My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness Chapter 96

#96

The abyss opens (3)

When Heinrich, who had stored the holy sword in his stigmata, opened the stone gate of the seal and came out, it was the place where he first entered through the ordeal.

Although they had gone through so many trials, there was only one door standing between them.

‘I’ve been looking into it since the Holy Sword built a virtual world for trials. Even thinking about it again, it’s amazing.’

He smiled contentedly as he looked at the stigmata on his palm.

‘I don’t think you’ll lose even if you face a Paladin head-on at this level, right?’

Additionally, like other abilities, “Blessing: Holy Sword” was a skill that became stronger the more it was trained.

It means that the power he gained right away is not everything.

“It’s finally come out.”

However, there was a group of people waiting to open the stone door and greet Heinrich as he came out.

“Good job, Sir Heinrich.”

“Ah, Cardinal Donovan!”

They were elites, including the cardinal in charge of the Great Temple of Picaol.

‘How did you know I was coming out… No, that was a stupid idea.’

I wasn’t there to meet him.

In the first place, Acrich escaped from the center of the Great Temple through an abyss hole, but there was no way the church knew about it.

‘It’s natural to prepare. As the spatial isolation through the Holy Sword Trial disappeared, it would have been possible to detect it more clearly.’

Because of that, they ran to prepare for an emergency, but the dark magic inside them disappeared before they could enter, so they were waiting in front for now.

It could have been a distraction to Heinrich, who was undergoing a trial inside.

“Hehehe, just in case, I guess… I succeeded in becoming the owner of the Holy Sword!”

The cardinal looked at Heinrich’s palm and smiled brightly even though he was surprised.

The reactions of other priests behind him were also similar.

“I never thought it would really succeed.”

“I heard the rumor. I heard that he was a Holy Knight who defeated the Immortal King by inserting his sword into his heart…”

“I can’t believe the owner of the Holy Sword appears again at this time! After all, this must be the Lord’s will!”

Everyone reacted violently to the holy sword that appeared for the first time in 300 years.

Now that the Immortal King has returned and the abyss has opened up, the reappearance of the Holy Sword, the symbol of the warrior, was of great significance.

“This too must be fate. Yes, Sir Heinrich. “Is there something wrong inside?”

Cardinal Donovan, who was nodding quietly, asked Heinrich and glanced at the door he came out of.

“Ah, after pulling out the holy sword, Abyss showed abnormal symptoms. Afterwards, an Acrich came out there…”

“Acrich?”

“I was able to deal with the inability to dance with the power of the sacred barrier. “He happened to be the one holding the source, so I was able to get rid of him cleanly on the spot.”

“I guess so… But I’m glad there were no problems.”

He let out a light sigh, looked at the priests gathered behind him, and gestured toward the stone gate.

In response, high-ranking priests and paladins began to enter the stone chamber where the holy sword was sealed in perfect order.

Heinrich looked at them with a puzzled look, and the cardinal continued speaking with a bitter smile.

“Now that I think about it, I don’t think you know about the commotion outside. “You must have been very confused because the abyss suddenly reacted.”

“Oh yeah… that’s right.”

In fact, Heinrich knew the outside situation better than anyone else, but Heinrich just nodded with an ambiguous expression.

The Cardinal explained the situation to him with a stern expression.

The reason something like that happened in the abyss.

About the second abyss that has opened on the continent and about future response plans.

“Now that we don’t have a holy sword, that abyss hole needs to be managed more thoroughly. “I plan to install additional barriers and station some personnel there just in case.”

The barrier that was now in place was by no means insufficient, but since even the Acrich had actually protruded, there was a need to pay more attention.

“We were already short of workers. Hehehe! “This is so fucked up… Hmm, this is a difficult situation.”

The cardinal seemed to have expressed his true feelings without me even realizing it, but he just cleared his throat and headed outside, taking Heinrich with him.

“They will finish the work here, so we can go back. “You will have a lot of work to do in the future.”

Because of the current situation, there was no time to relax.

After taking a short break, Heinrich went straight to the gate room to return to the Roselia Grand Shrine.

Wooooow—

the gate slowly began to operate.

Heinrich looked back at Cardinal Donovan, who had seen him off with an embarrassed expression.

“The construction will be completely ruined, so you don’t have to come out in person like this.”

Isn’t it already a very busy time?

It was rather burdensome to have someone as big as a cardinal personally come out to see me off.

“Hehe, Sir, now that he has become the owner of the holy sword, he is no longer just a paladin. This is nothing. More than anything… I have one last thing to say to you.”

Well, now his status would be on a different level than before.

The term “master of the holy sword” meant that it was the sword of the main god representing this era.

“What are your last words…?”

At those words, the cardinal approached with a serious expression and placed his mouth next to his ear.

Because of his cautious attitude, Heinrich listened to him seriously, but…

“What I said last time. “You haven’t forgotten, right?”

“…yes?”

“I mean the saint. huh? Do I need to explain this again?”

“…No, I remember. Do not worry.”

“Mmmmm great! Then go and see!”

“…….”

For Cardinal Donovan, who was the owner of the holy sword, this was a separate issue.

***

“Welcome, Sir Heinrich. “I knew you could do it!”

Heinrich, who returned to the Grand Temple of Roselia, was immediately able to meet the saint who greeted him with a gentle smile.

After exchanging pleasantries with each other, light topics continued.

“So, is Cardinal Donovan in good health?”

“…yes. “I heard he was quite old, and he seemed very strong.”

Heinrich, remembering his muscular muscles despite his old age, answered with a shocked expression.

“Hehe… I was worried because you were so busy after going to Pikaol Daesinjeon, but it looks like you are still exercising regularly. “He was someone who cared for me a lot when he was here.”

A small chat that lasts for a while.

However, given the circumstances, the light atmosphere did not last long.

“You look very tired, saint. “It looks like you have a lot of work to do.”

“Phew—this isn’t easy because this is such a large scale.”

The saint with a dark expression sighed deeply.

The biggest problem was the opening of the second abyss, but the sacrificial rituals that had been held across the continent before that were no small task.

“Dozens of sacrificial rituals took place simultaneously across the continent. From small slash-and-burn villages to large towns on the border.”

It was a terrorist attack aimed at places where there was no thorough magical defense and security was lax.

It was so thoroughly hidden that it was impossible to even know it existed before it was activated.

‘Hearing this, I feel like these guys are amazing again.’

Even if it was a slash-and-burn village, no matter how remote it may be, if it were to target a small town with a population of well over 1,000 people, ordinary preparations would not have been possible.

“The extent of the damage is still being investigated, but tens of thousands of people have been identified so far. “It’s hard to predict how much it will increase in the future.”

All countries on the continent were in a state of emergency due to this unprecedented massacre.

Of course, most of those targeted were commoners who lived in places with poor security, so the damage itself was not a big deal to the high-ranking people.

‘But because the scale is so large, even the leadership cannot help but feel alarmed.’

Who can guarantee that a threatening force that can do things to this extent will never target them?

“…Actually, the really big problem is the reappearance of the Immortal King Hans and the opening of the second abyss.”

Information from those dispatched to the south was relayed to the Great Hall almost in real time, and they were still investigating the site.

“What has emerged from this abyss is ‘madness.’ However, I believe that this time the situation is different from the time of the Immortal King a thousand years ago.”

Unlike the ‘Heart of the Immortal King’, which completely descended to earth, the madness that appeared this time was brought out incompletely.

Because of that, they were unable to maintain their original form and were scattered across the continent…

“That’s never a good sign. “In some ways, I think he’s more picky than the Immortal King.”

Although no major abnormalities were found at the moment, being pulled out of the abyss is unlikely to have a positive effect on the continent.

As time passes, problems will slowly begin to emerge.

In addition, because of the madness that had enveloped the world, tracking down demons had become much more difficult than before, which was bad news for the church in many ways.

“And above all, the Immortal King who did all of this…”

Appeared again in front of the members of the church—the Immortal King riding the Bone Dragon.

He deliberately waited without leaving the scene, mocked the members of the religious group, and then leisurely left.

All that was left was the Bone Dragon’s Death Breath.

“…Fortunately, the damage is not that great. The people there were not easy people. It would have been dangerous if the follow-up blows had continued…”

The Immortal King simply left.

“In other words, we can see how ridiculously he looks at us. “I’m enjoying it as if it’s showing me mercy and telling me to resist as much as I can.”

The saintess, whose expression was so stern that her usual gentle expression was hard to remember, gritted her teeth and muttered.

“Saint…”

“Ha—I got excited for a moment. Still, this is good news. “It is proof that the current Immortal King is that arrogant.”

It was an opening that could be used to target the Immortal King, who had made extraordinary moves up until now.

Even if there is a clear opportunity to end it, they prioritize their own fun and look down on their opponents to give them the opportunity.

This is the typical mindset of the strong.

It was a weakness that caused countless deaths of the strong.

“We are targeting that sense of caution. For the continent, a moment of humiliation is nothing. “In the end, we will be the final winners.”

Heinrich, who was impressed by the saintly woman’s determination with a serious expression, also eagerly agreed with her.

“I will help you too, saint. “With the help of the Holy Sword, we will definitely be able to kill him this time.”

“I believe it, Sir Heinrich! “Gyeong is the opponent of Hans, the immortal king chosen by the Lord!”

My motivation surges and my faith fills me.

Heinrich made eye contact with the saint and nodded slowly.

‘…But you still call me Hans. There is a wonderful name: Hannibal Strauss. I’ll have to emphasize it more next time.’

Inside, I was thinking about something else.

***

A stone chamber buried deep in the ground.

“Yes…?”

A second change occurred in the air that had been stagnant for a long time.

A pair of red eye lights slowly begin to glow in the dark.

“…What is this…?”

However, because of something very foreign, I woke up without realizing it, and the voice was still asleep.

Although it was completely sealed, with no room for outside air to penetrate, something unpleasant that ignored such physical limitations stimulated its existence.

‘…Oh, right.’

Once I woke up, I again felt the abnormality I had felt last time.

It seemed like something was wrong with the clan.

‘I have to wake up.’

The unknown situation that seemed to be happening in real time and what happened to the clan were both unusual.

Because it was such a serious matter that I had to hurry up and check it in person.

So the being got off its seat and gave strength to its body to stand up.

“Really…”

No, I just thought that way, but it didn’t lead to action.

A body that keeps shaking as if trying to wake up.

But…

“…I have to do that, hahaam—.”