A New Transcendent
The Despair Gate has been cleared.
Clearance Grade: SSS
Even though the Despair Gate had been cleared, Joan of Arc remained standing in the same spot. She seemed to be picturing Gilles de Rais, who had departed, and the memories they had shared together.
I took the Seolhwaseok out of my pocket.
Whoosh—
The blue, burning crystal of ice absorbed the scattered mana. Quietly. Secretly.
The Seolhwaseok’s mana has increased by 1500.
「Seolhwaseok」
Mana: 14000 / 14000
‘Its absorption speed has gotten faster.’
The Seolhwaseok had devoured the gate’s mana in an instant. Its absorption power was astonishing every time I saw it.
This was exactly why I kept nurturing the Seolhwaseok. The limits of my potential as an ordinary E-class Hunter were clear. But unlike me, the Seolhwaseok was a stone that grew by absorbing mana on its own. Its potential was boundless.
I wanted to raise the Seolhwaseok and make its power completely my own. The ‘Relic Slot’ could make that possible. After all, the Relic Slot, the core of my awakening ability, was practically part of my body.
I opened the Relic Slot and tried to place the Seolhwaseok inside.
—You must raise your rank to access the Relic Catalog.
The Seolhwaseok bounced back out along with the warning message.
‘Still too soon, huh.’
Clicking my tongue, I moved the Seolhwaseok to the general catalog instead.
—Storing the Seolhwaseok in the general catalog.
[General Catalog]
—Napoleon’s Table
—Seolhwaseok
The Seolhwaseok vanished from my hand and appeared in the catalog list. It had gone in, but I wasn’t satisfied.
‘As expected, it’s not great.’
The general catalog was connected to me as well, but the mana transfer was unstable. Like a radio channel crackling because the frequency didn’t match. That was why I never stored the Seolhwaseok in the catalog while inside a gate.
For reference, Yi Sun-sin’s helmet was safely stored in a dedicated subspace backpack. Even if it was a national treasure-class relic, it somehow felt disrespectful to keep it in the same place as a table.
“Joan, are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Joan of Arc, who had been quietly reminiscing about Gilles de Rais, had already regained her usual complexion.
“Let’s head out now.”
“Yes.”
“I will escort you, Saintess.”
At some point, Rubenka had started calling Joan “Saintess.”
“I’m not a saintess. Please just call me Joan.”
“Understood, Saintess.”
Joan denied being a saintess, but Rubenka remained unmoved. Anyone who had witnessed her instantly erasing the banshee would have no choice but to call her a saintess.
We left the gate under the escort of Rubenka and the other church hunters. A luxury sedan was waiting outside. Cardinal Francis had kept his promise. He had vowed to let us depart quietly.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“You worked hard as well, Rubenka.”
After receiving Rubenka’s send-off, we got into the vehicle. Soon, the car carrying Joan and me pulled away.
Vroom—
Meanwhile, the bishops watching the departing car looked flustered.
“That’s the opposite direction from the Vatican.”
“Why is the car heading to the airport…?”
The vehicle was going in the exact opposite direction from the Vatican. The bishops murmured among themselves as they watched it head straight for the airport. The hunters seemed torn over whether to stop the car or not.
“Do not interfere.”
Rubenka held the hunters back. If the saintess wished to leave quietly, it was only right to let her.
Watching the car disappear, Rubenka recalled the scene she had witnessed inside the gate. The banshee’s smile as it scattered into ash. The stigmata that had appeared on the girl’s back. That must have been the miracle spoken of in the scriptures.
“What are you all doing? Tend to the wounded!”
At Rubenka’s shout, the bishops and hunters snapped out of it and began caring for the injured.
*
When the Pope and the cardinals, who had rushed through their cabinet meeting, arrived at the Despair Gate, all they found was the already-cleared gate and people tending to the wounded.
“Where is the Saint?”
“She has departed.”
“…You mean she simply left?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
The Pope looked bewildered at Rubenka’s words. He had never expected the Saint to depart so abruptly without a single word.
“Cardinal Francis, do you know why the Saint did not visit the cathedral?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know either…”
Cardinal Francis wore a puzzled expression, as if he truly had no idea.
“It seems she had no desire to visit the Vatican.”
“Cardinal Francis, what are you saying to His Holiness…!”
“Good heavens!”
The other cardinals stirred. Regardless, Cardinal Francis bowed his head toward the direction of the airport.
‘May His blessing be with her.’
Francis quietly made the sign of the cross.
*
At that moment, we were passing through the airport security checkpoint.
“Lady Joan. Might I have a word before you depart?”
“Yes, please speak.”
Archbishop Ambrosio, who had escorted us to the airport, called Joan aside for a private conversation.
“Have you considered joining the Church?”
“No.”
Joan refused firmly, as if she had never even considered it. Archbishop Ambrosio closed his eyes for a moment, but he did not give up so easily. He could not afford to lose a saintess he had finally found. From the Church’s perspective, the existence of a saintess made an enormous difference.
“If you intend to continue your activities as a Hunter, the Church can be a great source of support for you, Lady Joan.”
Joan gave no reply, but Archbishop Ambrosio continued his persuasion without pause.
“As a saintess, you would be granted a position equal to that of a cardinal, and you would be free to use the Church’s holy relics at will.”
The archbishop spoke casually, but this was an explosive offer. A cardinal was one of the leaders of the Vatican who guided the Church alongside the Pope. Even saints were not automatically granted the rank of cardinal. A cardinal of the Vatican was someone even the guild master of a major guild could not treat lightly. In fact, considering the Church’s prestige, their influence was even greater.
That alone was an extraordinary proposal, but the promise of free access to holy relics went far beyond it. The Church, which had existed since the year of our Lord, possessed countless holy relics accumulated over its long history. The number of relics sleeping in the Vatican’s vaults was immeasurable, and among them were some estimated to be legendary or higher. There might even be relics capable of fully integrating Joan into this reality.
It was an offer Archbishop Ambrosio could not have made lightly, yet he was certain that even the Pope would gladly grant it upon seeing Joan’s stigmata.
“Of course, you would not become a cardinal immediately. You would need to undergo a miracle examination at the Vatican…”
“As I told you before, I am not a saintess. Therefore, I cannot accept your offer either.”
Joan cut off Archbishop Ambrosio’s words. The archbishop, who had not expected such a swift and decisive rejection, looked flustered.
“B-but you clearly displayed the stigmata…”
“And I prefer to stay by that person’s side.”
“……”
Just as Archbishop Ambrosio stood there with his mouth agape in shock at the unexpected answer—
—Joan! It’s our turn at the checkpoint! Come quickly!
“I should go.”
At Choi Seojun’s call, Joan bowed her head politely and walked toward the checkpoint.
—What were you two talking about?
—Nothing important.
—Really?
—Yes.
Listening to the conversation between the two, Archbishop Ambrosio stared blankly at Choi Seojun.
‘Just who is that man…?’
*
Christianity was the religion with the largest number of believers in the world. And within Christianity, it was not only the Catholic Church that existed.
“You’re saying a saintess has appeared.”
“That is correct.”
“……”
Tap, tap.
In front of a fireplace, a middle-aged man sitting in a rocking chair was idly flipping through a book. He was Felix, the Patriarch of Moscow and head of the Russian Orthodox Church. Despite the news of a saintess’s appearance, Felix continued turning pages in silence. The man who had brought the news stood quietly behind him, waiting for Felix’s response.
How much time passed like that?
“Bring her to me.”
“Understood.”
The man left the room. Left alone, Felix continued turning the pages of his book in silence.
*
After returning home, I did nothing and rested for three full days. The round trip had taken twenty-eight hours. Being trapped on a plane for over a day had left my body exhausted. The renovation work inside the general store had long since been completed, so it seemed I could stay there again starting today.
‘Who will come this time?’
I looked at the closed door of the general store with anticipation. It was time to welcome a ‘new transcendent.’ Napoleon, Yi Sun-sin, Joan of Arc. So far, only heroes had visited the store, so I was curious who would come next.
“I’m opening up.”
“Okay.”
Hearing Joan’s reply, I opened the Relic Slot I had kept closed.
—Opening the Relic Catalog Slot.
[Summons 3/4]
From experience, just because the slot was open did not mean a transcendent would appear right away. However—
Ding—
Surprisingly, the moment I opened the slot, the door to the general store swung open immediately.
“Huh? This isn’t the right place.”
A woman peered inside with a puzzled expression.
‘Who is she?’
I tilted my head. She had braided red hair and bright golden eyes. Her clothing made it clear she was not from the modern era.
“Looks like I came to the wrong place.”
The woman smiled brightly at me.
“Sorry, but could I get some bread?”
Her gently curved golden eyes sparkled. Joan brought out a loaf of milk bread from inside and handed it to her.
“Here you go.”
“Ah, thank you!”
The woman beamed and immediately took a big bite of the bread right there. She radiated such bright energy that it made anyone watching smile.
Watching her eat, I asked, “May I ask your name?”
“Vanessa. By the way, this bread is really delicious! What’s it made of?”
As I watched the woman smiling and eating the bread, I fell silent for a moment. The name displayed in the status window was different from the one she had given.
You have encountered Jack the Ripper from a failed worldline.
“Is there something on my face?”
The woman tilted her head with a gentle smile. She was the protagonist of the unsolved case that had plunged London into terror. The mysterious assassin whom even Conan Doyle, the father of Sherlock Holmes, had given up on catching. Jack the Ripper.
