Chapter 75
Max looked at Kedric and thought,
‘Except for not being able to use mana, he’s actually really skilled.’
But what use was that?
Against high-class monsters with the power of the evil god, only mana and holy power could kill them.
No matter how good Kedric’s sword skills were, without mana he was only half a knight.
‘Still… maybe nothing will happen after all?’
Just as Max thought so, a monster appeared in his sight.
It was different from the low-class monsters they had faced so far.
Huge body, thick muscles, and six glaring eyes.
Max screamed.
“Haol!”
It was Haol, a high-class monster.
Kedric turned back.
Jerat and the senior knights did not move. They just watched.
Jerat even smirked.
As expected, he had no intention of helping. Even though just one Haol could wipe out all the trainees here.
Kedric rolled to the side and swung at Haol’s arm that was reaching for Max.
But his normal iron sword couldn’t cut a monster.
Clang!
His blade bounced off uselessly.
Haol raised its leg, aiming to crush Kedric.
【Roll to the left.】
【If that hits, your organs will burst.】
Kedric rolled left just in time. Voices in his head warned him.
【Run.】
【Alone, you can survive.】
【Or use our power.】
The voices kept speaking.
He knew it already. If he obeyed and used holy power, he could fight the monster.
‘But Lady Irina said I must not use holy power in front of others.’
Then… should he abandon them and run?
Max and the other trainees had already dropped their swords, completely frozen with fear.
Kedric was the only one still moving.
The voices tempted him.
【If you run, you can hide your secret.】
【Don’t you want to stay with that girl Irina?】
Their whispers were sweet.
And they were right. If he left everyone behind, escaping would be easy.
Kedric clenched his teeth.
The voices shouted in his head like madness.
And then—
He heard Irina’s voice, clear in his ears.
“Kedric, you can use holy power.”
As if by a miracle, all noise vanished.
The tempting voices, the screams—everything disappeared.
Kedric’s sword moved.
And its movement was completely different from before.
Max, sitting frozen, stared in shock at the white light bursting from Kedric’s sword. His jaw dropped.
“H-holy power?”
Jerat was no different.
He muttered under his breath.
“So it was true…”
So Irina really had hidden a boy who awakened holy power.
But why? What was she thinking?
Jerat gave a hollow laugh.
Seeing it with his own eyes only made her actions seem more insane.
To hide such a dangerous boy in the family…
His face unreadable, Jerat whispered,
“I must make a decision.”
The power flowing out of Kedric was overwhelming.
Knights with holy power were rare.
Usually, those born with it had weak bodies and rarely survived to adulthood.
But sometimes—very rarely—one appeared who had both strong holy power and a body stronger than other knights.
Max didn’t know much about holy power.
But even his simple eyes could see the strength Kedric held.
Kedric was thirteen.
One of the youngest among the trainees.
Yet before his immense holy power, the monster was nothing.
【By the will of God.】
The voice rang in his head as his sword pierced Haol’s neck.
KRAAAH!
With a final cry, the huge monster collapsed.
Irina was watching from afar.
Gaon stood beside her, silent, eyes fixed on Kedric.
“You looked like you were about to cast a spell, but you held back,” he said.
“Kedric could handle it.”
“Yet you still kept your magic ready to fire.”
“I couldn’t let him get hurt.”
Gaon wouldn’t have blamed Kedric if he had run.
It was a terrifying battle, even for adults.
Thirteen years old.
Still just a child.
Even academy graduates struggled against high-class monsters.
But Kedric had not abandoned his helpless companions.
He stood and fought.
‘And he won.’
Even Gaon was surprised by his willpower.
“Yes… just as you said, that boy’s holy power is extraordinary. Even I was impressed.”
“You were very impressed, not just a little.”
Irina’s teasing hit home.
Because the truth was—Gaon had been very surprised.
The way Kedric faced Jerat’s cruel scheme—
Honestly, it was admirable.
“You told him to use his holy power, didn’t you?”
“Yes. We can’t hide it forever. Better to use it for the right cause.”
Then Irina asked Gaon,
“Sir Gaon, do you believe in God?”
A strange question for a holy knight.
“I’m called a fanatic sometimes. That’s how devout I am.”
“I know that.”
Did he believe? Yes.
‘He exists.’
But believing was different from trusting.
Because Gaon hated Him.
If only His mercy had reached his parents.
If only he had never been given holy power.
But those were useless wishes.
“I can use holy power because I believe He exists. The more you believe, the stronger it becomes.”
“The God of Light is merciless to His children who betray Him.”
“But believing and trusting are not the same.”
“……”
“If my God is righteous, then why is the High Priest still alive?”
Gaon’s eyes were bloodshot.
“If He is so merciful, why do the corrupt still hold power?”
He smiled bitterly.
“Is my God really just? I wonder that often.”
“……”
“Only the strongest in holy power can become High Priest. That monster has sat in the seat for over a hundred years. Why hasn’t my God taken back his holy power?”
“Sir Gaon…”
“If even the wicked are called His children when they believe, then does He accept false faith as well?”
If God truly existed, why give such strength to that man?
Why did it never fade?
Gaon thought—
Maybe the High Priest was a follower of the evil god.
Maybe that was why even God couldn’t touch him.
It was a dangerous, even blasphemous, thought.
That the holy temple itself was tainted.
“People’s faith in the temple is blind. And it only grows stronger. Unless that man is torn down from his seat, can we ever win?”
Irina stayed quiet.
She knew what had happened to him. She knew how his younger sister had met her end.
Often, she wished she could go back before the girl’s death.
But that was impossible.
‘We can’t save everyone.’
For some reason, she had returned to the past.
Whether it was God’s will or just a mistake, she didn’t know.
But one thing was clear—
Returning gave her the power to change things.
“They say even in a filthy swamp, flowers can bloom.”
“……”
“I can’t say everything God does is right. But people like you and Kedric—those with holy power—aren’t all evil.”
