The first ti I died,
Both Yurinel and I were still quite weak.
I fell off a cliff while fighting a horde of goblins, separated from Yurinel.
That was my first death.
-Apostle.
Strange, isn’t it? Even though I died, I heard the call.
Along with the bizarre feeling of soone dragging my body.
When I woke up again, it was where I had last lit the Candle Of Sanctuary.
-Your life is devoted to the Lord, apostle. Death has no claim over you.
That was the first mont I saw the faceless angel.
-However. Do not take death so lightly, Apostle. Do not abuse the Lord’s power.
This angel was different from the Three and Light angels.
He warned .
-The more you experience death, the more your flesh will crumble. Should it happen, you will ascend. A fate that will soday befall you.
Aside from dying, my ti would shorten every ti I used Miracles or powers beyond my capacity.
My flesh, unfit for the Lord’s might, will continue to crumble.
There is no way to reverse it. Just as you cannot turn back the past that has already passed.
To delay the ti of ascension and stay in this world as long as possible, I must never use all my powers.
**
I was glad to et the Faceless Angel again.
But after not seeing each other for quite a long ti, it feels a bit awkward. Yes.
Of course, that was only for a mont.
-Apostle. The day you co to our side is not far off.
The story I heard seed to be neither a joke nor a jest.
I looked at his face with a serious attitude. In the place where a human face should be, there was only an infinite abyss.
Things like eyes, nose, and mouth are, in the end, human characteristics.
An angel would be able to perceive the infinite world without such deficiencies.
-Soon, a new cycle will begin in this world. One more perilous than the others. Perhaps the last.
“A cycle, you say?”
-It is a term for the deepest secret of this world that you do not yet know.
I apologize for my irreverence.
I doubted the Lord’s ssage, conveyed by the Angel.
The angel waited for , and when I ca to my senses, he continued.
-As you also know, our Lord does not require faith. That is why He rely watches over you mortals.
The angel stretched out one slender finger and pointed to the air.
Instead of seeing the house’s ceiling, I saw the vast cosmos.
Countless stars twinkled in the darkness.
-Apostle. The number of possibilities foreseen by the Lord is greater than the stars that fill the sky. But so possibilities are greater than all other possibilities combined. The wise commonly call it fate.
The stars were gradually erased. Then, dawn erupted, it’s bright light swallowing everything......
Starlight fades, buried in the great and mighty sunlight, and the sun rises. The angel pointed directly at that sun and warned .
-Behold, Apostle. No matter how many stars shine desperately, no one sees their twinkle the mont the dawn rises. That is what will befall this world. All the clamor you humans create will beco a silent cry and disappear forever.
-Whatever decision you make, the outco is no different from what has already been determined. Apostle. It is not rely the Lord’s whim that He gave you the sapling of lineage. You, and that miracle, are nothing more than a hope He has bestowed upon you.
The Lord, the one I serve,
He has foretold the destruction of this world. It was like hearing that the sky was falling.
My legs went weak, and I staggered unknowingly. But I soon ca to my senses.
“As a re believer, I have co this far by receiving the Lord’s grace. If the Lord wishes to place in a position to determine the fate of the world, I will gladly obey.”
If He sees it that way, at least for , there is no room for dissent.
He is the one who sees things incomparable to the likes of .
What matters is what I can do,
And what I must do.
So, I asked the Angel.
“What is the source of the crisis? Surely not Grimudo?”
The primordial demon king we ultimately failed to defeat.
Could it be that Yurinel and the Holy Maiden ultimately failed to defeat him, and that would soon beco a disaster for humanity?
But the angel shook its head.
-A new cycle will begin not because of the Ancient, but because of the Primordial’s will. It bears no malice towards you.
“Can it be a disaster even without bad intentions?”
-It simply doesn’t care about you and your kind, Apostle.
The angel said no more, and I could not ask further.
Because I knew it was not that he would not tell , but that he could not.
“What should I do? What can I do?”
I clasped my hands together and simply asked.
I asked the angel, who surely possessed greater wisdom than I.
-Just do what you desire.
He rely reached out and stroked my head.
After a mont, he removed his hand from and disappeared. Whether a dream or a vision, the walls and ceiling vanished, and only a void filled the space near him.
-The Lord will guide you towards your destiny. The Lord will guide you towards a choice.
The farther he went, the more my mind seed to drift away. Am I fainting now? Or have I already fainted?
Whichever it was, one thing was certain: this was no dream. I could be sure it was no re illusion.
-Apostle. Save your own world. Before you can no longer endure your burden and co to our side.
That was the thing I heard from the Faceless.
*****“...Master. Master!”
“Saint, are you alright?”
When I awoke from a brief slumber, Roka was straddling , calling out to desperately.
Ms. Dein was also standing in front of , looking apologetic.
“You must have exerted great power to heal , Saint. Even though I have received such a great favor, I have nothing to repay you imdiately, so I am simply sorry. Are you perhaps greatly exhausted?”
“I’m not tired. My body feels light too.”
I stretched lightly and answered while stroking the head of Roka, who let out a sigh of relief.
My little wolf must have been worried.
“Is your real na perhaps Ardein von Illumina?”
“...How did you know?!!”
“I received a revelation. I hoped it was a joke until the end, but an angel would never lie to soone like , right?”
Even if she is a princess, she is still a guest who ca seeking the Lord’s aid.
There was no need to treat her with utmost care or kneel. My knees are not made of steel, and I would if she demanded it, but I don’t need to bend them first.
I have also heard many stories about Princess Ardein von Illumina.
The Iron Princess of the Empire. The undefeated war hero. The woman who fell from grace. The one cursed by the Gods.
None of that is more than re rhetoric.
One cannot know a person until one sees them directly, and I erased those prejudices from my mind.
She is none other than the Lord’s guest, Ms. Dein. No more, no less. I will treat her with courtesy, that is all.
“A revelation... perhaps from the one you serve, Saint?”
“No. Another servant of His. I received a revelation from one of the many angels He commands. In fact, it’s a revelation I don’t want to believe.”
What is the Cycle? Can Yurinel stop it? How and by what process does it threaten this world?
I knew nothing at the mont. So my mind was complicated.
“Princess, is there anything that cos to mind when you hear the word ‘Cycle’?”
“Cycle...? No, nothing.”
“Roka, you too?”
“Roka doesn’t know such things.”
Roka hugged so tightly for a mont that it hurt a bit.
“I only know about Master.”
“Yes, yes, thank you.”
I should educate her a bit.
Anyway, now that we realized the three of us couldn’t find an answer even if we put our heads together, it’s ti to seek wisdom from the outside.
But who should I ask about this? Who can I ask?
If there was the wisest person in the world, I could ask soone like that, but there’s no way such a person exists in the world. In the end, do I have to go on a new journey to find soone who knows about the Cycle?
“The Cycle... No matter how much I think about it, nothing else cos to mind. Since you already figured it out, I’ll reveal it, but I am Ardein von Illumina. I was once a fool who acted like the second-in-command of the Empire, pushing aside my older brother. I saw and heard a lot, but I don’t rember the word ‘Cycle’ being used for any other purpose than its dictionary aning.”
I thought so.
But the Princess continued.
“If the word ‘Cycle’ has a special aning, wouldn’t Grimudo, the oldest Demon King, know about it? At least in the Empire, it will be difficult for you to find an answer.”
It seed like she just said it offhandedly,
but there was definitely a possibility.
‘If it’s Grimudo, he might really know.’
The veiled existence that countless heroes have tried to defeat so far, but none have survived.
The Ancient Demon King has lived for an imasurable ti.
The one Demon King that Yurinel’s party, and I as well, hated the most.
He, who holds countless secrets, may know the true aning of the Cycle.
Perhaps I should go back to Grimudo’s North Star Castle.
If I can find out the aning of the Cycle, I’m not afraid even if he kills .
Even if he can shatter my small body, he won’t be able to do that to my true self.
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