Chapter 141: Relief and the Truth of the Guardian of Heaven

Even though countless gasps and shouts rang out simultaneously from all directions, they couldn’t slow the overwhelming beam of light for even a moment.

That magnificent light descending from the sky brought with it an unparalleled surge of pure brightness, with intense light elements far exceeding a thousand times the norm, sweeping out like ocean waves in all directions, as if creating a sanctuary of light blooming over the land, vanquishing the blood-red hue!

The spreading surge of light soon reached the forward military camp not far from the Saint Bergan Mountains, as if a tangible energy was rushing towards them. The densely packed light elements surged into their bodies, intensifying to an unbelievable degree, yet without causing any harm—rather, in an instant, it fully healed all the surviving Temple Knights, restoring them to their former selves.

The bizarre force sealing the power of faith-based magic was finally dispelled completely with the beam of light landing.

After a moment of stunned silence, the camp erupted in almost earth-shattering cheers!

“Praise the Goddess! This… this is a miracle!! The Goddess has truly answered us!!”

“Praise the Goddess!!!!”

“May the light endure forever!!!”

“……”

Raising her hands, feeling the warm, healing sensation like a spring breeze, and the holy power surging wildly within, even Yuna, the Saint of Bright Light, could hardly contain her urge to shout out. As for the others, in this forward military camp, under the light that swept down from the sky and illuminated the Saint Bergan Plains…

There was no need to say more.

But the Saint of Bright Light, true to her title, quickly reined in her shock. She turned and, with her cherry lips parting lightly, said,

“What are you hesitating for? This is the grace of Her Highness the Goddess; She is watching our battle…”

The girl’s pure and melodious voice soared, turning into a passionate decree that swept through the stunned camp amplified by the light!

“Knights of the Divine! The light of the Goddess embraces all; show your devotion and courage! In the name of Holy Light! For the Goddess! Charge!!!”

“In the name of Holy Light!!!!!!!”

“Charge!!! For the Goddess!!!!!!!”

Like an avalanche crashing down, the already organized and energized divine army, now surged to its peak under divine grace, surged forth like a wave of white, propelled by the unprecedented rallying cry of the knights, rushing towards the towering Saint Bergan Mountains.

The first battle of the holy war officially began.

……

Emerging from the shattered reflection world torn apart by holy light, when Vilyric reappeared, she had returned to that dark and deep cave.

The girl lifted her head and looked around.

The blood cocoon, hanging in the center of the cave and pulsating like a heart, had completely vanished without a trace.

It was just as she thought.

What she had seen here before was merely the shadow of the cocoon that truly gathered countless blood sacrifices and forbidden magic within the reflection world. If casually destroyed, it could provoke troublesome consequences, but… if its essence disappeared, this rootless reflection would naturally dissipate as well.

As such, the various effects caused by the suddenly erupted forbidden magic, the “Reverse Cross of Blood,” on the Saint Bergan Mountains had largely subsided. Except for the truly deceased sacrifices, all those still alive should have been healed by the aftereffects of her 10th-tier magic, “Relief,” which had pierced through the reflection world and erased the blood girl.

In fact, Vilyric had not expected that the mirroring world could connect to the real world in this way, so she was momentarily stunned upon receiving yet another wave of fervent power of faith.

But this was good; rather than letting the excess energy of the forbidden magic go to waste, it would be better to utilize it, creating a mutually beneficial situation.

Oh my, I suddenly find myself understanding the thoughts of those deities a bit more.

As she stepped out of the cave again, there were no enemies attempting to strike here anymore. Lucas, tall and sturdy, leaning on his great sword, still stood guard at the entrance, which lay in disarray from the aftermath of the battle. Meanwhile, the little dragon daughter, now returned to her humanoid form, had also arrived, leaning against the stone wall and engaged in light chatter with him.

Sensing the presence of the Priestess, both turned their gaze in unison and immediately approached.

“Master.”

“Greetings, my Lord!”

“Oh, um… so you’re all here.”

Setting aside the little dragon daughter for now, in fact, Lucas, the golden-armored warrior standing over three meters tall, suddenly knelt on one knee before her. Coupled with his impressive two-handed greatsword, the impact was certainly striking.

So much so that the Priestess, who had been lost in thought and not paying much attention to her surroundings, was a bit taken aback.

After all, even while kneeling, the head of this Guardian of Heaven, encased in golden armor, was so high that Vilyric had to look up to see it clearly…

“Lucas, did those guys retreat?”

Hearing the summoner’s question, the golden-armored warrior did not stand, maintaining his respectful kneeling posture, and lowered his head to be level with the petite black-haired girl, his voice low and rumbling.

“Reporting to my Lord, those demons retreated about ten minutes ago, exactly when the surrounding blood pillars receded, right after Lady Xiao Guang finished battle with the enemy leader. Since your command was to guard the entrance, I did not pursue them.”

“I see… um, that’s fine. You’ve worked hard earlier, so now you can… wait, hold on…?”

Just as she intended to send the Guardian of Heaven back, Vilyric suddenly furrowed her brow, her tone turning serious.

“Lucas, did you just… call them demons?”

At her words, the golden-armored warrior was slightly taken aback; though his expression was completely hidden by the full-coverage helmet, the surprise and confusion in his voice could be discerned.

“Yes… is there a problem, my Lord?”

Of course, it’s a huge problem!

You must understand, Vilyric had never explicitly referred to those demons in front of Lucas by their name! How could this summoned creature, who appeared out of nowhere, know to call them “demons” without hesitation?!!

“……”

Pondering, the girl’s thoughts turned.

Speaking of which… Lucas’s name carries the prefix “Guardian of Heaven,” and he once mentioned being a commander of some divine military unit, but at that time, Vilyric hadn’t pursued the matter further to hide her lack of knowledge… for the sake of caution.

But now, she had gained significant insight into this world, including her own situation, making it hard for her to return to her previous state of blissful ignorance. Given this opportunity, perhaps she could…

“Lucas, do you remember when you first encountered me?”

This question was posed very flexibly; depending on Lucas’s response, Vilyric could adjust her subsequent strategy on the fly—it was a sort of probing to open up the conversation.

However, the golden-armored warrior’s response was still completely unexpected.

“This… my Lord, as Guardians of Heaven, we do not possess a clear concept of time, so if you’re asking when… well…”

“A spiritual life form?”

The black-haired girl suddenly looked up in shock, glancing up and down at the golden-armored warrior kneeling before her, and instinctively raised her hand to tap against the thick golden armor on Lucas’s shoulder, producing a crisp “clink” sound.

Had it not been for her experience in the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, she might have scoffed at this kind of statement, even doubting whether Lucas was lying; however, having seen with her own eyes the true form of the twelve guardian spirits in the Valley of Magic, Vilyric knew this could indeed be a possible situation.

A spiritual life form could certainly not be entirely non-existent.

Unexpectedly, yet… disbelievably reasonable.

   

---