The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower-Chapter 294

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Chapter 294: Primordial Evil (9)

“Hmm.”

In the midst of battle, Belpher looked up at the ceiling with a clearly displeased expression.

By now, he should have already retrieved the malice—but it still couldn’t reach him.

‘Do those Church dogs I saw earlier really have power to this extent?’

Naturally, this wasn’t a good thing.

The reason he’d been able to fight so leisurely was precisely because of that malice.

Unless he recovered it, the initiative in this battle would inevitably remain with the enemy.

Catching this shift, Heavenly Sword smirked.

“Your face looks like you’re chewing shit. What’s wrong? Did something go wrong with your little ‘delivery’ on the way here?”

“……”

Belpher narrowed his eyes, glaring at him.

“Go ahead, talk. Bask in that fleeting, pathetic sense of advantage while you can.”

“You talk too much for a beaten dog like yourself.”

Heavenly Sword didn’t force a reckless attack.

His opponent was holding out far better than he initially expected.

‘Archbishop Baldwin… seems far more capable than he appears.’

It had already been over three minutes since the Holy Sword was stored in the subspace.

Meaning, in just two more minutes, he could fight with the Holy Sword fully restored.

‘Just two minutes. No more, no less—that’s all I need.’

The Ashen Mage seemed to be thinking the same thing.

He simply waited, refraining from provoking the enemy.

Heavenly Sword even went one step further.

“No matter how many times I see it, I can’t get used to that ability. What are you, anyway? A demonkin?”

To keep the situation stable longer, he kept the conversation flowing, ensuring the opponent wouldn’t grow suspicious.

“Demonkin? I don’t know what that is, but I’m human.”

“…Human?”

Heavenly Sword frowned.

As the former Sword Lord of the Heavenly Sword Clan, he had access to countless pieces of classified history.

Yet not once, in all recorded human history, had a human with abilities like this ever been documented.

Belpher laughed, pleased by the reaction.

“Yes, history is written by the victors—but you’ve even erased legitimate history.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Let me tell you an amusing story.”

Belpher slowly closed his eyes and began to speak.

“A long time ago—hundreds of years ago—humans completed a certain book. A thick tome that supposedly recorded every word spoken by ‘God’ over countless ages. They called it the Holy Scripture.”

It was a story of the El Terra Church's past.

“Foolish humans believed that by reading the scripture, they had attained understanding of all truths of the world. Pathetic arrogance. Only a saint can hear the voice of God, and even then, that ‘voice’ amounts to a few words once every several years.”

“…….”

“The Church wanted the influence of their Earth Mother Goddess to grow. So they devised a grand plan—a feat so overwhelming that the whole world would come to praise their god.”

He paused, then spoke again.

“That was the World Purification Project.”

“They planned to exterminate all criminals?”

“No… something far more fundamental.”

Tap, tap.

Belpher tapped his own temple.

“They believed this— the thoughts and emotions inside one’s head—were the real cause of crime. Evil intent itself. So, they decided to gather all the world’s malice into one place and erase it.”

“……”

Heavenly Sword’s expression stiffened.

It was too simplistic—borderline idiotic—so much so that it was hard to believe.

“I understand your reaction. But the plan was real, and the Church prepared a vessel—something that could hold all that malice.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Yes. Me.”

Belpher spread his arms wide.

“You asked if I was human, right? Yes. I am human. I even lived among those filth, revered as a Saint. They said a body capable of containing enormous divinity should easily contain something as low-quality as malice.”

“……”

“The experiment was carried out on this remote island, far from the continent. And as you can see—it failed.”

Squelch—

Thick black sludge dripped from Belpher’s entire body.

His appearance alone said everything.

He failed to contain the malice.

He failed to erase it.

“It’s only natural that they panicked. If I reached the mainland, their atrocities would be exposed. So they organized multiple expeditions to kill me.”

A cynical smile curved his lips.

“But in the end, by killing the world’s ‘Demon King,’ they achieved what they wanted. So perhaps it’s not fair to call it a failure at all?”

“……”

Heavenly Sword and Lloyd were speechless.

No one could have imagined that the being called the Demon King was born like this.

‘Chances are Archbishop Baldwin doesn’t know this either.’

If he did, he wouldn’t have come with such inadequate preparation.

Meaning that perhaps only a handful within the Church knew this secret—

maybe the Pope?

Or… maybe none remained.

The Church would never allow such a truth to survive.

“A pity.”

“Thank you for understanding. In that case—why don’t you give me a chance to cross the sea and exact my revenge?”

“No. That won’t be happening.”

Heavenly Sword refused instantly.

“I have much to protect on the other side. And there’s no telling when you might betray us.”

“Hah. Fair enough.”

Belpher nodded.

But even after the conversation ended, he still didn’t attack.

Instead, he stared at the three men and spoke.

“Something is off.”

He tilted his head.

Once he regained the malice, everything would be over—yet his opponents seemed strangely relaxed.

As if time itself was on their side.

‘Do they really think just wasting time will let them win? Why?’

Belpher rapidly calculated the possible scenarios of his defeat.

Hundreds, thousands of simulations flashed through his mind before a conclusion emerged.

‘The Holy Sword.’

The only thing that could kill him—

just as it did 842 years ago—

was the Church’s holy relic, Itaca.

All the more reason this was bizarre.

‘But Itaca has lost all divine power.’

It would take decades for even a sliver of divinity to regenerate.

Centuries to return to peak condition.

‘Unless… the Church made a new Holy Relic?’

Impossible.

If they had, they would have used it immediately.

Which left only one conclusion.

“You… have a method to restore the Holy Sword.”

“……”

Heavenly Sword did not answer.

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His eyes, his expression, his breathing—none changed.

But that lack of reaction was the perfect confirmation.

“You’re quiet. If it were nonsense, you’d call it nonsense.”

“Believe whatever you want.”

“I shall.”

Belpher’s gaze slid past Heavenly Sword and Lloyd—

and stopped on Oscar.

“Is he the key?”

Ever since the Holy Sword vanished, he had a bad feeling.

Now that he knew the truth, Belpher grew calm.

“In other words, this is a race against time. Whether I retrieve my malice first—or the Holy Sword recovers first.”

The long explanation meant that only 53 seconds remained until the Holy Sword recovered.

Keeping track of every second, Heavenly Sword opened his mouth.

“The tide has already turned. You must know it too.”

“Yes—until now. But since I know the situation is bad, I’ll simply struggle harder.”

Belpher grinned.

At the same moment—

The external malice transformed into spear-like shapes.

‘Those massive waves of mana flying through the air—those must be their airships.’

Destroying them would force a reaction.

Belpher’s prediction was spot-on.

A gap formed in the divine barrier.

“Perfect.”

His eyes gleamed sharply—

and—

KRAAAASH!

The ceiling collapsed as dozens of people fell through.

Those who barely landed coughed up blood, overwhelmed by the malice they were exposed to.

“Ssshhh.”

And then—

A massive torrent of malice surged toward Belpher.

“Youngster!”

“I’m already doing it!”

At Heavenly Sword’s shout, Lloyd unleashed his mana.

The purpose of their fight had changed.

Before, they fought only to buy time.

Now, their goal was to restrain the enemy for even one second more.

“Heaven-Cleaving Blade.”

From the open ceiling, a gigantic blade of mana descended—

striking directly atop Belpher, who writhed within the raging malice.

Heavenly Sword moved in sync.

“World Liberation.”

A monster who had swung a sword for over a century.

The ideal of all swordsmen.

A man nearing Level 9—humanity’s absolute peak.

His explosive aura swept through the entire area.

“One Sword, Ten Thousand Phenomena, Severing All Realms.”

“……!”

Lloyd’s eyes narrowed.

An overwhelming wave of mana had shaken the world—

yet nothing in the environment had changed.

‘What? Did he fail to construct the world?’

Had he made a mistake from lack of practice?

But Heavenly Sword’s expression was relaxed.

“Hmm.”

There were no sword-shaped constructs slicing through the sky.

Because in the world he created, a “sword” was not a specific object—

but a concept.

“My will. My intention.”

Nothing in the environment needed to change.

In his world, everything—

broken rubble, falling stones, drifting wind, even sunlight—

could be treated as a sword.

“Cut.”

He whispered softly—

and Belpher was literally annihilated.

His body was sliced into tens of thousands of pieces instantly.

Lloyd’s jaw dropped—

but Heavenly Sword did not relax.

‘Not yet.’

Belpher had absorbed part of that black tide earlier.

Meaning he was no longer the 7-level opponent Heavenly Sword had been playing with.

‘At minimum… early Level 8. Mid-Level 8 would be safer to assume.’

Heavenly Sword kept cutting, cutting, cutting—

giving him no time to regenerate.

‘Sixteen seconds left. At this rate…’

He was about to think it might work—

When a chill ran down his spine.

“……!”

Without thinking, Heavenly Sword leaped backward.

That instinct saved his life.

“Mm. Pity.”

Belpher stood exactly where Heavenly Sword had been—

meaning Heavenly Sword had failed to track his movement.

‘I lost sight of him?’

A rare sense of shock washed over him.

Ever since reaching Level 8, nothing had escaped his perception.

‘This is… dangerous.’

Belpher didn’t miss the momentary gap.

In a blur, he passed Heavenly Sword, bypassed Lloyd—

and reached Oscar.

‘Good.’

The boy was still focused entirely on restoring the sword.

He probably didn’t even realize death was inches from him.

He would die without ever knowing he had died.

Belpher swung his hand to eliminate the final variable.

‘It’s done.’

The moment he was certain of his victory—

Swoosh.

Oscar tilted his head, casually avoiding the strike.

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