The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 162

Kent raised his head, looking at the six humans surrounding him.

It was embarrassing, but he couldn’t stay like this.

“…Rael, how long have you been watching?”

“When was it? Oh, from ‘…because I was born that way’?”

“You saw everything…”

Kent lowered his head again.

He felt ashamed for revealing the giants’ affairs to another race.

“Yeah, well, it was quite touching. It’s a story about a father and son who don’t understand each other but still recognize the importance of family.”

Just as Rael finished speaking, Genwool, who had been lying as if dead with his eyes closed, suddenly stood up.

“Giants…! I can never yield!”

“…Father?”

“I still can’t understand your thoughts, Kent! If I return to the giants alive, I will prepare for Ragnarok [the end of the world in Norse mythology] again. If you don’t like that, kill me now!”

Genwool’s eyes burned fiercely.

As a warrior and a father, he couldn’t end things like this.

“Father…”

Kent looked gloomy.

Having grown up as a giant, he understood why Genwool was acting this way.

They just didn’t know any better.

Just as they don’t doubt that birds fly in the sky, and lions hunt deer.

The giants were a race born that way.

“You guys live so intensely.”

Then, Rael approached Genwool with his arms crossed.

“You apologized, but are you going back on your word? A man shouldn’t be so stubborn. You’re a warrior, aren’t you?”

“Humans who are not giants do not understand. This is not stubbornness. I cannot understand Kent, and Kent cannot understand me. Then we must settle this with strength!”

“If you don’t understand, why were you going to die for Kent?”

“That is…”.

Genwool swallowed his words.

Of course, it was because he loved Kent as a father.

“If the feeling of a father loving his son is more important than the giants’ logic of power, doesn’t that itself mean you *do* understand Kent?”

Rael sighed.

To him, they were both frustrating.

He couldn’t understand why they were fighting over this.

“Kent, I let you meet your father, and now you have the giants’ sacred object or whatever. There’s nothing more we can do for you. From now on, you solve it.”

However, he didn’t interfere any further.

Even if he didn’t understand and was frustrated, that was the giants’ way.

Rael respected Kent as a comrade.

So their affairs had to be resolved in their own way.

“…I understand.”

Kent picked up the axe that had fallen next to Genwool.

Ragna, the sacred object of the giants.

Kent, with Ragna on his back, carefully approached Genwool and supported him.

“Father, there’s a delicious restaurant in the Empire. I’ll treat you. Let’s eat and talk about it.”

“…I still can’t understand you, Kent. This will never change.”

Genwool wasn’t as angry as before.

Rael’s words had caused a slight ripple in his heart.

“But, I can have a meal with my son whom I haven’t seen in a long time.”

“….. Yes, Father.”

Kent smiled quietly.

Carlson, who was watching the scene, clapped and nodded.

“Rael, that’s quite touching.”

“That’s right. Blood is thicker than water. You can’t cut off blood ties after all.”

“Touching, my ass. I’m an orphan, so I don’t know about that. Get ready.”

Rael shook his head and turned around.

There was still work to be done inside the sanctuary.

*

“Slowly get the people out!”

Carlson shouted, commanding the Silver Cross Knights.

Now that Calliope had disappeared and the external threat was gone.

The Silver Cross Knights protected the acolyte candidates and descended below the sanctuary.

“What is this… Why is there a place like this under the Order?”

“A corpse! There’s a corpse here!”

“I feel strong magic, so be careful!”

“Take care of the living people first!”

The Silver Cross Knights carried the fallen people on their backs.

The people who received Cecilia’s divine power were fast asleep.

They had been drawing out divine power for a long time, so the fatigue accumulated in their bodies must be enormous, so they will need to recuperate for quite a while.

“I’m glad we mobilized the Silver Cross Knights, Carlson. Please ask them to take care of the people in the back carefully.”

“Yes, Rael.”

Rael felt bitter as he looked at Jeremy, who had turned cold.

The device that maintained his life and extracted divine power was broken, and Jeremy’s weakened life collapsed in an instant.

Even if he injected divine power into him and forcibly kept him alive, his body, which had been transformed by injecting magic for more than 10 years, would not return to normal.

That fact was annoying.

“And… is this it now.”

The giant crystal pillar in the center of the sanctuary.

Rael placed his hand on the crystal.

The divine power forcibly extracted from the acolyte candidates flowed into Rael’s body.

Rael took a step back and raised the Holy Sword.

An artificially created, disgusting divine power.

It was time to cut off the chain that the Order was hiding.

Tatadadadak-

“Y-Young Hero! Please wait a moment!”

At that moment.

A man ran from deep within the sanctuary.

It was Archbishop Aldeb, who was thought to be dead.

“Huh?”

Rael’s eyes widened as he looked at Aldeb.

“… Was that person alive?”

Lucas felt the same way.

They were surprised that Aldeb, who they thought had been killed by Calliope, was running towards them.

“Young Hero! W-What are you doing!”

Aldeb ran up and stood between the crystal pillar and Rael.

He had come into contact with the divine power created in the sanctuary for a long time, and possessed strong vitality and divine power.

Thanks to that, he was able to retain some divine power deep in his body even when Calliope took his reason, and he was able to maintain his life and open his eyes.

“Archbishop Aldeb, get out of the way immediately.”

“T-This crystal pillar was prepared for the Young Hero and the Saintess! It is a sacred object that the Order has accumulated divine power for more than 10 years. If you absorb this power, you will surely possess tremendous divine power!”

Aldeb swallowed hard.

The entire giant crystal pillar is artificial divine power.

Even if you take half of it, you will become a clergyman surpassing the Pope.

And if only a part of it was passed on to Aldeb, he could aim for the position of Cardinal.

“I don’t need this kind of power.”

But Rael shook his head.

He would rather bite his tongue and die than become stronger with that kind of power.

“This can’t be….”

Aldeb became anxious when he saw Rael’s eyes.

He was really going to destroy the sanctuary.

Aldeb immediately turned his head.

“C-Commander Marco! You must remember the Pope’s orders! The Order’s sanctuary is the justice of Gaia!”

Just as Marco had received the Pope’s orders, Aldeb also knew that Marco was on his side.

He believed that the commander of the Silver Cross Knights, who had received the Pope’s orders, would help him.

“Archbishop Aldeb, what does the justice of Gaia mean?”

However, Marco shook his head instead of taking out his battle axe.

He had been watching Rael and thinking about what faith in Gaia was.

“W-Well, of course, isn’t it to strengthen the Order!”

“Does that mean that the acolyte candidates who came to Arconia to become priests and died in the sanctuary were also for the Order?”

“Sacrificing for Gaia is something everyone wants! They must have died happily too!”

Aldeb’s eyes were filled with fanaticism.

Aldeb, who had tasted the sweetness of strong divine power, could never give up the sanctuary.

And, he thought that everyone would want this divine power.

“I see….”

After a short conversation with Aldeb.

Marco nodded.

The divine power of the Pope engraved on his body demanded loyalty to Gaia.

In other words, Marco must follow the one closest to Gaia.

“…Commander Marco.”

Rael placed his hand on the Holy Sword.

He still had the brainwashing left, so he had to suppress him if he did anything annoying now.

“There’s no need for that, Rael.”

Marco chuckled.

He felt like his head was clear now.

“Aldeb, you said that this place is the justice of Gaia.”

“T-That’s right. If Gaia hadn’t allowed it, all of this couldn’t have been possible! Even His Holiness the Pope has acknowledged it. How can you deny that!”

“Then why doesn’t the hero of the Gaia Order, who goes against the will of Gaia, lose his divine power?”

“That is…!”

Aldeb was speechless.

He also does not know about Gaia’s will.

“I have seen faithfulness in His Holiness the Pope. Until now, I felt that it was the way to get closer to Gaia. But, I saw light in the Young Hero and the Saintess.”

If Gaia had not allowed the Young Hero and the Saintess, such brilliant light could not have come from them.

But why does his heart think he must protect Aldeb?

Only then did Marco realize that he was strange.

“Holy Domain Deployment.”

Divine power erupted from Marco’s body.

He could feel it now.

Marco deployed a holy domain and erased the foreign divine power that had been dwelling in his body.

“There was fog in my head.”

Marco felt the fog disappearing from his heart.

A cold head and a clear vision.

That made Marco’s faith even stronger.

“Silver Cross Knights.”

“Yes!”

“Arrest the criminals who abused the power of the Order.”

“W-Wait a minute! Commander Marco! Are you ignoring Lord Cheonma’s orders! Marcoooo!”

The Silver Cross Knights quickly arrested Aldeb.

“Rael, do as you wish.”

Marco stepped back behind Rael.

From now on, he was going to follow Rael’s will.

“Lady Cecilia.”

Rael turned his head and looked at Cecilia.

She was also staring at Rael.

“Yes, Mr. Rael.”

“This crystal is the divine power that the Order prepared for the Saintess. But, I’m going to destroy this crystal. I’m going to be at odds with the Order, to be exact, Pope Cheonma.”

It can’t be turned back now.

And Cecilia will also walk a different path from the Pope with Rael.

Rael was sorry to inform Cecilia of that fact.

“It’s okay, Mr. Rael.”

Cecilia smiled brightly.

Now that she knew the reality of the Order, she had no regrets.

Even if she loses her position as a Saintess, she will follow Rael’s words.

“Pope Cheonma, I will bring him down. Will you help me?”

“Yes, I will be with Mr. Rael.”

Rael breathed a sigh of relief at Cecilia’s words.

As expected, she was a good person.

“Thank you, Lady Cecilia. I knew you would say that. Because you always think about the well-being of the people.”

“No, it’s different this time, Mr. Rael. I… I want to be with Mr. Rael for Mr. Rael’s sake.”

“Me?”

“Mr. Rael is always at the forefront of everything. I want to be of help to you, even if it’s just a little.”

Rael was Cecilia’s role model even before he became the hero of the Gaia Order.

Cecilia wanted to be a strength to Rael, who was trying to take responsibility for everything.

“…”

“I will help Mr. Rael. And I won’t let Mr. Rael handle it alone.”

Rael stared blankly at Cecilia’s face.

Was it because it was the first time he had heard such words?

His heart felt strangely touched.

“W-Why, why are you looking at me like that, Mr. Rael? Did I say something wrong?”

“Haha, it’s been a while since I’ve heard those words. I feel good.”

Rael smiled.

Cecilia, who was blinking her eyes as if she was anxious about whether she had made a mistake, suddenly looked cute.

“To have a Saintess behind me, this is really reassuring. I trust Lady Cecilia, and from now on, I will do as I think.”

Rael smiled and raised the Holy Sword.

“Rael! I’m behind you too!”

Carlson, whose heart was also burning with passion for Rael, clenched his fist and walked towards Rael.

At that time, Lucas grabbed his shoulder.

“Sir Carlson, you shouldn’t interfere now.”

“Huh? Why? I want to be in on Rael and the Saintess’s hot passion too!”

“You have to know when to step in and when to step out to be popular with women.”

“…What does this have to do with women? Don’t say such complicated things, Lucas.”

Lucas, with a smile on his face, quietly took Carlson away.

At the same time, divine power soared from Rael’s sword.

It was real divine power, different from the artificial divine power created by injecting magic into the human body.

Woong woong-

[Hero of the Gaia Order! Bring down divine punishment on those who challenge Gaia’s authority!]

Rael listened to the words of the Holy Sword Saint and raised the sword high.

And, he struck the Holy Sword down at the crystal.

Kwaaaang-!

The artificial divine power exploded, and a huge wave of divine power swept out of the sanctuary.

Even the Arconia regular army waiting outside and the reinforcements who arrived late were blinded by the wave.

“T-That’s a huge divine power!”

“Gaia’s blessing has suppressed the Demon King Calliope!”

“The Demon King of Alheim has been pushed back by the hero of the Gaia Order!”

The artificial divine power that exploded when the crystal pillar was destroyed was like a huge blessing to others.

They cheered, saying that the divine power of the Young Hero and the Saintess had driven Calliope away.

Rael, with the voices of people heard from outside as background music, offered a sincere prayer to the sky for the first time.

“Go to a good place, Jeremy.”

If Gaia really exists, please watch over you.