While Johan was confronting Kult,
Lobelia was steadily defeating Eden’s great army to rescue the child.
Boom!
Lobelia hurled a paladin of Eden whose limbs she had broken backward.
Because of the child with the Prophet’s Eye, it wasn’t enough to merely incapacitate the enemies.
The child didn’t move from his spot.
But that alone was enough.
Within a 30-meter radius around the child, no one was harmed—
Not Eden’s paladins or priests, not even Lobelia herself.
“Hoo…”
That’s why she had to break their limbs to neutralize them before throwing them out.
She kept repeating the process of breaking each opponent and tossing them outside the child’s range.
By the time she had eliminated all Eden cult members within that radius—
“Are you alright, Your Highness?”
“I’m getting a little tired.”
Ariel finally peeked her head into the sacred area and asked.
She had been handling the cult members that Lobelia had thrown out.
Lobelia didn’t want to see them return to the battlefield,
Nor did she want to kill anyone in front of the child.
So Lobelia subdued the enemies one by one inside the area and threw them out,
Leaving Ariel to deal with the aftermath.
Ariel had been restraining all the Eden cult members that Lobelia handed over.
“Your Highness, what are you going to do about that child?”
“I’m not sure…”
Ariel asked, still gazing at the child standing in the center of the area.
The child bore no hostility. He simply stood there, healing and protecting everyone’s wounds—
Doing nothing else, like a living symbol.
“If we leave him be, he’ll be dangerous.”
Ariel only now checked the child’s condition, but even just the cracks spreading from his eyes made it clear.
“I’ve thought it over, but I couldn’t come up with a gentle solution.”
“No way…”
“We’ll have to remove his eyes.”
It seemed like there was no other way to save the child.
With a heavy heart, Lobelia approached him.
Even as she reached toward his eyes, the child only stared blankly at her.
That hollow gaze felt as though it were asking Lobelia whether she truly believed this world was right.
Lobelia couldn’t answer.
Whether the world was right or not wasn’t something she could decide.
She was simply reaching out, person to person, to save a dying child.
But at that very moment—
Crack!
The Prophet’s eyes split, and the child slowly began to collapse.
Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, Lobelia caught the child in her arms as he fell.
“What in the world…”
The Prophet’s power had already vanished from the child’s eyes.
Before they knew it, the child’s eyes had returned to their original state, and the cracks that had been eating away at his body gradually faded.
“No way…”
Lobelia turned her head and asked Ariel,
“Ariel, contact Stan! We need to confirm exactly what’s going on right now!”
“Yes!”
“And… Ariel, for now, protect the child.”
“…What?”
“It seems we’re not the only ones who’ve realized how urgent the situation is.”
Now that the radiant light had faded and the darkness of dawn settled once more,
Lobelia looked into the shadows that loomed there and spoke.
“I didn’t think you would make a move.”
Among the Imperial Knights, there are those who act solely under the Emperor’s command.
They walk in the deepest darkness, clad in jet-black armour.
“What brings the Executioners all the way out here?”
“We have come by His Majesty the Emperor’s command to behead the sinners.”
The Executioners.
They move only for executions.
In other words, they exist to eliminate every last enemy.
“Are these all the remaining members of Eden, Princess Lobelia?”
“Yes.”
“And the child?”
“We’ll take responsibility for him.”
“…Is he a follower of Eden?”
“And if I said he was, what would you do?”
Lobelia felt a chill.
No matter how ruthless the Executioners were, they couldn’t harm an imperial member.
But they were beings who followed only Abraham’s orders.
If they decided to break through by force, there would be no stopping them.
“…Tch.”
A sound like someone holding back a murderous urge.
Lobelia stepped in front of Ariel, fully on guard.
A lukewarm breeze passed through.
Something about that breeze was so unsettling, the hairs on Lobelia’s arms stood on end.
“Understood. In that case… I will obey Your Highness’s command.”
The figure standing in the shadows quietly vanished.
Lobelia wiped the cold sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and looked behind her.
Ariel who had grown pale was shielding the child with her whole body.
The child was safe, thankfully.
But still…
“The world is a vast place.”
Beyond them—
All the Eden cult members Lobelia had left behind were now lying beheaded.
The Executioner had eliminated them all in an instant, without a sound.
“There are five monsters like that…”
Lobelia clicked her tongue. She felt as if her senses were about to go numb..
***
Oracle’s situation was far more dire.
Unlike Lobelia, Oracle had faced her enemies alone without anyone’s support and was now being pushed into a corner.
But the fight didn’t end with some grand, secret trump card either side had prepared.
Thud!
It was the sudden appearance of a single figure that brought it all to an end.
A Black Knight clad in dark armor from head to toe.
An Executioner had entered the fray and brought down the Prophet’s double.
“You must’ve had a rough time, Miss Oracle.”
“…Sir Lanius.”
Commander of the Executioners and the Emperor’s right hand.
The old Black Knight crushed the substitute’s neck with a calm voice.
Even as his neck was crushed and nearly severed, the Prophet’s substitute thrashed about.
He swung his sword and kicked at the Black Knight, but he didn’t budge an inch.
His armor and the mana barrier flowing over it was so solid that not even the Prophet’s power could pierce it.
In the end, with his neck broken and unable to regenerate, the substitute struggled for a moment longer before going limp.
“…Hmm?”
Holding the substitute by the neck, Lanius realized the foe had died and tossed the corpse to the ground like garbage.
“There’s no way it would end this easily. I must’ve arrived a bit late.”
The mark of the Prophet had long since vanished from the substitute’s eyes.
Now, only fear remained in the corpse’s gaze.
“Thank you for your help.”
“Think nothing of it. We both serve His Majesty, after all.”
“…Right.”
Oracle responded as Lanius scratched his cheek awkwardly.
Having served as the Emperor’s Oracle for a long time, she was at least somewhat familiar with Lanius.
And the Lanius she remembered was little more than a madman—
A bloodthirsty, mad beast.
It felt as if that beast was wearing a human mask and trying to make conversation.
“Then shall we return now?”
“Huh?”
“I said we’ll take care of the rest. You may return.”
“W-Wait a moment!”
“Yes, Miss Oracle. Is something the matter? Do you have something more to say?”
The black knight spoke in an impeccably polite tone.
But the Oracle knew she couldn’t let him go just like that.
He wasn’t like the other knights who merely killed people.
When he truly fought, he devastated the entire area around him—
Regardless of who happened to be in it.
Everyone was in danger. He didn’t care even if they were imperial members.
No, not even the Emperor would matter to him.
The only ones left alive after he fought were those who somehow survived his violence.
And right now, there was no one left who could survive against him except the Prophet.
In other words, his reckless involvement devoid of any notion of cooperation could bring about the worst possible outcome.
To stop him…
The Oracle looked at Lanius, who stared back at her blankly.
Once he entered battle, he became a blind, mad dog—
But outside of it, he was someone who at least made an effort to live by the knightly code.
Lanius’s own version of rehabilitation.
He knew full well about his issues, which was why he made an effort to act like a normal person when not in battle.
That was precisely why now while he was still holding onto his reason was the only chance to persuade him.
“I-I’m scared of walking back alone… Would you mind escorting me?”
“……”
The Oracle clung to the black knight, playing the part of someone fragile.
A wave of self-loathing surged up to her throat, but this was the only way. Her effort here could save countless lives.
“…Very well.”
Fortunately, Lanius gave an awkward nod.
“Then allow me to escort you, miss.”
“…Yes.”
As she watched Lanius kneel gracefully and offer a courteous bow, the Oracle let out a quiet sigh.
And with that, she exited the stage alongside the black knight.
***
We had somehow managed to smuggle Helena out.
Now, only one task remained.
“Emily.”
The artificial heart transplant.
“Yes, big brother Johan.”
At my call, Emily descended. She was suspended from a spider-like mechanical device that gripped the ceiling and pillars.
It was the same device I’d seen when we rescued Coran Lekias.
Yeah, I figured you’d be here too.
If anything, I’m surprised you’re this late.
No matter how far and wide I ran around, it still took Emily far too long to catch up to me. Even with a tracking device attached to my body.
Maybe she’d actually arrived earlier than I’d assumed.
Whatever the case, her presence here was a stroke of luck.
“That thing we talked about before. Can I ask you to handle it now?”
“Yes. Leave it to me.”
With that, all preparations were complete.
And even when Yuna handed over the unconscious Helena to Emily, Kult simply stood there without moving.
When he yelled earlier, I’d expected him to go into a frenzy trying to stop us—
But he was far quieter than I’d imagined.
“…Hah.”
Then, the moment Emily began the operation, pressed for time—
Kult who had silently observed everything up to that point let out a bitter chuckle.
“Do you really think this will change anything? Johan, what do you think I’ve been doing all this time?”
“……”
“It’s not like I… wanted Helena to die just like that.”
“I know.”
When I first entered the room, Kult had been holding Helena’s hand.
It was far too foolish an act to chalk up to mere guilt or lingering attachment.
The divine light filling the room had been so radiant, I could sense it from beyond the doorway.
Kult had tried to heal her.
He had poured divine power into her body, desperately trying to save the girl whose heart he himself had torn out—
He was weighed down by remorse he couldn’t let go.
“Do you know what divine power really is? You wouldn’t be so naive as to think it’s just for healing and protection, would you?”
“…Yeah.”
“Divine power is wholeness.”
The ability to return living beings and objects to their original, complete state.
For most people, its effect was limited to minor areas like healing wounds.
But for Prophet Kult, it went beyond that.
Even with his Prophet’s Eyes, those conduits of immense divine power, gouged out… the nature of the power he held remained unchanged.
“That is Helena’s ‘whole’ form, now that she’s finished her role as the relic vault. That’s how she was designed. And the more divine power I poured into her, the clearer that truth became.”
“……”
Kult spoke with bitter self-ridicule.
And it was understandable. After all, he was Kult, the one who could even bring the dying back to life.
But not even his divine power could save Helena.
Of course he’d fall into despair.
And through that outcome, I came to a realization.
“Kult, you act like you don’t, but deep down you’ve always had blind faith for divine power.”
There were countless means in this world. There’s no such thing as an absolute truth.
In fact, it was precisely when those so-called truths were broken—
That people gain a chance to grow.
Just like I did when I created a cure for Varg’s Curse and Transcendence Syndrome which were both once believed to be incurable.
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