Hero's Coffin Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Given the circumstances, 'Dedium' was likely the leader of the Dium? If it was the being that the Dium gathered here were revering while performing rituals, and if it was something that made Harenir react like that, nothing else came to mind.

'Ultimately, the goal might be to check if 'that' is awakening.'

Just as he was recalling what Harenir had said before about why he wanted to explore the Encroachment Zone further, before he could continue his reasoning, a bizarre scene unfolded before his eyes.

Thud!

About thirty one-horned Dium came forward to the altar and pierced their own chests with their large hands. Then, without any hesitation, they pulled out their pitch-black hearts and offered them on the altar, which was a very shocking sight. Plop, plop, black blood poured out.

The Dium's hearts looked just like crystals made of darkness and appeared similar to the cores embedded in the Encroachment Zone. As soon as they offered them on the altar, the Dium collapsed as if they had fulfilled their duty.

In front of them, the tri-horned Dium spoke in a somber tone.

[I will remember your sacrifice. I will surely conquer this land and make your devotion glorious.]

Is it characteristic of that kind to be miserable while being intruders?

As he felt revulsion at the grotesque scene, a Dium wearing a robe standing in front of the altar stretched out both arms. It was one he hadn't paid attention to, his gaze caught by the tri-horned Dium and the shocking form of the offerings. The fact that its horns were hidden by the hood it wore was very unsettling.

The Dium's horns protruded sharply, so it shouldn't be able to cover them with a hood like that, did this one have a different shape? How many horns did it have? Its size was similar to a one-horned, but it didn't have the atmosphere of a one-horned at all.

His attention was drawn to the suspicious staff it was holding and its action of chanting something like a machine gun. Its behavior looked like that of a priest, but somehow...

[...]

He couldn't understand what it was saying. It wasn't because it was reciting quickly. It seemed to be using a different language, that is, the 'Dium language' they had seen earlier on the rocks.

Zing— The air resonated. In the wide open space surrounded by rocks, the wind blew clockwise, then suddenly reversed direction, and black light began to emanate from the letters densely engraved on the stones. No, perhaps it should be described as black fog flowing out.

The sight of it spreading looked very ominous, and moreover, the more the priest chanted in the Dium language, the more strangely familiar it felt. Had the succubus they encountered on the sky island made a similar sound?

Whoosh! The priest raised both hands high.

[We will surely break the wicked seal placed on Dedium. We will tear to shreds that vicious human who dares to bind our god...!]

Ah, he barely held back an exclamation that almost burst from his mouth. Now he understood why his companions, and indeed all the people of the empire, believed that the Dium had been 'perfectly' dealt with.

It seemed the previous Holy Knight Commander had become the seal itself to stop Dedium.

None other than Harenir's parent...

As he processed this astonishing realization, the priest's speech continued. The voice expressing anger towards the being that blocked Dedium's path was extremely fierce.

[In the land that human tried to protect, and before the eyes of the insects who revere that sacrifice as noble, we will tear the corpse to pieces and trample it. We will gouge out the eyes to see the earth stained with blood...!]

Rumble!

At that moment, the ground shook violently. He flinched at the earthquake that occurred right next to him and turned his head. Green energy swirled around Noi like a vortex.

The focus in his lime-green eyes was completely gone.

"How dare you... that person..."

The green fairy energy that had always sparkled peacefully was now swirling violently to a chilling degree. His light brown hair and robe fluttered wildly. The momentum grew increasingly fierce, and finally, boom! As another thunderous sound spread, the ground shattered.

"Don't insult Lady Evelyn!"

Dozens of thick tree trunks shot up, destroying the altar and collapsing the canyon with engraved letters. Though he had guessed that his companions would stop the suspicious ritual, he hadn't expected it to happen so violently. Moreover, he couldn't have imagined that the gentle Noi would take action.

Kalterik also looked at him with a very surprised face.

"N-Noi?"

But Noi was now in a state where proper communication was impossible. Harenir checked the energy swirling around him and shook his head. It seemed he had entered a berserk state and there was nothing they could do now.

Crack, bang! Boom! Amidst the continuous thunderous sounds, Kalterik gripped his greatsword and shouted loudly.

"Right! Since it's come to this, let's destroy everything!"

"Let's subdue the one conducting the ritual first."

"Understood."

Mela nodded at Harenir's words. Although some of the Dium had died after voluntarily digging out their hearts, many still remained. There were even several two-horned ones there. Yet Mela shot forward without hesitation, and finally, Harenir turned to him.

"I'll leave Noi to you."

...To me?

Setting aside the reason that it's difficult for him to take care of himself, entrusting a companion's safety to 'Isaph'? He pointed at himself in bewilderment, but Harenir just nodded slightly before leaving. He blinked in astonishment. What was this, did he trust the collar that much?

Rumble! However, seeing dozens of tree trunks violently swaying around Noi right after, he formed another hypothesis. Well, since Noi was in a berserk state now, he might have judged that Isaph wouldn't be a match for him anyway.

A group of Dium blocked the path of the knights rushing towards the priest.

[Kiiiieek!]

[How dare you interfere with the sacred ritual...!]

"What sacred, you unrighteous bastards!"

Kalterik shouted as if exasperated and swung his greatsword with a whoosh! The Dium, enraged at the scene of their carefully prepared ritual site being destroyed, rushed in recklessly. The two-horned Dium charged with a fierce momentum, but the knights were just as angry.

There were only three knights, but they didn't yield to dozens of Dium. Moreover, the tree trunks Noi was pulling out were breaking the Dium's formation, providing solid support. Even in his berserk state, Noi miraculously didn't attack the knights.

[How dare you.]

The tri-horned Dium turned to look this way. He flinched as it stared eerily at exactly where he and Noi were. It seemed to have figured out who was responsible for pulling out the tree trunks destroying the space.

[Kill that fairy hiding over there...]

Swish! But just before the Dium's order fell, Harenir slashed upwards with his sword. Even in the dark night, the pure white holy sword boasted a clear presence. Whoosh, the Dium barely retreated and looked at him.

Despite facing an enormously large being, Harenir remained calm. When the Dium wiped its jaw, black blood smeared. He had managed to leave a wound on it.

The tri-horned Dium twisted its lips in a smile.

[You, there were rumors you had died.]

"You hear such stories well for someone living in hiding."

The Dium seemed to have recognized his identity from the holy sword, and Harenir just shrugged. At his nonchalant response, the Dium chuckled.

[Indeed. I expected you wouldn't have died. Aren't you of that disgustingly tenacious human's bloodline? So I guessed you would surely come to interfere with us.]

"I expected it too. That you would be alive somehow. I was curious whether you had revived or never died in the first place, but seeing today's ritual, it seems you've been barely clinging to life. Quite disgustingly tenaciously."

[What?!]

"That's exactly how it looks, making your subordinates offer even their hearts to survive."

The Dium twisted its lips at Harenir's calmly retorting attitude.

[Ha! You wouldn't understand. To awaken the god, we need hearts imbued with this land's energy. So you can't even imagine how we feel watching our comrades who have been with us here for so long step forward to dig out their hearts and offer them. How noble the meaning of that act is!]

The Dium's tone was very somber and even filled with resentment, but Harenir silently tapped the ground lightly with his toe. He looked down for a moment, then his gaze towards the Dium became extremely dry. He tilted his head slightly and asked.

"Do I need to know that?"

The victims didn't need to know about the sad circumstances the monsters who had destroyed the continent were spouting. Then crack! Tree trunks shot up beneath Harenir. As if his tapping the ground earlier had been some kind of signal, he climbed high on the thick trunks and flew at the Dium.

Swish! The Dium tried to dodge him as he shot forward quickly. But the holy sword touched the Dium's shoulder, and that spot began to rot with a sizzle. Harenir skillfully moved along the tree trunks, attacking it.

Clicking its tongue, the Dium quickly circled the open space. It ran along the walls of the rock-enclosed space created for the ritual, almost as if flying. He was surprised at its speed, too fast to follow with the eyes, and then startled as boom! The wall collapsed.

Though Noi had already been destroying it with tree trunks, that had been more about erasing the letters on the wall, while the tri-horned Dium completely demolished the entire wall. Rumble! As the huge canyon collapsed, it crushed the tree trunks.

With their roots cut off, the tree trunks that had been stirring up the open space and assisting the knights could no longer exert force and went limp. Standing on top of the debris, the tri-horned Dium looked down at Harenir and sneered.

[Do you think you've become a god just because you received god's love?]