Estio Volume 7
- Episode 13
'because of me.'
Although most of the wounds had healed, the shock was so great that Tsuki and the rest of his colleagues could not wake up from fainting. Estio thought it was his fault that they did that. He insisted on meeting Shu Hanan, vaguely reassured that it would be okay to meet him, and also.
'...I thought I could protect you. Sorry.'
I promised myself that I would never get hurt, but in the end I couldn't do anything. He was sleeping peacefully now, but the sound of his painful breathing kept coming back to him. Tsuki, who was covered in blood, still shimmered like an illusion in front of her, and it felt like it was suffocating. Estio couldn't care less stroking her Tsuki and pulled her trembling hand away.
Kai, who was silently watching his dark blue eyes that had sunk in depression, put a cactus on his lap and opened his mouth.
"Estio."
"Yes."
"Look over there."
Estio, who turned his head as his little finger pointed, frowned at the bright light that unexpectedly stabbed his eyes.
'Pillars of light...!'
It was time for the Pope's baptismal ceremony.
Starting from a chapel in the center of Elysium, a white pillar of light came down from the sky, illuminating the surroundings. The pillar of light was so bright as the sun that it was impossible to look straight at it, and it was filled with such a bright and clean energy that it was as if a pillar of the world tree, called the body of Saint Yggdrasil, had descended to the earth.
The whole Elysium was filled with warm blessings. It was a cold winter now, but it was a blessing of beautiful light that made my heart pound like the sun on a spring day when life springs up.
It meant that the Yellow Dragon Shuhanan was recognized as the representative of God and the new Pope.
"I think this is what happened in the end. Hwangryong, who hates humans, has gained power alongside the emperor who commands a continent."
Even though I knew it, it was something that could not be stopped by human strength. Having said that, Kai sighed lowly.
"I still want to stop you."
As the light faded, Estio met Kai's gaze. Clusters of twinkling lights sank around it like snow. Melon-colored eyes were shaking with bitterness.
"I want you to avoid Shuhanan right away. But apart from my greed, there seems to be a reason why you must meet him."
Kai got up from his seat and put on a bright golden robe to cover his small, delicate body full of tattoos. She then reached out her hand to Estio.
"Please, I hope you have a safe trip, Estio."
Estio looked at Kai's extended hand for a moment and then shook his head.
"Not now."
"Yes?"
Kai put his hand away and made a puzzled expression.
"I don't know what else will happen if I leave now."
"Heh huh! It's okay. Now that the day is dawning, the benevolent priests of the Holy See will take care of our patients. I can't believe there is any chance of a surprise attack in broad daylight?"
The Holy Knights, who had attacked them in the middle of the night, were listening, and they narrowed their shoulders with a lever.
"Still, you can't make the same mistake."
"If so, what are you going to do? The appointment time has already passed."
According to the request, the place to meet with Shuhanan was the chapel where the ceremony was held. As Estio couldn't participate in the ceremony at all, the promise with him had already been broken. But Estio didn't even blink.
"Among legitimate quests, Shuhanan was the first to threaten."
"Um, yes, but."
"So, I will also stay and protect you until everyone wakes up safely."
Estio's will to stay with the party was so firm that Kai couldn't speak any more. But instead, there was a soft voice interrupting the conversation.
"I'll take that role."
Crung.
A huge beast resembling a dog snorted a long snort and wagged its tail.
Saint Yggdrasil was approaching them with her guardian dog Hebnicius. The saint, noticing the tension mixed in Estio's gaze, tried to reassure him with her warm tone.
"Relax, dear ones. If I use my divine power, I can safely move visitors without relying on the power of the portal."
"Where would you go?"
"Before we reach Elysium, we will send you back to where it was before. If it were you, it would be the guild headquarters."
Saint Yggdrasil was given the authority to invite and expel visitors from Elysium. Through her divine powers, she can cross space in a much safer way than through portals. It was a great privilege for her saint to use her powers for her private purposes without a papal order.
"Blessings of strong protection to the brothers who came with you."
Yggdrasil offered a prayer of blessing to Estio and the others. It seems like a simple greeting, but in fact, the moment the saint's blessing was given, they began to be protected with a strong divine power.
"Also......."
The unfocused, pale sky-blue eyes turned slightly downwards. Noticing that she had noticed her, Kai first waved her hand.
"It's been a while, saint."
"I have no blessings for you, who is disturbing the order in your life."
"Haha. I'm still relentless."
Estio, who watched their conversation, could not find it difficult to see that there was already a face-to-face relationship between the two. Even Yggdrasil hated Kai. When her saint, who had always known only her benevolent expression, was overtly uncomfortable, she was surprised by even the Holy Knights and looked at her.
"Are you here to end that unnatural life this time?"
"Well, not yet."
Kai let out an ambiguous laugh.
"I have a lot of work left to do. I still have too many threads tangled in my hands to rest comfortably. I feel sorry for the saint who follows God."
"...Still dirty hands."
The boy's wrist, peering under the hem of his colorful robe, was full of purple tattoos. Yggdrasil, who read the countless traces of life intertwined with each tattoo, approached slowly. Eventually, Yggdrasil, who gently wrapped both hands around Kai's wrist, asked with sad eyes.
"Don't think of carrying the hopes and regrets they deserved, Druid."
'Druid?'
It was the first name I had ever heard of Estio, so I was puzzled. Then, I suddenly remembered that the title of guildmaster Kai was simply an abbreviation of 'KA I'. Maybe 'Druid' was another title that Kai possessed. However, it was impossible to read Saint Yggdrasil's head, so Estio decided to just watch their conversation quietly.
"You have the ability to control the life of plants, but you are only a human after all. Ultimately, when the last moment comes, your current choice will be painful."
Estio, observing the saint's expression, realized something at this point. Saint Yggdrasil, she didn't hate Kai. She was just worried and anxious about Kai's choice.
"I have warned you, druid. The weight of the life you receive will accumulate and accumulate and be engraved in your soul."
Although his voice sounded cold, Yggdrasil looked down at Kai and filled with sadness.
"Even death will not comfort you."
widely!
At that moment, someone intervened between the two and pushed the saint away. Not so strong, Yggdrasil missed Kai's hand and only stepped back slightly, but the guardian dog Hebnicius fiercely exposed her teeth.
"To the Master, don't be rude!"
It was none other than a red-haired doll who wrapped Kai around in front of the gigantic dog, who was growling as if it was about to tear it apart in one bite.
"It's okay, Jen."
"master."
Kai lightly patted the doll Zen's head. It looked as if a child was being held in her sister's arms and protected, but the doll calmed her anger in his hands. Kai, who confirmed that Zen was real, looked up at her saint and smiled broadly at her.
"Thank you for calling me a person like this, saint."
Behind a childlike smile, the sunken melon-colored eyes fluttered finely.
"I'm sure... it feels like I've been saved."
With that, their conversation ended. At first glance, it was a strange relationship that looked like a quarrel between friends, and from another point of view, it was like old friends who exchanged concerns and gratitude.
The saint turned away from Kai and bowed her head in gratitude to Estio, who did not ask anything.
"Now, the promised time has come. The Black Clan has a choice."
The ordinance of holy baptism ended safely. Now was the opportunity for Estio to meet Shuhhanan, who became Pope. Yggdrasil, who walked past the sleeping party, pointed to the other side.
"If you want to meet the Holy Father, just open that door and go in."
At some point, there was a white door with a staircase made of light floating in the air.
"If you're going to give up on the meeting, tell me now. I'll send you to a safe place with your colleagues."
Estio glanced at the sudden white door and opened the mouth that had been firmly closed.
"......Please, my colleagues."
The choice had already been made for a long time.
"As promised, I'll go see Shuhanan."
He sent his companions back to the guild headquarters and chose the path to meet Shuhanan alone. As the saint nodded her head, Estio stepped onto the stairs of light. Miraculously, her feet, which seemed like they would just pass, stepped on the shiny stairs and climbed up.
One floor, and one more. It was only after climbing the three-step staircase that Estio reached out to reach the doorknob of the white door. But just before his fingertips touched the doorknob, he looked back for a moment.
Behind them, they could see the group gradually disappearing due to the holy power of the saint. Now they will return to the guild headquarters and be safe. Estio was relieved when his comrades were no longer attacked by him.
Last but not least, Estio, who was staring at the black cat disappearing in the light, straightened her head again. As soon as he gave strength to his hand holding the doorknob, there was a click and the door opened easily.
Paah!
And, like his companions, Estio was enveloped in divine light. A light so bright that he couldn't open his eyes haunted him for a moment.
The moment he grabbed the doorknob, he had already entered a space connected to the white door. It was a chapel with reverent organ sounds resounding. There were no believers and no singing choir in the empty place without a single chair. It was just a strange space where a gigantic pipe organ shining in gold was playing a melody set by itself.
And underneath a huge golden organ stood a man.
Estio Volume 7
- Episode 13
'because of me.'
Although most of the wounds had healed, the shock was so great that Tsuki and the rest of his colleagues could not wake up from fainting. Estio thought it was his fault that they did that. He insisted on meeting Shu Hanan, vaguely reassured that it would be okay to meet him, and also.
'...I thought I could protect you. Sorry.'
I promised myself that I would never get hurt, but in the end I couldn't do anything. He was sleeping peacefully now, but the sound of his painful breathing kept coming back to him. Tsuki, who was covered in blood, still shimmered like an illusion in front of her, and it felt like it was suffocating. Estio couldn't care less stroking her Tsuki and pulled her trembling hand away.
Kai, who was silently watching his dark blue eyes that had sunk in depression, put a cactus on his lap and opened his mouth.
"Estio."
"Yes."
"Look over there."
Estio, who turned his head as his little finger pointed, frowned at the bright light that unexpectedly stabbed his eyes.
'Pillars of light...!'
It was time for the Pope's baptismal ceremony.
Starting from a chapel in the center of Elysium, a white pillar of light came down from the sky, illuminating the surroundings. The pillar of light was so bright as the sun that it was impossible to look straight at it, and it was filled with such a bright and clean energy that it was as if a pillar of the world tree, called the body of Saint Yggdrasil, had descended to the earth.
The whole Elysium was filled with warm blessings. It was a cold winter now, but it was a blessing of beautiful light that made my heart pound like the sun on a spring day when life springs up.
It meant that the Yellow Dragon Shuhanan was recognized as the representative of God and the new Pope.
"I think this is what happened in the end. Hwangryong, who hates humans, has gained power alongside the emperor who commands a continent."
Even though I knew it, it was something that could not be stopped by human strength. Having said that, Kai sighed lowly.
"I still want to stop you."
As the light faded, Estio met Kai's gaze. Clusters of twinkling lights sank around it like snow. Melon-colored eyes were shaking with bitterness.
"I want you to avoid Shuhanan right away. But apart from my greed, there seems to be a reason why you must meet him."
Kai got up from his seat and put on a bright golden robe to cover his small, delicate body full of tattoos. She then reached out her hand to Estio.
"Please, I hope you have a safe trip, Estio."
Estio looked at Kai's extended hand for a moment and then shook his head.
"Not now."
"Yes?"
Kai put his hand away and made a puzzled expression.
"I don't know what else will happen if I leave now."
"Heh huh! It's okay. Now that the day is dawning, the benevolent priests of the Holy See will take care of our patients. I can't believe there is any chance of a surprise attack in broad daylight?"
The Holy Knights, who had attacked them in the middle of the night, were listening, and they narrowed their shoulders with a lever.
"Still, you can't make the same mistake."
"If so, what are you going to do? The appointment time has already passed."
According to the request, the place to meet with Shuhanan was the chapel where the ceremony was held. As Estio couldn't participate in the ceremony at all, the promise with him had already been broken. But Estio didn't even blink.
"Among legitimate quests, Shuhanan was the first to threaten."
"Um, yes, but."
"So, I will also stay and protect you until everyone wakes up safely."
Estio's will to stay with the party was so firm that Kai couldn't speak any more. But instead, there was a soft voice interrupting the conversation.
"I'll take that role."
Crung.
A huge beast resembling a dog snorted a long snort and wagged its tail.
Saint Yggdrasil was approaching them with her guardian dog Hebnicius. The saint, noticing the tension mixed in Estio's gaze, tried to reassure him with her warm tone.
"Relax, dear ones. If I use my divine power, I can safely move visitors without relying on the power of the portal."
"Where would you go?"
"Before we reach Elysium, we will send you back to where it was before. If it were you, it would be the guild headquarters."
Saint Yggdrasil was given the authority to invite and expel visitors from Elysium. Through her divine powers, she can cross space in a much safer way than through portals. It was a great privilege for her saint to use her powers for her private purposes without a papal order.
"Blessings of strong protection to the brothers who came with you."
Yggdrasil offered a prayer of blessing to Estio and the others. It seems like a simple greeting, but in fact, the moment the saint's blessing was given, they began to be protected with a strong divine power.
"Also......."
The unfocused, pale sky-blue eyes turned slightly downwards. Noticing that she had noticed her, Kai first waved her hand.
"It's been a while, saint."
"I have no blessings for you, who is disturbing the order in your life."
"Haha. I'm still relentless."
Estio, who watched their conversation, could not find it difficult to see that there was already a face-to-face relationship between the two. Even Yggdrasil hated Kai. When her saint, who had always known only her benevolent expression, was overtly uncomfortable, she was surprised by even the Holy Knights and looked at her.
"Are you here to end that unnatural life this time?"
"Well, not yet."
Kai let out an ambiguous laugh.
"I have a lot of work left to do. I still have too many threads tangled in my hands to rest comfortably. I feel sorry for the saint who follows God."
"...Still dirty hands."
The boy's wrist, peering under the hem of his colorful robe, was full of purple tattoos. Yggdrasil, who read the countless traces of life intertwined with each tattoo, approached slowly. Eventually, Yggdrasil, who gently wrapped both hands around Kai's wrist, asked with sad eyes.
"Don't think of carrying the hopes and regrets they deserved, Druid."
'Druid?'
It was the first name I had ever heard of Estio, so I was puzzled. Then, I suddenly remembered that the title of guildmaster Kai was simply an abbreviation of 'KA I'. Maybe 'Druid' was another title that Kai possessed. However, it was impossible to read Saint Yggdrasil's head, so Estio decided to just watch their conversation quietly.
"You have the ability to control the life of plants, but you are only a human after all. Ultimately, when the last moment comes, your current choice will be painful."
Estio, observing the saint's expression, realized something at this point. Saint Yggdrasil, she didn't hate Kai. She was just worried and anxious about Kai's choice.
"I have warned you, druid. The weight of the life you receive will accumulate and accumulate and be engraved in your soul."
Although his voice sounded cold, Yggdrasil looked down at Kai and filled with sadness.
"Even death will not comfort you."
widely!
At that moment, someone intervened between the two and pushed the saint away. Not so strong, Yggdrasil missed Kai's hand and only stepped back slightly, but the guardian dog Hebnicius fiercely exposed her teeth.
"To the Master, don't be rude!"
It was none other than a red-haired doll who wrapped Kai around in front of the gigantic dog, who was growling as if it was about to tear it apart in one bite.
"It's okay, Jen."
"master."
Kai lightly patted the doll Zen's head. It looked as if a child was being held in her sister's arms and protected, but the doll calmed her anger in his hands. Kai, who confirmed that Zen was real, looked up at her saint and smiled broadly at her.
"Thank you for calling me a person like this, saint."
Behind a childlike smile, the sunken melon-colored eyes fluttered finely.
"I'm sure... it feels like I've been saved."
With that, their conversation ended. At first glance, it was a strange relationship that looked like a quarrel between friends, and from another point of view, it was like old friends who exchanged concerns and gratitude.
The saint turned away from Kai and bowed her head in gratitude to Estio, who did not ask anything.
"Now, the promised time has come. The Black Clan has a choice."
The ordinance of holy baptism ended safely. Now was the opportunity for Estio to meet Shuhhanan, who became Pope. Yggdrasil, who walked past the sleeping party, pointed to the other side.
"If you want to meet the Holy Father, just open that door and go in."
At some point, there was a white door with a staircase made of light floating in the air.
"If you're going to give up on the meeting, tell me now. I'll send you to a safe place with your colleagues."
Estio glanced at the sudden white door and opened the mouth that had been firmly closed.
"......Please, my colleagues."
The choice had already been made for a long time.
"As promised, I'll go see Shuhanan."
He sent his companions back to the guild headquarters and chose the path to meet Shuhanan alone. As the saint nodded her head, Estio stepped onto the stairs of light. Miraculously, her feet, which seemed like they would just pass, stepped on the shiny stairs and climbed up.
One floor, and one more. It was only after climbing the three-step staircase that Estio reached out to reach the doorknob of the white door. But just before his fingertips touched the doorknob, he looked back for a moment.
Behind them, they could see the group gradually disappearing due to the holy power of the saint. Now they will return to the guild headquarters and be safe. Estio was relieved when his comrades were no longer attacked by him.
Last but not least, Estio, who was staring at the black cat disappearing in the light, straightened her head again. As soon as he gave strength to his hand holding the doorknob, there was a click and the door opened easily.
Paah!
And, like his companions, Estio was enveloped in divine light. A light so bright that he couldn't open his eyes haunted him for a moment.
The moment he grabbed the doorknob, he had already entered a space connected to the white door. It was a chapel with reverent organ sounds resounding. There were no believers and no singing choir in the empty place without a single chair. It was just a strange space where a gigantic pipe organ shining in gold was playing a melody set by itself.
And underneath a huge golden organ stood a man.
