Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 448

Harman stood at the very edge of the Western Continent.

White vapor escaped Harman’s lips as he gazed down from the mountain at the temple nestled on the northwestern edge of the Torre Kingdom.

The trouble across the land that had begun last winter continued into spring, but the weather here, bordering the sea, remained chilly.

And Harman’s heart was frozen even colder than the frigid air.

‘First, reconnaissance.’

His body began to race down the mountain.

He carried Sententia, the relic of the Pope, and Licentia, which stayed around his neck, along with Terra and Flamma collected from the central temple.

Collecting two more relics in the following two months, moving while staying hidden, was not particularly difficult for him.

Rather, it was far more challenging to subdue the Holy Knights and priests, once his comrades, without killing them.

However, the real problem started now.

If the new leaders of the Holy Kingdom aren’t stupid, they would have realized that he, or someone else, was targeting the sealed relics.

‘It won’t be like before.’

Poof.

The moment his will surged, the divine power reacted, forming a transparent barrier around him.

Oooong.

Simultaneously, the relic Licentia around his neck reacted, amplifying the barrier several times over its original strength, completely masking his presence.

The only use he had found for this cursed object recently.

It stopped people from noticing him and enhanced the divine barrier.

‘The relic of the God of Sky and Freedom……’

The how two-faced the gods were made him want to retch.

Even now, after betraying the gods—no, after the gods had betrayed him—he couldn’t help but bitterly smile at the fact that divine power still reacted to his will.

Perhaps now he could display amazing stealth, surpassing even those of the legendary master thief, Veil Shadow.

‘With this, no one short of an Aura Master or Archmage will be able to detect me.’

Harman sighed deeply and increased his speed.

‘I never thought I’d be using these abilities like this……’

It couldn’t be helped.

He had already prepared himself for this when he learned that the faith he had dedicated his life to was false.

At least he hoped that his former comrades would not be exposed to the gods’ threats.

Furthermore, as he himself had once been a devout believer, he knew that he could never persuade others with words alone.

That was why he had taken action.

‘This is the best I can do right now.’

Until he retrieved all the relics from this place and the other two locations.

‘I can only hope that I can achieve my goal without harming the brothers and sisters of the Order.’

The former cleric, who had lost his place to pray, cast his gaze into the empty air, repeating a wish that no one would hear.

But as if to prove that he felt like something bad was going to happen, and it often did, the security at the Torre Temple, known as the Temple at the Edge of the World, was incredibly tight.

Far beyond his expectations.

‘That’s……’

From the Holy Knights guarding the entrance of the temple to the soldiers patrolling the surroundings, they seemed to have gathered forces several times greater than all the temple troops in the Torre Kingdom.

Harman rechecked his barrier and slowly approached them, listening intently.

“It’s still cold, and here we are suffering.”

“Tell me about it.”

“What’s the reason for all this?”

“I don’t know. They just told us to be on high alert.”

“Why are the brothers from Gaia and Lyndon here?”

“How should I know? The Archbishop isn’t telling us anything. They don’t seem to know either.”

The group patrolling around the temple.

The conversation of the Holy Knights at the front quickly explained the situation.

They seemed to have concentrated the temple forces from Lyndon and Gaia, where the relics had already been stolen, in Torre.

However, the fact that the relics had been stolen had not been made public, which was why the Holy Knights were exchanging such words.

Harman’s face immediately darkened as he grasped the situation.

‘This is going to be difficult……’

It wasn’t that stealing the relic would be difficult.

Although his power had diminished somewhat, he still possessed the strength of a top-tier Aura user, along with the incredible ability to hide granted by his divine power and Licentia.

Rather, it was that avoiding harm to the temple’s priests and soldiers would be difficult.

Even if he could sneak in, he would have to reveal his power to break the relic’s seal, and from that point on, maintaining stealth would be nearly impossible.

‘What to do……’

The potential for the gods to steal souls.

The more devout a priest was, the more vulnerable they were to that vile tactic.

He was confused if hurting the knights to stop the gods was the wrong way to do things.

But that moment of contemplation was brief.

‘……I can’t back down.’

He realized that the cause he habitually thought of was not the ultimate goal of everything he was doing now.

Not only had he wasted his life, but he had also mortgaged his soul.

His initial vow to avenge that by eliminating the ways the gods could come down to the world erased the conflict in his heart.

Mercy and forgiveness.

The two virtues that the temple had so emphasized no longer had a place in his heart.

At least not towards the gods.

‘Minimize sacrifices, but if it’s unavoidable, then so be it.’

The moment Harman clenched his fist, gritting his teeth until his jaw ached.

His body crossed the temple walls without a sound.

The stealth of the divine power barrier through Licentia.

Combined with the superhuman movements unique to an Aura user, it made fools of the many people guarding the temple.

Thus, Harman’s body, running silently but relentlessly, stopped briefly in front of the main chapel of the central temple.

Creak.

He saw Holy Knights emerging from the large doors of the chapel.

“Why are they telling us to strengthen the security so much?”

“I know, right? What could be worth taking from the temple?”

“What do you mean? There’s the donation box, or the gold piled up in the bishops’ private quarters……”

“Ah……. That’s true. But why are we guarding this place?”

“Exactly……”

“The donation box has already been moved, so should we patrol the bishops’ quarters instead?”

“The Archbishop……”

Harman smiled invisibly as he watched the unexpectedly talkative Holy Knights.

‘I’d be grateful if you did.’

Whoosh.

Harman’s body leaped silently into the air and darted through the doorway from which the Holy Knights were emerging.

But they couldn’t have imagined that someone invisible had passed over their heads.

Creak.

Thud.

Even the small noise caused by a mistake during landing was buried by the sound of the door closing.

‘Whew.’

Harman breathed a sigh of relief and looked around the chapel.

Oooong.

Soon, Licentia, clinging to his neck, reacted.

‘That way.’

From experience, the relic reacted in the direction of its other sibling.

Harman quickly moved his steps following that reaction.

However.

Oh no, someone’s here.

Harmon stopped in the corner of the chapel, in front of a door that looked like it led to a private prayer room.

Should he wait?

Priests get their holy power back by praying. It’s how they naturally get stronger again. Unless they wear special holy items, like the ones Harmon had.

If it was a very important priest inside, they could be praying for days! Maybe even three days and nights.

He might have to reveal himself before even dealing with the seal.

He felt conflicted.

No.

Harmon made up his mind quickly and acted even faster.

Bang!

What in heaven’s name?!

The old priest turned as the prayer room door suddenly broke apart.

The moment Harmon saw the priest’s surprised face, he hesitated again, but his fist didn’t stop.

Thwack.

Ugh…

I’m sorry, Archbishop Dalan.

Plop.

The old priest didn’t hear his apology and fainted. Harmon had hit the old priest hard in the stomach with his armored glove. The hit was so strong, it would even affect the priest’s holy power, so even an archbishop would be unconscious for a while.

Judging by the priest’s reaction, he had seen Harmon’s face, but there was nothing he could do. He was already under suspicion, and he couldn’t kill a priest he knew just to hide the evidence.

Harmon, blaming himself for even thinking about it, quietly looked around the small prayer room.

Soon, he found a hidden device that reacted to holy objects.

Click.

Creak.

He pressed the hidden button and pulled on the statue, and a narrow staircase leading underground appeared.

It was a scene he had seen many times before.

Without hesitating, Harmon stepped onto the stairs and went down into the darkness.

Thud thud.

As the sound of his footsteps faded, a light appeared, lighting up the space.

A holy object that glowed with holy power.

To those who could see that power, it was like a guiding light brighter than the sun.

And among them, a particularly bright light.

Soon, Harmon found a holy object that looked unusual.

This gold coin was Aurum, the holy object of Ageron, the god of gold and trade.

The holy object’s name is just gold coin, huh.

Harmon realized something important now. Maybe Ageron, the god of gold, was the most selfish of all the gods. It seemed very clear now.

Harmon, feeling his lost faith sink even lower, chuckled and walked towards the holy object.

The gold coin, Aurum, glowed with a golden light brighter than anything Harmon had ever seen. It pulsed, the light growing stronger and hotter, as if trying to shove him back, to keep him away from its power.

It was like a god rejecting him, and Harmon smiled coldly.

It won’t matter even if you do that, Ageron.

Harmon spoke as if talking to the god who had abandoned him. He took a breath and slowly drew his sword.

Everyone knew the seal on the holy object could not be broken unless the Pope said so.

But it can’t resist the power to cut out space itself.

It was the third time he was doing this.

Harmon swung his sword without hesitation, turning the golden space silver.

Flash.

Kwwaaaaaaang!

The sword cut through the seal and hit the holy object, burying the gold coin in the wall.

Harmon sighed.

I guess it still doesn’t work.

The strike that tried to smash both the seal and the holy object had failed.

If I take it to King Logan, can he destroy it?

That young genius should be able to use the power of an Aura Master perfectly now. No Aura Master has ever tried to destroy a holy object before, so maybe it’s possible.

Either way, the other two holy objects were in the east. The world was at war, but they should be able to meet.

Harmon thought about Logan and pulled the large gold coin out of the wall.

Ooooooong.

The gold coin vibrated and glowed even brighter, but Harmon ignored it and put the gold coin in his arms.

Like before, breaking the seal on the holy object would have set off an alarm. Also, he couldn’t even make a magic shield because the holy power here was too strange and different.

Harmon looked around. There were many more guards now than before. He knew there would be a big fight when he tried to leave.

Minimize casualties as much as possible, but if I have to…

Blood would have to be shed.

Harmon steeled himself.

Then, something strange happened.

Wanting to hurt someone who serves God? Good. You’ve finally gone too far.

It won’t be up to you anymore, silly servant.

Aurum and Licentia.

Two voices coming from two holy objects. Especially when he heard Aria’s voice, who had stopped talking to him by sealing half of her soul, Harmon felt goosebumps all over his body.

And that voice began to control his body again, the body he thought was free.

Th, this! No, no way!

You’re the one who has no chance now, silly servant. You’ve done very bad things. Now you will be punished. Your soul will go to hell forever…

The resurrection of Zibric is near, Ageron. Now is not the time to worry about one human.

Am I going to be controlled again?!

Crack.

Ignoring the voices of the gods, Harmon struggled to control his soul and body.

Huh. Still fighting back?

Snap.

He heard the sound of bones breaking, but Harmon didn’t give up.

I, I am the master of my body!!

Such foolishness…

I will never, never give in!

The gods laughed at him cruelly, but Harmon’s eyes, red with anger, showed he was even more determined.

At that moment…

The Archbishop has been attacked!

It’s downstairs! An intruder!

He heard temple soldiers rushing above him.

But Harmon didn’t hear those voices at all.

He looked east, his eyes red.

I have to destroy the holy objects to stop the gods from coming. Logan, please…!

He imagined Logan far away.

Thud.

Harmon took a step, blood vessels popping out all over his body.