socalfunplaces Page 205
Page 205
"Kalia, you've taken too much of a risk! This is a gamble!" Ota couldn't help but wipe away a cold sweat. If those demons had attacked Kalia at that moment, probably no one would have been able to save her.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness, I didn't expect those demons to misjudge people... How could my sister possibly be a goddess? Haha, hahahaha!"
Ota laughed out loud, somewhat losing his composure. The sudden shift in mood left even him bewildered. It wasn't until the surrounding gazes began to converge on him that he stiffened, quickly changing his tune with a serious expression:
"No, that's not right."
"Kalia, from this moment on, you are the embodiment of a goddess!"
Ota's eyes were full of vigilance as he cautiously surveyed his surroundings, trying to prevent the cunning demons from returning.
After pacing back and forth for a while, Ota gradually formed a plan in his mind, refined his words, and carefully explained the passage to Kalia and Hope:
"The will of the goddess had been dormant within Kalia for a long time. On the day of the blessing, the goddess's power, along with the resonant sound, remained on the earth and condensed within Kalia's body, allowing her to briefly awaken the goddess within her!"
"If those demons hadn't run so fast, they would all have perished in the capital city where the goddess descended today!!!"
"This is our official statement! Archbishop Hope, issue a public notice immediately stating that Princess Kalia is responsible for this descent of the goddess!"
"Ah, this..." Hope's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that Prince Ota would be even more radical than them, telling such a huge lie without batting an eye.
"The bigger the commotion we make, the safer Kalia will be! And the less those demons will dare to make any more unnecessary moves!!!" Ota said in a deep voice.
"I understand, Your Highness..."
The losses from this war in the capital were not too great. Only the city gates needed minor repairs, and the battlefield and the interior of the capital needed to be cleaned up. The most important thing was the destruction of the Magician's Round Tower. This magic tower, which embodied human wisdom, suffered far too much in this battle.
"Fortunately, we still have Chief Lak." With a long sigh, Ota could only console himself with this thought.
If, within such a short period of time, Pope Brad and Chief Lak, two of the kingdom's elders, were to pass away, the human kingdom would likely be crippled, its morale plunging into a prolonged slump. In such a situation, let alone eliminating the demon race, even maintaining the kingdom's stable operation would be uncertain.
……
The power of the abyss flowed within him.
on the ground.
Lak slowly opened his eyes: "Where am I?"
He sat up somewhat blankly, looking at the empty ruins before him, feeling that there should have been a tower here.
The power of "darkness" resounded in his heart: "Thanks to me, you escaped with your life. Hiss, that was a close call... The great abyss was almost exposed to these ants."
The pain still throbbed uncontrollably throughout his body, but Lak could sense that the will of the abyss had healed his fatal wounds. His eyes gradually cleared, and he remembered everything.
"What just happened? Have all the demons left?" Lak looked at the no longer gloomy sky, somewhat puzzled.
"I don't know. I was just focused on healing your injuries. Tsk, getting the power of the abyss that destroys the world to repair your body is a huge challenge for me, you know?"
"Stop talking nonsense, look around... What do you plan to do next?"
Next—?
Lak held his head, his body paused slightly, and his senses suddenly spread out without him even realizing it, taking all the humans present into his perception.
Some weakened mages leaned against the corner of the city wall, bandaging their wounds with the help of priests. Elite paladins stood guard around them, seemingly loosely but actually closely. Nearby, the commander of the knight order was discussing the next troop deployment with Ota. A faint smell of burning lingered in the air.
Turning his head, Lark looked at his side... right next to him, Shana, who was sleeping peacefully.
A dark glint flashed in Lark's eyes.
If he wasn't mistaken at that time, her body was carrying a full seventy-four layers of protective power—the world-destroying light reappeared in his mind, and Lak's shoulders trembled violently, his eyes becoming incredibly terrifying.
He stretched out a hand, reaching towards Shana who was very close.
If she is also a "monster" like Mino, then even if he has to expose his malice in front of Prince Ota and all the paladins, abandon his human identity as the chief mage of the Round Tower today, and defect from the human kingdom, he must—personally end Shana's life.
An aged, wrinkled hand, imbued with subtle magic, descended toward Shana's body. Suddenly, Lark's hand froze in mid-air.
His expression kept changing, and an incredulous light suddenly appeared in Lak's eyes!
……
"Ah! It's Chief Lark, he's awake!"
As Erwin exclaimed, Ota immediately turned his gaze to the center of the field, looking at the somewhat hunched Chief Lark. He stood up shakily, his eyes revealing surprise: "Chief Lark, are you alright?"
Prince Ota quickly stepped forward to help Chief Lark up, feeling great admiration.
I knew that this holy archmage who had gone through thick and thin with Mino wouldn't be easily seriously injured by a demon's attack. He actually recovered a lot of his condition in such a short time. He truly deserves to be called the experienced Kingdom Morning Star!
"Prince Ota, don't worry, I'm fine now. I just need some rest."
For some reason, Chief Lac's expression at this moment was not very heavy, and even somewhat... relaxed?
Indeed, Ota's gaze fell on Shana, who was unharmed beside Chief Lak: the blessing of the hero had been successfully granted to Mino's sister, and this elder, who was Mino's soulmate, must be very gratified.
"She is not Mino after all."
With his head down, staring at Shana's face for a long time, Lark suddenly blurted out these words.
Chapter 297 The Rise of the Hero
"Huh?" Ota was a little taken aback, then chuckled:
“Of course, Chief Lark, after all, Shana is just Mino’s sister.”
"However, no matter what, the fact that this blessing was successful is already the greatest comfort to Mino."
Looking at Lark's seemingly possessed expression, Ota felt a pang of pity: Chief Lark, you're missing Mino too much...
It seems that in his heart, no hero can replace Mino's position!
Even Mino's sister is not allowed!
"Don't worry, Chief Lark." Ota shook his head and gently reassured Lark: "Although Mino has now been captured by the demons, I believe that he will never lower his proud spine and submit to those despicable demons."
"Although he may have endured countless inhumane tortures, at least he is still alive and well!"
"As long as you're alive, there are endless possibilities!"
Ota's comforting words seemed to have an encouraging effect on Lak, making him shudder and murmur in agreement:
"Yes, as long as you're alive... as long as you're alive, there's a possibility."
A faint, profound magical power began to swirl around Lark—
Seeing that he had successfully awakened the fighting spirit of his friend, Ota nodded in satisfaction. He turned his head and looked at the ruins of the round tower, which had been razed to the ground. He became somewhat troubled, as the question of where Chief Lak would live had become a problem.
"Chief Lark, the Round Tower has been destroyed by the demons, but rest assured, the kingdom will soon rebuild it on its original site. However, restoring the precious magic arrays and inscriptions inside may take a considerable amount of time..."
The questioner looked towards Lak and asked, "..."
"Why don't you rest and recuperate in the palace for a while? We will provide you with a safe and spacious place to stay."
"Don't worry, Your Highness Ota."
Lak shook his head. Although he was covered in wounds, a deep aura emanated from him, as if he had made a decision:
“A mage’s residence is not limited to the Round Tower. Next, I need to study some rituals and prepare some things. I think leaving the capital for the time being is a good choice... This will both make those demons wary and allow me to complete my next task.”
"Is that so?" Ota was taken aback, not expecting that Chief Lak, who always stayed in the round tower, would have the idea of going out.
"Is that a very important mission, Chief Lark?" Ota asked.
“Yes, that’s right.” Lark nodded slightly, raised his head, and looked into the distance:
"That was a great mission that concerned the very survival of the world, a mission more difficult to accomplish than any miracle."
……
North city gate.
A faint chill lingered in the air. Lena slowly rose from the pit, her longsword supporting her weight. She looked around at the empty space with a bewildered expression: "Those demons... are gone."
As she opened her palm, feeling the trembling from her fingertips, a slight ripple appeared in Lena's icy blue eyes:
"I lost."
He froze his memories, mended the last flaw in his soul, activated the Frozen Heart in its prime, and even activated the most powerful combat state of Ice Realm Ascension at the crucial moment of the battle… but he still lost to that demon.
No.
The radiant figure radiating endless light appeared in Lena's mind. A sense of familiarity, originating from her soul, spread from her body and flowed into the emptiness in her heart, endless yet heart-wrenching: Lena knew where she had truly lost.
A pale finger gently pressed against her heart, and for the first time, a strong thirst for knowledge welled up within Lena:
“I erased my memories of Mino because he was a key factor in the demon’s backlash against me.”
"But having lost her memories with Mino, the Ice Realm Ascension of the Pure Heart is no longer flawless..."
"That memory has become so important that it's become a part of my soul; it's not something that can be left out. I didn't realize this before—"
What exactly does Mino mean to "me"?
Lena gently stroked her chest, where the Ice Heart had become dim because of the crack. Even from the description of the Ice Heart and her own piecing together of empty memories, she could only arrive at a vague answer.
She still doesn't know what place the hero Mino holds in the heart of the Ice Saintess Lena.
Suddenly, Lena remembered something, and for the first time, her movements became somewhat urgent. The remaining power within her body was injected into the Ice Heart, and the power of the void gently rippled. Lena took out something.
A book covered in frost, with a cover depicting a brave and fearless figure in the light...
—The Rise of the Heroes.
That was a biography about Mino that Kalia had given to her personally that day. It was said to have been written by Kalia herself.
"This is your last memory with your brother Mino."
Kalia's sorrowful yet hopeful gaze flashed through her mind. Gently stroking the frost that had formed on the outside of the book, Lena seemed to understand something, and the chill around her gradually thinned.
The frost on the book has completely melted away.
Lena gently opened "The Rise of the Heroes," turning the pages one by one from the very beginning. She opened this memoir, written by her former self, about the hero Mino. It was a book she had barely touched since she finished writing it, a book whose contents she had long forgotten... her last memory.
She stroked the lines of text, tone, and stories—texts that were completely foreign to her, texts that felt alien to her—with a strange sense of unfamiliarity, yet she inexplicably became immersed in them.
Immersed in those stories—simple, uninteresting, yet encapsulating tales of Mino's life from their first encounter to his growth into a hero, and of Lena's life as a saint—I felt a profound connection to them.
The devastated battlefield still reeked of intense demonic energy, and water droplets dripped from the still-icy city walls.
In the corner, a sacred woman dressed in a saint's robe looks more like a little girl who doesn't care about being a lady, holding a book and quietly squatting in a corner of the world.
As an outsider, she glimpsed the Ice Saintess who penned this memoir, the ordinary girl from Akalin Village, and her childhood friend who was much older than the carefree blond boy, burying a certain feeling—like a flower bud unwilling to bloom—deep within the words themselves, a feeling she herself was unaware of…
Now, this flower bud sprouts from the soil along with the words, and the moment it comes into contact with the sunlight and rain, it's as if it's playing a little joke on time.