Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 458

“It worked,” Logan said, watching the flames crackle and leap. He chuckled, then sighed, a sound of deep relief escaping him. It felt as if a great weight had finally lifted from his shoulders.

Opposite him, an old man with only one arm – his right sleeve pinned neatly at the shoulder – smiled faintly. “The Cassel Magic Tower can’t show themselves openly now,” Harmon added, his voice raspy but firm.

“Maybe not. They might ignore it and show up anyway.”

Logan, who was in disguise, said that to be contrary, but in fact, he himself didn’t really think so.

“Unless they want to face the Holy Kingdom with the remaining forces of the Empire after fighting a war with us.”

At those words, Harmon chuckled and nodded.

“Either way, it’s definitely a good move for McLaine……”

“Ah……. Could it be about trying to use the temple without permission……”

“No, it’s nothing. What does it matter? I’m just sick and tired of temples and gods now.”

Harmon gave a bitter smile as he looked at Logan. He looked much older than his actual age, his face a roadmap of wrinkles.

Harmon, who had aged rapidly, opened his mouth again with a deep sigh.

“I want to drive out the false faith from this land, but that would be difficult, wouldn’t it?”

“……Yes. Probably.”

To stop people believing in the Nine Gods, we must show they are not good. We must prove they are not the true gods of this world.

The problem is that there is no way to reveal the truth, and even if it is revealed, devout believers will reject the evidence.

That is what it means to fall into faith, because you have to believe and look up to it, doubt is a sin. So fanaticism and devout belief are no different in the eyes of non-believers.

“But why did the gods think that faith in them would disappear if Jibric Cassel descended?”

Logan’s answer to the former Holy Knight’s question was simple.

“……Because it would be possible to erase it with blood. Of course, it would take a long time.”

“Blood……”

Harmon’s old face contorted. He understood the meaning at once: destroy the Holy Kingdom and kill the priests, suppress and kill those who believe in the faith of the Nine Gods.

If that could be repeated over a long period of time throughout the continent, the faith of the Nine Gods, which had taken root in the hearts of the continent’s people for thousands of years, would eventually disappear.

However, to carry it out, one would have to be more than the emperor of the Empire, truly the ruler of the continent. And even if one had the ability to do so, who could commit such an act?

The act of washing the entire continent with blood for the sole reason of erasing false faith.

‘Only someone who doesn’t see people as people, someone who isn’t in their right mind, could do that.’

That is to say.

“……You’re saying that Jibric Cassel is someone who would do that.”

“……Yes. Absolutely.”

Harmon did not question the fact that Logan was speaking as if he knew Jibric Cassel.

The incarnation of the enemy that God directly pointed out and tried to kill. In that kind of situation, it wouldn’t be strange to know something.

“The Cassel Magic Tower is trying to revive such a madman, and their ultimate goal is……”

“Yes. They say they’re going to use me as a sacrifice. That’s what a reliable informant told me.”

“……The gods said you are his incarnation, though?”

“The Cassel Magic Tower seems to think differently. Well, whether it’s a sacrifice or an incarnation, it’s all terrible news for me.”

Logan’s bitter smile instilled conviction in Harmon’s heart.

“This can’t be helped.”

“……?”

“To be honest, I was so disillusioned with the gods’ actions that I even wondered if the Cassel Magic Tower might be justice.”

“That can’t be.”

“That’s right.”

Haaa.

Harmon let out a deep sigh and lowered his head as if he would bury it in the burning campfire. Then he raised his head again with a firm look in his eyes.

“……The gods and that monster Jibric are things that should not exist in the world. Now that we’ve chased out the apostle, it’s our turn to stop Jibric. I will be with Your Majesty.”

The moment he heard those words, Logan’s face lit up.

“Thank you, Lord Harmon.”

He may look old now, but he, who knows how to handle the power of the soul, was slowly regaining his past strength. Perhaps, as time goes by, it will be possible to regain his original appearance to some extent.

‘The right arm can’t be helped, though.’

Losing the right arm, which he had held a sword with all his life, is a fatal flaw for a knight. But there is such a thing as muscle memory. If he regains some energy, he will be able to easily deal with most Aura users.

That’s why Logan was slowly increasing his moving speed to match his recovery. Fortunately, he judged that he had plenty of time because the Kyle Castle incident was resolved so quickly and well.

But before that, there was another reason.

‘There are faint scars left on my teacher’s soul. But Lord Harmon has fully recovered.’

The difference was truly great. If Harmon fully recovers, it means that he may be able to challenge the realm of Aura Master again.

And that was the decisive difference between his teacher’s forced resurrection and Harmon and the Saintess’s ‘resurrection,’ which was almost accidental.

A method of soul revival that is not yet complete.

Even to awaken Clayton by learning that method, Logan wants to keep Harmon by his side.

“Don’t mention it. It was Your Majesty who saved me. I’m just repaying the favor, so please don’t worry about it.”

Harmon also knew Logan’s intentions.

Also, that Logan, who had already reached a place beyond his reach, was facing a great wall.

That’s why Harmon was determined to live up to that expectation.

‘If it’s King Logan, he’ll be able to do it. Defeat the Cassel Magic Tower, those madmen, and maybe give the gods……’

He would be able to give them a taste of their own medicine in a way he could never have imagined.

The enemy of God, that incarnation.

The fact that he can look at such an existence with such reassurance is both sad and infuriating for Harmon.

But for now, those feelings had to be put aside for a moment.

‘I need to sort out my thoughts first.’

In order to convey to him the knowledge of God and divine power contained in the dramatic resurrection.

Harmon’s blue eyes gradually deepened, and Logan watched him with calm eyes.

And a few days later.

One evening, while speeding towards Lusphelheim past the borders of the Empire, Harmon, who was preparing for camping, suddenly opened his mouth.

“Now I can properly explain the soul revival you mentioned before. I’m finally able to sort it out rationally.”

Perhaps because his mental state was settled, his wrinkled old face seemed to have a bit of color.

“……Please do.”

At that answer, Harmon hesitated for a moment, then began to speak with a small sigh. He was also human, so it was inevitable that his heart would ache anew as he tried to explain that the truth he had believed in all his life was a lie, so he wanted to end the story as briefly as possible.

“……Priests cultivate their faith with the heart of dedicating themselves solely to God. I was the same. But since the soul to be offered to God is already being eroded, why did I feel so much guilt?”

“……I was wondering about that too.”

“The devotion that I, as a believer, thought of and hoped for was to spend eternal life with God by His side after I died. To enjoy God’s blessings in heaven and be with Him forever. But……”

Harmon’s expression contorted for a moment as if recalling some painful memory.

“The moment soul erosion begins, you can feel it immediately. That I will no longer be myself.”

“……?”

As Logan tilted his head at the ambiguous expression, Harmon moistened his dry lips and continued.

“In simple terms, the more the gods swallow me, the more their level expands, even if only a little. They assimilate my soul into themselves. Obtaining a body that can be active in this world is a bonus.”

But even that didn’t make sense to Logan.

“……Becoming one with God doesn’t seem like a bad thing for priests, though?”

Didn’t he say earlier that he had lived with the heart of dedicating himself to God?

But at that question, Harmon’s expression contorted even more. Then, as if spewing out something that had been building up in his chest, he began to speak like a machine gun.

“Does Your Majesty think that the pork you ate yesterday became one with you? No, even if Your Majesty thinks so, would the pig that became meat think so too? In simple terms, I, as seen by the gods, was nothing more than food cooked to their liking.”

Harmon’s analogy was truly scathing and intuitive.

“The existence I devoted my life to, the existence I thought I would follow even in death…… was thinking of me as something similar to food. Would anyone be happy to know that? There may be some crazy people out there, but fortunately, I’m not that crazy.”

Gritting.

From Harmon’s expression as he finished speaking, one could clearly feel the resentment boiling in his chest.

“Ah……”

As Logan, who unknowingly exclaimed, made an awkward expression, Harmon washed his face with his dry hands and calmed his emotions. Soon, he forced a smile and continued calmly.

“Still, there is something I gained thanks to that. In the moment of being eroded, in that short moment when God and I are connected, some of the knowledge that God has flowed into me, just a little.”

God’s knowledge?

The moment those words came out, Logan’s red eyes lit up, with a very clear purpose and desire.

Harmon, knowing the reason, organized his thoughts once again and continued the explanation with the easiest analogy.

“……What do you think is the reason why a fallen priest can use divine power?”

“……Because they still believe in God?”

“Yes, that’s right. Then, why can’t a devout believer use divine power?”

“……Ah?”

Logan was at a loss for words at the unexpected question. The only thing that came to his forcibly squeezed brain was.

“……Because they don’t know the scriptures or the faith properly?”

“Have you ever heard of a priest who has not been able to manifest divine power even after a long period of training? Then why is that for those people?”

Logan’s expression hardened again.

Harmon, seeing that, let out a short sigh and a bitter smile formed on his lips.

“The reason why a devout believer cannot use divine power is simply because they are not in tune with God’s wavelength. That’s all.”

“Huh?”

“God wants to gain as much faith and souls from humans as possible. By doing so, they want to increase their presence and have the desire to grow further.

So they want to sprinkle divine power as long as you believe. To be exact, they want to engrave their traces on the souls of humans. It’s similar to writing their name on it as their own. But the reason why they can’t engrave that trace is simply because their wavelengths don’t match.”

“Just……?”

“Yes. That’s all there is to it. No matter how powerful they are, they can’t directly descend into this world once they’ve ascended to a higher dimension. Creating apostles through holy objects is the only measure they can take. And that requires a great price.”

“A great price?”

“I don’t know much about that. It seems like they’re losing something big……. Well, that’s probably why they made the temple’s work even bigger whenever apostles descended.”

Harmon’s expression, as he said that, was already filled with cynicism.

“For the Nine Gods, humans are just nutrients to fatten themselves. This world itself is a kind of farm for them.”

Words spat out in a cold and heavy voice.

It was a truth that was painfully felt even by Logan, who had already become a non-believer.