Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level?-Chapter 140[Vol. 5] - Return to Dust

[Vol. 5] Chapter 140: Return to Dust

The shattered throne and cocoon quickly dissolved into a glow of blood and dissipated. Clearly, these were not physical entities but products formed from pure energy.

And… after the embodiment of light split the throne, a certain indescribable realization suddenly emerged in the mind of the priestess.

A look of understanding appeared on her face.

“So that’s it… by halting the forbidden curse and giving up the potential to become stronger, you forcibly gathered all the power the ?Blood of the Inverted Cross? had collected to create an incomplete form of a perfect being? A very decisive move. Your will to survive… is truly intense.”

Violet looked up toward the “sky.”

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The bloodlines, which had converged from all directions and connected to the throne, completely vanished with its destruction.

The blood-red pillars that had been pouring into the “earth” also faded away. This signified that the advancement of the ?Blood of the Inverted Cross? in the real world had likely come to a complete halt, and in a sense, this forbidden curse could be considered broken.

However, the inverted reflection of the world, and the unspeakable life form created by the fusion of the forbidden curse’s power, were still present, meaning everything had not fully concluded.

But since there was no longer a need to rush, Violet decided to speak a bit more.

She turned her gaze toward the blood girl not far away, who had already separated from the mother womb and within a short time had successfully grown legs and a fully-formed lower body, though her face remained blurred.

“To be honest, I don’t enjoy fighting and killing. I only acted because you all so recklessly treated other people’s lives as food and nourishment, which I find unacceptable. I’m not sure if that was truly your intention, after all, it seems like you were only just created.”

“I can tell you really, really want to survive, and I don’t dislike that. So, if you truly possess enough wisdom to understand what I’m saying, lay down your weapons and surrender immediately. Depending on the situation, perhaps I could spare your life after capturing the mastermind and figuring out the whole story.”

As a gesture of goodwill, the golden Holy Spirit of light slowly retreated, shrinking down and returning to stand behind the black-haired girl with a spear in hand.

The reason Violet was willing to offer this promise, aside from what she had just said, was also because this special lifeform created by the ?Blood of the Inverted Cross? might provide much more valuable information if it cooperated with her investigation.

Simply killing it might not be as beneficial as learning something useful. If a solution could be reached just by talking, the priestess wouldn’t necessarily have to destroy her opponent immediately.

After all, even if this creature vanished, the lives already lost could never be brought back.

However—

“…!”

The blood-formed, blurred-faced girl let out a silent, defiant roar and raised a new blade, pointing its sharp edge forward.

Undoubtedly, negotiations had failed.

“Sigh…”

The priestess shook her head helplessly.

“Unwilling to entrust your life to someone else, choosing instead to fight to the death? Or… is it simply a beast-like instinct for survival? Fine then.”

It seemed that only by allowing the forbidden curse to fully complete itself could they possibly create the intelligent being they desired.

Sensing a message from the dragon girl outside, relayed through the contract, Violet smiled casually, as if indifferent to whether the creature before her could even understand her words.

“It seems you’ve been decisively abandoned. Those guys sure ran away quickly… So many sacrifices, blood rituals, and yet even this pseudo god-like existence born from a forbidden curse couldn’t satisfy them? Tell me, what do you think the perfect version of you, the one they wanted, would have looked like?”

“…!”

But once again, the only response to the girl’s words was a silent roar.

“I see. In that case… let’s end this quickly.”

With that, the priestess lowered her hand onto the smooth, jade-like staff, and a terrifying aura, one that made the very world of reflections tremble, spread from the petite figure of the black-haired girl.

“…!!!”

Sensing something, the nameless, faceless, mindless girl of blood let out the most intense silent scream she had made since her creation.

Having just been born and with no combat experience, she simply raised the blood blade in her hand. Driven by her primal survival instincts, by the dignity imprinted in her core, she charged toward the insurmountable enemy before her!

The black-haired girl didn’t move a muscle, nor did the embodiment of light behind her.

In an instant, the hundred-meter distance was closed. The blood-red figure was upon her, both arms gripping the blade as she brought down the most powerful strike of her life, blood light flooding the sky, all the energy of the shadowy world focused in this one blow!

And then, golden light blossomed.

“Goodbye.”

……………………….

In the real world.

The power that had been stripping the life force of living beings had faded away. The blood-red pillar of light rising from the St. Bergen Mountains was no more, and the roaring blood-colored thunder in the sky had long since gone silent. The figure of the platinum dragon that had been fighting against it had already disappeared into the mountain range of the ?Wall of Heaven?.

Everything seemed to be improving.

But the Bright Light Saintess, Yuna Summerfield, was well aware that the power known as the ?Blood of the Inverted Cross? had not completely receded.

The blood-stained sky still hung above them, suppressing the power of faith-based magic. If this key issue was not resolved, the Knight Templars of the Expeditionary Army would struggle to unleash their full strength against the demons.

She understood all too well what the real enemy was.

In the vanguard’s camp, the blonde girl had withdrawn her barrier and stood, gazing at the distant sky, lost in thought for a long time.

A holy knight clad in white armor approached her.

“Your Highness, the casualty report has been compiled.”

The Saintess did not turn around.

“Read it.”

“Yes! Out of the twelve thousand five hundred soldiers in the reformed vanguard corps, after several small skirmishes within the St. Bergen Mountains and the recent large-scale unknown magical attack, there were one thousand seven hundred twenty-four dead or missing, with over six thousand lightly injured and eight hundred severely wounded.”

“Among them, most of the lightly wounded are experiencing temporary weakness due to blood loss and are expected to fully recover within hours or days. The severely wounded will require further blood transfusions and treatment. Please review the report, Your Highness.”

After receiving the detailed report handed to her by the Holy Knight, Yuna briefly scanned it and then stored it in her personal spatial item, nodding in acknowledgment.

“So, we’ve lost about one-sixth of our combat strength. How many knights in the vanguard camp are immediately battle-ready?”

The Holy Knight thought for a moment, then hesitantly replied.

“Your Highness, aside from the severely wounded, around ten thousand Knight Templars are still fit to fight. However, under the current suppression from this unknown power, the strength we can exert…”

Disregarding the concern in her subordinate’s words, the Bright Light Saintess raised her gaze toward the sky once more and calmly said, “Send word to the main force in the rear. Have them organize the camp and move forward to join the vanguard as quickly as possible.”

“Praise the Goddess! The time for our counterattack is almost upon us.”

“Yes, Your Highness, but…”

Just as the Holy Knight was about to continue, the blood-stained sky suddenly brightened!

No, it was more than just a simple “brightening.” A reversal of such magnitude, it could be called a miracle, rivaling the previous blood-red skies in its sheer wonder.

A magnificent, endlessly spreading golden magic array appeared in an instant across the heavens. Then, from the center of the radiant golden patterns, a colossal pillar of light, far surpassing any of the previous blood-red beams, descended, enveloping the entire range of the St. Bergen Mountains and stretching for miles around!

“BOOM!!!!!!!!!!”

“Everyone! Brace for impact!!!”