43 episodes
A loud noise was deafening my ears.
Ethan sighed and opened his eyes.
“Are you okay?”
Lucio was supporting Ethan.
Ethan’s lips trembled.
I wanted to pour out all kinds of cursing right away.
But he endured it with superhuman patience.
‘Are you okay? You tried to kill me!’
Ethan tried to put on a fake smile.
But the inside was boiling.
Kung!
That was then.
Fenrir snorted as if ranting that it would be nothing.
Ethan wanted to block the wolf’s snout right away.
‘That bastard, don’t you know who I am?’
Ethan had strange suspicions that Fenrir seemed to know his true identity.
Of course, that was impossible.
However, the previous series of events were enough to paralyze Ethan’s reason.
“You really can purify the cursed forest… … .”
Lucio muttered in disbelief.
Ethan doubted his ears at the eerie sound.
“The Cursed Forest has been cleansed?”
“Ah, while Priest Ethan was down, reports came from other priests. They say the Cursed Forest has been cleansed.”
Ethan’s eyes widened at those words.
‘Oh My God?’
I remembered that Luca Rossi and the saint’s divine powers flowed through the tree roots into the cursed forest using divine magic.
At that time, it was a struggle to survive, but it seemed that the forest was unintentionally purified.
But the question remained.
‘Are the forests purified with just that much divine power?’
Ethan’s mind became complicated.
The Cursed Forest had been exposed to numerous magical powers and magic for a hundred years ago.
That is why even Saint Eileen did not dare to attempt purification.
So did her ardent supporter, Luca Rossi.
Even after a hundred years had passed, the energy of the cursed forest was still strong.
It was impossible for Ethan to purify it alone.
‘Is the divine power amplified because of divine magic?’
If so, I could understand everything.
Then a memory flashed through Ethan’s mind.
It was an incident where the divine power was suddenly amplified and unintentionally purified the dagger, the remnant of the demon king.
Ethan looked down at his hand.
‘Maybe that’s… … .’
As such, the divine magic was an unknown power with infinite possibilities.
‘I’ll take the time to check it later.’
Ethan cleared his complicated mind.
As of now, there was no other way.
We had no choice but to test the hypothesis through further research.
Above all.
“Would you mind checking the trends of the monsters first?”
Ethan didn’t have time.
“Are you going to go to Velium with this body?”
“Don’t worry. It was just a little dizzy.”
Lucio hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“She is the princess of the Empire. Knowing that, you risk your life.”
“… … ?”
Ethan made an impression.
‘What, you bastard?’
Lucio seemed to have fallen into a strange illusion.
‘It’s because I don’t want to see you again with this damn Shinsoo.’
Ethan grinded his teeth.
But Lucio took Ethan’s frown differently.
“Hmm, I’m sorry. That’s not what the priest meant. The value of life is incalculable.”
“ha.”
Ethan sighed and shook his head.
“I learned again from the young priest.”
The self-reflection and delusion of the priests were already familiar.
It wasn’t even worth correcting the misunderstanding.
‘We’ll never meet again anyway.’
Just leaving this city would solve it.
* * *
a few days after that.
Near the outer fortress of Pache, soldiers and knights were moving in unison.
Lucio stood before them and prayed for the safety of the soldiers and knights.
It was his duty as a priest in charge of Pache.
“Pars, please watch over the expedition to the capital of the new empire.”
After finishing the prayer, Lucio went to the deacon of the castle.
“Please tell the Lord that you are grateful for willingly lending soldiers and knights.”
Then the butler waved his hand.
“no. Hasn’t the Cursed Forest been a problem for all Pache people? So, for the priest who cleansed the forest, we should of course do this. The Holy Lord said so.”
“I’m glad you did.”
“By the way, there were people who doubted that the priest actually caused a miracle in the New Zealand state, but I think that statement would fit easily with this incident.”
“yes.”
Lucio agreed with the butler.
Not long ago, Lucio was also one of those ‘doubts’.
He reflected on his reckless disregard for Ethan.
‘I still lack a lot.’
Lucio shook his head.
Meanwhile, Ethan was preparing to leave the city.
Cynthia tilted her head as if strangely.
“He said he was hurt a lot while cleaning up the forest. But why are you leaving in such a hurry?”
“The news of my cleanup of the forest must have spread everywhere. We must hurry before the dark followers chase us.”
Although they talked like that, in fact, Ethan’s heart was completely different.
‘I’ll have to leave this damn city quickly.’
It wasn’t like coming to the saint’s hometown.
Lucio and the white-haired bastard, who looked just like my grandfather, were also fed up.
Seeing Ethan’s back like that, Cynthia was surprised.
‘How can you be so calm after accomplishing a feat called a miracle?’
All the people of Pache who feared the Cursed Forest were praising Ethan.
He even went to Seongju himself and said that he wanted to treat Edan with a meal.
But Ethan had no intention of enjoying it all.
After packing up, Ethan turned back and told Cynthia.
“Now let’s go.”
Ethan and Cynthia, having finished all preparations, headed to the outer castle.
The soldiers lined up looked at Ethan and muttered.
“That’s the miracle boy.”
“I don’t think I’m even twenty yet, but it’s amazing.”
“I heard you were asking about the curse of the forest a while ago?”
“You ran on your own feet to purify the forest.”
Their conversation brought goosebumps to Ethan’s arms.
‘Do a little work.’
Ethan approached the prepared carriage.
Lucio, who was standing nearby, came forward to see them off.
Lucio bowed his head and apologized to Ethan.
“Please forgive me for the rudeness I have committed.”
“no. In fact, I was being more rude. Thank you for being nice to me while I was here.”
Ethan smiled genuinely.
In fact, he didn’t even care about Lucio’s apology.
‘Finally, liberation from this damn city.’
Thinking about it, I couldn’t help but laugh.
After saying hello, Ethan and Cynthia got into the carriage.
As the knights got on their horses and the soldiers prepared to leave, the gates opened.
“Hey… … !”
That was when the coachman lifted the whip.
Tadat!
Suddenly, a silver wolf appeared and blocked the carriage.
hee hee hee hee!
Overwhelmed by Fenrir’s momentum, the horse rolled her feet nervously.
“what?”
Ethan poked his head out the window in an unfamiliar sense of ominousness.
“Fenrir-sama?”
Confused, Lucio approached Fenrir.
Then Fenrir looked at Lucio with eyes as if looking at a grown-up grandson.
And I rubbed my head on Lucio’s leg a few times.
“… … !”
Lucio was greatly surprised.
Because it was an expression of friendship that Fenrir had never done before.
“Fenrir-sama, please… … .”
okay.
As if answering like that, Fenrir gave a faint gaze.
And with dignified steps, he stood next to Ethan’s carriage.
“Come on, wait! How did this happen?”
Ethan was perplexed.
Now, it seemed like everyone was saying goodbye.
“The Cursed Forest has also been purified, so Fenrir-sama seems to be leaving Pache.”
Lucio had a sad face, as if separating a long-time friend.
‘Hey, damn it?!’
Ethan looked down at the silver wolf with a puzzled expression on his face.
When Ethan’s eyes met, Fenrir shyly averted his eyes.
I don’t believe you all yet.
as if saying so.
And Ethan muttered as he looked at Fenrir inwardly.
‘Then why are you following me!’
It was supposed to be a treat.
* * *
A few days have passed since then.
Ethan and Cynthia were steadily heading across the border to Velium, the capital of the empire.
Outside the window was a wide field.
It was a heart-breaking sight.
‘It’s better to get out of that damn city.’
Ethan still felt heartbroken just thinking about Pache.
It was a pity in my heart that I couldn’t get the full magic of the cursed forest.
On the contrary, since I was purifying with it, I was only doing good things unintentionally.
‘Even if it wasn’t for that goddamn god.’
Ethan’s eyebrows twitched.
He turned to look at the cute white puppy sitting next to him.
When Ethan and Ethan’s eyes met, the puppy shouted ‘Mung!’ and barked.
It was in the form of a smaller god of damnation.
The figure that was growling and shining its molars was nowhere to be seen.
When they first learned of this fact, the knights were all astonished.
-yes?! Hey, is this puppy Shinsoo?
– Why did Shin-soo become like this?
-Nonsense! How can the priest fix it?
The dignified and dignified wolf that guarded Pache turned into a young mutt, so it was natural for the knights to be surprised.
But Ethan had seen this detestable dog a hundred years ago.
After a big battle, if the divine power was severely consumed, Fenrir would change into that form.
Ethan, who knew this, didn’t care.
“Ahaha! Fenrir, don’t bite too hard. Then the tooth broke.”
king! king!
Ethan was taken aback by the sound he heard next to him.
Cynthia was playing with Fenrir with a handkerchief.
Fenrir was dangling in his handkerchief, pretending to be a real puppy.
‘It’s like an abomination dog.’
It was a sight that could not be imagined from the appearance of the silver wolf, the main body.
‘The more I think about it, the weirder it gets. 저 개새끼가 왜 황녀는 꺼리지 않는 거지?’
In Pache, Fenrir instinctively reacted to Cynthia’s magic and magic.
However, seeing him playing like that, it was clear that he was not wary of Cynthia.
‘why?’
But now it was an unsolvable question.
That was then.
smart.
A knight who was riding next to him knocked on the carriage.
“Priest Ethan, we will be arriving at Velium soon.”
“thank you.”
Cynthia, who was playing with Fenrir, heard that and looked out the window.
The walls of Velium began to appear nearby.
“You have finally arrived.”
Cynthia wiped her chest and relieved herself.
But he tilted his head as if he had a question.
“But isn’t it strange? I thought they were going to attack me, but they never showed up until I got to the islands.”
It was about the dark followers.
Ethan agreed with him.
Their whereabouts were widely known for the cursed forest cleanup in Pache.
But the raid didn’t happen.
Fortunately, at the same time, there was still a sense of uneasiness.
“I failed not once, but twice, so I may have decided that I was getting too much attention.”
So it may have been hiding in the dark for a while.
‘The problem is, you don’t know what they’ll do in the new empire.’
He wasn’t afraid of being attacked.
It only bothered me that the dark followers cut off their tails like lizards and crawl into the darkness.
While the two were having a conversation, the heavy gate opened and a carriage entered through the gap.
A loud noise was heard around the carriage.
People who heard the rumors flocked to see the princess and Ethan.
“You mean that miracle boy is in there?”
“I wonder what it would look like.”
“By the way, it’s amazing to act with that princess. She’s a woman who makes people sick just by making eye contact.”
“Are you saying you don’t mind being a miracle boy?”
The curious chatter of onlookers was heard.
Cynthia, who had regained her vitality while playing with Fenrir, gradually lowered her head.
Fenrir moved to the seat next to Cynthia as if consoling him.
Ethan lowered the chariot’s badge.
‘I do not care. If the Dark Followers hide in the dark… … .’
And he looked at Cynthia with his head bowed indifferently.
‘I can only use that woman to bring it out.’