Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 447 (Part 2):

“If the sacred barrier seals the entrance to the demon realm,”

The Grand Duke of Renosa spoke.

‘”Does that mean if the sacred barrier collapses, such a phenomenon will occur again? The Demon King will revive, dominate living beings, and attempt to devour this world with its power?”

“It will likely come to that. And the *magi*…”

Levina slowly closed her eyes and opened them again.

“It has long been scattered and melded into this world. No, perhaps it’s more accurate to say it has adapted. That makes this fight all the more difficult. If it were merely a matter of power, we could defeat it with power, but it is the will of the Demon King.”

“Are you saying it learns?”

“Yes, hasn’t it already done so?” Levina said with a biting tone, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.

Though she was known for her gentleness and compassion, such an extreme situation had frayed her nerves.

Charlotte responded after a moment.

“Are you saying the Seed of Darkness was one such attempt?”

“Yes, the Seed of Darkness… it is the Demon King’s attempt to dominate even humans. To transform them entirely into beings like demonic beasts. The power of *magi* has long made such attempts. To swallow this world… without fail next time.”

“But those who bore the Seed of Darkness have only ever gone mad and rampaged.”

Charlotte countered.

Thus, wasn’t it hard to believe that Helmut, who not only avoided going mad but also cut down those with the Seed of Darkness, was contributing to the Demon King’s will?

“It must have been a conflict. Humans, with their strong intellect, cannot form demonic nature like animals. But those attempts failed because we quickly identified and eliminated their existence.”

The existence of Helmut, who had not been eliminated. Though they spoke of sealing the Seed of Darkness or whatnot, the Temple could not cast aside its doubts.

The suspicion that he was fulfilling the Demon King’s plan.

If a human could fully control and assimilate *magi*, wouldn’t that bring them closer to the Demon King?

Perhaps that suspicion was true.

“Your successor, along with the Temple’s enemies, destroyed the sacred barrier. Grand Duke of Renosa, are you satisfied with your choice?”

Levina could not help but cast blame.

“He had no intention of destroying the sacred barrier. He only wished to survive and escape.”

The Grand Duke answered calmly. But in the next moment, a piercing question followed.

“Is it a sin for a human to wish to live in the human world?”

The pain, the misfortune, the death of that human. The lost opportunities of life.

Did they mean nothing before the Temple’s greater cause? Was that just?

As a father, the Grand Duke had committed a grievous sin. Because he believed it was just.

But the Temple’s façade had been stripped away, and Helmut, who had survived, stood before him. And he saved the Grand Duke’s life.

For the first time, the Grand Duke doubted, and at last, he realized.

A choice believed to be just might simply be the decision of someone with power.

The entity that defined justice. The Temple’s word held absolute authority, and even the Grand Duke of Renosa had submitted and followed it.

Because of that, he abandoned his child, betrayed him… The latter was not his will, but the former was undoubtedly his decision.

The Grand Duke felt the weight of his sin keenly, to the bone.

High Priest Levina shook her head.

“To say he had no malice. That sounds like the same claim as saying he can control the Seed of Darkness.”

“Are you calling it a baseless claim?”

“You said he had no intention of destroying the sacred barrier, but as a result, the sacred barrier is collapsing. A person with the Seed of Darkness, free from the Demon King’s will? He’s proving otherwise with his actions!”

Levina cried out as if spitting blood.

The Temple’s defeat in Renosa felt to her like the will of the Demon King.

Something had begun to go awry somewhere, and now it was completely broken.

If the sacred barrier was losing its power, it might be a situation even Lumen’s will could not control.

“It sounds much like saying the Temple’s tyranny is justified because it’s all under Lumen’s greater will.”

The Crown Prince, who had been listening silently, spat out.

Having nearly died in the palace due to the Temple’s instigation, he could not help but feel resentment.

High Priest Levina bit her lip tightly.

In truth, she thought of it slightly differently.

Even the fact that the Crown Prince hadn’t died then was Lumen’s will.

But now was not the time for arguments.

Letting out a light sigh, she continued.

“In any case, the situation now is worse than a thousand years ago. That’s the problem. Lumen’s greatest power lay in that sacred barrier, and as it wanes, the barrier is collapsing.”

“So, we have less strength to confront the Demon King than we did a thousand years ago.”

The Crown Prince nodded as if understanding. He grasped the High Priest’s sense of crisis.

“There are mages.”

Charlotte spoke up. If there was a group whose power had grown incomparably stronger than a thousand years ago, it was the mages. The existence of mages, rapidly advanced by the Mage Association and academies like Greta Academy.

“Mages?”

High Priest Levina laughed sharply.

“Do you know why the Temple rejected them in the first place?”

Because of the convenience of magic, humans couldn’t expel them from their lives, and letting them be had allowed their influence to grow.

That was hardly a good omen.

“There’s a story that those who sought greater power caused a crack in the boundary of the world, drawing in the power of *magi*. Yes, the mages.”

Levina struck the floor with her staff—*Thud!*

“Those greedy ones, who wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice their lives for their research, for the truth. They were the ones who drew that evil power from another world.”

“The cause isn’t what matters now. What matters is that they’re a force…”

Levina cut Charlotte off.

“Not important? Who do you think contributed to breaking the sacred barrier? The Temple’s enemies, Heike and Antiol! They caused this crisis!”

According to her, it seemed all the blame for the world’s peril rested on Helmut and his companions.

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