NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 357: To the Empire (1)
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Chapter 357: To the Empire (1)
“Phew.”
Under the night sky, where the moon hung high, the Sun God's Saintess, Helia, was sitting on her bed, engrossed in a book.
She was currently extraordinarily busy.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that her only rest came in the moments just before bedtime.
However, despite her physically demanding schedule, her heart was at ease.
The evil that had threatened the world for countless ages had been vanquished.
Of course, that didn’t mean the land would remain peaceful forever.
Wars over interests would inevitably break out among people.
But that was a matter for the mortals to resolve.
No more external interventions would plague them.
That alone was enough to satisfy Helia.
Feeling it was about time, Helia closed her book to prepare for sleep and reached to extinguish the lamp.
At that moment—
Woosh!
The air split apart.
Something was flying rapidly toward her bedroom from outside.
“Wait… a minute!”
Helia sprang to her feet, eyes wide.
She swiftly extended her hand to create a protective barrier.
However—
Crash!
The barrier shattered before it could even slow the intruder down.
Helia recoiled in shock.
‘A powerful foe!’
An opponent with strength far surpassing hers had breached her bedroom.
There was no time to figure out who it was.
She quickly gathered divine power, preparing to summon the sacred artifact bestowed upon her by the heavens.
“It’s me, Helia.”
“…Huh?”
An all-too-familiar voice echoed in the room.
Moonlight streamed through the broken window, illuminating the interior.
Helia’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Ketal?”
It was Barbarian Ketal, standing before her.
“How… how are you here?”
“I heard you were here and came straightaway. It was urgent, so I couldn’t follow the formalities. My apologies.”
“There should be a barrier around the sanctuary…”
“It was getting in the way, so I tore it down. I’ll compensate for it later.”
Ketal spoke casually, leaving Helia at a loss for words.
“You… tore it down?”
She was currently in the Sun God’s sanctuary.
As the stronghold of the most powerful religious order on the continent, the sanctuary’s barrier was formidable—so much so that even several high-ranking demons combined couldn’t breach it easily.
Yet Ketal spoke of it as if it were no more than a nuisance encountered during a stroll.
Helia couldn’t help but let out a laugh of disbelief, though she also found it understandable considering it was Ketal.
Helia relaxed her power.
“Very well. You must have had a pressing reason to come in such haste. However…”
Wheeeeeeeeeeing!
The sanctuary’s alarm echoed throughout the grounds.
Worshippers screamed as they scrambled about in panic.
“…Let me go and inform them first.”
“My apologies. Please do.”
Ketal scratched his cheek awkwardly.
* * *
After Helia calmed the sanctuary's people, explaining that there was no threat, just a guest, she returned to Ketal.
“What was so urgent that you sought me out in such a hurry?”
“First, let me ask. Do you know the whereabouts of the Tower Master?”
“The Tower Master? I heard he headed to the Empire a few days ago, but I don’t know anything beyond that.”
“So you don’t know either.”
Ketal’s expression darkened.
Helia asked with a puzzled look.
“What has happened? The Demon King has been vanquished, and Hell has been sealed. I thought the land would no longer face such troubles.”
“I thought so too. But a problem has arisen.”
“A… problem?”
Ketal explained the events concerning Magnarein.
Helia, listening in silence, gradually grew pale, her mouth agape by the end of the story.
“You’re saying Magnarein has been destroyed? And not by a mortal force, but by a being from the Forbidden Lands?”
“I saw it with my own eyes. The archmage who ruled Magnarein is likely dead too.”
“Good heavens.”
Helia staggered and barely managed to sit down, her voice trembling as she asked.
“…Do you know this being?”
“I do. It’s known as the ‘Elder.’”
“The Elder…”
“In terms of external standards, it’s comparable to the Demon King.”
In terms of raw power, the Demon King might be slightly stronger, but considering the Elder’s alien nature and advantageous traits, it was fair to view them as equals.
Hearing this, Helia’s face turned ashen.
“Good heavens.”
They had just barely defeated the Demon King, and now a being of equivalent power had emerged.
She felt dizzy, nearly on the verge of collapse.
But she forced herself to regain her composure, biting her lip and gripping the table tightly.
“I understand why you sought me out. You need information.”
“Exactly. You, as the Saintess of the Sun God, must know a great deal about the world.”
Far more than Milena, an ordinary merchant, and of a higher caliber of intelligence.
Helia nodded.
“Ask your questions. What do you wish to know?”
“That creature’s minions attacked Magnarein. Specifically, the underground city. It was as if they were deliberately hiding their involvement in an attack on the mortal world.”
The twisted one had already interfered in the mortal realm, likely devouring an entire organization.
Helia nodded, understanding.
“You wish to know which group they might have consumed.”
“That creature itself possessed top-tier power rivaling the strongest mortals.”
Its individual strength wasn’t something to be underestimated.
Even compared to the strongest groups, it would be a challenge to locate its equal.
For instance, the Mercenary King, the strongest in the guild, was also top-tier.
Helia let out a sigh.
“Was the face familiar to you?”
“No, I’d never seen it before. And it didn’t seem to know me either.”
“That’s… peculiar.”
Ketal remembered all the top-tier fighters who had participated in the war against Hell.
And they all knew of Ketal.
For someone not to recognize Ketal meant they hadn’t participated in that war.
As she contemplated, Helia asked.
“Can you describe the individual’s features?”
“That’s easy.”
Ketal described the middle-aged man’s features, but Helia didn’t recognize him.
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“I am familiar with all the continent’s top-tier warriors, but I don’t know this one either.”
A top-tier warrior unknown to both Ketal and Helia.
Someone who hadn’t participated in the war against Hell.
There was only one group such a person could belong to.
“The Empire.”
The group that had abstained from the war against Hell.
A place shrouded in mystery, so concealed that even Helia could not discern it.
That place was the Empire.
* * *
“As expected, there’s only one possibility.”
Ketal had also suspected the Empire.
The only reason he wasn’t certain was the lack of information.
Helia’s face was filled with confusion.
“But… but why? The Empire is the strongest force on the surface. Not even an entity like the Demon King could consume it silently…”
In reality, the Empire itself was designed for the oldest beings, but Helia, who was unaware of this, found it difficult to accept.
“I do find it strange as well. That’s why I have no choice but to confirm it myself.”
Ketal spoke in a calm voice.
“Can I enter the Empire?”
“The Empire… you mean? It’s not impossible.”
The capital of the Empire was inaccessible to ordinary people.
Even those called superhumans were no exception.
No one could enter without the Empire’s direct permission.
But for someone like Ketal, it was certainly possible.
After all, he was the hero of the surface who had confronted and defeated the Demon King.
“However… it will take some time.”
Getting to the Empire required a series of procedures.
Ketal’s identity had to be verified, the information needed to be delivered to the Empire’s upper echelon, and it would take at least a week for them to process it.
Ketal narrowed his eyes at that.
“I don’t plan to wait that long.”
Moreover, time was a luxury he did not have.
There was no telling what twisted force had intervened in the surface.
“Can’t we get help from the gods?”
“…Unfortunately, just yesterday, they banished Hell from the surface.”
Hell had descended to the surface’s dimension, and the shattered realm hovered above the surface.
With many demons still alive, it couldn’t be left near the surface indefinitely.
So as soon as the gods had recovered enough strength, they prioritized banishing Hell.
As a result, the gods could no longer intervene on the surface for the time being.
Ketal clicked his tongue.
“The timing couldn’t be worse.”
“So, if you wish to head to the Empire, you’ll have to wait a bit…”
Since it wasn’t certain that the Empire had fallen to the Forbidden Lands, they couldn’t act rashly.
But Ketal had no intention of waiting.
“If there’s a tedious process, there’s no helping it.”
Ketal muttered softly.
Helia hesitated.
“Are you… planning to head to the capital?”
“I don’t have the luxury to wait until all the procedures are completed. Regrettable, but there’s no choice.”
“P-Please, wait a moment. Just hold on.”
Helia hastily tried to stop Ketal, her expression urgent.
It was only natural.
The Empire was the strongest force on the surface, so much so that even the Church of the Sun God had to bow twice before it.
Since they hadn’t participated in the war against Hell, most of their strength remained intact.
That power could stand against the entirety of the surface.
But the same could be said for Ketal.
The strength of the hero who had defeated the Demon King was said to surpass even that of the gods.
If Ketal bypassed procedures and headed straight to the Empire, the Empire, with its nature, wouldn’t simply accept him.
Ideally, they should be grateful to Ketal for saving the surface, but unfortunately, the Empire was far from ideal.
If the two clashed, the surface would descend into chaos.
Having just regained a semblance of peace, Helia was desperate to stop him.
Ketal smiled reassuringly.
“Don’t worry. There won’t be a problem. I’m just going to confirm things. If the Empire is a reasonable place, I’ll simply return quietly.”
“…”
Helia found it hard to trust his words.
After much deliberation, she finally spoke.
“There is one way… A method to enter the Empire without going through all the complicated procedures. And it’s legitimate.”
“Oh? Is there such a method?”
“Yes. However, it might be somewhat humiliating for you. If you’re okay with that… I can arrange it.”
Helia inwardly hoped Ketal would refuse, as it would be a great burden on her.
But Ketal responded without hesitation.
“That’s fine. Please proceed.”
Helia’s expression twisted slightly.
“…Understood. Let’s begin immediately.”
She suppressed her twisting stomach and replied.
At this moment, she understood the emotions Cain had felt before.
* * *
“Ohhh.”
Ketal marveled at the sight before him.
“So this is the Empire’s capital. It’s tall, as if it could reach the heavens.”
Ketal stood before the capital, with the Sun God’s saintess, Helia, at his side.
She spoke quietly.
“Please stay behind me. Officially, you’re my attendant. You should not stand before your master as an example.”
“Understood. I’ll stay back. Then, should I address you respectfully? Hmm. Lady Helia?”
“…Just maintain silence and respond only when spoken to. That will suffice.”
Helia suppressed a shiver as she barely managed to reply.
Ketal chuckled and nodded.
Together, they walked toward the entrance of the Empire’s capital.
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