Chapter 318
Chapter 318
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Separation Does Not Mean Farewell (3)
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Indeed, it wasn't a mistake...
Lee Han realized something extraordinary was happening to the elderly woman on his back.
Ah, but it wasn't a mistake, and it wasn't a negative change either.
"Not too heavy, are you?"
"You should actually press on a bit harder."
"Ho ho, even in my old age, hearing that makes me feel like a woman still."
"You're still in your prime."
"You sure know how to say the right things to make someone blush. Ah, could you turn left here?"
"This way?"
...She was getting younger.
It wasn't just that she seemed healthier. The vitality emanating from her felt completely different.
Lee Han had always been able to gauge someone's age just from their scent and touch.
In that sense, the elderly woman on his back was no longer in her seventies.
At the very least, she was in her early fifties.
But it was still ongoing.
'She keeps getting younger?'
The vitality surrounding her body was growing fuller by the moment, and Lee Han let out a hollow chuckle.
Could this be the legendary [Rejuvenation Divine Technique] he'd only heard about?
It was a divine technique usable starting from one's fifties, said to be a special gift from the Light for priests who sacrificed their youth.
However, the Rejuvenation Divine Technique he'd heard of wasn't like this.
'I heard it consumes about half of one's divine power and reverts you completely to youth...'
The only drawback of the Rejuvenation Divine Technique was that it couldn't control the age regression.
It fixed you unconditionally at the age of ten—a child—and most of the divine power cultivated over a lifetime was lost.
In truth, it was the Light's mercy, like saying, "You've worked hard, so live a new life away from priesthood," but to the priests, it must have felt utterly hollow.
That's why truly devout priests saved it for the very end of their lifespan or used it to start a new life.
In that regard...
'The old lady's divine power seems intact?'
Perhaps because he'd encountered so many priests lately, Lee Han could gauge the total amount of divine power, and he felt hers was not only intact but growing stronger.
Yet her white hair was turning black like in rejuvenation, and flesh was beginning to fill out her twig-like arms and legs.
Was this really rejuvenation?
It was more like...
'Rewinding time.'
Her body's time seemed to be rewinding.
And that...
"Oh my? What's happening to my hair?"
"...Huh."
Regardless of the owner's will.
The old maid blinked in surprise at her body growing younger.
It was a sight worthy of awe, and even before this miracle—worthy of being called one—Lee Han could only chuckle in disbelief.
A miracle unfolding right on his back.
Whoosh!
Lee Han traversed the air like a bird soaring through the sky.
Air Step. But Lee Han's version, infused with Divine Arrow Flight and other techniques, was no different from true flight.
Thanks to that, he crossed even vast distances in one go, reaching a spot about 50 km from the camp in less than 15 minutes.
...For reference, it could have been faster, but he'd adjusted his speed to avoid straining the old lady, making it 15 minutes.
"My goodness, thank you so much. Really. We made it here so quickly because of you."
"......"
"Why are you staring like that?"
"No reason. You were just an incredible beauty, ma'am."
"Oh my, ho ho ho! Young people don't tease old folks like that. Save those lines for a young lady."
"...That's just it."
That young lady is you right now.
Lee Han swallowed those words as his mouth fell slightly open.
Her thick white hair had vanished at some point, replaced by a nun with flowing black hair—now too young to call "old lady"—who looked like a vibrant woman in her early twenties.
If she just changed her speech, you could mistake her for a student.
As Lee Han struggled to comprehend what miracle had befallen the nun...
"Good thing we came to the right place."
"?"
"This spot... it's where that ominous being was sealed."
"......"
Lee Han's eyes widened slightly at the nun's sudden words.
He understood it was where Inanna—the ominous being—had been sealed.
But the surprise was fleeting.
"I see."
Lee Han accepted it calmly.
He had no hobby of dwelling on defeated foes.
"Hee hee."
The nun smiled brightly at his reaction.
It was the tender gaze of a grandmother looking at her grandson, but coming from her rejuvenated face, it felt oddly awkward.
As Lee Han felt that awkwardness...
"Then let's begin."
Fwaaaah!
Suddenly, a brilliant light spread from her body like thick mist.
"!!?"
Lee Han was shocked for two reasons.
First, the nun had unleashed immense divine power without explanation. Second, that power nearly blew his body backward.
What...
'Is this the kind of energy a human body can contain?'
If a person were porcelain, this energy was an ocean.
It was an unbelievable sight, like an ocean contained in porcelain, so his astonishment was natural.
Then...
"That ominous thing left a gate to hell here—what they call a [Hellgate]—at its sealed location."
The nun's voice came through.
"Hellgate?"
"One of the five gates to the underworld, leading to the hell where demons dwell. It doesn't matter now, but in ten years, it would open, unleashing hell's demons to turn this world into hell."
"!?"
"What a spiteful creature. Leaving something like this behind..."
Rarely showing her usual warm smile, the nun stared expressionlessly at the pitch-black space.
"...Ah."
Following her gaze, Lee Han finally realized this empty space wasn't truly empty.
'Darkness...'
There was an unsettling darkness.
But it was sly and unassuming, never revealing itself, hiding completely.
Without the nun, it would have stayed hidden from everyone, fulfilling its role as she described.
Opening a gateway to hell.
Fwaaaah!
As if reading Lee Han's mind, the nun's ocean-like divine power spread across the area—no, the entire space for hundreds of kilometers.
As if determined to erase every last trace of the ominous presence.
"...I see, this is...!"
The nun's murmur followed, and amid the waves of divine power, Lee Han forced his eyes open and saw it.
"M-Ma'am..."
...The nun's body was fading.
'Everyone' saw it.
The surging sea of divine power, reminiscent of an ocean.
Its waves churning.
Even the lords deep in conversation at the camp couldn't hide their shock as they watched the divine waves. When they finally erupted as a single fountain of light toward the ground, even the people of Wales bore witness.
A truly dazzling beam of light.
Like announcing the descent of a god. As the beam subsided, its particles seeped slowly into the earth.
Drip.
Drip!
Driiiip!
From the soil infused with light particles, adorable sprouts pierced through, gradually revealing themselves.
They would enrich the land's fertility, ensuring no demons could appear here for centuries.
For no evil could dare trespass on land blessed by the saintess's life.
And this was...
"...Why did you do it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Everything."
"Hee hee."
"Don't laugh. I'm angry right now, ma'am."
"I'm sorry for making you mad."
"...Don't say it like that. It makes me feel like the bad guy."
"Never, never. You're a truly good person..."
A blessing born of 'sacrifice'—people had to know that.
No matter what.
"......"
Lee Han laid the nun gently in his arms, his face unable to hide the despair.
She still looked young and vibrant, but he could feel it.
She had already sacrificed everything.
"The divine technique, [Self-Sacrifice]."
"You know your stuff."
"I just happened to learn about it."
A technique few could use, and even fewer would. Famous for granting miracles unconditionally—but killing the user without fail.
That's why no one used it.
No one wants to die, after all.
But why!
"Why do you keep sacrificing yourself like a fool...?"
Had the nun chosen this?
Lee Han couldn't understand.
Hadn't she already wasted 50 years of her life?
"Now that you're young, you could've started a new life. Why do this...? You could've left it to others!"
Lee Han's voice rose unwittingly.
Yes, he got that the Hellgate was a future threat.
But that didn't mean she had to sacrifice herself.
They could've found a way later...
"—No. No one but me could have stopped it. In the future, this gate would have opened."
"......"
"I'm not lying. I see things. Many things."
"......"
"For example, that you're someone who's made noble sacrifices before. Even after those, you lived through harsh trials without resenting the world, living proudly."
"......"
"You're amazing... and pitiful. You deserved more love, so why live so hardship-filled..."
"It wasn't all bad. Who cares about the past? The present and future keep us busy enough."
"...Hee hee, you're strong, truly strong."
The light in the saintess's eyes shone more intensely than ever.
Her frail voice regained strength in that moment, and Lee Han knew it wasn't a good sign.
Last radiance before death.
The final burst of energy before passing.
And as she recovered that last strength, the nun looked up at him...
"Do you know? If it weren't for you, what would have happened to poor Louise?"
"...What happened?"
Lee Han had a guess.
He'd already been spoiled by that gray-haired guy.
But what he heard from the nun was...
"...Louise did the exact same thing as me."
"......"
"Self-Sacrifice. She used it to stop the evil spirit and save the world."
...Unknown to anyone.
"......"
It was an even more heartbreaking ending than the spoiler.