Chapter 633: Abyss Trial
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Benjamin had never seen Miles react like this.
"This sword... Do you know the use of it?" He frowned and asked Miles who walked towards him quickly.
"Of course I know." Miles said calmly and slowly. "The legendary holy sword, the weapon that God gave to the two brothers, Cain and Abel, and it has the power to purify all the curses in the world."
Benjamin heard this and indisputably shrugged.
"You believe in God and legends?"
Perhaps because it was heavily damaged, Benjamin did not see any signs of the broken sword being God’s weapon. Other than having a large amount of spiritual energy and its ability to keep dead bodies fresh, there was nothing special about it.
Mainly because... the broken sword gave him a rather eerie feeling instead of a treasure gifted by God.
"I do not believe in God, but I do believe that everything has its origin." Miles said solemnly, "Give it to me, it’s the reason why I entered God’s abandoned valley."
"Okay then."
Benjamin heard this, reluctantly shook his head and threw the sword towards Miles.
They made an agreement before coming in, so he certainly cannot break his promise. Although the broken holy sword sounded very powerful, but he did not know how to use it, and the eerie spiritual energy inside the broken sword was freaking him out.
He confirmed that the "Spiritual Radiation" released by broken sword was not harmful, but he still felt that there was something weird about this sword, so he gave the sword to Miles —— since he was so insistent.
However, to his surprise, Miles took the sword, and without hesitation, cut a line on his arm with the broken sword.
Was that… a blood sacrifice?
"What are you doing?" Benjamin could not help but ask.
Miles looked at the blood that was seeping out of his wound, and after a moment of silence, he replied: "Lifting the curse."
Benjamin subconsciously asked: "What curse?"
Miles shut his mouth and did not speak.
He gazed at his own bleeding arm like a terminally ill patient waiting for the doctor's diagnosis. The atmosphere was inexplicably heavy.
Benjamin saw this and could not help but be confused.
It seemed like... nothing happened?
Miles took the broken sword and drew another line on his arm and quite a large amount of blood was shed. However, the broken sword still did not shine brightly because of that, even the spiritual energy inside remained the same.
"That... do you really know how to use the sword?" Benjamin asked again.
Miles took a deep breath and did not speak, but there was a scarily stubborn look in his eyes. At that moment, he raised the broken sword once again, and he looked extremely terrifying, as though he wanted continue cutting himself.
Benjamin quickly went over, and grabbed his raised hand to try to stop this meaningless self-harm.
Was that a joke? Even if it requires blood sacrifice, it can’t be that extreme, right?
Initially, Miles tried to push Benjamin away and continue to harm himself. Benjamin had no choice but to knee him in the stomach and forcibly calm him down.
"What curse is that, do you really need to cut yourself into pieces for it? Please calm down!" Benjamin said so while he help him up and supported him.
"You..." Miles bent over, held his stomach and glared at Benjamin.
The blow to his stomach just now was quite hard. Benjamin had no choice as Miles was a physically strong professional mercenary. While facing him, Benjamin certainly had to give his all.
"If you really want to harm yourself, I will not stop you." Benjamin shook his head and said, "But you... what are you doing? Is it fun to harm yourself? What is with the curse? And what about this sword? You better explain it clearly to me, or I'll destroy the sword. "
Miles kept quiet for a long time, shook his head, threw the broken sword aside, clutched his face and sat on the ground emotionlessly.
Benjamin had never seen Miles with such a desperate look.
"So... The curse you mentioned, is it the reason why your body is immune to all magic?" He thought for a moment and asked tentatively.
Miles was speechless once again. But in the end, he nodded.
"Being hated by elements, you can treat it as a curse, but it is also one of the most unique gifts!" Benjamin could not understand why he hated his gift, so he quickly continued, "Others envied you, why would you want to get rid of it?"
"That's because you do not understand the price for it." After a moment of hesitation, Miles finally said, "You... have you heard of the Abyss trial?"
Benjamin frowned.
"What is that?"
Miles took a deep breath, closed his eyes and said slowly: "In a pitch dark underground cave, two whole months, among six brothers, only one can walk out alive. After he survived, he pierced his heart with the fangs of the fire-beast and drank the blood of an intangible snake. If he miraculously survived, he would be hated by the world due to the sin of killing his flesh and blood and he will be cursed. "
Up until here, Benjamin could not help but to reveal a stunned look.
This was... ... the method of creating the so-called demons physique?
Benjamin did not understand how the process worked. But it sounded like a primitive superstition, and was completely unrelated to the law of magic or elements.
Those who can finish the trial will be immune to all the magic? Was it true?
However, looking at Miles who was in a state of despair, he cannot bring himself to ask these questions.
"You..."
"That's right." Miles sounded like he knew what he was going to ask, so he nodded and said, "I personally killed five of my brothers and ate their flesh and blood. If I did not do that, I would not have survived, as there was nothing in that cave. In the beginning we comforted each other and vowed to never comply to the abyss trial, but in just a few days... While saying the most righteous words, our hands were smashing stones at each other’s heads."
Benjamin was getting goosebumps from hearing that.
"Why would you guys want to do that?"
"If we did not do so, our father will kill all of us." Miles seemed to have calmed down, maybe a little too calm, like an old man who was about to lie in a coffin, "In fact, you will not feel the guilt of killing each other in the cave, since everyone is ambushing each other. Everything seemed natural and no one will feel that it’s wrong. "
"But... is your father not a knight in the Kingdom of Helius?" Benjamin ask when he recalled what Miles said in the graveyard.
"Yes." Miles said coldly. "As a knight, perhaps because his career was a failure, so he put all his energy in nurturing a sinful person."
Benjamin did not understand.
"Either way, isn’t this method too extreme?"
"You should tell him that." Miles sneered coldly and said, "But he died a long time ago, so there is no point in saying anything."
Benjamin asked again: "Your father... What is the reason why he sacrificed so much?"
"Maybe for revenge." Miles's voice sounded exceptionally cold. "His father used to be a paladin, but died in the hands of mages. Because of his failure to complete his mission, he was a disgrace, and the church took away his position as a Paladin. Therefore, he hated all the mages in the world but he was useless, so he wanted to use me to take revenge on all the mages."
Benjamin heard this and could not help but shake his head.
What was with these people?
He never imagined that Miles would have such a past. Killing his family, eating their flesh and blood, Family’s hatred... Benjamin could not see any traces on the casual look he used to have on his face.
And that abyss trial, it was a place to create a monster?
He had a lot of doubts in his mind about this method, but he did not want continue asking.
"Those are already in the past, and you did not do it voluntarily, there is no need to blame yourself for it." Benjamin tried comforting him, "Although this talent bears a lot of sin, but... ... the gift itself is not, since you cannot get rid of it, accept it and continue living."
"I understand." Miles lowered his head, kept quiet for a moment before opening his mouth and said. "I also want continue living, but a monster trained by the abyss trial can only live up until the age of twenty-eight."
After saying that, he took a deep breath, looked at Benjamin with his hollow eyes and said: "I have only three years left."