assistirfilmes Chapter 172: The Trial of Corruption
Chapter 172: The Trial of Corruption
Chapter 172: The Trial of Corruption
In the wilderness, all Leon could do was walk.
“Whoa——”
Leon is a man with the heart of a lion.
The guardian of the Holy Grail, a demigod beyond saint who has his own holy power, a being of perfect vitality who never tires and an indomitable spirit that never gives in.
“Whoa——”
He clears his throat. Despite being able to survive decades without eating or drinking, he feels hungry and thirsty.
It’s a sensation he hasn’t felt in a long time, a sensation he’s long since forgotten, after becoming a Holy Knight long ago.
The gods loved him, and his perfect body and noble mind made him invincible.
Night came, the hot, dry days of the sun are over, and the cold, chilly days of the moon begin.
There were no living creatures in the wilderness.
If he had been able to hunt, he would have eaten the meat and quenched his thirst with blood but there was nothing in this wilderness to satisfy Leon’s needs.
And yet.
“Daylight.”
As the sun rises, he resumes walking.
He walks without any preparation for the searing heat that stirs his hunger and thirst.
He can’t help it, for it is not a knightly virtue to sit still and wait for the right time.
Leon does not stop walking, even if it is only a single, meaningless step.
Even on the obscure path of being chosen by the gods, he walks in silence. In a time when there was no faith in the world of Lionheart, he continued to walk toward a vague, imaginary future.
He sought out remote places beyond the reach of the gods, slaying monsters and rushing to save villages under attack by orcs.
He slogged through swamps gagging on soggy jerky and explored jungles drinking the dead blood of maggoty beasts.
His life never stood still, only went forward.
[Truly, how wonderful, for forty days and forty nights, neither eating nor drinking, nor stopping]
The shadow of an evil spirit appeared before Leon, and before he could say anything more, Leon’s sword cut him down.
The shadow scattered and resumed its form, and a ghastly laugh spread through the wilderness.
[King Lionheart, you cannot hurt me here, for this is a place that cannot be reached by your power, nor by the gods]
Leon did not stop, but continued to slash at the shadow. If it won’t cut, cut until it does. That is the life of a knight, the code of a knight, the way of a knight to victory.
Hundreds of times, thousands of times, until finally, at the end of the day, Leon caught his breath.
Even the demons had grown tired of scattering and regrouping in pointless attacks.
[You are hungry, you are thirsty, knight, if you are truly loved by the gods, why do you not ask for bread, why do you not ask for a drink of water]
Where are the gods in whom you believe so much?
The demonic shadow smiled a twisted smile. His hands were outstretched.
There was bread and water in them. Something so desperately needed by Leon, who had wandered forty days in the wilderness, fighting the demon’s illusions day after day.
[I’ll take care of your hunger and your thirst. You only have to do one thing]
Get down on one knee.
That’s all you need to do.
Not to submit, not to abandon your faith.
Just one knee.
That is enough.
The demon watched Leon catch his breath with a look of anticipation.
By nature, a man cannot endure three days and three nights of starvation.
Even those with the noblest intentions can’t last more than a week.
Leon had now starved for forty days straight. His body and mind are exhausted, and he’s been fighting the illusion all day.
It is the most powerful physical pain that any saint can endure.
“——”
[Kneel down, and I will give you-─!]
The demon’s words were cut short. The swing of the sword shattered his molded mouth.
The demon regrouped and tilted its head.
[I don’t understand, one knee, just one knee and you’d be free of hunger and thirst]
“You’re so loud. You always talked a lot.”
Does he have no desire to survive, no desire for self-respect, no desire to exist?
No, it can’t be. As long as it is a living being, as long as it is a living being, it cannot not exist.
This is a fundamental space made of the essence of pleasure and corruption.
This is the place where any desire can be fulfilled, and therefore any being can be corrupted.
[Why—-?]
“Do you want to know?
For the first time, Leon spoke. High and mighty, as if he were a victor, his gaze looking down on the demon.
The demon’s voice twisted in contradiction, as if the positions of the tester and the tested were reversed.
[Here you are not the Lionheart King, here you are a mere mortal, and all you have is your body and a useless sword!]
But within you is the fundamental power of all life. Demons are the source of existence, a collection of emotions that can only desire and hope.
The violence of the creatures creates the Lords of Destruction,
The insatiable appetite for knowledge creates the Lords of Wisdom.
From incomprehensible turmoil, the Lords of Chaos emerge.
From stinginess and greed, the Lord of Greed is born.
“No, all you have is a meaningless tongue and the hope that I will fall.”
Leon walked forward while the demon stumbled backward.
Countless urges were overcome, countless desires passed through him.
[Why. Why do you not fall?]
Why–why don’t you fall?
“Because this king is a Lionheart.”
A knight with conviction, a believer with faith and the will of all freemen, nobles, and knights.
Leon has a saying.
“Strength is a nation.”
It was a declaration not made out of any arrogance, not out of showmanship.
Lionheart is a kingdom of gods and their followers.
One that embraces the honor of chivalry, the nobility of nobility, and the service of freemen.
On horseback, his eyes shall watch the vast battlefield,
Sitting on a throne, looking out over the kingdom and the world beyond,
He must stand before the altar and defend the pantheon with his sword and spear.
Thus the burden on the shoulders of the Lionheart King is heavy, and thus it is noble.
[No, you are only a man after all, a mortal!]
The immortal demon did not recognize the immortality of mortals.
How could they recognize that the existence of a mortal, who had only lived three hundred years, who was no more than a newborn baby compared to the highest demons, was greater than their world?
[Indulge, indulge, indulge in pleasures, indulge in pleasures, indulge in pleasures, indulge in pleasures, indulge in the most powerful desires, and you will succumb!]
[Realize what it means for you to become the Lord.]
A place where boys and girls, so beautiful and sensual, danced half-naked in purple smoke.
At the end of the palace, where the primal instincts of sweet flesh are stirred.
“Your Majesty.”
There was a bewitching woman who seemed to personify the word ‘beauty’ with her lilting voice.
Beatrice Alighieri Spero.
A woman whose dizzying beauty made even Leon find himself unwittingly drawn to her——.
“Hmm.”
Leon briskly pushed past the dancers and made his way to her.
A look of despicable satisfaction crossed the demon’s face, but only for a moment.
-Thud!
He pointed his holy sword at the floor, leaning on the hilt, and stared down at her.
His clear, strong eyes met hers, blurred and hazy.
[What are you up to?]
Leon simply stared at Beatrice until she shook herself out of the dream.
“Awake from your dream. For you are the master of your dreams, not their slave.”