“It’s possible, but it’s also possible that it’s not.”
“Excuse me? High Priest, are you speaking in riddles?”
“Hollei, please show some respect to the High Priest.”
The young priest reprimanded Hollei’s attitude. However, Laila found herself wanting to stop the young priest instead.
The High Priest maintained a calm demeanor, as if stepping back from the chaotic situation he had created, and spoke.
“Matters concerning the future twenty years from now are beyond my, or the temple’s, control.”
The High Priest’s gaze shifted to Laila.
“It depends on the Duchess.”
Laila realized late that the High Priest wasn’t looking at her.
“Could it be…”
As Laila subconsciously wrapped her arms around herself, Hollei muttered with a look of realization.
“My goodness, no, but the descendants of the Celestial God are said to be born only once every thousand years…”
“We can’t definitively say they are descendants of the Celestial God. It’s possible that it’s not.”
The High Priest looked at Laila again. This time, their gazes met.
“But it is certain that a being who could assist the Celestial God’s descendant will be born. I can feel the heavenly energy already.”
“I don’t feel anything.”
“Hollei, please do not interrupt.”
It’s not our place to intervene. The young priest whispered this while pulling Hollei’s arm back.
As Hollei reluctantly stepped back, the High Priest addressed Laila.
“I have said all I can.”
“…”
“Shall we bring the artifact?”
Laila straightened her posture, though her arms remained wrapped around her stomach.
“Please do.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“…After that, the High Priest indeed brought the artifact from deep within the temple.”
A man, appearing to be around forty, dressed in priestly robes, swept his long hair behind his ears.
After adjusting his hair, the priest continued.
“We took the artifact and set out. Where did we go? Of course, to where the hero was.”
Specifically, the place where both the hero and the evil god were.
At that time, the hero was already engaged in combat with the evil god.
“The hero was in the royal palace of the hero’s kingdom. We—meaning the High Priest, Hollei, the Duchess, and the three members of the Moon clan—traveled there immediately. How did we manage that?”
Perhaps feeling thirsty, the priest took a sip of the tepid tea before setting it down.
“Surprisingly, it was thanks to a woman from the Moon Clan named Neidal. With her ability, we were all able to traverse space. By the way, have you ever seen a member of the Moon Clan use their powers? Their eye color changes, and after using their abilities, their faces subtly transform. Ah, I’m sorry, I’m digressing. That’s not the important part.”
“That’s alright.”
The listener, who had been quietly listening to the story, spoke up.
“Please continue. I’m curious about what happens next.”
“Oh, yes. Understood. Anyway, we arrived at the hero’s location, and… I was astounded. The place where the hero was was nearly in ruins. And…”
The priest swallowed hard.
Just recalling that day brings back the emotions he felt.
The young priest—who was young at the time—could hardly tear his eyes away from the hero.
The hero’s condition was disastrous.
The hero’s body was covered in blood, and it seemed that he had been injured and healed countless times.
The young priest’s eyes were especially drawn to the dried blood on the hero’s left cheek.
A wound that severe must have been life-threatening.
He knew that the physical condition of a celestial descendant was different from an ordinary person’s; even if injured, they would recover with time.
But what about the pain they felt before they healed?
The fear of being wounded?
A celestial descendant is not like a statue carved from wood or stone.
Though the hero possessed great strength, he was still human. The hero fighting the evil god looked pained and, though it might be an illusion, also appeared exhausted.
The young priest watched the hero from afar and wondered.
Was the hero fighting simply out of duty?
Or was it his own will driving him?
If it was the latter, then what was driving him?
What was it that was pushing the hero to continue fighting in this desperate battle?
“…It seemed that the hero and the Evil God had already been fighting for several days. We were worried that the hero might die at any moment. Although the future seen by the Moon clan child clearly showed that the hero would die in ten days… at that time, the hero we saw was in such a state that it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had collapsed immediately.”
The priest took another sip of tea before continuing.
“We wanted to deliver the artifact to the hero as quickly as possible and explain the situation. But there was a problem. It wasn’t easy to get close to the hero.”
It wasn’t just difficult.
The young priest felt a complex mix of emotions, including awe, from the hero’s appearance and was tormented by the impulse to help him.
Determined to do something, the young priest stepped forward with the artifact clutched tightly, his expression resolute.
Then, for a moment, his memory went blank.
The young priest lay on the ground and opened his eyes, asking those around him what had happened.
Hollei, with a dark expression, explained that a fragment of rock had struck him in the head as soon as he left the shield created by the High Priest.
“We were gathered at a safe distance from the hero and the Evil God, protected by a shield made by the High Priest. We began discussing our options within the shield. We couldn’t move the shield itself; someone had to leave the shield and approach the hero. But who could possibly do that?”
The priest took another sip of tea. There was only a little left in the cup.
“If you had seen the scene firsthand, you would understand better what I’m saying. At that moment, delivering the artifact to the hero felt like a life-threatening task.”
Clink. The priest set down the now lighter teacup.
“But then the Duchess stepped forward, saying she would deliver the artifact herself. Everyone tried to dissuade her. Why, you ask?”
The priest, now a storyteller, continued with dramatic flair, mixing questions to build the atmosphere.
“Because the Duchess had the hope of saving the hero in twenty years. If something happened to the Duchess, the hero would certainly die in twenty years. Although it was already a situation where the hero could die at any moment if the artifact was not delivered…”
Neidal had been the most vocal in trying to stop Laila. Neidal’s opinion was a bit unexpected, but she said that Laila’s actions were cruel.
When asked what that meant, Neidal explained.
Why was the hero fighting the evil god? To save the world, yes, but also to save someone he loved. In fact, the second reason was likely more significant. After all, the hero is human too.
Neidal continued with her argument.
The hero would never want Laila to sacrifice herself to save him.
The young priest thought this argument made sense. However, Laila remained unmoved.
“Amidst everyone’s objections, the Duchess said she would be fine. She promised not only that she wouldn’t die but that she wouldn’t even get injured.”
Laila presented two pieces of evidence to support her claim.
The first was the bracelet.
On Laila’s arm was the protective bracelet created with great effort and time by the ancient temple.
The bracelet absorbed all impacts directed at the wearer.
And the second thing was…
“I’ll show you. It’s difficult to explain in words.”
“In the end, the Duchess stepped outside the shield with the artifact. The people of the Moon Clan were worried, while Hollei and I felt relieved. The High Priest probably felt reassured as well. How could we have forgotten about the bracelet? The effort that went into that bracelet…”
The young priest was one of those involved in creating the bracelet, so he knew well how exceptional its performance was.
Laila, holding the artifact, stepped outside the shield. She took three steps towards the hero fighting the evil god.
During that time, nothing harmed Laila. The rock fragment that had knocked out the young priest was destroyed before it even touched her.
The young priest watched Laila with a calm mind.
He regretted his actions, feeling the throbbing pain in his head, and wished he had waited quietly instead of rushing in.
As Laila took her fifth step outside the shield, suddenly, the bracelet on her wrist split in half and fell to the ground.
