Chapter 646

               

[Unique Ability ‘Blessing of the Stars’ is activated!]

Whoooong!

The holy knight’s unique Divinity settled over her entire body.

Pure white light softly illuminated the surroundings.

However—

“Kuaaaa!”

“Kieeee!”

Countless monsters surged forward relentlessly, as if mocking that Divinity.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The pressure of blocking such numbers alone crushed down on her heart.

“Hoo….”

Teresa exhaled and drew her shield close, covering her entire body as she braced herself.

A tremendous impact followed immediately.

Kwaaaang!

“Kuk!”

She gritted her teeth and endured.

Heavy halberds and bludgeons rained down wildly, but the Divinity, pushed to its limits, hardened into a steadfast shield.

Enduring the first clash, Teresa swung her sword at once.

Swish!

“Keeeek!”

The black sheep’s neck split open with a sharp crack.

Though she was a holy knight specialized in defense rather than offense, the synergy allowed her to unleash such power.

But it was a double-edged sword.

Divinity was deadly to Primordial Beings, yet the unique Mana those beings possessed was equally fatal to those who wielded Divinity.

Each and every strike—

—came with far greater weight than usual.

“Hoo….”

Catching her breath, Teresa pressed on even more fiercely.

Sword and shield alternated in rapid succession between offense and defense, drawing Mana together.

[Teresa activates the special skill ‘Apostle of Christ’!]

[Due to the power of the Apostle of Eden, the effects of all Divinity-related skills increase by 10% for the next hour!]

[Unique Holy Spear ‘White Flame’ is activated!]

Twelve Stigmata floated around Teresa’s body. Each shimmering silver mark glowed, boosting all stats and abilities to nearly three times their original strength.

White Flame fluttered as terrifying Mana condensed.

Then—

Kukukuku… Kukwakwakwakwang!

A golden cross, towering dozens of meters high, erupted from the ground and swallowed the Primordial Beings gathered around it.

“Kieeee!”

“Keee…!”

Their flesh burned away, and even their bones crumbled into dust before vanishing.

The purifying power of pure Divinity was fully revealed.

But—

Only a small portion of the enemy had been annihilated.

Countless foes still remained, too many to measure with the naked eye.

Worse still, beyond the mass-produced ones, the truly troublesome entities had taken notice.

Medium-sized beings, reacting to the massive surge of Divinity, advanced toward Teresa.

[Named monster ‘Utumand’ appears!]

“Eumchut…ka…irua…!”

A massive monster spoke in an unknown tongue.

Black-purple smoke seeped from the many mouths sprouting across its muscular body.

That ominous smoke gnawed away even at the radiance formed by the blessing of the twelve apostles.

Teresa moved instantly.

Kwaaaang!

Utumand’s tentacle slammed down where she had stood only moments earlier.

An unknown bodily fluid spewed from the mouths lining the tentacle.

Cheeeik!

The rock melted like caramel.

Barely evading the attack, Teresa thrust her sword—imbued with Divinity—into Utumand’s torso.

Thwack!

The blade pierced its flesh.

But—

…it was shallow.

The sensation at her fingertips was far too faint.

As if to prove it—

“Jeutra…mekashandrakah!”

Utumand, enraged by the stinging blow, unleashed all its massive tentacles at once.

Dudududu!

Tentacles burrowed underground and erupted beneath Teresa’s feet.

Twukwaaaang!

Mouths yawned open among them. Dew forming inside instantly turned into smoke and spread outward.

The eerie, indescribable hue was unsettling. The moment that smoke brushed against the Divinity surrounding Teresa, the Divinity began to warp into a completely different form of energy.

Cheeeik!

“…Kuk!?”

Teresa hastily leapt back.

[Divinity stat decreases by -3.]

Unthinkable.

Stats that should have remained intact were being eroded just by contact. She had never imagined such an ability could exist.

And then—

…Thump!

-Accept it. Then… I’ll let you win. No matter who the opponent is.

As her Divinity weakened, the dormant personality buried deep within her tempted her more fiercely.

“Be… quiet.”

Teresa desperately shook off the voice.

Even so, the attacks did not relent.

-Tsk! If you keep insisting, you’ll die this time. Even if you revive with the Blessing of the Stars, you won’t escape this situation.

That was true.

Even if she cut down hundreds of goats and sheep and fought several Utumands, it would amount to nothing more than chipping a massive iceberg.

No matter how noble the goal of buying time, this was a battle without hope.

“Haa… haa… haa….”

Her pupils had lost focus. The sword and shield in her hands felt impossibly heavy.

She no longer had the strength to counterattack—barely enough to block the next blow.

Even so—

She had to protect them.

No matter the cost.

Even if it meant her life.

But—

Abandoning her original self was never an option.

She would move only by her own will and conviction.

Teresa forced her bloodied body upright.

At the same time, her hand pressed against her left chest.

-You… don’t tell me?

The other personality spoke in shock.

It knew exactly what Teresa intended.

-You idiot…! Stop! Stop right now!

The black voice pierced her mind, but Teresa’s resolve was already set.

One of the powers granted when she became the ‘Apostle of Eden’—‘Ark Cross’.

The power to fulfill a single wish by sacrificing herself for all.

[The saintess’s prayer has reached the heavens.]

[The conditions have been met.]

Selfless sacrifice.

Unconditional love and forgiveness, given without expectation—like that of parents to their children, or God to humanity.

Only through that could Teresa unlock her second Unique Holy Spear.

Whoooong!

A beam of holy light descended through the warped sky.

[Unique Holy Spear ‘Seraphim’ is activated!]

Blinding radiance gathered and engulfed Teresa.

“Kueee….”

“Kieeee!”

The primordial beings recoiled, turning away from the dazzling white flames.

Soon, Teresa emerged—utterly transformed.

Pure white wings, flawless and immaculate, spread behind her. A crown of thorns rested atop her golden hair.

It was a replica of one of the Seven Crowns of Eden—the ‘Divine Crown’.

Though degraded, it could still wield 30% of the original’s power.

Even that alone granted absurd authority.

Soft radiance repainted the purple-drenched world.

Darkness was driven back.

Dawn had begun.

And—

With Seraphim’s activation, an additional special ability followed.

To protect the Apostle of God who had awakened the Unique Holy Spear—

[The barrier is cracking.]

The Archangel bound to Teresa descended.

[Archangel ‘Gabriel’ appears!]

Whoooong!

One of Eden’s greatest powers manifested.

“Looks like the festival isn’t over yet.”

Gabriel surveyed the swarming enemies and drew a sword burning red.

—

Jinhyuk stared at the status window hovering before him.

[Copy condition: To copy Velus’ ability, you must uncover the secret of his immortality and neutralize it.]

[Copy condition: A saintess under Eden’s protection can unlock a second special Unique Holy Spear under specific conditions. As those conditions are extremely strict, you must identify them precisely. Successfully unlocking the special Unique Holy Spear allows you to copy her abilities.]

One of the two objectives of this battle had been resolved.

Hmm.

‘This approach really was more efficient in every way.’

Jinhyuk smiled in satisfaction as he watched Teresa wield the Unique Holy Spear.

He had deliberately pushed her into danger, driving her to her absolute limit—and the strategy paid off.

‘A saintess’s role is built on self-sacrifice. Noble resolve. That’s the core of it, isn’t it?’

He didn’t know the exact awakening conditions, but he had a rough idea of the key elements.

The cost was her life—but that was irrelevant.

He had already prepared a solution for that as well.

Jinhyuk toyed with the newly acquired random box.

One of the items obtainable from it could even resolve an absolute taboo.

‘I’ll explain it to her later.’

For now, priority went to applauding the saintess’s tearful awakening.

If possible, he should even shed a few tears himself.

[Successfully copied Unique Holy Spear ‘Seraphim’!]

[The copied ability has been stored in ‘Memory of the World’.]

Good.

With the ability secured, it was time to end this battle.

“What’s so funny? Someone who could barely handle me is about to face an even bigger wall? Or… do you really think the tide has turned just because Teresa awakened?”

Velus extended his claws toward Teresa.

It was true that Teresa, empowered by the Unique Holy Spear, was overwhelming her natural enemies—the primordial beings.

But it wasn’t enough to overturn the tilted scales.

“Teresa’s awakening was one objective, but I didn’t bet everything on it.”

From the start, a single trump card had been prepared to face the colossal enemy known as ‘Unknown’.

[Inventory is opened.]

“It’s not so bad that you ambushed us first.”

Had they dragged things out for seven days, forcing a drawn-out war of attrition, it would have been far more troublesome.

Instead, with the core forces gathered in one place, the odds were far better.

Jinhyuk drew a painting from his inventory.

The strongest item—recreating his prime, completed through Orun—revealed itself.

[‘Napoleon’s Crown’ is activated.]

He had saved it for this exact moment.

Whether it could ever be restored again was uncertain—

—but this victory was worth the cost.

That was how high the stakes were.

Patzitz!

Red and black sparks danced around Jinhyuk.

Alice’s ‘Apocalypse of Revelation’ merged with the prime of the ‘Ranger’.

Jinhyuk gripped ‘First Blade’ in one hand, and in the other, a pistol engraved with red patterns.

“Let’s end this tiresome bad blood.”

(T/N : yoooooowwwwww. lets goooo)