Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Oracle - 4
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"You've worked hard."
Helen offered a grateful greeting to Peredil, the captain of the 1st Holy Knight Order, who had carried out the operation exactly as planned without delay.
"Thanks to you, we were able to end it without any casualties."
"No, it was simply my duty as a knight."
Indeed. For this disaster that had begun in the north, the Holy Kingdom had deployed two Holy Knight Orders.
One was the 2nd Holy Knight Order, led outwardly by Helen, who followed the oracle, and the other was the 1st Holy Knight Order, positioned to capture the mastermind working from the shadows.
The reason for splitting the knight orders to resolve the disaster was due to the methods of the 'Forgotten One'—the shadowy figure who orchestrated events and then fled.
Thus, a trap to ensnare them was necessary.
In other words, the expedition that Sian had joined was bait. Bait to draw out and separate the 'Forgotten One,' who sought to forcibly resurrect a dying god.
As a result, they had secured several divine relics from the masked man who was the evangelist, and they were able to execute him...
"Second Apostle, may I ask one thing?"
"What is it, Captain Peredil?"
"Why did you suddenly change the plan midway?"
But from the middle of the operation, Helen had abruptly altered the strategy. Originally, both Holy Knight Orders should have joined forces to confront and seal the relic of 'The One Who Walks the Lowest Depths.'
However, Helen had stubbornly insisted on handling it with the current expedition members alone.
As a result, nearly everyone, including Helen, had their time frozen. They were able to inflict massive damage on the masked man, who had been reveling in his victory. If that mad priest hadn't devoured the divine relic and incorporated the divinity of 'The One Who Walks the Lowest Depths' into his holy power, the entire 2nd Holy Knight Order, Helen included, would have been obliterated.
"Were you expecting that man's sacrifice?"
That was why Peredil couldn't help but feel puzzled.
The Helen he knew was someone who always shared warm smiles and comforting hearts with the faithful—someone who would never demand sacrifice from another.
Yet she had devised this operation with such chilling ruthlessness.
In response to his question, Helen wore a meaningful expression.
"No. I simply wanted to confirm something."
"Confirm?"
"Whether he was human... or a great being."
"A great being?"
Nymphs were agents of the gods.
Toward the end of the Mythic Age, they were beings sent from the divine realm for humans who had lost the gods they believed in.
Naturally, there was only one 'great being' they could mean.
"That's a secret."
After Sian consumed the divine relic, everyone was freed from the god's authority.
The 1st Holy Knight Order arrived shortly after and began tending to them, but they flew into a rage upon learning Sian still hadn't awakened.
"Sian!"
"Just a moment for treatment..."
"I'm fine! Treat Sian first!"
"There's nothing we can do in the face of divine authority."
"Does that mean Sian has to stay like this?"
"Regarding that..."
The priests capable of miraculous healing were growing headaches from Clara and Sylvia's outbursts.
At that moment, Irina proposed a solution.
"We must head to Lord Oronak's tomb first."
"Auntie, do you have a way?"
"I cannot guarantee it, but a place brimming with Lord Oronak's divinity might repel the divinity of 'The One Who Walks the Lowest Depths.'"
"Then let's go, quickly!"
At Irina's explanation, Sylvia tried to force her injured body to move. Her wounds tore open as a result.
"Ugh..."
"Sylvia, you stay put."
"Yeah! Don't worry about Mom—I'll go."
"You too, my granddaughter."
"Why?!"
"Didn't you overuse the Icicle Arrow Tribe's arrows in a short time? Look at your hands—your fingers are already necrotizing."
"I'm fine!"
"You're not!"
"I can lose a finger! Hurry and save Sian..."
"Even if you do this, your son-in-law won't return. So receive treatment!"
"Okay..."
With that, Irina calmed the raging Sylvia and Clara, then carefully transported Sian to Oronak's tomb alongside the relatively unharmed holy knights.
She believed that before the 'Burning Ice,' where Oronak's potent divinity lingered, he would recover swiftly.
But was it because he had swallowed the divine relic? Even after a full day, Sian showed no signs of waking.
"Auntie..."
"Just a bit longer... let's wait a little more."
And even after two days, there was no hint of recovery. Instead, dark divinity began to envelop Sian.
In the end, Irina had to resort to the final measure.
"It seems I must share a bed with my son-in-law."
"Eek?!"
Sylvia couldn't hide her shock at her aunt Irina's words.
Share a bed all of a sudden? Did Auntie have feelings for Sian too?!
Sylvia writhed in agony amid all sorts of wild imaginings.
"Mom..."
Clara felt a mix of subtle, complicated emotions watching her mother receive mirror treatment.
Leaving the mother and daughter behind, Helen grasped Irina's intent.
"You're speaking of the virgin's bed-sharing."
"Indeed."
The virgin's bed-sharing.
It was a miracle where a pure woman who had received divine sanctity shared a bed, thereby sharing her divinity.
Though it didn't involve actual intercourse between man and woman, it was considered a religious matter of purity because divinity was shared.
"Haha... I see."
"Sylvia, what on earth were you thinking?"
At her aunt's pointed remark, Sylvia was speechless.
To smooth things over for Sylvia, Helen changed the subject.
"However, if you, Miss Irina, perform the virgin's bed-sharing, you risk being corrupted by the divinity of 'The One Who Walks the Lowest Depths.' In that case..."
"It's fine."
It was a matter that could lead to death, but Irina didn't mind.
"This was always something I was meant to sacrifice for. So don't grieve too much, Sylvia."
"Auntie..."
Sylvia's heart ached at Irina's words. She threw herself into her aunt's embrace, perhaps for the last time.
"And don't worry too much. Lord Oronak will watch over us."
With that, everyone except Irina departed from the 'Burning Ice.' Left alone with Sian, Irina carefully shed her clothes.
Her ample bosom hidden beneath leather garments and her beautifully curved figure were revealed to the world.
"This is a bit embarrassing."
Though Sian was unconscious, for Irina—who had no experience with men—undressing before one was inherently shameful.
"Well, my son-in-law would probably hate seeing an old woman like this."
Irina retained the Ice Flower Tribe's distinctive beauty, but due to the years she had lived, she lacked confidence as a woman.
Setting aside her personal shame, Irina slowly removed Sian's clothes.
At first, she paid it no mind, but his gradually revealed sturdy physique made the heart of the inexperienced Irina race.
"Ugh... I see why Sylvia fell for him."
Though her face flushed red, Irina soon fulfilled her duty.
With everything cast off, she cautiously embraced his body. Positioning herself so their hearts nearly touched, she shared her warmth with him.
"Wake up soon. There are many women waiting for you."
Nothing was visible. Nothing could be felt.
Time had frozen once more.
The difference was that it felt more familiar now.
'And I can see the deer.'
Was it because I'd swallowed the divine relic?
In this pitch-black world where nothing was visible, a deer outlined in white lines appeared.
The deer stared indifferently at me before suddenly bolting away, and I pursued it.
Why?
I didn't know. I simply chased it on instinct.
Maybe I was hungry.
Using holy power took more energy than expected.
And after all that hardship, it was time to fill my belly.
[■■ ■■■!]
The deer was faster than I'd thought, but in the end, it was caught by me, the hunter.
The deer thrashed about, but I ignored it and bit into its scruff.
Its blood wetted my throat, and its flesh filled my starving belly.
Delicious.
Truly delicious.
More satisfying than anything I'd ever tasted—it whetted my appetite and filled the void within me.
Thus, through devouring, I affirmed my existence.
"Great one."
"As promised, I shall be devoured by you."
"Please protect my children."
⟨ Blue Dragon's Plea ⟩
It looked delicious.
More so than the deer I'd just eaten.
Suddenly, through her eyes, I saw my own reflection.
It was a black beast.
Its eyes gleamed gold like a predator's, and its blood-dripping fangs looked capable of tearing anything apart.
That form resembled someone I knew well.
Strange. I'm clearly...
"You're finally awake?"
A beautiful silver-haired woman appeared before my regained senses.