Chapter 997 – Unknown Power

“Oh oh…!!!”

I felt like Gray captured by Americans. Why do aliens not appear after the development of optical equipment? UFO photos, which were so plentiful in the past, are now completely invisible.

“Quiet.”

Cadia placed her finger on my lips, and with that the ritual began.

— Hurray.

Holy flames burn in strange relics plated with brass. I was already lying on the altar, surrounded by cardinals. With their eyes closed, they held the symbol of God Verde in their hands and placed their hands on my chest while muttering prayers.

ㅡ Hurray!!

A brighter light emanates from the holy relics placed behind them. The prayers the cardinals were reciting sounded like a kind of flute. The sound of the flute that bewitches the cobra.

The flames of divine power that blazed up from the holy relic began to gather in the hands of the cardinals as if being manipulated.

Like spreading strawberry jam on bread, the cardinals spread the holy power gathered in their hands all over my upper body and face. The applied divine power did not dissipate, but remained on my skin and emitted light.

Now I am surrounded by divine light.

Even in the middle of such a ritual, I felt my body properly.

ㅡ…

Still.

There was no change.

I just lay down peacefully, enveloped in this warm light. My mind, mana, and body were just calm without causing any waves.

It was then.

ㅡSmoothly.

I raised my head slightly with open eyes and looked at my chest. It was clear that the energy of the divine power that had covered my upper body was starting to gather toward my stomach.

Now that’s what’s being injected.
I have already heard all the explanations.

The gathered divine power was condensed into a sphere the size of a quail egg, and slowly began to enter my stomach as if it were diving towards my body.

— Chirit.

“…!”

It was a strange sensation that I felt at the moment.

ㅡPay!

At the same time, the orb of divine power that was trying to dive into my body through the pit of the stomach bounced out, emitted light, and then scattered and disappeared.

“Anit…!”
“Rejected!”
“It bounced off…!”

Surprised cardinals gaped.

“Calm down and analyze the situation.”

Cadia skillfully restrained them.

Clearly, she said, any other kind of divine power imbued would more than fail this infusion ritual, she said. Now that’s what happened.

I turned my head and looked at the Pope.

“…”

He, too, is just staring at me, touching his chin with a surprised face. After confirming that, I didn’t say anything and endured the cardinals trying to analyze my body using divine spells.

“It’s peculiar.”

The cardinal, who looked like a man in his 40s, opened his mouth.

“The fact that the injected divine power bounced off means that in the end, the power belonging to the holy spirit is dwelling in the body of the paladin under the direct control of the saintess. But… I can’t feel the divine power. I was concentrating on it for a while, but I couldn’t feel anything. .”
“I agree. There was no counteraction to the divine spell, but it seems to fail as much as the infusion. It is certain that the divine is imbued.”

At that, the other cardinals shared their views.

“Still, I didn’t feel anything. I guess you could say it’s very unusual. It’s the first time like this.”

It’s such a peculiar thing.

Above all, the cardinals couldn’t have felt what even Cadia couldn’t. It must be that the divinity is so small and so deep that they cannot feel it.

Divinity is now trapped within me.

Just like Shimma was hiding deep in my heart, in a place where I can’t find it without appearing for a while.

“Anyway, it seems certain that the divine power is imbued with it. Otherwise, there is no way the divine power injection would be denied.”

Soon they came to a conclusion.

Then the pope approached.

“But even when I, the Pope, look at it myself, I can’t feel anything. What the hell is going on?”
“That’s… Not to say for sure…”

I raised my upper body.

“Probably because it’s so minute.”
“Is it fine?”
“I also looked at this power within myself through meditation and mindfulness. It was very small.

I briefly explained what I reported to Cadia. That I had absorbed the fragments of power Valkyrie left behind when she died, and that my arm her was healed.

Upon hearing that, the cardinals nodded.

“The Holy Lady’s direct Paladin is right, Pope. I think that’s right.”
“I agree.”

At that, Cadia nodded as well.

“Hmm…”

The Pope was as bewildered as Cadia had been at first.

“Cardinal. Did you feel the energy of another god, or did you intuit it?”
“No. If there was such a thing, I would have felt it right away.”

The Cardinal continued.

“As the paladin said, it may be so subtle that we cannot feel it. And maybe… It is the sacred power of an ancient god that has already disappeared, so it may be something we cannot know. It is non-existent.”

This lack of information is well felt.

“I heard that they are currently investigating the dungeon of the Mercudia Kingdom where Valkyrie was discovered. If the results come out, we decided to share the information, so it is judged that we can learn more about it then.”

If you look at the form of the dungeon, something will come out.

But it takes too long.

“I heard that I have the sacred power of an ancient god that has disappeared…”

Muttered the Pope, rubbing his chin.

“Paladin. As I said at the beginning, I didn’t welcome you very much.”

Then he looked at me and said.

“Still, the achievements that have been made so far are absolutely undeniable and deserve praise.

Is this a compliment?
It should feel similar to that.

“Even though the power of another god dwells… Even so, you are a paladin under the direct control of our saintess.”
“Thank you for your words.”
“The reward for defeating Valkyrie will come soon. I hope you will continue to do the same in the future.”
“Of course.”

The pope who said that still seemed bewildered. In fact, even a pope would have never seen anything like this. Personally, that would be a lot to think about.

Haven’t you seen it with your own two eyes?

“Summarize and report. Let’s go up first.”
“Come with me.”

The pope orders gave to the remaining cardinals and left the room with the cardinal who seemed to have the most time.

We were the only ones left on the scene.

“I don’t think this is a very cool ending.”

I said while looking at Cadia. As Cadia explained at first, it was a ritual that could only be confirmed. Because there was very little information about this.

“Still, it has not been clearly proven. Paladins have officially become holders of divinity.”

Be official

“Beside the title of Paladin under the direct control of the saint, you could add a formal priest or something like that.”
“I think it’s a bit funny to say it’s an ancient tense.”
“Heh, I guess so. Still, you’ll be treated as an ‘official religious person’. Up until now, the title of Paladin under the direct control of the saintess was a bit ambiguous, wasn’t it?”
Hehe, that’s right too.”

Judging from the nuance of what he said, it seemed that he had been officially recognized as a human with a divine nature. However, it seems that not everyone thinks that I have the power of a demigod. They probably think that they have acquired divine power like they did.

“But I can’t confirm that he’s a demigod yet… I mean. It might be more appropriate to say that he became the last paladin or priest of the Old Gods.”
“No, I’m feeling it, so that’s for sure.”

Cadia is still skeptical about being a demigod.

“So I’ll use my judgment.”

Well, in the end, if you don’t develop this divinity, you won’t know anything.

“Yes. Paladins are like that. Anyway, try to increase your strength. Then you will be able to find out.”
“Anyway, since it’s the power I got, I was thinking of raising it just to try it out. Don’t worry.”

That’s how I received a few more experiments and rituals.

Conclusion.

It is certain that an unknown divinity dwells in me. It was guaranteed by the church. As a result of other abnormal divine power injection experiments, it seems that it is not the same as the power of evil spirits. And now they say they are treated as official religious people, but honestly, this doesn’t matter much.

“They do have the privileges of formal religionists.”
“What do you have?”
“Even if you are a normal person, if you are guaranteed that you are a formal religious person with divinity, you will be able to cross the border without any major problems.

It’s kind of like a passport.

After hearing about such a story, I went out to Daejeon.

*           *

When she returned home, she informed them of my condition.

“I know that I have divine power, but I can’t feel it either. Still, I have been recognized as a formal religious person.”
“Are you officially religious?”

Cloudy asked.

To say that I, a demigod, are being treated as a religious person.
It’s a little funny.

“Anyway, they say that since they have divine-like powers in their bodies, they are no different from formal religious people. It seemed to be just a custom.”
“Hmm… Anyway, it’s to the benefit of Katt, right?”
“It doesn’t.”
“Then that’s a good thing.”

Cloudy laughed.

Anyway, I immediately threw off my clothes and went in to find an empty room wearing only shorts. Because the basement was currently being used by Risha. First of all, I asked not to come in because I needed a quiet place.

After I was alone, I put the Vigal on my thigh and focused on meditation.

“…”

Sinking spirit.

I didn’t feel divinity at all, but at some point.

—Tspat.

A light as bright as the sun begins to be felt.

The pure white power seemed to match the divine power even for me. That’s because I’ve felt the divine power of both the Brass Holy Angel Society and the Light Star Cross Society. Just as the two are similar but distinctly different, so this divinity I possess is similar to them but different.

“It’s different from Valkyrie’s.”

I stretch out my hand.

—Cheer.

However, no interaction takes place. Just like you can’t catch the light from a light bulb with your hand, it just passes through your hand.

How else am I supposed to elevate this?

I have a hunch that it will be more difficult than when I first got mana. What should I do to grow this and make it properly mine?

This divinity certainly has power.

A power like healing that religious people use, or a power that strengthens the body. If I could use it, I would be stronger from now on. No, it’s a demigod, so it’s transcendent. The divine power used by religious people is, in the end, the power bestowed in part by the gods. I’m 100% stronger because I’ve got the original of it.

“Vigal.”

I called my friend from within the embodiment.

The interaction between Vigal and Divinity… Thinking of such a thing, I grafted the power and divinity of Vigal, deeply imprinted in my heart.

ㅡ…

There was no interaction.

In that state, it summons the powers of the Godheads, just like when it overcame the mental state. Starting with the Wright Brothers, Buddha. King David. And Hwanung. In such an overlapping transcendental and divine mental state, he thinks endlessly to get a clue.

Still nothing happened

Is it because I defeated Simma last time?
Those who shouted to throw away the bugal were not there.

“…”

…Maybe a trigger is needed.

The enemies of the gods are evil spirits and demonic beings. If you kill demonic beings, wouldn’t this divinity come into play?

Well, how can I increase the power I gained right away?

Since I don’t know who I am, I’m just doing what I can and working hard in various ways.