How A Mythical Holy Knight Lives As A Villain (Novel) - Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Go Johan raised his hand to block the incoming blade.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out, but what blocked the giant’s sword wasn’t a weapon but Go Johan’s bare hand.
More precisely, it was the power of sanctity that had materialized around his hand.
“Interesting.”
Go Johan’s eyes gleamed with curiosity rather than hostility.
The armored giants before him were unlike anything he had encountered. Their movements were precise, their techniques refined, and their power immense. Yet something about them felt familiar.
Whoosh!
Another giant swung its massive war hammer from the side. Go Johan twisted his body, the hammer passing so close it disturbed his hair, and struck the giant’s wrist with his palm.
Crack!
The giant’s grip loosened, and the hammer fell to the ground with a thunderous crash.
“You’re not trying to kill me either.”
Go Johan observed as he continued to deflect and counter their attacks. Despite their overwhelming power and the lethality of their weapons, the giants were pulling their strikes at the last moment. They were testing him, not executing him.
“What are you guarding?”
Thud thud thud!
More armored giants emerged from the shadows of the massive structure behind them. Dozens, then hundreds. Each one bearing different weapons and armor styles, as if they represented warriors from different eras and cultures.
Some wore the plate armor of medieval knights, others bore the scaled armor of eastern warriors. There were giants in robes carrying staves, and others with nothing but their fists wrapped in strange, glowing bindings.
“A pantheon indeed.”
Go Johan’s smile widened as understanding dawned on him. This wasn’t just a collection of powerful guardians. These were representations of divine warriors, champions of gods from different worlds and ages.
Swoosh!
A spear thrust toward his chest. Go Johan caught it with two fingers, stopping the massive weapon as if it weighed nothing. The giant wielding it looked surprised, its glowing eyes widening.
“I understand now.”
Go Johan released the spear and stepped back, raising both hands in a peaceful gesture.
“You’re not enemies. You’re… interviews.”
The giants paused, their weapons still raised but no longer attacking.
“Each of you represents a different divine tradition. You’re testing whether I’m worthy to enter the Pantheon.”
A rumbling voice echoed from all the giants simultaneously, as if they were speaking with one collective consciousness:
“Prove your divinity, knight of the nameless goddess.”
“My divinity?”
Go Johan tilted his head, considering the challenge. In Travania, his power had been proven through endless battles against demons and the corrupt. But here, in this sacred space, what kind of proof would suffice?
The answer came to him naturally.
Instead of drawing upon the marks of sin that gave him power through accumulated karma, instead of relying on the curse-born strength that had carried him through so many battles, Go Johan reached deeper.
To the core of what he truly was.
To the faith that had never wavered, even when the goddess herself seemed absent.
Saaaa…
Light began to emanate from Go Johan’s body. Not the harsh, burning light of judgment, but something warmer. The light of unwavering faith, of protection willingly given, of mercy extended even to enemies.
This was the sanctity that had allowed him to heal hundreds of Sanctum members effortlessly in this place. This was the divine grace that existed independent of any system or curse.
The armored giants stepped back, lowering their weapons as the light washed over them.
“We acknowledge you, faithful one.”
The collective voice spoke again, but now it carried respect rather than challenge.
“Enter, and may your goddess smile upon what you find within.”
The massive doors of the Pantheon began to open with a sound like thunder. Beyond them lay not darkness, but a corridor filled with soft, golden light.
Go Johan walked forward, his footsteps echoing in the vast space. As he passed the threshold, he could feel the giants behind him resuming their eternal vigil.
Inside the Pantheon, the walls were lined with statues and murals depicting countless deities from across the multiverse. Gods of war and peace, creation and destruction, love and wisdom. Some he recognized from Travania’s scattered religious texts, others were completely foreign.
But at the center of the great hall, there was something that made his breath catch.
An empty pedestal.
Not broken or damaged, but purposefully vacant. Around its base, fresh flowers had been placed offerings that couldn’t have been there long.
And beside the pedestal, a simple wooden chair.
Sitting in that chair was a figure Go Johan had seen only in visions and dreams.
“Hello, my dear knight.”
The goddess turned to face him, and Go Johan’s world stopped.
She was exactly as he remembered from his moments of deepest faith, yet somehow more real than she had ever been. Her appearance was both familiar and impossible to fully comprehend, shifting subtly as if she existed in more dimensions than his eyes could process.
“You’ve grown so much.”
Her voice carried the warmth of a mother, the pride of a teacher, and something else something that might have been regret.
Go Johan dropped to one knee without thinking.
“Goddess…”
“Please, stand. There’s no need for such formality between us. Not here, not after everything you’ve endured for my sake.”
But Go Johan remained kneeling, his head bowed.
“I failed you. In Travania, I couldn’t save them. I couldn’t protect your people. I became something monstrous.”
“Did you?”
The goddess rose from her chair and approached him. Her footsteps made no sound.
“Tell me, my knight, what do you see when you look back at your actions?”
“Failure. Corruption. I let the sins consume me. I used the power of curses and called it justice.”
“Look again.”
The goddess placed her hand on his head, and suddenly Go Johan could see his past with different eyes.
He saw himself standing between villagers and demonic raiders, taking wounds meant for others. He saw himself carrying injured children to safety while his own blood flowed freely. He saw himself weeping over the graves of those he couldn’t save, then rising to fight again the next day.
“You bore the weight of the world’s sins so that others wouldn’t have to. You accepted corruption into yourself to keep it from spreading. You never stopped fighting, never stopped protecting, never stopped believing even when I seemed absent.”
“But the power I used…”
“Was necessary. In Travania, you faced enemies that could only be defeated by matching their corruption with something even stronger. Your unwavering faith.”
The goddess helped him to his feet.
“Do you know why this place exists, my dear knight?”
Go Johan shook his head.
“The Pantheon is a nexus where all divine powers meet. Every god, every goddess, every divine principle across all realities has a connection here. And at its center…”
She gestured to the empty pedestal.
“Is a place for those who embody divinity without claiming godhood. Those who serve not for power or worship, but out of pure faith.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You do, you just haven’t accepted it yet. In Travania, you became something unprecedented. A mortal who carried divine authority not through birthright or ascension, but through absolute dedication. You became my avatar in truth, not just in title.”
Go Johan’s eyes widened as understanding dawned.
“The power you wield, the sanctity that resonates with this place, the ability to stand against archdemons as an equal that’s not curse magic borrowed from defeated enemies. That’s divine authority made manifest through faith.”
“But you never answered my prayers…”
“Didn’t I?”
The goddess smiled gently.
“Every time you found the strength to continue when hope seemed lost, every time your wounds healed just enough to keep fighting, every time your enemies’ greatest attacks failed to kill you when they should have… Did you think that was all coincidence?”
Tears began to flow down Go Johan’s face as memories realigned themselves in this new context.
“I never left you, my knight. I simply couldn’t interfere directly without compromising the very free will that makes faith meaningful. But I was always there, in every choice you made to protect others instead of yourself.”
“Then why show yourself now? Why here?”
The goddess’s expression grew serious.
“Because the battle in Travania was only the beginning. The demons you faced there are spreading to other worlds, including this Earth. And they’ve learned from their defeat.”
She gestured around the Pantheon.
“The other gods are… concerned. They see what’s coming and they’re afraid. Some want to abandon the mortal realms entirely. Others wish to intervene directly, which would destroy the foundations of faith itself.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“What you’ve always done. Fight. Protect. Believe. But now…”
The goddess moved to the empty pedestal and placed her hand upon it.
“You won’t be fighting alone.”
The pedestal began to glow, and Go Johan felt power flowing into him. Not the corrupt strength of accumulated sins, but something pure and vast.
“This is your true authority, my knight. Not borrowed from defeated demons, but earned through countless acts of selfless courage. Use it wisely.”
The light faded, and Go Johan felt fundamentally changed. The marks of sin on his body had transformed, no longer brands of corruption but sigils of divine authority.
“The apostles…”
“Will share in this blessing, as will those who truly follow your example. But remember the price of divine power is divine responsibility.”
“I understand.”
“Do you? Then tell me what comes next.”
Go Johan considered the question, thinking of Sanctum waiting for him in the outer chambers, of the demons spreading across Earth, of the forces already moving in the shadows.
“I return to them. I teach them what you’ve taught me. And when the time comes, we stand together against whatever darkness approaches.”
“And if they turn from you when they learn the truth of what you are?”
“Then I stand alone, as I always have.”
The goddess shook her head.
“No, my dear knight. Those days are over. You have family now people who chose to stand with you not because they feared you or needed your power, but because they love you. Trust in that love.”
She began to fade, becoming translucent.
“This isn’t goodbye. Now that you know the truth, I’ll always be within reach. Simply have faith.”
“Wait!”
But she was already gone, leaving only the echo of her final words:
“Make me proud, my avatar.”
Go Johan stood alone in the Pantheon for a long moment, processing everything that had happened. Then he turned and walked back toward the entrance, where his family was waiting.
The armored giants bowed as he passed, recognizing the change in him.
Outside, he could sense Sanctum still battling the giants, growing stronger with each engagement. Lee Jae-Kyung was coordinating their movements flawlessly.
Go Johan smiled and began to run back toward them, his heart lighter than it had been in years.
He had work to do.
*
*
*
“Where the hell has he gone?”
Go Min-Ji panted as she parried another giant’s strike, sweat streaming down her face.
“He said he’d be back,” Go Woo-Jin replied, never taking his eyes off the enemy before him.
“That was hours ago!”
“Trust him,” Han Su-Ah called out as she landed a precise strike on a giant’s knee joint. “When has he ever abandoned us?”
“There’s a first time for everything!”
But even as Go Min-Ji complained, her movements had become fluid and precise. The extended battle had pushed all of them to new heights.
Lee Jae-Kyung seemed to be everywhere at once, supporting whoever needed it most, his swordsmanship having evolved during the long engagement.
“Something’s coming,” one of the raid members called out.
In the distance, a figure was approaching at incredible speed.
“Is that…?”
The figure landed among them with the force of a meteor, sending shockwaves through the ground. But instead of causing damage, the impact somehow reinvigorated everyone present.
“Miss me?” Go Johan asked, grinning.
Go Min-Ji wanted to punch him, but something stopped her. There was something different about her brother, something that made her instinctively want to kneel.
“What happened to you?” she asked instead.
“I had a conversation with someone important. But we can talk about that later.”
Go Johan looked around at his family, his team, his chosen people, and felt the goddess’s presence warm in his heart.
“Right now, we have a Gate to finish.”
The giants around them had stopped attacking and were now watching with what seemed like anticipation.
Go Johan raised his hand, and divine light flowed from him to every member of Sanctum.
“Let’s go home.”