Book 19 Chapter 38

Episode 172

Hezmana, the Judge of Divine Punishment.

Aged 52.

Born into the branch of the High Priest of the Dark Elves, she liked to stare into clear water for hours since childhood.

"The water is so clear, yet the world is so murky that one cannot see through it; how can this be called an era of peace?"

It is said that she spoke these words before the Water Dragon Yeriserica at the age of 11.

She was immediately chosen as a water acolyte.

Growing under Yeriserica's teachings, she was unanimously appointed as a Judge by the branch council at the age of 26, without any separate Judge training process.

"A single fish can muddy an entire river. Our mission is to eliminate such things. Then, someday, the water that is the world will become clear."

Hezmana volunteered for the Great Demon Realm border, a place even other Judges avoided.

Not only did she subdue the demon race, but she also achieved the feat of greatly expanding the borders of the civilized world by establishing 16 strongholds in the reclaimed territories.

Of course, like all wars, the process was merely a feast of despair and suffering stained with blood and tears.

"Mother and Father of Creation! Please, please heal this child!"

The day Hezmana screamed more painfully than any other in her life was when her disciple was pierced by the blood clan's dark magic and slowly died in agony.

"With your light… you said you hear even the smallest groan, I beg of you, please…"

To her, who had dedicated her life to lighting the flame of her mission and never married, the child was like her own flesh and blood.

But there was nothing she could do.

Most of the organs were ruptured by the blood clan's corrupted blood that flowed through the veins, and the effects of that corruption had reached the heart.

"…"

Even though the Judge desperately cried out, God's answer was distant and unheard, and in the end, the disciple died at a young age.

That day, she turned her back on the world.

Wielding a single weapon, the Moon Corridor Blade (月廊刀), she invaded the Demon Realm alone, heading for the Blood Clan's stronghold.

That day, the entire Demon Realm was drenched in moonlight.

The terrain was scorched by the surge of moonlight… The Blood Clan suffered significant damage at this time, to the extent that they hid their presence from the history of invasion for a while.

"Who is it…?"

Of course, the cost was considerable.

Since she did not lead a single Judge brigade, she was directly exposed to the Blood Clan's dark magic.

As she bled from all over her body and collapsed onto the burning sands of the Demon Realm, a human silhouette appeared above the horizon.

"Are you a survivor of the Blood Clan…?"

The being who stopped at her bedside looked down at her with an incomparably faint gaze and spoke.

"I am Eldia Mu (04), Lykael."

Eldia Mu (04)?

Eldia of the Holy Elmene Knights?

The legendary heroes who ended the Age of Darkness and ushered in the dawn? Hezmana let out a mocking laugh mixed with blood.

"I've wandered through the darkness for so long that now I'm hearing things…"

Perhaps she resented the light, which is why she was trapped in eternal darkness. Is this hell?

"You truly resemble me. Even in your despair, abandoned by the light after fighting for it your whole life."

"If you truly are Eldia… what exactly do you want to say to me right now?"

"It's because I pity you, being in a similar situation as me. Don't you want to achieve everything you wanted, everything you hoped for, everything you dreamed of?"

"How can I achieve that? I'm on the verge of death now."

"No, there is a way. Embrace the abyss. You will be reborn with the power of the abyss."

"Hah, hahaha… Even if I die the most painful death in the world, I have not the slightest intention of serving the darkness! As expected, you're not Eldia. The great Eldia would never say such a thing."

"You're not serving darkness. You're pursuing and wishing for true light within the darkness."

"…"

"I promise. I will end this Great Abyssal War and create an era without tears or sorrow, absolutely. For that, I am merely using the power of the abyss for a while. I want to use you for that dream."

If there is no God, someone must become God and bestow that order and light.

To create such a world.

She had lost everything in her suffering, but in a world where everything was set right, there would be no more such suffering.

"It wouldn't be bad… Yes, it wouldn't be bad…"

Thus, Hezmana, the Judge of Divine Punishment, was reborn as a member of the New Heaven Kaditpol Knights!

"I will give you my identification number."

The identification number is Mu (04)!

By inheriting the identification number of Eldia Mu (04) Lykael, who, in the distant mythical era, dreamed of a brilliant age of light and cut down the <Forgotten Kings> with a single sword!

Hezmana resolved.

To become a god who, with the new opportunity given by that being, would bear all pain and suffering on behalf of others and bestow blessings!