Chapter 117
Chapter 117
Divine Descent
"…So, Lionhearted. We all know you're a noble knight."
Alester spoke with a tone that suggested he was struggling to get the words out.
Of course, even in the Holy Crown Kingdom, no one who had participated in the Allied War could be unaware of someone like him—a man who had displayed the might of a one-man army in battle.
"But I can’t permit you to just leap off a coastal cliff without any safety gear."
"……."
…And that made it all the harder, because it was that very person saying such unreasonable things.
The other members of the royal family nearby all silently nodded in agreement. No matter how exceptional he was, they couldn't just stand by and watch him do something so recklessly dangerous.
That is—
Except for the fact that the one saying all of this, Lionhearted himself, was speaking with unwavering determination.
"But didn’t you say that traces of Sir Aiden and Her Highness were discovered down there?"
"……."
At that, no one could respond.
Indeed, after tracking their footsteps all day, they had finally concluded that the two of them were somewhere down below.
Lionhearted was as renowned for his noble character as for his reputation. His willingness to dive headfirst into danger for the sake of his comrades was a true model of knighthood.
Alester's words, spoken in an attempt to reassure him, came from that same place.
"Please don’t worry too much, Lionhearted. A rescue team will be deployed soon, and—"
"No. I don’t think that’ll be necessary."
"…Pardon?"
"I’ve been watching those two infuriating people from the sidelines for quite some time now. They’re not the kind who’d die just from getting dragged down a cliff and going missing. Honestly, we could probably just wait for them to climb back up on their own."
"……."
…Then why was he gritting his teeth, ready to throw himself down there?
That question crossed everyone’s minds, but fortunately, before anyone could speak it aloud, Lionhearted continued his explanation.
"I just don’t like the idea of the two of them being alone together."
"……."
"A man and a woman, alone in a dark, damp place? Are you kidding me?!"
Anything could happen down there!
—As those words rang out, the faces of everyone nearby went blank all at once.
"…Well, when you put it that way."
Watching Milene quietly nod in agreement, Alester clutched his head and let out a sigh.
'…Wasn't there a phrase for this? Something like a swallow diving into water?'
It was the kind of timing that would make Aiden rub his temples the moment he heard that nickname again.
▣
Come to think of it, Katya had always been someone with the image of a constant chatterbox deeply etched into her.
Back in the Empire, even when she hadn’t done anything particularly violent, people around her would flee.
There was no one for her to be wary of, and no reason to be. There had never been any factor capable of stopping her from doing exactly what she wanted.
And so—
The way she had barely opened her mouth since arriving in the Holy Crown Kingdom was, in fact, worrying.
Still, even taking that into account—
"……."
"……."
Her behavior inside this cave now was extreme, even by those standards.
The first thing Katya did upon waking up—after having fallen asleep with her head resting on his lap and softly snoring—was to scowl without saying a word.
"……."
"……."
What followed was a relentless combo of complete silence with zero explanation.
And it was highly effective. Aiden found it harder and harder to breathe.
‘…This woman.’
He had seen her tension drop drastically more frequently in recent days, but this seemed to be the worst state she’d been in so far.
If he recalled correctly, Katya’s Personal Quest had something to do with overcoming traumas buried deep within her.
Maybe she knew something about this place too.
"Katya. Could it be—"
As he voiced his suspicion in question form, a stiff and halting response came from her mouth.
"…This is the place directly beneath the altar."
"The altar?"
"You saw it too, didn’t you? The one where the First Flame was burning."
…Ah, that.
She must be referring to that structure Aiden had, irreverently, thought looked like a torch the moment he laid eyes on it.
Apparently, there was a separate chamber attached beneath it…
‘Why would they even build something like that?’
There was probably some religious significance behind it, but once again, he couldn’t help but have blasphemous thoughts rise first.
"This is actually the real one."
"Sorry?"
"That thing up there is just for show. The real ‘First Divine Flame’ is held down here."
"……."
Well. That did explain some things.
But not all of them.
Why was it hidden? Why bury something so sacred in a dark, damp underground chamber? And more importantly, how did Katya know such a classified truth?
Thankfully, it seemed she would at least explain that last part.
“I’ve only been here once. I was so young back then that I barely remember it.”
Katya quietly continued speaking.
But in her eyes, a storm of deeply rooted, tangled negative emotions swirled.
“…It’s the place used for the second ‘baptism.’”
“Baptism?”
“I mean, where they imbue the divine power with a particular trait.”
“…….”
Aiden closed his mouth the moment he realized what she meant.
In other words—
This was the place where she had awakened her divine power’s trait, at the cost of losing all her senses.
There was no way she could associate this place with anything remotely positive.
Still, that wasn’t the only reason—he was sure of that.
Katya quietly stepped forward, heels clicking faintly, and suddenly wrapped her arms tightly around his.
She only reached up to his chest, given Aiden’s height, so her size made the embrace look almost perfectly snug.
“…Katya?”
Since she wasn’t exactly the flirtatious type, he watched her in silence, wondering what in the world she was doing.
In a sunken voice, Katya spoke haltingly.
“I heard something a long time ago. That this place draws in a lot of strong energy, and because of that, all kinds of things get twisted here.”
“Could you explain that a little more simply?”
“…They say ghosts come out.”
“…Sorry?”
“They say this is a place where ghosts appear.”
“…….”
…Right.
That kind of thing probably existed.
Even the bracelet hanging from Aiden’s wrist was holding two souls inside it right now.
‘…Come to think of it.’
Noel had reacted far more casually to these kinds of things than Katya.
Ghosts were tangible entities, so she figured she could just beat them up and be done with it.
In that sense, Katya seemed to have a much more delicate emotional makeup compared to Noel…
“…Katya.”
“What.”
“Are you… afraid of ghosts?”
“So what.”
“…….”
“Is that weird?”
It was weird.
Divine power, at its core, was a supernatural ability that gave an overwhelming advantage against spiritual beings. If she met a ghost, she could probably exorcise it just by breathing on it—what on earth was she scared of?
Still, Aiden was sensible enough not to say any of that aloud in front of a glaring Katya.
For someone who normally would scoff and ask what’s so scary about it, the fact that she wasn’t even trying to deny it made it clear—she was genuinely frightened.
Watching Katya cling to him like a pet sloth, Aiden let out a deep sigh and stood up.
As a result, her feet didn’t even touch the ground, and she ended up practically draped over his arms like he was carrying her—but even then, she only buried her face deeper into him, showing not the slightest intention of letting go…
“…Let’s get moving. I have a bad feeling about staying still.”
By now, there was likely chaos in the Grand Sanctuary, and they had probably sent out a rescue team to search for them. But if this place was, as Katya had said, full of odd and potentially dangerous things, then just sitting around and waiting could be risky.
It would be better to move carefully and gather whatever information they could.
Katya didn’t voice any objections, so it seemed she agreed.
…Or maybe she was just too focused on hanging off Aiden’s arm like a koala to think about anything else.
Fortunately, they hadn’t walked far before they came across something not dangerous—but rather puzzling.
‘…This place.’
It was a massive cavern.
So vast that even the soft sound of his footsteps echoed loudly, scattering in all directions.
“Whoa.”
And at the very center of this massive space was a structure so mysterious that Aiden found himself unintentionally letting out a breath of wonder.
If the altar on the surface looked like a torch stuck upright in the ground with colorless flame blazing from it, this one was its mirror image: a torch-shaped structure extended downward from the ceiling, with its head pointed toward the earth.
And from the tip, a flame emitted heat—one that made Aiden tilt his head in confusion.
‘…Red?’
How should he put it?
Unlike the colorless divine flames they’d seen before, this one looked much more like a true red flame, like the kind seen in the real world.
As if the one aboveground was merely a ‘replica,’ and this was the ‘original.’
Aiden found himself momentarily entranced, staring at it. It had that kind of supernatural allure.
So—
It took him a little longer to notice the other ‘presence’ near the torch.
He stepped back in alarm and muttered,
“Katya?”
“What? What?! What is it?!”
“…….”
Clutching his arm like she was trying to crush it, Katya let out a string of shrill cries.
“You really don’t see it? That’s Katya.”
“What?! What do you mean?! I don’t see anything!”
“…….”
Even though Katya was frantically shouting beside him, Aiden hadn’t been talking about her.
How could she not see it?
Aiden stared ahead at the thing seated in the middle of the massive cavern.
He didn’t mean Katya—what was there was a huge Katya.
At least dozens of times larger than a normal person.
It took up nearly the entire space of the cavern.
Honestly, it was hard to even call it human. Normal people didn’t have golden particles floating and swirling around their bodies. The darkness of the cavern only made those glimmers stand out more.
It was an entity that clearly defied all normal ‘rules.’
Reclining with its chin resting on its hand, smiling, and making direct eye contact with both Katya and Aiden—
It had a strikingly familiar face.
And whatever it was, the system window seemed ready to offer an explanation.
—System Message—
▶ You are now in contact with Sia, the God of Purification.
…Why is a god showing up here?