The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 412: Master (1)

When the meeting ended, Patrick said he needed to pray and sent the three of them out like he was driving them away.

—Shall we take our leave now as well?

—Please take care of the goddess. If things get rough, don’t hesitate to borrow my strength.

“Alright, thank you. I appreciate everything you've done today.”

As the farewells ended, the presence of the apostles naturally faded, and only then did Kai let out a sigh. He felt completely drained out of exhaustion. He closed his eyes on the spot and allowed his body to relax for a while. After about thirty minutes passed, he slowly opened his eyes and checked the time.

Did the meeting really last three hours?

He had learned more than he expected and found himself grateful for the former apostles.

“All this stress because of Muldine is really something else,” Kai muttered irritably, pressing around his eyes.

After hearing everything, he could no longer suppress the disgust and hatred he felt toward Muldine.

I’ll definitely say something if I run into CEO Marco or Dr. Jim again later on.

He wanted to ask them why they programmed him in such a way.

And it’s probably time I stopped by the royal palace too.

It had already been two days since he heard the message that King Beoruk was looking for him. Lifting his tired body, Kai used Shadow Shift and headed for the palace.

"Greetings, to Sir Kai."

When Kai gave a small nod in response to the greeting, the knights instinctively stepped aside without another word. They could sense that Kai was not in the best mood as he would usually return their greetings with a smile.

Let’s just take care of business and call it a day.

He considered logging out and heading to a bathhouse. There were famous hot springs in the southern territory, but right now he wanted relief from real-world fatigue, not in-game stress.

As he walked down the wide hallway, deep in thought over how to kill Muldine, someone came walking toward him from the opposite direction.

"Look who it is. Kai."

It was Bach, commander of the Ironblood Knights.

When he saw the look on Kai’s face, he asked, “Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t seem like nothing...”

Bach glanced around. The frightened servants and maids were pressed against the corridor walls, trembling.

“I sensed a heavy killing intent, so I came to see who it was... but I didn’t expect it to be you.”

“Killing intent...?” Only then did Kai realize the terrified servants around him and quickly apologized. “Oh, my apologies. It wasn’t intentional.”

“N-not at all.”

“Please, don’t worry about us. We’re fine.”

As the servants bowed and left, Kai bit his lower lip. He was ashamed that his bad mood had ended up influencing others around him.

Then, Bach glanced at him and said, "It seems even you weren't aware of it. Maybe you need to sweat a little."

“Sweat...?”

When he followed Bach, they arrived at the training ground. It was the same training ground where Kai had once spent a long time learning swordsmanship under Bach.

"Sometimes I miss those days, even though it hasn’t been too long."

While stretching, Bach joked in a way that was unlike him. It seemed like he was trying to cheer Kai up after noticing his bad mood.

How kind of him...

Feeling a little better, Kai picked up one of the steel swords and checked its balance.

"Do you even have time to spar with me? You must be busy."

"Even if I’m busy, I can’t ignore the hero who saved the nation."

"Hero?" Kai muttered humbly, though his reputation had already spread throughout all of Rashion’s knights.

His legend of defeating a 3 million army with a single sword wasn’t something written in a dusty old book. It was an ongoing chapter of history being written in the present.

“There’s a rumor that your swordsmanship now reaches the heavens.”

“The heavens, huh.”

Kai looked up at the clear, cloudless sky. If his sword reached the heavens, could he cut down a god?

Probably not.

Even Patrick, who once conquered the world with a single sword, had failed.

Kai looked away from the sky and turned his gaze to Bach. “Bach.”

Bach gave him a look as if to ask why he was calling him.

“Do you have something like a... conviction?”

“Conviction? That’s unexpected. Why do you ask?”

“I just... suddenly started wondering what mine is.”

Bach smirked. “That’s out of the blue. But conviction, huh.”

Though it was a comment that he could have brushed off, he gave a sincere reply.

“Of course I do. It’s the conviction I carved into myself the moment His Majesty bestowed this sword upon me,” Bach lightly tapped his chest with his fist.

“May I ask what kind of conviction it is?”

“It’s nothing grand. Just a vow to carry out His Majesty’s will with this sword.”

“That sounds pretty grand to me...” Kai mumbled, looking slightly surprised. “I didn’t think you would say something like that.”

“Why’s that?”

"Maybe because you give off a somewhat cold impression. But your conviction feels entirely passionate..."

"A swordsman has two hearts. One when holding the sword, and one when not." Taking Kai’s words as a compliment, Bach showed a faint smile. "I don’t know why you’ve suddenly taken on such a philosophical thought, but I guess it has something to do with why you’ve been looking upset today?"

“Well, yes.”

To understand his own conviction, carry it through, and create a holy relic from it, was honestly a difficult task, one he couldn’t quite grasp.

“Life sure is complicated. Back then... no, even just a year ago, I thought the world would revolve around me if I had power and money.”

“Arrogance.”

“Yes, it was arrogance.” A bitter smile appeared on Kai’s face. “These days I've realized... Whether I’m great or worthless, the world just keeps moving however it wants. Having power and money definitely makes life easier, but it doesn’t mean I’ve become the protagonist of the world.”

“Well, there’s no need to be the main character of this world. Just as I am the protagonist of my life, you are the protagonist of yours.”

“Haha, I appreciate the words, even if just for comfort—wait, huh?”

Kai was about to deny Bach’s words when he suddenly shut his mouth.

Wait a second, protagonist?

His mind began to race. The reason Muldine hated and wanted to eliminate Helik to begin with was simple.

In the end, he just wants everything for himself. Like the protagonist of a story.

He had been so caught up in the thought of protecting Helik that he had narrowed his own perspective, but once he broke through that simple wall, his thoughts were able to roam freely again.

Let’s think from Muldine’s point of view.

What would he hate most? Of course, it would be if he were erased or sealed away and Helik became the protagonist of the world.

In that case... What if I use that situation to threaten him?

Dr. Jim had already told him that the only way to save Helik was for her to seal herself.

“It wasn’t a lie...?”

At the time, he had been so full of anger that he assumed it meant Helik had to disappear. But if he looked at it from another angle, the story became far more interesting.

If Helik is sealed, it means there will be no conflict with Muldine.

Muldin, who wanted to kill her and become the one to rule both day and night, would never welcome that situation.

If things go that far, Muldine will have no choice but to take action himself.

In the end, it meant that Helik could be used as bait to summon Muldine at any time.

If I bring sealed Helik down to earth...

Muldine would be forced to come down too, whether he liked it or not. The situation could differ if he had capable subordinates on earth, but right now, there was, without a doubt, no one on earth who could handle him.

Also, this whole sealing thing...

It wasn’t as serious as he once thought. Dr. Jim had mentioned Kal Rashya when talking about sealing.

That was the clue.

In short, a seal was something that a god could undo anytime they wished. She had done so herself.

“Got it.”

By complete chance, he had discovered a way to lure Muldine down to the Human Realm. The problem was what came after.

But if I can’t kill him after bringing him out, then it’s all pointless.

The situation could turn disastrous. He could lose Helik and have everything fall apart.

That’s why I have to obtain it beforehand.

His own holy relic, his own conviction. A dignity that surpassed humanity and could pierce a god’s heart.

“Hm. Judging by your face, I must’ve helped somehow?”

“Yes! It’s all thanks to you, Bach!” Kai smiled brightly and swung the iron sword back and forth. "I know it’s not much of a return gift, but I’ll give my all in this sparring match."

"I’m not sure if I should be grateful or terrified," Bach chuckled and grabbed his sword.

“If you fight like you did back when you were teaching me, you might be in for trouble.”

By the time Kai finished speaking, Bach had already taken his stance. With one hand placed behind his back, he let his sword hang low. To someone who didn’t know too well, it might have looked like Bach was underestimating Kai or being careless. That was how full of openings his posture appeared to be. However, Kai, who was observing him closely, smiled without realizing it.

Looks like he’s taking this seriously.

Kai was slightly impressed by Bach’s stance.

There’s no real opening to aim for.

No matter which angle he considered, he could easily picture Bach blocking any incoming strike. However, Kai was now someone worthy of being called a master of the sword. He was someone who could create an opening where none existed.

There was no idle chatter. Kai lunged, and Bach swung his sword.

Clang!

Kai rapidly stabbed twelve times. It was a sharp attack targeting twelve vital points from the head down to the lower body.

Clang!

The sound of their swords colliding rang out exactly once. It meant that all twelve exchanges happened in a single instant.

As expected, Bach’s sword is graceful.

Kai’s eyes followed Bach’s blade. His sword moved like a dance, its arcs thin and each motion so precise that it evoked a sense of beauty. However, if one were to break down that swordplay in detail, it was far from anything beautiful. Bach’s swordsmanship had no retreat. Once drawn, the blade charged at the enemy like a beast that wouldn’t rest until it saw blood.

Then what about me?

A sudden thought took hold of Kai in the midst of exchanging blows with Bach. Some could call it a moment of realization, while others could say it was the moment of confronting a wall. If one shattered that wall, they would reach a new level, but if they failed to overcome it, they could suffer serious internal damage.

Bach, who was clashing swords with Kai, realized that truth faster than anyone and added more force to his blade. If he had instead eased up at that moment, Kai’s concentration could have been broken.

Clang!

Bach’s sword grew increasingly more savage. At first, he only meant to make Kai sweat and lift his mood, but now it was different.

If I act carelessly here, Kai could get seriously hurt.

Bach clenched his teeth as his sword now carried enough force to split a mountain. He began pouring out everything he had, hoping that Kai would achieve something through this.

Kai slid across the training ground’s floor after blocking the powerful blow. And before he could even regain his stance, a sword strike aimed at his heart rained down like a flash of light.

“Argh...”

Kai hurriedly raised his sword vertically and blocked it with the flat of his blade, but the impact sent his body into the air. At the same time, Bach’s empty left fist struck Kai’s abdomen.

Thud!

Kai rolled several times across the training ground before raising one knee to slow himself down. But at that moment, Bach was already charging toward him. Kai was kneeling on one knee on the floor of the training ground.

As Bach rushed toward Kai, Bach suddenly sensed something and threw his body backward. It was the killing intent that filled the space around them. And as if to affirm that his decision had been correct, the floor of the training ground in front of his feet was completely sliced apart.

A bead of cold sweat rolled down Bach’s temple.

If I reacted even a second slower...

One of his arms or legs would have been severed at the very least.

Kai isn’t in a state where he can pay attention to me right now.

He was too busy questioning himself and finding answers. There was a good chance he didn’t even realize how he was moving or what kind of attacks he was unleashing.

Phew, this started out as a light sparring session.

But now it could cost him his life.

I’ll keep the rhythm for you... so break through.

Bach steadied his breathing and readjusted his stance, hoping that his efforts would not go to waste.