Chapter 111: Chapter 111

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: A New Connection

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Deep within the forest, near Wolfram's Sanctuary.

I was sprawling on the ground, a complete mess.

Having unleashed a massive explosion with my arm outstretched, I naturally lost my balance and tumbled across the ground.

I rolled for a long time before finally stopping when I crashed into a tree.

My vision spun, but I forced myself to focus and pushed myself up.

My eyes quickly scanned my surroundings.

In the distance, Centriole was visible, lying amidst several destroyed trees.

It was a single blow, delivered by meticulously weaving in one variable after another.

It would have been problematic if it hadn't unleashed that much power.

Feeling my dislocated right shoulder, I hastily wrapped it with a bandage from my cloak.

Only my arm had been exposed, so my face remained hidden.

Thanks to that, I quickly reverted to Hanon's appearance.

Drip, drip-

At that moment, I heard something.

The instant I lifted my head, following the sound, my face froze.

I saw the ground, soaked in crimson blood.

And the person lying in that pool of blood was Acrede.

Centriole's sword had pierced Acrede's side.

The blood flowing from it stained the ground.

The sword's owner was Centriole.

Even while taking a punch, this madman had lunged his sword at Acrede.

Sizzle-

The widespread blessing that enveloped the forest began to dissipate.

"Saintess!"

I rushed towards Acrede.

Acrede lay limp on the ground, breathing in shallow, raspy gasps.

She had tried to take measures herself, but the wound wouldn't heal.

The blessing imbued in Centriole's sword prevented Acrede from healing the wound with her own blessing.

"Calm down. Acrede, it's alright, you'll be fine."

At that moment, Acrede began to mutter to herself.

Her usually expressionless face was subtly trembling.

"The sword, please, pull out the sword."

If only the sword could be removed, she could somehow heal it with her blessing.

However, she couldn't afford to lose consciousness during that time.

Boom-

Just then, another sound echoed from behind me.

There stood Centriole, healing his body with blessings.

My punch had landed squarely, leaving him a wreck, but as Acrede's widespread blessing faded, blessings imbued him once more.

As a result, he had returned to his prime, the full power of a paladin.

"It's surprising for an academy student."

Centriole spat a broken tooth onto the ground with a 'thwack'.

A new tooth had already grown in its place.

"You'll go far."

The power of blessings surged violently from Centriole's body.

As he spoke, he showed no intention of granting us a 'later'.

Worst upon worst.

Centriole wouldn't give us a chance to pull the sword from Acrede.

"...Saintess, how much longer can you hold on?"

"...About a minute."

Just looking at the blood still flowing, even a minute would be pushing it.

And so, I made a decision.

My hand rose above my head.

Come, lightning...

Step-

"Boy, pull the sword from the Saintess."

Just as I was about to use Heavenly Dragon Blossom, a voice reached my ears.

The moment I heard that voice, I immediately grabbed the hilt of the sword embedded in Acrede.

Centriole moved, but someone was already standing in front of us, blocking his way.

She appeared, her pristine white hair fluttering, and stood before Centriole with her arms crossed.

"A young man is performing a heroic deed."

White petals swirled around them.

"Why interfere?"

The swirling white petals instantly engulfed Centriole.

CRASHING!

Centriole, who had been charging, was swept away by the petals and sent flying, demolishing a section of the forest.

In that time, I pulled the sword from Acrede.

Squelch!

"…!"

Acrede swallowed her scream, unable to even make a sound, as blood burst forth.

But at the same time, a massive amount of blessing descended upon her body.

Her blood-soaked side healed instantly, pristine white skin regenerating.

Acrede barely escaped death and collapsed.

I quickly caught her body.

At that moment, I felt an incredibly soft sensation in my arms.

Looking down, I saw that the clothing tightly binding her body had torn from the impact of pulling the sword, revealing a formidable chest.

What incredible weight.

She had hidden it so well.

I lifted her into my arms, ensuring nothing more was revealed.

"Boy, get out of here."

"Yes."

White petals still swirled around Baekmokgong.

Because in the distance, Centriole was charging back with immense momentum.

This forest would be utterly devastated today by these two monsters.

So, holding Acrede in my arms, I quickly left the area.

Acrede was breathing in shallow, raspy gasps.

She had lost consciousness from the intense pain and the exertion of using her blessing.

Her wound was fine now, but she had pushed herself too hard.

It would be difficult for her to regain consciousness immediately.

"Ugh, h-huh, ah."

That is, if it were her *other* self.

With a gasp that escaped her lips, Acrede looked at me with wide, round eyes.

The calm, expressionless face she had maintained moments ago was gone, replaced by eyes wide and timid like a rabbit's.

When our eyes met, I smiled wryly.

"Hello, Lady Acrede."

"Oh, h-hello."

She returned the greeting absently, then seemed to realize her situation, her face flushing bright red.

"Kyaaaah!"

With a piercing shriek, she thrashed, and I pulled her closer.

Because I had expected this.

"Lady Acrede, let's panic once we're out of the forest."

She flinched.

It was because she was aware that this was an emergency.

Acrede's large eyes filled with tears.

She then bit her lip tightly.

Her cheeks puffed out as if they might burst, but I paid them no mind and ran through the forest.

After running for a long time, I finally managed to exit the forest near its edge.

In the distance, the shattered Mysticism faction members were visible.

They had been apprehended by the knights Baekmokgong had summoned.

Among them, some had been utterly crushed by Baekmokgong, likely due to their fierce resistance.

I couldn't take Acrede out in her current state.

First, I set her down somewhere out of their sight.

"Are you feeling a bit better?"

"I'm, I'm fine."

Acrede said, struggling to adjust her clothing over her chest.

But her formidable chest kept spilling out from her grasp.

I had no choice but to take off my outer coat.

"Here, wear this for now."

"Oh, th-thank you."

She took my coat with an incredibly shy expression.

Then she somehow managed to cover her chest.

"Um, th-this incident..."

She kept glancing at me, watching my reaction.

Her timid demeanor was utterly unbecoming of a Saintess.

A stark contrast to her previous demeanor, almost a complete disconnect.

I knew very well why she was acting differently.

Acrede Narea, the Saintess.

She possessed a dual personality.

More precisely, two souls coexisted within her.

And who was the soul dwelling within her?

One of the six heroes who established the six academies alongside the Great Hero Wolfram.

The First Saintess, Narea.

Acrede was Narea's reincarnation.

＊＊＊

Flame Butterfly Arc, Act 5.

The main storyline revolves around the reincarnation of heroes.

The six heroes gathered around the Great Hero Wolfram.

The benevolent goddess, honoring their heroic deeds, granted them reincarnation.

Thus, the Great Hero Wolfram and the six heroes were reincarnated.

The story related to their reincarnation and the Demonic Sovereign.

And revealing the wicked deeds of Roblia through the heroes.

That was the main scenario of Act 5.

Act 4 serves as the groundwork for Act 5, a scenario where connections are forged with those who will later be revealed as reincarnated heroes.

'And one of those heroes.'

The Saintess, Narea.

And Narea's reincarnation was none other than Acrede Narea, the Saintess.

Reincarnated heroes typically don't retain memories from their previous lives.

However, in Narea's case, the goddess's blessing lingered deep within her very soul.

When Acrede turned five.

She received the goddess's blessing, and Narea's memories flowed into her.

However, these memories were too overwhelming for her young mind to bear.

Thus, her brain separated Narea into a distinct personality.

Narea and Acrede.

This is how two personalities came to exist within one body.

"Lady Acrede, you're hoping I'll keep silent about this incident within the Holy Order, aren't you?"

Acrede's shoulders flinched.

Her eyes darted wildly from side to side.

"Th-that is, well..."

"Yes, I will keep silent."

Acrede quickly turned to look at me.

Her eyes held a question: *Are you serious?*

"I, too, have no desire to get unnecessarily entangled with the Holy Order."

Now that Baekmokgong and Centriole had clashed, Centriole couldn't escape punishment for attempting to assassinate the Saintess.

As such, the Riom Royal Family, who had orchestrated this, would pin the entire blame on Centriole.

Therefore, the Holy Order needed to act before this incident became widely known.

Furthermore, if internal strife within the Holy Order became known, it would damage the Order's image.

For the Holy Order, this incident was a secret they wished to keep hidden from the outside world, while still holding the Riom Royal Family accountable.

'As for the Imperial Knights, Baekmokgong would surely handle their silence.'

Baekmokgong was also quick-witted.

While she'd undoubtedly extort a lot from the Holy Order for this, she wouldn't complicate the situation unnecessarily.

"Oh, th-thank you!"

She bowed her head deeply, thanking me with a timid, rabbit-like twitch.

Then she subtly glanced at me, as if asking if that much gratitude was enough.

It was a demeanor utterly unbecoming of a Saintess.

"Then, let's head back."

I decided to guide Acrede to a safe place.

Thump!

That is, until Acrede's hand grabbed my wrist.

My head slowly turned back.

A cold, expressionless look replaced Acrede's previous rabbit-like face.

"How did you notice me?"

Narea had awakened.

To her question, I calmly tilted my head.

"Notice you how?"

"If you were going to lie, you should have done so from the start. You've been distinguishing between me and Acrede from the very beginning, calling me 'Saintess' and her 'Acrede'."

She was right. I had deliberately called them that, hoping she would notice.

'Narea originally reveals her identity and approaches Lucas after seeing his Flame of Valor.'

After Lucas rescued Acrede.

Narea was convinced Lucas could help her cause.

Therefore, she willingly revealed her true identity to Lucas.

But I didn't possess the Flame of Valor.

There was no reason for her to reveal her true identity to me.

So, I deliberately made her curious enough to reveal her identity.

"I made a mistake, then."

"Was it truly a mistake?"

"Yes, of course."

I said, smiling faintly.

"Learning about Lady Narea was simple. Aren't there ancient legends written in old texts?"

*That someday, when the world faces crisis, the reincarnated heroes will once again protect this world.*

Hanon, the identity I was currently using, was someone whose hobby was archaeology.

In fact, based on this, Hanon had mistakenly believed me to be the reincarnation of Zerion.

'In reality.'

That guy would be joining next year.

But I used Hanon's persona to my advantage, gracefully removing him from the main narrative.

Hanon's past actions created a justification for me.

The justification that I had seen through the Saintess's true identity based on specialized knowledge.

"I will keep silent about this incident, including everything."

"...Who are you, exactly?"

Narea looked at me with an utterly incomprehensible gaze.

So, I decided to seize this opportunity to solidify my connection with her.

"Hanon Airey."

I stated my name, smiling faintly.

"A student of Zerion Academy."

BOOOM!

Behind us, white petals scattered, and Centriole was sent flying.

It was the moment Centriole was finished by Baekmokgong.