It could be compared to a hundred evil spirits congregating and descending down to the realm of humans to bring suffering to everyone they crossed paths with. This was the most accurate description that Clodine Becket could come up with.

As soon as he opened the jar that Ban Yue had given to him, Clodine Becket was met with a scent so abominable he felt like he had been sent to hell and back. And with every minute that passed and every breeze that blew in through his tiny prison window, the experience only grew from bad to worst. 

Clodine Becket who was born in the ducal house of the Beckets and later taken away to train and serve as the future High Priest of Alpainus as an eight-year-old boy had never smelled something so bad before. 

Everyone who sought his audience always took care to groom themselves to ensure they avoided any blunder that would cause them to lose face in front of the Young Master and High Priest. Furthermore, the Holy Knights had been taught the importance of observing cleanliness and tact the moment they stepped into the thresholds of the Order.

So, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Clodine Becket was experiencing this kind of treatment for the first time.

For the first hour of the seal removal, Clodine almost forgot what the real torture was. 

He was already used to pain, but he wasn’t used to this kind of smell that was similar to a room filled with rotten eggs, dead carcasses, and burnt tire. 

For a moment, he even suspected that Ban Yue secretly intended to eliminate him instead of freeing him from his restraints, but because it was true that Clodine did feel his powers gradually returning, he cleared his mind that was starting to be filled with impure and tainted thoughts. One should always return the kindness they received tenfold, and this way of thinking towards his savior was inappropriate and utterly condemnable. The Order of the Holy Knights was already a thing of the past, but their values were still heavily ingrained in him.

Ban Yue did say that the item would dull his sense of pain, and in a way it did, because Clodine could only focus on the smell. His savior didn’t lie. The fault was with Clodine who only wanted to receive all the good things even though he did nothing to deserve them. In exchange for his freedom, an hour of this torturous odor was nothing!

When the last shackle fell, Clodine Becket was still in a daze. 

After the Battle of the Red Moon was won, Clodine left his staff to protect the final refuge of mankind in the Blessed Hell of Sistyne and left. After all, the Order of the Holy Knights no longer existed and the worst threat to Alpainus was already eradicated. Clodine Becket who grew up without having the chance to lead the life he truly desired felt like his blessing had turned into a curse that shackled him to a destiny he couldn’t refuse.

An imminent threat to Alpainus, a prophecy, and the blessing of Airos that only came to a single individual in every era.

Within one day, during the mages’ official inauguration ceremony, the direction of Clodine Becket’s life changed completely and he was taken away as an eight-year-old boy to learn the ways and life of a High Priest.

At that time, the young Clodine Becket had been looking forward to entering the academy and creating many memories. But instead, the rest of his days became filled with white walls, quiet hallways, white official robes, and historical texts. Even when Clodine found something that he wanted to do, he would always be reminded to practice restraint. After all, the High Priest should always have the welfare of the people in mind. His mind should not be muddled by his attachment to material things and be swayed by his personal desires. At eighteen years old, Clodine Becket became the High Priest, and people gradually forgot his real name. The young spirited boy Clodine Becket ceased to exist.

Because Clodine couldn’t afford to be cruel, he led this kind of life for hundreds of years. Then, when there was no longer anything left for him to do, he disappeared. He was able to live quietly in seclusion until one day, the shadow puppets resurfaced at large and he was forced to return. However, mankind was no longer as strong as before, and the shadow puppets seemed to have become stronger. Alpainus lost the war and Clodine Becket was imprisoned in the tower for the next 100 years.

Truthfully, a part of Clodine wondered if this was his punishment for trying to escape his destiny. 

Perhaps if he hadn’t been too arrogant, too complacent, and too selfish, Clodine could’ve revived the Order of the Holy Knights and humanity might have had a better chance against the shadow puppets. 

Whenever this thought occurred to him, the teachings that he had learned and listened to day and night since he entered the Order replayed in Clodine’s head like a judge enumerating all his sins, and every time, he would be left with a crushing sense of guilt. It was especially hard to drive away these thoughts in the silence of the tower. Maybe that was why he was so pessimistic about being able to escape this prison. He told himself that he’ll never be able to escape this place because he didn’t feel that he deserved to. It must’ve been the price he needed to pay for running away.

That was why when Ban Yue appeared in front of him, a part of Clodine couldn’t believe that something too good to be true was happening to him. 

After all, aside from Ludville Eckart who frequently appeared at the tower only to disappear in front of him, nobody has ever ventured to this place for the past 100 years. 

When Ban Yue offered to return his freedom, he thought it must be a test or a trick. Even when he already held the burning candle in one hand, Clodine truly didn’t believe that it was possible for him to be freed. It was only when the first shackle fell and he felt his powers gradually flowing through his veins that he finally understood that it could be done. And now that the last shackle had fallen off, Clodine was filled with mixed emotions.

The blessing of Airos was still with him, but he wondered why the god hadn’t taken it back. He felt ashamed for wanting his freedom back. 

Did he deserve it? Someone like him? Surely not.

These were the thoughts running through Clodine’s mind as he descended the tower and stepped on the green grass for the first time in a hundred years. After he exited the tower, his first sensation was the cold drops of rain that fell on his hair. Oddly enough, the pressure of the rain felt like a gentle hand patting the top of his head, and when a gentle gust of wind blew past, he felt like his cheeks were being caressed.

Clodine’s eyes prickled. 

Only then did he get the courage to look up at the sky that he had longed to see for the first time.

For the past 100 years, Clodine only ever saw the skies through its reflection on the water puddles that formed on the ground of his prison cell whenever the weather was especially bad. He couldn’t turn around because he had shackles on his neck, and even if he could, the small window that was located behind him was too high. The image he saw on the puddle always included the rusty steel bars that blocked the tiny window. But this time around, the view he was seeing was different. There were no rusty prison bars interfering with his vision nor shackles weighing his limbs down, there was only the gentle breeze that clung playfully to his robes and the vastness of the sky.

Clodine felt like he could finally breathe again. 

So, even when the water was getting into his eyes, he remained there for a long time.

BXX: Please don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe if you enjoyed this chapter! It would mean a lot to me! ( ﾟヮﾟ)