CHAPTER 137
“Did you turn an apostle into a crossbow?”
My finishing bullet.
Witnessing it, Bloody Crown showed his bewilderment, as if it were an unexpected move.
“Just like an uncivilized this-worlder. It’s a gun, you moron!”
After landing a verbal jab on that idiot Bloody Crown’s face, I held Lua and ran through the thorn vines.
“Lua! Wake up!”
Bloody Crown said he would create a new hole in the sky.
Naturally, he would do so by borrowing the power of a Transcendent.
The Transcendent worshipped by the Radiance Faith.
The Owner of the Lazy Throne.
That’s the one who would drill the hole.
But if that were the case, would Bloody Crown have needed to come to the Holy Land?
He could have just prayed to the Transcendent from somewhere else.
‘Think. Why did Bloody Crown have to come to the Holy Land and cause this mess?’
The deliberation didn't take long.
The Holy Land is the place where the Embrace of Holy Light bestows the most power.
Everything connects back to the hole.
In other words, a hole was already open for the Embrace of Holy Light to bestow its power.
That’s why this place was called the Holy Land, and why the Holy Church said it was the place closest to the Embrace of Holy Light.
Drilling a new hole is difficult.
But widening an existing hole is not.
‘No, if that was all, there would be no reason to keep Lua captive.’
He could have just eliminated the Saintess.
Why did he go to the trouble of keeping her alive?
‘Recall the information.’
Transcendents are powerful beings.
Why haven't they been able to interfere with the 1st World, Astrape, until now?
It’s a world they could interfere with at any time if they so chose.
‘There must be some condition preventing their intervention.’
The very concept of a "hole" implies that Astrape is protected by some massive, invisible barrier.
In Earth terms, it’s like the atmosphere that burns up meteors before they reach the ground.
Therefore, each Transcendent has a limit to their interference in Astrape.
The Embrace of Holy Light took a long time to drill its hole.
On the other hand, the Owner of the Lazy Throne, true to his name, hadn’t managed to drill a very large hole.
‘Drilling a hole takes time.’
So, Bloody Crown chose the Holy Land.
The option of making an existing hole bigger.
And on top of that.
‘He’s trying to use Lua, the one chosen by the Embrace of Holy Light, to harness its power as well.’
He was using two things to widen the hole.
The Holy Land and the Embrace of Holy Light.
That was the reason Bloody Crown kept Lua alive.
My eyes fell on Lua.
She was swallowing a groan, unable to move her body properly.
It was certain that Bloody Crown had done something to her to draw out the Embrace of Holy Light.
Even now, she was surely calling out to it.
My eyes met Bloody Crown’s.
The sinister smile on his face seemed to confirm that my thoughts were correct.
The crimson light reaching for the sky.
It was undoubtedly a light to summon the Owner of the Lazy Throne.
To extinguish that light, the only way was to eliminate Bloody Crown.
KRA-AAAAAANG!
Through the thorn vines, Aigis swung her sword at Bloody Crown again and again.
She was racing across the ground, pure white wings spread from her back.
But Bloody Crown countered, making the light from his red crown shine fiercely.
As if time was on his side.
He was focused solely on defense.
“Lua.”
Lua still couldn't get up.
Her condition showed no signs of improving.
So, I decided to use the means I had.
“If I get called the ‘Saintess-Slayer’ later, you’d better take responsibility.”
I brought down a dagger created with Sacred Weapon in my hand.
The dagger pierced Lua’s neck…
CLANG!
…or not.
“What?”
The dagger stopped just before it reached Lua’s neck.
My eyes widened at the sight.
A transparent golden light was wrapped around Lua’s neck.
Don’t tell me it’s some kind of innate divine power barrier the Saintess has.
Dammit, I didn’t expect this.
“Lord Harua!”
At that moment, Aigis’s voice rang out.
“The Saintess is protected by divine power! Only divine power can interfere with divine power!”
The moment I understood her meaning, I gathered divine power in my palm.
The technique Aigis had taught me before, to rotate divine power at high speed.
Sure, my own hand was being ground to bits, but that wasn't something to worry about.
My descending hand made contact with Lua’s divine power.

KSHHHHHHKKKKKKKKKK!
The protective barrier clashed with my divine power, creating a mad shower of sparks.
I had no idea what kind of divine power barrier this was.
But I couldn't back down.
Pain flooded my grinding hand, but I gritted my teeth and endured.
Finally, I began to slowly push through the barrier.
Forcing my hand to heal, I pushed forward like a madman, and in that moment…
KSHHHHHK!
Lua’s neck was sliced open, and blood spurted out.
I never thought the day would come when I’d slice the Saintess’s throat.
But with this, Lua’s breathing stopped.
Thump—

I felt something move in the sky above.
Simultaneously, my vision turned completely white for an instant.
It was a strange sensation, as if something had flowed into me through my hand.
But this was no time to worry about such feelings.
I shook my head, trying to clear it somehow, and poured resurrection magic into Lua’s body.
As Lua’s neck healed and life returned to her, her eyes slowly fluttered open.
“Ha…ru?”
When she recognized me and called my name, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
As expected, resurrection magic erases any curses and spells active at the time of death.
The dark magic Bloody Crown had placed on her no longer seemed to be working.
“Don’t tell me… Haru, you were the one who woke me?”
“That’s right. Lua, you…”
“N-No!”
Lua shot up in surprise.
At that moment, I felt my vision blur with a red haze.
Huh?
Before I could even question it, Lua cupped my face with her hands.
“Inside my body was a curse mark from the Owner of the Lazy Throne, planted by Bloody Crown! If you made contact with me using divine power, it would have seeped into your body, Haru!”
Damn it, that bastard Bloody Crown.
So that’s why he just let me rescue Lua. That was his plan.
It seems he intended to make me a servant of the Owner of the Lazy Throne from the start.
“The curse mark will head for your brain! You have to protect yourself, quickly!”
“More importantly…”
The divine power I had pushed into my head spread through the blood vessels of my brain.
“This is faster.”
And then, the lightning that spread through my veins set my head on fire.
In my vision, I could see Lua’s horrified expression, but it’s fine.
This is the best move.
My vision went black.
My consciousness was cut off.
And then, my vision returned.
Minimal destruction leads to the fastest resurrection.
After my experience with Asheria Eve, I had repeatedly researched self-resurrection.
The fastest death and the fastest resurrection.
This was the result of all sorts of research to obtain those two things.
“…Did you just… commit suicide?”
“I did.”
Lua stared at me with eyes wide with a shock that bordered on horror.
I thought the Saintess knew me pretty well, but it seems this is the first time she’s seen something like this.
I shook my head to clear the grogginess from the recent resurrection and shifted my gaze.
In the distance, I saw Bloody Crown burst into laughter.
“Wow, are you sane? To blow up your own head in that split second! My plan is ruined.”
His face was filled with delight.
“Lua, the Embrace of Holy Light must have helped to drill the hole in the sky. How could you possibly close it again?”
Lua barely managed to compose her shocked expression and took a deep breath.
It was an attempt to regain her senses.
“……There’s nothing to be done about the hole that’s already been opened.”
So, he already used Lua to open it.
Now I understand why he wasn't so desperate to protect Lua.
Moreover, Lua already knew the story Bloody Crown had told.
And she must have known the reason for the Transfers as well.
It’s not a story you can tell others.
For a Transferee, there’s nothing more unjust.
‘Besides, if this story were to spread…’
Nine times out of ten, the number of Transferees joining Black Dawn would increase exponentially.
Lua knew that, which is why she kept this fact secret.
“But Haru, there is one way.”
“A way?”
The battle between Aigis and Bloody Crown showed no signs of ending easily.
With Bloody Crown being so defensive, it was difficult to bring it to a close.
“Even if a hole is opened, it’s impossible to send all Transferees away at once. It’s possible for things to be pushed in through an open hole, but sending things out isn’t easy. Therefore, Bloody Crown’s primary objective is to receive power from the Owner of the Lazy Throne.”
“Power?”

“Yes, he’s becoming a true Apostle. He’s trying to use that power to drive the Transferees out through the hole.”
An Apostle, born through power directly bestowed by a Transcendent.
That was Bloody Crown’s ultimate goal.
“In that case, we should also…”
Couldn’t we just become Apostles, too?
If a hole has opened, the power should be bestowed upon us equally.
We could use it to defeat Bloody Crown.
But Lua’s expression was dark.
“Even if a hole opens, the power bestowed by a single Transcendent is limited. Even if I were to receive it, I would only be granted the same amount of power as Bloody Crown.”
Receiving the same power as Bloody Crown would just mean they’d both become Apostles of equal strength.
Lua had lived her life as a Saintess in a gilded cage.
Bloody Crown, on the other hand, had experienced numerous battles as an Archbishop.
The moment they received the same power, she would ultimately be outmatched in raw skill and experience.
But as I heard that, something occurred to me.
“Lua, what if it were me?”
I had three types of Divine Power dwelling within me.
That meant I would receive three bestowals of power.
With this, I could be granted far greater power than Bloody Crown.
“...No. Even you, Harua, wouldn't be able to move.”
It was an immense amount of a Transcendent’s power.
She asserted that there was no way a human body could withstand not one, but three such bestowals.
Hearing her story, I pondered for a moment before quietly asking Lua a question.
After hearing me out, Lua’s eyes slowly widened as she looked back at me.
Her trembling pupils told me it was possible.
Looking at her, a faint smile spread across my face.
“It’s decided, then.”

I gathered Divine Power at my fingertips once more and called forth Mi Myeongnyeong. Then, I took the remaining piece of parchment Ririran had given me from my coat and pressed it into Lua’s hand.
“Lua, go outside and deliver this message to Ririran.”
Lua was protected by Divine Power.
She should be able to make it to the vicinity of the Holy Ground safely.
“Harua…”
“Have a little faith in the Saint the Holy Church themselves acknowledged.”
The commotion at the Holy Ground would have been relayed to the outside world through Ririran.
Knowing her, she was surely calling for reinforcements.
If they arrived, they might be able to help us finish off Bloody Crown.

Of course, the hole in the sky might be completed before they arrive, but what we had to do now remained the same.
Kill that bastard Bloody Crown.
“I’ve been waiting for this day. Let’s do this.”
This is a holy war.