Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 412

“Why are you suddenly asking that?”“There’s no need for either of us to take such a dangerous risk. I don’t particularly want you to get struck by lightning and die because I brought up something pointless.”

Arendt replied, plopping down on a chair at the table.

“Besides, Lexion, you’ve probably already guessed what that relic was like. Then shouldn’t you be able to easily guess why I’m asking this?”

“…Ha.”

Lexion, who had been silent for a moment, sat down.

“What are you curious about? It’s not like you’re curious about myths or anything like that now, is it?”

“I’m talking about other gods besides Nereid.”

Arendt leisurely crossed his legs and began to speak.

“Now, in the human world, there’s practically nothing left but the Luce Temples. It’s said that the lineage of other gods continues to some extent in the Elf Kingdom, but from what I’ve experienced, no god other than Nereid seems to interfere with the world.”

“…It’s really strange that the word ‘experienced’ comes up.”

Lexion, who had been listening quietly, muttered ominously.

Arendt tapped the floor with his foot again.

“But, aside from Luce and Chernion, there appear to be about twenty gods enshrined here. Do you happen to know anything about them?”

Lexion frowned slightly.

“At the very least, I think the number of gods I know is less than that.”

“So that means there are quite a few beings that weren’t even known in Lord Lexion’s time.”

Arendt, resting his chin on his hand, looked around.

“And I remember that, excluding God Luce, there weren’t more than five gods I saw in the Elf Kingdom.”

One of those five was Nereid.

“Let’s assume that all of those gods clearly existed, like Luce, Chernion, and Nereid. But aside from those three, they no longer seem to be involved in this world. No…”

Arendt frowned slightly and changed his words.

“I guess it would be better to say that they can no longer get involved.”

“…Strictly speaking, that’s probably correct.”

Lexion, who had been silent for a moment, nodded.

“The Evil God rebelled, and God Luce led the hero Khan to suppress Him… That’s the only record of the Great War handed down to the Caerleon Empire. As for the Evil God, that knowledge was secretly passed down only to the imperial family’s direct heir.”

Arendt continued, choosing his words with care.

“And God Luce didn’t want the records of Chernion to be passed down. However, the hero Khan secretly left them so that future generations could prepare for them… That’s all we can speculate about for now. I guess it’s okay to take that as a given then.”

Even Lexion hadn’t been able to confirm what became of the hero Khan.

However, Lexion also seemed to agree, silently nodding his head.

“That’s highly likely.”

“Although the records left by the hero Khan contain little mention of other gods, at least until the war, gods other than Nereid existed.”

They would have had their own powers and their own priests and temples.

“It’s unlikely they would have just stood by and watched in a war that nearly destroyed the world. If we think about it logically, they would have split into two factions, fought each other, and ultimately perished together… That’s what would have happened.”

“…”

“Considering what happened, there are far too few traces. The only gods whose names remain are those who assisted Luce, appearing only in myths and fairy tales.”

There were very few people praying to them now.

“What on earth happened? You experienced that era yourself, Lord Lexion.”

“…Naturally, I don’t know what transpired between the gods. What I do know is only about the war that took place on the surface. And even then, I only know a small part of it.”

Lexion, who had been silent for a moment, asked a question.

“Do you know how long the war lasted?”

Arendt tilted his head at the unexpected remark.

“Huh?”

“There have been countless wars. Yet the Caerleon Empire seems to regard only the last one, where Khan fought, as the Great War.”

Lexion groaned briefly.

“War erupted, then subsided, and the next day, another kingdom fell. This cycle continued endlessly. At least, that’s how it was in the world I knew.”

“…”

This was the first time he heard this story.

Arendt kept silent and listened.

“You met Iris, I suppose. I don’t know what she told you, and I’ll probably never know… but I think this old story might be of some help to you.”

Lexion was silent for a while.

He seemed unusually lost in thought, unsure where to start or how much he could afford to share.

But that only lasted for a moment, as Lexion slowly closed his eyes and then opened them again.

A somewhat subdued voice came out of his mouth.

“As far as I know, the surface, especially the human world, has always been at war. The reasons for this have been varied. Among the kingdoms that fell during that time, there must have been some that worshipped gods whose names I can no longer recall.”

Arendt just listened quietly.

It wasn’t anything new. That’s just how human life was.

On the contrary, the extended era of peace and harmony under the Holy Empire and Luce’s reign was what was truly abnormal.

“Khan lost his kingdom and went to war. Those who served the God of Darkness trampled and devastated the kingdom to which Khan had pledged loyalty to.”

That year marked the fifth since they became friends after competing against each other.

“Left alone, he led his remaining subordinates, gathering those who, like himself, had lost their kingdoms or became defeated soldiers, to create a new force. It was all to end the endless war.”

Lexion paused for a moment and then added briefly.

“He came to me alone, his body covered in wounds. He asked for help.”

“Did you respond to that request?”

“That’s right. Looking back, it was a pretty stupid thing to do.”

A shadow flickered through Lexion’s eyes as he spoke nonchalantly.

“It was a chaotic time, and Khan’s power grew. No one could stop those who took up their swords in the hope of peace. Especially since Khan was destined to be a hero.”

It was the yearning for peace that spurred the hero Khan.

“At that time, the alliance centered around Chernion held the upper hand. However, with the appearance of the Holy Sword, the situation began to change rapidly.”

“…I understand the gist of it.”

Arendt, who had been silent for a while, slowly nodded.

“Where were the other dragons then? You and Nikephoros were probably fighting on the battlefield.”

“Some participated in the war while the others hid. Most of the older ones just watched.”

Lexion clicked his tongue.

“Some died fighting, while others died at the hands of Khan. Truthfully, we weren’t close to each other, and we weren’t very numerous to begin with… so it’s no wonder we’re close to extinction now.”

Arendt, who had been silent for a moment, slowly nodded.

“…I have a rough idea of what happened.”

When he pieced together the stories that Lexion and Iris told, he felt like he was getting the full picture.

‘The group called the Evil Cult in the records probably refers to the entire alliance centered around Chernion.’

As Arendt became lost in thought, Lexion quietly fell silent.

The origin of the Caerleon Empire was a group of defeated soldiers.

‘The destruction of Hero Khan’s homeland must have occurred around the time when God Luce declared that he would not relinquish his position.’

Originally, it would have been the end of Luce’s era and the time for Chernion to take over.

But Luce refused to return his position, and the other gods naturally rebelled.

As a result, war broke out on the surface.

‘Then it is highly likely that most of the gods sided with Chernion.’

Even then, Iris would have been the saintess, leading Chernion’s legions. And it was said that there were few beings like her who could communicate directly with the gods…

The alliance led by Chernion would have known of Luce’s betrayal.

‘After receiving revelations from the gods they worshiped, they tried to punish the Luce faction.’

As a result, the hero Khan’s homeland was burned and war broke out constantly.

Grudges breed more grudges, and revenge breeds more revenge, with people shedding tears of blood and vowing revenge again.

The betrayal of God caused the blood of all beings in this world to flow.

Those who lost their kingdoms to the retribution of the Chernion alliance desperately hoped for salvation, but at the same time, they began to yearn for revenge.

Then, the hero who appeared like a comet was Khan, the hero chosen by Luce.

“…”

What Khan wanted was eternal peace, so that no one would ever shed tears again.

‘But the hero would have had no idea that Luce was a traitor.’

Luce, who had completely hidden his true self from his believers, gave the hero the Holy Sword with a benevolent smile.

He must have acted like he was moved by Hero Khan’s desire for peace and even said he would give him strength.

It was the moment when the protagonist appeared against the backdrop of a bloody world.

At the same time, other beings were relegated to the roles of villains, assistants, and supporting roles.

The balance of the world that had somehow been maintained even in the midst of chaos was completely shattered.

For some reason, his stomach began to churn.

‘Until then, there must have been various gods.’

Suddenly, Chernion’s ugly appearance came to mind.

If that was the price of lost faith after defeat, then the other gods forgotten from memory would not have been spared either.

‘And the Chernion alliance would have tried to bring down God Luce in that way.’

They tried to drive out the God of Light by killing those who worshipped Luce.

But the result ended up being the exact opposite.

Luce completely erased all the other gods who opposed him including Chernion from the world.

Where did the forgotten beings go?

Where did those who lost their names and roles go during the years ruled by Luce?

Perhaps after being defeated, they gave up on existing on their own.

In a world filled with only light, their mere existence could become a seed of conflict.

‘The same goes for the gods who sided with Luce.’

No being could stop the momentum of Luce, who suppressed the Chernion alliance with the hero at the forefront.

Given that situation, other gods may have sensed it as well.

The same was true for the humans and elves.

Even those who each had their own beliefs would eventually kneel before Luce.

In the face of survival, things like faith wouldn’t have been that important.

It was a perfect victory for Luce and the Hero.

“…Ah, damn it.”

Just as he was about to reach that conclusion, he suddenly heard Lexion’s voice.

Arendt absentmindedly raised his head and stiffened.

.

A drop of blood fell to the floor and dyed the carpet a bright red.

And Lexion, now much paler than before, had bright red blood dripping from his nose.