Chapter 140: Dark Codex

Raion and his companions passed through the Poltaz, Ratpadon, and Glonia Territories before arriving at the outskirts of Panir.

They had stayed a day in each territory, acting as the “Messengers of Grace.”

Thanks to that, the starvation among the local people had been somewhat alleviated.

However, unless the desertification of the forests was reversed, that problem could lead to the end of the continent.

“Is this place any better than the others?”

Once they passed through Panir Territory, they would enter the Mineta Kingdom.

Originally, they had planned to go straight from Glonia Territory through the Boluzan Kingdom to the Bachenan Holy Kingdom.

But Deborah had asked to know about the situation in the Mineta Kingdom, so Raion persuaded Turklan to temporarily change direction.

“It seems like there hasn’t been much damage.”

“Seems so. Should we consider this a relief…?”

Beyond the hill, a dense forest and mountains came into view.

“Do we go straight to the border without stopping at the lord’s castle here?”

Deborah seemed overwhelmed at the thought of going to the Mineta Kingdom again.

But Raion felt something strange.

“Wait. Detection.”

As he recited the spell, his mana flowed outward, spreading through the surroundings.

After a moment, the information his ability gathered appeared on a display in his mind.

Ding―!

Several points lit up on the map.

Monsters rarely seen in the desertified territories appeared.

Then, something was detected at the eastern edge of the boundary between Glonia and Panir Territories.

“…The mana here is fairly strong…?”

It was what he had sensed since entering Panir Territory.

“Is there something there?”

The semi-transparent map could only be seen by Raion.

No one else could understand it without an explanation.

“There’s a place I need to check. It might take some time. Is Podman okay with that?”

Until now, Podman had not left first despite delays while visiting the territories.

As a merchant, his reputation mattered, so Raion was concerned.

“A day or two is fine! And there’s still plenty of time!”

“That’s a relief. How about Turklan? Or we could split briefly and meet in the Mineta Kingdom.”

“No. We’ll follow you.”

Turklan, too, had felt the seriousness while visiting the Dior Empire territories with Raion.

At first, he had thought it was meddlesome.

But he was impressed by Raion’s concern for people as a prince of a nation.

“If everyone’s okay, shall we go? Ah, Podman should stay at Panir Castle since his carriage might draw too much attention.”

“Won’t you need him?”

“We’re not going there to sell anything. I just need to check exactly what I sensed and return.”

“Then please be careful.”

Podman rode off first in the carriage.

The four of them were left behind.

Raion headed toward the location he had identified on the map earlier.

Soon, they arrived at a mountainous area covered in dense forest, just as the map had indicated.

There, Raion followed the lingering aura of mana.

“Could it be there?”

After climbing the mountain for a while, they saw a large cave entrance bathed in the reddish light of the setting sun.

The problem wasn’t the entrance.

In front of the cave, people wearing pure white robes were wandering about.

Patrick muttered quietly, as if recognizing the robes.

“Those… are the robes worn by the priests of the Bachenan Holy Kingdom.”

Of course, the others recognized them too.

The robes resembled those worn in the territories they had visited earlier.

“This doesn’t look like a place for a temple.”

Temples were mostly inside castles, sometimes nearby.

It was unlikely that a temple would be set up in such a suspicious place.

“Wait.”

Raion sensed another presence and gestured for the others to fall back.

Then, from the bushes in his line of sight, individuals in priest robes appeared.

‘What is this? Why does such an ominous aura emanate here?’

The energy trace came from the middle person among the three who had just appeared.

Even at a glance, it felt dark and oppressive, like staring into a sticky, black swamp.

“Are you alright?”

Patrick seemed worried at Raion’s serious expression.

“I’m fine. But I think we need to check over there.”

“If the Bachenan Holy Kingdom actually built a temple in a place like this, it could become a conflict between kingdoms.”

From the outside, it looked completely suspicious.

But judging by the aura and atmosphere Raion sensed, it could never be the Bachenan Holy Kingdom.

“Everyone, wait here. I’ll go quietly.”

“Alone?”

“It’s easier to avoid being detected alone.”

“Be careful.”

Patrick’s crisp response made Turklan and Deborah tilt their heads.

“You won’t stop him?”

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

There were roughly more than twenty stationed outside.

“I trust my master.”

“Thanks. I’ll be back soon.”

Raion consolidated his mana and presence, then stepped out of the bushes.

At the same time, he used the Absolute Step of True Martial Art to traverse the distance instantly.

It was a martial art he had learned while living as Kang Inhyuk in 21st-century Earth.

Now, he could enhance its power by infusing it with mana.

Shuaaaak!

The mana-enhanced Absolute Step increased both speed and stealth.

He moved along the outer wall of the rocky hill, his presence blurred.

When those around the cave entrance scattered slightly, he quickly slipped inside.

‘How deep does this go?’

The corridor extending from the entrance was fairly large.

Raion climbed along the wall and entered a hollow shaft above.

Deeper inside the cave, quite a few people were moving about.

All were wearing the robes of the Bachenan Holy Kingdom priests.

‘Where did those people from earlier go?’

He meant the person who had emitted the ominous aura.

Raion then expanded his Detection to locate the positions of the people.

‘There are over a hundred… Let’s see…’

He clicked on each point representing a person one by one.

From this, he discovered two things.

‘First, they’re definitely priests of the Holy Kingdom… and second, they are traitors as priests.’

[Target Information]

Name: Valicia

Age: 39

Occupation: Priest, Traitor

Life: 253 / 270

Stamina: 332 / 460

Sacred Power: 554 / 830

Unlike ordinary people, priests possess Sacred Power rather than Mana.

Mana and Sacred Power are incompatible in terms of attributes, so they cannot be learned together.

‘What on earth are they doing here?’

Raion ran like the wind, following the path on the map to the cave where the red point labeled Valicia appeared.

Using the Absolute Step while suppressing his presence, he pursued relentlessly.

After a short while, he spotted the man he had seen at the cave entrance.

It was the lone man labeled Valicia.

Step. Step.

His footsteps echoed inside the cave.

‘Where is he going?’

Following him further, Raion arrived at a large chamber.

Hidden, he confronted something terrifying.

‘What the…?’

In the center of the wide space, a dark smoke had formed into a sphere.

Its surface flickered like flames, resembling a black sun.

Swoosh―!

As he passed through the entrance into the space, an overwhelming force surged at him.

‘What… what is this? Was something installed at the entrance?’

Raion quickly hid and examined the runes etched inside the entrance, their meaning unclear.

Meanwhile, Valicia took from his chest a large orb resembling the sphere and extended it forward.

The orb of smoke began to scatter, quickly condensing into a massive sphere.

Shuaaaak!

“Not much longer now.”

Valicia muttered to himself, then went back outside.

Raion was left alone in the cave chamber.

He looked around, confirming that no one else was there, then approached the massive sphere.

“Analysis.”

Ding∼!

[Target Information]

Name: Egg of ???

Status: Sacrifice of the Dark Codex

Rank: S

Mana: 213,210 / 213,210

Even now, an enormous amount of mana radiated from it.

The mana value displayed was immense.

“Egg? 230,000…?”

Raion’s own mana was around 18,000.

Even that was tremendous compared to others.

The sphere, labeled as a ‘Sacrifice of the Dark Codex,’ was on a completely different scale.

‘What are these people trying to do with this?’

At that moment, an alarm sounded, providing a hint.

Ding∼!

[Tip: The Sacrifice of the Dark Codex exists for the Demon King.]

“Demon King…?”

Outside the Holy Kingdom, it was a name one might encounter only in fairy tales or old texts.

After muttering this, Raion felt a question arise.

“Did ‘Tip’ usually give this kind of information?”

Previously, it had only offered guidance regarding his abilities.

As the question lingered, the alarm sounded again.

Ding∼!

[Tip: The Wheel of Altered Fate begins to turn.]

[Tip: It is recommended to destroy the Egg of ???.]

Now, ‘Tip’ was issuing direct instructions.

Raion’s suspicion grew at the sudden change.

Of course, he had no intention of leaving the ‘Sacrifice of the Dark Codex’ labeled as the ‘Egg of ???’ untouched.

Its aura was far too ominous to be of any good use.

Raion drew his sword and gathered his energy.

Fffzzzt!

A white light surged from the sword, forming a massive blade.

The sharp sword swung without hesitation.

Shuaaaak! Swaak―! Bang!

The sword, radiating white light, could not cut the Egg of ??? and was blocked by a semi-transparent barrier.

“Seems like 230,000 mana isn’t for nothing.”

Raion confirmed the status of the Egg of ??? via Analysis.

[Target Information]

Name: Egg of ???

Status: Sacrifice of the Dark Codex

Rank: S

Mana: 201,110 / 213,210

Approximately 12,000 mana had been expended.

Raion’s sword remained intact.

Only the mana of the Egg of ??? seemed to have been depleted upon contact.

“This isn’t going to be easy.”

He readjusted his grip and swung again.

The white light extending from the sword produced a louder, more intense sound than before.

Fffzzzt!

Bang! Kwa-kwang! Kwaang!

The sword’s unrestrained swings grew stronger.

Kwaang! Bang!

Each strike shook the semi-transparent barrier surrounding the Egg of ???, gradually reducing its mana.

When the mana neared 120,000, a reaction became apparent.

Crack!

The mana-formed protective shield began to fracture.

Raion then applied the True Martial Art (眞武道) White Strike (白打) Release Force (發勁), infusing mana into the sword and swinging.

Fffzzzt! Kwaang!

The white aura, now twice as large, struck the barrier like lightning.

Shraaak…!

Raion now thought he could finally break the Egg of ???.

But through the cracks of the shattered barrier, an even darker, pitch-black energy surged out.

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