Chapter 108
Translator: uly
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: -108
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Rescue
Meanwhile, having heard the plan of the Archangel of Judgment Jeker, Shainelius the sun fairy, the half-dwarf Rondnel, and the witch Lilit were diligently navigating the underground passages to rescue the Hoshekh Hatar and its crew, who were hiding in the left arm.
For Archangel Jeker, this place was his only shelter, so moving through the holy blood was effortless. However, the limit of those he could personally ascend to retrieve was Bulki and Dabvagnel. That was why the group was searching for the "Stigmata" in Orr's belly.
Toward the fatal wound the first Great Demon King had left him on that day when Orr died and light shrouded everything.
"If we climb the Stigmata, we won't need to pierce through this ceiling-the river of holy blood. Of course, we'll still have to figure out how to reach Orr's left hand from up there... But let's aim to go upward first."
Lilit spoke with a hint of excitement. Rondnel smiled at her and replied.
"A splendid plan, healer! By the way, how do you know all that? I knew healers were scarce in the Empire, but if they need knowledge of witches and myths on top of that, no wonder there are so few. That's why they pulled healers from the 3rd Knight Order or got support from knights who could heal. Ah, of course, swords with such omens are rare. Huh? Come to think of it, there was a knight in our group who healed through their sword, wasn't there?"
"Shut up, half-dwarf! It's hard to focus on finding the path, so quiet down!"
Shainelius was concentrating her forest watcher's senses to detect even the faintest draft, and Rondnel's raspy voice was a definite hindrance.
Moreover, the knight from the Hero's party who handled recovery-she vaguely recalled there had been such a person, which only made it worse.
They had been together from toppling the polluted ancient tree until just before heading to Haipoji Mountain, so why couldn't she remember?
They had definitely talked and laughed together.
"My apologies, beautiful Shainelius. Your eyes always unsettle my heart..."
"Good grief, you're disrupting my focus too in the middle of all this."
Watching the two of them, the witch Lilit smiled faintly as memories of her days as Knight Nia surfaced. Of course, she hadn't been with them during the demon invasion because she'd gone to the witches' forest, but she had surely laughed at scenes like this back then. It was a nostalgic sight. That's why these moments with them now felt as joyful as the times with the Hero. It didn't matter. Even if she was forgotten again.
"Wait."
Shainelius stopped in her tracks, sensing something.
"Is the Stigmata nearby?"
She turned to look at Lilit, who had innocently spun around with a bright smile. Yes, she was definitely a woman with that kind of voice. And it was someone like her who had stood against the archangel in Orr's corpse just now.
"You... Have I seen you somewhere before?"
The curse of silence was truly bizarre. Its effect was to make one forget an existence, but not by punching holes in memory-like forgetting moments shared, positions occupied, or faces seen. The void left by the existence was simply filled in.
"Surely... that was the Hero?"
Shainelius had mistaken the one who healed her for the Hero and some nameless knight. All the deeds Nia had performed in the past had been overwritten as the work of others nearby. The same went for every other moment. Even helping the Hero after his defeat by the archangel here-she remembered it as some angel who'd been close by. But when inconsistencies like these piled up, cracks inevitably formed.
"What do you mean, Shainelius?"
"No, step aside. What are you, really?"
Like now, when a rare healer possessed knowledge no healer should have.
Déjà vu seeped into the silence. Ordinary folk who never delved into the past would have glossed over it naturally, but the sun fairy's lifespan far exceeded a human's-and her forest watcher's instincts had kicked in.
Lilit was bewildered, yet the joy of it was overwhelming.
"Tears..."
"Ah, sorry. I was just flustered. I'm healer Lilit. Sorry."
Rondnel hurried to comfort Lilit, who had burst into sudden tears, while rebuking Shainelius.
"Whatever the issue, this little human healer has been through ordeals too heavy for her to bear. Of course she'd get scared if you grill her like that. Especially since, like the terror we felt touching it in the deep sea, she might have been affected while treating Dabvagnel."
"I-I know that, half-dwarf! This way!"
As the considerably flustered Shainelius resumed leading the way, Lilit let out a quiet sigh of relief deep inside. They pressed on. Truthfully, she did want to keep watching Rondnel tease her about the outburst and Shainelius snap back.
"Wait-this time it feels real."
In the midst of it, Shainelius raised a fist in the old watcher signal, then turned to spot a gap in the ceiling where the blue glow of the flowing holy blood didn't seep through. Rondnel couldn't see it in the darkness, but amid the god's flesh filling the vast cavity, there were stairs.
"Looks like stairs made after arriving in the inverted world. Those flesh lumps-the maamarks-will definitely wake if we pass. What now? Should I lure them...?"
"No."
Shainelius drew her bow, paused a moment, then spoke to Lilit.
"As apology for suspecting you rashly, I'll handle it myself. I felt it inside the Hoshekh Hatar before-those things have pus-like properties, and my forest bow works perfectly on them."
She drew back the bowstring and loosed an arrow.
Forest Arrow that Pierces Impurity.
Pffft!
"Heh heh, should have apologized this easily. As expected, the beautiful Shainelius has a heart of..."
"I said shut up!"
With that, Shainelius dispatched every maamark blocking the passage upward in one go. She and the bickering Rondnel took the lead once more, while Lilit followed with a smile. Of course, she did want to stretch out these brief moments of heartfelt camaraderie as much as possible.
"My god..."
By the time they broke through to the Stigmata's position, Jeker had already passed judgment, Tehila had swept everything away, and the Hero had appeared alongside the kin of sin. The Stigmata was beneath Orr's left flank; Bulki was visible only vaguely at the waist's center due to the distance, but Jeker was already consumed by fear.
Shainelius quietly climbed toward Orr's waist, alert for any threats. Seeing the surrounding maamarks reduced to drifting powder, she deemed it safe and signaled the others to ascend. Just as Rondnel climbed up, the Hero shot into the air.
"We need to hurry to the left hand up there too. Hm, but..."
Strangely enough, the left hand was gradually dropping downward.
"Hm? It's getting closer. We have to go up anyway-isn't this convenient?"
It was plummeting at an alarming speed. From a height surpassing any castle, a hand the size of a city. Indistinguishable clouds or light billowed around it, resembling falling stars. The hand of a god was about to crush them.
Even the composed Shainelius seized the flailing Lilit as she climbed and practically hurled her to Rondnel before shouting.
"Run if you want to live!"
The colossal shadow of the falling god's hand began racing upward from the flank at breakneck speed.
"What in the world?!"
Rondnel, carrying Lilit piggyback, found his already sluggish pace slowing even further. At this rate, the shadow would swallow them in no time. Shainelius snatched Lilit, hoisted her onto her own back, and bolted. She might even have to drop Lilit to retrieve and carry Rondnel. If only she knew the hand's landing spot, she could plot the shortest evasion path.
Right then.
"Over there! If it's where the archangel is, we'll be fine!"
"Good point! Half-dwarf!"
"I heard that!"
The three raced toward the direction of the fear-ridden Archangel Jeker without looking back. Whether maamarks swarmed or angels pursued, dodging came first. And understandably so-it was a god's hand. The hand of a dead god, no less. Even when alive, as it rose to bring judgment upon the earth, would it hesitate even a moment to pulverize these tiny lives?
"Nngh!"
Shainelius barely managed to set Lilit down where Jeker was steeped in darkness when Rondnel was on the verge of tears-but the shadow had already engulfed them. His comical sight of running with his shield held like an umbrella was just that: comical. Yet Shainelius realized it was his only option.
"Dwarf! Hold it off!"
She swiftly drew her bowstring and infused an omen. Not the sort that swept away impurities, of course.
Arrow Tipped with Forest Vines Grown in Darkness.
Swoosh! Thunk!
"Grip it tight!"
It was an omen she'd conceived for climbing the left hand, but the arrow-lodged, no, adhered-to Rondnel's shield now linked back to her bow with sticky green light. Now it was a contest of strength against time.
"Pull!"
Shainelius yanked the bow with every ounce of her power, Lilit lending her aid. The omen should have provided the pulling force on its own, but the crisis was too dire.
"Save me!"
Rondnel soared through the air, clinging to the shield. The god's hand was nearly crashing into the ground, and it was obvious the little dwarf would perish without a sound. Too late. No matter how fast she pulled, the hand's descent outpaced Rondnel's flight.
Should she sever the omen to avoid the wind pressure?
Shainelius cast aside the split-second doubt and poured forth her all once more. Seeing this, Rondnel thought for an instant.
I have to let go of this shield.
"I loved you."
"No!"
The moment Rondnel released the shield-and his sword-the god's hand halted as if by miracle.
"Hero's party, there's no time. I've saved the others, so don't worry."
And Archangel Jemira appeared.
"I am the Archangel of Prayer, Jemira. You must now go rescue the Hero who has fallen into trial."
Boom-!
And the temple exploded.
"Ah, finally..."
And at last, the Hero deployed his Mir.
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