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Divine power.
It was a blessing that God granted to this world and the most compelling evidence of God’s existence.
However, it couldn’t just be broadly defined as a sacred divine power of God.
The power of [Healing] that heals wounds and overcomes illness.
The power of [Blessing] that wards off bad luck and beckons good fortune.
The power of [Exorcism] discerns and eradicates evil.
Those who possessed divine power exhibited all these three characteristics. However, the degree to which one exhibited each varied among individuals. Typically, while one might excel in one aspect, the other two would be almost negligible.
For instance, the paladins of St. Terbacchia, who specialized in exorcism, primarily showcased the power of exorcism. In contrast, the paladins of St. Gracia, who dedicated themselves to service and sacrifice, often had many members skilled in healing and blessing.
Of course, high-ranking priests or archbishops possessed such immense divine power that they often exhibited strength in all three aspects. When they reached this level, they could perform feats that bordered on miracles, especially in their specialized areas.
But the spectacle unfolding here now was unparalleled in its resemblance to a [Miracle] .
A dazzling white light enveloped Prince Morres, and shards of wood expelled from his wounds in an instant, giving way to new skin growth. His hand, which had torn skin and ripped muscles, regenerated smoothly with new muscle tissue and soft, pristine skin.
All those numerous wounds vanished without a trace. Even the slightly sunburnt face from rolling all day in the training ground for the past few days brightened up.
It was as if an immense life force was poured into a single individual.
This was the scene of a [Miracle] as seen by ordinary people.
However, the clergies saw something slightly different.
The multicolored radiant aura surrounded the Holy Emperor and the prince. The faint scent of sanctity spread outwards. The occasional bright golden halo glimpsed around the Holy Emperor.
Who could dare doubt the representative of God after witnessing this scene?
The higher one’s clerical position or the stronger the divine power one possessed, the more intense and emotionally overwhelming this scene was.
“Ooh…”
“O’ Lord…”
Look at the high priests, completely overwhelmed, kneeling and making the sign of the cross.
Archbishop Diggory was sobbing uncontrollably, face flushed with emotion. Even the quirky Archbishop Benitus moistened his eyes while making the sign of the cross.
Of course, Seongjin, who didn’t possess any divine power and felt nothing, was just bewildered. He was puzzled when everyone in the meeting room suddenly rushed out, knelt down, and started crying.
Eventually, as the wounds healed and the pain completely subsided, Seongjin stood up from the mat and looked at his perfectly healed right hand in awe.
‘Wow, so this is divine power…’
Even to the ignorant Seongjin, the Holy Emperor’s ability was beyond ordinary. It was on a completely different level compared to the healing power Francis showed him a few times yesterday. Not only did the wounds heal without a trace, but even the blood loss seemed to have been fully restored, as he felt no signs of anemia.
The Holy Emperor withdrew his hand from Seongjin’s forehead and spoke, almost as if he was exhaling,
“Didn’t I tell you to just focus on your training?”
But Seongjin felt it was unjust.
“But, Father, I was training as you instructed? I even obeyed your orders…”
However, he couldn’t finish. A sudden flick from the Holy Emperor’s eyebrow stopped him, and a light smack came out of nowhere.
Thwack.
“Ugh!”
Seongjin rolled on the mat, clutching his forehead. Why did it feel more painful than getting hit by a wooden sword?
In any case, the Holy Emperor stood up, walked over to Masain, who was kneeling beside the mat with a downcast expression, and said, “Your Majesty…”
“Why do you blame yourself for that boy’s antics, Masain? I sent you as a swordsmanship teacher, not a nanny.”
Masain’s face contorted, a mix of a smile and a grimace. The Holy Emperor patted his shoulder and turned his head.
“Louis.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“What’s the schedule for this afternoon?”
The faithful chief chamberlain looked somewhat troubled. By date, it should be the day for the official audience with Prince Morres, but the backlog of official tasks was quite substantial.
“Your Majesty, I think…”
As the chief chamberlain trailed off, the Holy Emperor nodded and asked, “Is lunch ready?”
But Your Majesty. I thought you skipped breakfast…
The Holy Emperor waved off the chief chamberlain, who was struggling for words, and coldly looked down at Seongjin, who was still clutching his forehead in pain.
“Let’s have a talk for a moment, son.”
Gulp.
For some reason, an involuntary gulp escaped Seongjin’s throat.
Seongjin was obediently led to the Holy Emperor’s office. Although he was covered in blood from head to toe, neither of them paid any mind to it.
Following behind the Holy Emperor, who walked briskly with his robe fluttering, Seongjin occasionally sneaked glances at the back of the Holy Emperor’s head. Somehow, the gentleman in front of him seemed a bit tired. Was it just his imagination?
Upon reaching the office and dismissing his attendants, the Holy Emperor sat down at his desk and pointed to the sofa opposite him with a nod.
“Sit.”
“Yes.”
“Explain.”
“Yes!”
Seongjin diligently explained why he had let aura flow into his wooden sword and why he tried to make the aura in the sword go berserk.
He began with the spectacular strike that Masain demonstrated when slaying a bug, which naturally led to a brief description of the battle at the Diggory mansion. Since it was brought up, he also casually mentioned how much progress he’d made with the aura manipulation technique recently and how his proficiency had suddenly increased after the battle.
Perhaps subconsciously, he even thought this to himself: ‘Since the Holy Emperor seems busy, I might as well talk as much as possible to kill time, that way he’ll have less time to scold me.’
Surprisingly, the Holy Emperor, who seemed ready to reprimand him, just quietly listened.
“So, I was trying to time the aura’s rampage when the wooden sword suddenly exploded, and well, that happened.”
“…”
After Seongjin finished his lengthy explanation and discreetly tried to gauge the Holy Emperor’s mood, the Holy Emperor, after a moment of contemplation, glanced at the wall clock and spoke.
“The technique Masain used is called ‘Aura Explosion’.”
Oh. It seems he’s given up on scolding.
“It’s called various absurd names among the imperial knights, like ‘Storm Slash’ or ‘Sky-splitting Crescent’, but you can ignore those. It’s not unreasonable that it looked like an aura rampage to you, but the principle of the actual technique is a bit different.”
The Holy Emperor briefly explained the essence of the technique.
The key wasn’t letting aura to flow continuously into the weapon, but instead creating a thin layer of aura to be materialized externally, hence shaping the blade’s surface. Therefore, one can only attempt this technique after reliably creating an aura blade.
What appears as an aura rampage is, in fact, sending the aura blade to resonate at a specific frequency, meaning, it’s not about making the aura sway randomly but amplifying its destructive power through extremely controlled vibrations.
In conclusion, Seongjin wasn’t ready to imitate it yet, and he should focus on building up his aura layer.
“The idea was interesting, but testing it on a weapon is extremely risky. Understand?”
“Yes…”
It was indeed too ambitious for a novice who had just started learning about auras.
While Seongjin was scratching his face out of embarrassment, a light knock sounded from outside the office. It was the chief chamberlain.
“Your Majesty, it’s time for your meal.”
The Holy Emperor sighed softly and got up.
“Well, even with my explanation, if you come up with something new, you’ll want to try it again, won’t you?”
“Um…”
Seongjin couldn’t deny it, being well-aware of his own weakness for curiosity.
Moving towards the office entrance, the Holy Emperor reached for the sword hilt at his waist. With a metallic sound, a long blade was drawn. Silently, he extended it towards Seongjin.
“…?”
Instinctively taking it, Seongjin felt the weight of the real sword in his hands.
“From now on, you’ll play with that instead of a wooden sword. No matter what prank you try, it won’t easily break.”
“Uh… Thank you?”
He had braced himself for a thorough scolding, yet he received a sword.
The Holy Emperor’s lips curved up faintly in what could almost be called a semblance of a smile, which was a first for Seongjin. Then, the Holy Emperor gently patted Seongjin’s head a few times and turned away.
Stepping out of the office, the Holy Emperor left with one final piece of advice.
“Morres.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t tell Masain that you tried to mimic him and caused an accident.”
He was referring to the Knight Commander, who had been particularly guilt-ridden since yesterday.
With a stiff face, Seongjin nodded.
“Nutcracker?”
Outside the palace, Masain, who had been waiting for Seongjin to come out, saw the sword strapped to his waist and exclaimed with widened eyes.
Nutcracker? What’s that?
Hearing his words, including Haven, the resident knights of the Pearl Palace rushed over.
“Eh? Nutcracker?”
“The Holy Emperor’s beloved weapon? Is it really that Nutcracker?”
It looks ordinary, but seems like its a famous sword.
The Holy Emperor’s Favorite, is it some kind of legendary weapon? What’s with the name?
Seongjin took a closer look at the sword.
The sword looked ordinary, like any other long sword without any particular decorations. However, its blade was thin and a bit shorter, but the hilt was long, making it easy to swing with both hands. It seemed more suitable for a boy of Morres’s age rather than a grown adult.
The blade was made of a unique gray metal that had lost its luster. The blade wasn’t particularly sharp either. It couldn’t be considered a well-maintained weapon.
Isn’t it too plain for a Holy Emperor?
However, the resident knights thought otherwise.
“So this is the famous sword that’s so hard that it can’t be sharpened with a whetstone!”
“Even when the blacksmith tried to forge it, it wouldn’t heat up properly!”
“That legendary sword, supposedly made by a dragon to crack open walnuts in the distant past….”
Wait a minute. Are there dragons in this world?
But why would a dragon make a sword to crack walnuts?
Moreover, for a legendary sword, its name… Nutcracker? It doesn’t evoke anything intimidating.
And…
It feels like it would be more effective at cracking human heads than walnuts…
Sure enough, Haven glanced around and whispered, as if sharing a secret.
“I’ve heard that when His Majesty was active on the battlefield in his younger days, thousands and thousands had their heads split open by that sword.”
Seriously?
As Seongjin looked astounded, other knights began to add their own stories.
“Yes. That’s right. There were so many crushed skulls that they could form a mountain.”
“And the blood from that mountain formed a massive river…”
“Even now, it’s said that in that place, headless spirits wail and wander every night.”
“……”
What the hell did this man give me?
Even Francis, who was typically unshakable, seemed quite shocked this time. He furrowed his brow and looked at Seongjin.
“He’s never been without that sword all this time. What did His Majesty say to give that sword to Your Highness?”
Seongjin tilted his head.
“He just said, while training, my wooden sword broke, so I should play with this instead. He said this one won’t easily break.”
Masain’s pupils were shaking, as if deeply shocked.
“… As a substitute for a wooden sword… to play with?”
Tsk. Francis clicked his tongue.
“Masain. Isn’t it time you let go of that unrealistic fantasy? That means it’s not the legendary weapon you’re thinking of.”
Sir Masain seemed to have had an admiration for the Nutcracker.
“But still, that sword…”
“I should have known since the time when the Holy Emperor used to crack walnuts from the mountain with it during his younger days.”
Ah, so it’s really used for cracking walnuts after all.