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Chapter 282: The Secret (3)

***

Holy Empress led Damien deeper into the Church.

"The First Holy Emperor gained a significant enlightenment in his later years."

Holy Empress mentioned as they walked down the corridor.

"I don\'t know the specifics, but it wasn\'t a simple epiphany. Through that enlightenment, he split his soul and left a part of it behind for the Church."

Damien felt a surge of curiosity. Splitting one\'s soul and maintaining it for such a long time? He had never encountered such a phenomenon, not even in his past life.

Even the Imperial Supreme Sword, the Sword Saint, and Cheongyeum couldn\'t achieve something like that.

Perhaps the speculation that the Salvation Squad was a group of beings surpassing even the Grandmaster was true.

"The fragment of the First Holy Emperor\'s soul remains here. It offers guidance and teachings to those who seek it. Thanks to this, many paladins have been able to overcome their barriers."

"Amazing."

Damien responded earnestly. From the perspective of a dark mage, what the First Holy Emperor left behind resembled a \'thoughtform\'. However, thoughtforms were typically created moments before death, whereas the First Holy Emperor had divided his soul while still alive.

Moreover, thoughtforms could not maintain rationality because of they were tainted by the fear of death.

But the fragment left by the First Holy Emperor possessed enough clarity to teach others. Alone this was a truly remarkable feat.

"Why has this been kept hidden? The fragment of the First Holy Emperor... in a way, it\'s like the First Holy Emperor himself."

During his previous life, when he attacked the Church under Dorugo\'s command, he had not seen the First Holy Emperor\'s thoughtform. Dorugo hadn\'t found it either.

"The fragment\'s power diminishes each time it interacts with someone. That\'s why the Church keeps it sealed and only awakens it when absolutely necessary."

A thoughtform with clear rationality couldn\'t last forever, not even one created by the First Holy Emperor.

\'Maybe the fragment was entirely gone before the War of Destruction began, which is why Dorugo couldn\'t find it.\'

As the Holy Empress explained, they reached the end of the corridor.

"Please wait a moment."

Holy Empress said while approaching a door at the end. She touched the rosary hanging around her neck to the lock and it opened.

"Only one person can enter from here."

She stepped aside. Damien approached the door, feeling a slight thrill at the prospect of meeting a legendary hero. The individual might even surpass a Grandmaster in strength. He might receive invaluable advice.

"I\'ll go in."

Damien entered the room.

Instantly, his vision darkened. When the darkness lifted, Damien found himself on a battlefield.

On a vast plain, humanoid lizards and humans were engaged in combat. The battle was one-sided; the massive lizards were overwhelming the humans, thanks to their size and superior equipment.

"Don\'t retreat! We must hold this position!"

"If we lose ground here, we\'re finished!"

Despite being at a disadvantage, the humans didn\'t lose their fighting spirit. They charged with even more fervor.

"Hold the line! \'He\' will bring us victory!"

A man shouted who also seemed to be the leader. The lizards let out eerie cries, seemingly mocking them.

Just then, a shadow swept across the battlefield. Both sides were so startled that the fighting paused.

Everyone looked up and saw a dragon with black wings, erratically flying through the sky.

The cause was a human man clinging to the dragon\'s body. The man was not only large but also incredibly muscular.

The man clung to the dragon\'s back and swung his mace. Each time he struck, the dragon\'s scales shattered, its muscles burst forth and blood rained down from the sky.

The dragon roared in agony. Slowly, the man climbed towards the dragon\'s head.

When he reached the nape, he locked his legs around the dragon\'s neck to position himself and raised the mace high.

A blinding light enveloped the mace, causing it to grow to many times its original size.

The man brought the massive mace down with all his strength. The dragon\'s head shattered like a ripe watermelon.

The headless body plummeted, skidding along the ground until it stopped.

For a moment, silence fell over the battlefield. Then, the humans raised their weapons in triumphant cheers.

"We won! We really won!"

"Long live Bartholomeo! Long live the Order of Salvation!"

The humans cheered in unison, while the lizardmen\'s faces showed clear signs of panic.

"What are you all doing? Drive out those lizard bastards!"

"You beasts! Your master is dead; why aren\'t you running?"

The humans charged at the lizardmen and slaughtered them mercilessly. Damien quietly watched the scene unfold. Just then, he heard a voice beside him.

"Isn\'t this a magnificent sight?"

Damien turned to see an exceptionally large man, at least half a head taller than himself and heavily muscular.

The astonishing part was that such a large frame was hidden under a simple priest\'s robe.

As Damien observed the man, he quickly realized who he was. The First Holy Emperor, Bartholomeo, the very warrior who had just crushed the dragon\'s skull with a single strike.

"I pay my respect to the First Holy Emperor."

Damien said, bowing his head. Bartholomeo responded with a wry smile.

"Please, don\'t call me that. I\'m just a fragment left behind by the original, not the real thing."

"Then what should I call you?"

"Just call me \'the Fragment.\'"

The Fragment turned his gaze back to the battlefield.

"This is a reenactment of a past battle. Thanks to this victory, humanity was able to fully secure the southern continent."

"I\'ve often heard the story of how the First Holy Emperor crushed an evil dragon\'s head with a single mace."

"Haha, yes, everyone who visits me brings up that story."

The Fragment laughed heartily as he looked at Damien.

"I\'ve had many visitors over the years, but you\'re the first of your kind."

"I\'m not a paladin, but I was granted permission to enter."

"That\'s not what I\'m pointing out."

The Fragment stroked his chin with a massive hand and asked.

"Why has someone who doesn\'t need my teachings come here?"

***

Damien felt puzzled by the Fragment\'s words.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Just what I said. I don\'t see any deficiencies in you. Though I can\'t be sure, at least to my eyes, it doesn\'t seem like there\'s anything I can teach you."

The Fragment continued as he scrutinized Damien.

"Your body is evenly developed, your mana control is exceptional, and your skills... while I haven\'t seen them firsthand, I can sense it. You possess an unrivaled talent."

While it was pleasing to be highly regarded by a hero of the past, Damien felt a sense of dissatisfaction. He had come here hoping to gain something.

"I\'m sorry, but I can\'t offer you any guidance. If I were to give advice, it might end up doing you more harm than good... hmm?"

Suddenly, the Fragment\'s gaze fixated on Damien\'s wrist. He stared at it with astonishment and asked.

"Who are you, exactly? How did you come to possess Erebos? It\'s an artifact that no one should possess."

Damien was as shocked as the Fragment. There was no information about Erebos anywhere in the world; even the Church knew only that it was dangerous without understanding what it truly was. Yet, the Fragment seemed to know about Erebos in detail.

"Do you know about Erebos?" Damien asked.

"No, I don\'t."

The Fragment immediately denied. Damien pressed further.

"Please, don\'t hide it. Tell me."

"I\'m not hiding anything. I truly don\'t know."

"Then how do you recognize it?"

"Because the original knew."

It felt like a riddle being exchanged. As Damien\'s expression grew stern, the Fragment quickly clarified.

"The original created me to advise the paladins of future generations. I don\'t possess memories beyond combat techniques."

In the end, a fragment was just a fragment. Damien couldn\'t help but feel a deep sense of disappointment.

"However, if I examine it closely, something might come to mind. Would you mind showing me Erebos?"

Damien manifested Erebos and handed it to the Fragment, who carefully examined it.

"It\'s different from the Erebos I know."

"What do you mean?"

"I only have fragmented memories, so it\'s hard to explain in detail. But while it looks the same on the outside, the power within is entirely different."

The Fragment ran his hand along Erebos\'s blade, then suddenly paused.

"...You\'ve already met my original self."

With that, Damien recalled a memory from his past.

The first time he visited the Church, he found a mummified body with a fragment of Erebos embedded in it. It seemed that the Fragment was referring to this.

"Do you hold a grudge?"

"I don\'t have such emotions. I\'m just a fragment."

The Fragment returned Erebos to Damien.

"I\'m sorry I couldn\'t be of more help. Please, you should go now."

Faced with the Fragment\'s words, Damien was caught in contemplation. Leaving without gaining anything felt too disappointing.

Damien suddenly recalled the scene of Bartholomeo smashing the dragon\'s head. It was an incredible strike, far beyond his current level.

Damien was determined to learn something so he pulled out Dawn from his subspace. The Fragment seemed surprised by this action.

"What are you doing?"

"You said you remember your combat skills clearly."

Damien had the ability to absorb and replicate the techniques and skill levels of opponents he fought against.

However, there was no guarantee he could replicate the abilities of someone as strong as Bartholomeo. Nevertheless, it was worth a try.

"I\'ll learn what I can by fighting you. Let\'s have a bout."

The Fragment laughed at the bold challenge.

"This is the first time I\'ve had a guest like you."

The Fragment said as a spark of fighting spirit ignited in his eyes. He conjured a mace with his divine power and said.

"Let\'s see what you\'ve got."

***

The battle lasted a full day. After the fight, Damien stayed at the Church to review the battle.

\'So much for saying there was nothing for me to learn... that was a complete lie.\'

The duel with the Fragment had provided him with immense learning opportunities.

He absorbed the lessons from the fight and delved into the Church\'s library to study grimoires. Damien focused entirely on training to continue improving his skills, filling in any gaps in his knowledge.

Ten days passed just like that.

Finally, Damien prepared to leave the Church. However, he wasn\'t alone.

"Lady Agnes, are you really okay with this?" Damien asked with a worried expression.

Two days prior, the Holy Empress had issued an order to send Agnes to the Apple Kingdom. Consequently, Agnes was to accompany Damien. Given that being sent away from the headquarters of the Church was akin to a demotion, Damien couldn\'t help but worry.

"It\'s fine. It\'s all part of the God\'s will." Agnes replied calmly. His tongue clicked in sympathy, as he found the situation unfortunate.

In truth, Agnes wasn\'t disappointed at all. It wasn\'t a demotion.

"Agnes, Damien Haksen is an invaluable asset to our Church."

Holy Empress had said to Agnes a few days earlier.

"However, many others desire his skills. We can\'t just let him go."

"So, I am assigning you to the Apple Kingdom specifically near the Haksen territory. Your task is to maintain a close relationship with Damien."

For a promising paladin like Agnes, it was a seemingly trivial assignment. However, she gratefully accepted the Holy Empress\'s order because it aligned with her own desires.

"Agnes, and this is only for you, if you manage to establish a close relationship with Damien, I\'ll appoint you as a secular paladin." Holy Empress added.

In the Church, paladins were not allowed to marry freely.

However, secular paladins had the freedom to marry.

In other words, what the Holy Empress meant was that Agnes and Damien…

Agnes cheeks reddened and then suddenly.

Thud!

Agnes didn’t see the tree in front of her and ended up bumping her face into it.

Agnes quickly pulled her face away from the tree and tried to play it off as if nothing had happened.

“Are you alright? That noise was quite loud.”

“It’s nothing.”

Agnes replied, quickly adjusting her hair.

And so, the two of them headed towards the Apple Kingdom.

The journey went smoothly. They arrived in the Apple Kingdom sooner than expected.

Upon reaching the kingdom’s border, they saw the scene before them.

A fortress that was both destroyed and burning.

Hahaha!

A monstrous creature with bat wings laughed loudly from atop the burning fortress.

***

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