Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 91 - Corwin (Part 1)

Chapter 91 – Corwin (Part 1)

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Elbridge looked back as he ran.

As if lightning were flashing inside the clouds, the clouds in the night sky flickered in succession.

Yet, unlike the clamorous spectacle, no sound of thunder was heard at all.

Due to the fire Rombel had set while escaping, flames rose here and there along with acrid smoke.

‘It is a landscape that looks as if the world has completely gone to ruin.’

It had not been a particularly peaceful world to begin with.

There must have already been several demons that had broken free from their seals and were active, and perhaps some had been holding their breath and waiting for their time for over two hundred years.

But tonight, over ten more demons had been unleashed. The world would become that much more chaotic.

Was it because Elbridge’s expression was so grave?

The Goddess of the Rusty Shield delivered an oracle in a voice more serious than usual.

– Elbridge. My most cherished child. The entire situation was already set in stone long ago. There was nothing you could have done, so this situation is not your fault.

“Thank you for your words, Goddess.”

But as is usually the case with the affairs of the world, his heart did not find ease. His chest still felt heavy.

“Goddess. For what reason did the God of the Bloody Spear orchestrate such a thing?”

– Your goddess is not well-informed about rumors, Elbridge.

“Does the Chief God not punish the God of the Bloody Spear?”

– The Chief God only punishes gods who wield unauthorized power. He does not judge the rightness or wrongness of actions.

He knew this. The classification of good and evil gods did not exist in the world.

There were only gods who lived within the fence established by the Chief God, and those who did not.

He felt so frustrated that he wanted to scream.

But he could not even do that, as it might draw the attention of the demons.

If a problem arose now, Elbridge was not the only one whose life would be in danger.

‘Sonya.’

Only then did Elbridge look at Sonya.

Despite having screamed her lungs out just moments ago, she was now swaying with a dazed expression.

It was not because her tension had dissipated or because she was exhausted.

She was simply struggling to cope with the situation—the succession of extreme events she had experienced tonight.

In Sonya’s relatively short life, tonight must have been the worst night, and perhaps no day as bad as today would ever come again.

‘…Surely she isn’t losing her mind.’

Elbridge had seen many people go mad. He had also witnessed the process of them losing their minds.

Conversely, he had also seen those who steadfastly overcame any situation.

Those who strong-willedly overcame any situation had two things in common.

Movement, and conversation.

The more difficult the moment, the more they moved their bodies. And they poured out the thoughts filling their minds to anyone.

Elbridge set down Sonya, whom he had been carrying under his arm.

“Sonya. Walk on your own from here.”

“Uh, uh-huh…”

Though Sonya staggered, it was not long before she began to walk normally.

A bit of focus returned to Sonya’s dazed eyes.

Elbridge broke the ice.

“Sonya.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have any idea why Viscount Dickens gathered the seals?”

Sonya poured out her thoughts as if she had been waiting.

“It must be because of my mother.”

Elbridge and Sonya were not close enough to share trivial family stories. At least, not until yesterday.

As such, all Elbridge knew about Sonya’s mother was that she had taken Sonya to the Grand Festival in Solenion.

“My father was not a man of great mood swings. He wasn’t in a position where he could achieve anything grand even if he tried, nor did he lack much.”

A border lord was still a noble.

In fact, the Dickens Viscountcy was not as tiny as the Riverford Barony. A man of Viscount Dickens’s status was more than capable of acting as the boss of his own corner.

“After I left to study in the central region, I returned to the fief once a year. When I came home at the age of fourteen, I learned that my mother had passed away. My father was half out of his mind.”

“It must have been hard on him.”

“Yes. If it were now, I would have stayed by his side… but I was young then. I couldn’t bear that atmosphere, so I left my hometown and returned to the Mage Tower.”

The direction they were heading was engulfed in flames. Elbridge veered toward a path where the fire had spread less.

And he glanced back slightly. Fortunately, there was no sign of any demon approaching.

“When I returned to the fief again a year later, my father looked more or less like his usual self. It was around that time that he brought up the idea that he might be able to bring my mother back to life… I think that was also around the time he started gathering the demon seals.”

“Sonya. A dead person cannot come back to life.”

The soul of the deceased dwells in a new body and gains a new life.

For it to be possible to bring a dead person back to life, one must be able to tear the soul that has gained a new life away from its new body.

This was, of course, impossible. How could one tear a soul away from a body when they didn’t even know which body it had entered?

“I thought so too. But my father believed that if he finished the preparations before my mother’s soul could obtain a new body, he could bring her back.”

“Surely he didn’t target the power of a demon for that?”

Sonya shook her head.

“My father was not a bold enough man to utilize a demon’s seal. I think he regarded the seals as valuable offerings. He said that if he prepared enough offerings and dedicated them to God, God would return my mother in exchange.”

“But you knew those spheres were demon seals, didn’t you?”

“I only found out last year. And by then… it was already too late.”

Elbridge’s judgment had been correct.

Like opening a new waterway for a dam on the verge of bursting, Sonya poured out all kinds of stories. The light in Sonya’s eyes also gradually regained stability.

Elbridge silently listened to her story as he walked through the burning streets of the Dickens Viscountcy.

*

Before long, Elbridge joined up with the rest of the party.

Rombel raised his hand high and welcomed Elbridge.

“See? I told you Elbridge would make it out alive.”

A sudden thought occurred to Elbridge.

Elbridge stopped in his tracks.

“Rombel. Just asking, to be sure… you didn’t set that fire for any special purpose, did you?”

“What purpose? Don’t you know the Starwave hates fire?”

“…No. Forget it.”

As expected, Rombel had simply thought that since the Starwave appeared, he had to set a fire; he did not seem to realize that the Starwave, avoiding the flames, might move in Elbridge’s direction.

Elbridge felt secretly relieved.

‘Then again, there is no way Rombel would have thought of something even I couldn’t foresee.’

Subsequently, Elbridge’s and Marcus’s gazes met.

“Marcus. Please convey my gratitude to the God of the Sunshower.”

Had the God of the Sunshower not taken the risk to intervene on the earth, there was a high probability that Elbridge would not have escaped unscathed.

Even if Elbridge had somehow survived, Sonya would have almost certainly died.

Yet Marcus himself seemed completely oblivious to what had transpired.

“Did something happen?”

“The God of the Sunshower will tell you.”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll tell me later. If you’re grateful, you should make a donation.”

Since it was a reaction typical of Marcus, Elbridge let out a chuckle.

“I should do that. By the way, the number of Crows seems to have decreased significantly.”

“More than a few have died.”

“How on earth did that happen?”

“The demon that woke up along with the Starwave. That bastard brushed past the ground. As he did, a whirlwind-like force rose, and by some trickery, the flames suddenly expanded wildly.”

No wonder the flames had grown to such a severe degree in such a short span of time.

“Those who dawdled to grab even a little more and failed to escape the buildings are likely mostly dead. We couldn’t possibly save those people either…”

Elbridge looked around his surroundings.

Every person here had survived on the boundary between life and death.

Even though the psychological shock must have been immense, most of the surviving Crows had bright expressions. Bart was one of them.

Elbridge approached Bart.

Bart showed off the necklace he was holding tightly in his hand to Elbridge, boasting about it.

“It was worth staying until the very end. With a necklace like this, I can easily build a brewery and still have plenty left over.”

“I heard that the price of gems has dropped a lot lately.”

“Then I can just make a slightly smaller brewery.”

However, Elbridge did not miss the slight trembling of Bart’s hand.

It was only natural. How could a brewery owner, who had never fought risking his life, remain serene in the face of the fear of death?

Yet Bart was not consumed by fear and dread.

“Whether the brewery is big or small doesn’t matter. Once people taste the beer I make, they won’t be able to resist doing business with me, so the brewery will grow in no time. My dilemma now is whether I should make wine or whiskey after the beer…”

Without a doubt, Bart would overcome his fear, stand on his own feet, and lead a new life.

As proof, was he not lecturing Elbridge on a grand plan for running his brewery, as if he had no interest whatsoever in tonight’s events?

*

Elbridge’s party made their way out of the Dickens Viscountcy without any clash with the demons.

The old knight Walter offered a handshake to Elbridge.

“It is time to part ways.”

“Do you plan to return to the Riverford Barony?”

“Yes. I plan to return as quickly as possible and suggest once again to Baron Riverford that we must persuade the fief’s residents and set off for Solenion.”

Walter had seen the demon. Now, Walter could no longer remain in ignorance. Sooner or later, he would take action.

“I will look forward to the day we meet in Solenion.”

“Let’s do that.”

Walter departed in the direction of the Riverford Barony.

As if that were a signal, the Crows also scattered in various directions. Some headed for their hometowns, some for Solenion, and others toward the northern or central regions…

Now, only Rombel, Marcus, and Sonya remained by Elbridge’s side.

“Sonya. Are you returning to the Central Mage Tower?”

A mage was a highly skilled resource, and Sonya was a mage capable of carrying her own weight.

Although she would not be able to devote herself to training as she did when supported by Viscount Dickens, she would be able to sustain her livelihood without much difficulty if she undertook tasks suitable for a mage.

However, Sonya gave a resolute answer.

“No. I am going to seek out the Order of the Bloody Spear.”

What Sonya wanted was only one thing. Revenge.

“I heard that there is a temple of the Order of the Bloody Spear in Solenion. Take me with you.”

Elbridge had no intention of leaving the Order of the Bloody Spear alone either.

Until now, he had regarded them as neighbors of the shantytown, but now that he knew the circumstances, he could not sit idly by.

Elbridge’s mind grew complicated once again.

Why did the Order of the Bloody Spear orchestrate such a thing? Was this a rogue act by an individual, or a crime on the scale of the entire order? If it was not a lone act, how many people were entangled in this incident?

*

A few days later, the party arrived in Solenion.

Marcus muttered.

“Somehow, the atmosphere feels a bit different from usual.”

It was unsettling, as if something had occurred.

Several people recognized Elbridge and subtly tried to show familiarity.

Most of it was one-sided friendliness, but there was also one person with whom he shared mutual acquaintance: Viveca, a paladin of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss.

“Elbridge?”

Viveca trotted over, but when she saw Sonya, her expression turned lukewarm.

“Who is this?”

“A mage I know.”

“Ah, really? I was just asking. There is no particular meaning behind it…”

It was not a mere excuse. In the past, Elbridge had drawn a clear line with Viveca, and Viveca had cleanly given up her feelings.

‘Still, she seems to care.’

Elbridge asked Viveca back.

“The atmosphere in Solenion is strange. Did something happen?”

“Indeed it did!”

Viveca puffed out her chest confidently.

“Signs started showing a few days ago, and then the day before yesterday, a demon appeared again. This time it didn’t enter Solenion itself but remained outside, and we ended up repelling and sealing it. I also played quite an active part.”

Viveca boasted of the scratches on her armor, just as the paladins of old used to do.

“Was the damage not severe?”

“There were no casualties among the residents, but more than fifteen paladins died. In particular, many paladins from the combat orders were killed. Still, I think we repelled it with fewer losses than expected.”

“Did many paladins from the Order of the Bloody Spear die as well?”

“Of course. In your absence, the Order of the Bloody Spear is the core combat force of Solenion.”

“…I see. Let’s talk more later.”

Elbridge walked up the hill with his companions. In an instant, the Temple of the Rusty Shield came into view.

However, instead of entering his own temple, Elbridge headed straight for the temple of the Order of the Bloody Spear.

There was no one around the temple of the Order of the Bloody Spear.

There was only a single presence felt inside.

Elbridge stepped inside the temple.

A man sat quietly, clad in his armor.

The Chief Paladin of the Order of the Bloody Spear, Sir Corwin.

Elbridge spoke.

“Corwin. I trust you know the reason why I have come to see you.”

Sir Corwin replied.

“Of course I do.”