“…”
“The same goes for today. The moment I saw you, Anthonyus, I just understood. That you are strongly connected to the Sacred Maiden.”
Though arbitrary, it was extremely hard to refute.
Approaching someone who could burn away the Penitence Barrier with logic like “Does that even make sense?” would be an ironic act indeed.
Anthonyus continued to look at Ray with cold eyes before finally speaking.
“Are you saying you’re an Apostle who serves El-Lam’s will?”
“Apostle… such definitions aren’t important.”
“Then what is important?”
“I simply strive to do what I can from my position. Isn’t our meeting today perhaps fate?”
“…”
“Perhaps we don’t know yet, but maybe there’s a trial we must overcome together in the near future… Such worries come to mind.”
“…”
It was awkward to respond as a believer.
Wouldn’t a wrong word sound like denying El-Lam’s will?
Of course, if things got really out of hand, using force to crush him while accusing him of sorcery and breaking his limbs was also an option. After all, Anthonyus was capable of such actions.
“…I’ll ask again. Where did the information come from?”
“As I said, I naturally came to know.”
“Is anyone else aware?”
“My brother.”
Ray smiled gently, addressing Anthonyus thus.
“My mouth isn’t meant to divulge others’ secrets.”
At this point, if Anthonyus were to exclaim “You’re insane,” Ray would have to rip off his mask and start swearing.
However, Anthonyus eventually calmed his momentum.
It seemed he decided not to press further for now.
Of course, Anthonyus would keep an eye on Ray going forward, conduct investigations, and make contact again if necessary.
Ray sighed deeply as he looked at Anthonyus.
Anthonyus, at this point, obtaining true salvation was already impossible.
What kind of fate awaited him in the future—Ray couldn’t predict anything with certainty.
Just as Ray briefly shook his head and stroked his nose bridge,
A sudden thunderous roar echoed in his ears.
Kwaang!!
A crack appeared in one of the walls forming the Light Castle.
A crack in the innermost wall implied that the outer walls had been completely breached.
Although the cracked inner wall began to repair itself, before it could fully recover, a sword pierced through the split gap.
Kwaang!!
With another thunderous roar, the inner wall was completely shattered.
Through the newly-formed hole, Johanna’s voice reached Ray.
“Ray…! Ray, are you alright?!”
“Johanna?”
Ray approached the broken wall in surprise.
Johanna, who had broken through the wall, staggered into the Light Castle and burst into tears upon confirming Ray’s safety.
“Rayyyhoooung…”
Johanna sobbed with muffled pronunciation.
Seeing Johanna’s eyes, red from the backlash of Overdrive, Ray was startled and rushed over.
“Hey, hey, why are you crying?”
“Rayhhheeeeng…”
Ray embraced Johanna as she stretched her arms toward him.
Johanna tightly held onto Ray, bursting into tears filled with both relief and sorrow.
“Ehhheehng…”
Johanna had used a thrust attack twice in succession, activating Overdrive.
Due to the backlash, every joint in her body ached as if hammered, her shoulder and thigh muscles partially ruptured, and her wrist twisted, causing excruciating pain that made her head throb.
Thinking about how Ray had endured far greater pain for a long time, quietly smiling despite it all, Johanna felt her heart tighten.
She felt sorry for Ray who had pretended to be strong while silently enduring his suffering, and even more so for herself, who had always complained without ever trying to understand Ray’s pain.
Johanna tried to suppress her emotions because she didn’t want to cry in front of Ray too often, but it wasn’t working well.
Realizing Johanna had pushed herself considerably to break through the divine barrier, Ray winced and patted her back.
Watching this for a moment, Anthonyus turned his body toward the broken passage.
“I’ll visit again next time.”
After notifying Ray thus, Anthonyus passed through the broken passage and encountered Nelson and the Templars.
Nelson and the Templars repeatedly asked what had happened that the barrier had been deployed, but Anthonyus gave a brief response and moved on.
“There was a minor misunderstanding.”
That was the end of his explanation.
Eventually, a Templar who had been struck on the temple by Johanna chased after Anthonyus to hear a more detailed explanation.
Sighing deeply, Nelson entered the Light Castle with one remaining Templar.
The Templar immediately raised his voice upon seeing Johanna embraced by Ray.
“How dare you recklessly draw your sword against a counselor, let alone harm them! What insolence is this?”
Nelson quickly intervened to calm the angry Templar.
“We will certainly hold the student accountable for their rash actions. Severe punishment is inevitable, but let’s discuss that later.”
“This isn’t an issue that can be resolved internally by Izhise alone.”
Although the Templar didn’t speak rudely to Nelson, his anger was evident.
It was an entirely absurd situation where a Templar acting as a counselor at the request of the imperial court had been attacked by a student and ended up rolling on the ground like a dog.
Nelson worked hard to calm the Templar for quite some time.
Meanwhile, Ray, who had been quietly listening to Nelson and the Templar’s conversation, suddenly spoke up.
“Just a moment.”
Waving his hands, Ray tilted his head and acted arrogantly.
“No, no, what exactly are you talking about?”
“…?”
The Templar scrutinized Ray from head to toe.
Seeing no apparent injuries, the Templar warned him with a low tone.
“You have no place to interfere, so stay quiet.”
“329th, 301st students, go outside and wait.”
Nelson added.
However, Ray took a step closer and questioned with a voice tinged with irritation.
“Look, it wasn’t a training scenario, and if a student waiting quietly found themselves in danger, they should actively take rescue measures, right? Whether it’s a divine barrier or a magical barrier, it should be immediately destroyed and entered. How could your response be slower than a mere student’s?”
“329th, I’m telling you again. Take the 301st student and…”
“Teacher, if you keep worrying about appearances like this, how can I trust you and leave the kids in your care?”
“…”
Nelson and the Templar looked back at Ray.
The Templar wore an expression ready to unleash curses at any moment.
Had he momentarily forgotten he was a cleric, very foul words would have escaped.
While the Templar struggled to soften his language, Nelson interjected first.
“Counselor, could you please step aside for a moment?”
*
“The Empire thinks it’s amusing. It’s laughable.”
In a dim underground room, a man chuckled sarcastically.
“It’s akin to plucking the whiskers of a fierce beast—or rather, failing to pluck them at all.”
The capital of the Empire, the center of the Empire, was not a place where a small number of troops could cause significant damage.
Even forces of Lord-level strength could inflict deep wounds, but only to a certain extent.
The capital was the strongest and most robust fortress humanity possessed, and without the support of legions, even three Lords clinging to it would make conquest entirely impossible.
As the man’s mockery continued, a figure cloaked in thick robes plunged a sword glowing with a soft violet light into the table.
The man gazed at the violet sword, arched an eyebrow, and leaned back in his chair.
What do you want me to do about it?
Such vibes emanated from his attitude.
Just as the atmosphere was about to turn hostile, a woman emerged from the darkness, her uniquely shaped eyes gleaming.
“It’s impossible to bring down the heart of the Empire.”
That was an undeniable truth.
“However, we can deliver a blow sufficient to paralyze its functions for a few months.”
The man turned to look at the woman with considerable interest, thinking it was an absurd idea.
“How?”
Betrayal (5)
