736 – Multiple Stages of Death – 4

What are some ways to kill the soul? Unfortunately, mortals cannot answer that question.

Knights who are good at dealing physical damage are not worth discussing, wizards who are symbols of wisdom lack knowledge about the mind or soul, and even priests who serve God can bless souls but do not know how to kill them. If you throw away your body, you can tear it into thousands of pieces, but if you throw away your soul, it is the destiny of mortals to be unable to do anything.

However, there are immortals on this continent. An immortal who had a lot of combat experience and tried to put himself into eternal rest.

“Not all dragons are knowledgeable about the soul, but old beings like me do have some knowledge. Throwing away an immortal body and choosing rest is impossible without knowledge of the soul.”

In fact, Athelius calmly answered my questions, showing off his years of experience and wisdom.

After all, it’s Athelius. I believed that Athelius would know the answer.

“To conclude, not even a dragon can completely destroy an opponent’s soul.”

“Yes?”

My faith was shaken for a moment.

“Well, I heard that among dragons, the old man is the one who has lived for a long time. Is there no way for an old man like that?”

“Living long doesn’t mean you become competent. I can handle my own soul, but annihilating an opponent’s soul is a feat that not even the Lord of the Sentai could accomplish.”

It was a little disappointing, but in a way it was natural. If dragons could kill the soul itself rather than the body, would there have been a history of shame from being hunted by Apels? Even if hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of Apels’ dragon killing squads come, they can just kill the souls.

“However, there is a way to control the Death King.”

‘Oh.’

My faith, which had been shaken by the words that followed, became firm again.

Okay. In his heyday his, Athelius was a being that even Apels, who beat up evil spirits and slayed dragons, could not touch. It’s impossible for Atellius to not know how to attack the Death King.

“First, there must be the body and soul of the Death King.”

“Here it is.”

As soon as Athelius finished speaking, he turned the sack he was holding upside down.

Then, the remnants of Lisianne in the sack fell to the floor.

“Ugh, huh…”

“Huh.”

Athelius let out a small sigh at the sight of Lisianne still sobbing, wondering where so many tears came from when her body was shattered.

“Seeing it in person, it is quite bizarre. It is a being that does not die even though its body is torn into pieces.”

“They say that to the Death King, the body is nothing more than clothes.”

“It is indeed an appropriate expression. Even if clothes are torn and burned, life is not in danger.”

After saying that, Athelius waved his right hand lightly,

“Obey.”

He chanted in a slightly different voice than usual.

I got goosebumps for a moment. Even I, who was not skilled in magic, and even I who was not subject to obedience, instinctively felt that that short word was unusual. Dragons that have lived for thousands of years are different in some ways.

“Huh…?”

Eventually, Lisianne’s body her, which had been scattered like powder on the floor, came together again, and Lisianne’s hair her, which was light blue, gradually turned black.

“It’s over.”

“Already?”

“Yes. I connected the Death King’s soul with me. As long as I live, the Death King will never cause trouble again.”

I couldn’t get an immediate reaction because he was casually saying something big.

Is soul connection a problem that can be handled so easily and quickly? You can’t extinguish souls, but other than that, you seem to be good at it, right?

“You are connected to me, so if I die you will be released again, but it is nothing for you to worry about.”

She smiled because it was a declaration that she would never die – or that she would not die in the near future.

This kind of dragon was once an old dragon that lived alone and considered extreme choices. I feel extremely happy every time I realize that my persuasion has saved a life.

“If you have to die, hand it over to another dragon and leave.”

“Don’t say things like that. Who on this continent would harm the elderly?”

“That’s what they say.”

Athelius laughed and lifted his right hand again.

“Huh? Huh?”

‘What?’

Then, Lisianne, her body restored, flew into my arms and hugged me.

Of course, it wasn’t painful because it was still the size of a finger, but I don’t know why they were giving this to me.

“We have taken measures to prevent such nonsense, so take it back.”

“…Me?”

“Then do I have to manage it? If something they can’t see suddenly lives with me, they get scared.”

I looked at the cave rabbits who were huddled together and perking their ears at those words.

Honestly, aren’t they bigger than Lisianne now? Rather, I think Lisianne should be worried about rabbit attacks.

“And that won’t happen, but if your hair changes back to its original color, you can come to me. It means the connection is loose, so you can strengthen it again.”

“Oh, yes. I will keep that in mind.”

Since they said they would provide free after-sales service indefinitely, I instinctively nodded.

‘It’s okay.’

I sighed inwardly in relief. In fact, she wanted to completely entrust Lysianne to Athelius, but she still subordinated her very soul and reduced the chances of her having an accident. The danger level has plummeted from a rare monster to the level of holy beasts.

Moreover, her light blue hair also turned black. The fake body that Lisianne created was her light blue hair, so no one would think of the Death King when they see this tiny body. Unfortunately, ‘the Minister of Supervision has the body of the Death King!’ The word has disappeared.

‘I did enough.’

As if her blackened hair was awkward, Lisianne, who smoothed her hair, put her back in the sack.

“Uh, over there. If you’re going to put it in, it’s not in the bag, it’s in your bosom—”

It seemed like she was trying to say something, but with the opening of her sack tied, I couldn’t hear it anymore.

Since he is small, his voice seems to be small as well.

There were many things that happened, but the battle to subdue the Death King was officially concluded.

Although it didn’t have the grandeur of a battle filled with blood and tears or a confrontation between faith and evil that we thought of, the evil known as the Death King was still able to be dealt with without significant damage. If you look at it continentally, there is nothing steeper than this.

I, who was just wondering what to do with Lisianne, and Tanian and the Cardinal, who found out the truth about the Death King, suffered greatly.

“Minister.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I told you to help subdue the Death King, but I don’t remember asking you to capture him alive.”

“I apologize…”

And the emperor’s mentality was in jeopardy after receiving the truth. Perhaps the Pope feels the same way by now?

“Now you can’t help but bring Death King.”

The emperor sighed repeatedly and began to drink vodka roughly.

It was already my second bottle, but I couldn’t stop myself. I am the cause of that rapid alcohol intake, so how can I stop it?

“So, how much do you know?”

“Except for His Majesty and Elder Athelius, only the Cardinal, the next saint, and the Pope will know.”

“It’s at least the minimum.”

The emperor nervously put down the bottle, tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling in silence.

“Minister.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“Before the Minister arrived, there was a report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The entire continent was happy with the suppression of the Death King and was praising the church for winning again.”

I quietly lowered my head at those words.

“The bell of St. Togra Cathedral also rang five times again. Now that the great evil has been dealt with, we must once again embrace a heart of mercy and tolerance.”

I bowed my head even more.

“I am very curious about how His Holiness feels after ringing the bell five times.”

“I have nothing to say…”

After my sincere apology, there was only awkward silence in the office. I didn’t have the nerve to open my mouth first, and the emperor wouldn’t have the presence of mind to speak.

“…But the Minister probably couldn’t help it. How can we deal with a being that won’t die no matter how many times we kill it?”

“Your Majesty.”

Eventually, I raised my head again when I heard a low voice.

The emperor is right. I didn’t get hit in the head by a meteor, so I guess I captured the Death King alive because I liked it. No matter how much I searched for the answer, I couldn’t find it, so I chose the lesser evil. The lesser evil was somehow raised to the next best level.

I did everything that was required. I worked hard as the second-in-command of the punitive force and as a noble of the empire.

“Is it safe?”

“Elder Atellius was sure.”

“Then I can believe it.”

After saying that, the emperor looked at the sack placed on the table—more precisely, the sack in which Lisianne was trapped.

“He is one of the eleven evil gods and the Death King. If you look closely, it seems that there is no dungeon more vicious than the minister’s mansion.”

I couldn’t bear to refute it, so I stayed silent.

Even as I think about it, something is getting strange in our mansion.

***

The Death King has been subdued.

The great evil that threatened the continent and the church 800 years ago, the monster that almost overturned the continent after being resurrected, was defeated by the hands of the punitive force.

And Kal, the best sword on the continent, also participated in the punitive force for the continent,

“His Excellency his Count Tylglehen won the one-on-one battle with the Death King!”

He defeated the Death King alone.

“It is truly the second coming of Saint Berlot! “The living is different in some ways!”

“A swordsman who can cut down even the sky can’t cut down a monster like that? It’s a natural result!”

Thanks to this, the citizens of Jedo Island who heard the news of victory announced by the church were busy talking about Karl.

It’s amazing. I knew that the sword was strong, but I believed that he wouldn’t get hurt, but I didn’t know that he could defeat the Death King by himself.

Of course, it is heartbreaking for a wife to see her husband fight one-on-one with the Death King. The wife’s wish is for her husband to be safe among the soldiers rather than to become a hero.

Still, it’s already past. It is right to congratulate the sword on his safe return rather than asking why he did that when he returned from war.

Yes, definitely, but…

“Carl. Can you say it one more time?”

“Hey, this was Death King.”

“Please say that again.”

“Death King…”

“Again.”

“I’m sorry Mar.”

Carl, who had been saying strange things, knelt down in front of me and apologized.

Weird. Why is Carl apologizing? Why are you telling such a boring joke?

“Of course I tried to kill him, too. But no matter what I did, he wouldn’t die, so all I could do was put a limit on his soul.”

Why are you making excuses holding a small doll to me?

“Hey. You too, say something.”

“Huh? Me too?”

Why does that doll talk like a human?

Just like the animals in our house that were evil spirits but then became holy beasts.

“Knife.”

“Uh, huh?”

“As a hostess, I was disappointed in the head of the family.”

Even though I thought it was a strange sentence, it came out instinctively.

There was no sentence that could more appropriately express my feelings than this.