129 episodes
“ha ha ha. Who would believe that?”
“It really is.”
“Hmm. You are really humble. You really are like Stella’s disciple.”
f*ck off.
Ethan almost burst out in swear words.
Following Cayden Hanson’s will, this time to Stella’s disciple.
It was also very misleading.
‘Nyx, he pretended to listen. I never imagined there would be such a guy.’
Ethan was getting fed up with just hearing the white wolf’s ‘ha’.
“Again, I just looked over my shoulder and learned for myself.”
“Ahh. I knew it well. It’s weird to keep emphasizing that.”
Robert smiled kindly.
Ethan has now resigned.
‘You know what.’
After finishing his chores, Robert left the place.
After the Fury Factor left, Ethan fell into thought again.
‘The only expedition to the southern swamps would not have been the cause of the attack on Central. It must have been prepared a long time ago.’
Ethan tapped his finger lightly.
What the expedition captured from the dark follower’s lair was definitely worthwhile.
Ethan was sure of that, too.
Demon King’s Servant.
Although opinions are sharply divided within the United Kingdom and the Dark Followers, the weight of Ethan’s past fame was never light.
But even taking that into account, the scale of the attack on Central was large.
It meant that it wasn’t ready in a short time.
‘Even if you take into account the time it took for the expedition to sweep away the swamps of the south, it wouldn’t have been possible to prepare for an attack of this size, wouldn’t it?’
It was rightly assumed that the Dark Followers were preparing before the expedition had even made its way to the swamps of the south.
With that in mind, all the puzzles fit together.
‘From the beginning, they were aiming for the round table or the seven kings.’
It was amazing.
It was very different from the way they behaved before.
‘You are quite actively plotting the division of the United Kingdom, aren’t you?’
The capital of the empire, Velium, was also there, so Ethan’s doubts could not but grow.
“I’ll have to find more traces of them in Central first.”
With that in mind, Ethan stood up.
If he was away for too long, he was sure to find Ethan.
Before that, he was going to a temporary tent, a treatment center again.
“I’ll have to ask you one more time when I’m done here.”
Ethan muttered softly.
I’ll have to visit Stella after the treatment center’s work is done.
Whether she informs them or not, it was necessary for Ethan.
* * *
a few days later.
Temporary tents, which were densely built on the streets, gradually decreased.
This was because the number of refugees decreased.
However, Stella stayed by the side of the refugees who had not yet left the tent.
“There will never be another priest like Stella-sama.”
“Thank you very much, Stella.”
Seeing her treating the wounded, the refugees expressed their gratitude over and over again.
That was then.
“Stella, what kind of priest are you looking for?”
“yes?”
Stella, who had just finished treating the wounded, raised her head.
There was a familiar person at the entrance to the tent.
It was Ethan.
A smile appeared on Stella’s face.
“Ethan, it was you.”
“I have a question for you.”
“yes. By the way, I was about to go get some herbs to the temple. Shall we go there together?”
Ethan and Stella headed to the temple together.
“It’s interesting that you have a question for me. You’ve been smart since you were little, so you asked fewer questions than other kids.”
“When I went to the Southern Swamp, I heard a story about Stella-sama from a white wolf.”
Stella’s face, smiling happily, hardened.
“You’re asking that too.”
“said the white wolf. Stella-sama has been active in the past, and she’s not just an ordinary country abbot.”
“… … .”
“Aren’t you going to answer me?”
“no. Even so, I’ve heard the story. People misunderstand that you are my disciple, right? I’m in such a predicament, so I can’t help but say it.”
After taking a deep breath, Stella smiled bitterly.
“I am a disciple of Laureai, the saint of the time.”
Ethan’s eyes lit up.
‘A disciple of a saint?’
It was then that the previous question was resolved.
Similar to Eileen, how to use formidable superpowers and divine powers.
If it had been passed down to the saints from generation to generation, it was understandable that he would have learned it from the present saint, Laureai.
But there was one thing that bothered me.
‘Then they are not descendants.’
Ethan frowned.
Stella’s face is very similar to Saint Eileen from 100 years ago.
To the extent that it feels even more strange to be called a raw man.
‘But I don’t think he’s lying.’
Aside from being a disciple of Laureai, there seemed to be no connection with Saint Eileen.
‘For now, this is all I can find out.’
If I pushed harder, nothing would come out.
Or something that Stella can’t answer.
Above all, Ethan had no reason to delve deeper into the saint.
‘I’m that guy a hundred years ago.’
Because he couldn’t reveal his identity in this way.
“I was an orphan just like you. Then, fortunately and undeservingly, I got the opportunity to become a disciple of Saint Laureai. Thanks to this, when I was young, I was able to leave the city of Nouvelle and travel here and there. It was then that I met Robert.”
Ethan was surprised.
It was because the past of the person who seemed to have lived quietly in the monastery for the rest of his life was more dynamic than I thought.
‘but. There was no corruption while running that country monastery where the thankful ones don’t come.’
Ethan recalled his days in the monastery.
Stella was the head of the monastery, but never showed off her authority.
Still, he was determined and knew how to lead people.
‘It’s not like he’s a great man who will spend his whole life in a monastery.’
Although he did not like the arrogance of the Priests of the Church of Pars, Ethan decided to admit what he had to admit.
“… … .”
Stella smiled brightly, perhaps misunderstanding that Ethan was thinking.
“You’re not blaming me for trying to stop you, are you? You lived so freely, so why can’t I let you live like that?”
I know you well.
Ethan groaned inwardly.
It was then that Stella’s face darkened.
“There were good people like Robert and Jackson, but there were also a lot of bad people. At that time, I started to feel skeptical as I went through a lot of things. So I decided to stay away from the world for a while.”
Ethan noticed that Stella had muffled his last words.
‘There must have been a decisive event, but as I looked around the world, I felt something.’
So Stella decided to go into hiding.
“That’s why I dried you out. As a senior who experienced such things first, I was trying to avoid exposing you to danger.”
“It is.”
“Do you, like everyone else, think I am too weak?”
“yes? Why am I?”
Ethan asked, irritable.
Hearing every word of Stella’s heartbreaking story, Ethan didn’t mind.
I just had this thought.
‘Aren’t you going to keep nagging me with that as an excuse? Are you my parents?’
Ethan didn’t look the same as the others.
If you didn’t just bother yourself, it was all over the place.
Above all, there were no priests who retreated for the same reason as Stella.
Seen with jet-black eyes, didn’t Saint Eileen also get fed up with the forces that tried to use the Seven Heroes politically?
‘This is annoying.’
Ethan clicked his tongue inwardly.
It was an annoyance that other people wouldn’t notice.
But Stella was different.
Ethan had seen him for a long time, so he read his insides like a ghost.
“for a moment. What’s that attitude now? Did you think I was troublesome? No, you weren’t Mom and Dad before that, so why did you think like that?”
“No.”
Ethan nodded and walked quickly.
“No, it’s not what. It’s rude to think like that! I’ve never held a man’s hand let alone dating!”
“People keep looking here. Can I say that out loud?”
“Don’t turn around.”
Stella followed after Ethan.
But there was no discomfort on her face.
Stella was happy enough that Ethan didn’t think of himself as weak like the others.
* * *
The morning air blew in through the window.
Ethan took a deep breath and looked inside.
The size of the new magic had grown incomparably larger than before.
The dungeon was full.
‘From now on, putting the new magic in a simple spherical shape is very damaging.’
Ethan fell into deep thought.
Like all wizards, he fell into deep meditation.
Elemental magic seeks efficiency by processing mana into a circle.
The mana circle is in the form of a ring, which rotates when elemental magic is used.
Therefore, the more mana circles there were, the more resonant, and the power of magic increased.
Ethan wanted divine magic to take the same form.
‘The easiest thing to do would be to process it in a circle shape.’
Ethan knew an easy way.
However, his pride as a wizard stimulated Ethan.
Do you have more miraculous power than anything else in the world and make an easy choice with it?
Isn’t that too cheesy?
‘There’s nothing wrong with trying a new form.’
Ethan chuckled.
There was a form I had in mind.
It was well worth the challenge.
“Whoa.”
Ethan caught his breath.
In the meantime, he had tightly packed his divine magic into a sphere.
And I used it a little bit off the battlefield.
But that alone was too primitive.
The magic that existed in ancient times would have been better than this.
Mana, divine power, and magical power could have various effects depending on the form accumulated in the body.
Mana circles, which are widely known in the civilian world, were mana accumulated in an artificial form for the purpose of such an effect.
‘Unlike divine power or magical power, it’s not just a form to keep them together.’
Ethan’s eyes lit up.
He exploded the divine magic that had been dormant in the danjeon at once.
Eventually, the divine magic became a huge storm in the danjeon.
The storm raged, leaving small wounds here and there.
Ethan tried to put it to sleep.
‘It’s like a small universe.’
It was painful.
But there was nothing more satisfying than challenging new achievements as a wizard.
Above all, it was a form of accumulation that I had never felt before.
Small particles swirled around the inside of the danjeon.
It was truly a small universe, and it was providing an effect so that the divine magic in Edan’s Danjeon could have a greater potential.
‘That’s great.’
Ethan was amazed.
After acquiring new magical powers for the first time, there were some things that I felt while practicing gradually.
The new magic was like the universe.
It could be infinitely dark, but it could also be infinitely bright.
Both sides coexisted.
It was like the universe.
‘done.’
A soft smile appeared on Ethan’s lips.
He succeeded in recreating a small universe in Danjeon.
Ethan wanted to cheer.
Because it was a step forward as a wizard.
He succeeded in handling the unknown power of divine magic in his own way.
The pleasure of that success was immense.
Ethan fell into meditation.
As usual, it was time to go to sleep.
But, as if a child had just gotten a new toy, he couldn’t stay up all night.
Ethan was enjoying the achievement of divine magic and was checking it here and there, unaware of the passing of time.