Chapter 34
Chapter 34: Revenge is a Hundredfold (3)
"So Divine Favor truly does follow Director Erik."
Once might be coincidence, but twice or more repeated could not be dismissed as mere chance.
The Emperor drummed his fingers on the Throneand gazed at the Prime Minister.
"As Your Majesty states."
The Prime Minister bowed his head.
Erik had only entered the Labyrinthtwice.
Yet what were the results?
"First he brought the Sacred Relic and pressured the Almanism Church, and this time he prevented the schemes of the Black Mages."
Both the Sacred Relic and the resurgence of the Black Mages were not situations easily encountered.
"Receiving Divine Favor must be tiring as well."
The Emperor chuckled bitterly and shook his head.
Tuk-tuk!
From the armrest of the Throne, signals transmitted from the Information Bureau continued to arrive incessantly.
[Director Erik—Labyrinth Plaza Sealed]
[Security Bureau 1st Knight Order, 2nd Knight Order Deployed]
Sealing the Labyrinth Plaza exceeded the authority of the Director of Possessor Management Bureau.
However.
"Prime Minister, resistance is execution."
"I will relay Your Majesty's command."
The Emperor extended his hand in support of Erik.
The Black Mages who had plunged the continent into chaos.
Such Black Mages had not only taken control of Labyrinth Level 2, but were now entangled with the Possessors.
"I wonder if abolishing the Immediate Execution Law for Possessorswas premature."
His mouth felt bitter.
"Your Majesty, it is now difficult for the Empire to be solely responsible for conquering the Labyrinth."
"Indeed. I am aware."
The Emperor was preparing a Conquest War.
With the Great Cataclysm Patch, which had been mere rumor until now, drawing near, there was no room for hesitation.
The Labyrinth would continue to torment humanity, after all.
Before the world collapsed further, the Emperor had resolved to act.
"Even if all of us combined our strength, it would not be enough, and yet the kingdoms are merely preoccupied with filling their own coffers."
Heuheo.
The Emperor's sigh filled the great hall.
'If general conquest proves difficult, and the Great Cataclysm Patch is realized…….'
Observing such an Emperor, the Prime Minister stroked his beard.
The highest level of the Labyrinth undergoes no reset.
It is a world unto itself, continuing until the Floor Master dies.
Unconquered Monsters become calamities and are released into the world.
"I do not know when conquest will end in this generation, but…… the kingdoms likely sent only barons and below."
According to the original agreement, nobles of the Empire and the Three Kingdoms were to conquer the highest level.
This included the Imperial and Royal families.
Rather, they were the ones who took the lead.
However, at some point, the three kingdoms began reducing the number of people sent to the Labyrinth.
"Those who claim the title of King and Noble have abandoned their duty."
"It is no different from the Empire alone conquering five levels."
The reason Imperial subjects praise the Imperial Family and respect the nobility.
It is because they protect their people from the world's annihilation.
This tradition had continued since ancient times when the Labyrinth first appeared.
"That they cannot unite their strength."
He had waited well over a decade.
The Emperor's patience had reached its limit.
Had it not been for the Possessor incident, he would have waited at least another decade.
"I must annex them to the Empire."
Things are different now.
Conquer the Labyrinth using Possessors.
The Emperor intended to unify the world.
If they cannot become one, then he would make them one.
Ttok!
The hand drumming on the armrest of the Throne stopped.
The Prime Minister felt complicated emotions.
'For the conquest war to resume in Erica's generation of all times.'
It was necessary work, and he supported it without doubt.
However, his daughter taking the front line was far from welcome.
Just as both the Emperor and Prime Minister were lost in complicated thoughts.
Piiee-piiee!
A Crystal Orb placed in the center of the great hall blazed with light.
[Possessor Management Bureau]
[Person Requesting Audience – Erik]
Seeing the name of the recipient appearing on the enormous Crystal Orb, the complicated thoughts seemed to clear.
The Emperor's eyes brightened.
'Did he ask for 300 million last time?'
What would he say this time?
Curiosity welled up.
For Erik was an extraordinarily unique being, much like Riferoze Astia.
Hwik! The Emperor raised his hand to grant permission for the communication.
—Your Majesty, it is an honor to see you.
A colossal Paladin appeared beyond the Crystal Orb.
Erik greeted the Emperor with his head bowed, and behind him appeared a corpulent, elderly man.
He was attempting to hide his body somewhere behind Erik.
"Raise your head."
At the Emperor's words, Erik raised his head.
Even through the Crystal Orb, he shone with brilliant radiance.
Erik spoke thus.
—I wish to deliver a Holy Bomb to the Black Mages' headquarters.
Silence fell.
Deliver what to where?
At the sudden statement, both the Emperor and Prime Minister were momentarily at a loss for words.
***
The light from the Crystal Orb communicating with the Emperor faded in the Director's Office of the Possessor Management Bureau.
'Swift resolution.'
Erik moved quickly.
'Fortunate that the Emperor has a generous nature.'
Contrary to his reputation as a stern Imperial Court, the Emperor possessed a straightforward temperament.
Would 'Generous Imperial Court' not suit better?
He had merely provided a simple explanation and requested assistance, yet the Emperor had granted his permission without hesitation.
He had even expressed his anticipation, making it reasonable to expect the banquet to be brought forward.
"Now, if I proclaim the Holy War, it will be finished."
The Emperor had granted permission and sealed the Labyrinth Plaza.
Erik's next procedure was the proclamation of a Holy War.
His plan was to use 'Guild Home Transfer Ticket' to deliver the Holy Bomb and cause devastation within, while outside, the Paladin Corps would charge in.
Erik retrieved the Pilgrim's Mark affixed to his shoulder.
"Boss, what are you proclaiming?"
The elderly man caught on a beat too late.
His mind had been foggy from inadvertently seeing the Emperor…….
He had heard an odd statement.
What? A Holy War?
For the elderly man, it was scarcely different from a calamity.
'I am doomed to die.'
The elderly man lamented his fate.
The text inscribed on the jade-colored iron badge in Erik's hand was extremely clear.
[Pilgrim Erik.]
Riferoze's name had been erased, and Erik's name was newly inscribed.
This object was not merely a means of identity verification.
'Holy War proclamation.'
The elderly Black Mage was very well acquainted with the functions of the badge.
If coordinates were marked with the miracle contained in the badge, the Astia Religious Order's Paladins would come rushing.
'How dreadful.'
The Possessor Management Bureau.
The very fact that it was located in District 1 where the Imperial Palace stood was terrifying enough.
Now sweaty Paladins were about to come pouring in as well.
Hyuhui!
The elderly man salivated nervously.
"Elderly man, do not worry yourself unnecessarily."
Erik approached to calm him.
Facing the weighty duty of delivering the Holy Bomb, he was managing the elderly man's stress.
"So long as you do not kill people, I shall have no reason to kill you."
"Hyuh……."
For the elderly man, these were words he could not believe.
What had Erik said?
'I will attach a Holy Bomb to my body and deliver it…….
Yet he also told him not to worry.
"Have I ever broken a promise?"
Watching the anxiety-filled elderly man, Erik asked.
'Hyuheuheum.'
The elderly man racked his memory, but no matter how much he thought, there was no instance where Erik had broken a promise.
The elderly man nodded in silence.
"Do not worry, elderly man. I will not mark the coordinates here."
As Erik spoke thus, he imbued the Pilgrim's Mark with divinity.
Kiing!.
A weighty light of divinity rose in the middle of the Director's Office.
The crude jade-colored iron badge blazed with brilliant golden radiance.
"Hyuik!"
The elderly man cried out in terror and hid his body in the corner of the room.
Kiing!.
The light grew increasingly intense.
And with it, brilliant divinity settled upon Erik's body.
Erik calmly closed his eyes and envisioned the coordinates.
'Is this about right?'
A sensation of guessing roughly by feeling.
Erik, who had been tilting his head halfheartedly, nodded.
At the same moment, the light vanished from the Pilgrim's Mark.
Ttok.
As if nothing had happened, the Director's Office returned to its normal state.
The brilliant light had vanished.
And the terrified elderly man ceased his screams.
The quiet, deep wood-colored office returned to silence.
"W-What on earth—."
Breaking the silence, an astonished voice rang out.
Erik and the elderly man turned their heads to look at the door.
A Royal Guard of the Imperial Household stood at the threshold with his mouth agape, staring at Erik.
"Director Erik……."
The Royal Guard recognized the light of divinity.
Only transcendent beings and Sword Masters who had broken through the walls could become the Imperial Household's Royal Guard.
Divinity was a power forbidden to him.
Yet he possessed the discernment to recognize what power was manifesting.
'Assembly…… and location designation.'
The light emanating from the Pilgrim's Mark possessed such functions.
"How do you know the coordinates of a foreign Count's territory?"
This could be called an interrogation.
Yet Erik understood the true intent.
'Pure admiration. And curiosity.'
The Royal Guard's question contained no impurity.
Divinity has the nature of comprehending even the hidden meanings of those who speak.
Therefore, Erik too provided a pure answer.
"I was taught by my Master."
In the days when performing miracles of transfer and roaming the world with his Master.
Erik had memorized virtually every coordinate.
Like Mages, he could not create formulas using the veins of mana for calculation.
Like Adventurers, he could not infer locations by reading constellations and the Heavenly Mechanism.
However.
'It struck with brutal accuracy.'
Through violent, rote education accompanied by violence, he had come to perfectly memorize the location itself.
"By Riferoze……."
The Royal Guard nodded in understanding.
Though he could not explain the process, the Master's reputation did its work.
Once the curiosity was resolved, the Royal Guard again stood firmly before the door. It was a gesture indicating he would not interfere regardless of what Erik did.
After confirming the Royal Guard had withdrawn, Erik approached the elderly man.
The corpulent elderly man, who had crammed himself into the corner of the room, screamed 'Hyuik!'
"Now it is your turn."
The Holy War had been proclaimed.
All that remained was to create the Holy Bomb.
"Hyuhihihi!!"
With his approaching footsteps, the elderly man cried out in fear.
***
Kuguguguguguung!!!
The Papal Palace of the Astia Religious Order.
Light erupted from the colossal structure standing in the Neutral Zone.
The Papal Palace, built at the edge of a cliff, had the appearance of a fortress.
The outer ramparts surrounded by massive walls.
And within lay the inner ramparts where the Pope resided.
Cheolchuk!
The heavy gate opened.
Between the fully opened gates from the inner ramparts to the outer ramparts, a straight path was revealed.
Kuung! Kuung! Kuung! Kung!
Over the broad path, the solemn advance of Paladins began.
Peorak!
The choir, imparting wide-area blessings, followed the Paladin Corps carrying flags.
The emblem of six wings enfolding the long cross signifying the Astia Religious Order.
The emblem of the crimson cross signifying the Holy War KnightOrder.
Behind the advancing Paladin Corps, the Papal Palace was visible.
Between the rounded domes, windows composed of stained glass sparkled.
"Your Holiness, what does this sudden Holy War mean?"
From the window, the Pope and Archbishop gazed down at the departing Paladins.
"Hehehe, it is Erik."
The Religious Order had appointed four Pilgrims in total.
Riferoze was in a missing state, so there were three active Pilgrimsin all.
"That a Pilgrim has proclaimed a Holy War…… Could we not stop it now if we wished?"
As the Archbishop said.
It was not a common occurrence.
A Pilgrim could proclaim a Holy War, but…….
"How could we halt a sacred Holy War once proclaimed?"
In nearly a century, only Riferoze had actually proclaimed a Holy War.
"There must be grounds. A Holy War would not be raised without cause."
However, the Pope was not one to judge people by age.
He had already witnessed Erik's divinity.
And he felt it.
'Would a child so beloved by the Father proclaim a Holy War carelessly?'
There were no precursors to a Holy War.
Yet there was certainly a reason.
"Archbishop, where were the coordinates?"
"They appear to be the Garcian Kingdom."
The miracle of God.
The Pilgrim's Mark reveals coordinates to all of the Religious Order's combat personnel.
Then all available personnel rush to that location.
This was the improved law of Holy War proclamation, developed from the calamity of the Black Mages.
Baang!
The Paladins leaped down the sheer cliff at the edge of the Papal Palace.
Below that lay the Neutral Zone.
Alternatively, a place called a danger zone bordering the demon realm.
"Prepare the Miracle of Teleportation!"
The Paladins roaming the sheer cliff were enveloped in light one by one and vanished.
Biiiing!
The place where they appeared was.
[Garcian Kingdom Frontier Count's Territory]
Piiiiik!
The Frontier Count's patrol rushed toward the castle.
"C-Crisis, sir!"
"What crisis?"
In the office where the Frontier Count should have been, a young man sat with an arrogant posture as if he owned the place.
At his side, the Frontier Count waited with lowered head like a servant.
"The Astia Religious Order's Paladin Corps surrounds the castle!"
"And so?"
The soldier who came to report was urgent, but the man who had occupied the office was utterly composed.
He gazed at the soldier with a gentle smile.
"Relax. There is no sign of black magic to reveal."
"M-My lord…… even looking out the window, you say such things?"
The reporting soldier was flustered.
Out the window of the Frontier Count's office, a long spear was visible.
"Haha! A head is impaled on it."
Yoon Tae-su, the Possessor, burst into laughter at the sight.
Observing a man laughing without grasping the situation, the patrol soldier frowned.
And he shouted.
"Hey! Yoon Tae-su! Damn it, seriously. Have you lost your mind playing Frontier Count?"
Standing a good two meters tall, with dark skin.
Possessing the characteristics of a southern combat tribe, Yoon Tae-su sat in the office with an appearance of refinement.
"Krkuk, you were distracted playing patrol leader yourself."
As Yoon Tae-su grinned, white teeth gleamed through his dark skin.
He spoke thus.
"Because of the Guild Home system, there is no way for the Church bastards to detect black magic. Lim Ji-young, do not panic."
"Damn it, do not call me by my real name."
Lim Ji-young, a man with the appearance of a gap-toothed rural peasant, frowned.
"Soon, the ones we sent to the Labyrinth should return…..."
Paat!
At that moment, light erupted from the floor where the Guild's insignia was marked in the office.
It was the effect of a Guild Memberusing the Guild Home Transfer Ticket.
"Oh. They arrived as if by magic the moment you mentioned it."
"Right."
The two Possessorswatched the Guildmark.
A figure began to form with a heavy presence.
"Hm…… did we have such a fatso?"
"G-Well? If we sent fewer than three people, we might not recognize their faces—."
"Huh? Is there an elderly man like that?"
Blue light rippled like a hologram, and a corpulent elderly man appeared.
His face was creased with wrinkles, making his features difficult to discern, but his body was composed of bloated flesh.
Beneath the thick fat, there was an unusually gleaming quality.
The elderly man looked at the two Possessors and suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hyuh, hyuhihihihi!!!"