CHAPTER 88…………………………………………
I couldn’t break walls like Jürgen.
Even putting aside the problem of lacking strength, there was the matter of the powder that caused hallucinations, so it was better not to touch it if possible.
Bang!
From a short distance, I heard the sound of something crashing.
It was in the direction where Cassius and Lloyd faced off.
He was exerting his strength for my sake.
“I can’t keep wandering like this.”
Lost in thought, I noticed Lucius floating in midair like a jellyfish, drifting along the void.
Lucius had been trapped in the sanctuary for an endless amount of time due to Lloyd’s schemes.
He must have longed for awakening as desperately as I did, yet he looked so at ease.
Lucius had said it.
If I read the diary, the exam wouldn’t be a problem.
The diary had only mentioned that the exam was harder than expected and that he had been chased by a giant wolf illusion.
“Ah.”
I recalled a part of the diary I had overlooked.
“Whenever I felt fear, I prayed and ran blindly toward the place where I sensed the Morning Star.”
Come to think of it, when wandering the labyrinth with Jürgen, I had often gathered divine power to locate the Morning Star.
It felt like I had found the answer.
I gripped the necklace around my neck and closed my eyes.
“Lord, can you hear me?”
Cassius was badly injured. I had to awaken as quickly as possible to give him strength.
“Please… just this once, help me!”
Because I wanted to protect someone precious.
I felt warmth spreading in my chest as I opened my eyes.
Maybe because my prayer had been heard, the vague sense of fear that had haunted me disappeared. Breathing became noticeably easier.
The labyrinth was still complex, but with my mind at ease, I could sense the direction of the Morning Star.
I shook off all anxious thoughts and ran, focusing on the energy of the Morning Star.
Lucius, who had been following me, spoke.
—Finally, you understand. Well done.
This felt like cheating in a way, but since I couldn’t see hallucinations, it seemed they were letting it slide.
“The purpose of the exam was to prove courage.”
Ghosts are frightening beings, so following me and babbling weren’t deducting points.
“Thanks to you.”
—Yes, it’s almost as if I spoon-fed it to you.
“I would have respected you if you hadn’t said that.”
Truly.
—Hah, don’t be so sharp with me. This might be our last conversation.
“Huh?”
—You did it. Finally, you’re leaving this wretched place.
Following the traces of the Morning Star, I paused.
A mass of bluish light appeared, far brighter than any lamp.
Another ghost!?
“Ah, seriously. This isn’t a sanctuary of healing. It’s a sanctuary of ghosts!”
It seemed I would see all the ghosts I’d ever encounter here.
Once I left, I doubted I’d fear nighttime paths ever again.
The ghosts swayed, whispering.
—All memories have returned.
—We hated Magnus’s bloodline because of psychic powers that controlled us.
Seeing their clarity, Cassius must have dispelled the alchemy, breaking their brainwashing.
The souls trapped in the sanctuary were now free.
They could return to the side of the god Magnus, fulfilling their long-held wishes.
Some approached and bowed to me.
—I’m sorry for attacking as a golem. We caused trouble to those who came to help.
—Thank the current ruler. For undoing the alchemy, and for tending to our bodies.
I wasn’t the one to receive their thanks. It was Cassius, suffering on the surface, who had freed them.
I left the ghosts behind and moved toward the place of the Morning Star. I could feel it getting closer.
Increasing my speed, I soon reached a massive door.
It was the place Jürgen and I had arrived at before.
The Morning Star lay behind the door.
I grasped the handle, pushing and pulling, but it wouldn’t budge.
Well, Jürgen had punched it before without leaving a scratch, so brute force wasn’t the solution.
“Then this is the way?”
I tried gathering divine power experimentally.
A faint reaction to the Morning Star appeared, but the door remained unmoved.
Impatient, I kicked it.
“Ah, how do I open this thing!”
Nothing.
“I have to go quickly.”
Though I hadn’t seen the situation, judging from the ghosts’ broken brainwashing, Cassius must have undone the alchemy right in front of Lloyd.
Lloyd wouldn’t look kindly on Cassius making his hard work pointless.
I worried about Cassius provoking a madman.
My carefully suppressed anxiety returned.
I shook my head.
This exam was about proving courage.
Being anxious wouldn’t help; it would just make me get lost in the labyrinth.
I gripped the lamp Cassius had lit.
“I’ll return to Your Grace.”
Thinking of returning with him to the holy kingdom, I examined the door carefully again.
It was solid, heavy, and thick—strength alone wouldn’t open it.
Looking closely at the elaborately carved door, I noticed something on the floor.
“A dragged mark… sideways.”
Following my thought, I paused.
And cursed inwardly.
“Damn, it’s a sliding door! Sideways!”
Sliding doors were rare in this world; most doors were push-pull.
Especially after struggling through darkness and fear, it was easy to misjudge.
“Whoever thought of this exam method is truly weird!”
—I agree.
Lucius laughed heartily.
He had also struggled when taking this exam for the first time, as he wrote in his diary.
Perhaps that’s why he sympathized easily.
I grabbed the handle and pushed sideways with all my strength.
Screeeech—
The door, scraping against the floor, swung open.
Inside floated a pale green star.
I wanted to grab it and start reciting prayers immediately, but awakening wasn’t allowed yet!
All the souls with healing powers were still in the sanctuary.
—Well done. Now it’s our turn.
I turned to look at Lucius.
Ash and Mineva were with him, appearing out of nowhere.
Mineva looked injured, as if her form had been cut by a sword.
She smiled slightly when our eyes met.
—This? Your boyfriend attacked me and left me like this.
“Huh?”
—Don’t you remember? The day I took over your body. The ruler got angry that I used his girlfriend’s body recklessly and attacked me.
I recalled being expelled from my body and becoming a ghost.
After that, Mineva hadn’t appeared, but it seemed she was brought back to the sanctuary by Cassius’s attack.
I responded belatedly.
“Sh-she’s not my girlfriend!”
—Enough. Awaken quickly and go save your girlfriend. We’ll disappear.
“What!? Did you pop out just to tease me!?”
—Ah, right. It’s the last time, so I came to say goodbye. Thanks, Sonia.
Mineva smiled.
Following her, the ghosts that appeared all expressed thanks before ascending as balls of light.
Countless trails of light remained—a sign that many healing priests had been trapped in the sanctuary.
Lucius, now alone, spoke.
—Young priest, it was a pleasure. I want to help you as much as I could. So you can land a hit on that disgusting guy.
With a relaxed expression, he waved his priestly robes, turned into a ball of light, circled me, and ascended.
Once Lucius disappeared, an intense silence fell over me.
I entered through the open door and stood before the Morning Star.
It was my first time seeing it, yet it felt familiar, as if I had met it long ago.
I cautiously cupped it with both hands.
As the star’s light shone on me, I felt dormant divine power stir within my body.
The healing priests’ souls in the sanctuary were fully enlightened.
Yet, that didn’t mean all their power became mine.
I didn’t truly know my strength—it could only be known after awakening.
I didn’t feel greedy.
“Enough to deal with Lloyd is sufficient.”
I hoped it would be enough to drive out that madman.
Taking a deep breath, I recited the prayer.
“Be the light we seek in adversity!”
At the same time, light from the Morning Star enveloped me.
A vast knowledge of healing powers filled my mind.
The information was so overwhelming I nearly lost focus, but I held the star tightly.
Thump… thump… My heart seemed to grow louder, and I felt someone holding my hand.
It wasn’t one or two people.
Countless hands seemed to grasp mine and vanish. I vaguely realized they were the liberated healing priests of the sanctuary.
They were lending me their strength.
The divine power within me began to swell explosively.
Lloyd couldn’t kill Cassius.
If he died, the continent would descend into chaos, and the perfect body he had prepared would be endangered.
So, instead of killing him, he planned to knock him out and toss him far from the sanctuary.
“After dealing with the ruler, the Omega girl is next.”
If he killed her and sealed her in the sanctuary, he wouldn’t have to worry about being troubled by healing priests.
With that in mind, Lloyd exchanged blows with Cassius several times.
If Cassius bled, the sanctuary’s seal would break.
He couldn’t afford to wound him easily, but Cassius was an Alpha and hard to knock down.
It was a headache.
Irritated by how long it was taking, Lloyd muttered to himself.
“Indeed, it’s harder to knock someone out than to kill them.”
Lloyd changed his plan.
He decided to cut Cassius’s legs to immobilize him.
