117 episodes
“My words are wrong. However, I think it was because it was different from the method used by our mercenaries.”
Jackson immediately apologized.
He seemed to think it was rude to say something strange in front of Stella’s pupil.
But Ethan was literally just reacting to the word ‘strange’.
“As usual, our mercenaries will use the characteristics of the Swamp of Despair.”
According to Jackson, the method was simple.
After tying up an object that could float in the swamp with a string, it was thrown into the swamp of despair.
It was a simple but effective method.
It was an object that could not sink in the original swamp.
However, in the swamp of despair, no matter how light a leaf is, it is squeezed and sinks.
However, there was no such characteristic in the area referred to as the bow path in the swamp of despair.
It was on the same level as any other swamp.
Because of this, the skilled mercenaries used to use such a method when finding a way out in the swamp of despair.
“But Stella did not use the same method as ours. He just looked at the swamp of despair with mystical eyes.”
Ethan’s expression hardened at those words.
“Did you see the swamp of despair with mystic eyes?”
“yes. There was something I couldn’t put into words. If I had to put it into words, I can only say that I have never seen such lovingly warm eyes in my life.”
“… … .”
Even after hearing Jackson’s explanation, Ethan was still.
But there were a lot of mixed emotions in his eyes.
Ethan immediately turned around with an unusual face.
“I’ll have to check it out for myself.”
“yes?”
Jackson asked, not understanding what Ethan was saying.
However, instead of replying, Ethan silently checked the swamp of despair.
“Damn! This is over.”
“Not here either. Please check elsewhere.”
A mercenary group was attached to the area around the Swamp of Despair.
They were in search of the bow, and they were checking the swamp of despair one by one.
But their quest was not in Ethan’s interest.
Shh!
Ethan passed the mercenaries as he scrambled through the bushes.
It was the moment when I passed so many people and confirmed the swamp of despair.
A mercenary’s scream was heard.
“shit! This is it.”
There was a problem.
The mercenaries were asking for help here and there to rescue the members from the swamp of despair.
Ethan went straight to it.
* * *
“Just one more person here!”
The mercenaries who threw ropes into the swamp tried their best to pull out their comrades.
The mercenary, who fell into the swamp, desperately grabbed the rope.
But his struggles seemed in vain.
Even the rope did not float over the swamp and gradually sank.
“Children! are you deaf? Come and help me right now!”
The mercenary who was yelling at the whale whale spit out abusive language and looked to the side.
“Ugh.”
Ethan was standing right next to him.
The person who criticized me for not helping me so far was the priest.
“priest… sir?”
The mercenary gave Ethan’s name after belatedly and looked at Ethan.
That was then.
“Is that nuclear?”
Ethan, who muttered quietly, plunged into the swamp of despair without hesitation.
“Sah, Priest!”
“You can’t go in like that! Die!”
People around them were astonished.
Even though his feet were immersed, Ethan approached the mercenary without fear.
“shit! Catch the priest!”
Other mercenaries who did not hold onto the rope rushed to Ethan.
But Ethan calmly raised his hand to restrain them.
“it’s okay.”
“However… … !”
The mercenaries were stunned.
Why not?
The Noble Saint Candidate of the Pars Church was risking her life to save a mercenary at most.
No, it wasn’t just about taking risks.
I’d rather see it as a suicide.
The Swamp of Despair was a place where even mercenaries who had gone through all kinds of prenatal battles easily died.
But how could a priest who lived a good life while praying, rescue someone from there and get out?
After stopping the mercenaries, Ethan reached out towards the mercenaries who were gradually falling into a swamp.
The divine power was shining brightly in his hand.
However, the reason Ethan reached out was not to capture the mercenary.
iron puck!
Ethan put his hand just below where the mercenary was being sucked in.
An even more shocking thing happened then.
“Ugh!”
“Priest?!”
“What is this all of a sudden!”
Ethan had put his head right into the swamp as if he were swimming.
Ethan’s appearance disappeared into the bottom of the swamp without a trace.
Surprise erupted from all sides.
“Have you ever been possessed by magic?”
“Did you not commit suicide?”
The mercenaries made such absurd speculations while contemplating.
That was then.
Paah!
From the place where Ethan disappeared, a light suddenly burst out.
Then the light spread out in all directions.
* * *
‘The damn saint… … ! You’re bothering people for nothing!’
Ethan was sunk in a dark swamp.
In the first place, finding a way out in the swamp of despair was meant to be left to the mercenaries.
But the plan has changed.
He came into the swamp because he had something to check here.
-Stella-sama did not use the same method as ours. He just looked at the swamp of despair with mystical eyes.
Jackson’s words crossed Ethan’s mind.
With that said, Ethan took the trouble and went out on his own.
‘Mystical eyes?’
Ethan snorted inwardly.
It was something Ethan had only seen with Saint Eileen in his previous life.
‘By the way, Stella also had those eyes?’
It was never a coincidence.
Could that alone explain why such impressive and unrealistic eyes were connected to a woman with a similar appearance with a difference of more than 100 years in a group called the Pars Church?
‘It’s more absurd to claim it’s a coincidence.’
Ethan was so sure, but he had to confirm it with his own eyes.
The more certain something is, the more I want to confirm the reality of it.
If you find what Ethan expected in this swamp, it’s proof that Stella has ‘the eye’.
After being submerged in the swamp for a while, Ethan fumbled through the swamp with his hand as if looking for something.
How much time has passed?
‘… … !’
Something hard was caught in his hand that had only been churning in the water.
He couldn’t open his eyes because he was in the swamp, so Ethan swept the surface to check it.
‘found!’
It was the bone.
As soon as he confirmed that he was holding it in his hand, Ethan exploded the divine power amplified with divine magic.
The room was engulfed in light.
However, Ethan did not stop at once, but continued to radiate divine power.
The ancient magic that formed the Swamp of Despair didn’t accumulate over a year or two.
Because of this, I had to pour out an explosive divine power.
‘It would have been difficult without the divine magic?’
The swamp of despair existed even during the Anti-Magic War.
However, since magic did not exist, it was not classified as being created by dark magic.
Actually, that was normal.
‘Because it was created by ancient magic in the first place.’
Like the ‘Soul Subordination’ that Ethan wrote to his subordinate Leon Bernstein, it wasn’t magic, it was a spell handed down from ancient times.
Therefore, the identity of the swamp of despair has not been revealed to this day.
Even in Aurum’s academia, the cause has not been found yet?
‘It’s because of dark magic, so I’m talking nonsense.’
It was for the same reason that the Pars Church did not understand Luisa Bernstein’s tattoo.
This is because ancient witchcraft were irregular, not classified as magical in the present age.
And the Old Empire actively used these ancient magics.
In fact, ancient witchcraft could be easily destroyed with magic if only the core was understood.
It was natural because it originated from folk beliefs in an era when there was no proper system of elemental magic, divine magic, and dark magic in the first place.
‘If ancient magic was useful enough to overwhelm other magic, it would not have disappeared from history.’
Just as the Harper family identified and painted the core of Ethan’s ‘Soul Subordination’, Ethan knew the core of the Swamp of Despair, so he could easily remove the magic with divine power.
I poured out my divine power for a long time, but at some point the feeling of pressure that had been holding my whole body disappeared.
‘Is it gone properly?’
When he didn’t even feel the stinging sensation, Ethan opened his eyes.
Then, to his surprise, the mud and water that had filled the swamp bottom disappeared.
When the bottom of the swamp was exposed, there was a huge pit that could fit a castle.
And Ethan stood in the middle of the pit.
‘After all, this was the core of ancient magic.’
In front of Ethan was a huge tomb made of numerous bones.
The Swamp of Despair was a magic made with a very simple principle.
At first, a swamp was built using the carcass of a human or an animal, and once the swamp was created, the victim in the swamp was the driving force behind the magic.
“At least, the spell of the Swamp of Despair didn’t change while I was away.”
While Ethan was observing the bone tomb, those who witnessed the sequence were astonished.
“The swamp of despair… disappeared No, we cleared the swamp!”
The terrain that existed before the people here were even born disappeared in an instant.
It was a plate that had to make a new map of the continent.
Even more unbelievable was the fact that this unprecedented event took place in the hands of only one boy.
Whoa!
Jackson slid down a steep, muddy pit.
Jackson approached Ethan and asked in disbelief.
“Is that what Priest Ethan did?”
But instead of replying to that, Ethan said something else.
“What you said earlier is correct.”
“yes? What is that?”
“It means that Stella-sama found a way out just by looking at the swamp. Using mystical eyes.”
“Ah yes. Obviously I said that. But does that have anything to do with this?”
Ethan listened to Jackson and sharpened his teeth.
Even though I found what I expected, my mouth wrote.
‘It must have been this ancient magic that Stella saw.’
Mysterious eyes?
It wasn’t just a trivial thing used to find a way out of ancient magic.
‘It’s definitely the eyes of the goddess.’
It was strong evidence that Saint Eileen received the favor of the goddess Pars.
The kind and warm eyes that cannot be described in words.
Having seen it in person, Ethan knew well what that eerie look was.
‘But Stella also had those eyes?’
After all the guesswork, Ethan muttered a little.
“You go back to work once in a while.”
* * *
Soon the night came.
The expedition was heading to its destination sooner than expected.
It was thanks to the disappearance of the swamp of despair that stood in the way.
The expedition crossed a huge pit where the swamp had disappeared and reached the interior of the southern swamp.
However, this homelessness was not as smooth as the last time.
Because Robert had instructed him to rest thoroughly and secretly.
– Having passed the swamp of despair, we have entered the realm of the Dark Followers. So, in the future, we have to act more secretly.
The dark follower may have been using the Swamp of Despair as a natural fortress.
Therefore, it is safe to say that after the Swamp of Despair, they became a full-fledged strategic point.
The luxury of pitching a tent or making a bonfire was no longer available.
The expedition had to rely on the leaves to escape the cold of the night, and depend on the moonlight to measure the time.
It was a tough expedition.
But this time, even the sons of noble families could not complain.
Chloe and Charlotte, who were always chattering, were quiet for some reason.
“For some reason, you two are quiet.”
As Ethan said in passing, the twins let out a deep sigh.