Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 426

Operation 426 almost went wrong right from the start.

“Did Sung-ha tell you to do this? Well, even if not, if it helps Commander Harmon, I should certainly give it. Here it is.”

Elder Nosaile Jাইল gave the holy object, Terra, easily, even though people thought he might not.

The problem was what came next.

“If Commander Harmon wants it, I will certainly… Ugh, ugh!”

The moment Austin was about to receive the Flamma, a scepter-shaped holy object, from Harmon, a strange sign appeared. His eyes seemed to glow red, and his divine power began to surge.

“What!?”

Harmon, sensing it, drew his sword at once.

Skkeak.

– Finally… Ugh!? You baaaastard!

The moment his wrist, holding the red-glowing scepter, was severed, a bizarre scream erupted from Austin’s mouth.

Viktor frowned. He did not like the strange, horrible sound of the voice.

“Cough!”

Harmon, as if struck by some other impact, coughed up blood.

“Sir Harmon!”

“I’m, I’m fine. Just do what needs to be done!”

His face turned pale quickly and looked bad. They had no time to argue.

– There’s a strange noise inside…!

– Commander!

Urgent voices were heard from outside the door, and soon the door burst open, and paladins rushed in.

However, all they saw was Harmon with an icy expression and his companion.

“Nothing’s wrong. Carry on.”

Fortunately, Austin, who had rolled his eyes back at the last gasp, had collapsed as if fainting on the spot, so it was not difficult for the large Harmon and Viktor to shield the small elder.

“Yes, yes. Understood.”

Creak.

Only after the paladins backed away, closing the door, did Harmon and Viktor breathe a sigh of relief.

“Ha… I thought my heart would stop.”

“The timing was perfect. Fortunately, I cut off the connection just in time.”

At those words, Viktor looked again at the fallen elder.

Elder Austin had been the Pope before. But then, the Cassel Magic Tower brainwashed and used him. He had retired after that. And now, a god was taking over his spirit…

The pooling blood flowing from the severed wrist made the old priest look even more pitiful.

But Harmon, who had known Austin for even longer than Viktor, acted without hesitation.

“Take the holy objects. Move Austin to the bed.”

A low hum filled the air.

While Harmon staunched the bleeding from Austin’s wrist with divine power and erased the bloodstains on the floor with aura, Viktor carried the frail old man to the bed.

And once he quietly covered him with a blanket, the pale-faced old man merely looked as if he were asleep.

“…Will he not wake up now?”

“Perhaps not. I don’t know how much of a shock he received, but it will be a few days at most. The wrist couldn’t be helped, though…

“Did you have to….”

“I had to. Look at me, this damned necklace that won’t even think of falling off. If it had been a hand, I would have cut it off myself as well. This is better for him.”

A low hum filled the air.

Viktor, seeing the holy object radiating its presence from Harmon’s neck, nodded with a hardened face.

Harmon, watching him for a moment, brought up the words he had repeated countless times, just in case.

“I say again, a person whose soul has been possessed cannot be saved. You surely….”

“I know.”

The answer, cutting off Harmon’s words, was quick.

But now, thinking that he had to go and meet her, his feet would not readily move.

‘With my own hands… her….’

He thought he had resolved himself countless times, so why was he being like this now?

Harmon could not have failed to notice him, caught in his torment.

But he instead patted Viktor on the shoulder.

“If you cannot wield a sword, you might as well turn back here. I will somehow manage on my own.”

“How will you manage?”

“Somehow!”

At that resolute voice, Viktor’s wavering eyes quickly regained their focus.

Killing the Saintess now is the true salvation. Harmon’s firm conviction was conveyed once again in his words.

That steadied Viktor’s heart, which had been weakening again.

Hooo.

After exhaling a long breath, Viktor said resolutely.

“Let’s go.”

“Really….”

“I will give her peace. I must.”

“……So be it.”

Thus, the two men, quickening their pace, arrived at the Pope’s residence in just over ten minutes.

The Pope’s house was very beautiful, like a palace bigger than those in small countries. It glowed at night because of a magic protection.

A luxurious palace so extravagant that some of the past Popes had refused to live in it, deeming it too lavish.

But now, only two paladins guarded the front of the palace.

As they got near, one of the guards, Line Harper, who was the commander’s assistant, bowed. His face was very serious.

“You have arrived, Commander.”

“Where are the others?”

“They are on external patrol as ordered.”

This meant that only these two paladins remained in the palace.

“……Do you not ask? Why I ordered you to do this?”

“If it were necessary to know, you would have told us.”

There was not the slightest hesitation on Line Harper’s face as he answered, and his comrade Jeil also nodded with a smile.

Harmon, feeling even more sorry at their confident appearance, could not speak for a moment.

“Whatever you do, Commander, we trust you. Please take care of yourself.”

“Take care.”

As if they had foreseen that Harmon would leave the Holy Kingdom after this, their greetings felt more solemn than courteous.

“……Whatever happens, say that I ordered it all. Because that is the truth.”

“We will. So please go without worry, Commander.”

Harmon, staring at the adjutant’s face, which even showed a forced smile, bit his lip tightly, patted him on the shoulder, and turned away.

He could no longer delay.

“Let’s go.”

Seeing his resolutely shining eyes, Viktor simply moved his feet quietly.

Tap tap tap.

The palace was so empty that the light footsteps of the two men felt like the only noise.

‘Cassandra and Evelyn must have done a good job.’

Just as Viktor was trying to calm his pounding heart and distract himself, the Pope’s bedchamber came into view.

And in front of it, two waiting maids were holding toolboxes filled with everyday items, their faces anxious.

– She’s inside.

– The interior is all cleared out.

Viktor and Harmon also nodded silently at the report conveyed with lip movements.

Judging from the bloodstains on their aprons, it seemed they had not been sent out easily, but it was because they had anticipated such a thing that they had been selected.

Anyway, it was done successfully.

The moment Viktor thought so, Harmon’s voice rang in the ears of the two female knights.

[Get out first and go straight to McLane. Viktor and I will return on our own. And the route back should not be the same way we came. Not a single part of it.]

He could send his thoughts without moving his lips.

Viktor had asked about the method before, but only a vague answer came back that it could be done if one handled the power of the soul. Harmon’s expression, adding, ‘Now your lord will do it more easily than I,’ looked so bitter that he could not ask further.

Naturally, Cassandra and Evelyn’s eyes widened for a moment, having never encountered such a skill, but neither of them wavered.

Soon, nodding their heads at Viktor’s signal, they began to dash out of the palace like the wind.

Tap tap tap.

Only after confirming that their retreating figures had disappeared around the corridor did Harmon open the door to the Pope’s bedchamber.

Gggggeeung.

As the heavy door opened, the room, so large that it was hard to believe it was a personal bedchamber, was revealed.

Moving his gaze inside, he saw the Saintess sitting on the large bed, enjoying the moonlight shining through the window.

Dressed in a pure white robe with nine circles drawn on it, and even wearing the special robes for important decisions.

‘She was prepared?’

Harmon’s surprised eyebrows twitched when the Saintess opened her mouth.

“If Anima’s warning had been just a little later, I would have been caught off guard without any preparation.”

With the words that flowed out in a calm tone, a blue aura began to ripple from her body.

It seemed that the act of cutting off Austin’s wrist a moment ago had immediately reached Amanda’s ears. That was what had caused this mess.

‘For a god, she’s too talkative.’

Harmon gritted his teeth at Anima’s behavior, which was completely different from the personality of Aria he had grasped.

But that did not mean he could back down now.

“False gods who take human bodies as they please. This is the only way to stop the wars those gods cause.”

Words uttered to provoke and to give a renewed sense of alertness to someone behind him.

On Harmon’s face, brandishing the sword he had immediately drawn, no more hesitation could be found.

But the target of the provocation neatly ignored those words.

“I didn’t expect you to refuse Aria’s possession, Commander Harmon.”

As the calm voice continued…….

– How dare you, a mere human!

Soon, with a grotesquely changed voice, a blue aura poured out like a tidal wave, covering their front.

Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwa.

Kwaaaang!

The room exploded with a deafening roar, all the effort to evacuate people in vain. The Pope’s residence, which had been safe for over 300 years, was instantly devastated.

Crash!

Rumble!

The building, protected by the sacred barrier, fortunately did not collapse immediately, and the two men, splitting the blue aura, jumped out almost simultaneously.

Among them, the one in front was naturally Harmon.

‘Damn it…….’

Harmon gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his sword.

With more than half of his soul possessed, his power would drop below 20% if he did not use divine power.

But after carefully testing it since that day, he had confirmed that the divine power already established within his body prioritized his will over the will of the god. It seemed to be a result of having gained the ability to handle the power of the soul.

And thanks to that, Harmon was currently able to exert nearly 40% of his original power. Although it was the power he had before being dispatched to McLane, even so, 40% of that ‘Divine Sword’ was comparable to the level of someone who had stepped into the highest echelons of aura users.

However, even so, he was losing confidence now. From the Apostle’s first attack, his expectations had been quite off.

‘Unbelievable power…….’

The power wielded so casually had already far surpassed the level of most mages. The worst-case scenario he had assumed, that the Apostle’s combat power might be at the level of an Archmage, had appeared as a reality before his eyes.

To make matters worse, Viktor, who had followed beside him, was shouting nonsense.

“Ilia! I have come!”

The young man, completely changed from before. The voice of the young man, whose blue and red heterochromatic eyes and blue hair were revealed by the overflowing onslaught of sacred power, was filled with deep sorrow.

Harmon sighed at that desperate cry.

‘This…….’

Had he really not abandoned his lingering feelings?

‘I need proper assistance.’

The enemy’s power was at the level of an Archmage. To defeat the Apostle as they planned, they really needed Viktor’s help. Viktor was like a superhuman.

It would be difficult to harm the Apostle with only intermediate-level power, but it would be possible to disperse the attacks and endure. Above all, he had superior force and regeneration compared to those of the same level.

But with that kind of mindset, he might rather be a hindrance.

A murderous intent flashed in Harmon’s blue eyes.

With the thought of cutting down even this young talent if he interfered with the undertaking.

But at that moment.

An unexpected sight came into his eyes.

– Get lost!

“Ilia! I have come as ‘promised’!”

Some of the blue divine power that had surged again at the desperate shout, inappropriate for the situation, scattered.

He also saw the sight of a gray aura, clearly much weaker, cutting through the blue divine power and piercing the Apostle’s body.

The Apostle’s eyes widened.

Tears streaming down the face of the young man wielding the sword.

Harmon saw the strange and sad scene and remembered it clearly.