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Chapter 246: The Blooming Flower of Evil (3).

"Is it about time?"

The Mercenary King took a deep breath.

He was now heading towards the Federica Church.

Even though it was quite a distance from the Mercenary Guild, he had moved himself personally.

Because it was such a sudden journey, he didn’t have a single subordinate with him.

The reason he was suddenly heading towards the Federica Church was simple.

He had heard that Federica had given a revelation to Ketal and dragged him to the church, and he wanted to help him.

The Mercenary King had survived thanks to Ketal.

If it weren\'t for him, he would have died at the hands of the dragon.

He was moving to repay that favor.

\'Something is wrong. Him, a criminal of the revelation?\'

Ketal was a strong man among heroes.

He had toyed with a mighty dragon.

Although he didn’t know the details since he had fainted afterward, it seemed he had also dealt with a monstrous woman without any issues.

He was someone who possessed awe-inspiring power, even across the entire continent.

And yet, such a person was now considered a criminal of the revelation?

Something had gone terribly wrong.

Although he had already expressed his regrets, he judged it wasn\'t enough, so he headed directly to the holy sanctuary of Federica to plead for leniency on Ketal’s behalf.

\'Since the revelation came directly from God, it’s likely it won’t work...\'

He couldn’t just stand by and watch Ketal die.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

There was another reason as well.

But the primary reason was still to save Ketal.

He moved swiftly.

Being at the pinnacle of superhuman strength, the background rapidly passed by in a blur.

\'Hopefully, it hasn\'t ended already.\'

He had come running as soon as he heard the news, but a considerable amount of time had already passed.

The Mercenary King felt uneasy.

Now, just over this hill, he would be able to see the holy sanctuary of Federica.

The Mercenary King crossed the hill.

"...Huh?"

And then he froze.

A look of shock quickly spread across the Mercenary King’s face as he gazed at the holy sanctuary.

His expression suggested he had seen something impossible.

"W-what?"

* * *

"Oh! Bloodedge!"

Upon arriving at Federica\'s holy sanctuary, Ketal greeted him.

"We meet again! How have you been?"

"Y-yeah."

"What brings you here?"

"...I heard that you were dragged here as a criminal of the revelation, so I came to help."

"Oh!"

Ketal\'s eyes sparkled.

"You came all this way just for me! Thank you so much!"

Ketal tapped the Mercenary King on the shoulder with a bright smile.

To come all this way to help someone he had only met once—that’s what you call the romance of fantasy!

He was genuinely happy.

And the Mercenary King, once again, felt bewildered by Ketal’s warm reception.

Ketal had been labeled a criminal by Federica’s direct revelation.

He had been forcibly brought to the holy sanctuary.

And yet, he was moving about confidently.

No, that wasn’t the important part.

"W-what on earth happened here?"

The Mercenary King groaned as he looked around the holy sanctuary.

The holy sanctuary was completely destroyed.

The outer walls had entirely collapsed, and not a single building inside was intact.

It looked more like a ruin than anything else.

It wasn’t just the buildings that were damaged.

The very land itself had rotted away.

It would take decades for it to recover its vitality.

And there was one more significant problem.

As the Mercenary King, he had been invited to divine holy sanctuaries several times.

Each time, he felt a gaze looking down from the lofty heavens and sensed the grace that enveloped the entire holy sanctuary.

It was an otherworldly sensation, far removed from intelligence.

But here, he felt nothing.

It just seemed like an ordinary place on the ground.

"...Is this really a holy sanctuary? What on earth happened...?"

"Something happened."

"A \'something\'?"

And then the Mercenary King noticed something.

Federica\'s followers were glancing at them.

The emotions in their gazes were quite peculiar.

They were fearful, resentful, full of hatred, and yet fearful again.

At the very least, they weren’t looking at him as a criminal of the revelation.

Liltara spoke quietly.

“We can’t talk here. Let me guide you.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Liltara guided them to a small building.

It was a makeshift house, hastily built and closer to a shantytown.

But it was the only building in the area with a roof. The Mercenary King, still looking bewildered, entered the building.

"Was this place always this ruined because it\'s the holy sanctuary of the God of Hunger?"

The Mercenary King had such thoughts.

Ketal burst into laughter and denied it.

"No, that\'s not the case."

"I see..."

"So, what happened afterward? Did the traveling merchant give you compensation?"

"I received it without any issues."

"That\'s good to hear. I wanted to talk with you all, but the traveling merchant immediately sent me off, which was unfortunate."

"...Did you fight that woman?"

"I did."

Ketal nodded.

"She was the ancient dragon, Ignisia."

"...An ancient dragon."

The Mercenary King groaned.

However, he wasn\'t particularly shocked or surprised.

He seemed to have had some idea of what had happened.

She had hidden her identity, disguised her appearance, and put them to sleep with a single word.

There was no other being he could think of besides an ancient dragon.

\'Then...\'

This barbarian had fought an ancient dragon.

And he hadn’t lost.

The Mercenary King looked at Ketal with awe.

\'No, wait.\'

That wasn\'t the most important thing right now.

What mattered was the current situation.

"What on earth... happened here?"

The Mercenary King finally asked the question he had been holding back.

Ketal began to explain lightly.

And when all the explanations were over...

The Mercenary King stood there, dumbfounded, his mouth agape.

"N-no. Is that... really true?"

"I have no reason to lie to you."

"No."

The Mercenary King clutched his head.

It was too much for him to process.

His voice trembled as he asked again.

"So, you\'re saying... Federica herself appeared to kill you, but not only did you block her attack, you even counterattacked...?"

"Yes."

Ketal nodded.

"It seems I pushed myself quite a bit. Because of that, I no longer feel her gaze. I suppose it will take a considerable amount of time before she can intervene in the mortal realm again."

"N-no."

The Mercenary King\'s expression was one of utter disbelief.

He couldn\'t accept it.

He couldn\'t understand it.

And it was no wonder.

Ketal was saying that he had fought and defeated a god.

Not just an avatar, but the true form of the god who had opened the gates of the heavens.

"..."

For a moment, the Mercenary King\'s head spun.

The magnitude of what he had just heard made him dizzy.

Seeing this reaction, Ketal thought to himself,

\'It was the right decision not to show him the fragment of the god.\'

There was no need to reveal it, so he hadn\'t mentioned it.

In hindsight, it was a good decision.

If he had told the Mercenary King that he had a piece of the god, the man might have fainted on the spot.

After being dazed for a long time, the Mercenary King suddenly returned to reality.

"Ketal. You must not tell anyone about this."

\'This must be kept hidden.\'

An ordinary human had fought a god and won.

If this fact were to spread, every church would try to kill Ketal.

It would be seen as blasphemy, tarnishing the absolute authority of the gods.

No matter the cost, they would do everything in their power to erase Ketal from the continent.

One thing that relieved some was that Federica\'s followers would likely keep this disgraceful event to themselves and not share it with outsiders.

In other words, as long as he and Ketal kept quiet, there would be no problems.

The Mercenary King earnestly pleaded with Ketal, who nodded without much resistance.

"I don\'t have a habit of boasting, anyway."

The Mercenary King let out a sigh of relief.

"So, does that mean they can\'t use divine power anymore?"

"That seems to be the case."

"..."

It wasn\'t an exaggeration to say that the entire church had been destroyed.

According to Ketal, the divine power might return after some time, but uncertain when that would be.

"I can\'t believe what\'s happened. The demons must be celebrating."

The great god could no longer intervene in the mortal world.

From the demons\' perspective, it was an event worth celebrating with open arms.

But Ketal felt nothing about it.

"If they didn\'t want this, they shouldn\'t have messed with me."

"...I see."

The Mercenary King swallowed hard.

He quickly cleared his mind, as if trying to avoid thinking about it any further.

"At least you\'re safe. That\'s a relief."

"Yes. Thank you for coming all this way to help me."

The biggest problem had already resolved itself.

The Mercenary King chuckled in disbelief.

"The problem may be solved, but... now we\'ll have to find another place. I never imagined they would lose their divine power. What on earth is happening?"

Ketal picked up on the strange comment and asked,

"Did you have another reason for coming here?"

"I did."

Aside from coming to rescue Ketal, he had also intended to seek the cooperation of the church members.

He spoke,

"A demon has devoured another holy sanctuary."

"Oh?"

Ketal\'s interest was piqued.

"What exactly happened?"

The Mercenary King explained.

A demon had descended near the holy sanctuary of a god without any prior warning.

It attacked the sanctuary, consuming everything and devouring it all.

The demon took over the holy sanctuary, turning it into its own domain.

Preparations to deal with this situation needed to be made.

Ketal stroked his chin as if he understood.

"It sounds similar to what happened when they attacked the holy sanctuary of Kalosia."

The difference was that, during the Kalosia incident, Ketal\'s presence had led to the demon\'s defeat, but this time, it seemed the demon had succeeded.

It had managed to transform a holy sanctuary into its own territory.

"I intended to seek their help regarding the demons... but now it seems impossible."

"Hmm."

Ketal\'s face showed growing interest.

\'I want to go.\'

A demon that had successfully consumed a holy sanctuary.

He was curious to see what it looked like.

His curiosity was piqued.

However, there was something more important that he needed to deal with right now.

He wanted to explore the mysteries.

He didn\'t want to delay it any longer.

\'No, wait.\'

Ketal looked at the Mercenary King.

Standing before him was a top-tier superhuman, someone who understood the mysteries better than anyone else.

Ketal asked,

"Do you have any information on the demon?"

"We don\'t know much about it. The demon destroyed the holy sanctuary overnight. There were no survivors. We\'ll have to investigate directly."

"...I see."

Ketal\'s face showed even more interest.

"I see. Are you going alone?"

"No. It\'s a big matter, so several people will be gathering. Other followers of different gods will likely join as well."

The Mercenary King explained,

"The elder of the Earth Mother will be coming. Some mercenaries will likely join too. An extraordinary magician from the Tower of Magic will also be there. I arrived late because I came here to help you. Most of them should have already arrived."

"Hmm, I see."

Ketal\'s interest grew even stronger.

The Mercenary King continued, and Ketal\'s eyes widened at the mention of one particular name.

"Swordmaster Cain will also be joining."

"...Cain?"

"Do you know him?"

"Are you talking about Swordmaster Cain of the Kingdom of Gahentra?"

"You know of him. How?"

The Mercenary King mumbled in amazement.

Swordmaster Cain.

Ketal couldn\'t possibly forget him.

He was the first extraordinary warrior Ketal had met, and the one who had introduced him to the mysteries.

Ketal muttered,

"...So he\'s joining as well?"

"Yes. I should start moving to join them too. It\'s a relief you\'re safe. So, what will you do now?"

The Mercenary King asked about Ketal\'s plans.

Ketal smiled, pleased with how things were turning out.

"I have nothing else to do. So, this is perfect."

"Perfect?"

"Yes. How can we tolerate a mere demon devouring a holy sanctuary of a god? It\'s unacceptable!"

"...Uh, uh..."

The Mercenary King found himself momentarily at a loss for words.

Unconsciously, he glanced at the now godless holy sanctuary.

While Ketal had acted in self-defense, he couldn\'t help but feel a strange mix of emotions.

"Such evil cannot be allowed to happen in this world."

Ketal smiled brightly.

He could gain new knowledge, fight demons, meet strong warriors, and even reunite with Cain after a long time.

It was an opportunity to catch two birds with one stone, no, four birds with one stone.

"So, may I join you all in helping to deal with this?"

"...Huh?"

The Mercenary King\'s eyes widened in surprise.