Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 178

Weapon-Devouring Bastard 178

The Vatican’s secret archive wasn’t organized with electronic devices like the Janggyeonggak [a library or archive] of the Soongmoo Lee family.

Therefore, it wasn’t possible to search for specific content.

Moreover, access to some books was completely restricted.

They seemed to be books containing blasphemous content or things that shouldn’t be known to the world.

The classification method was as follows:

By region, level of danger, and type of content.

There were over thirty bookshelves in total.

Of course, they were called bookshelves, but there weren’t many that were just densely packed with books; some were in glass cases, others sealed on altars, and so on.

“The administrator of the archive has created a map based on the keywords you mentioned in advance.”

I couldn’t possibly search this vast archive alone, so I had asked Saintess Christina in advance.

She left me a paper with the list and locations, and decided to wait near the entrance.

I wondered how many people in the world could receive guidance from a 1st class knight.

I couldn’t tell if Saintess Christina was exceptional, or if she was just that considerate of me.

In any case.

‘Let’s start with the Eastern records.’

Even with the list I received from Saintess Christina, it felt like it would take all day to search.

The keywords were as follows:

Black energy.

Man’gwi Mountain.

Incarnation of a star.

A beast that eats causality.

Someone who can ignore the Pier.

A being with the power of regeneration.

Additionally, anything about the main family.

And so on.

I combined the records obtained from Soongmoo Lee family with all the information I had gained or experienced so far.

With this many clues, I thought I could find something.

That’s how half a day passed.

It didn’t take long to realize that my initial thought of finding something quickly was a huge delusion.

‘……Most of them are just descriptions of demon-type monsters.’

‘This is just a description of someone who ignored the Pier with their magical power.’

‘Incarnation of a star…… it’s described as a goblin. Surely it’s not Elder Seop, is it?’

‘This won’t be easy.’

With a sigh, I closed the ancient book and looked at the archive.

* * *

I organized what I knew about the Black Ki [a type of dark energy].

First, the Black Ki.

A power I couldn’t handle in my past life.

I speculate that its origin is the unidentified dark something that dug into my body right before I died in my past life.

A fossil of a giant monster and a sword in the place where I was dying after being cut in the back by the Yeonggeomdan [a group of swordsmen], and something that was absorbed into me as the sword broke.

The abilities of the Black Ki were as follows:

The Black Ki ignores the Pier, devours weapons, and reads their memories.

However, the Black Ki cannot read the memories of unprocessed natural products.

It has some kind of will and is invisible to others.

Second, Mujin.

A weapon wielded by a warrior from the distant past, whose exact year is unknown.

Whether it was a human, some natural phenomenon, or even a monster.

It was equipment that was presented to the king after winning a war against a specific being.

From the knowledge related to Mujin, I obtained information about ‘Man’gwi Mountain’.

Third, the black stone.

An object that the Mountain Keeper had seen. It was sealed with an ancient sorcerer and disappeared.

Fourth, the black smoke sealed in my ancestor’s tomb.

After absorbing it, I gained regenerative power.

Fifth, Black Night.

The secrets I learned through the Black Night Records and Black Night.

Black Night is related to Black Ki.

Why? It’s simple.

Only Black Night could cut Black Ki.

Perhaps it was forged to cut something related to Black Ki.

If so, it is also related to the history of Soongmoo Lee family.

Why did Ancestor Lee Hyul-hyun hide this, and why did Ancestor Lee Hyang-seon try to reveal it?

Sixth, the disappearance of records.

The content about ‘something’ related to Black Ki, indicated in the Black Night Records and various records, was as if it had disappeared.

Finally, the object absorbed this time in the Vatican, and the object that Behemoth was after.

After absorbing this, I…… became able to touch Black Ki.

Feeling tired from searching the secret archive, I took a break and stretched my hand into the air.

And.

Woo-oong!

Black Ki began to stretch out.

It looked different from the Black Ki I knew.

If the Black Ki had looked like a cluster of fine, small particles like smoke, after absorbing the black something in the underground seal, it changed from mist to water.

It would have been fine if it had simply become denser, but that wasn’t the end of it.

I put my hand on the Black Ki floating around my body.

Squish!

A sensation like touching water or mucus.

The problem is…… it can be touched.

I gathered the Black Ki and swung it in the air.

Paang!

A sound like a balloon bursting in the air was heard.

Black Ki, which couldn’t do anything physically, now had physical power.

The power wasn’t great, but the fact that it was invisible to others was significant.

I fiddled with Mujin on my finger.

The moment Black Ki merged with Mujin and absorbed the black object, ‘something’ turned to me.

‘Black Ki is not just an energy. It’s likely a moving something, or a fragment of a living something.’

I got up again and started rummaging through the bookshelves.

* * *

Two days had passed since I spent time in the archive.

In the meantime, I found a record.

It was a scholar’s journal.

It seemed to have been created only a few hundred years ago, but I couldn’t understand why it was designated as a forbidden book.

[I wanted to find the erased history.]

[How far does the history we know go? It was full of speculation. So I wanted to know the history.]

[There are many who call me a heretic. But I will not give up.]

The journal continued.

It contained inferences and contents about the lost history of various countries.

[I have discovered a mysterious commonality.

There is a commonality in each myth, tradition, and oral tale.

Is it just a cultural influence?

I don’t think so.

…… Omission……

There is a story about a monster that is said to have destroyed the world.

Such oral tales have been passed down in rural areas of various regions, and strangely, there were so many oral tales, but they were not recorded.

I don’t know why. I’ll have to look for other continents. Places where civilization has not been achieved…….]

While reading the content, I slowly widened my eyes.

[I was right.]

[Records of the monster that destroyed the world existed everywhere. The characteristics were as follows: black power, immortal characteristics, …… and …… what …… absorb…….]

And the moment I reached that passage, I was convinced.

The content has disappeared.

It’s not erased, it’s gone.

A phenomenon I’ve seen in the Black Night Records and in various records.

‘That’s for sure. This is a record related to Black Ki.’

The journal was several volumes.

I focused a little more and read the contents.

[……The moment I write, the content disappears. I forgot what I was trying to write. What happened?]

[I named this ‘Record Disappearance’.]

[But recently, I feel strange. Something, I feel strange about myself. I feel like my memory has been strange lately. I don’t think I’m myself.]

It was the journal writer’s flustered content.

Again, the content continues.

The writer stubbornly explored everywhere.

Even while everyone was cursing him for doing stupid things, he traveled the world for his purpose.

[Many records have vague and ambiguous metaphors about the monster because there was no other reason. Because if you leave an accurate record, it disappears. I saw this as a kind of power acting on it.

…… Omission……

Then what is that monster? What was the ancient history, and why are there not many records and relics left?]

In the middle, there were diaries of the man who wrote this journal.

[The more I find, the more I feel like my mind is going strange. Something is wrong.]

[Still, I have to find it. Because this is my goal…….]

The man went to the East.

Impressions that could be guessed that a long time had passed were written, and the content continued again.

[I found an ancient document written about a war. It seems to be a record written in later generations. This mysterious country strangely likes to record things. All sorts of things were left as records.

There were missing parts, but I restored and wrote them. Again, in order to prevent the ‘Record Disappearance’ phenomenon, I use vague words…….]

[The content was as follows.]

[A beast walked out of the abyss, followed by several more.

…… Omission…….

The beast was like the six domestic animals raised by the earth and the ocean, and plunged many countries into lamentation, and wrapped in dark energy, it feared the many monsters that followed, and it did not bleed because the swords did not work.]

I paused for a moment.

I had read this record before.

Right in the Janggyeonggak of Soongmoo Lee family.

However, much more was written than the record I saw in the family.

[After a long war fought in chaos, they fell into a long sleep, so people in the world thought that nothing would happen in the future.

However, fragments of the beast remained in the world, and everyone …… did …… not …… know about the fragments.

Finally, one of the large fragments was revived.

The country was plunged into lamentation after fighting a war for hundreds of days and nights, and people died.

Numerous heroes sacrificed their lives to seal the beast on Man’gwi Mountain.

The king praised the achievement and bestowed a fief [a grant of land].

The heroes were moved by the king’s grace and made a sword, named Mujin. This was presented to the king.

The weapon was made of the monster’s flesh, and it freely changed its shape…….]

Beast.

Black energy.

Mujin.

The content continues.

[I found out the name of the beast. There was a tradition about the beast here. There is also a mural. That’s, that’s……. Go …… was.

Oh, that great name. I have achieved it. Me……]

From that part on, the content of the journal became completely strange.

The letters were distorted here and there, and the handwriting was jagged here and there.

From then on, strange letters and words that could not even be called letters continued.

Even madness is felt.

Absolutely…… they were not normal sentences.

And I reached the last journal.

[I feel like my mind is completely strange. I’m sure I’m crazy.

I felt hungry looking at people passing by. They seem abnormal…….]

[……Scholars say that the four kings sleeping in the unexplored area are the first monsters.

It wasn’t.

There was a first separately.

The ‘beast’ that appears in many records.

This ‘beast’ was the first.

And fragments of that ‘beast’ exist in the world.

It was necessary to go to the mountain where ten thousand ghosts live. I found the exact location.]

[The location is…….]

That’s how the record ended.

I stared at the written content with my eyes wide open, holding the journal.

* * *

The time in the Vatican flowed quickly.

The new year dawned, winter passed, and spring came.

“Lee Cheol. I think I should go back to the family soon.”

He, who now exchanged words comfortably, stroked the Holy Sword and said to me.

“What’s going on?”

“The summons order has been issued by my father.”

Ron said with a bitter smile.

“I’m going back for now, but call me anytime, whatever happens. We’re colleagues, right? I’ll run to you no matter what.”

Ron left the Vatican first.

After that, it was the same for me.

Several days passed after that, and I felt that it was time for me to leave the Vatican.

And when I told Serena that I was leaving, she told me to wait a moment.

“There is someone who wants to meet Lee Cheol.”

“Who is it?”

“It’s the Saintess.”

“Are you talking about Saintess Christina? I saw her yesterday.”

“No. It’s Saintess Sophia.”

There were two Saintesses in the Vatican of that era.

Saintess Christina, called the Sword of the Vatican.

And the other one is the reason I came to the Vatican.

The owner of the Prophecy Eye, a woman called the Incarnation of the Virgin Mary.

Sophia Serezard.

“Before you leave, I would like you to meet her once. The Saintess is waiting to meet Lee Cheol.”

* * *

I headed to a small church located in the west of the Vatican.

And in the promenade near the entrance of the church, I met an old nun-dressed woman sitting on a bench.

As soon as I saw the woman, I took a deep breath.

A distorted flow of magic, an aging body, and an extremely damaged state of vitality.

It was the same characteristic felt by someone who had little life left.

A person who devoted himself to the world without worrying about his body being broken.

Saintess, Sophia Serezard.

“Have you come?”

Saintess Sophia greeted me with a smile.

The wrinkles on her wrinkled face created an even warmer smile.

‘Eyes…….’

I saw that her eyes were blurry.

Whether it was due to old age or excessive use of the magic eye.

Her pupils were out of focus.

“It’s an honor to meet you. Saintess.”

“Hehe, it’s an embarrassing title. Come on, sit here.”

I sat next to Saintess Sophia.

She gently took my hand.

She was supposed to be a woman without special powers, but her hands were surprisingly warm.

“Thank you for visiting this old man in the midst of your busy schedule.”

“No. It’s all my honor.”

“Many people have been helped thanks to Lee Cheol.”

“It was something I had to do.”

“It was something that no one could do.”

After that, I had many conversations with the Saintess.

They were trivial stories.

How clear the sky is, what the flowers are like, and that she hasn’t been feeling well lately…….

How much time had passed like that?

Saintess Sophia calmly opened her mouth.

“May I see Lee Cheol once?”

The Saintess, who brought up the main point, stared at me intently.

A strange energy rippled in her eyes.

It didn’t really mean seeing.

It meant she would see my future.

“Are you okay? I heard it’s quite burdensome every time you use it.”

“It’s okay. Rather, I feel like I have to see it.”

The Saintess smiled.

It was definitely the trembling voice of an old woman.

But I felt some unidentified power there.

I nodded.

And I met the eyes of Saintess Sophia, which were rippling with blue light.

“Release the power.”

I completely withdrew all the magic that was covering my body.

Saintess Sophia’s eyes are looking through my eyes as if piercing them.

A moment of time passed.

She closed her eyes.

Very slowly, she closed her eyes tightly, took a long breath, and inhaled.

I immediately poured the energy of recovery magic into Saintess Sophia’s body.

It wouldn’t be of much help because it was weakening due to old age, but I wanted her to feel a little more comfortable.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Lee Cheol. Thank you for your consideration.”

Saintess Sophia groaned, slightly tired.

“Lee Cheol’s future is…… too much. This is the first time.”

With those words, Saintess Sophia, who had been silent for a while, continued.

“Lee Cheol is like a lamp.”

Saintess Sophia stroked the back of my hand with her other hand.

“A lamp that pioneers the way in front of many people…….”

Saintess Sophia’s blurry eyes look at the sky.

A distant voice that seems to be looking at some completely different place, not me.

“But there is a lot of darkness blocking the way. Please…… don’t stop walking. Don’t hesitate to move forward. Your light will be the way for those who follow.”

At Saintess Sophia’s words, I briefly recalled her voice.

And I nodded with a smile.

“Don’t worry.”

I don’t know what she saw.

But I’ve already lost my way, stopped, and hesitated a lot in my past life.

I won’t stop.

As always.

The Saintess smiled.

“I will pray deeply that the Lord’s blessing will be upon Lee Cheol’s future.”

Saintess Sophia smiled.

I don’t believe in God, but I prayed that my blessing would be upon her too.

* * *

In the place where Lee Cheol left.

An elderly clergyman approached Saintess Sophia, who was quietly basking in the spring sun.

The old man in ordinary priestly clothes sat next to Saintess Sophia and spent time quietly.

It was the Saintess who spoke first.

“Weren’t you busy?”

“Even so, I have time to come and see my friend.”

The elderly clergyman, he was none other than the Pope.

Saintess Sophia smiled faintly.

“You didn’t come because you were curious about what I saw, did you?”

“Of course, I’m also curious about that. Hehe.”

The Pope and the Saintess were quietly basking in the spring sun.

“He is a person who goes ahead.”

“……Hmm.”

“He is a person who leads the era. Unlike old people like us, he is a person who leads a new world.”

The Saintess felt a butterfly flying next to her.

Her eyes, which had almost lost their sight, could not properly chase the butterfly.

But on the contrary, her eyes were seeing a very clear future.

Saintess Sophia recalled the future she had seen in Lee Cheol.

In a world full of chaos, Lee Cheol was a ray of light.

It flickered as if it would go out, and sometimes it was eroded by darkness and faded.

Still, he was a light.

He will reach out far at any time.

* * *

I finished preparing to leave the Vatican.

I had already said goodbye to the many people I met in the Vatican.

Lee Seo-hyun came to the airport to see me off, saying that I was her family.

“Where are you going now?”

Lee Seo-hyun asked just before boarding the private plane prepared by Jung Jin-soo.

“I have to prepare soon.”

“Prepare? What?”

“Prepare to return to the family.”

The time to return to the family was getting closer and closer.