Chapter 187 – 53. The Trial of Roia (3)
Clearly, this place was not the Pantheon Academy.
However, it is not the scenery of Teria, the ecliptic filled with splendid buildings and numerous buildings.
Cloudy sky and snowy mountains in the distance. A desolate landscape that feels gloomy at first glance. It was somehow a familiar atmosphere.
I am the middle of the scenery. Crumbling and destroyed houses stood in the middle of the deserted village.
‘Is it Essenmund?’
It is also the northernmost point on the island continent. The cold and desolate north where white nights and polar nights exist. When it comes to scenery like this, the place that comes to mind is Essenmund, Julian’s hometown.
And above all, that young woman standing in front of me. The impression is familiar.
The woman I remember is obviously older than me. She was at least in her late thirties, so I wasn’t sure if she was the same person.
In an instant, the eyes of the two met. Silence continued for a little longer.
Maybe she didn’t recognize me, though I thought she did. It wasn’t. Her gaze was clearly observing me.
Then the moment I tried to talk to her first. Her mouth opened first.
“It’s been 20 years.”
I was momentarily puzzled by those words. I had no one-on-one with her. I guessed who she was.
‘First of all, it looks just like the portrait I saw in the Marquis’ Mansion.’
Marquis Mansion. The mansion has a separate hall. There are portraits of successive heads of the Reinhardt family on display.
I recalled in my mind one of the ancestors of the family pictured in the portrait.
Long white hair that reaches to the waist. And a beauty with a cold impression, as if the coldness of the North was intact on her face. Also, the atmosphere is as sharp as a knife forged from ice crystals or cryolite.
It was undoubtedly the figure of that person.
‘After the lion sword. Atlin von Reinhardt.’
The great hero of the Reinhardt family whose name is left in the history books. Although obviously much younger than in the portrait, the woman in front of her resembled that Atlin.
She was done with her words.
“No. I would be misunderstood if I said this. Because this is the first time I met you. And, to be exact, not 20 years, but 17 years. Really Agnes, just as the child said, you are coming to the back side like this. That’s amazing.”
“Agnes? Are you talking about Agnes von Reinhardt?”
“Yeah. It was 17 years ago that the child brought me here. He told me then. One day, his son will come to this place. I wish you well.”
I was surprised in the moment. Great Saint Agnes. Although she knew of her prophetic powers.
‘Did you even know that I would enter the top tier trials like this?’
Strictly speaking, I am Agnes’s son, not Julian, but the possessor who borrowed his body. But instead of thinking about Agnes, I decided to focus on the woman in front of me.
‘In the demon king’s death. I’ve never entered a tier 1 ordeal. This is the first time this has happened.’
I answered her
“You’re right. I am Saint Agnes. Julian von Reinhardt, son of Agnes von Reinhardt. Then, are you Atlin?”
A great hero who was active in the past 100 years ago. And if the girl in front of her is Atlin, she is the direct ancestor of my family Reinhardt.
That’s why I’m trying to set an example for the householder. She denied
“No. I am not Atlin.”
My prediction was wrong. However, her appearance was strikingly similar to the portrait of Atlin I had seen.
‘Then who is it?’
As if she noticed my question. Revealed her identity.
“But. With this look, you can’t help but think of Atlin. I am Atlin’s sword, not Atlin’s. It’s Erti.”
At those words, I recognized her true identity.
‘A sword? If so, what could it be?’
A holy relic passed down in Ireland. Siertia, a holy sword said to have been handed down since the time of the Old Empire.
That holy sword had been the symbol of the Reinhardt family for a long time. Its whereabouts have become obscure since Atlin last used it after the lion sword.
When it came to Atlin’s sword, he couldn’t think of any other sword other than Siertia. Because it was the symbol of the lion sword.
“Then. Are you saying you are the Holy Sword Siertia?”
“Okay. Oh Of course, I’ve been completely broken for a long time, so it’s burdensome to be called such a cool name anymore. So can you just call me Erti?”
I nodded my head obediently to her words.
***
Erti and I walked side by side.
She, the Holy Sword, is the loia hall here. To be precise, she explained to me how she came to the temple of Loia, the space behind the Pantheon.
“Actually, I’ve never been missing. The last time Atlin heard me. At that time, it was completely broken and could no longer be used as a sword. That’s why he was sleeping in the Reinhardt Mansion.”
Siertia is a holy sword and an ego sword that chooses its own master. The family head of the Reinhardt family had been a swordsman with a high reputation for generations, so there was no difficulty in using her.
The holy sword that was said to have disappeared after Atlin was asleep in the storage room of Reinhardt’s mansion.
“It was shattered and no longer had the shape of a sword. Only the core remained, so on the outside, it looked no different from an ordinary accessory. The Reinhardt family is the leader of the north, so they didn’t have much interest in such a small jewel.”
At the same time as it was destroyed, all of its divine power as a holy sword was lost. So, even Reinhardt’s family heads didn’t think of the jewel as a holy sword at all.
But hide inside a little gem. Erti, who was asleep with only a faint will as an ego sword. Agnes, a young child, found it.
“He was a strange kid. Agnes is. Because the moment I found myself, I realized that I was Siertia. No. I must have reacted to her divine power that child possesses.”
Erti’s will was on the verge of extinction. Borrowed from Agnes’ divine power, it was revived again.
“Still, I couldn’t go back to the holy sword overnight. So instead of a sword, it became a ring on her finger. Agnes wanted to return me to the Holy Sword. Because she had so many things to do because of the great war with her demons. It hurt my heart to see him always apologizing to me.”
And Agnes entrusted the resurrection of the holy sword to her son.
“Instead, Pantheon Academy, to be exact, 6 temples. Agnes said that with the power hidden in the space behind this place, I can return to the holy sword, Siertia. And she promised me that her son would do it.”
Erti’s explanation convinced me. Trials of the 6 temples that can only be performed at the Pantheon Academy.
The goal of the ordeal was not growth and a simple quest to obtain an item.
‘It was an ordeal for the resurrection of the holy sword.’
So, the goal of the trial quest became clearer.
Holy sword Siertia. In order to prevent the coming destruction of Island in the future. There is probably no sword more suitable than that famous holy sword.
And for a moment, I wondered why she was in Atlin’s form. Didn’t even ask about that fact.
‘The Ego Sword borrowing the form of its master for a while. It wouldn’t be strange.’
Erti and I left the village and headed up a nearby hill.
When I climbed there, the devastated scenery of the destroyed village came into view more at a glance.
“This place is not a real space. The Essenmund I remember 100 years ago. And it’s a hidden space created by borrowing the power of Roia’s forgotten temple. Your credentials will be made here.”
Only the core remains. The Holy Sword is the sword that selects its owner. I meant to put her here and through her trials to see if I was worthy of her to have her.
I checked her her into her system. Although her outward appearance was unmistakable.
—————–
「Holy Sword Siertia’s Core – Erti」
* Rating: Epic
* Details: It is a holy relic of Island that has been passed down from the age of the Old Empire. The main body is destroyed, and only the will as a holy sword remains.
—————–
As indicated in the system, Erti was the core of the Holy Sword, not a human.
‘Epic grade. Then Siertia…’
Legend grade that was only mentioned in the log record of Demon King’s Slaughter. If the holy sword Siertia were to be resurrected, he would be qualified to rise to the highest level of legend.
Erti sat down on a nearby rock for a moment.
Although he has the face of a lion sword. Unlike the portrait in dignified armor, Erti was dressed like a country girl.
She was calm, and it was a look that matched well with that way of talking that seemed to be detached from the world. She said.
“Then before the ordeal begins. Shall we start with a simple check?”
***
Erti looked at my appearance. It seems to confirm that I am ready to enter the ordeal like this.
“Enough to enter blindly. Roia’s ordeal is not easy.”
My current outfit is armor over combat regalia. In other words, it was the same outfit as when going out on a reserve platoon mission.
“I’m fine. Well, I came all the way here because of Agnes’ arrangement. You shouldn’t be posting here in pajamas. It’s enough to go out to the battlefield as it is. Well done. Because you can’t go through Roia’s trial without a sword. And I already know your skills.”
“What do you mean? I haven’t even pulled out my sword yet.”
So, I quietly asked Erti. She wanted to know more about her.
“That’s because I’ve always been here, in the temple of Roia. I’m in the space behind me. Actually, this is the Loia Hall of the Pantheon Academy. I witnessed everything that happened there.”
She said that and smiled softly.
“It’s just a sword, but having a will is tiring. It’s boring if you’re only inside the core. Still, I was very fortunate that this was an academy. Although I can’t talk to people. First of all, I am also a sword. It was quite fun to see the cadets of the combat order.”
So, Erti knew everything I had done in the combat terminal.
“Last year, I was so depressed that I ran away and didn’t come back. You have been completely different since this year. Of course, that appearance last year must have been acting. Just like Agnes said, you really came to find me.”
Although it seems to misunderstand the truth a little. Even if she was her holy sword, she didn’t seem to notice that I was the possessor. I didn’t even have to tell you that fact.
“And lately it has been quite interesting. It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve seen Lion Heart Sword. Of course, it was quite different from the original Lion Heart Sword I remembered. Your skills are very good. Oh, and not just you, but also the pink-haired cadet named Lucia.”
What followed came as a surprise.
“It was a different talent from you. That quick sword and quick sword. He must have been born with the blood of Orhain.”
Erti also discovered that Lucia had Orhain blood.
‘The Orha family, like Reinhardt, are also a family that has contributed to the founding of the empire. It wouldn’t be strange even if Erti knew about it.’
And for a calm tone. Erti was quite talkative. I don’t know if it’s because he hasn’t seen someone in a while, or if it’s just a characteristic of Ego Sword.
“Then would you like to draw your sword? Oh, of course I’m talking about an iron sword. The place to bring out the meat sword is the bed, not the battlefield. Don’t blindly pull out your cock in front of me. After all, I am a woman.”
Then she said something that would be embarrassing to her listeners. When I looked at her with a puzzled look, she grinned with an impudent expression.
“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s an Essenmund joke. Or do you want more wild jokes?”
“No. Fine.”
“Okay? It’s different from Atlin. Atlin had a really reticent personality. Still, she had quite a bit of fun watching her soldiers tell wild jokes. Even dirty jokes. Oh, and Agnes did too. Rather, she was open to such wild jokes with her soldiers. Maybe it’s because she’s a married woman who already gave birth to you when she became famous as a saint.”
“Ah, I see. For now, check my sword first.”
Left like this, she seemed unable to stop her chatter. I pulled out the imperial sword from the scabbard.
A new imperial sword crafted and forged by Cecilia. The moment he saw the sword, Erti’s eyes changed.
“Who made this sword?”
