CHAPTER 85……………………………………………
It was alchemy established in ancient times.
Modern alchemy is little more than a method of making potions, but in ancient times, it could perform countless magical feats.
Even Cassius couldn’t properly estimate how much sacrificial blood would be needed to undo something so enormous.
Still, one thing was certain: there was no one to replace Cassius for me.
“I don’t want a world without Your Highness.”
“If Sonia truly wishes it, then I wouldn’t fear even death…”
“What did you say?”
I glared at him with wide eyes.
“…Only a few drops of blood should be enough to undo the alchemy.”
“Just a few drops?”
“Yes.”
For some reason, Cassius looked unusually pleased.
Which made me suspicious.
He drew his sword slightly from his waist and pricked his fingertip just a little.
As red drops of blood fell to the floor, the previously hidden alchemical sigil glowed crimson, then began burning black from the edges and collapsing.
It seemed like it would take some time for all the sigils to disappear.
Watching the disappearing symbols, he muttered,
“That’s a relief. To have resolved it at this level.”
“Huh?”
He answered with a voice full of confidence, though it seemed he didn’t really understand the situation.
I glared at him fiercely with all my strength. Cassius, like a dog caught doing something wrong, timidly glanced at me and slightly wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
“Calm down. In the end, it worked out, didn’t it?”
Though he was right, I could have been in danger if I’d gotten tangled in ancient alchemy the wrong way.
I didn’t know if situations like this would happen again.
Once my final awakening was complete, I would become the world’s only Priest of Healing.
Both Lloyd, who wanted to eliminate all Priests of Healing, and Shane would become my enemies.
It was good to have someone reliable by my side on a dangerous battlefield, but I didn’t want someone willing to risk their life for me.
Yet he seemed like the type who would rush in recklessly if I were in danger.
I hoped he could be a little selfish.
“I want a path where both Your Highness and I can be happy.”
If my victory came at the cost of Cassius’s sacrifice, I wouldn’t be pleased.
Even if I were battered and exhausted, I wanted him close by.
He seemed to understand my meaning and gave a bitter smile.
I lifted my pinky.
“Promise me. Promise you won’t overdo it from now on.”
After hesitating briefly, he finally hooked his pinky with mine.
“Understood. I promise.”
When he made that vow, I finally felt relieved.
Meanwhile, Lloyd, having thrown the Earth-elemental Soul Stone into the trash and checking Lucius’s journal, sensed something unusual.
“Ugh! What is—?”
Lloyd looked at his tingling hand.
The mark of alchemy on his wrist was glowing.
Someone had touched the alchemy left in the Sanctuary of Healing.
Normally, an ordinary person touching this alchemy would feel nothing.
That the mark, linked to the sanctuary’s sigils, tingled meant someone from the Magnus family had intervened.
The discarded Earth-elemental Soul Stone had served as a notification that someone visited the sanctuary.
‘Was the intruder just now Seonghwang?’
There was no one else in the Magnus family.
“Why would that guy touch the alchemy?”
Seonghwang had visited the sanctuary late at night and was letting his blood drip onto the floor. Unless he was insane, Lin wouldn’t do something so random.
Lloyd had spent a long time erasing all information about the sanctuary, the alchemy, and the Priests of Healing.
The only remaining evidence was the latter part of Lucius’s journal, which Lloyd possessed, so there was no other way to obtain the information.
“No, that’s not important right now!”
When a new Priest of Healing was born, Lloyd would lure them to the sanctuary and kill them.
After two thousand long years of carefully restraining that power on the surface, it was now about to be unleashed—a major problem.
He gritted his teeth.
‘The Omega girl was supposed to stay calm until her final awakening.’
She was a Priest of Healing born after three hundred years.
When she completed her final awakening, she would extract every last drop of healing power from the Magnus deity.
Binding her soul to the sanctuary would prevent the endless emergence of Priests of Healing.
The final stage was near, and he couldn’t stand to see it fall apart.
He wanted to go to the sanctuary immediately, but invisible shackles prevented him from leaving the Magic Tower.
He had made a contract with Shane: in exchange for being made emperor, Shane would release him from the tower’s shackles.
Those shackles could be broken easily, but if he did it himself, the Holy Empire would interfere.
He had planned to wait until he could become free on his own, but it seemed the time had come to act directly.
“The power of Earth hasn’t been used in so long…”
Muttering to himself, Lloyd clenched his fist and released his energy.
Thunk! Thunk!
Invisible chains turned to sand and spilled away.
The body Lloyd currently inhabited was unaccustomed to Earth-elemental divine power, and the strain caused his fingertips to tremble.
“Tch, I might even have to abandon this body if I’m not careful.”
No matter how perfect a body, time couldn’t be reversed.
Eventually, he would grow old and sick and need a new body.
A few conditions had to be met to inhabit a body, and finding the right one each time was a challenge.
Rarely did the body he inhabited match his desires perfectly.
So he had used alchemy to obtain a body that didn’t age, and now the final stage was in sight.
“Well, fine. I already have a next body prepared anyway.”
Though he liked his current body, he could abandon it if necessary.
The next target body even held power.
I had made a promise to Cassius.
I wouldn’t overdo it anymore.
By the time our conversation ended, the ghostly figures—previously glowing blue like the alchemical sigils—began turning red.
It was a bad omen.
They were losing their self in rage, becoming evil spirits.
─Those who disturb the sanctuary will not be forgiven.
─Expel the cursed bloodline!
Cassius, sensing the abnormal atmosphere, remained alert.
Even as evil spirits, they were no match for Cassius.
He could wield water with purification attributes, the strongest among the empire’s priests.
So the evil spirits felt like little puppies barking at a giant lion.
“Huh?”
The evil-spirited ghosts mixed with the surrounding soil and formed a massive golem.
They had now gained physical power as well!
Was that also the power of alchemy?
No—it was faint but divine power.
Though of a different element, it was still the same divine energy, so it could be sensed.
It was a golem made of Earth-elemental power.
All of them had been Priests of Healing. Where the Earth element suddenly came from was beyond me!
─Die!
The massive golem struck down with its fists, far larger than the tallest tree, but Cassius’s water barrier stopped it.
Bang!
The sheer size was intimidating, but Cassius could handle the physical force.
─Die!
As the golem’s shout rang out, clumps of earth forming its body fell.
I crouched down in shock, shielding my head, but none of the earth scattered thanks to Cassius’s barrier.
The clumps that slid off the barrier looked unpleasant.
‘Ugh, gross!’
The fallen dirt squirmed like worms, absorbed the blood Cassius had spilled, and turned pitch black before disappearing.
The slowly burning alchemical sigils vanished at the same time.
“The fallen fragments absorbed Your Highness’s blood and disappeared!”
“It seems their purpose was to swallow me to prevent the blood from scattering.”
I lifted my head at Cassius’s voice.
The golem’s massive arm clung to his barrier like an octopus tentacle with suckers, splitting apart. It opened its mouth as if to devour him.
‘What the hell is going on?’
I had assumed the final awakening arena would only have ghosts and the royal spider.
But a much greater gatekeeper was waiting.
─Graaah!
The golem, frustrated that Cassius’s barrier wouldn’t break, roared.
“To undo the alchemy in the sanctuary, we’ll have to defeat the golem first. Excuse me for a moment.”
Cassius wrapped his arm around my waist, removed the barrier, and quickly moved away from the golem.
Boom!
Without the barrier, the golem tilted to one side.
With a gesture from Cassius, water poured like a waterfall over the golem’s head. The earth clumps dispersed, and the golem collapsed.
It seemed like it would end easily despite its threatening appearance.
─The cursed bloodline has appeared. Gather all!
With a loud shout, the washed-away earth quickly reformed.
It wasn’t over.
Blue energy quivered on the ground as countless spirits emerged.
‘How many ghosts are there anyway?!’
No joke—there were more than in a graveyard.
─Eliminate them!
The golem, having summoned new ghosts, grew even larger.
Its overwhelming size was terrifying.
Cassius, holding me tightly, said,
“I swept them away with purification water, but it’s useless.”
Cassius’s divine power was strong.
If even his attacks didn’t work, no priest could stand a chance.
“It seems Lloyd’s brainwashing is that strong. Can’t we undo it?”
I, as an Omega, could remove the curse of powers.
So Cassius could use his abilities freely.
It seemed like a good idea, but he shook his head lightly.
“I already tried. But that one seems to have stronger abilities than I do.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the golem’s fist came flying.
Thunk! A massive hole appeared where I had been standing.
Had Cassius not grabbed me, I would have been flattened.
If we didn’t resolve this quickly, the arena might collapse, and the final awakening would be ruined.
The immediate concern, however, was survival.
