Chapter 41
Chapter 41
No matter how hard Lawrence shouted, no one paid any attention, it was all wasted breath. Yet he didn’t tire. He seemed to have the stamina of a mountain bandit.
“I told you I’m just a hired mercenary, Lombard brat! You lock me up knowing full well who I am. You shameless bastard!”
“…….”
“Damn it. I wish Sylvanas had listened to me sooner. I warned him that Inpethera attracts all kinds, someone might recognize me!”
“…….”
“Goddammit! Figured I’d get caught by Lombard, of all people!”
Lawrence’s curses showed no signs of stopping. Having his senses sharpened since waking up, I nearly had numb ears from his roaring beside me. I wanted to scream too to demand they bring Derion here. But I wasn’t a burly mercenary. I lacked strength and endurance.
‘I need to be alright…’
Lombard threw Lawrence and me into the same cage, yet carried Derion away, tearing him from my arms. I wonder if he recognized Derion’s demonic nature. My heart pounded.
“Hey, little one. Were you abandoned by your parents, and soon to be sold as a slave?”
No one actually gets sold into slavery for nothing. I glared at Lawrence’s cruelty. Lucky for him I had an adult’s restraint, otherwise, those words would’ve hit hard on a child. In truth, they cut deep. Given my actual age, the words hurt worse because I understood exactly what he meant.
“So? What is your identity? Why do you have black hair and blue eyes?”
“…….”
“Aren’t you going to tell me? Or do you not know? Well… you’re only three years old, how could you know?”
It’s a problem because you know too much.
“It’s a bit pitiful that you don’t know anything. Would it be different if you, a brat, were the child of the warrior that Sylvanas is looking for?”
Hero? That didn’t help. I didn’t even know what the Albireo Empire was. I hardly even knew this human realm.
“Brat, cowardly, timid, and stubborn. Without me, he wouldn’t have gotten this far.” He puffed up, stretching out his chest, then hunched again to avoid bumping his head on the cage.
“You might not live, might die, or end up enslaved… or taken by Lombard. Be ignorant, and you’ll lose out. Better yet, your head will get cut right off.”
Nothing to do but pay attention, I thought. Better to learn than get my head cleaved.
***
Regnator called the place where humans live, ‘the human world,’ but Lawrence explained it with a different name. The dimension where humans live is called ‘Tierra.’ It is named after the goddess of the earth, and the vast land where humans settle down is also called by the same name.
They say that dimensions and continents are the same, so they are used without distinction these days.
The surprising thing is that humans did not know the concept of ‘dimension’ until the Demon King descended on this land. That is why people panicked when the Demon King descended. The Demon King’s descent itself is scary, but it was inevitable because they learned of the existence of another dimension.
That is how the Demon King’s sudden appearance in Tierra four years ago was a disaster.
“Calamity or disaster, they are similar. They are both things that cannot be dealt with with human power, right?”
The Demon King suddenly appeared in Tierra one day and slaughtered the humans. The horror was greater than if hundreds or thousands of troops had appeared. He traveled the continent alone, committing slaughter, but there was no one in Tierra who could stand against him.
He was such a powerful being.
The only place humans could rely on was the gods.
“Alzahar, who was already powerful, gained his current power at that time.”
Alzahar; it was a word that often came up when he cursed at Sylvanas in the log cabin. Every temple has its own name. The temple that Lawrence hated with his teeth gnashing was called ‘Alzaharf.’
“Alzahar is a place where the goddess Tierra, who created this land, is worshiped, but it is also a place where many gods that the world cannot live without are worshiped at the same time. If you want to survive in this dangerous world, you must memorize this.”
“……?”
“Absolutely! You must not get involved with Alzahar.”
Lawrence kept insisting, gritting his teeth.
“I’ll explain why.”
He was surprisingly kind. He pointed out the parts I was curious about and explained them well.
“After the appearance of the Demon King, Alzahar prayed to God to fight against him. The high priest at the time sacrificed his life along with hundreds of other priests. That’s how the oracle he had hoped for was granted.”
“…….”
“The high priest who sacrificed his life said before he died. ‘A blessed saint who has received the grace of God will appear in this land, and I call him the warrior.’”
“Ah…….”
I didn’t know that the appearance of the warrior I read in the fairy tale would be like this. In the book, it was written that God was surprised by the appearance of the Demon King and hurriedly chose a human and blessed him.
I don’t know which is true.
“The Demon King was still flashing across the continent, and the humans were anxious. At that very moment, the Hero appeared.”
“…”
“He was definitely a blessed saint. There was no change. There was no one among the humans who could stand up to him. But…… he was no match for the Demon King.”
I nodded quietly.
They were both my fathers, but my heart was drawn to my father, the strongest Demon King on earth, whom I spent every day with, rather than my father, the Hero, whom I had never seen before.
It wasn’t something to be happy about, but I felt strangely happy.
‘Hmm… My feelings are complicated.’
Should I cheer for my biological father or my adoptive father?
The decision was quick. My biological father was already dead, and my adoptive father was still alive and well.
I smiled to myself and my eyes sparkled again at Lawrence’s words.
“The warriors were the ones who gained their power through such sacrifices, but they lost miserably every time they fought, so how could they possibly be considered as losers? When the resentment of the believers grew, those dirty bastards came up with a plan.”
“What?”
“Yes. They say that there are true saints who came down to this land through their own sacrifices.”
“Ah……”
“In the temple, they used to take in and raise talented children from the lower classes, just for show. Many war orphans and beggars really wanted that.”
Lawrence smiled bitterly when he said this. Did he also wish to be taken in by the temple when he was young?
Maybe he was one of those children who were taken in and raised like that.
“Every time, the children who were taken in like that end up working as errand boys for the priests, but they don’t have to worry about starving to death, so they spread their wings.”
“…….”
“Among them, if there are children with exceptional talents, they are selected in the third round and transferred to a place directly managed by Alzahar.”
Lawrence sighed deeply, as if he was annoyed just thinking about it.
“The children who are finally selected grow up to become the mainstays of Alzahar. They are those who have been taught directly by the temple since they were young and live a life that is no different from brainwashing. They are as strong as they are talented, and above all, they are exceptionally loyal to the temple.”
“…….”
“It is a system for breeding loyal dogs for the temple, that is.”
Lawrence spoke with a frown, taking a deep breath for a while. He pressed his forehead hard, closed his eyes, and sighed deeply.
“Those children are called ‘Children of Alzahar’ in the temple.”
Only then did his foggy mind feel clearer. Lombard, who had been threatening Sylvanas by mentioning the Children of Alzahar. Sylvanas, who was dragged here without being able to refute his words.
Now she understood a little.
“The Hero was one of those children of Alzarith.”
“?!”
She opened her eyes wide and looked at Lawrence, but he was staring into space with cloudy eyes as if he was recalling the past.
“The children of Alzarith of that generation, who produced warriors, were all so talented that there was talk of a generational change in the leadership of Alzahar. They formed a team and went on a journey and fought against the Demon King. They lost every time… but they were still young, so they might have been able to easily deal with them in a few years.”
“…….”
“But what about the temple? They drove the Hero out as a fake because they couldn’t defeat the Demon King in one breath.”
