Chapter 212 – What Do You Want to Do?When asked about the ominous door, Gilbert went silent for a while.
「Don"t ever get close to that door ever again. It must never be opened.」
His tone was hard. Hikaru checked the man"s Soul Board.
【Soul Board】Gilbert Gabranth
Age: 37 Rank: 55
1
【Vitality】
..【Natural Recovery】12
..【Stamina】8
..【Immunity】
….【Magic Resistance】3
….【Disease Immunity】1
….【Toxic Immunity】1
..【Perception】
….【Sight】2
【Magical Power】
..【Mana】4
【Physical Strength】
..【Strength】9
..【Weapon Mastery】
….【Sword】6
….【Great Sword】2
….【Shield】4
….【Armor】4
【Agility】
..【Power Burst】2
..【Balance】1
【Willpower】
..【Mental Strength】6
..【Faith】
….【Holy】5
……【Healing Magic】2
……【Support Magic】2
….【Evil】2
……【Accursed Magic】1
【Intuition】
..【Instinct】4
I knew it. He has points on Instinct, Hikaru thought. Those with high-level combat abilities and fought in the frontlines almost certainly had points on Instinct. They had probably went through plenty of life-threatening situations where the lack of Instinct meant death.
In terms of pure physical prowess, Gilbert was a little bit inferior to Lawrence the Master Swordsman, but the former could use both healing and support magic. Not only that…
One point on Accursed Magic…?
How he had accursed magic was a mystery.
「I have no intention of opening that creepy door. Ah, I get it now. The Pope is studying the Blade of Severance to find a way to open it.」
「Man, how much do you actually know? What"s a Blade of Severance even?」Gilbert asked, astonished.
His murderous aura had all but vanished. All that was left was plain shock at how much this mysterious boy, who appeared out of nowhere, knew.
Hikaru was actually surprised that Gilbert didn"t know about the blade. I guess even Blue Knights aren"t told everything. Or perhaps the Pope didn"t trust him.
「I don"t really care about you, personally. But I wanted to ask you anyway: What do you want to do?」
「Let me out of here. There"s something I gotta do.」
「And what would that be?」
「I doubt you"d get anything by knowing. In fact, I think not knowing will be better for you.」
「Try me. I might even be able to help you.」
「Heh. Big words. All right, then. It"s simple.」
Gilbert was once known as Agiapole"s strongest. People called him Light Sword Gilbert and Quick Slash.
「I"m gonna destroy this Tower. Gotta get rid of the pus, you know. 」
What would happen if this man turned his sword to the Tower? How many would die in the carnage?
「You"ll die for sure. You may be strong, but you"re alone.」
「I thought you were gonna help me.」
「One more guy won"t really make much of a difference. Plus, I have no desire to destroy this Tower at all.」
「I can"t live in this country anymore. My life doesn"t amount to much anyway.」Gilbert said with a sigh.「Do you know that only those suckers who listen to every word that the Pope says have power in the Tower?」
「I do.」
「Of course you do. You basically know everything. So, your thoughts?」
「Can"t say I like it. You want to urge me to join you on your one-man crusade.」
「That"s not what I meant. What happened to this place? If we follow the Saints" teachings, only a few strong people should remain here to guard the seal. But the Pope realized the significance of the Tower as a symbol. Now he"s a.s.sessing people"s worth like he"s some kind of a G.o.d.」
Gilbert was an orphan who learned of the more traditional version of the Church"s teachings. He understood Father Gravey precisely because the things he"d learned were the same as the priest"s. His being an orphan was also why he couldn"t ignore the slums.
「I wanted to be strong as fast as possible. I thought that by becoming a Blue Knight, I could guide a lot of people to the right path.」
But once he entered the Tower, he noticed the corruption spread throughout the place. Those belonging to the Pope"s faction bought their positions. Purple Aristocrats earned their t.i.tles through heritage, but more than half of the Red Priests and Gray Deacons sold and bought their status using ill-gotten money.
Holding the majority of the positions, they became the dominant party. The Pope did nothing to prevent this, and instead used them to achieve his dream of a beautiful holy city—by eliminating orphans and vagrants. All Gilbert could do to help was support the slums secretly.
「This might be as far as things can go. Any more, and madness will start to consume the city. If Father Gravey survives, I"m sure he can save more lives.」
「So you want to destroy the Tower… kill the Pope.」
「I don"t know if I can get that far. I"m just gonna get killed anyway, so might as well try.」
Gilbert understood the situation he was in. Stopping the demolition of the slums was an act contrary to the Pope"s wishes. He knew it was the death penalty for him.
He didn"t fight back, but instead let himself get captured for a good reason. If he drew his sword, several temple knights and soldiers would"ve died. These people had families living in Agiapole. If they found out it was Gilbert who killed them, there was a high possibility that they would direct their hatred at the slums, and not at the famous Blue Knight. Gilbert didn"t want that to happen.
「If something big happens in the Tower, the regional priests will come here in droves. They have the ability to take action. Now if only we had that opening. The Pope is extremely secretive, you see. He had not once given himself away, and discloses important matters to only a select few people.」
「An opening, huh…」Hikaru muttered.
Gilbert was trying to give meaning to his eventual “death” inside the Tower.
Ugh, I hate this.
This man would lay down his life for a reformation. He believed that by doing so, he would save a lot of people. At least, it would be better than letting the Pope do whatever he wanted.
Gilbert was a man who"d die for his ideals. For a split second, Hikaru thought he saw the late Unken in him.
「So you"re saying that if an opportunity presented itself, you won"t do anything stupid.」
「Stupid, huh? Well, you"re not wrong. But all I can do is swing my sword, and if I can do something with it…」
「You would even commit ma.s.s slaughter? Man, you"re a lot worse than I expected. You"re like a psychopath with nerves of steel.」
「Wh-What did you say?」
「I really don"t like that kind of att.i.tude. “No one has to get their hands dirty, except me.” Is that what you"re trying to say? What a load of c.r.a.p. Do you want to be a hero so bad or something?」
「Now you"ve said it. What about you, then? What can a guy like you, who only knows how to sneak around, do?」
「An opportunity is all we need, right? One big enough to draw the regional priests to this city.」
「Have you been listening to me? We don"t have one—」
「I"ll show you what someone who only knows how to sneak around can really do. So just stay put and cool your head off. I"ll let you out when the time comes.」
「What?」
Hikaru took a deep breath.
「I can"t believe I got dragged into this huge mess.」
No one heard his words as he already had his Stealth activated.
「What do you want to do?」
「I want to help.」Conia answered.「I won"t make the same mistake ever again. This time, I"ll lend a helping hand to those who really need it.」
Don"t worry. You"ll get your wish. Trouble will soon rain down on this city.
Hikaru returned to Conia"s cell.