CIATB Chapter 341: The Powder Keg That Must Not Be Opened
Chapter 341: The Powder Keg That Must Not Be Opened
“…What kind of person was he?”As soon as the report was over, a rather affectionate question was heard from the darkness.
Nikephoros laughed bitterly.
“Didn’t I just give you a long explanation of how this old man got thoroughly outplayed?”
“That’s exactly why I asked, Lord Nikephoros. No one could have predicted an outcome like this.”
A voice from beyond the veil of darkness answered calmly.
“What kind of person could possibly follow up Roger’s defeat by making even you, Lord Nikephoros, taste bitter failure? Of course, Jin did go on and on about it several times… but as you know, Jin tends to exaggerate, and Roger takes everything far too seriously.”
A voice with a hint of humor gently urged Nikephoros on.
“I would like to hear Lord Nikephoros’ objective opinion. Is he really as threatening as the hero… no.”
The saintess, who had been silent for a moment, added:
“Considering that Bethel, Vincent, and Blake have already met their end at his hands, it feels almost absurd to question such things now.”
Even the attempt to stop the Sword of Light from being resurrected failed, costing Roger an arm.
It was somewhat regrettable to them that this was not the path taken by only the heroes chosen by Luce.
“The fact that he is a threat was confirmed long ago, so all that remains now is to eliminate him… but even Lord Nikephoros has failed to do so. I simply wish to know the reason why. Only then will we be able to prepare a proper course of action going forward.”
“I understand.”
Nikephoros smiled bitterly.
Nikephoros was unexpectedly furious at having his followers taken away.
He forced himself to calm down and thought for a very long time about the existence of the apprentice knight.
But it was difficult to define him easily.
Laius de Winfried was clearly a hero born according to the laws of nature.
But he….
“…He is an alien existence. That is why even Lord Chernion seems to be interested in him.”
“Is that so?”
A surprised voice came back from beyond the darkness.
“I don’t know why either. But Lexion seemed to be following the apprentice boy, not the hero.”
Nikephoros folded his arms and tilted his head.
“…Would you believe that everyone was swept away by him?”
“What do you mean by swept away?”
“He was the one who took the lead on the scene. Even the hero was…”
Nikephoros’ eyes lowered.
“No, that’s too much of a leap. I’ll tell you once I’m more certain.”
“I will wait. I always trust in your judgment, Lord Nikephoros.”
After a brief pause, the saintess’ voice returned, seemingly lost in thought.
“He has received the grace of light, and yet even Lord Chernion is paying attention to him. I have heard that he does not even pray to the God of Light. It was he who destroyed the statue in the Great Temple right after receiving the grace and waking up.”
The incident also drew attention from the Chernion Order.
It was not an ordinary thing for someone whose life was saved by the blessing of light to express such hatred towards him.
The saintess, who had been thinking for a moment, opened her mouth again.
“Then that would mean that he is against the will of God. And when you say that it is alien, does that mean that he is a being that goes against the natural order?”
“The natural….”
Nikephoros, who had been mumbling along with her, answered.
“If God’s will is the natural order, then yes, it is. I, a mere creature, cannot know all of their will.”
“Is something bothering you?”
The saintess, who read the ominous tone in his voice, asked quietly.
Nikephoros remained silent for a moment. After a moment, he began to speak again.
“No, it’s nothing special. But I can assure you that it is a variable that must be ruled out. Roger and Jin’s words are not exaggerations.”
The face that had dared to smile arrogantly in front of the dragon came to mind.
It must have been that face that dragged Lexion, who rarely took the lead, out into the world.
Nikephoros continued speaking slowly.
“In this world that Lord Chernion will rule, there is no need for anything other than darkness.”
“…I see. I understand.”
The saintess, who had been silent for a moment, answered coolly.
“This is difficult. He is someone who cannot be killed carelessly.”
“If possible, I would like to try to persuade him…”
Nikephoros answered in a pretend light tone.
“I think that will be difficult. As you have heard, his personality is not ordinary. If I get another chance, I will try again.”
“It’s unfortunate to hear that it won’t be easy. But Lord Chernion’s embrace is always open… whenever he’s ready. His past sins can surely be atoned for through service.”
A calm reply came from within the darkness.
“But if that’s too difficult, then there’s no need to hesitate, is there? There are countless ways to remove someone without resorting to murder. And if the gods should be angered, I will gladly bear the sin.”
“No, my Saintess. This is a burden that this old man must carry.”
Nikephoros let out a small laugh.
“I only wish you glory, Lady Iris.”
Nikephoros’ green eyes, staring beyond the darkness, were filled with gentle affection.
“…Why does my ear itch?”
After staring at the documents for quite some time, Arendt suddenly frowned.
“Who’s talking about me?”
“Is there anything left to badmouth?”
When Llewellyn, sitting across from him, made a joke, Arendt responded nonchalantly.
“Well, there are so many that I don’t really know.”
Llewellyn, who was rather dumbfounded by the shamelessness, retorted.
“Are you bragging?”
“People who are talented tend to have many enemies.”
“…”
Llewellyn decided to shut up. There was no point in talking, as it would only make him more upset. Arendt also seemed unwilling to continue this joke, and quickly changed the subject.
“So, did you get any results?”
“I haven’t checked everything yet, but it seems like we’ve got some meaningful results.”
Llewellyn leaned back against the sofa, his arms crossed in discontent.
“Soon, the explorers will compile a report and send it up to the Neumann Group. But I came here myself to let you know first so you should be grateful.”
“I’m sure they gave you enough budget for this. Why should I thank you for a job you’re paid to do?”
Although he tried to make a fuss, Arendt responded indifferently without even looking up from the document he was reading.
Llewellyn shot him a sharp, disapproving glance.
“Ugh, you’re such a pain. Anyways, I sent people out according to the materials I received. And just this morning, I got word.”
Only then did Arendt look up and give him his attention.
“What happened?”
“They found something similar to what was found in the underground part of Count Motier’s territory.”
Arendt’s eyes lit up as Llewellyn responded grumpily.
“Oh? Is that so?”
As soon as he returned, Arendt handed the report over to Arthur and immediately set to work on various tasks.
It went without saying that Arthur, who ended up writing Arendt’s report, was furious.
One of the things he’d been working on had finally come to fruition.
Arendt spoke in a commanding tone.
“Tell me more.”
Arendt used Neumann Group’s intelligence network to narrow down locations that had mysterious destruction or collapse incidents within the past year.
Llewellyn’s team of explorers was dispatched to sites where the cause was unclear, excluding incidents attributed to natural disasters, human error, or confirmed perpetrators.
“We have checked seven locations so far, and concluded that six of them collapsed due to natural erosion or earthquakes.”
Llewellyn nodded slightly and continued.
“And the last remaining place… the ruins of a small city halfway up the mountain on the way from the Caerleon Empire to our kingdom. This is where the fragments were found.”
It was a city that had been abandoned for a very long time.
It was a place discovered by chance by merchants passing by, who simply thought that the ground had collapsed due to old age.
“They said it collapsed around the square, but upon closer inspection, it looked like someone had deliberately destroyed it by hitting it several times from above with a huge hammer. It’s impossible for an ordinary human to do. Even my subordinates were making a fuss, wondering what the hell had happened.”
It might have been less shocking than finding the entire territory blown away, but to the eyes of an ordinary human, it was still a huge shock.
“Anyway, it became clear that an unusual force was involved. That’s why I asked them to investigate further.”
Llewellyn shrugged, imitating Arendt.
“It wasn’t easy, since most of it was blown away, but we found some debris. We think it might be a temple as we found what looked like a piece of a statue.”
“A statue fragment, huh…”
Arendt threw down the documents he was holding, rested his chin on his hand, and became lost in thought.
“How long has it been since it collapsed?”
“At least a year. It was already in a state of collapse when we first discovered it a few months ago.”
“Hmm.”
Arendt muttered, tilting his head vaguely.
“Then wasn’t it Nikephoros who destroyed it?”
“That makes sense. It could have been handled by another person from the Evil Cult. I have a feeling there are more than just one or two such places.”
Llewellyn also answered seriously.
“We’ll have to investigate further to find out, but I have a feeling there are a few more similar ones to be discovered. The evil cultists have been destroying them one by one as soon as they find them, and the one in Count Motier’s territory may have been the last one.”
Llewellyn, who answered Arendt, proposed a hypothesis.
“Wasn’t that the base used by the Chernion Cult during the Great War?”
“But after the Evil Cult was defeated, all traces were supposed to have been completely erased. It’s strange that any remnants still remain. And it’s unnatural for the cult to suddenly start destroying what they had left untouched until now.”
But that was quickly dismissed. Arendt frowned slightly and muttered to himself.
“…Is there evidence there that’s unfavorable to God Chernion? Then could it be ruins from before the war?”
“God Chernion was the God of Darkness. If what you say is true, then isn’t that related to the reason he became an evil god?”
Llewellyn, arching his eyebrows, suggested another possibility.
“How about this? It was the place where evidence remains of why he was persecuted as an evil god and banished from the world. In the past, he was said to have been a god of similar status to other gods.”
“He isn’t like the other gods, he is almost equal to God Luce.”
Arendt corrected.
Llewellyn looked irritated at those words.
“Equal… no, putting that aside for now, why are you speaking in the present tense?”
“I said it before. It wasn’t the gods who lost the war, but the believers. Of course, they were greatly affected by the decline in the number of believers. It’s no coincidence that the two personified gods look like twins.”
Arendt, whose thoughts had reached that point, suddenly frowned and closed his mouth.
“…Wait for a sec.”
When the room suddenly became quiet, Llewellyn found himself tensing up without realizing it.
“What, why are you acting like this?”
“I thought maybe this might be a clue. If there was a time in the past when the two gods were equal…”
Arendt lowered his eyes and answered.
“Isn’t that a very unpleasant fact for the enemies, too? Just like you said just now.”