Chapter 127: The Isolated Village (1)

The group continued onward, pressing forward until the sun sank below the horizon and the moon rose high into the night sky. While they arranged their makeshift beds to settle down, Hayes spoke in a careful tone.

“May I step away for a moment to finish my evening prayer? I’d like some solitude,” she said.

Naflas answered, “Go ahead. Take your time.”

“Thank you. And would you mind coming along, Naflas?”

“Hm?” Naflas looked puzzled for an instant but seemed to catch on and followed her.

They walked along a dark path until they reached a riverside, where the water flowed muddied by what seemed like recent heavy rains.

Hayes paused near the roar of the current and turned to Naflas. “Lord Naflas, what exactly are you doing here? Are you really going to bring that barbarian into our church?”

Naflas tilted his head. “Why not? Do you see a problem with it?”

“Do we really need to do this?” Hayes struggled to understand his reasoning. Bringing that barbarian in as a member of the Church of Kalosia felt risky. No matter how she thought about it, the odds of future trouble seemed high.

Yet, Naflas’s expression was steadfast. “We must. Our church is too weak right now. We need someone strong.”

Hayes frowned. “We already have the holy knight in our ranks.”

The Church of Kalosia did indeed have one Transcendent fighter—a true Transcendent whose strength was unmatched. Even though the faithful faced persecution from all sides, they managed to survive thanks to that one holy knight.

Hayes continued, “And we also have the saint. Isn’t that enough? Do we really need more power so badly that we’d bring in someone like that barbarian?”

Naflas kept his gaze steady. “Yes. If we’d had more strength from the start, we wouldn’t be on the brink of disaster.”

Hayes fell silent at the reminder. Their holy land was teetering on the edge of ruin because of the relentless invasion of evil. If only they had another Transcendent fighter, the situation might have been different. Naflas let out a wry smile.

“We can’t rely on other churches,” he said. “They don’t want to help us, and we can’t ask them, either. That’s why we need to bolster our own power.”

In ordinary circumstances, a church in crisis would look for outside assistance. But that option simply wasn’t available to them. Nobody would come to their aid.

Hayes’s voice grew quiet. “But that’s—”

“Yes,” Naflas said, narrowing his eyes. “It’s the burden our ancestors left us. They committed far too many sins. But that doesn’t mean we have to sit back and let ourselves be destroyed.”

Hayes did not answer. Naflas raised his head to stare into the distance, toward where Ketal was waiting.

“That barbarian might be the ally we need,” he said.

They soon returned to camp, where Ketal greeted them with a mild smile.

“You’re back. Did your prayer go well?” Ketal asked them.

Naflas nodded. “Yes, it did.”

“Glad to hear it.”

For a second, Naflas felt a strange unease. He wondered if Ketal had overheard their conversation by the river. The water was loud, and they had spoken at quite a distance, so it shouldn’t have been possible. He brushed aside the thought, convincing himself that there was no way Ketal could have caught their words.

***

Early the next day, they resumed their journey toward the sacred land. Naflas struck up conversation with Ketal as they walked, and Ketal responded in kind. Their chat continued for more than an hour without interruption.

He’s surprisingly easy to talk to,

Naflas thought, looking at Ketal with growing warmth. He was beginning to wonder how someone like Ketal, who was not just strong but also genuinely likable, could even exist. As he grew more comfortable, Naflas found a new curiosity tugging at him.

How powerful is he, really?

he thought. He had heard Hayes’s story about Ketal supposedly going toe-to-toe with a named demon. If that was true, Ketal could be as strong as their holy knight. But Naflas still had his doubts, since there had also been an inquisitor of the Sun God present at the time. He suspected Hayes might have misread the situation in the heart of battle.

He can’t be weak,

Naflas concluded,

but I haven’t sensed any Myst from him.

Not long after, Ketal stopped abruptly, causing Naflas to pause.

“What’s wrong?” Naflas asked him.

They had come to a wide bridge spanning a broad river. The current was swift, and a massive boulder blocked the entrance to the bridge. It looked as though it had rolled down recently, possibly dislodged by the heavy rains.

Ketal frowned. “That rock must have slid down when it rained.”

Naflas clicked his tongue. “That’s bad. The river is too wide and the flow is too strong to cross without the bridge. But this boulder is huge. It would take dozens of strong workers to move it.”

He stared at the stone with a mix of frustration and awe. He had never seen a boulder this big up close.

Sighing, Naflas turned as if to suggest taking a detour. “We should look for another route.”

“There’s no need,” Ketal replied, stepping right up to the enormous boulder. He set one hand against the stone, and Naflas felt his eyes grow wide.

A deep rumble filled the air as Ketal lifted the boulder with a single hand.

“W-what...?” Naflas’s jaw dropped.

Holding the rock aloft as though it were a toy, Ketal spoke calmly. “I’ll just toss it off to the side.”

Naflas tried to speak, but words failed him. Ketal gave the boulder a light push, as though throwing a small ball.

The moment the giant stone struck the ground, the earth shook with staggering force, and they all felt the vibration beneath their feet.

When the dust settled, Ketal turned back, speaking as if he had done nothing unusual. “That should do it. We can keep going now.”

Naflas stood there, mouth still agape, unable to utter a single word.

***

After that display of raw strength, Naflas grew even more eager to talk with Ketal. His eyes shone with excitement as he recalled how Ketal had effortlessly lifted that giant boulder with one hand.

He knew he wasn't weak himself—he was considered an Advanced individual, and in his extensive travels, he had encountered more than a few Transcendents. Yet, even among those elite, few could have cleared a boulder of that size simply by lifting it and tossing it aside.

Breaking it down first or preparing some kind of powerful strike were possibilities, but moving it in one piece was all but impossible.

In Naflas’s estimation, that meant Ketal’s strength was at least on par with a Transcendent. That level of power was exceptionally rare, even within an entire kingdom. A single Transcendent could change the status of a nation. If the Church of Kalosia could recruit someone that formidable, they wouldn’t merely survive their current crisis but emerge stronger than ever.

With that goal in mind, Naflas kept the conversation going, and Ketal showed no sign of refusal. The topic shifted to Kalosia’s mythology, where Naflas began recounting a well-known tale.

“A starving boy stole a loaf of bread for his dying younger sister. The very next day, a trial was held to find the culprit. Just as the boy was about to be caught, Kalosia happened by and claimed that he was the thief instead.”

Naflas’s expression grew reverent as he continued, “He taught us that sometimes, a lie or even an act of deception can be used to save someone. It’s one more testament to our god’s greatness.”

“Oh, I see.” Ketal nodded in response.

However, Ketal’s thoughts were elsewhere. Ketal mused to himself about how legends often become embellished over time. If people revered a certain figure, they would add all sorts of details to make the stories more dramatic. However, Naflas merely took Ketal’s reaction as a sign of awe.

They all sound fairly mundane for a god’s ability, so I guess it’s true,

Ketal thought.

“I feel like I’ve been talking about myself this whole time,” Naflas said with a smile. “Is there anything you want to know about Kalosia? I’ll answer whatever I can.”

Ketal paused before speaking. “There’s one thing I’ve been curious about.”

Naflas leaned forward. “Ask away.”

“I heard your church once caused quite a bit of trouble for the world. Is that true?”

Naflas had been all smiles, but his expression froze for a moment. His face twisted with discomfort as he spoke. “That’s.. A painful chapter in our history.”

“If it was a rude question, I apologize.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s part of our karma,” Naflas replied. “So you’ve heard about it already?”

Ketal nodded. “I’ve heard the basics.”

He was referring to the time when priests of Kalosia, the God of Lies and Deception, roamed far and wide, spreading chaos with their falsehoods. In the end, the same chaos led to them becoming targets of aggression and eventually surrendering.

Naflas managed a bitter smile. “What you have heard is mostly correct. It’s our original sin.”

Ketal tilted his head. “But from what I’ve seen, your church doesn’t seem powerful enough to have shaken the world so deeply.”

“You don’t mince words, do you?” Naflas said with an awkward laugh. Briefly flustered, he began to explain, “Well, there’s a reason for that. In the wake of so many problems, our church changed its entire doctrine.”

Even if one served the God of Lies and Deception, the church had eventually decided they should never harm innocent people or drag Kalosia’s name through the mud. After many discussions, they established new guidelines. The priests of Kalosia began conducting themselves more like ordinary clergy, and from that point on, they stopped causing trouble.

However, that shift came with a cost.

“Our divine power gradually weakened. Fewer people gained the ability to read from our scriptures, and some even lost the divine strength they’d once possessed,” Naflas said.

The church’s strength came directly from its deity, so if the god withdrew the blessing, their powers inevitably declined.

Ketal stroked his chin in thought. “I see. So, that’s how our church began to weaken.”

Naflas’s voice trembled with regret. “It’s all because of the sins we’ve accumulated. Kalosia must have felt disheartened watching us tarnish their name, so we’re doing our best to change and make amends.”

In the minds of Kalosia’s priests, their deity had retracted their power out of disappointment, and they were paying the price for their misdeeds.

Ketal seemed unconvinced, but he did not push the matter.

“If that’s how you understand it, I suppose that’s your truth,” Ketal said simply.

He considered himself an outsider to their faith. There was little point in challenging their beliefs, so he diverted the conversation.

The group continued on their way without any major incidents, and before long they found themselves about halfway to their destination.

All of a sudden, Ketal stopped.

Surprised, Naflas asked him, “Is something wrong?”

“There’s a village ahead,” Ketal replied.

Naflas gave him a puzzled look. He sensed no presence of people, and the only thing surrounding them was the forest.

“A village?” Naflas asked him.

Ketal nodded. “Roughly one kilometer from here.”

“You... sensed that?” Naflas asked him, momentarily speechless.

“Yes, that’s right,” Ketal said casually, watching Naflas’s stunned reaction.

Naflas stood there in silence for a moment, then cleared his throat and resumed speaking. “A village, huh. We can resupply there. It’s getting late, so we should spend the night in town.”

“That sounds perfect,” Hayes chimed in at once.

After walking for nearly two weeks straight, she was exhausted. She yearned to sleep under a real roof at least once.

Naflas nodded in agreement. “That works. Which way is it?”

“That way,” Ketal answered, pointing beyond the forest.

Naflas frowned at the thick stretch of trees, showing no sign of any settlement. “A village... way out here?”

“Yes,” Ketal said.

Though he found it hard to believe, Naflas could only shrug. “Well, we’ll see once we get there. Let’s go.”

“Okay,” Hayes agreed.

With that, they set off in the direction Ketal had indicated, determined to find this mysterious village hidden within the forest.