Until just a moment ago, Ellie and Lucia had been attempting to forcibly take Sena away.
Now, they were knelt before Sena, sweat dripping from their foreheads.
“We apologize for our rudeness!”
Trembling, Lucia spoke, still unable to lift her head.
Sena was puzzled whether Lucia, who had been somewhat arrogant until now, liked being scolded like this or if she was saddened by it.
‘What are these wings for!’
Sena himself was confused. He placed his hand on Ellie’s shoulder as he staggered over.
“That’s not important right now. Ellie, please tell me how to get rid of these wings. You do know, right?”
“I-I’m E- Ellie?! No way! Please lower your voice!”
Ellie exclaimed haltingly, her usually quiet demeanor now trembling.
‘This isn’t going anywhere.’
Sena took a deep breath to calm himself down. Excitement wouldn’t help in getting his message across.
Kneeling in front of the anxious girls, Sena calmly spoke.
“Ellie, Lucia, please lift your heads.”
“H-how can we be on the same level with the Apostle of Justitia?”
“That’s not what I am.”
Ellie cautiously raised her head, swallowing hard.
Then she glanced at the ring on Sena’s head and quickly lowered her gaze again.
“We’re sorry for looking you in the eyes!”
“It’s okay…!”
Sena ruffled his hair in frustration.
‘I can’t believe this!’
It seemed the two girls, who sincerely believed in Justitia, were more shocked than he had imagined.
There was no choice now.
“Both of you, lift your heads. If we can’t talk properly, I’ll get angry.”
“Y-yes.”
Ellie reluctantly lifted her head, her eyes downcast.
It wasn’t that Ellie was unusually weak-hearted. Lucia, the Inquisitor who wouldn’t flinch even if faced with several deaths, was already shedding tears.
“How can this sinner lift her head…”
‘Even though that’s not her usual character…!’
“You’re not a sinner.”
Sena sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.
“It seems like you both have a strange misunderstanding. So, let me explain everything from the beginning.”
Sena began his story.
He intended to talk only about the wings, but ended up telling them everything—about lifespan, about how defeating a devil worshiper had prolonged his life, and so on.
It was something he had never confided to anyone before.
He prayed that it was something he normally would never say.
Perhaps because he was cornered this time.
Or maybe it was the intimacy of being them being priests.
For some reason, after letting it all out, he felt strangely relieved.
“…This time, they won’t disappear. Do you know why?”
‘If Ellie, who roughly grasped the cause of my illness as soon as she saw me…’
In this hopeless situation, maybe she could play the role of a compass.
Ellie cautiously spoke, placing her hands on her knees.
“I-It’s just a guess, but could it be a surge of divine power…?”
“A surge of divine power?”
…But would having a lot of divine power really make wings appear?
Anyway.
“So, how do I get rid of the wings?”
This time, Lucia answered.
“Perhaps you should learn how to control divine power.”
“Hmm.”
Sena pondered, pressing his lips with his hand.
Ellie swallowed hard.
In his white dress, Sena’s small body was completely covered by the large wings.
With hair as pure as silver, not allowing any other color, and a golden halo above his head.
It was truly the appearance of a complete angel. Even suggesting such advice felt like a great sin.
“That’s true.”
Sena hesitated a bit before speaking.
“…Even now, it’s at its limit.”
“…What?”
Ellie widened her eyes.
Sena smiled awkwardly.
“Even now, I’m barely holding back the divine power.”
“…I-Is that so.”
Ellie’s pupils shook.
The divine power emanating from Sena’s body was already making it difficult for Ellie, who was highly sensitive, to even breathe.
But he’s managing to hold back?
‘He really is an angel!’
At that moment, Ellie was convinced by her misunderstanding.
Not knowing any of this, Sena inserted his hands into his armpits and crouched down.
Holding back divine power was something he had been doing all his life.
If we were to compare, it’s like holding in the urge to use the bathroom.
The problem was that since he had driven away the demon earlier, he had been feeling like it would burst out at any moment.
“What should I do?”
Because of Sena’s sad voice, the two of them simultaneously lifted their heads.
“I…”
It was his only wish.
To return to his hometown.
Knowing he had only a short time left, Sena’s calm acceptance was all because of that one wish.
If he could fulfill this sole wish, he thought he could die without regret.
He had lived without lingering attachments.
But now…
‘Having wings and going that far is impossible. How do I hide this?’
It had become impossible.
“Is it over now?”
Sena smiled, but his expression seemed on the verge of tears, making him look desolate.
It was only now that Ellie and Lucia came to their senses.
Before them was undoubtedly an angel.
But inside was Sena Birkender.
He was no different from the being they knew.
“…From all that Sena has said until now.”
Ellie, her trembling hand still on her chest, spoke.
“Firstly, Sena’s wings are not the only thing that has emerged; your physical body itself is no longer human.”
“…Yes?”
“I always felt something was off from the beginning. A vessel capable of containing such divine power simply does not exist.”
They were well aware of Sena’s abnormal divine power.
Ellie had always thought so.
Could a purely human body contain such divine power?
The answer was that his body was never human from the beginning.
“You mentioned that defeating a devil worshiper extended your lifespan.”
“That’s right.”
“You said that the moment you defeated it, you could no longer restrain the divine power. In that case, maybe…”
Ellie pondered, her hand at her lips.
“Well, I think you’ve figured something out! Ellie!”
Sena stood up suddenly and placed his hand on Ellie’s shoulder.
Ellie blushed and sniffled.
It was because of the overwhelming presence of the angel before her.
“The principle of divine power is simple. The more favor you receive from Lady Justitia, and the more you please her, the more divine power you gain. However, Sena has an excessive amount of divine power. That’s why your health is deteriorating.”
Excessive favor. Sena’s shortened lifespan was because of that.
He knew that. He just didn’t know what to do about it.
How could one prevent God’s favor?
Moreover, what kind of deity takes away what is most precious while favoring you?
“Thinking about it, it makes sense. If you please her so much, it’s natural that she would want to keep you by her side.”
“Keep me… by her side?”
Ellie looked at Sena again.
From deep within her heart, she couldn’t bring herself to reject him.
Perhaps now, even if Sena were to say “commit s*icide”, she would obey.
“Yes. This is just my speculation, but maybe Sena’s lifespan decreases because the more you please Lady Justitia and she likes your actions, the more she wants to keep you by her side.”
Sena’s expression stiffened at this thought he had never considered before.
“In that sense, when Sena defeats a demon and saves a human corrupted by a devil worshiper, Lady Justitia would have found it more pleasing than anything else.”
But Sena had a question.
If that were the case, it wouldn’t explain why his lifespan increased when he defeated the devil worshiper.
“But when I defeated the devil worshiper, my lifespan increased.”
This time, Lucia spoke up.
“I humbly apologize, but demons and devil worshipers are different.”
“D-Different?”
“While a devil worshiper may offer their soul to a demon, fundamentally, they remain human.”
Lucia stopped there and politely bowed her head.
Ellie hesitated for a moment.
As a priest, she doubted if she should speak these words.
Now, what they were discussing was “how to get rid of divine power”, and “how to prevent an angel from returning to its original place”.
That was akin to speaking blasphemy.
But…
As much as her faith in Lady Justitia, there was something in Sena at the moment that she couldn’t possibly defy.
“Sena.”
Ellie took a deep breath in her tense state and looked at Sena.
Senna flinched and trembled.
“Have you ever killed someone?”
**
-‘This method might be possible after all. Without using divine power, you could save many people.’
When Sena had just entered the Academy.
Sena once worried about his ‘ability to cut anything’, which he had no use for other than chopping wood.
At that time, Sena, who was still stubborn, was determined not to become a priest, despite having so much divine power.
But gradually, he could see his limits.
The medicine of this world relied too much on “God’s miracles”.
In his previous life, Sena was a medical student in his graduating class. He had dissected cadavers several times and excelled academically, amassing a considerable amount of knowledge.
Nevertheless, here he could only perform simple tasks. At best, he could use herbs, apply basic hemostasis techniques, or perform CPR.
The medical tools in this world were too outdated to utilize knowledge.
Even if he disregarded proper hygiene, there was no concept of “surgery” to cut into flesh and resolve issues.
Therefore, it was obvious that such actions would brand him a heretic and lead to execution.
– Instead of consuming divine power, let it flow into the other person’s body. Then, accept it back into my own to grasp its form to some extent.
He had learned a lot at the Larden Academy.
It was a great help.
The principles of magic, how to wield it, and several advanced pieces of knowledge.
Using such knowledge, Sena gained a single power he could wield.
It wasn’t visible to the eye, but a method of using divine power to inspect the human body internally.
It could be considered a kind of endoscopy, or even a CT scan. It took a year to implement that technology.
– Goodness me. S-Sena, what on earth? Healing people without using divine power.
The effects were remarkable.
The combination of this world’s mysteries and modern medical technology was remarkable.
It allowed him to perform surgery without evoking any aversion.
Sena was delighted. Therefore, he went around curing many sick people.
He never just passed by anyone who was even slightly injured.
That was the proof after one year.
As the technology continued to advance, it was around the time when it had almost reached perfection.
“I see.”
Numbers appeared above his head.
“…The moment I changed the power that could only harm someone into the power to save them, it began. I guess you liked that. Lady Justitia.”
‘Then, the method to extend lifespan…’
When you save someone, your own lifespan decreases.
So, if you want to extend your lifespan, you do the opposite.
You kill someone.
“Ahaha.”
Sena was crumbling.
His legs were weak, and he couldn’t stand up.
“Where does that leave us?”
Survival of the fittest.
The mindset that to survive, you must kill the weak.
It was a logic of life that Sena detested the most.
If indeed one had to defeat someone else just to stay alive, then surely the structure of that world was flawed from the start.
Yes, it was flawed.
His own body structure was flawed from the beginning.
“…No wonder I didn’t want to live long.”
Sena raised his head with a bitter smile.
Ellie and Lucia still maintained their gentle postures.
‘If I kill others, my own lifespan increases.’
Of course, he had no intention of staying alive by harming others.
Such selfish behavior was inherently unreasonable.
That settled it. Sena completely abandoned the foolish idea of extending his lifespan at this opportunity.
The only thing I’m worried about is… …
“Ellie, and Lucia.”
“Yes.”
“Please say.”
“Absolutely, absolutely-”
What would happen if Astria and Sylvia found out?
Especially if Astria, who holds the belief that she doesn’t care how many others die as long as it’s for the sake of someone special, were to learn this truth…
‘Wow… Just thinking about it gives me chills.’
It was something he wanted to avoid so much that his hands trembled.
“Please keep this a secret from those two.”
Sena said with a determined expression.
“No one but us should know about the conversation that took place in this room. No matter what happens.”
But it seemed the whims of God were not yet over.
Cruelly, the door to the room meant for only the three of them slowly opened.
“Senior.”
Sena slowly raised his head and saw her.
Hope and despair. Sylvia’s eyes held a vague, ambiguous gaze.
“Is what you’re saying true?”
