CHAPTER 151
The mountain excursion had ended safely.
Soon after returning with the sleeping Aranseol, I found myself staring intently at the sword, Danmyung, which she clutched in her arms.
A being who had reached the level of a Quasi-Transcendent.
The 1st Sword Lord.
He had wished for his swordsmanship to be passed down through the ages, and for that reason, he created Danmyung.
In other words, Danmyung was an Apostle created by the 1st Sword Lord.
What bothered me was the term "Quasi-Transcendent."
My recent experiences had filled me with many questions about Transcendents. The appearance of a being called a Quasi-Transcendent only served to complicate my thoughts further.
Black Dawn's Artificial Transcendent Project—a plan I had once dismissed as a wild fantasy.
This meant it might not be an impossible tale after all.
‘Back then, what the Sinner of Pride, Arborex, transported at the cost of his own life was the powdered remains of Bloody Crown, who had been granted the power of a Transcendent.’
Bloody Crown had been completely pulverized by the Transcendent’s explosion.
In my case, my Resurrection magic would have activated, making it meaningless to take my corpse.
But Bloody Crown could not be revived.
His body had already been completely transformed into an Apostle.
He was in a state beyond the reach of even my Resurrection magic.
‘Did Black Dawn predict this would happen?’
The Lord of Pride had gathered the scattered particles of the corpse and managed to move them somewhere.
Even Inferno had failed to track him.
This meant they had been prepared from the very beginning.
‘This is no coincidence.’
Through Lua, I already knew that Black Dawn would target me, Lua, or Bloody Crown.
Did Black Dawn simply observe the situation and react accordingly?
An image of Asheria Eve flashed through my mind.
The mystery of her identity began to sow seeds of suspicion toward the people around me once again.
What if there was another traitor somewhere?
What if that person had reported the details of the incident, allowing Black Dawn to respond so perfectly?
Grip—
I clenched my fist, drawing blood.
But the wound healed naturally.
Thanks to the continuous training and steady growth over the past year, my body had developed a certain degree of self-healing.
Of course, severe injuries still required Holy Magic, but shallow cuts now healed on their own.
It was truly a dazzling level of growth.
Yet despite this progress, a corner of my heart felt more anxious than ever before.
We were steadily defeating Black Dawn.
And I, too, had grown consistently, achieving remarkable progress.
‘If I start doubting, there’s no end to it.’
Besides, Black Dawn would not have wanted the Sinner of Pride to be captured.
Pride’s Ability was plant-based.
Traces of that power had been seen before, and it had caused peril each time.
Even Cosmic Jac’s head was a creation of Pride.
Losing Pride was a crippling blow to Black Dawn.
In other words, this situation was the best possible move Pride could make to achieve his objective.
‘If there were a spy, Pride wouldn’t have had to resort to such measures.’
So, I cast my suspicions aside.
I slowly unclenched my fist and let out a light sigh.
I decided to focus my thoughts elsewhere. An answer that had eluded me while I was busy training and watching over Aranseol.
Now, faced with Danmyung, I decided to try and solve it.
‘What if Pride moved Bloody Crown’s remains to Cruden Island?’
The Regular Army was already carrying out an operation to bring down Cruden Island.
That front would be dealt with without issue.
But there had been no report of any such traces.
If there had been, I would have heard something by now.
‘Ganibal probably wasn’t lying.’
Cruden Island was a location revealed by Ganibal, the Sinner of Gluttony.
It was likely true that the development of an Artificial Transcendent was taking place there.
In that case, does that mean there is a random location that even the Sinner of Gluttony, Ganibal, doesn't know about?
‘Ririran, Cain, and all the other space mages are currently monitoring every gate to the 2nd World.’
Furthermore, Cain’s Dimension Eater ability could even search the Void.
The probability that Pride sent the material to the 2nd World was low.
‘What if…'
My long-held intuition.
The day an incident occurs at the Imperial Palace.
If it’s true that they have prepared something for the day chaos descends upon the entire Empire…
‘Somewhere in the 1st World, Astrape.’
Black Dawn might have a real trump card hidden away.
“Damn it.”
What good was it to rack my brain and speculate?
Every single time, I was only able to react after Black Dawn had already caused a disaster.

Of course, the Regular Army had likely thwarted Black Dawn’s plans on numerous occasions.
It’s just that not all of those facts were reported to me.
I knew firsthand how desperate they were.
But the deep-seated frustration in my heart would not fade.
I had just recently experienced the power of a Transcendent myself.
If their plan succeeded, I couldn’t guarantee what would happen.
“...Harua.”
Just then, I heard Aranseol’s voice.
I shot up from my seat and rushed to her side.
“Aranseol, are you awake?”
“Yes.”

Aranseol blinked, her eyes still heavy with fatigue, and stared at me.
Then she slowly raised a hand and cupped my cheek.
“You don’t seem to be worried about me. You have that look again, burdened by some other trouble.”
Was she a mind reader?
“Come here.”
When Aranseol extended her arms, I silently lowered myself.
She pulled me into an embrace and gently patted my back.
“May all your worries and anxieties fly away.”

Did they have a similar saying in this world?
Aranseol smiled faintly as she held me.
“Harua, you always do your best.”
Do I?
The painful truth was that even when I did my best, nothing really changed.
“You think too much in terms of what would happen only if you were there. If you weren't here, this world would have spiraled into an even worse state.”
She spoke as if reminding me of things one by one.
“In a world without you, countless people would have died. Between Black Dawn’s terrorism and the Radiance Faith’s rampage… the world would have been an absolute mess.”
“...That’s not something I solved all on my own.”
It was just a worst-case scenario.
I was keenly aware that I hadn’t accomplished any of this by myself.
My Ability and skills made it impossible for me to stand alone.
Even now, I was still someone who couldn’t handle even a single Sinner from Black Dawn by myself.
“But they were problems that were solved because you were there.”
Aranseol raised her hand and cupped my cheek again.
Then, she looked up at me with her large eyes.
“Take me, for example. If it weren’t for you, would I even be alive right now?”
“And you didn’t experience death because of me?”
“No.”

Aranseol tilted her head and pointed to Danmyung, which lay beside her.
“If I had never met you, I would have eventually tried to draw Danmyung behind my master’s back.”
My eyes widened.
That meant Aranseol would have ultimately taken her own life.
An empty doll, sitting blankly with a shattered mind.
The thought that Aranseol could have met such an end was dizzying.
“Harua, the reason I am here today is because of you.”
She pulled my cheek, which she was holding, a little closer.
Before I knew it, our faces were close enough for our noses to touch.
Aranseol gently pressed her forehead against mine.
“Is that something of no value to you?”
“...It’s the most precious thing to me.”
“It’s the same for everything else. Every best effort you’ve made has always been a salvation to someone, and it has always been the right path.”
She wrapped her hand around my neck.
Her warm, soft cheek touched mine.
“So don’t blame yourself, Harua. If you feel like you’re about to collapse, I’ll be there to catch you. Don’t worry.”
Why was she supporting me to this extent?
What was the reason someone could be so devoted to another person?
I realized the truth all too easily.
Love.
The feelings Aranseol had expressed to me.
A strange, somewhat embarrassing, and inexplicable emotion.
And yet, when one receives that emotion, they feel an unknown sense of abundance.
That was how I felt right now.
All the anxiety I had felt just moments ago was overwritten and erased by the love Aranse-ol conveyed.
Humans were simple creatures.
Just having one person who supports you can bring such peace of mind.
“What do you think? If you had a heart, it would be pounding like crazy right now, wouldn’t it?”
Aranseol grinned at me playfully.
That alone was enough to make me smile.
I reached out and tickled her side.
“Kyaah!”
She let out a sharp cry and twisted her body.
In that gap, I managed to escape from her embrace.
“You’re not just a fox anymore, you’re a full-blown demon. If I had a normal heart, Aranseol, you’d be in big trouble.”
At my warning, Aranseol gracefully sat up in bed.

Her clothes were slightly disheveled from having been lying down, drawing my gaze.
As she naturally crossed her legs, her pale feet and long legs were revealed.
“Harua, when a woman acts like this…”
A mysterious smile played on her lips.
That smile held an unfathomable allure.
“...it’s because she wants to get you into big trouble.”
So she really was a fox demon.
At this rate, I might just offer up my liver before long.
But the thought of being devoured didn't feel so bad.
I must be going completely insane.
Aranseol rose lightly from her spot.
Her movements were much smoother than before.
Was this the effect of the trial?
I had a distinct feeling that Aranseol was clearly different from before.
“Let’s go, Harua.”
She twirled Danmyung in her hand, her clothes fluttering.
“I went through all that trouble to obtain Danmyung. I have to test it out myself.”
She was right.
This was a weapon obtained through immense hardship.
If its effects were underwhelming, I would find the corpse of the 1st Sword Lord and give him a piece of my mind.
“Who’s going to be the test subject?”
At my question, Aranseol smiled brightly.
“We have the strongest person right here with us, don’t we?”
Right.
Well, she wields a sword too.
The Divine Lord, Aigis.
There was no more fitting opponent for a skill test than a Lord, whose strength was proven.