The Descent of the Evil God (3)

A dreamlike harmony filled the space, echoing in my ears.

A bright light that illuminated the darkness poured down from the sky, bringing a pleasant warmth and coziness with it.

A miniature space where various colors of light blended beautifully.

In this area where everything was arranged harmoniously, Serena felt anxious and clutched the rosary around her neck.

It was a space that anyone would praise as beautiful, but Serena Ederlant, the saintess, knew where this place was.

‘This is, the sanctuary.’

The Sanctuary of Harmony.

It was the domain of God that only Laiteria, the Saintess of Harmony, could summon to the surface.

In this harmony that seemed impossible to imitate with human power, Serena finally deduced the identity of the girl in front of her.

The girl who had familiar features to her was undoubtedly the Saintess of Harmony.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain the scenery that she saw before her eyes.

‘Does that mean… The Goddess of Harmony betrayed Crossbridge?’

She couldn’t understand.

She couldn’t understand why the Temple of Harmony, which had been giving mercy to humans until now, suddenly betrayed them.

She couldn’t accept why the Saintess of Harmony was trying to protect the evil god.

But she could understand why the Holy Emperor had tried to imprison the Saintess and the Hero of Harmony by any means.

Highpright II knew everything from the beginning.

It meant that the era of the Goddess of Harmony caring for the humans of the holy land with mercy had come to an end.

“Welcome to the sanctuary. I hope you like it here.”

The Goddess of Harmony, who had spread out a splendid sanctuary, spoke to Gilford and Serena with a bright voice.

She looked relaxed, facing the unwelcome guests who had entered her domain.

Her head was spinning.

The more she tried to understand the situation, the deeper her worries became.

‘I don’t have time to think anymore.’

But she couldn’t keep worrying while facing a fight.

Instead of confronting the Goddess of Harmony, who was testing the humans, Serena clasped her hands together and muttered a prayer.

“O Goddess, guide me on the right path.”

A huge storm was in front of her eyes.

A storm that none of the heroes before her had ever faced.

When this storm passed, the holy land would be stained with blood and sacrifice.

But Serena decided to do what she had to do quietly.

-‘Gilford Proud.’

Using the holy relic she was equipped with, she sent a message to Gilford in front of her and drew a dagger from an angle that no one else could see.

Swish. The dagger slid out of its sheath with a soft friction sound.

The short and thin blade looked like it would not be easy to inflict a fatal wound unless it hit the exact spot.

The dagger in Serena’s hand was something she had received from Rebels once.

To be precise, it was a holy relic that could take someone’s life without pain.

It was something that Rebels had gotten for her so that she could have a peaceful end when she had to fulfill her duty as a saintess someday.

“What is this…”

-‘Don’t panic and listen to me. I can read your thoughts while using the holy relic.’

Gilford was startled by Serena’s voice, but soon composed himself and glared at the evil god, following Serena’s instructions.

They both knew that this was their last chance.

They were not in a situation to waste time on foolish worries.

Serena aimed her dagger at her chest and conveyed her will to Gilford in front of her.

-‘Don’t ever look back.’

-‘What’s going on?’

-‘I have a way to draw out more power from Ascalon.’

-‘A way to draw out more power from Ascalon…?’

Ascalon’s power was enough to reach God for a brief moment.

But it was not easy to hit the evil god with an attack in that short moment.

That’s why they needed a final way to bring out Ascalon’s power.

If Ascalon’s light could touch God for a moment, they could drive the evil god out of the continent.

-‘Of course, it won’t last for long, but it might be possible to break through the interference and land a hit on the evil god.’

It didn’t take long.

All she had to do was stab her own heart with this dagger.

It wouldn’t take long for the blood to flow and her breath to stop.

With that, the hero of abundance could get his last hope to challenge the evil god.

Gilford didn’t hesitate to reply to Serena after hearing her plan.

-‘Then use that method right now. I’ll buy you enough time somehow.’

-‘Okay. From now on, focus on the enemy in front of you, not me.’

-‘Don’t worry about me. I’ll survive and defeat the evil god and his apostles.’

Clang.

Gilford took a step forward, holding Ascalon firmly.

He still looked determined.

He was Gilford, who had trained every day for the sake of his comrades’ revenge.

Serena had also lived for revenge.

She still remembered vividly how Lian had fought to make her retreat.

She had harbored hatred for the evil god in the depths of her heart for a long time.

-‘Hero of abundance, Gilford Proud.’

-‘…’

-‘You have to slay the evil god with your own hands.’

———No matter what.

Serena sighed with resolve.

Hoo. Her trembling breath was distorted by the warm sunlight.

The blade that flashed in front of her eyes looked like the fangs of a beast waiting to devour her.

She gripped the dagger tightly.

‘Guide me on the right path.’

Squawk.

Serena stabbed the dagger into her chest with a trembling hand.

As the blade of the holy relic touched her body, a bright light burst out from her eyes and the dagger flew away.

Serena watched the dagger spin in the air and fly away.

“Ah…?”

The holy power that suddenly surged from her body blocked the dagger.

She had failed to end her life with her own hand.

She looked at Gilford, who was in front of her, as the dagger moved away.

Gilford, who was holding Ascalon, looked different somehow.

His whole body was radiating holy power, and his eyes were glowing with a dark aura.

“———.”

‘Ascalon’s awakening? No… Something’s different…’

What she had heard about awakening was not like this.

It was a state where Ascalon’s power was drawn out to the limit and became one with the divine weapon.

But Gilford’s appearance now looked far from the heroes of legend.

His eyes looked lost, gazing at somewhere far away.

As if he was being controlled by something.

“It’s time. Fulfill the contract.”

The evil god spoke, watching Gilford.

Right after that.

Gilford, who had lost his mind, met the evil god’s eyes and they both uttered a chant at the same time.

What came out of their mouths was a declaration that proclaimed the holy domain of God on the ground.

-“Sanctuary Proclamation – Logration.”

-“Sanctuary Proclamation – Aurus Saint.”

Gilford and the evil god’s voices overlapped and echoed in the Sanctuary of Harmony.

A dazzling light burst out from Gilford’s body, and a deep darkness descended around the evil god.

Brilliant light and dreadful darkness.

Two incompatible energies began to clash in the air.

Three sanctuaries of God that ruled the ground overlapped.

Serena’s mouth opened wide at the unprecedented sight that was not recorded in any history.

But she was not the only one who was surprised by that sight.

Someone else’s voice rang out along with them, watching them with the sanctuary spread out.

“Wait a minute, what are you doing right now…!”

A sticky darkness that flowed from the evil god’s shadow grabbed a girl with black hair.

She was once called Laiteria, and now someone else was moving in her place.

The darkness that held the girl was unstable, as if it would break at any moment.

Because of the girl’s struggle, it looked like it would collapse in about 20 seconds.

-“Stop thrashing and stay still. I’ll finish this soon.”

-“I will fulfill the contract.”

Clang.

And then Gilford – who used to be the hero of abundance – ran towards the girl with Ascalon in his hand.

A blessing-like radiance burst out from Ascalon in his hand, and a trail of light fluttered from his cloak.

Kwaaaaang!

Gilford’s sword thrust forward, scattering light.

The trajectory of light drawn in the air extended towards the girl without any hesitation.

“Huuk…!”

Pook!

The sound of piercing flesh resounded in the sanctuary.

Gilford’s strike pierced through the girl’s abdomen.

Paaah—!

Ascalon’s light flashed and a gruesome scream erupted.

The girl, who had screamed once, looked at the evil god and spoke with a trembling voice.

“You, you… what are you doing…!”

Tears of blood flowed from the girl’s eyes as she looked at the evil god.

Crackle. Crackle.

Every time the divine weapon tore through the human flesh, ash smoke rose and the girl’s body faded away.

A few drops of faint blood fell from the girl’s mouth, which was filled with panic.

-“I’ve been waiting for this.”

“Why, why are you doing this… why are you doing this to me…!”

-“I just fulfilled the contract we made with Karma’s decree in front of us.”

Karma’s decree. And the contract.

All those words were familiar to Serena, who had lost everything.

And those who were talking were the ones who should have been fighting against Gilford, who had awakened his full power by now.

Instead of joining forces to take down the girl, the two beings were baring their teeth and fighting each other.

A possibility crossed Serena’s mind as she watched the conversation going on in front of her eyes.

“Are you kidding me? We promised to be together forever…!”

-“I heard that too.”

“Then why are you doing this… why are you doing this to me?”

The enemies’ conversation, blaming each other.

Gilford, who looked like a stranger, as if he had become someone else.

The light of the sanctuary that felt strangely cozy.

The brief message from the evil god that she had faced with her own eyes once.

Serena smirked as she put all those pieces together.

‘O Goddess…’

Serena felt a sudden urge to pray.

She clasped her hands neatly and decided to pray to her master, whom she had served all her life.

The Goddess of Abundance.

The heavenly and magnificent goddess that Serena had always longed for.

‘O Goddess, guide me…’

But when she saw Gilford holding Ascalon, her polite hands dropped down for some reason.

The prayer that had always crossed her mind was buried in the darkness and faded away.

Serena Ederant smiled without saying a word as she saw the scene before her eyes.

It was a smile of realizing that she had no reason to fear death anymore.

It was a bitter and painful smile that left a deep ache in her mouth.

Her silent laughter continued until Gilford Proud, who had lost his light, fell pierced by the thorns of the shadow.