Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 279 (Part 2):
The Forest of Roots gradually faded from human awareness, becoming a place that might appear in history or legends. There were few who properly studied this place.
Whether it was the effect of the sacred barrier or if it was naturally avoided as an ominous and dangerous place is unknown.
The temple’s disapproval of humans taking interest in the Forest of Roots also played a part.
“That’s the commonly known information. But how exactly was the sacred barrier formed?”
Everyone tilted their heads.
That’s how legends usually are. They’re made up of unrealistic and unexplainable stories.
But the Forest of Roots was a living legend.
Asuka questioned,
“Wasn’t it just made by the temple? Like, a bunch of priests gathered and created the barrier.”
“This sacred barrier was created by the power of a single being. Think of it simply. Lumen created this sacred barrier.”
“Right, Lumen… since he’s a god.”
Everyone’s expressions became peculiar.
Lumen only proved his existence through holy power, not as a being that directly gave rewards or punishments.
In fact, none of those present had any faith.
However, at Alea’s next words,
“Lumen is not the name of a god. It’s a human name. A human who created the sacred barrier that sealed this Forest of Roots.”
Everyone was shocked.
It was almost blasphemous. Just uttering those words was enough to make Alea an enemy of the temple.
“Just as demonic energy originates from the demon world, each world has its own power. Holy power is the force and will that protects this world. Although it may be misused by the corrupted temple in this long era of peace, holy power itself is a force for the continuation of this world. It’s the power that forms the foundation of this world, originating from creation.”
Alea continued her explanation calmly.
“Therefore, before the Demon King War, this power didn’t clearly exist in the world. It was just permeating the world. However, in the distant past, there was the Demon King War. The demonic beasts that poured out from the demon world, led by the Demon King, tried to dominate the earth and exterminate all living beings. The world fell into danger in an instant. At that time, to protect the world from destruction, holy power emerged as a reaction, and Lumen was given the right to control that holy power. In other words, that’s how the divinity of Lumen was born.”
“That’s…”
Sian let out a sound like a groan. Alea declared.
“That is the truth that Archmage Antiol discovered after his research.”
Asuka furrowed his brow as if it was giving him a headache.
“Yeah, if the Archmage said so, it must be true. But what does that have to do with us getting out of here?”
“It’s an explanation to help you understand the sacred barrier. The sacred barrier isn’t simply sealing the fragments of the Demon King that exist on earth. It’s blocking the demon world. A gate to the demon world opened at the location of this Forest of Roots, and that’s why this place is full of demonic energy. That’s also the reason why the Forest of Roots is a forbidden area.”
“The demon… world? Here?”
Sian wore an appalled expression.
Charlotte also looked down at the ground with a hardened face. As if the ground might open up a black maw and swallow them.
“The demon world is closed. Because the Demon King who opened the gate to the demon world is gone. And the sacred barrier is blocking this place. That’s why the sacred barrier is so powerful and forms a complete shape. For example, it’s shaped like this.”
Alea drew a circular line in the air. It was a circle.
The sacred barrier surrounds the Forest of Roots in the shape of a sphere, she was saying.
“The Forest of Roots can’t be escaped through the ground or the sky. Because the barrier envelops everything. Lord Igrelle, who flies in the sky, would know, right?”
[Yes, that’s right. I’ve tried it before. I tried to fly to the end of the sky to escape the Forest of Roots. But there was a barrier up there too.]
“Yeah, we get that the sacred barrier is amazing, but we can still get out, right? Because we’re not demonic beasts. But Helmut is different.”
Asuka, who had blurted this out as if frustrated, flinched for a moment.
It seemed like he had just referred to Helmut as a demonic beast. Alea changed her tone. The other person kept using informal speech to interject, and it didn’t suit her character to keep explaining politely with formal speech.
“I already said, no matter how impressive the barrier is, it was created by a human.”
“Yeah, that Lumen or whatever was a human. But he became a god, didn’t he?”
“Even if he became a god, the barrier was created using human methods. Do you think such a barrier would suddenly appear out of thin air just because Lumen wanted it to? He became a god because he received holy power, but he wasn’t an omnipotent being.”
If Lumen had been omnipotent, he would have simply blown away the gate to the demon world and purified the world of demonic energy without needing to create a sacred barrier.
But Lumen had limitations, and that’s why this forbidden area was formed.
In other words, if Lumen had limitations, it meant that this sacred barrier wasn’t something absolute either.
“Using human methods…?”
Sian, who had been thinking deeply, clapped his hands.
“Ah, I get it. To create a barrier…!”
“That’s what Antiol was researching. He was studying the principles by which the sacred barrier was implemented while creating barriers in human ways. Whether it’s magic or holy power, the attributes are different, but the principles of implementation are similar. On top of that, I heard stories about the Forest of Roots from Helmut. That was a big help.”
“What did I say?”
Helmut raised his eyebrows as if he had no idea what she was talking about.
While only Sian, as a mage, could grasp what was being discussed, everyone else felt like they were in the dark. Alea, noticing this, began to explain more leisurely.
“Elaga here, and Igrelle. Helmut, you talked about the rulers of the Forest of Roots domains. The fact that they exist is crucial.”