The Age Of Arrogance

“I’m sorry if I worried you. But I didn’t just run here without thinking.”

 

“Even though. You’re running ahead alone? You could be surrounded by enemies and isolated!”

 

“I didn’t come to a place where I could be isolated. As you can see.”

 

At Asha’s brazenly calm reply, Carlyle finally looked around.

 

There really didn’t seem to be many savages or monsters here. Of course, there were a few that Asha and he had killed.

 

“What’s the point of just digging inward? Let’s just go.”

 

“But I see something that’s bothering me…….”

 

“I’ll never let you go alone.”

 

“……I understand.”

 

Asha nodded with a dissatisfied look, but began to follow Carlyle.

 

However, after a few steps, she turned back again.

 

Surely, one of the savages was dragging one of our knights over there. The knight had an appearance that reminded Asha of Luka.

 

Asha’s slowing steps stopped.

 

Just then, Carlyle ran forward to deal with the savage running from the other side.

 

“Excuse me. I really need to check over there.”

 

Asha took advantage of Carlyle’s distraction in the battle and turned her body. Then she ran towards where the savage had dragged the soldier.

 

* * *

 

“This was definitely the way… .”

 

After running for a while, Asha cautiously looked around.

 

Although she had wasted time arguing with Carlyle, there was only one way to go in the direction the savages had headed, so she couldn’t have missed it.

 

Just then, a strangled voice came from around the corner.

 

“Let go! I said, let… go!”

 

Asha was sure it was the voice of the knight she had seen earlier. It sounded a little younger, but it was similar to Luka’s voice.

 

Her grip on the sword tightened.

 

She looked around and then quickly turned the corner of the opposite wall.

 

And that was when she was about to swing her sword.

 

“Huk!”

 

There was clearly the sound of savages and knights, but there was no one there. At the same time, the ground felt like it was sinking beneath her feet, and her vision wavered and the sound scattered.

 

At that moment, Asha realized.

 

‘It’s a trap…!’

 

She thought she had seen a magic circle drawn on the ground for a moment, but it was too late to turn back.

 

As her head swam, her sense of time and space disappeared. And then, in the next moment, Asha fell to the ground in a dark and silent space.

 

“Ugh…”

 

She tried to get up, but she couldn’t move.

 

Then, a soft male voice came from behind her.

 

“You must not be feeling well yet, since you passed through the magic circle without any preparation.”

 

It was Gabriel.

 

And Asha had already expected it.

 

After all, there was no one else in the palace who could trap someone in a magic circle other than Gabriel.

 

“It’s good to see you again, High Priest.”

 

“It’s my pleasure, Countess Pervaz.”

 

He smiled brightly.

 

And then he gently picked up Asha and placed her down on a prepared altar.

 

“You don’t look that strong, but you’re able to lift me up easily. Is this also using black magic?”

 

At Asha’s question, Gabriel opened his eyes slightly and then smiled again.

 

“You’re very perceptive to know that it’s black magic.”

 

“It wasn’t that difficult. It was just surprising that someone who talks about finding God so often would use black magic.”

 

“This is also a power given to me by God. It’s very useful for building the Kingdom of God.”

 

Excuses were getting tiresome, so Asha snorted.

 

“To call the power of the devil the divine power given by God. It seems the deity you serve is a demon.”

 

“Criminals wouldn’t understand. With just holiness, I couldn’t achieve the founding of the Holy Empire, so God specially allowed it only to me.”

 

The more she listened, the more absurd it sounded.

 

Asha marveled at how Gabriel had hidden such a sense of chosenness and sophistry all this time.

 

Perhaps noticing her demeanor, Gabriel chuckled softly and kindly explained even further with an example.

 

“If the power I possessed was holiness, I wouldn’t have been able to lure the Countess here. It’s thanks to the dark magic I left inside the Countess’ body that she’s come this far.”

 

“What…?”

 

“Currently, the savages are consumed by magic, leaving behind only the desire for bloodshed and violence. The Countess already knows this fact well. Yet, why would such savages take a living person somewhere?”

 

Gabriel grinned mockingly, enjoying Asha’s expression.

 

“If it were the usual Countess, she would have found something suspicious. She wouldn’t have been easily fooled.”

 

“So…!”

 

“The remaining dark magic within the Countess’ body sought out its master.”

 

Asha’s face turned pale.

 

Gabriel gently wiped her cheek,

 

“Poor and foolish one. Have you been ensnared by some demon like Carlyle Evaristo, rejecting God’s salvation?”

 

Asha impulsively retorted, feeling disgusted by Gabriel’s pleading, as if he were acting as the representative of God.

 

“I thought you heard it directly, so you would know. How that person satisfies me in bed.”

 

At those words, Gabriel’s cheek flared up, then he frowned and withdrew his hand from her, as if touching something dirty.

 

“Libato, shed light on this corrupted land.”

 

Muttering to himself with a tongue click, Gabriel turned around to seek God, and behind him, a large dark magic circle was burning darkly. Where else could such disharmony be found?

 

Asha gritted her teeth, trying to exert strength at her fingertips.

 

Compared to before when she couldn’t even move a finger as if all her muscles had disappeared, her senses had returned, but she still couldn’t get up.

 

‘I’m gradually recovering. I have to buy some time.’

 

Even if dying here was a possibility, she couldn’t bear to become an obstacle or bait for Carlyle’s victory.

 

Asha masked her arrogant composure.

 

“All right, what does Libato want you to do? Plundering, perhaps?”

 

Gabriel looked down at Asha, clicking his tongue.

 

“Your level of thinking remains the same. It’s embarrassing that I believed that you’re the reincarnation of the saint.”

 

“I didn’t know you thought so highly of me. Are you going to preach to me here and try to convert me?”

 

“Unfortunately, Countess, you must be the one to eliminate Carlyle Evaristo and become the vessel for the god to descend upon this land.”

 

Asha gulped as she felt the worst possible scenario approaching.

 

“I will infuse your body with dark magic. Enough to make you appear as the incarnation of Karakash to others.”

 

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed ominously.

 

“And you will be unable to think of anything but killing that bastard Carlyle. Once you have the dark magic, you will probably be able to kill him easily.”

 

“You crazy bastard…”

 

“And I will leave you alone for a while as you rampage like a demon.”

 

Gabriel grinned.

 

“Kill to your heart’s content, regardless of enemy or ally. The more you kill, the more you will feel your strength grow. The life force you harvest will be the source of your power.”

 

Asha felt a surge of anger at the sight of Gabriel treating other people’s lives like those of insects.

 

That must have been the look he had when he took the lives of the people of Pervaz. He couldn’t even know if Carlyle would care about Pervaz, but he killed so many people just because there was a possibility. He had mercilessly taken those precious and innocent lives…

 

“Ah, so you will appear when I become the object of fear? Are you preparing an ending where you kill me while pretending to have been chosen by God?”

 

“…It’s not a scam, Countess. It’s the truth.”

 

“You’re kidding me, you bastard.”

 

Asha rolled her body, which had slightly recovered from the shock of passing through the magic circle, behind the altar and pulled out the dagger from her bosom.

 

Her hand holding the dagger trembled helplessly, as her strength had not yet fully returned.

 

Gabriel looked down at her with pity.

 

“Countess Pervaz. Even if you find all your strength, you cannot defeat me now. Don’t do anything more painful and just…”

 

“Shut up.”

 

Asha’s eyes seemed to be filled with the same hot anger that Gabriel had seen in the bell tower.

 

“What’s the difference between you and the others? You’re just going crazy trying to grab power too.”

 

“Ha…”

 

Gabriel sighed as if he were frustrated, but Asha did not stop rebuking him fiercely.

 

“At least the imperial family and the nobles were more honest than you. The only difference is that you’re defiling the name of God and being hypocritical.”

 

“Countess. There is a limit to what I can endure.”

 

“I don’t want your mercy. How can I, the people of God, fear someone who is tainted by Karakash?”

 

Those words finally broke Gabriel’s patience.

 

He drew on his dark magic and attacked Asha. The black smoke hit Asha hard, and she flew helplessly and crashed into the wall, then slid down and sprawled on the ground.

 

The crash was so immense that it was surprising she still managed to hold onto her senses. Her whole body trembled as if struck by lightning.

 

“Ugh…”

 

As she groaned, Gabriel suddenly approached and firmly grabbed both of her wrists, pressing her down to the ground.

 

Part of it was due to Asha’s lack of strength, but his strength was also extraordinary.

 

It felt like he might strangle her right then and there, but Gabriel just silently looked down at Asha, without saying a word or showing any expression.

 

However, Asha felt like she knew what Gabriel’s gaze meant.

 

“Why? Do you feel better seeing me again?”

 

His gaze reminded her of Carlyle’s gaze when he looked down at her on the bed.