Apostle of the Void

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 55: Wintering (6)

The change in daily life began three weeks after arriving in the village.

As usual, Arzen was felling trees with Pvoaki and stacking them with Evakta when suddenly a loud scolding rang out.

“Peggy, you little rascal! Didn’t I tell you that you can’t cast spells carelessly? Huh?”

Startled, Arzen turned around to see the witch approaching, leaning on her staff.

This area was steep; one wrong step could lead to serious injury.

At her age, she could very well die from a fall.

If that happened, Arzen would become a murder suspect, and under the relentless pursuit of the Witch Association… No, that couldn't happen!

“Oh, Witch! Why did you come all the way out here in this cold weather?”

Arzen rushed over to support her.

But the witch struck him sharply on the top of his head with her staff.

It was an attack filled with genuine intent, not something to be dismissed as a joke.

Arzen was bewildered.

“Didn’t I tell you that habits are frightening? If I’m not watching, you just try to take it easy, and if that really becomes second nature, it would be a disaster!”

“Witch, ah! Stop hitting me! I’m Arzen!”

“Try that again!”

“Ugh! I’m Arzen!”

“Are you making fun of me? Quickly, use the same spell you were using before!”

Damn, this witch… Has she gone senile?

There was no way to forcibly chase her away, and it was truly a tricky situation.

‘But… this might be a good experiment.’

If he could use the power of the Void in front of such an elderly witch without raising any suspicion?

‘In the future, I could use the Void more comfortably in front of others!’

Arzen opened the grimoire and shouted the incantation to summon the Void's grotesque plant.

‘Controlling Evakta with both hands is really bothersome.’

As he put down the grimoire and attempted to control the grotesque plant with both hands, once again, the staff struck him on the head.

“Ow, that hurts!”

“Fool, fool, fool! Are you just going to ignore the double incantation method?”

“W-What’s the double incantation method?”

The answer came from Eren, the witch's apprentice.

“It’s the spellcasting technique organized and announced by the legendary witch Turena.”

Did she just come back from gathering herbs?

Eren was dressed like an herbalist, wearing a straw hat and carrying a burden on her back.

It oddly suited her well. Such simple beauty looked even better on her.

“It was originally one of the spellcasting methods from Lady Frida, the witch of the Fire Dragon, but she used it unconsciously.”

“The Fire Dragon’s witch? The one from the Hero Party?”

“Yes. It was then that her apprentice, the witch Turena, consciously controlled it and established the double incantation method for everyone to use.”

“But what does that have to do with me? I’m a sorcerer!”

“Well, in this situation, the only thing you can do is match the rhythm with your master.”

“It seems the witch thinks of me as her apprentice; clear that up!”

“How long are you going to keep talking, fool? Hurry up and get on with it!”

The witch’s scolding rang out once more.

Arzen decided to adapt to this insane play-acting.

“Ah, Master! I’m so foolish that I forgot what that is!”

“Fool, fool, fool! Think of the man you like the most in the world!”

“I don’t like that man.”

“Then think of the man you dislike!”

Arzen thought of Garrison, who called himself the King of Authority.

He was one of the executives of the <Divine Guillotine> and had been especially cruel to Arzen.

Anger boiled inside him.

‘That bastard.’

If he could meet him again, he would kill him without a trace using the power of the Void.

How could he win against someone who was a top-ranking golden-tier player with the “Mark of Obedience” on him, rendering him unable to fight back?

That bastard had already been dealt with by Hydra.

So, it could be said that Arzen was the victor.

“Let out a curse for him in just one word.”

“In just one word? That’s too hard!”

“Do it if I say so, fool!”

“Hey, you piece of shit!”

In an empty forest where only the pines shivered in the bleak winter wind, his voice rang out.

‘Huh.’

For some reason, he felt a bit of his mood lighten.

“Yes, that’s it! That’s the double incantation method!”

“Calling him a piece of shit is the double incantation method? Hah, I guess legendary witches were all foul-mouthed, huh? Hehe.”

“Fool, fool, fool!”

“Ah! Ouch! Ugh! Please stop hitting me! This is child abuse!”

“That’s the kind of feeling you should have when you recite the spell. Condense all the information and emotions about the target into one word!”

It didn’t seem like she would let him go easily, so he decided to think it through. He needed to properly confirm the explanation for Evakta.

Realizing something truly profound was indeed befitting of any task.

Longing for divine wisdom.

Evakta, through a deep understanding of the being of the Void, reach a new realization.

So, did that mean he needed to cram this explanation into the incantation for Evakta?

‘How exactly do I do that?!’

But he thought it might be worth a try, even if it felt like he was being tricked.

If he didn’t get out of this mess, he wouldn’t be able to finish his tasks for the day.

“Eva──!”

Realizing something truly profound was indeed befitting of any task. Longing for divine wisdom.

“──kta!”

He couldn’t fully capture the remaining phrases, as they weren’t familiar enough, and his concentration was waning.

‘But… this is strange, so very strange!’

Surprisingly, it felt more vibrant than any Evakta he had seen before.

The manifestation time was a bit longer than usual, but it was significantly more meaningful.

“This feeling. Remember this feeling!”

The witch poked him sharply in the diaphragm, exactly opposite his heart.

It felt like a light jab but came with considerable pain.

Until now, he hadn’t noticed, but perhaps the core organ where power was gathered and expelled was located here?

“M-Master! Where exactly are we?”

“Huh? Arzen! Why are you out here? Aren’t you cold? Huh?”

“W-What?”

Is it really possible that I'm losing my mind at such a crucial moment?

Arzen sighed and helped the witch back to the cabin.

However, his heart was pounding.

‘The double incantation method!’

Arzen had no master.

The priest who taught him the healing miracles was trash.

‘A piece of garbage who was expelled from the order for past offenses of sexual assault, castrated, and spent 25 years in prison!’

He had completely lost his divine power due to his misdeeds and couldn’t perform any miracles.

But he could guide others.

That’s why the <Divine Guillotine> had paid to bring him in to teach Arzen healing miracles.

‘Just thinking about being tormented by that bastard…!’

If it hadn’t been for Kirke during that time, Arzen might have been assaulted as well.

‘But why is the double incantation method, which is only used in sorcery, applicable to the Void miracles?’

This was a question without an answer.

The progenitor of magic and sorcery was the Black Sun, Carenden.

He was the most mysterious and secretive among the <Beings>, leaving no significant traces in the world.

Unlike the other <Beings>, he didn’t leave miracles but rather magic and sorcery, which was quite a notable difference.

‘That’s not my concern. The important thing is that this applies to my Void miracles, and that’s the only fact that matters!’

Arzen groaned as he laid the witch on the bed in the cabin and then returned to his work.

The trees he needed to fell were still plentiful.

Thinking of the number of those trees as the offerings he would use to grow stronger brought a warm smile to his face.

‘I will become several times stronger than I am now during this winter, through this double incantation method!’

* * *

Kirke, a former executive of the <Divine Guillotine>, opened her eyes that winter.

She had been in a state of unconsciousness for over three months.

Propped up against the bed, Kirke began to testify.

“Our adventuring party originally met during the golden-tier promotion match, and we formed a party because we clicked so well.”

Contrary to what the pilgrims called rude, the Scarlet Flame Akirea allowed it.

“Believe it or not, they were originally good guys. Yes, but when our vanguard and leader, Olart, kept failing to promote to platinum rank, dissonance started to emerge.”

“What happened?”

“At first, Olart wandered to gain artifacts and… unfortunately got his hands on the Abyssal Artifact. I told him I needed to report it to the Holy See immediately, but the next day, the Black Church contacted us.”

The red pilgrims gasped in shock.

Akirea, who was standing by the window, had wrinkles forming around her eyebrows.

“Where? What kind of people?”

“I don’t know the details, but… Olart became incredibly strong right after that, and as you know, he rose to the fourth rank of platinum. The other executives… I mean, the original members also benefited. Everyone except me.”

“Why?”

“I felt something was off… I might be a nasty person, but I thought this path was too wrong. In fact, Olart began to treat talented kids like slaves from that time on.”

The red pilgrim sighed.

“It’s impossible. There is nowhere in this continent that we cannot see.”

“No, in reality, you couldn’t find them, could you? There were about five of those types in the <Divine Guillotine>.”

“What?”

“A barrier of the Dragon God.”

Kirke was startled by Akirea’s statement but soon nodded.

“Yes, that’s what they called it. They said with that power, they would never be caught…”

「…….」

"As I kept opposing each of those actions, I gradually became an unworthy presence for an executive. I lost my voice in discussions."

「……!」

"So one day… I tried to escape with the kids I was forced to treat like slaves, but they were already waiting for us, somehow knowing our plan. The result was, well, as you can see."

Kirke was one of the top-ranking members.

If they were to disappear without a trace or be killed, it would raise suspicion, so they simply rendered her a useless shell.

There were many cases of extreme stress leading to madness after encounters with bizarre monsters.

Having lived like this, Kirke couldn't speak to anyone or move her body properly.

"I should have saved them then… They were probably the first to die. They would have been used as cannon fodder when they were annihilated in the <Flowing Desert>."

The red pilgrims glanced at Akirea.

No matter how far the Black Church had spread its influence, they couldn’t say it was without fault for failing to detect and punish such evil deeds in advance.

Akirea remained silent for a while.

In her eyes, staring out at the distant desert, a fire of righteous indignation burned.

「Despite all the efforts to weed them out, they appeared again in the end...」

Akirea sighed.

The era of stability seemed to be coming to an end, and chaos was about to begin anew.

「I will go to the Holy Sea. You all need to seal the continent even more meticulously and ensure that the survivors of the <Divine Guillotine> are hunted down.」

“Understood, Your Excellency!”

「Kirke, come with me. I hope you can explain in detail what has happened during our journey. It’s very important.」

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]