CHAPTER 188
Sohan had something that summoned the Transcendents.
It was clear that the beings up in that sky were all called forth by Sohan.
It was an unprecedented crisis, unlike anything we'd ever faced.
I didn't know why Black Dawn had summoned the Transcendents, but their power was incredibly dangerous.
I had to stop it somehow.

Rumble, rumble!

Even in this situation, the black roots tightened their grip as if trying to crush Sky Castle.
That shaking would naturally be felt inside as well.
It made things extremely difficult, considering we had to charge back inside.

Swoosh!

Even in that moment, black roots shot up from all directions.
While carrying me on her back, Aranseol wielded Danmyung with one hand and swung it.
I also shot down a few roots with Holy Bullets, but there were just way too damn many of them.
The roots unleashed a ferocious assault, trying to encircle us no matter what.
Getting hit even once meant the end.
It was practically walking a tightrope.

"Hah!"

Aranseol couldn't keep dodging forever either.
Even though I was buffing her with Holy Magic, her stamina was steadily draining.
Just as I was agonizing over what to do.

KABOOM!

Dozens of streaks of light suddenly crashed down right next to us.
The black roots were instantly swept away by the beams of light, meeting their end.
Startled, I jerked my head up and saw a large number of clerics offering prayers high in the sky.
It was the Holy Church.
Every time they prayed in unison, the light of holy power poured down, bombarding the black roots.
The black roots were devastated and shattered with every strike.
Perhaps it was a bad matchup for them, but they were utterly powerless against the holy power attacks.
I immediately realized who was leading them.

"Aigis!"

The Paladin Commander, Aigis, who had gone outside to relay the situation.
With her sword drawn, she flashed me a bright smile.
I hadn't seen her face in a while, but I couldn't have been happier to see it now.

"Harua, I have safely brought reinforcements!"

Magic didn't work on the black roots.
Knowing this, she had intentionally brought the personnel of the Holy Church.

"What an absolute mess."

Beside her, another new figure appeared.
It was Anastasia, along with a Regular Army unit armed with magic rifles.
She finally couldn't hold back and jumped onto the front lines, huh.
Just what you'd expect from the Commander-in-Chief of the Regular Army.

The members of the Regular Army and the Holy Church filling the sky.
They were a reassuring second wave of reinforcements.
The combined forces of the Regular Army and the Holy Church.
As soon as they gathered, they began pouring down attacks on the black roots in unison.

"Wipe them all out."
"The ground forces are already prepared to catch it! Don't worry and shoot it down!"

Explosions rang out everywhere as the black roots were shattered.
Did they even prepare for the possibility of Sky Castle falling?
It meant that the outside forces were constantly preparing their next countermeasures depending on the situation.
I realized all over again that this world wasn't a place you lived in alone.

"Aigis, Sohan must be summoning the Transcendents from the inside!"

As soon as I shouted, someone dropped down from the sky.

Thud!

The black roots crumpled and violently shook.
It was proof that she had dropped from a dizzying height.

"Then we must catch him."

Aigis was standing there.
Did she just jump straight down from that high up?
So like Aigis.

"The Holy Church will open a path to the inside."

As soon as the Holy Church heard our conversation, they began preparing their next prayer.

"Aigis, what about the Transcendents in the sky?"
"Yes, the Saintess has confirmed it. She is preparing to deal with them in her own way, but..."
"I figured."

Even if she was the Saintess Lua, the opponents were Transcendents.
Blocking them would be overwhelming.

"The impact of the hole previously torn open by Bloody Crown was significant. We are even detecting movements from Transcendents whose existence we weren't even aware of before."
"So it's the worst-case scenario."
"Yes, because our Church also has no method to deal with these new Transcendents."

Did that mean they at least had ways to deal with the existing Transcendents?
I guess the Holy Church hadn't been acting as a global religion for so long for nothing.
Before I knew it, the Holy Church's prayer was nearing its end.
A fierce radiance swirled around them.
The black roots were also thrashing about to shoot down the Holy Church and the Regular Army, but that alone wasn't nearly enough.

"Has Soun heard the news about Sohan?"

Beneath the brilliance, I threw out one last question.
Aigis stomped down on a rising black root and shook her head.

"I did not go out of my way to inform him."

Sohan was clearly acting as bait to lure out the Sword Lord, Soun.
The fact that he deliberately showed himself to us was proof of that.
Aigis also knew this fact well, so she didn't bother mentioning it.

"However, from what I know, the Sword Lord has more ears than you'd think. To be precise, he has many followers."

Especially since I had just screamed about Sohan.
This fact would eventually be relayed to Soun.
I thought it was a disaster, but it was the best option.
If we didn't find Sohan right now, there was no telling what those Black Dawn bastards would do once they summoned the Transcendents.
In this situation, I didn't have time to pull Aigis aside and whisper.

"Don't worry, Harua."

Aranseol, looking at me with calm, sunken eyes, spoke up.

"I will definitely find him."

Through the prayer offered to the embrace of Holy Light, light poured down once again.
The compressed, vast light completely ripped apart and erased the black roots surrounding the entrance.
A wide-open entrance.

"Let's go."

We threw our bodies toward that entrance once more.

Thud—

Aranseol, Aigis, and I landed at the same time.

"Harua, I'll move out first to chase Sohan. Aigis, please take Harua to the center."
"Yes, I will."

Aranseol and my eyes met for a moment.
Sohan was a disciple under the same master as her.
Naturally, she would want to deal with him with her own hands.
It wasn't like I didn't understand Aranseol's feelings.
However, Sohan was not an easy opponent either.
Soun didn't evaluate him as a genius for nothing.

"Aranseol, be careful."

But I trusted Aranseol and left it to her.
Because I was the one who knew her strength best.
Aranseol gave a short smile and dashed off at high speed.

Meanwhile, Aigis and I immediately returned to the center.
The deep blue flames that had draped over the center began to fade.
The mass exorcism for the souls was finally finished.

"Oh, Harua-nim!"

Lululio greeted me brightly.
Even though she must have been extremely tense since this was the most dangerous location, her expression was still surprisingly bright.

"Uuugh..."

In the distance, I also saw Babiyen collapse as she cut off her magic flow.
I immediately approached her and patted her shoulder.

"Babiyen, you did great."
"Harua, are you back?"

Babiyen leaned her head against my chest and let out a light sigh.
Having continuously maintained a flame of that size for a long time, her magic power was completely depleted.
So I patted Babiyen's head, telling her to rest well.
Just from that, Babiyen's face relaxed, as if the hardship she went through was somewhat relieved.

In the meantime, Aigis spoke with Inferno.
It was probably about Sohan.
After finishing the conversation, Inferno immediately left toward the Regular Army soldiers who were on standby.
Giving them orders, it seemed he was trying to find Sohan.

"Harua."

Aigis approached me and quietly relayed the news.

"According to Lord Legolash, there is a separate location where the souls of the Great Sinners can be felt."

A separate location where the souls of the Great Sinners could be felt.
I didn't have to think hard to figure out what that meant.

"It's the core of the black roots."

It wasn't as if all these black roots were moving with their own independent wills.
There was definitely someone controlling them.
That was undoubtedly the Artificial Transcendent's vessel that Legolash had mentioned.

"The location?"
"He says it is the direction this root is pointing."

The root Aigis had brought.
That root was constantly pointing in a single direction.
It seemed Legolash had created it to track the souls.

"Then we'll have to go find it."
"Harua."

Babiyen weakly raised her hand and gave my clothes a firm tug.
It was a gesture filled with the intent of telling me not to go.
I could feel the worry in Babiyen's two eyes.
In the past, even when I did reckless things, she would treat me like a madman but still go along with it.
But as time passed, Babiyen's eyes became increasingly filled with anxiety and worry.
It was the look of someone terrified of losing me at any moment.

"What are you so worried about? I have an immortal body that can revive at any time."
"It's not like that process is painless for you."

I possessed Resurrection Magic.
As such, no matter what situation I faced, I, at least, would always survive.
So there was no need to worry, but Babiyen felt differently.
Come to think of it, Aranseol had said something similar in the past.
But I didn't expect to receive this kind of look from Babiyen this time.

"Because you always push yourself too hard, Harua."

I could see Babiyen's consciousness fading.
Since she had excessively used her magic power, she seemed to have reached her limit.
She had finished what she needed to do.

"Babiyen, it's okay."

I cupped her forehead with my hand and smiled so she could rest comfortably.

"Let's see each other safe and sound when you open your eyes."

With that, Babiyen's eyes closed.

"Legolash."
"Yeah."
"Please take care of Babiyen."

As Legolash gestured, Babiyen's body floated into the air.
He would safely take Babiyen outside.
Furthermore, not just them, but several other Regular Army soldiers also decided to head outside.
Right now, we had no idea when Sky Castle might collapse.
If they were in a state where they couldn't help find Sohan and the master of the black roots, it was right for them to evacuate.

"Hey, this here, it's the Emperor's soul."

A single orb was held in Legolash's hand.
It really was among those wandering souls.
Those Black Dawn bastards were truly, sickeningly insane.
Then again, they had only made a deal.
They probably didn't give a damn about the Emperor's soul from the very beginning.

"Please take it to the 1st Princess under my name."

She'll probably be thrilled, calling it a gift.

"Harua, the personnel distribution is complete. What will you do?"

At that moment, Inferno approached us and asked.
He had divided the personnel into a group to sweep out Sohan and a group to take down the Artificial Transcendent's vessel.
Currently, Aranseol was searching for Sohan.
She would definitely be able to find Sohan.
So, without hesitation, I made my decision.

"I will go find the vessel."

I'm going to destroy the Artificial Transcendent's vessel.