Chapter 603
Saviolin Turner looked at Ellen with sad eyes.
They couldn't communicate.
In the end, there was only one means left for them to connect.
"I don't want to hurt you."
The words of Saviolin Turner.
"I feel the same way."
Ellen's response.
Their words to each other already revealed their thoughts about one another.
Both showed that they believed themselves to be superior.
It seemed like a childish battle of pride, but these two who had risen to the ranks of the continent's strongest could not simply be dismissed with a petty fight over self-esteem.
Indeed, was Ellen Artorious the stronger one, or was it Saviolin Turner?
"…"
"…"
In the silence, they stared at each other.
In the end, they couldn't help but measure the distance between them.
Am I stronger?
Is my opponent stronger?
"Ellen…"
Heinrich looked at Ellen with cold sweat.
It was important to know what the Empire was up to, but it was absurd that, completely out of the blue, Saviolin Turner and Ellen would clash swords.
"It's okay. I won't kill her."
At Ellen's arrogant words, not only Heinrich, but Saviolin Turner too, held a faint smile.
"So you know how to provoke."
"… It's not a provocation, just stating a fact."
Ellen spoke calmly.
"If you don't move aside right now."
Woosh
Ellen's body began to surge with blue aura.
"Be prepared to get hurt."
"…"
Not using the void sword.
At those words, which somehow sounded cute, Turner sighed.
"So you won't use the divine artifact?"
Void Sword Lament.
Sun Cloak Lapelt.
As if intending to confront her barehanded, without using either of them, Saviolin Turner seemed taken aback.
"I don't need them."
"You should think otherwise."
As if to say that without the unfair power of a divine artifact, Ellen couldn't even touch her, Saviolin Turner's expression darkened.
Though she had intended to block Ellen.
The arrogance of trying to face her without even a divine artifact.
That attitude truly angered Saviolin Turner.
"Take those words back."
Saviolin Turner threw her umbrella aside.
"If you don't step back now…"
Rumble!
The magical storm emanating from Saviolin Turner's body blew away the accumulated snow in an instant.
Her fluttering hair settled down as the magical shockwave created a storm, and her sharp gaze fixed on Ellen.
"Until winter passes, I'll make sure you can't leave your bed."
"Try me."
"Really…"
Thud!
In a momentary charge, Saviolin Turner had already reached Ellen's face.
"You never listen!"
Crash!
"…!"
One punch.
Ellen, who took the direct hit, broke through the trees and was thrown to the outskirts of the road, while Heinrich and Ludwig, except for Louise, were swept away by the aftermath, tumbling to the ground.
"Don't act so arrogantly for no reason."
Saviolin Turner walked toward Ellen, who was embedded in the forest.
"Take out your divine artifact."
Furious at Ellen's arrogance, trying to face her on equal terms without even a divine artifact, Saviolin Turner was genuinely enraged.
Suddenly, something flew through the broken trees.
'Snow…?'
A snowball flew towards her face, and with a swift motion, Saviollin Turner dodged the incoming attack.
"Are you really trying to play games right now?!"
But Turner’s scolding was only temporary.
She had already seen Ellen, in the midst of the rising dust, bending her waist for a powerful strike.
A spinning kick.
-Wham!
"…Ugh!"
Although Turner managed to block the attack with her forearm, she couldn't help but stagger a few steps back from the force of the kick.
"There's no need for this."
With a calm expression, Ellen started to charge towards the retreating Turner.
Neither of them intended to kill the other, but in the heat of the moment, their emotions took over.
“Stop!”
The sudden shout, familiar to both of them, brought the fight to an abrupt halt.
"…Bertus."
"Your Majesty…"
The emperor approached, pushing his way through the snowstorm.
——
Bertus, who had suddenly appeared, stopped the unexpected brawl between the two most powerful humans.
Without explanation or justification, he seated them all in the lobby of the Magic University, breaking through the strict security.
This included Louise von Schwarz.
"…"
"…"
Ellen and Saviollin Turner remained silent, staring at the floor.
"I told you to stop Ellen from entering. I don't recall telling you to throw punches."
"…My apologies, Your Majesty."
Turner closed her mouth, stopping herself from arguing about her method of stopping Ellen.
Bertus looked at the silent Ellen.
"You too, didn't have to… Fine… I didn't come here for a pleasant reason anyway."
Bertus looked at the people gathered there.
It wasn't just Ellen – Ludwig, Heinrich, and even the princess of the Kernstadt were present.
After glancing at them, Bertus looked back at Ellen.
"Is it absolutely necessary for you to know?"
In the end, the emperor repeated the same question that Turner had asked earlier.
"I'll tell you this – even if you tell me not to, I'll continue pursuing this, and nothing will change."
"…"
"So, it's a problem only because you have to know."
"I must know."
Ellen spoke softly.
"It is my duty to know."
It was not her right to know but her duty to know.
Seeing Ellen's strong sense of responsibility, Bertus couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"If this isn't just a bad thing, then I want to know even more. What exactly is happening, and why is it necessary? I need to know."
Unable to resist Ellen's unwavering determination, Bertus finally gave in.
"…Fine."
He looked at someone other than Ellen.
"Perhaps it's for the best."
Louise couldn't understand why Bertus was looking at her and saying that.
"And, let me make one thing clear."
Bertus looked at everyone's faces.
"I didn't kill Rowan."
"…What?"
Everyone had thought they had reached the end, but Bertus's words turned everything upside down once more.
"It might be hard to believe, but that's the truth."
A series of terrible coincidences had led Ellen to this point.
The theft of the remains in the underground crypt of the Holy Knights was not related to the Empire.
"Then who… Who killed the priestess?"
At this unexpected revelation, Ludwig's eyes widened in shock.
Rowan's death had led them here, but if Bertus had nothing to do with Rowan's death, then the matter was far from over.
So who had killed Rowan?
"I don't know."
Whether he truly didn't know or were pretending not to know was unclear.
No one could tell the truth.
——
'An emergency meeting?'
'Yes, the Five Popes have urgent matters to discuss. They are gathering at the Als Cathedral.'
Eleion Bolton was now leaving the Cathedral of the Holy Knights and had arrived at Als Cathedral.
Among the five holy religions, only Als religion had a cathedral in the Imperial Capital.
The Holy Knights' Cathedral was a place where the powers of the five holy religions were concentrated. Therefore, aside from Als Pope, the other four Popes resided in the churches of their respective factions, which were relatively less prestigious.
Due to their location and circumstances, it was customary for the conferences of the Five Popes to be held at the Holy Knights' Cathedral. There was no better place, both symbolically and functionally.
However, the fact that the emergency meeting of the Five Popes was taking place at Als Cathedral made Eleion Bolton feel rather peculiar.
Why would they call him here specifically?
Nevertheless, strictly speaking, the leader of the Holy Knights was subordinate to the Popes.
It was Eleion Bolton's duty to attend when called.
Despite being extremely busy with his own affairs, he had no choice but to attend.
It was uncomfortable not knowing why the Popes had gathered.
There were no attendants or performers due to the emergency nature of the meeting.
Though Als Religion had lost much of its power, its cathedral was still grand and imposing, and there were no passersby pointing fingers at it.
Eleion Bolton arrived alone at Als Cathedral and entered.
In the conference room on the top floor of Als Cathedral…
'Everyone… has been dismissed.'
Upon arriving at the empty upper floor, devoid of any priests or knights, Eleion Bolton felt a chill run down his spine.
What were they talking about?
What were they plotting?
What should he do if something unexpected happened?
Amidst countless concerns, Eleion Bolton opened the door to the conference room on the top floor, neither too hastily nor too timidly.
As with any other conference room, there was a round table.
As expected, the five Popes were seated at the table. They looked at Eleion Bolton with stern expressions as he appeared.
The Five Popes were present.
However, Eleion Bolton could not help but fixate his gaze elsewhere, completely forgetting to pay his respects to the Popes.
There was an additional person in a space meant only for the Five Popes.
A person sitting in a chair, smiling and watching him, laughed as he made eye contact with Eleion Bolton.
Eleion Bolton, who rarely lost his composure, turned pale.
"Eleion Bolton."
"You…!"
"It's been about three years."
There, sitting nonchalantly, was none other than the Demon King, Reinhardt.
The appearance he had while disguised as a human.
Reinhardt gestured towards the chair in front of Eleion Bolton with his chin.
"What are you waiting for? Sit down."
He spoke arrogantly, as if he owned the place.
——
The Death Knights we created.
The Chimera Homunculus Undead created by the Empire.
They were similar in purpose from the beginning.
We had to replenish the Death Knights, and for that, we needed corpses.
However, at that point, we were unaware that the Empire was engaged in a similar endeavor.
It was only after supplementing the Death Knights from the tomb of the saints that I began to learn about the Empire's activities.
There was always a slight concern.
What if the Holy Knights, who were investigating this case, inadvertently discovered what the Empire was doing?
After hearing the truth from Bertus, we had a brief conversation.
"I'm already tracking it. I'm being cautious, but who knows how things will turn out."
Of course, the Holy Knights would investigate the incident that occurred in their territory.
There was no reason to cover up or hide the scene in the first place.
What did it matter if they found out that I was responsible for what happened there?
But oddly enough, the case was connected to a secret of the Empire that should not have been revealed.
We may have caused the incident, but it was the Empire that risked being exposed.
Soon, the bizarre butterfly effect of my actions could lead to the Empire being caught in a trap.
But since there was nothing I could do about it, I decided to stay in the temple and watch the situation unfold.
Then, Archbishop Rowan died.
I, like Ellen, did not believe the claims that the refugees killed Rowan, as Ludwig had insisted.
Archbishop Rowan, who had been working with Ludwig on the disease purification project, was dead.
Something must have happened.
At that point, unlike Ellen, who was just starting her investigation, I was already aware of most of the hidden truths behind the scenes.
There was a high probability that Archbishop Rowan's death was not an ordinary event.
Naturally, I went to Bertus first.
Thanks to Sarkegaar, I could meet him immediately after setting up the location.
Bertus was already aware of the issue.
"Not you?"
"That's right, we didn't do it."
Bertus said that it wasn't the Empire's doing in the incident that occurred at the church.
"We did consider whether we should deal with it or not."
"…You considered it?"
"She's a heresy inquisitor, that woman."
Unsurprisingly, Bertus knew something I didn't.
"I found out yesterday as well, it seems that she deliberately approached Ludwig. She couldn't enter the temple, so she tried whatever means she could… I'm just as baffled."
Rowan was a heresy inquisitor and was naturally investigating the events within the Holy Knights.
Although the reality was different, after discovering the connection between the temple and the missing corpse, she obtained information about Ludwig and deliberately approached him.
Bertus was aware of the situation.
The heresy inquisitor, who should not have known the truth, tried to use Ludwig.
But then she suddenly died.
Bertus was just as perplexed by the situation.
I, too, believed that there was a high likelihood that the Empire had killed Rowan.
Rowan was a heresy inquisitor, pursuing the case, and had the temple in mind, so the Empire had ample reason to silence her by killing her.
However, the Empire was not the perpetrator.
"I'm not sure of the exact reason, but it could be an internal purge."
"…What? A purge?"
It was an unexpected claim.
"Reinhardt, listen carefully."
The story I heard from Bertus was long, but the content was simple.
The possibility that the Five Great Religions harbored different intentions.
To be precise, the intentions of the leaders of each order.
"What… nonsense is this…?"
I couldn't help but be dumbfounded upon hearing these words from Bertus.
"They… are preparing to take my side?"
"Perhaps."
From Bertus's perspective, it was betrayal.
From my perspective, it was either switching sides or submission.
"I don't know which side the deceased priestess belonged to, but now that the matter has surfaced, the flow can't be stopped."
"…"
"The Orders and the Holy Knights might split, and a civil war could break out. That would further complicate the situation."
"So, what… should we do?"
"We have to stop it. Until the Gate incident is resolved, we can't let anyone bleed for such a ridiculous matter."
That was something Bertus couldn't do. It was something only I could do.
"Do you understand what you're saying?"
At my question, Bertus gave a bitter smile.
"How could I not?"
"…"
I was left speechless.