Chapter 90 : Olomnima

Chapter 90: Olomnima

A bloodline of the ancient hero?

The qualities of a Saint?

‘The bloodline of Banroa... is that what this is?’

Before I knew it, people had gathered.

“Ooh, it’s true! Flames in his pupils...!”

“To think I’d see the bloodline of the ancient hero here....”

“Doesn’t this mean it’s possible? That he can commune with the Holy Spirit?”

Murmur, murmur, murmur—

Even with their limping legs and blood pouring from their heads, they all crowded around me, staring into my eyes.

“It’s real, it’s real.”

“My goodness... I’ve never seen it before.”

What the hell. Flames blazing inside my eyes.

Is this really such a big deal?

Ah, well, I suppose it is.

Even in Banroa, only those born with a strong line of noble or royal blood had eyes that burned like this.

Such people were always especially gifted.

But still—

‘A Saint? An ancient hero?’

They might be outstanding, yes, but not to the extent of utterly overwhelming the nobles of other nations.

Most of the time, things like this were simply treated as external traits—like a royal family somewhere having golden rings around their pupils, or a noble having sky-blue hair.

So no matter how special it was, to suddenly be called a Saint, or an ancient hero—this was... a bit bewildering.

Couldn’t they be mistaken?

The words rose all the way up my throat but—

“Saint!”

Sheneril clutched at my trouser hem, her eyes brimming with tears, and I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

“You really are the Saint! You answered my prayer....”

Tears like beads dripped down as she clung to me, even tiptoeing to look up at me.

“Saint... please... please save us.”

I mean, when a seven-year-old child dropped glasslike tears that shattered against the ground... how could I possibly tell her, ‘I’m not that’?

I didn’t know anymore.

Truthfully, even I didn’t know the origin of Banroa’s bloodline.

Maybe they were right. Maybe it really was about ancient heroes and Saints.

Grasp—

For now, I simply lifted Sheneril into my arms. Light, even for a seven-year-old. She hadn’t bathed in this chaos, smelling faintly like a washed rag, and that only tugged more at my heart.

Holding Sheneril, I met the gazes of the people surrounding me.

Expectation. Yearning. Hope....

So then,

“What is it that you want me to do?”

What exactly were they hoping for?

At that, from among the gathered crowd, a limping knight stepped forward. Blood still dripped from the thigh bound in bandages.

“I am Holy Knight Louis. I... I will guide you.”

Holy Knight.

So they really did exist.

Back in Glowingsteel, I’d only heard of them in stories.

In this era, there were said to be priests and Holy Knights who performed the miracles of the gods.

They said that what they wielded was not aura or magic, but a completely different force—divine power.

Then this man before me, Louis—could he also wield divine power? Just what kind of power was that?

‘I have no idea.’

Was it because it was too unique? No matter how I looked, I could sense nothing but aura.

“This way.”

Still, perhaps befitting a knight, his willpower was tremendous. Even while limping with blood pouring from his leg, he tried to lead me onward.

Ah,

before that.

Sheneril. I needed to put her down.

Squeeze!

I tilted my body to set her down, but the child clung tightly to me and wouldn’t let go.

“Me too! I want to go too!”

Hm? Is that... allowed?

Everyone else seemed to be gathering in hopes of escaping.

I glanced at the knight who seemed to be the leader earlier, asking silently with my eyes, and he gave a nod.

“If the Pilgrim is able to awaken the Saint’s power, then for us there is no urgent need to leave immediately. We also have preparations left to make, so it should be fine for you to go for a while.”

If that was the case—

I lifted Sheneril into my arms again.

This small, shabby child, smelling faintly like a washed rag, trembled in my embrace but soon grew quiet, perhaps reassured by the warmth spreading from me.

Following Louis, I climbed the road stretching up the hill. This village, called Pilgrim Valley, must once have been a quaint, lovely, and peaceful place, but now it was in utter ruin.

“Saint. Saint. There are things you must be careful about.”

From within my arms, Sheneril chattered away.

“First. Even if you hear whispers, you must not listen. Your body might go boom! and explode.”

Right. For such a little child to recite such terrifying rules by heart—it showed just how ruined this place had become.

“Second. Even if it itches, you must never scratch. That spot will slowly transform, and strange wriggling things will sprout out of it.”

Indeed. I saw them. People like that.

As if something were exploding from within, flesh kept bursting open and bleeding.

That man was clutching his ears, screaming. Stop! Stop! It’s too loud!

And on another youth’s arms and thighs, finger-length threads had sprouted through his clothes, wriggling. Even with people holding him down, the youth struggled desperately to scratch himself.

“Third, even if the sky suddenly flashes bright, you must never look up. Your eyes—and later, your whole face—will melt away in blood.”

Ah, I could see it. That woman over there. Beneath her bandages, blood streamed endlessly from where her eyes should have been.

There were also people who seemed to have been injured in battle, sitting on the steps of buildings, and corpses already dead lay covered in cloth here and there. The sound of grieving families sobbing echoed everywhere.

Wailing people.

And as if to mock them, the sky caressed their screaming faces with gaudy, multicolored light.

‘The way their bodies are mutating reminds me of that Apostle’s damned leeches... and this cursed rainbow-colored moonlight reminds me of that wolf monster....’

I was not in a good mood at all.

I spoke toward the back of Louis, who walked ahead.

“What on earth has happened here?”

Louis looked as if he had no strength left even to turn his head. Panting, he answered.

“It seems those accursed cultists are after the All-Omnima, the Tree of All Forms.”

Cultists.

Of course. No one but those wretches could bring about something this horrific.

But—

Olomnima?

What was that?

Not knowing, I kept my mouth shut.

Fortunately, Louis, though gasping, explained on his own.

“The Pilgrim may not know.... When you passed through the Sacred Ground, you must have seen the great tree?”

“Yes.”

In truth, I hadn’t.

I didn’t even know what the Sacred Ground was.

But for now, I pretended I had.

“That is the Olomnima, recorded as having been planted by Lady Mivabar, Goddess of Wisdom. Because it bears every kind of fruit, flower, and herb in the world, it is also called the Tree of All Forms.”

“And why are they after it?”

“We do not know. Cultists lust after anything from the Mythic Era, no matter what it is.”

Phew....

Letting out a long sigh, Louis continued in an anxious voice.

“The Olomnima is not just a symbol. All the people of this village make their livelihood tending to it and harvesting the fruits and flowers that grow there.”

Ah....

So without that tree, an entire village would starve to death?

“In truth, the nearby cities are the same. We harvest here, and the surrounding cities process it into goods. If the Olomnima vanishes... at least a million people will lose their livelihoods. Food prices will soar as well.”

A million people?

From a single tree?

That was larger than the population of most entire cities in Roberland.

“Also, the Olomnima is a sacred place to the orcs. That is why everyone is fighting for their lives. Humans, and orcs alike....”

“Is there no reinforcements?”

“...We are counting on that alone, but somehow the cultists have disrupted magical communications. We cannot break through head-on, so we tried sending messengers through the Sacred Ground’s side routes... but it seems all were devoured by curses and died.”

The Sacred Ground.

Following Louis’s glance, I saw that what they called the Sacred Ground seemed to begin from the end of the gorge, just below the hill.

So the monsters were being fought up there in the gorge, while the lower part of the gorge was open?

But if we tried to go out that way, there would be curses....

Hm? Wait? Curses?

I glanced down at Sheneril, quietly nestled in my arms. At the word curse, her body trembled faintly.

“Excuse me. Did you say stepping outside the village means being cursed?”

“Yes. Of course, even inside the village, curses are falling. The strange patients you saw on your way here were victims of the curse. But outside, it is far worse. Right now, the village is under a purification barrier. Even so, the curse is encroaching.”

“Weren’t you trying to evacuate the children out of the village earlier?!”

My voice sharpened on its own, while Louis’s voice sank heavily.

“There was no other way. As it stands, soon the barrier protecting the village will break, and before long the defense line will collapse.... The plan was to have the Holy Knights protect the children as best as possible during the escape.”

His voice was steeped in doubt.

It was clear he himself did not believe the plan would succeed.

It was simply the final desperate struggle, with no other options left.

Mm....

The situation was far more dire than I imagined.

“To be honest, given the monsters swarming right now, the only hope is if the Horizon Knights arrive... but with no way to send word....”

The Grand Duke Laitena’s personal guard.

The strongest in the world.

So things were dire enough that they needed the Horizon Knights?

Now I felt like I roughly understood the situation.

Except for one thing.

That one thing, I still couldn’t make sense of.

“But this bloodline of the ancients? The qualities of a Saint? Is that really the issue right now?”

Shouldn’t the priority be simply grabbing a sword and fighting?

“It is extremely important.”

But Louis cut in firmly, speaking with solemnity.

“Because the ten priests who were in the temple have all been martyred.”

“The priests?”

“Yes. In order to hold back the cultists’ curse and invasion, they received too much of the Holy Spirit’s power... and all were martyred yesterday. Thanks to them, we have endured until now, but soon....”

He glanced up at the sky, where auroras rippled violently.

I followed his gaze.

‘A god....’

The word still felt like something out of a fairy tale, yet I could no longer deny the existence outright.

To block curses that vast and that powerful across such a wide region... it seemed difficult to explain it as anything other than divine grace.

“So because the priests were martyred, the barrier is collapsing, and if I have the qualities of a Saint, I might be able to restore it... is that what you mean?”

“Yes. If you have those qualities, and can awaken them even a little... then more than just restoring it is possible.”

Louis hesitated slightly, then continued.

“Of course... I know this is a stretch. It’s true that among the bloodlines of the ancient heroes, many are born with the qualities of a Saint. But even then, it’s only about one in a hundred. And of those, fewer than one in a thousand actually awaken as a true Saint....”

Louis’s voice, as he added but that’s how desperate we are..., was bitter.

At that moment, Sheneril chirped up from within my arms.

Children were always quick to sense the mood of adults... so she spoke brightly, as if trying to comfort Louis.

“Sir Louis, Holy Knight! Don’t worry! He really is the Saint! I prayed, and then—tada! He appeared! He’s the true Saint the gods sent to us!”

Hmm....

Honestly, I didn’t know.

Qualities of a Saint?

I couldn’t imagine I had something like that. I had never heard the voice of a god.

Still—

I made a vow.

‘Whether I have such qualities or not... I’ll keep my promise, kid.’

Even if I couldn’t protect everything.

I would at least protect what mattered most.

Well, in any case, judging by the mood, defending this village seemed to be the mission this time.

I roughly patted Sheneril’s tangled hair.

If only her hair were washed, it could shine like our Catch’s or Gepetto’s splendid silver hair. But right now, it was nothing more than the unwashed fur of a stray.

Tip: Tap/click the left or right side of the screen to go to previous/next chapter.