Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 161

161. The Master of the North (5)

‘What on earth is going on?’

Eile was taken aback by the sudden turn of events.

To think that Sir, the guild leader of the Iron Cross, one of the six major guilds, and the world’s second-ranked player, was related to Neshua as siblings.

‘No wonder he seemed so familiar somehow…’

Seeing them together like this, he immediately understood why he had that feeling.

Neshua, unable to speak because he belonged to the Shadow Order, scribbled on parchment instead of answering.

Sir looked at his brother with a pitiful gaze.

“I don’t know why you’d join such a strange concept of an order.”

The penalty of silence.

To her, the followers of the Shadow Order, to which Neshua belonged, seemed much stranger than the Light Order, famous for its madness.

In fact, the Shadow Order had the fewest users, so it wasn’t just her opinion.

「Why did you come after me here?」

Neshua frowned and wrote as if to argue.

“Why, you ask? The reason is obvious.”

Sir replied simply.

“Hand over the relic you have.”

Swish!

Sir pointed his sword at them.

“…”

“You don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you’re my brother, do you?”

A tense atmosphere formed instantly.

Sir, standing at the very front, as well as the guild members behind him, were all players of at least a semi-ranker level or higher.

No matter how hard he racked his brain, there was no way out of this situation.

「Okay.」

Neshua, well aware of his sister’s personality, sighed.

Raising both arms, he willingly reached out to hand over the relic.

And the moment the two hands met, exchanging the relic fragment.

Whoosh!

Neshua’s dagger flashed.

The sharp black frost was contained on the blade, and he lunged inward, aiming for Sir’s neck.

Thwack!

“…!”

Neshua’s wrist, which was stabbing with the dagger, was firmly grabbed.

Then his body floated into the air and tilted to the opposite side.

Thud!

The floor shattered as Neshua was slammed down as if crushed.

Sir, who had instantly slammed him down, grabbed Neshua by the collar, stood him up, and pinned him against the wall.

“Still acting up.”

“…”

Neshua frowned with a look of disgust.

He didn’t say anything, but he seemed to be mentally cursing all sorts of things.

As far as Eile knew, it was the first time Neshua had shown such a variety of expressions.

Thwack!

Sir snatched the relic fragment that had been in his hand.

Neshua, who had his hands on the core item that he had obtained with difficulty, looked at him with a blank expression.

“Wait… why is the Iron Cross after the relic? It’s useless to a user guild. And the six major guilds wouldn’t do it for a few coins.”

Eile stepped forward and raised a question.

Eile, who didn’t have any siblings, was embarrassed by the sudden sibling fight, but now that the core fragment of the relic was in Sir’s hands, he had to figure out the situation for sure.

“Well, good. It’s better to explain it clearly at this point. You guys in the inner part of the continent may not know, but clues about the relics have been appearing in the north for a while now. Signs that relics would appear were visible even before this incident broke out.”

Sir, who had sheathed his sword, put his hand on his waist.

“Of course, it’s useless to us who have no faith. But relics are worth more than what is known to the world now. Just holding the core fragment can be a great card. This is something that gods will have to covet in any way.”

[‘Mother of Life’ expresses displeasure at the arrogant attitude of humans.]

[‘Secret Seeker’ has a deep interest in her.]

The reactions of the gods who were listening to her story were also worth watching.

At least she didn’t seem to be telling lies like last time.

“Until now, the orders were just an option that individual users who didn’t join a guild could choose. But if my prediction is correct, the proportion of gods in the game will gradually increase.”

Whoosh!

Sir pushed Neshua, whom he was holding, in his direction.

Eile grabbed Neshua, who was staggering and about to fall.

“So you’re going to hold onto the relic in advance. So that you can always be in a favorable position in relation to the orders.”

“Exactly.”

“Then how about we settle it here right now?”

“Oh, are you suggesting a negotiation?”

The corners of Sir’s mouth slightly lifted.

She already knew Eile’s information well.

As an executive, the highest position, he could sit at the negotiating table on behalf of the order.

「Wait, without even consulting me…」

“Be quiet if you don’t want to die.”

Neshua tried to argue with Sir, but all that came back was a rebuke.

Unfortunately, his situation was somewhat different from Eile’s.

Neshua was also walking the path of the second apostle, but he did not hold a high position within the order.

Above all, given the nature of the Shadow Order, which did not actively come forward unlike the Light Order, it was not easy to offer any particular conditions.

“Then let’s move the location first.”

“Um… sorry.”

Eile, who apologized as if he was embarrassed, followed Sir.

It was an unintended situation, but Neshua, who arrived first, was unfairly treated.

But anyway, the relic had already been handed over to Sir, and it had to be recovered somehow before it was passed on to another order without anyone knowing.

An impossible story for Neshua.

“…”

Neshua, who was left alone in the room with the supervisor, sighed deeply.

Then, while chewing on his resentment towards Sir, he squatted down on the floor and scribbled.

* * *

“Is this the end?”

Eile said in a daze.

The terms of the transaction between the two sides were exchanged with the core relic fragment in the middle, and the negotiation was successfully completed.

Since the conditions did not have to be implemented immediately, there was no hindrance to finding other relics, and there was no need to rush.

However, what she put forward was a very unusual condition.

“But it’s completely unexpected. Why such a condition… wasn’t it something that had nothing to do with the Iron Cross?”

“Since the war started, the landscape of Warlord is not so simple. You’ll find out soon. And please take care of me in the future.”

Sir reached out his hand, and Eile shook it.

Anyway, with the transaction just now, the Light Order had become an anti-alliance relationship with the Iron Cross.

No, to be exact, it was better to say that they were in a close cooperative relationship.

It wasn’t a light matter that he could handle alone, but Lou had given his permission, so there was nothing to worry about.

Thwack!

The relic fragment of the north was handed over to Eile.

One of the core relics had come into his hands.

But at the same time, the surrounding space suddenly began to ripple.

Crack!

A large tree trunk growing from the floor of the room.

The trunks that suddenly appeared gathered together and began to form a human figure.

During that time, everyone in the surrounding space stopped moving as if time had stopped, and only Eile could move from his seat.

“Nice to meet you, my apostle.”

“You are…”

A woman with a calm impression created by gathering the trunks.

Green hair flowed down to her waist, and a fresh smile was on her lips.

Her identity is Freya.

Goddess of abundance, earth, and death. At the same time, she was a god of the Earth Order. “You have successfully found the relic fragment. You are qualified to serve me, now is the time. Only your decision remains.”

Freya, who had come closer, gently took Eile’s hand.

As expected, she had come all the way here to hear his decision as soon as Eile succeeded in recovering the relic.

Everyone knew the importance of the core fragment, so it was no longer possible to delay the answer and waste time.

In other words, the time of decision had come.

“You must have made up your mind, right?”

Freya smiled contentedly at Eile’s words as if he had made up his mind.

Just by investing a very small amount of influence, he could get a high-level apostle intact.

Freya stroked Eile’s cheek once.

“Now, bring the fragment of the relic. Let’s go together.”

“I’m not going.”

“Hmm…?”

Freya’s hand, which was stroking his cheek, stopped abruptly.

“I think I misheard something…”

“I said I will continue to serve the light.”

“Haha… no, there seems to be some misunderstanding.”

Freya, who laughed as if that couldn’t be, stepped back.

She had taken it for granted that he would take on the role of an apostle of the Earth Order, so cognitive dissonance occurred in her head.

And Eile gave the final blow to Freya, who had an incredulous face.

“I think the Light Order is the best option after all.”

[The god, ‘Goddess of Death’s wrath is directed at you!]

“You… !”

Crack!

A bleak energy emanated from the enraged Freya.

Black roots burst out, piercing the floor wildly, filling the room and rushing in to suffocate Eile.

“How dare you betray me!”

“Kuh… !”

Eile, who was embarrassed, stepped back.

Thud!

A dazzling light pierced through the ceiling and poured down on them.

The pure white light drove away the bleak energy that had taken over the room and burned all the roots that were reaching out.

Lou’s intervention blocked Freya.

Flash!

[The distortion of space subsides as the god’s intervention disappears!]

“Hoo…”

Eile, who was sweating profusely, took a breath.

He had roughly expected the reaction, but he couldn’t easily adapt to this kind of experience.

“Why all of a sudden?”

Sir, who hadn’t seen the situation just now, asked.

But he had no time to explain.

Thud!

The floor began to ring loudly.

No, the entire underground tomb was shaking violently.

“What… what is it? Could it be the relic?”

The Iron Cross guild members, who did not know the existence of the gods, reacted as if it was an event caused by the relic fragment.

But this was not the relic, but the god who had taken action.

Freya’s angry movement.

Neshua, who had rushed over from the next room, seemed to sense it and drew his weapon.

Creak!

Black mist spread in all directions, and twisted corpses began to rise one by one.

Not only the magicians and monsters of the Celestial Order who had fallen in battle, but also the corpses that had been quietly sleeping opened their coffins and rose.

Since the place where they were located was also an underground tomb, it was a perfect place for Freya, the goddess of death, to intervene.

[Freya’s lower family ‘Harvester’ has appeared!]

Tsutsutsut!

A huge reaper appeared as the space twisted.

It had a creepy appearance with a long scythe and a covered face.

Freya sent as many as two lower families, the Harvesters.

They had not taken an incomplete manifestation, and had a power that was difficult for users to approach.

Whoong!

Two reapers who had slid up to Eile’s nose wielded long scythes.

It was a fast movement without even a preliminary motion to approach.

He tried to react late, but one of the corpses that had sprung up from under his feet grabbed his ankle.

‘Damn it… !’