Hero's Coffin Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Yes. It was released recently."

Regardless, he welcomed the librarian's answer. He quickly took the book and approached the table where his companions were gathered. They gave him very strange looks at his proactive behavior, but he ignored them and opened the book.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Day Rus Opened

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The title was quite meaningful. Flip, flip, as he turned the crisp pages, the first passage caught his eye.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the beginning, this land was covered in darkness. When Solnium, taking pity on the desolate earth, gestured, spears poured down from the sky like beams of light, splitting the darkness, and from where those spears struck, the land embraced life...

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ugh.

He quickly turned the pages, grimacing. Even when playing games, he tended to skip world-building explanations, so he flipped through rapidly. Thinking he should read it since he had possessed someone, he went back, but after reading a few lines about spears and light, he felt drowsy and gave up. It was too much for someone without religious faith. What he wanted to see wasn't mythology, but something more practical.

Then, finding an illustration on the next page, his expression brightened. This was it. History books must always be accompanied by illustrations. It's absolutely not because he liked picture books.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The First Emperor's Tomb (presumed)

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An island floating in a sky full of clouds was visible. He curiously examined the black and white illustration, delicately drawn with charcoal. From the moment he heard the explanation that the tomb was in the air, he had expected that not just the tomb alone, but the entire area would have risen...

Reading the explanation on the side, he learned that the first emperor had ordered a large tomb to be built during his lifetime. It was said to have been created with many architects working together, and its form was not a common burial mound, but closer to a temple.

"He's using quite a large tomb..."

He muttered silently as he turned the page. Well, the size of the tomb symbolizing power was a universal thing across all eras.

The first emperor had created a vast garden by hollowing out the center of the huge building. The coffin was placed in the very center of the garden, where the sunlight shone brightest, and the funeral was successfully completed, but that night, the tomb rose. The eyewitness accounts of those who saw the commotion in the deep dawn were recorded together. It was shocking, it was marvelous, and so on.

The exact reason why the tomb rose was not clear. There were speculations that the emperor had given a task to the imperial citizens, and rumors circulated that God loved him so much that He called him to heaven. Hmm, if that's really true, isn't it a bit scary? God being so obsessive.

Adding a still rather atheistic comment, he continued reading the book, and on the next page, his gaze was suddenly fixed.

"The first hero..."

The first emperor was the first hero of the Holy Empire. It was said that when humans gathered to face the rampant demon race and monsters, the holy sword Piarus descended from the sky to the one who stood at the forefront.

A pure white sword that cuts down all that is unrighteous. It exerts greater power the more evil the opponent is, and only shines in the hands of one who truly has the qualification. That's why after driving out the demon race, the sword's owner was elevated to emperor.

Oh, isn't this the sword Harenir uses?

It was a sword with much older and more overpowered abilities than he had expected. A sword that doesn't get contaminated by any impurities, doesn't break, and emits light according to its owner's will. With such a good holy relic already in his possession, what else could Harenir be looking for?

Coincidentally, the book also contained information about Harenir, the current hero who possessed Piarus. Ah, this is why he had looked for the newest publication. He happily read the text.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Fifth Hero, Harenir.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He became a holy knight at twelve, and at his coming-of-age ceremony at eighteen, he received grace from Solnium. Grasping the power said to be given only to those with the true caliber of a hero, he rose to the position of Commander of the Holy Order of Sidon in one breath. Everyone in the holy city revered him.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The name of the grace received by the hero is 'Sacred Realm'. When the hero proclaims the Sacred Realm, all unrighteous things in the area are purified at once, which, considering that there are still contaminated lands called Encroachment Zones in the empire today, is an incredibly special ability...

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the book was focused on Rus, it seemed to have written about modern times as briefly as possible, but the author's intense fanaticism was palpable.

Judging by Harenir's current appearance, he was at most in his late 20s. He had been revered as a hero from an incredibly early age. He became a holy knight at the youngest age in history, and after becoming commander, he even traveled around the empire doing relief work. Newly realizing the influence he held, he lowered his gaze.

A short explanation was attached below the word Encroachment Zone.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Dium are a calamity that suddenly appeared in the world. They emerged when the long war between humans and the demon race ended in human victory and a peaceful era had arrived, turning the entire continent into ruins. Countless people died and numerous kingdoms were erased. It had only been a few months since then when the Dium appeared.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Order called them the 'new demon race' and speculated that they were weapons created by the demon race that had been defeated in the human-demon war.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

But when it had been a year since the Dium ran rampant, the Holy Knight Commander of that era stepped forward and perfectly dealt with them. From that day on, the Dium disappeared from the world and peace returned.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"...That's it?"

What? Wasn't the explanation suddenly too abbreviated? Was it because the content about the Dium wasn't the main topic, or was it because everyone knew the truth so there was no need to describe it? With a subtle sense of dissonance, he traced the words with his fingertip.

Should he be glad that he at least learned about the Dium? If his companions had later changed to calling them the new demon race, he wouldn't have known at all.

He continued reading the book, but there wasn't any particularly helpful information. He only found out how cruel the Dium were, and how much the holy knights struggled to deal with the humans who had died and become black and white zombies because of them.

In the past, they had just cut down those zombies to kill them. The state of the corpses was so miserable that they gathered them all and burned them. Hmm, if it became known that Harenir's purification ability could restore color to zombies too, there might be quite a reaction in various ways. But it's not like that grace could be used unlimitedly...

Flip, flip, as he turned the pages, he started to get bored and looked up. Two hours had already passed, but his companions were still engrossed in their research. Even though the commander wasn't right in front of them, they were all working so hard wanting to be helpful to him.

After watching them curiously for a while, he stood up. He headed towards the bookshelf to find another interesting book, but even that became tiresome, so he quietly moved towards the outside. Fortunately, no one noticed, so he thought he might as well take a walk.

This historical hall was said to have been built on the 'site' where the first emperor's tomb had been located. They had refilled part of the hollowed-out land and erected a building commemorating the emperor, so if you went straight out behind the building, you could see the remaining site.

It would probably be an empty land with nothing there, but that itself would be evidence of the legend. He moved, guessing that the crowd he had seen heading to the back of the building before entering the historical hall was a procession trying to see that relic. There would be many adventurers as well as tourists or pilgrims.

It seemed they would be going there at dawn, so should he look around in advance as a preview? He made a plausible excuse for not wanting to read books and moved. His steps were light.

However, after several dozen minutes, he had to stop abruptly.

"Where am I?"

He had lost his way.

He had been following the arrows inside the historical hall, but at some point, the path seemed to twist, and he ended up outside the building. He was surprised for a moment but believed this was the path leading to the tomb site and continued walking... but where he arrived was in front of a gloomy alley.

A narrow, dark alley that one might see in a corner of the old town. The sun was just setting, making the gloomy atmosphere even stronger.

...What is this? Does Isaph's body have a tendency to be drawn to gloomy places? Though bewildered, he decided to retrace his steps. He needed to return before his companions found his absence suspicious. He could already hear Kalterik's loud voice ringing in his ears.

However, just as he was about to turn around, thud! He bumped shoulders with someone.

"Ah, I'm late! Why are you blocking the way...!"

While the other person was shouting irritably, he staggered, leaning against the wall. This paper doll-like body was about to collapse ridiculously just from a shoulder collision. He was panting, feeling like he had almost been thrown off, when suddenly his arm was grabbed.

"What! Are you a follower too?!"

"...?"

"Black robe and black cat! You're 'His' follower, right?"

...Huh?

He belatedly checked the other person. A boy with a youthful impression, slightly shorter than him, was wearing a black robe with the hood pulled down deeply. The boy's eyes lit up as he confirmed En beside him.

"Wow, it's even a completely black cat! Cats are hard to tame, and you even matched the color, that's amazing. The guy who said he just brought one last time only had cat legs! Everyone will be jealous, right?"

"What... what would they be jealous of...?"

"You know what? They say one of 'His' closest aides is coming to this meeting. Someone who actually communicates with 'Him'...!"

He just blinked at the words pouring out like a machine gun. What is this about? 'Him'?

In front of him, who had mentally established the formula 'black robe + black cat = Isaph', mentioning that combination and calling him a follower only led to a very chilling imagination...

"So at today's meeting, they're going to show us how they communicate with 'Him', let's hurry! If we're lucky, we might even hear the voice of Him, of Lord Isaph!"