"You are nothing but a complete tool in someone else's scheme."
Hearing Ebner's sharp judgment, the greatsword—formerly the Patriarch André of the Church of the Combat God—let out another sigh:
"Sigh… I know. For so many years, I have long known…
It was precisely because I realized it that I began to harbor many irreverent thoughts toward the Lord… even thoughts of blasphemy…
"That is the fundamental reason I fell and became an evil spirit.
"I know I am no longer worthy to face the Lord… yet I still cannot let go of my resentment…"
Ebner's historical projection glanced at Jack Delien—who seemed frozen in a battle-ready pose by the power of "Dusk"—and continued:
"Perhaps I can redeem you."
"You?"
The greatsword André examined Ebner's projection with its "Demonhunting Eye," hesitating.
"I do sense something… unusual about you. But for you to grant me redemption… it's far from enough."
Huh? You didn't recognize that I'm Vicente Miranda?
A Sequence 2 "Glory" like that Inquisition Judge Boris saw through me instantly, even realizing I was the "God of Luck" from the Second Epoch…
Well, in fairness, that Judge Boris is probably the resurrected "God of Glory" Bladel, or even Giant King Aurmir, so outshining you is normal.
Also, there are other factors—
You now possess only rank, but no characteristic…
And I'm only a projection right now, unable to connect to the "Unknown Land"… etc.
While thinking this, Ebner also saw clearly that this sword spirit was already preparing to defect again.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be speaking this openly behind its wielder's back.
All it lacked was a convincing excuse.
In other words, this "holy sword" was nowhere near as devout as it pretended.
On the contrary—it died harboring deep resentment toward the Combat God and that Inquisition Judge.
Otherwise, it would have long returned to the Combat God's divine kingdom instead of falling into corruption and eventually becoming a sealed artifact for Roselle.
"Is a 'warrior of honor' always destined for betrayal?" Ebner muttered inwardly.
Out loud, he said confidently:
"I only just escaped a carefully prepared trap set by that Judge Boris…
Which means—I have a feud with him.
If you follow me, you'll eventually get your revenge."
"You're merely a Sequence 3. How can you guarantee that I will have revenge?"
But Ebner only smiled.
He refused to believe this sword had no awareness of the battle he unleashed outside the Delien family residence.
It must have sensed the abilities he drew upon.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be chatting with a projection for so long.
"…Very well. I truly have no other choices. I definitely don't want to follow this fool of a host into the faith of the 'True Creator'…"
The greatsword—the former Patriarch André—gave a self-deprecating chuckle and added:
"I want the same treatment as the 'Magic Mirror' Richelieu."
So you did know…
But "the same treatment"?
You can't possibly know he's already become the "shape" of the Pure White Angel within the Unknown Land…
Ebner grumbled inwardly, but outwardly he nodded sincerely:
"Very well.
"Happy cooperation, Patriarch André."
"Happy cooperation."
The sword paused, then said:
"Until I receive redemption, just call me the Holy Sword."
The "Holy Sword"… the "Magic Mirror"…
Roselle's naming sense really is tragic.
What's next—the holy seal called "Human Seal"?
Suppressing his thoughts, Ebner pointed at the fallen, blood-soaked Sero Delien—the former Second Patriarch of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun—and said:
"First disperse the 'Dusk' sealing him."
"Alright."
The Holy Sword instantly withdrew its "Dusk" authority.
Without the sealing force of decay, the "Black Knight" Sero's wounds writhed, and the blood on the floor surged back into his body.
Though still pallid, at least he no longer looked like a corpse.
Sero opened his eyes and immediately dropped to one knee before Ebner's projection:
"My Lord… I failed to guard the vault entrance.
Please punish me."
Ebner waved him off, signaling to deal with it later.
He then glanced at the immobilized "Ironblood Knight" Jack, still caught in the fading "Dusk."
"Go ahead and pasture him."
(The "Shepherd" trait—turning him into a spirit servant.)
Even without the Holy Sword acting as a traitor, a mere "Ironblood Knight" couldn't withstand Ebner and Sero together.
And now he had been completely sold out.
As Sero stepped toward Jack, and the Holy Sword retracted the last vestiges of "Dusk," Jack was instantly consumed.
Watching this, Ebner thought:
"This Holy Sword is unreliable…
I need to find opportunities to feed it more of Liu Bo's stories…"
Meanwhile, the true body…
While his projection distracted André, Ebner's real body had already entered the vault and hurried downward.
Along the way, he encountered many seals and enchantments—
But for a "Cognizer," these were trivial, easily bypassed.
More troublesome were some of the items sealed on both sides of the passage—
Their side-effects were area-wide and quite unreasonable.
With no time to reseal them, Ebner had to push through by force.
Passing the vault's sealed zone, he reached a dark tunnel.
The tunnel opening was round, two meters wide, descending at a 45-degree angle into utter darkness.
More terrifying was the aura wafting out.
Just sensing it made his spirituality scream warnings.
"Now I see why Bornova said even a god's container is unwilling to enter…"
Ebner frowned anxiously.
This was urgent, but he couldn't sacrifice himself for Bernadette and tens of thousands of Trier citizens.
He was not Klein.
But after observing for several seconds, Ebner realized—
The aura was similar to what he had studied in Bianca, Abby, and Madam D.
"In other words—this is Sefirah contamination…"
And that he did have experience with.
After all, since the Mechanical Emperor agreed to open the door to the Giant King Court for the True Creator, he must have known some method to resist Sefirah corruption.
The simplest was to pray to the "Unknown Land"—
Let "the Unknown" envelop him and naturally suppress other Sefirah.
But that would deepen his own Unknown contamination.
Small amounts were manageable…
But why risk it, when better options existed?
Closing his eyes, Ebner raised his head and recited solemnly in Ancient Hermes:
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;
The Mysterious Ruler above the Gray Fog;
The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck.
I pray for your protection—"
…
Moments later, a twelve-winged archangel descended, enveloping his spiritual body.
When everything comes to light, I'll have to talk to Klein… Instead of wasting power on dramatic special effects, he should just appear as a ball of light. It'd save energy and improve protection…
With that private complaint, Ebner stepped into the tunnel.
It was long and distorted.
Space and time were warped, tinged with the characteristics of the spirit world.
Fortunately, Ebner knew the "Door" pathway intimately, and with the power of the Sefirah Castle behind him, he avoided becoming lost.
What felt like a long journey was, in reality, only a second.
A bright, empty chamber appeared before him.
Nothing was inside except—
A single closed Door at the center.
And beside it sat a very strange person.
Her face was extraordinarily beautiful—a woman's face—
But her physique was massive and muscular, lacking any femininity.
This…
This is supposed to be the Delien ancestor?
Roselle's lover, Madam Julia?
But no—
In Owen's memories, she didn't look like this.
At that moment, the strange woman raised her head and smiled:
"You're finally here… Liu Bo."
So Roselle even told her this?
No—told her…
Though her appearance was ambiguous, Ebner "saw through" it immediately—
Psychologically and biologically, she was still a woman.
He tentatively asked:
"Madam Julia?"
She nodded lightly.
"Yes… it's me."
Then, unwilling to linger on that topic, she continued:
"Time is short.
You don't want Trier to become the Abyss, do you?"
"How do I stop it?" Ebner asked in a low voice.
Julia pointed at the Door:
"Throw in an item contaminated by a Sefirah…
But it must be one of the Sefirah sealed in the Western Continent."
An item contaminated by a Sefirah…
Ebner's "Cognizer minds" worked in parallel, quickly narrowing down the candidates to two:
First: Vicente Miranda's Book of the Dead—
Stained with the aura of "Calderón City"—
Which was actually the Sefirah known as the River of Eternal Darkness.
Second: the Calamity Seal—
Now retrievable from the Unknown Land since Ebner reached Sequence 3.
Its namesake likely meant it carried the aura of the Calamity City Sefirah.
Which one should he choose?
(End of Chapter)