Chapter 608 So-Called Apostle (1/2)
”Prayer?”
Igor appeared rather interested in Joshua's exclamation, and stayed to press him. ”You heard prayers from the Great Shrine? Or hymns of the Sacred Mountain? If that's true, your hearing is astonishing.”
”What I heard wasn't those,” Joshua muttered doubtfully to himself for a while, deciding that he had nothing to hide from the old pontiff, and thus recounted what he did to a certain balrog in the Sixth Abyss.
”That's about it. I used Steel Strength to alter its entire body to become stronger, purging most of the toxic and radioactive substance in its body and basically cleansing it utterly, making it as harmless as a slime. It was also precisely the reason that its body still keeps part of my Steel Strength, and it appeared to be praying to me just now.”
At that, the warrior laughed rather feebly. ”Perhaps it had actually consecrated me after encountering those things? I had merely spared its life because it was rather obedient, or could it be another omen of divinity awakening?”
”Most demons worship the powerful. You have spared its life and cleansed its body's toxicity—that expands its possibilities albeit denying it a weapon as well. I would not be surprised if it does consecrate you.”
Unlike Joshua who found it bizarre, the old pontiff found the matter interesting. ”Perhaps you could recruit the demon to our cause,” he suggested excitedly. ”And don't look at me like I'm a fanatical missionary, I'm being serious. In the future, we would certainly be fighting the Abyss—a demon familiar with the locale of the Abyss is of utmost importance. Unless you don't intend to launch a counteroffensive against the Abyss, and instead have the Legendary champions of Mycroft fight a war against each other?”
Joshua thought about how Igor and other Legendary champions would unleash their full power, and the spectacle where they each unleashed their ultimate skills such as Radiant Domain and so forth… The warrior gazed at the old pontiff as if he was a great enemy, before shaking his head, indicating that it was unacceptable.
Igor smiled as he saw that Joshua understood, and fell into deep thought. The pope's expression was obscure on the other end of the communications circle because his ability was simply overcompensating, and therefore magic could not reflect his face distinctly while the Great Mana Tide interfered with the link as well. ”As for why you could hear its prayers,” he said after a while, ”it is related to divinity, but not entirely.”
Both warrior and pontiff leveled their gazes as each, even as Igor spoke flatly, ”According to what I know, there is a set of method that the gods use to dispel divinity assimilation. You have not learned the way and hence should not hear the prayer, but since you heard the balrog's it would not be untrue… Therefore, there is only one possibility.”
”What possibility?” Joshua asked.
Drawing a deep breath, Igor spoke solemnly. ”Do you know about the Sage and his Thirteen Apostles?”
”Of course, I do.” Joshua stared blankly for a moment. He never thought that the pontiff would draw the topic at hand to that aspect, and so recalled a moment before making his reply. ”In the Legacy left by the Sage, I once saw the thirteen figures standing behind the Sage. They supported him, completing the harmony and balance of the world, and it was precisely because of their support that the Sage could become the Sage.”
Igor nodded at Joshua's reply. ”Indeed,” he said mildly. ”The Thirteen Apostles were the greatest support for the Sage; they came from different races, civilization, and worlds, but share one similarity.”
”All of them used the power of holy light,” he added with emphasis, and paused before continuing. ”The power founded by the Sage in the beginning.”
”…I think I know now.”
Joshua certainly would understand with the obvious way Igor was putting it. Although users of holy light were now found across the entire continent with every clergy of the Seven Gods Church being specialists in the field, the Thirteen Apostles had undoubtedly been the first to receive instruction form the Sage about the presence of holy light!
While Joshua would not establish a brand-new power system like the Sage, his Steel Strength was also unquestionably one of the rare high-end powers in this world that only the Majestic Mountain Titan and Mother Goddess possessed back then—in other words, only those related to Mycroft's Steel Python. And now, there was a residual ounce of Steel Strength in Syndicate the balrog that should have been completely absorbed after such a long time had passed. It was also precisely why Joshua would have such a curious link with it.
”If you put it that way…” Having understood every part, Joshua showed the hint of a surprised smile. He touched his chin and turned to look toward the skies, as if his gaze could pierce space to see distant worlds. ”That balrog,” he said, his tone ponderous, ”is my 'First Apostle'?”
”Pretty much.”
The old pontiff, unable to hide his amusement, smiled as well. He stroked his beard, the corners of his mouth lifting. ”For a demon to learn praying, that is definitely your influence—I never heard of demons who would!”
”But I never prayed to the gods.”
”Then I would not know the cause.”
The topic concluded quickly—the so-called First Apostle was but a tease. Having ascertained that he must visit a Divine Dungeon Shroud in search of a way to train his soul, Joshua ended his communications with the pope.
This particular session had been pleasant, although Joshua soon noticed that Igor was rather distracted since their bout last time around, as if he was considering a vital problem. Still, the warrior never liked probing the private affairs of others, which was why he would not inquire deliberately even if wished to help Igor. On the other hand, if Igor himself spoke about it on his own accord, he would never hesitate to aid the old man who had helped him much.
And when Joshua returned to the liege's residence, his thoughts shifted from Igor and returned to Syndicate the balrog.
”My Apostle… is a demon?”
Picking up and taking a sip of the tea brewed by Ying, Joshua thought about it and smiled even as the silver-haired girl looked on puzzledly. ”It's not bad, though.”
Ultimately, balrogs were a fundamentally powerful race equal to dragons. In legends, the most powerful Abyssal balrog lieges' advent alone could incinerate a world, turning an entire continent into a radioactive wasteland nothing could survive upon. From the aspect of power and talent alone, Syndicate was flawless.
Even so, it was a demon—there were other aspects that required urgent guidance and alterations from Joshua even if its power were in line with his requirements. There was no question that the balrog was still some distance away from becoming Joshua's apostle, whether from a perspective of nature or something else.
”But it's undeniable that he had aided me in battle… he prayed to me just now, right? I'll just have to sense what he was praying for attentively.”
On his chair, Joshua closed his eyes and sought out that vein of Steel Strength resonance. ”I could grant it if it's not too ridiculous.”
***
A Drakonid village in the Kronos Mountains, an unknown world.
It was nighttime, but the village was well lit. Joyful songs and cheers could be heard distinctly even from hundreds of meters away, and a huge bonfire was burning in the central square of the village. The white Steel meteor was placed at its center, with innumerable adult Drakonids drinking and laughing in delight, singing and dancing in celebration of the harvest.
The tremor from the meteor fall had filled the once-flat square with potholes and craters, but no one seemed to notice. Countless juvenile Drakonids were also following behind their parents, forming pairs of different genders—it was a Drakonid tradition for boys and girls that had reached adolescence to seek partners who fit their requirements to cultivate a partnership and build a family after they matured. This was a result of the hostile environment in the Kronos mountains: partners often had to fight together against monsters, which was why they must develop a cooperation since they were young. It was true for all Drakonids, and especially so for monster hunters.
But if there were pairs, there would be people left alone as well. Lisa the Drakonid was, at the moment, curling herself in a ball at a corner in the festival, hugging her own legs and not moving.