#372
Profaning (1)
I had definitely seen his portrait in the Liester Imperial Palace.
“Christel, just now!”
“Yes! I saw it too!”
Amidst the earth-shattering noise of the temple collapsing, Ms. Gain and I shouted and flew through the air.
‘Kkiuung!’ Demi wiggled her legs and clung to me.
Whirr, whoosh—! Sir Johan’s wind was powerful and swift.
It turned like a ghost before walls or pillars, and when passing through corridors, it raced with us at terrifying speed.
I could hear the screams of Fabrice and the knights ahead.
They seemed shocked by the abilities of a Cardinal-level paladin, which they were experiencing for the first time.
This isn’t the right time to say this, but it feels like riding a roller coaster!
—Crack, crash!
“Marquis, watch out!”
Ms. Gain quickly pushed my back. Perry and Leah, startled, stuck out their tongues.
‘Thank you!’ I quickly checked what was right in front of me. An exit…!
—Whooosh!
A powerful wave of energy flew us to the temple courtyard.
The moment my feet touched the ground, my body was lifted again. Ugh!
“Hey, when did you!”
Even if kids grow up in an instant!
“Quiet.”
Crash! The Crown Prince hoisted me over his shoulder like a water bottle from a water dispenser.
I almost died from suffocation, but he saved me with Aether [a magical energy], only to treat me like luggage again!
Demi, at the height of excitement, hugged the man’s neck and purred.
The sky, already half collapsed, was revealing a terrifying darkness.
Once the Crown Prince took me, Sir Johan increased the speed of the others. Swish, swish, swish—!
“Huk, Your Highness!”
“Don’t worry, Duke Fabrice!”
‘Sir Johan has never dropped anyone!’ The Duke’s face turned pale upon hearing my encouragement.
Soon, the Crown Prince nonchalantly put me down, and everyone except Fabrice took it in stride.
So, I pretended it was no big deal too.
We quickly gathered at the entrance of the village and calmly counted heads.
It wasn’t just one or two people, and it wasn’t a space we could return to, so we had to make sure no one was missing.
I had the illusion that something huge was moving beyond the darkness of the sky.
The threatening tremors were now right under our noses. Crack, creak…!
“Two, four, six… Everyone’s here! Let’s move to the rift immediately!”
“Good. Everyone, prepare yourselves!”
Whirl! François swung his mace with quick and flashy movements.
Led by Lady Elisabeth, who grabbed his wrist, everyone touched each other slightly.
Woo-oong! Soon, millions of mana particles soared like a sea of cherry blossoms in spring.
I glanced at Yuliter’s Mankrans [a region or territory] through the dazzling flashes.
A house burning from an overturned torch, a temple nearly half collapsed.
A building collapsing next to a giant old tree. A fence breaking weakly….
—Kwa-ga-ga-gang!
“Uh…?”
And the last thing I saw was a thin, long object outside the split sky.
A rectangle flashing with a pure white light.
A source of light at an altitude that the continent’s technology could never reach.
I blinked rapidly, racking my brain. The hair ornament in my hand became damp.
Where else have I seen that? It was definitely during an urgent situation like this, but when was it?
—Paaaaaa…!
But time didn’t wait for me. Soon, my vision was erased into pure white.
As if telling me to ignore what I had just seen.
*
—Kugugu…!
We safely arrived in front of the rift leading to the wardrobe.
It was quite a distance from the village, but this place was just as precarious.
I handed paper gloves to Christel and the Crown Prince—and returned the Hyegeom [likely a sword name]—quickly relaying a few precautions.
The two men and women nodded with the same expression.
“Your Highness, the swords are gathered over here!”
“Yes. I’ll open it right away!”
Marguerite Dioph, the Princess, and Carme were still unconscious, but the knights Fabrice brought were strong and quick.
I felt relieved seeing them being carried stably on their backs.
The group maintained their balance even on the fragmenting ground.
I stood with my legs properly spaced, recalling Hwino’s teachings, and hefted the large sword.
Still, being the second time, it wasn’t as tricky as the first.
The rift had narrowed again in the meantime, so I had to widen it somehow.
As I brought the pointed part to it, I heard the familiar ‘glug’ sound.
I gritted my teeth and moved my arms amidst the shallow tremors. Glug, glug-glug….
—Tuk, tuduk! Tuk!
Black, sticky byproducts dripped from the rift.
Cheeeee…! As it had when we came, the floor where the liquid touched melted as if sparks had landed on it.
Christel and Crown Prince Cedric’s eyes widened.
The latter didn’t show it much, but I could immediately tell the changes in his expression.
I chuckled and this time, I put strength in the opposite direction and slashed. Glug, glug. It’s disgusting.
—Kugugung!
—Pat!
“Ah.”
Then, the ground shook violently and liquid splattered on my cheek! It was in a spot that had cleverly avoided the mask.
Lady Elisabeth, immediately grasping the situation, rushed over. ‘Your Highness!’
The group instantly became noisy. I squeezed my eyes shut and held onto the sword.
It would be a problem if I threw this anywhere and someone got hurt.
Hwino had said that I must protect my feet, and if I felt like I was going to drop it, I should step back,
…Huh?
“It doesn’t hurt?”
I opened my eyes wide and looked at the vice-commander. Her gray eyes were shaking.
But really, my cheek and forehead, where the liquid had splattered, didn’t sting or burn at all.
It felt similar to when ordinary water droplets splashed on me.
Sir Johan, who had approached silently, took the sword.
I quickly took off my gloves and rubbed my skin with the back of my hand. A sooty mark came off.
What is this?
—Tak!
The Crown Prince, who had snatched my wrist in an instant, glared at me fiercely.
Do you think I’m you, you pig!
“I’m not going to taste it! I’m just going to smell it.”
“……”
“Ahem, ahem. Sniff.”
I diligently checked the smell amidst the group that had gathered around me in a circle.
No, actually, there was no need to try so hard. This is just the scent of ink.
A common scent that you can smell from our printer at home—
“Ah!”
I trembled as if struck by lightning and turned around.
‘What’s wrong, Your Highness!’ ‘Good heavens! Could it be that the precious one has been poisoned by the Main God!’ Amidst the noisy commotion, I gaped and looked towards the sky.
The place that was once Mankrans was now becoming a jet-black cavity.
Everything was dark and faint, so I couldn’t see properly, but I managed to recall the white rectangle I had witnessed a little while ago.
Rather than a rectangle, it was closer to a huge, thin pillar, constantly flashing in the darkness that was sucking everything in….
—You’ve used too much power. I must sleep for a long time. Cardinal, please protect them.
‘Do not worry.’
—Kwaaang!
Inside the sacred artifact, ‘Biryeom’s Ark.’ I had seen it there too.
It was a winter night when I stole the Crown Prince from the Imperial Palace and ran away.
The space that Nikki had opened to protect us that day, unfortunately, didn’t last long.
It was because he didn’t have an owner yet.
‘Clang, clang!’ One side of the ceiling began to collapse, dropping sharp fragments, and I thought it resembled a broken screen.
But there was no time to continue my musings. We were chased out of the ark in the blink of an eye.
I finally realized what it was.
The rectangle I had seen in a situation where nothing was certain was—
“Your Highness? Your Highness!”
“Someone else will have to take over the rift. Sir Haynes!”
“……”
It was a flashing cursor.┃
A trace and present of someone who shaped the world with words, continuing creation from outside the fabrication.┃
That’s exactly why I smelled ink and electronics when I broke the World Tree.┃
That’s exactly why sparks like electric lights flew when I struck the sacred root.┃
It wasn’t a difficult truth, but it took too long to piece everything together.┃
I trembled alone and looked up at the sky.┃
Even if it’s a different world line from the original, it’s not an abandoned space.┃
Didn’t I know from the beginning? Of course, the Main God is watching us from somewhere—
—Thud!
“Kuh!”
“What nonsense are you thinking?”
HOT crimson eyes were glaring at me right in front of my face.
The sensation of the ground shaking and the sky groaning was excessively realistic.
Rumble, my mind snapped back to reality!
“Huk, cough! I’ve come to my senses. I’m okay now, so leave it to me!”
I hurriedly escaped his grasp and headed for the rift.
I took off the remaining gloves, stuffed them into my bag, and lowered my mask.
A strong smell of ink wafted over.
Sir Johan, who was standing holding the sword, sent a warning look.
I quickly waved my arms to mean it was okay.
I knelt down in front of the rift, and the hem of my pants became wet with black.
As expected, I didn’t get burned.
“Are you going to do it with your bare hands? If it’s not dangerous, I’ll help!”
Ms. Gain, finally regaining her color, ran over like a puppy.
She was about to take off her gloves right away. I smiled and shook my head.
“No, I’ll do it alone.”
“It’ll be faster if we do it together. I’ll help you.”
“Take a breather.”
“Come on, don’t be like that. The situation is urgent right now—”
“Christel. Only I can do it.”
The protagonist’s face hardened at the firm words. A sudden feeling of guilt surged up.
I didn’t want to be the first to reveal that she and I were ‘different’ in this way.
All my friends looked embarrassed at my serious tone. Only the Crown Prince and Sir Johan were silent.
If I told the truth soon, I thought I would get a really cold reaction then.
I forced a smile and turned my head.
The divine beasts across the ink puddle were whimpering and looking at me.
It seems like even these troublesome things can’t touch this.
“I’ll finish it quickly.”
“……”
That’s right. Because I’m the only one here who isn’t a ‘creation’ of the Main God.
Even Ms. Gain is no exception.
—Glug, glug-glug…!
“Ugh.”
I carefully grabbed and widened the rift with both hands.
The solid parts wouldn’t split no matter how much force I used, so I took the sword and cut them out like carving flesh.
As expected, the ‘Main God’s Sword’ also did no harm to me.
There was no skin disease that plagued the residents of Honing Village, nothing. It was eerily fine.
Just me.
—Glug!
“Huk, whew….”
Finally, a hole wide enough for the Crown Prince to enter was created!
I pressed my forehead against my shirt and looked back.
The corners of my lips, which had been rising high, hardened at once. As expected, it must have felt a bit… alien.
—Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwahng!
At that moment, the earth roared roughly and covered this side.
Finally, the fabrication created by one person—the rebellion of Yuliter Statia was being completely suppressed.
The ground under Fabrice’s heels crumbled and collapsed like a cliff.
‘Good heavens!’ He exclaimed, barely climbing up with Sir Johan’s help.
The knights carrying the patients turned pale and didn’t know what to do.
—Kururung! Crack, crack…!
“It’s coming! Get in quickly!”
‘I’ll go in last!’ I shouted, holding the rift open like a curtain.
At my signal, Lady Elisabeth led everyone in.
Christel gave me a smiling look, and the Crown Prince glared at me until the very last moment before crossing over.
Sir Johan silently guarded my back.
He waited until I wiped my hands on the useless gloves and mask and held the divine beasts in my clean arms.
I turned to look at him with one foot over the rift.
“…Was it very strange?”
The mint-colored eyes tilted slightly.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Rumble, crash! The man was calm even as the world was collapsing.
I was afraid he would get hurt, so I hurriedly pulled my body out.
Soon, the hard floor of the wardrobe touched my feet—
—Rustle!
Huh? A field of grass?
“What, why….”
I frowned as I walked out into the misty field.
What is it? Did Count Carolin take the wardrobe outside?
Did that house show signs of collapsing? Or,
—Thump
“Ouch! Ouch, ouch.”
I hadn’t even walked a few steps before I smacked my forehead!
I covered my throbbing nose and looked ahead.
The Crown Prince’s back, as big as a door, was standing tall and dignified. Did all your Aether go to your muscles!
Next to him, Ms. Gain, who seemed to be the previous victim, was rubbing her forehead and huffing.
Perry quickly went over to her and licked her face.
“Are you okay?”
—Kkiu?
“Ouch, I’m on the verge of a concussion. Thank you. What about the Marquis?”
“Thankfully, it seems like I’m not getting a nosebleed….”
“This isn’t Mankrans.”
‘It’s not the Statia Plains either.’ Longstone’s heavy bass voice echoed.
Only then did we blink and look around.
The air was chilly, and it felt like we were at a high altitude.
In the distance, François was infusing mana into his mace.
Lady Elisabeth, standing beside him, had her hand on her sword hilt.
Clearly, everyone was wary of their surroundings.
—Whooooo…
Then, a light breeze scattered the fog. It was Sir Johan’s power, coming out of the rift.
Unlike last time, he moved very cautiously.
He didn’t create a whirlwind to clear the surroundings all at once, nor did he make the view completely clear.
Soon, a very unfamiliar landscape unfolded before our eyes.
Uh….
“It doesn’t seem like we’ve come to Imperial territory.”
“Yes. It definitely feels very different….”
I trailed off uncertainly.
What greeted the group was a magnificent rocky mountain, like Mount Rushmore in America. To be exact—
A stone castle buried in the rocky mountain, hidden like a part of nature.
*
“Yikes! Haaack!”
Elise inhaled a scream and jumped up.
With the instinct of a warrior, she swung her right arm, but the hand that had been holding the Yegi [likely a weapon] was empty.
In a fluster, she pulled out a small throwing spear and scanned her surroundings. But there was nothing.
It was deep night.
A small bonfire was burning peacefully in front of her. ‘Crack, tap, crackle….’
“Ha, cough! Haa….”
It was strange. It was impossible. Our side’s ‘operation’ wasn’t like this.
Why was she in an unfamiliar place—
—Thud!
Flinch! Elise threw her weapon towards the side where movement was detected. ‘Swish, thud!’
“…Already dead meat. You can just grill it as it is.”
A calm voice echoed from behind. The Princess hurriedly turned her gaze to confirm her.
An old woman with one eye covered by an eyepatch was standing looking at her.
‘The One-Eyed Hermit.’ Grand Duchess Judith Kamingha.