Heart of Darkness (4)
The Frelsis’s mansion was located at the edge of the forest.
In the office, two men in their early 40s and late 50s were reading documents.
They were Tezarn, the head of Baron Frelsis family, and majordomo Paul, the family’s butler.
Paul began his report after his calculations.
“The Spirit Stones collected from the monsters is worth 48,000 Talens. It will be used to repair the damage on the land and buy additional defensive Magic Tools.”
It was a huge amount.
It was almost half a year’s budget for a countryside aristocrat such as Baron Frelsis.
Even though he earned it overnight, Tezarn wasn’t happy at all.
“The damage is too great…”
Although the monsters had been defeated, the peasants’ and soldiers’ losses were too great.
No matter how much money he had, he couldn’t revive the dead.
Paul soothed him.
“But we’re doing much better than any other family, Dear Baron.”
There were many nearby territories where entire families were exterminated due to the night’s monsters.
There was only one difference between them and the Frelsis family.
“It’s all thanks to Leon Hart’s return.”
The majordomo looked at one side of the office with respect.
A young man was looking out the window of the mansion with indifferent eyes.
Tezarn also bowed politely.
“Thank you, Leon Hart. If it weren’t for you, my family would have faced the same fate as others.”
Leon Hart took his eyes off the window.
“That’s not something to be thankful for. Though I have deserted my family and wandered into the wild, I have never forgotten my roots.”
Tezarn sighed.
“As expected, you, brother, should have been the head of our family…”
Originally, Baron Frelsis’ successor wasn’t Tezarn, but Leon Hart, the eldest son.
However, Leon Hart had longed to follow Hunters’ path since he was a child and hated being tied to the land.
After awakening Prana and becoming a Spiritist, he went on adventures.
In the end, Baron Frelsis was succeeded by his second son, Tezarn.
Leon Hart ran out of the family and became a Hunter with joy in his eyes.
And he never regretted the choice he made.
“I’ve never learned land management, I haven’t been married, and I don’t have a successor at this age.”
Leon Hart said to his brother in a soft voice.
“The title of Baron Frelsis is deservingly yours, Tezarn.”
When he saw his brother, Tezarn burst into laughter.
“Well, honestly, you don’t have a family, do you? You’re making it obvious that you don’t need it.”
Leon Hart scratched his head awkwardly.
“Was it that obvious?”
In the past, Tezarn had felt guilty at the thought of robbing his family of a legitimate heir.
Leon Hart had been outstanding since he was young.
Whether it be martial arts, studies, or anything else, Tezarn couldn’t catch up with Leon Hart.
He even awakened Prana and became a Spiritist with amazing qualities.
No one doubted that Leon Hart’s family would make great progress.
When he became the heir instead of Leon Hart, Tezarn felt sorry rather than happy.
He felt as if he had driven out the true owner of the family.
Therefore, he took the successor class with more enthusiasm.
As soon as he became an adult, he got a wife and had three children, as his father told him.
Twenty years later, Tezarn no longer felt guilty.
“To be frank, your brother isn’t in a position to be disappointed by the power of his family.”
He had a reputation as one of the top three Spiritists and Hunters in the vast Latna continent.
Was that all?
He was the head of the templars who defended the Church of Darkness and even received the Goddess’s glory. He was selected to be the third carrier of the six Goddesses’ blessings.
“Isn’t your brother much more powerful than our entire family?”
“Honestly, he is, but it would make us look bad if I said that out loud.”
“You shouldn’t have said that, should you? If you didn’t want to hear that you were unlucky.”
The brothers grinned at each other.
Tezarn gave him a serious look.
“But can you stay on the land? We’d express our gratitude, of course.”
“I can’t stay long.”
Leon Hart looked out the window again.
“I came back to my hometown for a while, but…”
The Six Churches in Latna were struggling to find the cause of the nightly incidents.
The Church that served Kybriel, who oversaw the night, was especially working hard.
Leon Hart was the leader of the Templars of the Church of Darkness.
His power shouldn’t be focused on a single piece of land but rather on Latna as a whole.
Leon Hart muttered, looking at his hometown with a worried face.
“When the call of the Church comes, I’ll have no choice but to leave.”
* * *
It had been ten days since he left Serkaltan.
The wagon of Han-bin and his party was entering the territories of Frelsis, south of the Meran Kingdom.
The current location of Leon Hart, the third blessing of the Goddesses, was surprisingly easy to find.
His performance in defending the Frelsis estate had already spread across the lands.
The information could be easily gained by paying the Hunter Guild a small fee.
After entering Sungha village, they visited the inn first.
Due to the size of the village, there was only one inn in the entire location.
Han-bin looked around the place.
“There aren’t many inns and restaurants here.”
Artis shrugged his shoulders.
“I’m glad there’s even one.”
In the meantime, Han-bin and his group had only been to the Dungeon City and Trade City, where Hunters were very active, making them oblivious to the fact that most rural areas didn’t have inns.
The Latna Continent wasn’t as well-organized as modern Earth.
When they entered the inn, the owner welcomed the party.
“Welcome!”
Han-bin’s body and weapon made him especially delighted.
“Are you a Hunter by any chance?”
“Yes…”
“We’ll do our best! Philip, show them to their room!”
“Yes!”
Both the owner and the servants were responding well to their presence.
It wasn’t just because they were guests.
The boy who guided them to their room bowed his head with a desperate face.
“Please, Mr. Hunter! Please protect our town!”
When the night came, monsters appeared.
Sungha village was no exception to the incidents.
Everyone was shaking in fear.
When strong-looking Hunters visited the village, they welcomed them wholeheartedly.
“Oh, okay…”
Thinking about the boy’s request, Ryu Han-bin smiled bitterly.
“Sorry, we’re not here to work as Hunters.”
Effir shrugged.
“Either way, when the Goddess of Darkness regains her strength, the entire situation will be over.”
“Is that so?”
Regardless, they arrived safely.
If they wanted to meet the one who got the third blessing of the Goddesses, all they had to do was visit the Frelsis Household uptown.
But they couldn’t find Leon Hart right away.
There had to fix a problem first.
Kibie’s mind was agonizing over it.
“How can we persuade him?”
* * *
of abilities that weren’t allowed to be used by humanity.
In addition to her level appearing unknown, Kibie’s shadow-reading skill couldn’t be replicated or utilized by Latna’s Spiritists.
In the past, that was sufficient evidence to prove their state of incarnation.
However, the situation had changed since the Aliens appeared.
Among the guidelines and unique items of high-level Aliens, unique abilities that had never been seen before were sometimes used by the Aliens.
The Polymorph Necklace that Effir was wearing around her neck had a fraudulent power that magical or spiritual skills couldn’t reproduce.
That much evidence alone wouldn’t be able to convince anyone that she’s the incarnation of Goddess.
That seemed to have happened in the past as well.
“15 years ago, a man disguised as the incarnation of Yessen approached the Order of Fire and tried to locate the sanctuary.”
Artis was surprised by Kibie’s words.
“Did that happen? I’ve never heard of it.”
“It wasn’t made known to the world.”
Fortunately, the attempt failed, but thanks to that incident, if she appeared out of nowhere and claimed to be a Goddess, she could be suspected as an Alien.
Hence, she looked for Baotalt first, not the Church of Darkness.
One mistake could’ve gotten her killed at the hands of her own followers.
Ryu Han-bin raised a question.
“Wait, he’s blessed by the Goddesses. Wouldn’t he be capable of recognizing your incarnation?”
“Unfortunately, he wouldn’t. I didn’t have that in mind when I first gave my blessing.”
“Then how come you were so sure Baotolt would believe you’re the incarnation of Darkness?”
“That’s, uh…”
Kibie stared at Han-bin and spoke calmly.
“It’s for the same reason you trusted me.”
Ryu Han-bin didn’t immediately believe Kibie just because the Guideline indicated that her race was Goddess.
It was for another reason that he was convinced of her identity.
She knew of his wish, which he couldn’t tell anyone except for Artis and Effir.
-Help me, Ryu Han-bin. Then I’ll send you back to Earth.
When she said that, Han-bin became convinced that Kibie was a Goddess.
“Baotolt had that secret, too. A secret wish that no one in the world knew but himself.”
He wished.
“He wanted to kill the top three. That was Baotolt’s real desire.”
Artis’s eyes widened.
“Weren’t they old friends of the Sword King?”
“Oh, I worded it wrong.”
Kibie changed her words while waving her hands.
“To be exact, Baotolt wanted to fight against the Top three, ignoring all friendships and ties.”
But that was impossible.
The strongest four were the secular world’s guardians who protected Latna from the demon’s erosion.
For the sake of the world, for the sake of humankind, they had too much responsibility.
They couldn’t allow their greed to control them.
“Baotolt was ignorant, but he wasn’t evil or selfish.”
So he kept it secret without telling anyone.
Only Baotolt himself, and the six Goddesses, who looked over everything in Latna, knew his secret.
“I could’ve used that to convince him that I’m the incarnation of darkness.”
At the same time, helping Kibie also solved the long-cherished desire of the Sword King.
“The Top Three are my enemies.”
Effir nodded as she listened to the story.
“I understand why Kibie has been so confident.”
The Sword King Baotolt could have been her greatest helper.
If only he were alive.
“So we can’t use Leon Hart’s secret? As long as he’s a person, he must have a secret.”
“Everyone has a secret they can’t tell anyone. But not everyone keeps the secret completely.”
Kibie smiled bitterly at Effir’s question.
“Right now, Effir, you’re a Wyvern, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“Then if someone talks about your secret, then tells you they know about it because they’re a goddess, would you believe them right away?”
“Well, I don’t think so.”
It wasn’t just a secret.
It should be a secret that no one but himself knew to make him believe that the human in front of him was a Goddess.
Ryu Han-bin and Baotolt were very unusual cases, but the rest were normal.
“Of course, Leon Hart might have such a secret, but…”
Unfortunately, Kibie didn’t have that knowledge.
She barely managed to get away with the knowledge she needed.
“At that time, I didn’t have the third blessing in mind.”
Effir asked another question.
“So there’s no way to make him believe what you are a Goddess?”
“Not necessarily. Once we get the Heart of Darkness, it’s possible.”
The problem was that Leon Hart was needed to get the holy item.
At that time, Ryu Han-bin spoke. He had some ideas.
“You said he was the key to unsealing the sacred peak Generosus, right?”
“Yes.”
“The door should open if we insert the key into its keyhole, right? Do we need him to open it voluntarily?”
“Oh, I’ve never thought about it that way.”
Kibie thought of the structure of the seal chain with a blank expression.
Did the Blessed have to do it of his own volution to unseal the seal?
“I don’t think it’s needed…”
“Then…”
Han-bin smiled.
“Can’t we just kidnap him?”
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