Free Web Novel“......You are the one who receives more favor than anyone else. Naturally, I never thought we would be able to win easily.”
David stared at his own sword, shattered into pieces.
He continued speaking in a daze.
“But...... with these numbers. And with every one of them being elites of the Church trained in coordinated attacks against a single individual.”
His hand trembled, and even the hilt of the sword fell to the floor.
He looked around blankly.
“I thought perhaps a battle might at least take shape.”
And then.
Seeing that sight, he lowered his head and said,
“It seems I was mistaken.”
The battle had begun.
And the time he and I had spent talking had not been long at all.
But in that short span of time.
“Khhk.......”
“Cough.”
Every awakened being except David.
Had collapsed with painful groans.
And now.
Kuuung.......
Even David himself.
Could no longer remain standing, and dropped to his knees on the floor.
“......Worse still.”
And then.
He spoke in a voice thick with frustration.
“Despite the fact that you were fighting while showing us consideration......!”
There were many people down.
But not a single one had died.
In battle, subduing an enemy was several times harder than eliminating them.
And yet every awakened being here had been cleanly subdued.
And.
“To think we could not even make you expend strength......!”
I, who had subdued them.
Was maintaining a calm state, without even my breathing growing rough.
'If this were back °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° then, I might have struggled a little.'
They were all combat-type awakened beings.
Compared to that, I was a chef, a noncombat type.
Ordinarily, the fight itself should never have taken shape.
Because of that, I had once been forced to struggle and struggle even against people far lower level than me.
It was not that these people were weaker than those who had made me suffer.
No, rather.
They showed practiced coordination and displayed skill beyond their levels.
Outside the Legion, I had never seen awakened beings this well trained.
......If there was a problem, it was only that.
'After everything I’ve gone through, it’d be ridiculous to struggle here too.'
After the battles in Seoul and the fighting in China.
I had become incomparably stronger than before.
The strain that had accumulated in my body from pushing myself too hard all this time.
Had also been mostly healed with Luca’s help, and most of the burden built up in China had been resolved as well.
No matter how exceptional they were.
Right now, I was...... to be honest.
Not an existence who could be subjugated by a single awakened being.
***
“Tell the others too.”
The people lying on the floor, unable to move.
I moved on, leaving them behind.
“I don’t want to see blood. So...... make sure no one stands in my way and ends up bleeding.”
“.......”
At first, I had not known where I needed to go in this place to escape.
But, fortunately, I suppose.
'The line of the oath.'
Looking at the line connected to Ariella.
I had become able to tell the rough direction I needed to head.
If I escaped while cutting down the enemies who blocked me, it would take some time, but I would be able to get out.
“Certainly.......”
With that thought.
Just as I inspected my weapon and began to move.
“Priest Lee Haein was right.”
The man lying on the floor.
David opened his mouth.
“As you said, it seems we will not be able to stop you.”
“......?”
“Considering the strength we have built up...... and the favor of the system, I thought perhaps we might be able to stop you as an individual....... It seems that was nothing but my vain hope. The system’s favor toward you appears greater than what is directed toward every awakened being in the Church.”
He looked at me with sorrowful eyes and said,
“In the end...... to the point that we must use even the Church’s final legacy.”
“......What?”
“Please.”
And then.
“May you be worth that much.”
At those words.
I turned my head in confusion.
Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuung!
......At that exact moment.
“!?”
A colossal energy I could feel from somewhere.
That energy spread through the entire space I was in.
And.
“My body.......”
As I tried to move.
I felt my body stagger.
“It’s heavy......?”
It felt as though gravity had increased several times over in an instant.
Not enough to make me collapse.
But my body felt unbearably heavy.
[Holy Relic - Maxim of Rothar is activating!]
[This is a holy relic, an artifact imbued with sacred energy.]
No.......
No.
[The meaning contained within this crown, granted as a reward for deep faith, is the withdrawal of favor from unbelievers, arrogance, and those who receive that favor.]
At first, I thought that energy was pressing down on my body and making it feel heavy.
But it was not.
'My body didn’t get heavier.'
To be precise.
It was the opposite.
“My strength......!”
Had grown weaker.
[Among awakened beings within a certain area, limited to those who possess faith in the system.]
[Their abilities as awakened beings are suppressed.]
The moment I realized that fact.
I felt goosebumps rise all over my body and called out one name.
“......Status window!”
There had been many suspicious points.
Even so.
Whenever I called that name, it had always answered me.
“Status window......!!!”
......The system’s message.
Was rejecting me.
***
“......The Maxim of Rothar has been activated.”
The priest, who had been lowering his head, spoke as he unclasped the hands he had been holding in prayer.
Before him floated a massive glass orb.
“I have also confirmed that the effect has taken hold. The system has withdrawn the grace it bestowed upon him.”
“Haa.”
“It is a relief that it seems to have activated properly.”
The holy relics that had vanished before that Inner Temple.
Aside from those, one of the final two holy relics that remained.
It was the [Maxim of Rothar].
'A holy relic that exerts its power over a wide area......'
And.
Its effect was exceedingly simple.
'It withdraws the system’s grace bestowed upon unbelievers.'
To put it simply.
It was a power that turned every awakened being into an unawakened person.
If one possessed faith in the system, there was no problem.
But those who did not would receive the price for their arrogance and unbelief.
“......I am not sure this is truly all right.”
However.
There were people looking at that orb with worried eyes.
“I am deeply concerned, but.......”
“We decided to proceed according to the report of the one who first discovered him. There is no meaning in regretting it now.”
They, too, had been reluctant to activate this holy relic.
If possible, they had wanted to get through this without using it.
Sir David and his direct forces had succeeded in finding Shin Youngjun first.
If they had succeeded in subduing Shin Youngjun.
Or, at the very least.
If they had failed themselves but reported that he was at a level the Church’s forces could subdue.
They would not have activated this final holy relic.
Because, after all,
'The Maxim of Rothar is a holy relic that boasts the highest efficiency against groups of awakened beings.'
Awakened beings, in the end, were ordinary humans once the system’s power was gone.
This power, activated over a wide area, turned all such awakened beings back into ordinary humans.
If the opponent was a group of awakened beings.
Even if that force was ten times stronger than them, no, tens of thousands of times stronger.
They would kneel beneath the Church’s power because of this holy relic.
“......I thought, if we ever had to use it, it would be used in the Legion’s headquarters.”
Not long ago.
This had also been the reason Lee Haein had been able to pressure the Legion with confidence during the meeting with them.
'Among the awakened forces we have encountered so far, the Legion was the group that possessed by far the most powerful strength.'
Just as they were hiding power.
It was reasonable to believe the Legion, too, was hiding some kind of power.
That was why this item had been saved in preparation for the war with the Legion someday.
If possible, it was an item they should not use even in battle with the Legion, but preserve for a more distant future.
And yet.
“To think we would use this power to hunt a single individual.......”
Now.
They had ended up using that power in the most inefficient way possible.
The reason was simple.
-Overwhelming.
Sir David’s report, which they had been waiting for.
That report had not said they had succeeded in dealing with the enemy.
Nor had it said the enemy appeared to be at a level they could deal with.
-We attacked with desperate resolve, but failed to inflict even the slightest damage.
-Even though it was clear he was holding back while fighting us, the gap was that great.
-Even if the Church’s full force is deployed...... unless he continues consenting to battle, stopping his escape is absolutely impossible.
It had been content that betrayed their expectations so extremely.
That even those reading it found it hard to believe.
“......Still, unlike the other holy relics, is the Maxim of Rothar not an item that will continue to exert its effect until it is destroyed?”
While everyone was sunk in gloom.
At least one person spoke in a positive tone.
“This place is the territory of the Inner Temple. It is a place that must be more heavily defended than anywhere else. If we think of it as being able to stop other awakened beings from invading the Inner Temple...... perhaps it is not such a great loss. Rather, this may also be a proper use of the Maxim.”
But.
Unfortunately.
“......Was the role of protecting the Inner Temple not clearly held by the Pillar of Forsaken and several other holy relics?”
“Such as Azekail’s Great Cannon or Silor’s Moat.......”
“Come to think of it, the very reason no one conceived of activating the Maxim in the Inner Temple was because those holy relics existed.”
“Unlike the Maxim, which only exerts its effect against awakened beings, those holy relics could also be used against monsters.......”
“......Though they are all gone now.”
Those words, instead.
Only made them remember the other holy relics they had lost.
“.......”
“.......”
The faces of those who recalled what they had lost grew even darker.
Then.
The one who had spoken first, as if trying not to lose hope even so, said in a bright voice,
“S-still. Now that the Maxim has activated, bringing Brother Shin Youngjun back should not be difficult.”
“That is true.”
“He is the one the system favors more than anyone else! Since His doctrine says that the one favored by the system should be made our leader, perhaps when we accomplish this task, a new holy relic may even descend.”
“That...... I wonder if that will truly happen.......”
Even so.
Not everyone denied even those words.
“......We have no choice but to pray that when that brother becomes our leader, he will show value that surpasses this sacrifice.”
“I know there is no way such a thing should be possible....... Haa, we can only pray that the system likes him that much.”
With those words.
The priests gathered in one place and waited for the next report.
Those gathered here were the people needed to activate the Maxim.
The true combat types had all moved out to subdue Shin Youngjun.
Their leader, the cardinal, was also personally searching for Shin Youngjun.
If he still possessed his abilities as an awakened being, that would be one thing.
But now that they had succeeded in stripping away the system’s favor granted to him, he should be nothing but an ordinary person.
Before long, the report would come that he had been subdued by the awakened beings who had gone searching for him.
“......?”
But then.
Several priests noticed something strange and tilted their heads.
'Quite some time has already passed since the Maxim activated.......'
'Isn’t it about time a report came in?'
Not just before long.
Under normal circumstances, a report should have arrived long ago.
And yet their guild messages were strangely quiet.
-Ding.
But then.
[A guild message has arrived.]
A window appeared before their eyes.
The priests, thinking at last that they had succeeded in subduing him, opened the message.
But.
“Huh......?”
Those who read that message.
Could only open their mouths blankly and read the contents floating before their eyes again.
[Third Believer: Brothers, what is the meaning of this!]
Because.
[Third Believer: To lie and say the Maxim has activated......!]
[Third Believer: What foolish apostate sent such a false report!!!]
The message floating before their eyes. ƒrēewebnovel.com
[Third Believer: Three orders of holy knights have already been deployed after receiving the report that the Maxim had activated, and have been annihilated!]
[Third Believer: To injure brothers through a false report...... how could such a thing happen.]
The guild message sent by the Church’s high-ranking officers.
[Cardinal: I swear upon the name of this cardinal.]
Contained something entirely different.
[Cardinal: This matter will never be passed over lightly......!]
From what they had expected.
