## Chapter 990 – An Unknown Power
The next day, I went to the Grand Temple as usual.
“Paladin…!”
The Saintess seemed genuinely surprised, a rare sight. As soon as I entered, she tossed away what looked like a cigarette, stood up abruptly, and hurried towards me, her heels clicking on the floor.
“What happened?”
“Saintess, what do you think of my condition right now?”
“Your condition? Aside from a slight change in your hairstyle, there isn’t much difference…”
“So, I returned without any problems. Valkyrie is completely silent. I’m coming back from ending her with my own hands.”
“…!”
Her blue eyes widened instantly. Even if she knew, it was bound to be shocking. She trembled for a moment, then sighed.
“Haa… That’s a relief. It’s also extremely regrettable, but still. As expected of the Paladin. I knew you would do it.”
“Well, it’s not like I did all the work myself. We all worked together.”
“Anyway… what exactly happened to Valkyrie?”
“I was just about to tell you that. But before that.”
—Ssk.
I grabbed the Saintess’s chin, turning her face towards me, and said,
“Saintess.”
“U-Ung? What…?”
“Don’t you feel anything from me?”
With that, I pressed my forehead against hers.
“W-Wait? Suddenly doing this…?”
“Answer me. Do you feel anything? Anything at all?”
“Ugh…!”
The Saintess hesitated, trying to avoid my gaze, but she was already unable to do so. If it was her, she was sure to notice my energy.
“…”
A moment of silence passed.
The Saintess slowly opened her mouth.
“…Love.”
“Excuse me?”
“I feel… love. Isn’t your face too close? I’m embarrassed, so move back a little… No. That’s not good either.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“What do you mean?”
When I denied it, she sent me a murderous glare for a moment and spoke coldly. No, this is a misunderstanding. That’s not what I meant.
“N-No, no. It’s not that. Of course, I feel love too. But that’s not what I’m asking about right now.”
“…Is there something else?”
“It’s about what happened when I killed Valkyrie.”
“What about it?”
I immediately explained to the Saintess everything about the process of killing Valkyrie this time, except for the part about Vigual. Anyway, the fight itself could be glossed over. What was important was the death, identity, and purpose of Valkyrie. The annihilation of the Ancient God. And me absorbing Valkyrie’s power.
“What…?”
After explaining everything, the Saintess’s mouth dropped open.
“So, you mean to say… the Valkyrie’s divine power…”
It was only natural for her to be surprised.
“…was absorbed by the Paladin?”
“Yes. I think so. My arm is completely healed, and I’ve confirmed that such power is being generated within me through meditation.”
“…”
Silence again.
—Stagger, stagger.
The Saintess, with a dazed expression, staggered back to her seat. I escorted her, careful not to let her fall in her pristine white heels, and guided her safely to her seat.
—Chik.
After sitting down, she habitually pulled out a cigarette, put it in her mouth, and lit it.
—Whoosh.
Smoke spread out.
The Saintess, after exhaling the smoke, finally opened her mouth.
“…Is that even possible?”
She looked extremely doubtful.
“What do you mean, Kadia? How can you not know?”
“What… I don’t understand. Wait a minute. I can’t understand. The Valkyrie, who lost her god, went berserk and sought to sever ties with the heavens, repeatedly committing religious terrorist acts, and was punished by the power of mages and paladins. I understood that much.”
Good.
“But… the Paladin absorbs that power? Come on now. It’s not bad to joke with the Saintess, but at least pick your moments. You rambunctious Paladin.”
“What the hell.”
Kadia seemed unable to believe it.
“You absorbed the Valkyrie’s divinity? Then why can’t the Saintess feel it? The Saintess possesses the most immense divine power in the Order. I can be said to be the human closest to the God Verde, and I have lived my entire life in contact with divine power. If the Paladin’s words are true, there is no reason why the Saintess shouldn’t feel it.”
She seemed quite confused. Well, she’s lived her life as a Saintess, so what else can you expect?
“No, it’s true, Kadia. My arm is completely healed, and I clearly felt that power during meditation as well. Valkyrie’s power was absorbed into me.”
I brought my face closer to hers.
“…Is there a possibility that the meditation was flawed?”
“Not at all. More than anything, my arm is healed, remember?”
“It healed from being covered in Valkyrie’s blood… I can understand it if you say that.”
“I don’t lie to my woman.”
I may not say everything sometimes, but I don’t lie.
“Believe me, Kadia.”
“…”
I spoke to her strongly, with sincerity, as she couldn’t believe me at all.
“I came to you because I knew you would definitely know. I want you to find out what’s going on. Why would I lie to you? I’m telling you because it’s the truth.”
“…I see.”
My appeal seemed to have worked a little, as Kadia nodded.
It’s not that she doesn’t trust me in the first place.
It was just too shocking, so she wanted to deny it.
“The Paladin would have no reason to lie to the Saintess. I was agitated because it was something that deviated from common sense. I apologize.”
“Only with words?”
“…I can give you a fellatio anytime, though?”
“No.”
What a sex joke.
When I gaped my mouth, Kadia chuckled.
“Heh, just kidding. I hope you’ll accept the apology of the beautiful Saintess.”
She took off her veil and swept her brilliant blonde hair behind her ear.
“There was no need to apologize.”
“I’m glad you say so. Anyway, if the Paladin’s words are true, it’s unprecedented. There are no records or legends of that kind. In the first place, only vague traditions remain about Valkyrie…”
She lit another cigarette.
“But it’s strange that the Saintess doesn’t feel that energy from the Paladin.”
“Is it still a bit weak? I only found it through meditation, so it might not be noticeable from the outside.”
“…That might be the case.”
But there’s one more important thing.
“But another strange thing is that it’s a bit different from Valkyrie’s power. The feeling is similar, but definitely different.”
“That’s… difficult. It’s a very difficult problem. It’s very hard to understand.”
“I feel the same way.”
It can’t be helped that it’s hard to understand.
Who would have experienced something like this?
Even if it was during the Idol War, Valkyrie is now half a legend. In fact, they were also legendary strong.
“No, but Paladins also use divine power. Is it strange that something like that is being absorbed into me?”
I asked, trying to lighten the mood.
“Divine power is not absorbed just because a Paladin kills another Paladin.”
Kadia answered immediately.
“Not to mention warriors of other gods, it’s the same even for followers of the same god. It’s similar to how a Paladin can’t devour the mana of an enemy with mana just by killing them.”
“Oh.”
Certainly… you can’t steal their real power just by killing a strong enemy. It just improves my skills and experience. The fact that mana increases is also a different kind of thing than absorption.
“That’s why I can’t understand it. Divine power being absorbed… there’s no precedent for that. But perhaps Valkyrie is different. If I think that way, it’s not that I don’t understand, but in order to know exactly, professional research is needed.”
Kadia felt this phenomenon as something that shattered common sense.
It’s a natural reaction.
“Well, I can recover more of this power. I’ll let you know again when I recover a bit more. Then you might be able to feel something, right?”
It’s just a possibility, but in order for Kadia to feel it, it is necessary to recover more of that unknown power.
“Yes, that would be good. That’s the most ideal. But if the Saintess still doesn’t notice… Haa. Strange things are increasing more and more.”
“You’re going through a lot, really.”
“It’s always increasing. Anyway, I think this requires proper examination and research. It will take quite some time.”
“Is there some kind of facility for that?”
“We might be able to find out by using holy objects and relics. And divine spells and rituals. I will organize the situation and go through the proper procedures.”
“Then that’s good.”
No problem.
“Anyway, that’s all for the story about killing Valkyrie and absorbing her power. Is there anything that the subjugation team gets?”
“Hmm, now that you mention it, that story was still left. Of course, the Order also intends to reward the Paladin. More than anything, since the Paladin destroyed Valkyrie, you will also be able to receive the compensation sent by the Merqudia Kingdom. The royal family will give a great reward. If they don’t give a reward, the Order will protest.”
“Oh.”
As expected of our Kadia.
“But…”
She looked up at me, having said that far.
“Why, Kadia.”
“Calling me Kadia so often…”
“Um?”
She was hesitant, so I gently touched her shoulder.
“Haa-yang!!”
Kadia made a cute sound and flinched.
“What? Why?”
“C-Calling me by my n-name… didn’t I tell you last time? Call me Saintess properly…”
“Hehehe, I just tried it this time. I’ll change the title again. But right now your body.”
She was trembling, so I brought my hand to her neck.
“Haaht…!”
Another cute voice came out.
This reaction is too cute, what’s going on?
“Ah, no. That was nothing just now. Anyway, Paladin. I’ve forgiven you until now, but change the title immediately. Isn’t this a public place?”
“Yes. I understand.”
I changed the title again.
“Anyway, Saintess. If Valkyrie’s power was really absorbed into me, what’s the situation? Just tell me that. You must have some expectations, right? You’re a Saintess.”
At that question, she held her head and closed her eyes.
“As of now… I can’t know exactly. Didn’t I tell you? It’s unprecedented.”
“Still.”
“Hmm… If I were to speculate personally… Valkyrie is a being created by a god using his own power. It is made of fragments of God, and the fragments are given individuality and personality.”
In other words, an agent created by God by separating his own body.
“So this is. No, what the Saintess is about to say now.”
What Kadia is about to say.
“It’s very absurd.”
“Absurd?”
What on earth is it?
“That Valkyrie was said to have lost her god. Then the fragment of that god was absorbed into the Paladin… No. It still doesn’t make sense. Absorbing the power of God is not something a legendary hero would do, how could such a thing…”
God’s fragment.
God’s power.
“If such a thing happened, you could truly be called a demigod… It’s too absurd.”
Damn it, what is this all about.
“A demigod?”
Demigod.
It lingered in my head.
“Half-human, half-god. A being with a portion of celestial power. However, this is just an absurd legend. It’s not impossible, but how could such a thing happen in this era…”
“…”
“Therefore, the power that the Paladin absorbed is not something grand like a fragment of God… No. This is not all accurately known either. It would be more credible to say that only a part of Valkyrie’s special divine power was transferred.”
Damn it.
A demigod.
“This is too unsettling.”
“Absurd thoughts should not be taken seriously. You just have to think that there is such a thing as a demigod.”
That’s true, but.
“Let’s find out about that power properly. It would be ideal to recover a little more and make it clear. We will also prepare on this side.”
“Yes. We should.”
Still, I couldn’t calm down thinking about that possibility.
“But Saintess.”
“…Why?”
“If I become a demigod, what do I do?”
“…I don’t know, it’s the first time since the Idol War. In the first place, I don’t even know what god it is? You said it was a vanished god… I’m very confused and my head is spinning.”
—Haa…
“I’ll have to set a date and talk to the Pope.”
She exhaled and leaned back in her chair.
“…”
Absorbing the fragments of a vanished ancient god and becoming a demigod.
It was quite charming.
The human Siddhartha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and became Buddha, escaping the cycle of reincarnation and ascending as a celestial being. The Wright brothers. The legendary Wright brothers also became beings of the sky by developing the first airplane for mankind. King David also became a god, and Hwanung, the pinnacle of fusion Confucianism, was a god from the beginning. They were so great that they shed the category of great men and were reborn as gods. Except for Hwanung.
Therefore.
Heavenly Demon.
For the Heavenly Demon Kim Kat to become a demigod.
“I am a demigod.”
It’s not strange at all.
—Bubble, bubble.
Something hot seemed to be boiling in my heart.
“It’s Kim Kat.”
“So, that’s an absurd guess…”
“An inhuman demigoddejaaaaa!!!”
“Aah!”
Kkyaaaa!!!
