Chapter 301: The Secret of the Ancient Inheritance

Light gathered, and two figures appeared side by side from the slightly swaying door.

“Our current faith… The Goddess is not the true Origin Light, but a substitute altered by someone with an agenda?”

Philomina Lambert, the Redeeming Saintess, who had just stepped out of the portal, struggled to open her mouth, letting out a voice that was weak and feeble, almost more like a lament.

“And the reason for the arrival of 【Killing】 in our world is to plunder this gathered faith… divine power? Yuna, are you really not joking? This is a tremendous blasphemy…”

Standing a short distance in front of her, Yuna Summerfield, controlling and adjusting the portal, turned her head. Rarely did her usually gentle and smiling face show such seriousness and solemnity.

“Philomina, after knowing you for so long, have you ever seen me joke or deceive anyone?”

“Gulp.”

The little saintess with pinkish-gold hair swallowed hard.

“Even so, suddenly telling me such shocking content… Moreover, how do you know this, did that angel, Miss Wing, tell you?”

Yuna could see that Philomina was still half-believing, merely helping her out due to the situation and the trust they had built over time.

Though it was anticipated, the Saintess couldn’t help but sigh slightly.

“I know it’s hard for you to accept, it would be the same for any devout believer. If it weren’t for the rapid and pressing arrival of the Lord of Killing, I wouldn’t have revealed the truth to you this way, but we no longer have the luxury of time to lay our plans slowly, Yuna. The survival of the Holy Nation rests on this.”

“Even though the Wings are mythical beings, they also do not enjoy the exemption of 【Rewriting】. The reason we know all this…”

Glancing around the empty space, with only her and Philomina, plus the distant portal that had not yet faded, Yuna took a deep breath.

“Philomina, do you know why only the Saint of Bright Light from the Summerfield family can wield the 【Crown of Uncrowned】 and frequently break through the threshold of the extraordinary?”

“W-why…?”

A name suddenly rang out from the blonde girl’s mouth as she exhaled a breath of anxiety.

“Atrey Summerfield.”

“Huh?”

Before Philomina could react, Yuna continued without pause.

“Phoenix Summerfield, Grisa Summerfield, Yulandar Summerfield, Ottilina Summerfield.”

Yuna listed four names in a row, including Atrey at the start…

“Uh, isn’t that the names of the past Saints of Bright Light from the Holy Nation? Wait, it seems like there’s still one missing…”

“You are also missing the first-generation Saint of Bright Light, Roca Summerfield, and the seventh-generation Saint of Bright Light, Betty Summerfield. Yuna, aside from these two, all other Saints of Bright Light… are me.”

“……Huh?”

Miss Philomina turned to stone on the spot.

Ignoring the Redeeming Saintess’s daze, she gazed at the blood-red sky above the land and the three angels who had just stepped out of the distant portal, including a Holy Knight and a lineup of around ten strong figures. Yuna quickened her speech.

“This is a secret that has been sealed away.”

“A thousand years ago, after the first Saint of Bright Light, Roca Summerfield, obtained the light artifact 【Crown of Uncrowned】, she stumbled upon a chance discovery that this sacred object was actually not complete… its powers were sealed by some force.”

“At that time, this land was still in the midst of the fiercest rebellion, with the church’s army led by Roca struggling against the enemy. They urgently needed a force powerful enough to anchor the world and end the stalemate.”

“So after realizing this, she deliberated for a long time and ultimately decided to attempt breaking the seal placed on the 【Crown of Uncrowned】 to demonstrate its true power.”

“Time was tight, so I won’t go into the details. Just know that Roca succeeded in the end; once the seal was lifted, the unleashed power far exceeded that of the other two light artifacts. Its terrifying strength swiftly stabilized the battlefield, helping Roca annihilate the enemy’s main forces.”

“And for this reason, those who witnessed that artifact’s divine-like might revered it as the top of the three artifacts, elevating Roca, the Saint of Bright Light, from an equal standing among the three saints to a near supreme leader-like existence.”

“But before Roca could even rejoice, she discovered a very serious problem.”

“She… began to lose the ability to wield this immensely powerful artifact.”

“Only at that moment did Roca truly understand the role of the seal; it was a limiter, a protection. Though a divine offspring, at the end of the day, they were still mortal, and true artifacts belong to the gods—how could they be so presumptuous?”

“But the Saint of Bright Light cannot be without the 【Crown of Uncrowned】. Whether for the unrest that had yet to settle or some other reason, she had to think of a way to resolve the calamity brought about by her impulsiveness.”

“…That solution is me.”

Facing the shocked pink-haired girl, the one revered as the Saint of 【Bright Light】 spoke softly.

“Philomina, I am… the spirit of the 【Crown of Uncrowned】.”

“To be exact, I am a part of the artifact spirit of the 【Crown of Uncrowned】, separated from the main body by Roca Cecilia using a secret method, fused with her blood to create this individual. Hence, only the Summerfield family—only I can control the already unsealed 【Crown of Uncrowned】.”

“Though I am fused with Roca’s bloodline, my origin still derives from the 【Crown of Uncrowned】, and the 【Crown of Uncrowned】 was born from the Origin Light, so I have obtained the protection of the Origin Light, allowing me to be somewhat exempt from the effects of 【Rewriting】.”

“The Summerfield family is said to be a hybrid of divine offspring and the Light Tribe… That’s what everyone outside says, right? But in reality, it’s not so; that’s just a rumor that has been passed down incorrectly.”

“On the contrary, I—or rather the 【Crown of Uncrowned】 is the true source of the 【Light Tribe】.”

“The power of the 【Crown of Uncrowned】 is so immense that at the moment of my birth, that terrifying backlash almost swallowed Roca, the Saint of Bright Light. Forced to do so, she could only sever a part of my origin, scattering it as 【Light Shards】 into the world.”

“And thus, the group known as the Light Tribe appeared.”

“And the Summerfield family, due to my bloodline passed down as the 【Second Generation Saint of Bright Light】, formed this distinctive appearance different from your other two divine offspring, which led to the notion that we are hybrids formed from a combination with the Light Tribe.”

“Since my birth, to avoid criticism for monopolizing power, I have changed my identity every hundred years, becoming the third generation, fourth generation, and later Saints of Bright Light, upholding Roca’s legacy and safeguarding the faith of the Holy Nation and Origin Light…”

Yuna laughed helplessly.

“But this stable situation was shattered three hundred years ago.”

“The 【Corruption】 suddenly descended upon this world, and in the battle against it, I was compelled to borrow more power from the 【Crown of Uncrowned】 than that body could withstand, ultimately leading to the death of the sixth Saint of Bright Light, Ottilina Summerfield.”

“But I am the spirit of the 【Crown of Uncrowned】; as long as the 【Crown of Uncrowned】 exists, I will not truly perish.”

“After my death, my spirit was reclaimed by the Wing who came, and after hundreds of years of nurturing, I re-emerged under the identity of Yuna Summerfield, naturally taking the long-vacant position of the Saint of Bright Light.”

“But… at this moment, I am surprised to find that the Holy Empire has already transformed into something vastly different from what I understood.”

   

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