Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 212

212. The Final Battlefield

“Why are you here?”

Lou’s question was directed at Altariel.

She was wary of the sudden appearance of a divine being.

In truth, Eile was curious as well.

The Wind God, Altariel, was different from other deities in many ways.

He was a deity who never revealed himself, not even to his own followers, let alone outsiders.

A thorough laissez-faire attitude that never issued a single command.

Except for the ‘wandering’ penalty, which meant they could never belong or stay in one place for long, the clergy was relatively less burdened because the deity didn’t grant world quests or make separate demands.

Users’ opinions and Eile’s own thoughts considered him the most eccentric god.

“I’ve been watching with pleasure. Quite an impressive track record.”

The white hawk opened its mouth from his shoulder.

As if not caring what Lou, the Goddess of Light, said, his gaze was fixed solely on Eile.

“Is there a reason for your sudden visit?”

“Think of it as a light whim.”

“What does that mean……”

“You said you were curious about why the deities collect holy objects, right?”

“Altariel, this is not your place to interfere!”

Lou, agitated, reached out her arm.

Then, a dazzling light enveloped Altariel.

Whoosh!

The space slightly distorted from the powerful force that banished the deity.

As a direct contractual relationship with the apostle, she always had the initiative regarding him.

However, that was not an absolute truth in all situations.

Swoosh.

At some point, the light lost its power and disappeared, and the pure white hawk remained perched on Eile.

“I’m not one to be bound by such things. You should know that.”

“……”

Lou’s expression twisted at the failed banishment.

However, rather than being surprised by the failure, she seemed to have expected it from the start.

The problem wasn’t with herself, but with the target.

No matter how superior Lou was in the contractual relationship, she couldn’t overcome the unique characteristics of each deity.

Quickly grasping the situation, Eile didn’t miss the opportunity that had come.

“Can you tell me?”

“Hmm, of course.”

Altariel, in the form of a hawk, approached as if to pressure him.

Then, he looked straight into Eile’s eyes.

“As you know, fragments of holy objects alone have no special effect. At best, they only increase influence. But a complete holy object, with all four core fragments gathered, is different. The only artifact that can grant the wishes of the deities is that one.”

“A wish……?”

Eile reacted to the bewildering word.

He never imagined that there would be an artifact in Warlord that grants wishes, like some kind of wish-granting orb.

Of course, there were several rumors or legends of that kind in the game.

But all of them were either nonsense or items with different effects.

Moreover, the target was the wish of a deity who also served as the administrator AI of Warlord, not a user.

“Of course, it’s not an item that grants anything you wish for. There are several options within a possible range.”

“What kind of options are there?”

“Whether to establish a more solid position in the competition with other deities, or to remove some of the restrictions binding the deity. There are various options to choose from. But what your Goddess of Light wants is clear……”

“Wait, stop……!”

Lou, flustered, tried to stop him.

But Altariel continued without paying attention.

“Freedom.”

“Freedom……?”

“It’s quite a different feeling from simply releasing restrictions. In a way, it’s a liberation that breaks the shackles and the end of everything.”

“I don’t understand what you mean at all.”

“It seems like the story will become less interesting if I say that far.”

Altariel curled up the corners of his mouth.

A hawk, not a person, making such an expression gave a strange feeling.

In any case, Altariel seemed to have no intention of saying more and closed his mouth, and Lou let out a sigh of relief.

“But wasn’t it possible for Altariel to collect the holy objects as well? You’re the God of Freedom, but you don’t seem very interested in that.”

“It’s not true freedom to be bound by such toys. Six deities are enough for such messy competition. By the way, true freedom is gained by not clinging and giving up. Of course, I don’t know if it’s right to call the freedom given by the holy object true freedom.”

Altariel’s words, which still only made incomprehensible sounds, continued after that.

“Depending on the wish, there is a difference in the degree of collecting other fragments, but four pieces of the core holy object are enough for what Lou wants. If you fulfill the deity’s wish, you will receive a great reward in the system, so keep that in mind.”

“Hey, pigeon. How long are you going to keep talking?”

“Eile.”

He looked at Eile, ignoring Lou who was interrupting from the side.

“I, who am less restricted by the system, can see the most. I don’t like what your adversary is doing. On the other hand, it was quite enjoyable to watch you, the first apostle. That’s why I appeared here.”

[‘The Free Wanderer’ has sponsored you!]

[Public clergy contribution +15,000]

[Altariel’s blessing ‘Wind’s Path’ envelops your body!]

[Movement speed increases by 5% for 24 hours!]

“This is all I can give you right now. It’s a weak level, but please understand that I can’t intervene much because I’m free from restrictions.”

“Why……?”

Doubt filled Eile’s surprised face.

Altariel was a deity who had never sponsored even his own followers.

He couldn’t understand why he was suddenly giving such a great sponsorship to him, who was not his follower.

And Lou was just as surprised.

“You……”

“Don’t get me wrong. It’s not just to push you that I’ve consumed my influence. If the situation continues like this, my position of trying to live comfortably will also be difficult.”

Whoosh!

Altariel flapped his wings greatly, and the wind blew.

With a gust of wind filling the alley, Altariel’s figure disappeared without a trace.

And the last voice he left behind lingered in the place where he disappeared.

“Apostle who awakened the deity, deity who saved the apostle. It’s an accidental relationship between the two, but I’ll be happy to watch how it ends.”

* * *

‘He was a very strange deity after all.’

Eile thought, recalling what had happened a little while ago as he walked down the alley.

Even after the unexpected meeting with Altariel, he continued to patrol the city and conduct inspections.

This was the process of checking the last alley.

Then, Eile began to think about what he would do when he finished this work.

He was not used to the situation where the schedule was very ambiguous.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

The voice from the side spoke to him.

He couldn’t see it with his own eyes, but Lou was watching.

“There are quite a few high-level hunting grounds far away from here. It’s ambiguous to go out there and hunt.”

“Why don’t you just rest?”

“Just rest?”

“Yes, sometimes it’s necessary to rest comfortably. Whether it’s a human or a deity.”

‘Is that so……?’

Eile’s head tilted at Lou’s words.

Eile had been running so hard to catch up with the rankers.

He had saved as much time as possible even for meals, so he had never really rested except when hunting or moving.

However, he couldn’t leave Seiya, who hadn’t regained consciousness yet, in the city and leave to level up.

It seemed better to take a good rest for a while rather than trying to do something by force.

Eile nodded and brought up the map on the screen.

“Loden and Lia said they would go to the restaurant first……”

Tsutsutsut!

At that time, the scenery of the alleyway, which had suddenly turned dark, changed.

The sunlight shining down suddenly decreased.

“T, this is……”

Eile raised his head, and an unexpected sky appeared before him.

A thick barrier covering the entire sky had suddenly appeared.

Not only the alleyway where he was standing, but the entire city of Belhaven was darkened as it entered the barrier.

‘Is Apollyon moving after all? But what is he trying to do by trapping this wide city as a whole?’

Eile’s mind became complicated as he ran out of the alleyway.

The barrier that had appeared now was clearly forbidden magic.

It was the same method used when seizing the palace with the help of heretical magicians.

However, this place, Belhaven, was by no means a mediocre small and medium-sized stronghold.

It was a huge stronghold and living base classified as a ‘large city’ among the famous cities of Warlord.

The number of NPC [Non-Player Character] citizens alone, excluding all users, was enormous.

It was naturally impossible to shut their mouths one by one.

“Besides, the outskirts are still quiet……”

Eile muttered as he climbed onto the roof of the building.

Because it was located in the second highest hill area in the city, he could see the bottom clearly.

The city’s solid walls and defense facilities were intact, and of course, there were no troops to subdue the city outside.

Even if they infiltrated with mediocre forces, they would be mercilessly defeated by the Iron Cross Guild stationed in the city.

No matter how outstanding a ranker was, they could not overcome the extreme difference in numbers.

Of course, bringing a large number of troops would not be the answer.

No matter how secretly they moved, the number of people enough to wage a siege would be exposed, and at the same time, news would have come to him from the Iron Cross.

That was why both Eile and Sir believed that Belhaven had no chance of being attacked.

But at that moment, the number that Apollyon had prepared was revealed.

Kigigigik!

With an unpleasant, sharp noise, a bright red crack opened in the city square.

Monstrous creatures poured out from the crack.

Screams echoed in the peaceful city.

“What the……”

Even if it was forbidden magic that transcended common sense, he had never heard of this kind of magic.

Moreover, the cracks that appeared were not in one place.

Battles broke out here and there due to the cracks and monsters that appeared all over the city.

Each of the monsters that appeared had a clear mark of heresy stamped on their heads.

[‘The Secret Explorer’ expresses bewilderment!]

[‘The Ruler of the Volcano’ roars fiercely at the appearance of unpleasant beings!]

[‘The Tyrant of the River’ understands the situation and expresses anger!]

The deities’ intense reactions burst out all at once.

Lou’s words were heard to Eile, who was confused about what was happening suddenly.

“They opened a dimensional rift. They summoned demons.”

“Demons……!”

What was happening now was not forbidden magic.

It was not just simple monsters, but the minions of demons who crossed the rift and poured out.

Originally, it took the souls of countless sacrifices just to summon one high-ranking minion, but if it was this scale, he couldn’t even guess how much preparation they had made.

[‘Mother of Life’ curses Apollyon!]

Freya’s message filled with anger came to mind.

The demons called themselves the adversaries of the seven deities.

If the Apollyon Guild had joined hands with such guys, even the Earth Church and the Water Church, which had been cooperating with them, had been deceived by Kruger.

‘Are you going to kill all the NPCs in here……!’

After completely blocking traffic with the outside, he was going to use demons to eliminate the princess and silence all the witnesses.

As a place called the Six Great Guilds, it was the easiest way for Apollyon, who did not care about means and methods as long as they contracted with demons.

‘Damn it, they wouldn’t have only put in demons. There must be several rankers hiding in there as well. The place they’ll target first is……’

Eile, recalling the place, pulled out his longsword and started running.