I arrived at the Blood Witch’s dwelling.
— Creak
The moment I opened the door.
“You’ve come, my Ian.”
My vision wavered, and the Blood Witch was looking at me.
Her very presence was mesmerizing.
Even though my five senses and mana sensitivity had been heightened, her movements were difficult to perceive.
Only the sight of her long, pale, bare feet standing on the wooden floor was evident.
“Do you want to take a closer look at my feet? Come sit here. I’ll place them on your lap.”
I shook my head.
Once caught up in the Blood Witch’s heat, there was no escaping it.
It was true that she had been of great help, but that didn’t mean I had to go along with everything she did.
“…I see.”
She took a step back, lightly.
It was unusual.
Normally, she would have been more assertive.
Yet now, she was strangely submissive.
Her eyes were already burning with heat, making the contrast in her demeanor all the more unsettling.
“Hmmm…”
The Blood Witch clasped her hands together modestly and then spoke in an oddly drawn-out tone.
“Would you like a cup of tea? Or perhaps… would you be willing to show me the results of your training?”
It was then that I realized why her attitude had changed.
She was desperate to see my realization with her own eyes.
‘Well…’
If I chose not to show her, she would never get to witness it.
There was no way to forcefully perceive another’s enlightenment.
Though, perhaps if we were to engage in a serious battle, she might catch a glimpse.
But whether she was prepared to face that kind of threat…
“…”
I stared into her eyes for a moment.
They were flushed red with excitement.
Her hands, which were clasped together as if composed, continued to tremble subtly.
In this state, there was no telling what she might do.
I let out a small sigh.
Then, I sat down in a lotus position.
Like a fox wagging its tail, she approached me and sat down in front of me.
“So? Have you decided to show me?”
She had indeed contributed to my realization.
And if it was her, I could expect some level of feedback.
Without a word, I gathered my mana.
It accumulated in my palm, forming a pulsating sphere.
“…”
Excitement flickered in her gaze.
I had deliberately made it small.
Then, I opened my other palm.
There, I gathered my lifeforce.
A dark crimson orb.
“…!”
Her expression was a spectacle.
First, she was struck with shock.
Then, as if waking from a dream, she flinched.
She stared blankly before finally mumbling.
“You’ve truly mastered Blood Arts. Your lifeforce… it’s so flawless and pure. Radiant.”
She reached out with her pale fingers toward the crimson sphere, but suddenly halted.
She glanced at me.
“T-this is just because… it’s so beautiful.”
I nodded silently.
Then, I slowly brought my hands together.
— Crackle, Crackle!
The two opposing energies violently reacted upon contact.
“…!”
She instinctively reached out to stop me but quickly retracted her hand, her gaze filled with rare concern.
It was a reasonable reaction.
If anything, I was the one who looked insane.
— Pop, pop, pop!
Even the scattered mana sparks made it clear that this was anything but normal.
However…
This violent reaction was brief.
— Wuuuuung
Soon, the two energies synchronized, resonating in harmony.
“!”
The look of astonishment on her face was only natural.
The two forces began merging into one.
A perfectly black energy was formed.
“Ah…”
With a dazed expression, the Blood Witch let out a meaningless moan.
Had she fainted?
I observed her for a moment.
Her pupils trembled slightly, and her body was shivering. Even the tips of her toes were curled inward.
Haa—
Haa—
Irregular breaths.
After exhaling her heated breath for a while, she swallowed and finally managed to speak.
“Ah… Ian, I love—.”
Her words were more like a sigh than actual speech.
After panting a few more times, she continued.
“This is just… too beautiful.”
Her gaze overflowed with awe.
Even as she gasped for air, she couldn’t take her eyes off the black sphere.
It made me reflect once again.
Maybe she was just… pure at heart.
The Blood Witch muttered.
“This… resembles the Origin.”
“…The Origin?”
“Yes. My own hypothesis. That something exists which encompasses all mana.”
The Origin, huh.
I’d never thought about it that way.
However, black is a color that contains all things in this world.
And what lay in my hands was an almost perfect black.
“How will you apply this?”
Unable to contain her curiosity, the Blood Witch asked.
It was a good question.
I tightened my grip on the sphere.
The two opposing forces, which had not yet fully merged, clashed violently, unleashing an immense burst of energy.
“It… it’s going to explode…!”
The Blood Witch hastily erected a barrier around herself.
Impressively, she even included me in its protection.
Not that it was necessary.
— Wuuuuung
The explosion did not reach its critical threshold.
Soon, the violently trembling sphere halted its movement.
“…Ah.”
Only then did the Blood Witch exhale, releasing the tension in her body.
Tears streamed down her face.
“You… you may be even more radiant than the Cult Leader.”
She placed her hands on my face.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
Yet beyond those tears, a fiery heat flickered, and her lips trembled with reverence and worship.
She was already a devotee.
A fanatic who pursued only strength.
And so, perhaps… perhaps it was possible.
“Blood Witch.”
“…Yes?”
“Can you trust me?”
“Of course. I have always believed in your growth, Ian.”
“That’s not the kind of belief I mean. I mean, can you trust me completely—as if devoting everything to me?”
The Blood Witch blinked her crimson eyes at me.
I brushed aside a few strands of black hair that veiled her gaze and continued.
“More than the Cult Leader.”
◆
Evening descended, shrouding the world in twilight.
A lone woman walked along a secluded, low mountain path.
She wore a pristine white nun’s robe, yet even as dirt and dust scattered with her steps, her clothing remained untainted.
“Ian, just wait a little longer… I will find you, no matter what…”
The new Saintess of the Deus Church, Aria.
As always, she whispered the name of her savior.
However, she had not lost her mind.
On the contrary, she was more lucid than ever.
Because she had a clear goal—to rescue Ian.
That goal was the only thing keeping her from sinking into despair.
“Haa… Haa…”
That was why she was climbing this mountain alone.
The Bloodstone Cult had begun revealing its ambitions across the continent.
With her overwhelming divine power, Saintess Aria had become a legend whispered across battlefields.
Though the relentless attacks of the Bloodstone Cult threatened to overwhelm the frontlines, any battlefield where Aria stood had miraculously held.
For such a woman to temporarily leave the frontlines—it was a rare and extraordinary event.
“…Just a little further.”
She had sensed something while preparing for the next wave of battle.
A presence of absolute divinity.
And Aria was now pursuing it.
At last, she arrived at a cliffside.
— Swoooosh!
A towering waterfall cascaded before her.
She studied the scene carefully.
“…This is the place.”
Closing her eyes, she focused.
Beyond the waterfall.
She could sense a small hollow, carved out by the relentless flow of water.
— Ching!
As she unleashed her divine power, a thin barrier blocking the space shattered.
It was not an artificial barrier.
Rather, it had formed naturally, shaped by the waterfall and the surrounding environment.
A sign that this was a sacred place.
With the barrier undone, the hidden space was revealed.
— Swoooosh!
The thought of her clothes getting wet didn’t matter.
Aria stepped through the waterfall and entered.
And then—she froze.
The space was narrow, barely enough for two or three people to stand together.
“…”
Her eyes fixated on the rock wall ahead.
She stared.
For a long moment.
And then—
Thud.
She dropped to her knees.
Slowly, she raised her gaze.
A gentle glow enveloped the space.
「The Image of God.」
Carved into the rock was the form of Deus, the deity she served.
A sacred relic, naturally shaped by centuries of flowing water.
Aria quietly closed her eyes and bowed her head.
A voice began to resonate.
— Darkness is gathering. The end is drawing near.
“…Yes. Please… help me, Lord Deus.”
She pleaded desperately.
Not to stop the apocalypse.
But to save Ian.
For if she could not save him, then that would be the end.
— Soon, the world will be stained red. When that time comes, do not resist.
“What… am I supposed to do?”
— You must protect and wait. The path to salvation will reveal itself.
“But… I cannot stand by and do nothing.”
To protect and wait.
That was the most difficult thing of all.
She had been holding herself together only by moving forward.
If she stopped searching for Ian, she would collapse.
— Clink.
A small ring fell onto the stone floor.
「Ring of Sacrifice」
The inside of the ring was lined with sharp spikes.
Aria swallowed hard.
It would surely hurt.
She clenched her eyes shut and slipped the ring onto her finger.
“…Nngh.”
A gasp of pain escaped her lips.
She clenched her teeth.
Bright red blood dripped onto the floor.
— The darkness will be deeper than ever before. If you cannot endure, all will perish.
No further revelations came.
