[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 299: Seventh Circle (1)
Ten minutes before Lloyd regained consciousness,
an old man walked slowly along the deck with his hands folded behind his back, lost in thought.
‘Should I move to the side the mont the sword disappears…? No, perhaps it’s better to sharpen my intent and counter directly instead.’
It was none other than the Heavenly Sword.
When he had been forcefully transported onto the airship, he’d been a gravely injured man on the verge of collapse—
yet after receiving treatnt from the priests, he recovered within re hours.
Truly the recovery and resilience befitting a knight standing at the threshold of Level 8.
“Hm.”
The mont he regained consciousness, he’d wanted to return to the island at once—
but by then, it was already far too late.
Fortunately, it was the good kind of too late.
‘To think Belpher is already dead…’
Honestly, it still felt unreal.
The mont he fell, the very first thing that flashed through his mind had been worry for the expedition party.
He had desperately fought against the darkness clouding his mind, trying to stay awake—
but his wounds at the ti had simply been too severe.
‘I suppose it’s a relief things turned out well.’
The Heavenly Sword lowered his hands and looked at them.
Deep wrinkles had settled between the knuckles and across the back of his hands, like long-ti tenants.
Once, even a blade couldn’t leave a scratch on them—
yet ti showed no rcy.
With a faint smile, he retracted his hands and closed his eyes.
‘I must acknowledge it. I was arrogant.’
He had believed that no enemy under heaven could stand against soone who had reached the very peak of Level 8.
And truthfully, he still thought that was largely correct.
But that was no excuse for letting his guard down in front of a strong foe.
‘Of course, the holy sword shattering like dust wasn’t my fault…’
Yet in battle, anticipating and preventing such variables was also a part of one’s skill.
Had he inspected the blade even once before accepting it, none of that would have happened.
He was as strict with himself as he was with others—no, stricter.
“……”
He continued replaying the fight in his mind.
A sword grows sharper the more it is honed.
This ordeal, too, would push his long-stagnant skill one step further.
“Hoo…”
Opening his eyes as his thoughts settled, he unknowingly let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Had this expedition ended poorly, a nasty inner demon would surely have taken root.
With that thought, one person ca to mind.
‘Oscar Crucian.’
He had heard the general outline of what happened after he blacked out.
That Oscar had beco a vessel for divinity—
and consud every last bit of that power to defeat Belpher.
‘The more I learn about him, the stranger he gets.’
There were countless people obsessed with the tiniest scraps of power.
No—calling them “countless” was generous.
The majority of humanity fit that bill.
Even those who scread of purity and denounced corruption beca indistinguishable from the corrupt once given the sa position and the sa authority.
But Oscar had thrown away an unprecedented divine power without hesitation.
‘Well… having such a vessel is probably why he was chosen in the first place.’
He wondered briefly whether he could have done the sa.
If that kind of power had co to him back when he was rely Level 6…
Could he have cast it aside, the way Oscar had, in pursuit of what he believed was right?
“……”
A difficult question.
Right now, he was certain he could.
But the younger version of himself…?
He wasn’t so sure.
“Hm.”
Thinking about it, that kid Oscar really didn’t act like a kid at all.
Sotis he was inexplicably irritating—
and whenever that happened…
‘…he reminds of soone.’
The vague mory made his head itch.
Then, the Heavenly Sword suddenly stopped walking.
Narrowing his eyes, he stared at the figure standing by the railing.
‘…Lloyd Schultz.’
The one known as the Ashen Mage.
He couldn’t say he liked the man.
At best, he tolerated him—barely.
From an outsider’s perspective, Lloyd had switched allegiances twice—
a veritable bat fluttering between towers.
There might be reasons, but reasons were reasons, and facts were facts.
“……”
When their eyes t, Lloyd’s face showed clear disappointnt.
The Heavenly Sword disliked that expression imdiately.
He wanted to snap sothing back—
but the boy’s condition stopped him.
His unfocused pupils trembled with deep anxiety.
His already dry lips were split and bleeding, likely bitten raw.
The Heavenly Sword’s heart wavered for an instant.
‘Right now…’
A light push would be enough to shake him, to extract whatever information he wanted—
why he left the Red Tower for the White,
why soone at Level 8 behaved so timidly around Oscar, and so forth.
As he organized his thoughts, he spoke suddenly.
“If you’re worrying about Oscar Crucian—he’s alive.”
“……?”
Lloyd’s eyes widened slightly.
Full of confusion.
“You look terrible, so I assud it was because you were worried about him.”
“……”
He neither affird nor denied it.
But his breathing cald instantly—
which told the Heavenly Sword everything he needed to know.
After a mont, Lloyd asked,
“…Why did you tell that?”
“Hm.”
The Heavenly Sword considered his words, then replied.
“The White Tower has helped quite a bit lately. That’s all.”
“……”
Lloyd hesitated, then bowed his head slightly.
“…Thank you for telling .”
“Hmph.”
The Heavenly Sword snorted.
At that mont, two sets of footsteps approached.
“Hm. Now this is a fresh combination, isn’t it?”
“Don’t tell you were harassing innocent people again.”
It was Archbishop Baldwin and Oscar.
The Heavenly Sword frowned at their approach.
“Harassing? Who’s harassing whom?”
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
“You, of course. Lloyd doesn’t harass people.”
“Ridiculous. Are you saying I harass others?”
“Be honest—you kind of enjoy it, don’t you?”
“……”
…He couldn’t fully deny it.
Before he could respond, Lloyd suddenly cut in urgently.
“What happened?”
“Ah, I’ll explain.”
Still pale and tired, Baldwin placed a hand on Oscar’s shoulder.
“Our dear Oscar here was chosen as the Vessel of the Holy Power Itaca, and used that power to defeat Belpher.”
“…A vessel of divinity? Is that harmful to the body?”
“Not particularly. If anything, it makes one healthier. But… shouldn’t you first ask what a divine vessel is?”
Baldwin looked mildly offended that Lloyd’s first concern was Oscar, not the grand explanation he’d prepared.
Lloyd bowed slightly.
“…My apologies. So—what is it?”
“Good grief. Anyway—it ans the holy power chose Oscar as the vessel to contain itself. Of course, he has since lost all of that power.”
“You an he used all of it to erase Belpher?”
“Correct.”
The Heavenly Sword interjected.
“But even if he lost the power, can’t he simply store it in his subspace again and recover it? Like before?”
“My thoughts exactly,”
Baldwin agreed.
“Oscar, how about it? Surely you can use it for another five minutes?”
“Impossible.”
Oscar shook his head instantly.
He then began explaining the chanics of subspace stacking—
observer interference, temporal flow, etc.
After a long explanation.
“Hm, I see.”
“Indeed. Perfectly clear.”
“……”
They definitely did not understand.
Lloyd sighed and offered a simpler explanation.
“In short, the holy sword was an object, so storing it in subspace restored it naturally. But now the divinity resides inside Oscar’s body, aning he would have to enter subspace himself—and humans can’t live a thousand years. Therefore, it’s impossible.”
“Aha! Now I get it perfectly!”
“Not that I didn’t understand before, but yes, it makes more sense now.”
Oscar raised a thumb toward Lloyd, proud of his “education.”
Baldwin moved on.
“Well then, we must discuss your future role as a saint.”
“…Excuse ?”
A saint?
Oscar blinked—completely blindsided.
Baldwin smiled warmly.
“Oh co now, surely you understand. Serving as a saint would be beneficial for everyone.”
“…Honestly, I don’t really want to.”
After all, the divinity didn’t even respond when he called it.
He had used it exactly once.
Being tied to the church because of that?
He wasn’t thrilled.
Seeing Oscar genuinely hesitant, Baldwin’s expression stiffened.
“W-why not? A saint is respected and revered by all!”
“…I don’t really care about praise.”
He’d had more than enough of that already.
“And the imperial family wouldn’t dare pressure you either!”
“That’s also… not really a problem.”
The emperor already backed him.
As Oscar kept refusing, Baldwin grew increasingly desperate.
“Then… then what do you expect to do!?”
“Can’t you just take the divinity back? I an, it has so wear, but I only used it once—”
“Agh! Do you think divinity is so second-hand commodity!?”
Baldwin clutched his temples.
“Anyway—divinity is not sothing humans can handle freely. It chooses its own master!”
“Then what should I do? It doesn’t even answer when I call it.”
“P-please… don’t talk about holy power like it’s a botherso pet…”
It was botherso, but Oscar swallowed that remark.
“I’ll try, at least. Ah—co to think of it, the expedition’s reward distribution is going to be ssy now.”
“Ugh…”
Baldwin groaned.
The church was supposed to reward the Heavenly Sword family by lending them the Holy Sword Itaca for 30 years.
But Oscar had… consud it.
Which, yes, made things complicated.
“It’s fine.”
Surprisingly, the Heavenly Sword waved it away calmly.
“If holy power chooses its bearer, I have no right to complain.”
“I—is that truly acceptable?”
“I don’t take back my word. If it still bothers you, then simply say the holy sword broke in my hands. Not untrue, after all.”
Baldwin was moved.
Oscar nodded casually.
“Well, that’s not wrong. You did break it.”
“…I broke it?”
“The mont you grabbed it, it crumbled to dust.”
“You could’ve checked its condition once before handing it over.”
“How should I know anything about swords? You’ve been swinging them for a hundred years, so I figured you’d know better.”
“……”
Infuriating brat.
That smooth forehead of his—
one good flick would be so satisfying…
While the Heavenly Sword stared at Oscar’s forehead with murderous intent, Baldwin sighed.
“Well, after such a grand expedition, it seems none of us walked away with much.”
“What do you an, nothing?”
Oscar walked to the railing and pointed at the sea.
“We got that.”
Before them was not the pitch-black, corrupted sea they had seen on their way in—
but a clear, refreshing blue ocean.
Sunlight danced across the surface, scattering dazzling silver patterns.
“Mm. True,”
Lloyd said, nodding as he admired it.
“A magnificent sight indeed,”
Baldwin smiled.
Only the Heavenly Sword looked unimpressed.
“Hmph. What’s so great about that?”
“Oh, don’t be like that. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Looks no different from any canal I’ve seen.”
“…I wasn’t going to say this, but—do you know how massive this is for the economy? Humanity reclaiming the Western Sea ans skyrocketing coastal property values, trade through mariti routes, revitalized industries—”
Before Oscar could finish, the Heavenly Sword grumbled.
“And what does that matter to ? My house is in the east.”
“……”
Only then did they understand why he’d been so dismissive.
The old man was just jealous.
‘Honestly…’
Oscar shook his head, half amused, then turned back to the brilliant scenery.
For a long expedition,
it was a surprisingly peaceful afternoon.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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