For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Chapter 267: On My Way To Meet You (4)

“O… Reckless Roar! Hear my final roar!!”

Then, with his remaining hand, Gef tore out his own heart.

Raising it toward the sky as if offering it to someone, the moment I saw the still-beating heart, I knew.

Something had gone terribly wrong.

It seemed that the paladins, who were much more experienced in these matters than I, thought the same, as they hastily summoned their holy power.

It wasn’t as powerful as their initial attack, but thanks to the combined strength of the four elite paladins, it was still quite formidable.

A wave of potent holy power surged toward the dying Gef.

…But it was a bit too late.

Squelch!

The beating heart melted into a bloody sludge, which then began to swell and grow.

The red sludge expanded, swallowing up Gef and the other half-dead cultists, growing larger and larger with each passing moment.

Each time it expanded, it swelled many times over, until it finally pushed back the holy power and shot up into the sky.

“These bastards never just die quietly, do they?”

“Yeah, because they’re damn fanatics!”

Iona and I cursed as we frantically gathered more magic power in preparation for what was to come.

We didn’t know exactly what was happening, but it was clear that the best course of action was to destroy it before it was complete…!

Normally, I conserve my magic a little, but this time I threw it all out, as if I were emptying my reserves, hurling spell after spell.

Flames roared, and an icy blizzard spewed forth. Iona, on her end, tried to tear apart the sludge with blood flames and bloody explosions.

However, aside from some superficial damage to its surface, none of our attacks seemed to have a significant effect.

No matter how strong a barrier is, it shouldn’t be able to withstand this much magic without taking damage.

Which left only one possibility.

The Evil God, Reckless Roar, must be directly intervening.

If the God had consumed the cultists as offerings and used some of its own power, that kind of defense would make sense.

The only thing that could work against it was holy power from a divine source…

But after expending so much of their holy power earlier, the paladins’ weapons were visibly dimming.

It couldn’t be helped.

“That’s enough; fall back for now! It’s not working right now, so let’s wait for it to emerge and attack it all at once when it does!”

“…Tch!”

“Understood!”

The paladins, gritting their teeth in frustration, withdrew at my command.

As I watched them retreat, I began casting again. Iona also started preparing Csepes—her most powerful magic.

The moment we completed our spells, with our eyes wide open, we saw a change in the muddy pillar that had been shooting upward like an inverted waterfall.

It gathered into a single point in midair… then scattered in all directions.

“…Huh?”

We waited for a bit, just in case, but nothing happened.

No manifestation of the Reckless Roar, no terrifying monster, and not even an explosion.

There wasn’t a single sign of anything happening.

Had it misfired?

Just as I felt my tension start to ease, thinking it might have been a failure…

“Yandel, look over there.”

Iona frowned and pointed with her hand. At the end of her finger, a veil had appeared, completely covering the church.

“Oh.”

You’ve got to be kidding.

---

“Oh.”

The church suddenly darkened as if a switch had been flipped.

Helena, who hadn’t slept properly for days, hadn’t eaten much, and had spent her time in constant prayer, let out a sigh.

This place, which was always supposed to be bright with the power of the Righteous Radiance, had only fallen into darkness once before.

It had been when the Righteous Radiance had overexerted herself to turn Helena into a saintess, and now, surrounded by the armies of an Evil God, it was barely holding on.

In the previous case, the light had returned naturally as the Righteous Radiance recovered, but this time… what would happen?

Could something have gone wrong?

Helena, suppressing the rising anxiety, offered a direct prayer to her god.

‘O Righteous Radiance, has something happened?’

While it’s common to pray for guidance from the gods, few expect a direct response.

But for Helena, it was different. The consciousness of the Righteous Radiance resided within her.

‘Yes. For some reason, my connection with my main body has been severed.’

The casual tone didn’t quite fit what one would expect from a god, but the weight of the voice still pressed heavily on Helena’s mind. Especially since she wasn’t in great condition.

Helena grimaced slightly at the throbbing headache that followed.

Knowing that Helena had been holding on with little sleep and food, the Righteous Radiance kept the message short.

‘It seems like the barrier that isolated Carla before has reappeared. Clara will explain the details!’

‘I understand.’

Helena nodded slightly and focused her mind on the medallion in her hand.

From within, an exceptionally clear voice that was far too vivid to be just a thought spoke up.

-Ugh. This again?

“Lady Clara, about this barrier….”

-Of course, I’ll tell you. Let me see… where should I start?

Her voice trembled slightly, perhaps due to past memories, but Clara continued her explanation calmly.

-First of all, this barrier cuts off the connection between gods and their followers.

“You mean the supply of holy power has been severed?”

-Exactly. With the connection to the Righteous Radiance cut off, you won’t be able to draw holy power from the main body like usual.

However, Clara reassured Helena that the holy power stored within her body wouldn’t disappear suddenly, and if she used it sparingly, she could hold out until reinforcements arrived.

She also explained a method to tweak the structure of the barrier slightly to reduce the consumption of holy power, comforting Helena like a kind older sister.

The Righteous Radiance watched all of this unfold, deep in thought.

Though she had made excuses and passed the burden on for now, was it truly okay to reveal the truth to these children?

The truth that the one isolated by the barrier was not the Great Church, but her own true form, superimposed on another dimension.

That soon, followers across the continent would lose their connection to divine power.

That perhaps it might no longer be the Righteous Radiance.

And… that soon, all of them would die.

Could she really tell them all of that?

The Righteous Radiance pondered and pondered again. She had never felt this helpless in all her long existence.

And then, she reached a conclusion.

She whispered to her Saintess, who was trying hard not to lose her smile despite her growing unease.

‘I’m sorry. Just rest for a while… By the time you wake up, everything will be resolved.’

“Lord…?”

Helena tilted her head in confusion at the incomprehensible words. But only for a moment, as her body suddenly collapsed to the side like a puppet with its strings cut.

Just before she hit the ground, a pair of lion’s ears sprouted atop her golden hair.

The Righteous Radiance had forcibly suppressed Helena’s consciousness and come to the surface.

Clara, who seemed to have figured everything out, spoke.

-…My Lord, I suppose we’re screwed, aren’t we?

“Yeah. Was it that obvious?”

-Of course. Helena might not have noticed yet, but I’ve served you for nearly twenty years.

“Haha, it’s come to this. Sorry.”

-There’s no need to apologize. It may sound odd, but we did our best, didn’t we? It’s just that our enemies were craftier and stronger.

“Yeah, still… I’m sorry. You only recently managed to project your consciousness outside, and now you’re about to die again.”

-You know, after dying once, dying a second time doesn’t seem so scary. By the way, my Lord, you’re…

Clara trailed off, her voice uncertain. The Righteous Radiance shrugged.

“The only thing I can do for Helena is to spare her from the moment of death. I just want her to find peace, even if it’s just for a little while.”

-I’m sure she will.

The two continued talking for a long time.

As if they were old friends catching up on everything they hadn’t said. Or like children desperately fighting to stay awake.

But all things have their limits.

-The stored divine power is running out.

“…I’m sorry. The remaining divine power…”

-Needs to be used to keep the barrier up a little longer, right? For the people still inside the Great Church?

Clara interrupted the Righteous Radiance’s words.

It was rudeness she would never have committed under normal circumstances, but there was something she absolutely had to say while her voice could still reach her god.

-My Lord, bringer of light like the sun’s radiance, your decision is the right one. So please, don’t apologize to me. It was an honor to serve you.

Whether it was in the past or the present.

She didn’t resent her god at all. She believed that the Righteous Radiance had always made the right choices, as she always had.

With her voice growing fainter, Clara spoke her final words.

-…You are still the Righteous Radiance.

“……”

With that, her voice vanished completely. Clara’s consciousness hadn’t disappeared from the medallion, but the lack of power made it impossible for her to speak.

Knowing this, the Righteous Radiance gently stroked the medallion.

And softly whispered.

“Yes. That’s right. I am the Righteous Radiance.”

Helena was asleep, and Clara had fallen silent.

Born from the light, always praised, the Righteous Radiance now felt the coldness of darkness and silence for the first time in her existence.

When humans feel anxious, when they face something beyond their ability to handle, they pray to their god.

Hoping that a transcendent being will save them.

But what does a god do when they themselves are lost in despair?

Who do they turn to?

Who do they pray to?

Who… saves them?

The Righteous Radiance shook her head with a bitter smile.

She was the one who saved, not the one who was saved.

From the day she met the first high priest, she had been a god.

And so, the Righteous Radiance resolved to fight until the very last moment.

As she had always done.