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Chapter 134: The Sanctuary of Kalosia (4)

“I’m scared… It felt like I was standing in front of a beast.”

Shadrenes trembled all over.

The calm and composed demeanor she had in front of Ketal had vanished without a trace. Heize accepted this as if it were familiar.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I barely managed to hold back my tears, you know?”

“Right. It must have been hard.”

Heize patted Shadrenes.

Heize looked at Shadrenes curiously.

“I wonder if people know what you’re really like.”

Shadrenes.

The saint of Kalosia.

A person with deep spiritual cultivation and tranquil emotions.

One deemed worthy of the title of saint due to her profound enlightenment.

That was the public’s assessment of Shadrenes.

But only one person, Heize, who had been her friend since childhood, knew the truth.

That it was all a desperate facade.

That the real Shadrenes was just an ordinary girl from the countryside.

“Do you think I want to put on this act?”

Shadrenes said with a tearful face.

“I was chosen by Kalosia and had no choice but to act the way people expect me to. Ugh…”

Shadrenes chattered on.

Heize laughed.

“Being chosen by Kalosia is a great honor, isn’t it? Didn’t you feel happy about that?”

“Yes, but I didn’t know it would be this hard… Still, I’m doing my best, desperately acting the way people want me to.”

“That’s true.”

Even though it had been years since she became a saint, none of the followers had noticed Shadrenes’ true nature.

This meant her mask and deception were flawless.

“There must have been better people. Why did Kalosia choose someone like me as a saint?”

Her breathing calmed as she regained her composure.

Heize, who had been waiting, asked.

“Anyway, what do you think of him?”

“The barbarian?”

“Yes.”

The saint of the god.

The only earthly representative permitted to converse with the god, receiving revelations and conveying them to the world.

“Did Kalosia say anything about that barbarian?”

The god observes the world and delivers revelations.

And those revelations include information about helpers for the faithful.

For someone as strong as Ketal, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were revelations about him.

But Shadrenes shook her head.

“No. That’s why I was so surprised.”

Although it didn’t show at all, Shadrenes had been quite taken aback when she first saw Ketal.

There hadn’t been a single mention of him from Kalosia.

“…Really?”

“It’s the will of the great Kalosia. There must be some profound meaning. Ugh, I wish there was at least a hint…”

Shadrenes shivered.

The moment she first encountered Ketal, her mask almost broke.

It was the first time since becoming a saint.

This time, Shadrenes asked Heize.

“You used to be comrades, right? Don’t you know more about him? What kind of person is he?”

“…I don’t know either.”

Ketal was a mystery even to Heize.

“But he’s not a bad person.”

Despite having different values, he wasn’t evil.

Judging by his actions, he was more of a good person.

“He’ll help us. Probably.”

* * *

While Shadrenes and Heize were discussing Ketal, outside, Ketal and Rakza were having a conversation.

Rakza slowly explained the situation.

“I don’t know since when, but the group of dark magicians, the Cradle of Darkness, prepared a ritual without us noticing.”

The moment the ritual was completed, the plains surrounding the sacred land of Kalosia were tainted with evil.

Overnight, the sacred land was surrounded by dark magicians.

Ketal asked.

“Were there no divine revelations?”

It was said that gods immediately give revelations about matters related to evil.

But from what Rakza said, it seemed there hadn’t been any such warnings despite the sacred land being surrounded.

Rakza shook his head.

“There were none. It must be a trial from Kalosia.”

“Hmm.”

Ketal stroked his chin.

Logically, it seemed that Kalosia hadn’t noticed.

It wasn’t unusual since it was said that even divine revelations could miss during the descent of the Demon King.

But Rakza was a follower of Kalosia.

He wouldn’t dare speak of any shortcomings of the god.

Ketal didn’t point it out either.

“They have us surrounded.”

The wide plains tainted with evil.

There, dark magicians and monsters had taken their place.

The sacred land of the god was surrounded by evil.

“So, what should we do? Do we just need to destroy everything? It seems quite dangerous.”

“Oh, no. There’s no need for that.”

Rakza shook his head in alarm.

“Please, follow me.”

Rakza led Ketal to the outside of the sacred land.

[Roar!]

Several monsters were charging toward the sacred land from the plains.

Among them were monsters that Ketal had already defeated.

[Roar!]

A monster that reached the sacred land swung its club wildly.

And then, a burst of light erupted.

*Screeeech!*

[Ugh!]

The charging monsters were flung away.

Ketal’s eyes widened.

“Oh?”

[Roar!]

The monsters attacked again, but the light continuously repelled them.

“This is a sacred land.”

Rakza said calmly.

“Ordinary evil beings cannot approach.”

A translucent ring of light surrounded the sacred land.

“Wow.”

Ketal was impressed.

It was a truly magnificent sight.

Rakza waved his hand lightly.

Blades of light flew out, cutting down the monsters attacking the sacred land.

“There is no need to respond to every single attack. They cannot break through the barrier of the sacred land. They know that as well.”

Thus, the dark magicians would gather enough strength and only attack when they judged they could break the sacred land’s defenses.

“We only need to respond at those times. When you came to help me this time, Ketal, that was one of those situations.”

“I understand, but do we not need to take more proactive measures? Just defending won’t resolve the situation.”

“Their ritual has limits as well.”

The plains tainted with darkness couldn’t be maintained for a long time.

At most, they had a few months.

“Help will come from outside eventually. Their goal is to either starve us out before the ritual ends or break through the sacred land’s barrier. Our goal is to hold out until then.”

“I see.”

Whichever side held out longer would win.

It was a sort of game of chicken.

Having understood the situation, Ketal asked.

“So, what are the enemy’s forces like?”

“Two superhuman-level dark magicians. Many first-class and second-class ones. Plus, countless monsters.”

Ketal whistled.

It was a force capable of destroying a small country.

“That’s quite a lot. No demons?”

“No? There shouldn’t be any.”

Rakza shook his head with a bewildered expression.

The descent of a demon was extremely rare.

When it did happen, it shook the entire continent and became a historical event.

It wasn’t something that happened easily.

“Is that so?”

Ketal tilted his head.

‘I’ve already seen it happen three times.’

To Ketal, it didn’t seem that rare.

“Then what about your forces?”

“…One superhuman-level holy knight. And the saint. About ten first-class priests and many second-class priests.”

“That’s a significant disparity.”

Even with a rough estimate, it was clear they were outmatched.

Without the protection of the sacred land, they would have been annihilated long ago.

“You must have gone through a lot.”

Rakza gave a bitter smile instead of denying it.

He spoke.

“There are two superhuman-level dark magicians. Their individual power is top-notch.”

A fully prepared magician is extremely powerful.

Although holy power has an inherent advantage over evil, it was still difficult to deal with them.

That’s why they had been in a precarious situation without much leeway.

“But… it will be different now.”

Rakza looked at Ketal.

Ketal had overwhelmed the superhuman-level dark magician.

He had shattered all the enemy’s attacks with sheer physical strength.

Rakza swallowed hard.

“In any case… there is no need for you to act immediately. Please, feel free to do as you like.”

“I see. Then I can just freely explore for a while.”

“As you wish.”

Rakza bowed politely.

“Once again, thank you. Thanks to you, we were able to overcome this crisis.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Ketal smiled.

After parting with Rakza, Ketal was left alone.

“Well then.”

He started walking around the sacred land with light steps.

* * *

This was a real sacred land of the god.

It was Ketal’s first time visiting such a place.

This meant there were many sights to see and things he was curious about.

It felt like he was on a trip.

Even while talking to Rakza, his attention kept drifting to his surroundings.

Ketal explored the sacred land as if he were a tourist.

‘The basic structure isn’t much different from the capital of the Denian Kingdom.’

There were numerous houses and shops, and at the center was a massive church.

The basic layout was the same.

The difference was the abundance of statues of the god.

They appeared almost every block.

Ketal stood still, gazing at one of the statues.

‘Is this what Kalosia looks like?’

The figure wore a robe and a hood.

Since this was a world where gods actually existed, this must indeed be the image of Kalosia.

Kalosia’s face was hidden by the hood, leaving it unclear whether the god was male or female, old or young.

Only the eyes were visible between the folds of the hood.

Those eyes met Ketal’s.

Kalosia and Ketal stared at each other.

Ketal continued to wander around the sacred land.

And at a certain distance, there were people following Ketal.

They were the followers of Kalosia.

They whispered among themselves.

“Is that the person who came to help us?”

“…A barbarian? Really?”

“Heize said so….”

The followers of Kalosia were very interested in Ketal.

It was only natural.

They were surrounded by evil and in a perilous situation.

Despite their plight, they had been abandoned with no one coming to help them due to their misdeeds.

In such a situation, an outsider who approached them first to offer help.

They couldn’t help but be curious.

Normally, they would have approached Ketal and asked him many questions.

But no one dared to approach Ketal, keeping a certain distance instead.

“He’s scary….”

“Can we, can we talk to him?”

Barbarians were known to disdain gods and hate their followers.

This was common knowledge across the continent.

The followers had heard all sorts of rumors about barbarians.

Some even attacked without question.

And now, such a barbarian had come to help them.

They were confused about how to deal with Ketal.

Because of this, a ring of people formed at a distance around Ketal.

‘What’s this?’

Ketal, on his part, was only looking around from a distance, making it awkward for them to approach him first.

This strange standoff continued until something changed.