277-A dragon hidden in the body




 The canopy, which had turned into a permanent immortal divine body, glowed white and silver.

 That heavenly light poured down to the depths of the earth, illuminating the Regalondror.
 The dazzling light shone on Golloana's body as she knelt and prayed, and he couldn't help but look up above his head.



 The stunned words spilled out.

 The divine dragon's singing voice disappeared. Now that the phonetic magic circle has been cut off and the trace god has been destroyed, it would be impossible to use the again.

 I picked up the Book of Traces that fell on the floor and walked to Gorloana.

''........Is this the answer.......''

 As if to mock himself, Gorloana says

''Well it seems that you were right...''

 With empty eyes staring into the canopy, he continues to speak.

'My prayers, God, and have been shattered. The treacherous god who should have betrayed you did not betray you, and the canopy still separates us....

 Gorloana gritted her back teeth.
 Tears seeped from her empty eyes.

''God, Eques will lead me to the right path. However, there is no more destination for this path I am walking. I have lost my prayers, my God, and all the geordal I have ever known...

 Gorloana turns her gaze to me, who is standing in front of her.

'Are you right, we've just continued to assume that the accumulation of one hundred and fifty years of this meaningless drudgery was a meaningful teaching...?

 The Pope asks me.
 Perhaps it's because all of those prayers were blown out of the water in an instant, as if I was clinging to a new hope.

'...If I had stopped praying and taken your hand in the chanting hall, would I, would we have been saved this day, this day, this day?

"I don't know.

 Perhaps it was an unexpected word, but Gorloana's expression was tinged with surprise.

The only thing I denied was the ridiculous act of aggression of reincarnating the entire earth. That is the only thing that was a waste of time, and I don't know anything else. I didn't deny the heart of your people, who kept on hoping for the salvation of this country and the depths of the earth.

 Gorloana just stared at me in amazement, as if she couldn't keep up with her thoughts.

 If I say something plausible here, he may come to worship me.
 He might even want to worship me as a god and hang on to me now that I've shown him a greater miracle after one hundred and fifty years of prayer.

 But I'm not going to do that.
 That will only change the object of your prayers.

Geordar invaded the earth and I, King of the Dirheid, prevented it. This battle will mean nothing more to you than that.

 He prayed and prayed, but he was not saved.
 I fought a war, only to lose.

 All I want to confront is that brutal fact.

My demand of this country is twofold. Don't invade it. And, insofar as you can, protect the well-being of your people.

 He slowly shook his head from side to side with a resigned look on his face.

''........Unfortunately, I am not qualified to promise that at the earliest.......''

 Gorloana unclasped her hands in prayer as if she was deflated.
 Then she drew a magic circle.

'The Pope is allowed to rest in prayer only once in his life, sir.

 Putting her hand in the center of the magic circle, Gorloana pulled out a dagger from within it.

''Don't worry. This is the sword of penitence. It is for a wayward pope to repent for his sins with his life and ask for forgiveness from God. One hundred and fifty years of prayers have not been answered and salvation has not come. It is all my sins. This prayer must have fallen short.

 Putting the sword of penitence to his throat, Gorloana gripped the hilt tightly.
 He brought his magic to the extreme limit of nothingness.

'Bring this sinful soul to God. Wash away my sins with my blood, and lead us to righteousness, I beg of you, Gioldar.

 Fresh blood is scattered, and a large amount of blood runs down the penitential sword and drips down.



 Unspeakable voices escape.
 The fierce pain of death tormented Gorloana, and his face was filled with anguish.

 Even as he does so, he folds his hands again for the last time and prays.

 Gorloana suppressed any resistance against that penitential sword.
 If he didn't even use recovery magic, he would die in a matter of seconds.

 If by nature.

.........huh..........?

 The Pope questioned as he was astonished and fearful and warring.



I have cast a spell of suspended animation. Whatever state you're in, you are not going to die.

.........................

 The Pope's face is tinged with despair.

'A pope can only rest in prayer once in his life. Now you can no longer wash away that sin.

 His hands were trembling as he prayed.

'We don't take the lives of the people of the earth, we just eliminate their boundaries. You have shown mercy to us, your enemies, and I am not going to take it from you. Therefore, the only thing I will take away from you is your repentance.

Unlock the magic! Now!

"No.

 I pull out my penitential sword from his throat.

'.........gahhh.......!

 Gorloana's body was enveloped in a spell of light.
 <I healed the wound with the Ent.

"If you wish to die, you must pick up the dagger again. Or else you will die in disobedience.

 Gorloana bites her back teeth as if to say that she can't.

It's going to be........!

'To remain unclean, burdened with sin, and a living disgrace as the first pope to fail to accomplish penance.

 Golloana looks desperate.
 A pope who could not follow his teachings and die.

 How many of the faithful will point the finger behind him?

'Suffer, be tormented, and while you live, think of the means of atonement in your own head. "Think of the means of atonement in your own mind as you suffer and suffer and live, and you will be surprised at what you find. Would the shedding of blood be enough to atone for your sins?

 Gorloana shook with all her strength at the fate that awaited her.

'No sin is so light that it can be atoned for in death. Don't look to the gods once in a while, but take care of it yourself.

 Putting magic power into the magic eye, I opened Golloana's storage magic circle with all my strength.
 There, I returned the Sword of Repentance and the Book of Traces that Lieberschneid had.

 Inexplicably, Gorloana's expression distorts.

''.........You, your God, must also be seeking the memories of the past....... Now that there are no trace gods, even though the power of the Book of Traces is limited, this should be a clue to your memories. Why are you returning it to me...?

"Have you forgotten the last words of the trace god?

 Here is your prayer," said the god.

"This wizardry contains 150 years' worth of wishes that you popes have made for your country. You have no right to speak of peace if you are afraid to touch it for fear of forgetting a few things.

 If I use the Time God's Scythe, it will break.
 And the Book of Traces will be the same.

"...What do you want?

There are two demands I mentioned above. If you abide by them, whether you believe in God or not, that is the way you will go, and I will not tell you what to do.

 He raises one hand and lightly squeezes it once.

'But I believe that one day we will be able to hold hands. It's not just Dillhade and Geordal. Nor Agaha, nor Gadeisiola, nor Azation.

I don't know what goes on on earth, but the conflict in the depths of the earth has deep roots. It's hard to believe that the time will ever come for those who teach differently to understand each other...

That's what I thought 2,000 years ago in the Great War. No human will ever come hand in hand with a human.

 I said to a bewildered Gorloana.

'God and prayer have just ceased. You have a great sin on your shoulders, and you have much to think about. I will not give you a hand now. But you must put your mind in order before the next time we meet.

 <Draw a magic circle of flight and enchantment.

"I ask only one thing.

 Before I took off, I said, "I don't doubt that Arcana is a treacherous god.

'There is no doubt that Arcana is an apostate god. But you once spoke of her as Militia, the god of creation.

 The Pope listens to my words and looks straight at me.

'Was that a lie to conspire against me? Or was she also a creator god?

 Disobedient God is not exactly the name of a god.
 It's just what the people of the earth called the god who disobeyed the order and continued to betray them.

 Then Genudunub should have had the name of the original god.
 It wouldn't be surprising if it was the Creator God.

''That was........''

 Golloana muttered in a small voice.
 If you look at him, the right arm of the guy who wore the selection pact bead was discolored to black.

''What's that imitation?''

"...what are you talking about?

 Gorloana has a question on her face. I can't believe it's a lie.
 But if you look into your eyes, the magic power emanating from your right arm has risen to an extraordinary degree.

Hm. I'm sure something is lurking inside of you.

 At the same time as the words were spoken, with a Revine Girma, he slashed off Golloana's right hand.



 Then, only the face of a purple dragon appeared wetly from the severed surface of his right arm.
 I was warned that it was coming towards us, but that thing ate Gorloana's right hand.

 Two blue fires flickered in the demon's eyes.
 Was it the Alliance Pearl of Selection, the Trace God and the Gospel God who dwelt there due to their destruction that wanted to be eaten?

''Which one's god is this? You may identify yourself.

 <The Revein Gilma is flashed with the Wave Body Covered Manifestation (Veneziara).
 The dragon's head fell off in a blur.



 A scream comes from Gorloana.
 Apparently, it's a parasite on his body. They must have shared the pain as well.

''..........Ha........High Dragon........High King of Gadesiola.......gaha.........''

 A pair of dragon wings burst through Gorloana's body and a pair of dragon wings grow on his back.



 From the magic circle drawn by the Pope, a huge spear appears.
 He sent it flying with a
''Gosh........!

Hmm. Keep it together. 

 With Levine Girma, the wings of that dragon are slashed off.

''..........gahhhh.......!

This is gonna hurt a little bit. I'll try to be patient.

 <He pierced the Pope's body with his fingertips with the Root Source Death Kill (Bevsed).
 He grabbed the High Dragon that was parasitic on the root source and forcibly tore it off.

''Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

 The dragon's screams pierce my ears.
 Each time I pull out my right arm, the body of the giant dragon slips out of Gorloana's body.

"Hmm. I didn't know such a big and stupid dragon was lurking around.

 I lifted the huge high dragon and slammed it to the floor as hard as I could.
 But still unafraid, the purple dragon opened its jaws and rushed forward as if it wanted to eat me.

 With Revein Gilma, I cut it in both directions.
 Torn in half, the source of the dragon's roots disappeared.

 However, in the next moment, the body of the dragon that was torn in two was contorted languidly and it turned into two dragons.

 Those two bodies, which kicked the floor and jumped at him from both sides, were also cut down under a moment.
 The two roots had indeed disappeared.

 But this time, those pieces of flesh turned into four dragons.

''Guaaaah...!

 At Gorloana's scream, I looked over and saw that his body had turned into a half-dragon.
 A moment later, Gorloana jumped up above my head.

 Four dragons jumped at me, but I cut them down with my Revein Gilma.

 This time the pieces of meat turn into eight dragons. The moment I cut down those that attacked me at the same time, Gorloana opens her mouth and is about to spit out purple fire from it at me.

 A moment later, 16 dragons now stand in front of me.
 I cut them down and stared in front of me, but Golloana's figure had already disappeared.

''Hm. He's escaped.

 From Gorloana, they had indeed torn out the root source and destroyed a total of thirty-one dragons.
 All of them were definitely responsive.

 So does that mean that the High Dragon is a collection of multiple dragons?
 Or, like Rey, it could have multiple roots.

 It seems that the objective was Golloana from the beginning.
 They were probably waiting for him to lose his divine power and become unable to resist.

 It would seem that the trace gods would be able to see what was lurking in his body, though.
 Is the power of the High Dragon to prevent that from happening?

 If I was lucky, I might have wanted to take care of the exhausted me as well, but from the fact that I didn't come to challenge him, he doesn't seem to be an idiot who doesn't understand the difference in power.

 There's also the matter of Ceris.

 I had to say hello to the High King of Gadaishiora as well. If he went out of his way to take Gorloana without killing her, he would keep her alive for a while.

 It's a good excuse to go see him.