LGHTNOVELBOOK C106
Chapter 106
6.
In the Minister’s Office located at the Department of Ability Management headquarters.
Minister Yoo Sun-ho quietly exhaled while gazing out at the evening sunset beyond the window.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Come in.”
The door to the office opened, and Kim Dong-sik, who had just arrived at the Department of Ability Management, entered the room.
“Minister.”
“I’ve been briefed roughly. Please, have a seat.”
Kim Dong-sik bowed his head and sat down. Minister Yoo Sun-ho poured green tea for his diligent subordinate, then spoke in a soft voice.
“What about Awakener Kim Siwoo?”
“He was returned to the temple by helicopter.”
“You’ve been working hard as always, Kim. Thanks to you, the relationship between Awakener Kim Siwoo and the government has been maintained smoothly. I’m always grateful.”
“I was just doing my job.”
“You’re so humble. Sometimes it’s good to show it. If you’re too humble, you might hear that it’s unappetizing, you know.”
Minister Yoo Sun-ho said with a small laugh.
At his superior’s playful advice, Kim Dong-sik smiled faintly in response.
The tension that had subtly settled in the meeting room began to dissipate, and Minister Yoo Sun-ho smoothly transitioned into the main topic.
“How’s the aftermath handling?”
“Awakener Kim Siwoo recovered the target’s weapon, the sword. According to him, it’s a sinister item that controls the human mind.”
“What do you think about it?”
“Just looking at it made horrible screams echo in my ears. It would have been difficult for us to handle as well.”
Minister Yoo Sun-ho nodded slowly at Kim Dong-sik’s report.
“Then the Limen Order will take care of it. They must have a way to handle it, so they took it.”
“I believe that’s the case.”
“It’s better to deal with such a dangerous object rather than let it fall into someone else’s hands. Well, is that all?”
“Yes. That’s correct. Aside from the four injured members of the negotiation team, there were no additional casualties. Property damage was also not as severe as we feared.”
“You’ve done well.”
“It was nothing.”
Kim Dong-sik’s report came to an end, and Minister Yoo Sun-ho remained silent as he gazed out the window again.
“Interestingly, we benefited from the Irregular Special Law.”
It had been enacted to support Kim Siwoo’s activities, but in the end, it was the government that first benefited from that law.
If he hadn’t helped, the Disaster-level returnee would have caused disasters fitting the name “Disaster.”
“I feel like all the struggles I’ve had so far are becoming meaningless.”
Just six months ago, in order to handle a single gate, they had to coordinate the opinions of guilds, including the Guild Coalition.
They were constantly in a war of nerves with the Guild Coalition, and nothing proceeded easily.
But everything changed after Kim Siwoo appeared.
The Guild Coalition, which had tormented him for so long, began to split, and the government’s power expanded significantly. Relations with Japan were the same; their once-proud leaders bowed and came to us.
All of that was possible because of Kim Siwoo’s presence.
“At least it’s fortunate that he’s the leader of a religious group.”
If he were the head of a profit-driven group like a guild, the political situation might have unfolded differently.
Minister Yoo Sun-ho slowly gathered his thoughts while watching the sunset. Then he spoke to Team Leader Kim Dong-sik.
“I’ll report to the president personally. I’ll also grant you a 3-day special vacation.”
“A vacation, sir?”
“Weren’t things hectic lately? Take this opportunity to score some points with your wife and child. If you don’t take a break now, you might not get another chance for a while.”
Under President Seo Shin-woo’s leadership, a grand event called the Northeast Asia Exchange had been confirmed. Since the preparation period was tight, soon the entire Department of Ability Management would need to dedicate all its resources to it.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“When your vacation ends, hectic days will begin. This exchange will be a crucial turning point for our department as well. Since President Seo is pushing it strongly, we must do our best to support it.”
Kim Siwoo’s appearance had greatly disrupted the power balance in Northeast Asia. In such a situation, for President Seo Shinwoo to hold an event like the Northeast Asia Exchange was a clear indication that they intended to reorganize the situation around Kim Siwoo.
Minister Yoo Sun-ho leaned back in his chair and exhaled softly.
“Once the supplementary budget passes, I plan to use it to strengthen our Awakened forces. We’ve also begun behind-the-scenes negotiations with several hunters from the Hive Guild, who recently faced a great crisis.”
“It seems you’re quite busy, Minister.”
“I’m nearing retirement, but I’d like to leave a legacy. Until then, I need you to help me out.”
Although Minister Yoo Sun-ho often spoke of retirement, Kim Dong-sik had the feeling that, this time, he might not be joking.
“Hehe, yes. You can go now.”
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
“Spend some good time with your family. In the end, the only thing that stays is family.”
Click.
Minister Yoo Sun-ho watched Kim Dong-sik leave the room, smiling contentedly.
There was still work left to do, for the people who would follow after him.
“Still, it’s nice.”
However, for him, the bustle that had come toward the end of his career didn’t feel all that unpleasant.
The old man nodded as he drank the now-cold tea.
I returned to the sanctuary by helicopter.
Although calling it a sanctuary might be an exaggeration, people actually referred to it as such.
Leo and Luna had mentioned it a few times in interviews, and it was much more convenient to call it this rather than referring to it as the old Ground Zero.
After getting off the helicopter, I immediately headed to the newly constructed forge while holding the cursed sword.
In the forge, about the size of a high school gymnasium, Toby and Archbishop Rapart were waiting for me, having already prepared the sacred fire.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Is everything ready?”
Toby nodded at my question.
“Yes. As Your Holiness instructed, the sacred fire has been heated sufficiently.”
“We need to melt this.”
I carefully placed the cursed sword, which was perfectly sealed by a divine barrier, onto the ground.
Toby’s face frowned deeply when he saw the sword.
“It’s a cursed sword. It seems it has soaked up an unimaginable amount of blood, judging by the horrifying smell of blood. And…”
“I can see the poor souls trapped in the sword.”
Archbishop Rapart said in a compassionate voice. The reason I had him wait here was entirely because of those souls.
“I hope Archbishop Rapart will offer a prayer for them.”
“I will gladly do so.”
They were souls who had suffered for a long time, consumed by the cursed sword. It was our duty to comfort them and ease their suffering.
Whooosh.
After a few pumps of the bellows, the white flames inside the forge grew intensely.
The sacred fire that arose from the top-grade holy stone placed in the forge was extraordinarily hot and fierce, as expected from using the best holy stone as its base.
“You may place it in now.”
“Yes.”
I quietly lifted the cursed sword and approached the mouth of the sacred fire. The cursed sword, sensing its end, began to struggle, but there was no change.
“Still as filthy as ever.”
Swoosh.
When I threw the cursed sword into the forge, a terrible scream erupted shortly afterward.
Kyaaaaaaaah!
It seemed that the cursed sword couldn’t be purified instantly, as it retained its form for quite a while inside the sacred fire.
Throughout that time, the screams continued, but no one in the room spoke a word.
Finally, when the screaming stopped,
Sssss.
The cursed sword began to melt slowly, and a white ember emerged from the blade.
The ember slowly spread around the sacred fire. Watching this, Archbishop Rapart carefully began the first words of the requiem.
“Merciful Limen, hear my prayer and open the gates for these lost souls.”
The white ember, floating in the air, gleamed brightly as Archbishop Rapart’s steady voice spread through the air.
I folded my hands and quietly closed my eyes while observing the scene.
“The souls trapped in the deep abyss cry out for Your mercy. Please have compassion on them and save them from their sins. Grant them eternal rest. Shine Your eternal light upon them. We offer this prayer, relying on Your great love and our faithful devotion.”
When Archbishop Rapart finished the requiem in a low voice,
The sunset light descended through the glass windows on the ceiling of the forge. This light then gently illuminated the white embers floating in the air.
The reflected light from the embers formed beams of light, and through these beams, the embers connected with each other.
It was a truly beautiful sight.
The others, except for me, silently gazed at the miraculous scene.
[Your deity responds to your prayer.]
[These are souls from another dimension. The system of
[The salvation of one hundred thousand souls by your deeds has caused the
The white ember slowly melted into the sunset light, and I held my breath as I watched the last of the embers.
How much time had passed?
Soon, there was not a single ember left around us. Limen had collected all the freed souls from the sword without leaving a single one behind.
“Thank you for your hard work, Archbishop Rapart.”
“I am merely grateful to be entrusted with such an honorable task. Your Holiness.”
Archbishop Rapart humbly replied, bowing his head.
With that, everything was complete.
It had been a long day. I had conducted interviews in the morning, dealt with a disaster-level returnee in the afternoon, comforted the victims, and had an unexpectedly dynamic day.
“Well then, shall we all head home now…”
On such a busy day, the best way to end it is by lying down on the bed and gently touching Baekseol’s cheeks.
Since the Divine Tree had grown through the process of liberating the souls, it might be a good idea to check on it along the way. Baekseol might have grown a bit too, right?
However, at that moment,
“Your Holiness. It is not over yet.”
Toby approached me, holding a glowing chunk of metal.
I didn’t know where it had come from, but it radiated a very pure divine energy.
“This is the result of melting the cursed sword through the sacred fire. The evil energy and magic have been perfectly eradicated by the sacred fire. I do not know what metal was used to craft the sword, but it seems the properties of the metal change depending on the smelting environment. Would you like to try placing your hand on it?”
Following Toby’s suggestion, I placed my hand on the metal. Instantly, a familiar warmth spread through my hand.
“Sacred fire?”
“Indeed! This is a metal I’ve never seen in my life, not even in the forges of dwarves! A metal that contains sacred fire! I am itching to forge it right away!”
“What can we make with this?”
“Anything you wish! If you want a holy sword, I can forge it. If you want a shield, I can forge that too.”
A metal containing sacred fire?
This was a completely unexpected gain.
Sacred fire is a power that manifests through divine energy, but once it has manifested, it possesses properties distinct from divine energy.
It is the power to burn evil.
In other words, it gains a powerful burning property.
If the metal possesses the characteristics of sacred fire, it would certainly demonstrate a powerful degree of fire magic, even when compared to other alloys made from holy stones.
“Jackpot.”
It seems people really need to live righteously. It felt like I had stumbled upon a golden calf in the middle of the road.
“If we use its properties well, we can create many interesting items. Just tell me what you want! I’ll stay up all night if I have to!”
I looked at Toby, who was pounding his chest with his chubby fist, and couldn’t help but smile.
I wonder what I should make to get a good reputation for it.