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Chapter 140: The Sanctuary of Kalosia (10)

“This is the place.”

Ketal and Rakza arrived at the location detected by their senses.

It was at the edge of a plain shrouded in darkness.

Rakza was puzzled.

“Is there something here? I don’t feel anything.”

There was nothing there.

Rakza, a Holy Knight highly sensitive to evil energies, couldn’t sense anything.

It was hard not to doubt whether there was actually anything present.

However, Ketal nodded.

“This is it.”

Ketal plunged his hand into the ground.

The earth gave way as if it were soft cake.

He then lifted his arm.

Rumble!

The ground was overturned, revealing something underneath.

Rakza’s eyes widened.

Beneath the upturned earth, a passage leading underground was revealed.

“This is…”

Rakza hastily tried to sense again but detected nothing.

The passage was so perfectly concealed that one wouldn’t believe it existed without seeing it with their own eyes.

“Hmm.”

Ketal chuckled as if he was enjoying the situation.

“Let’s go.”

“Y-yes.”

They began to walk underground.

As they walked through the passage, Rakza groaned.

“…It’s deep.”

The passage was extremely deep, conveying a strong intent that whatever happened inside should never be known to the outside world.

They continued forward.

Suddenly, the sound of the ground being pressed was followed by an explosion.

Ketal, who was leading, was engulfed by the blast.

Boom!

“Mr. Ketal!”

“Hmm.”

As Rakza panicked, Ketal waved his hand to clear the smoke.

His body bore no injuries.

“There are traps here.”

The traps were designed with a murderous intent to ensure any intruder would be killed.

“Quite amusing.”

“I-is it?”

Rakza was flustered.

Being in life-threatening situations was far from enjoyable, but Ketal seemed genuinely amused.

“Let’s keep going.”

“Yes.”

They continued further in.

More traps threatened them, but Ketal destroyed them all with his bare hands, advancing steadily.

Rakza watched in disbelief.

After some time, they finally reached the end of the passage, revealing an underground chamber.

Inside were two dark magicians.

“W-what is this?”

“Intruders!”

They were alarmed.

Ketal asked.

“Are these familiar faces? I don’t recall seeing them.”

“Yes, they are top-tier dark magicians. I saw them at the beginning of the invasion, but they disappeared from the battlefield afterwards. I thought they had withdrawn…”

They had been hiding here all along.

Rakza swallowed hard.

“Kill them!”

The dark magicians cast dark magic to kill the intruders.

Orbs of darkness flew towards them.

Rakza lightly swung his sword, and the divine energy obliterated the dark orbs.

With a single move, the dark magicians realized.

“They are out of our league!”

“Run!”

They tried to escape, shrouding themselves in darkness.

Ketal stomped his foot.

“One of them is yours.”

“Yes.”

Rakza gripped his sword with both hands and rushed towards the fleeing dark magician.

“O Kalosia. Deliver divine punishment to your wicked enemies.”

A pillar of light descended, capturing the dark magician.

He screamed, trapped within the light.

Ketal’s approach was far more brute force.

He pierced through the desperate counterattack of the dark magician with his body, grabbed his neck, and slammed him down.

“Gaah!”

“Oops.”

‘Should be more gentle,’

Ketal thought as he relaxed his grip slightly.

Still, from the dark magician’s perspective, it was tight enough to make breathing difficult.

“We’ve successfully subdued them, so we can take them back for interrogation.”

“No.”

Rakza shook his head.

“That will be impossible.”

“Why?”

“Look.”

“Ah, aaah…”

The captured dark magicians suddenly started groaning.

Black energy began to seep from their eyes.

“Oh… Great One…”

Those were their last words.

Darkness erupted from them, and their bodies collapsed.

The fallen bodies grew cold.

“Is it a restriction?”

“Yes. All dark magicians of the Cradle of Darkness are under restrictions.”

If they were captured or found themselves in a situation where they might reveal important information, the restriction would activate, causing them to sacrifice their lives to the darkness.

That’s why they never considered capturing them as hostages before.

“I see. We’ll have to search ourselves.”

“Yes.”

They began to search the underground chamber.

Blankets and simple dried food were scattered on the floor, indicating that the dark magicians had lived there for quite some time.

As they looked around, Ketal found a bookshelf.

He took out a book and read it; it was an evil text worshiping demons.

[The Great Lord of Hell has spoken. We were originally the masters of this place. One day, a vile celestial being descended and began claiming ownership of the earth….]

“Oh.”

Ketal smiled and took the book, planning to read it for amusement later.

“Did you find something?”

“No, nothing special.”

They continued exploring the chamber, and Ketal discovered a hidden room.

“This is it.”

Ketal pressed his hand into the wall.

The bricks shifted, revealing a secret room.

Ketal’s eyes widened.

“What’s that?”

“…That is…”

Rakza groaned.

It was a pitch-black gem.

The gem floated in the air, radiating dense evil energy.

Ketal approached and picked it up.

Rakza was alarmed.

“Mr. Ketal! That’s dangerous!”

The energy emitted by the gem was pure evil.

Just being near it was hazardous, and holding it barehanded could contaminate one’s body and mind.

However, Ketal seemed perfectly fine.

“What’s the matter?”

“…Are you alright?”

“There’s no problem.”

“I-I see.”

Still doubtful, Rakza approached the gem.

The dense evil energy made his head spin.

Watching Ketal with a perplexed expression, Rakza enveloped the gem in holy protection.

“Do you know what it is?”

“I’m not sure. We’ll need to take it to the Saintess for examination.”

They took the gem back to the sanctuary.

The Saintess greeted them with a smile.

“Oh? Where have you been? Everyone has been looking for you two.”

“Is that so?”

Rakza smiled warmly, his gaze full of deep affection for the Saintess.

He soon composed himself and spoke.

“We have something to report.”

“Something to report?”

Shadrenes tilted her head in curiosity.

They went into the church.

In a private room, Rakza took out the pitch-black gem.

Shadrenes gasped.

“This is…”

“I couldn’t determine what it is. Do you know?”

“…This isn’t an ordinary evil gem. It’s extremely dense.”

Shadrenes groaned as she examined the gem.

“…They’ve condensed dark energy to its extreme. This one gem alone could corrupt an entire city. Where did you find this?”

Rakza described the location where they found the gem.

Shadrenes looked confused.

“A hidden chamber?”

“Yes. We should prepare for any possibilities.”

“Hmm… I understand. It will take some time to examine this thoroughly. I should have more information by tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

Shadrenes spoke lightly to ease their concerns.

“It’s probably nothing major. The enemy invasion has already ended, right? We’ve received sufficient supplies. Even if the enemies are planning something, we can stop them. Don’t worry too much.”

“That would be reassuring.”

Shadrenes took the gem without much concern and left.

The next day.

Shadrenes returned with a pale face.

* * *

“Aaah, aaah!”

“Saintess Shadrenes?”

Rakza, who was with Ketal, hurriedly ran to Shadrenes.

Her body was trembling.

“This is terrible! Aaah! How could this happen! O Kalosia! Aaah!”

“Shadrenes, calm down!”

Rakza firmly grasped Shadrenes’ trembling arms.

“Ah, aaaah….”

Shadrenes’ tremors slowly subsided.

Rakza asked calmly,

“Why are you like this? Have you confirmed about the gem?”

“Yes,”

Shadrenes hastily nodded.

“What is it?”

“This is a conduit and a mediator of retrogression.”

“Retrogression… you mean?”

Shadrenes explained with a trembling voice,

“This gem is a mediator. It holds dense demonic energy and can reverse the laws of this world.”

“What does that mean?”

Rakza was puzzled; it was a concept not easy to grasp at once.

Shadrenes bit their lip.

“Rakza, do you know about the corruption of believers?”

“Yes, I do. It’s a famous tale.”

Believers are those who believe in and serve gods.

With their faith and strength, they gain corresponding Holy power.

But what happens to that Holy power if such a believer turns to darkness and worships evil?

The answer is straightforward: it turns into demonic energy.

Since gods and demons play roles as light and shadow to each other, it’s not surprising.

“This gem is a collection of such concepts.”

“Is that so?”

Rakza’s expression remained unchanged.

Shadrenes shouted in frustration, as if to explain,

“It’s a concept where holy power is converted into magic! Dozens of corrupted believers’ souls and bodies are embedded within this gem! If this gem is activated, what do you think will happen?”

“Holy power will turn into demonic energy. So that’s why it’s retrogression.”

“Yes,”

Shadrenes bit their lip again.

“A mediator of retrogression. When this gem activates, the concepts in this area will regress.”

Holy power will be converted into magic.

Understanding the meaning, Rakza’s eyes widened.

“Then our Sanctuary…”

“Yes, Rakza. Our Sanctuary itself will transform into a sanctuary of evil.”

The Sanctuary of Kalosia will no longer be a sanctuary of the gods but a sanctuary of demons.

Darkness, dense and strong, will descend upon this land.

Rakza realized the situation belatedly.

“What is this!”

“Their attacks were all deceptions! Their real goal was to defile our Sanctuary and make it their sanctuary. They intended to use it as a cornerstone for invading this realm!”

Shadrenes cried out as if in despair.

“Aaah! O Kalosia! How could we face such a trial!”

“Did… did Kalosia say nothing?”

Rakza asked urgently.

Such wickedness was happening right near the Sanctuary.

It was a matter where the divine presence of the Sanctuary should surely intervene.

But Shadrenes grimaced.

“No, Kalosia said nothing! I prayed, but he remained silent!”

“How… how could this be!”

Their own Sanctuary was in danger of defilement, yet he maintained silence!

Everyone fell into panic.

Anxiety and confusion mixed together, filling the air.

Amidst this chaos, only Ketal remained calmly smiling.

“I see. It seems it won’t end so simply.”

Ketal said calmly.

“For now, how about calming down? So, how should we respond?”

“We need to shatter the gem.”

Shadrenes swallowed hard.

“The ritual is likely happening around the mediator. We must break it and stop it.”

“Do you know the location?”

“Yes, I tracked the demonic energy of the gem to pinpoint it.”

“Then it’s simple. Rakza, let’s move to the ritual site.”

“Ah, understood.”

Rakza nodded quickly.

“The Saintess will guard the Sanctuary. We don’t know what they might do.”

“Yes. Please… protect the Sanctuary of Kalosia.”

The Saintess prayed desperately.

Ketal and Rakza immediately moved to the location the Saintess mentioned.

They smashed through all obstacles and descended underground.

Ketal continued to smile leisurely.

They arrived in the underground.

There, a man awaited them.