chapter 19
19 episodes
“what? Why are you here?”
Ethan casually approached the checkpoint of the inner city.
Then there was a foul stench coming from his body.
“Wow!”
The guards gasped and covered their noses.
“Ugh.”
Even Nyx unconsciously raised his arm and covered his nose.
“Hey, what the hell is this?”
Seeing the people panic, Ethan raised an eyebrow.
The stench from when Thomas’s body was melted seemed to permeate his body.
“Ah, it smells a bit strong.”
“Where are you coming from? You haven’t forgotten what day it is, have you? You should have cleansed your body and mind and prepared for the ordination ceremony.”
“I have some work to do.”
“What could be more serious than the ordination ceremony of a priest? … .”
Nix, who was responding, suddenly shut his mouth.
Suddenly, a strong shock as if someone had hit his head with a hammer swept over him.
‘no way?’
Nick looked around.
Nouvelle City has always been a prosperous city.
The merciful Pars Church has always looked after the citizens of the New City state.
There were no people like the poor who had gathered in front of me now.
Because it is a sacred city, citizens have always tried to nurture and care for the new city.
Therefore, there was no place for Ethan to come to hide such a terrible stench.
If you really want to find the cause of this smell… … .
‘… Were you with the poor?!’
Then everything is explained.
It was Ethan who suddenly showed the miracle of resurrecting Seongbaeksu one day.
Although he sometimes acted in an unknown way, the purpose of his actions was always good.
‘Maybe it was a natural act because he was a person who humbly refused even the glory recognized by the Holy Father.’
Recalling this, Nix smiled benevolently.
Ethan had mistakenly mistakenly thought that he was with the poor.
‘what? Why is he suddenly making such a face?’
Meanwhile, Ethan became displeased when the Knicks looked at him with strange eyes.
‘Are you making a strange mistake again?’
While staying with Nyx at the church, he was getting used to Nyx’s delusion.
‘You idiot.’
Ethan shook his head.
There is a saying that illusion is freedom.
He wasn’t going to care what the Knicks were wrong.
“Go away.”
“All right!”
The two moved to introspection.
* * *
Ethan washed his body clean and put on the ceremonial attire, and headed to the ordination hall.
Soon hundreds of believers stood in the ordination hall.
All of them came here to become priests.
On either side of the lined up believers were delegations from different countries.
Among them was Matilda.
Ethan grinned.
‘You have a very thick face.’
A dark follower attending a church event.
It was a rare sight that could not be seen anywhere else.
At the podium at the center, there were several high-ranking priests, including Luisa, who was in charge of the ordination ceremony.
‘You must have been treated.’
Luisa’s cheek, which had swelled from being beaten by Matilda, was still intact.
The last thing Ethan’s gaze turned to while observing the surroundings was Seongbaeksu.
‘The Pope is over there.’
The highest priest of the Pars Church was seated in the seat closest to the center of Seongbaeksu.
Luisa came forward and opened her mouth.
“Before we begin the ceremony, let us prove that you have been favored by the great Pars!”
Many members of the congregation raised their left hands at once.
chuck!
And created a small brilliance at the fingertips.
In fact, the sanctity test was a ritual.
Because any talented person who came to the central church to hold the ordination ceremony as a priest could express his divine power.
The most important ceremony was different.
“Now, I’m going to do the ‘Responding Seongbaeksu’ ceremony.”
At those words, the surroundings murmured.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll see the ritual you’ve only heard of in real life!”
“Until last year, did you replace it with something other than Seongbaeksu?”
“yes. But now that Seongbaeksu has been resurrected, I am able to perform the ceremony proudly.”
“It seems that they are trying to promote the revival of Seong Baek-soo on a large scale.”
The pope smiled contentedly at the reaction of the people.
‘It’s only now that I have to deal with one of the church’s ailments.’
Seong Baek-soo’s response (呼應).
It was a ceremony that had not been held for a hundred years after Seongbaeksu had withered.
“When your name is called, come to Seongbaeksu and perform the ceremony. Knicks Justia!”
At Luisa’s call, Nix stood in front of Seong Baek-soo.
“Send out the divine power and receive the answer of the Holy White Water.”
“yes. All right.”
Before releasing the divine power, Nyx looked at the gathering place of the high priests.
His adoptive father, Shunin, was watching him with a strict face.
-Please try not to regret that I adopted you.
Those words crossed Nix’s mind.
Nick bit his lip and closed his eyes.
Then, he concentrated all his nerves and sent divine power to the inside of Seongbaeksu.
woo woo.
Then something amazing happened.
“Stand, Seong Baek-soo!”
“The holy white water has started to shine!”
Seongbaeksu, which had only been shining subtly so far, began to radiate golden light.
The dazzling light enveloped Nyx, as if the goddess Parrs spread her arms and embraced her.
Shunin, watching this scene, clenched the staff he was holding.
‘right! Only then can you say that you are the son of this Shunin!’
Luisa nodded her head.
“The great Pars has answered your call.”
“thank you.”
Nyx bowed down to Luisa with an exalted face and stepped back.
After that, whenever Luisa called her name, a large number of devotees approached the holy beast and performed the ceremony.
However, after the Knicks, there have been no believers who have produced such a strong light.
There were even believers who did not respond at all to Seong Baek-soo.
“Unfortunately, Pars did not answer your call.”
“Oh, that can’t be! Give me another chance!”
“I do not have such authority.”
“Nonsense! Pars! His Holiness! Give me one more chance!”
The followers, who had been hanging on to Luisa’s robes, were caught and dragged away by the Paladins.
Those who had high expectations were getting bored.
“The rest of the believers are arrogant.”
“The Knicks Justia that came out in the beginning was amazing. He is a candidate for saints, and he is the adopted son of the High Priest of the Son of Man.”
That was then.
“Ethan!”
At Luisa’s call, the attention of the crowd focused on a boy.
It was the moment Ethan, standing in front of Seongbaeksu, was trying to inject divine power into Seongbaeksu.
smal smal.
Seongbaeksu radiated golden energy and began to extend its stem to Ethan.
“Seo, Baek-soo Seong… … !”
“I haven’t been infused with divine power yet, so why?”
People started screaming.
Even the pope was startled and got up from his chair.
“Is it possible that Pars welcomes the child?”
The high priests were confused by the pope’s talk to himself.
“What? The high priest of the Son of Man welcomes lowly orphans, not the saintly candidates he raised?”
“There’s no way the Holy Spirit can talk nonsense, right?”
Luisa, who was standing under the holy white tree, looked at Ethan in embarrassment.
It was because the stem of the holy white tree was extending even to Luisa.
‘shit!’
Ethan muttered abusive language to himself and let out his divine power.
As if to focus on herself instead of Luisa.
‘ね!’
However, contrary to expectations, Seong Baek-soo deflected Ethan’s divine power.
Ethan frowned at the strong reaction force.
Ethan seemed to be wary of extorting divine magic by sending divine power to him in the past.
‘I know how to hold grudges on the subject of divine things. How are you?’
Ethan was amazed.
In fact, Seong Baek-su clearly remembered that his branch had been cut off over a hundred years ago.
So, it was natural to be wary of Edan’s recent stir within Seongbaeksu and stealing his divine magic.
‘You are greedy, too!’
Ethan smirked.
Ethan himself had removed the divine magic that was ruining the holy beast.
However, Seongbaeksu was also resisting because Edan had taken all the potential of the unknown divine magic.
Ethan laughed at him.
“This nasty tree is no different from a human.”
In fact, Ethan was guessing that Seong Baek-soo might reject him.
Ethan pulled out one of the many countermeasures he had in mind.
‘How about this then?’
Ethan poured divine magic into holy white water.
‘It’s a new magic that came from you in the first place. I can’t refuse.’
Whoa!
Seong Baek-soo gently accepted the divine magic that flowed in.
Seong Baek-soo turned the branch that had stretched out to Luisa and headed towards Ethan.
‘okay. When you go to that man, he doesn’t get what you want. Now show me your reaction.’
Ethan smiled confidently.
And that moment.
“Uh-huh!”
The branches of the holy beaksu wrapped around Ethan’s body and lifted him up into the air!
Ethan, who was short of breath, tried his best to remove the branch of Seongbaeksu.
‘This damn tree!’
Seong Baek-soo tried to absorb Edan’s energy in order to regain the divine magic that was lost to Edan.
The change of Seongbaeksu did not stop there.
The flower buds of Seongbaeksoo, which had been curled up, bloomed all at once.
Seongbaeksu, which had bloomed dazzling white flowers, had a wonderful scent that I had never smelled before.
“Hey, this is… … !”
“Nonsense. Has Seongbaeksu bloomed?”
People were astonished.
Seongbaeksu, which had ceased to radiate light from any priest so far, has blossomed.
From a distance, the scene looked as if Seongbaeksu was proud of Edan by lifting it high.
“Pars-sama, it seems that you want to publicize that devotee, or Priest Ethan, to the world!”
“This is the church’s big red robe!”
“Oh, Pars-sama!”
Overwhelmed by the miraculous sight, the people fell to their knees in tears.
From a distance, it was a majestic moment like a religious painting.
But the reality was completely different.
‘Is this a sacred tree?’
Ethan was engaged in a fierce nerve battle with the branch of Seongbeaksu in the air.
Seong Baek-soo tried to take the divine magic from him, and Ethan tried his best to get out of Seong Baek-soo’s branch.
‘Damn, let’s see who wins!’
Ethan took advantage of the fact that the Holy White Beast was reluctant to Ethan’s divine power, and expelled divine power from his body.
Then Seong Baek-soo was startled as if on fire and dropped Ethan.
“… … !”
While falling, Ethan made eye contact with the priests.
The surprising thing is that even when people fall from a high place, these priests have no intention of moving at all.
On the contrary, I even admired it.
‘Aren’t they really crazy?’
Ethan got goosebumps at people’s fanaticism.
He hurriedly strengthened his legs using divine magic, and then landed gently on the floor.
Ethan wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed in relief.
‘Hey, I almost lost it!’
There was a moment of heavy silence on the left.
Then, there was a sudden burst of cheers from the crowd.
“Wow!”
“After all, he is a child of miracles!”
“This is proof that Pars-sama is watching us!”
Even the pope stood up and the ordination ceremony was in turmoil.
So different thoughts crossed into a mess.
If Saint Eileen saw it, it would be a stunning sight.
Because a rare villain had been recognized as a priest under the blessings of everyone.