CHAPTER 189
A situation where the roots were trying to destroy Sky Castle.
If Sky Castle broke apart, all of us inside would be dead meat.
So we had to stop that, at the very least.
There was no need to overthink it.

Following the direction the root in my hand was pointing, we all picked up speed and ran.
I pumped Holy Magic into my legs, reinforcing my physical body.
Tempered through countless life-or-death situations and training, my Holy Magic had reached a fairly high level.
Thus, I spurred on my speed even more and dashed.
After running for a long time, the root suddenly began to tilt toward the floor.
It was something I had expected from the start.
Because these black roots had appeared from the floor, not from above ground.

"It's below us!"
"We'll have to punch through."

Inferno pulled back his fist without hesitation.
He slammed his fist down into the ground.

KABOOM!

An explosion echoed out.
Consequently, the floor shattered, and debris flew up.
Once again, Colonel Bagel immediately cleared the debris and stabilized the footing.

"Saint, you said your real name was Harua, right?"

Right then, someone spoke to me. It was a face I recognized.
Lieutenant General Meiran.
The man who had fought alongside Aranseol.

"Thank you. Thanks to you, I've regained my senses."
"Please give your thanks to Aranseol."

All I did was revive him.
The one who defeated Meiran was Aranseol.

"She'll appreciate it."

Because Aranseol would be proud to see the person she saved.

"Then I must survive and make sure to thank her."

It's a bit troubling when you raise a death flag like that.
But I felt the same way.

"Everyone, come this way!"

At that moment, Inferno, who was busy collapsing the floor, called us over.
Beneath the exploded floor.
A staircase leading down to the underground was visible.
The root imbued with souls by Legolash pointed downward. Inferno and I looked at each other and nodded.

We threw ourselves down the underground stairs without hesitation. The old stone steps continued endlessly beneath our feet.
Those Great Sinner bastards must have noticed our movements too. So we deliberately increased our speed as we descended.
Just as we were running along the path dictated by the root in a state of high tension...

RUUUMBLE!

Black roots burst out, piercing right through the stairs.
Pouring out from all directions, the black roots pounced on us as if they had been waiting.
The moment they saw that, all Regular Army personnel entered a combat stance.

"Punch through the roots!"

The black roots blocking our path meant this was the right direction.
Inferno swung his explosion-infused fists, and Meiran thrust out a sword created from ice.
Explosions and freezing blasts erupted everywhere.
The Regular Army swung their weapons through the gaps, cutting down the black roots.

"We're pushing forward! Follow me!"

Every time Inferno swung his fists at the vanguard, a path was blown open. Aigis and Lululio defended my vicinity as much as possible, taking out the black roots.
The moment we broke through like crazy.
Finally, the root pointed straight down.

For some reason, I felt a cool breeze on my face.
Not knowing what it was, I looked down, and everyone froze in place.
Down in the underground beneath the stairs.
Unlike what we saw from the outside, the space was wide open, revealing the sky.
However, that wasn't all.
Beneath Sky Castle.
A spine-chilling number of black roots were tangled up haphazardly in that place.
Ranging from roots more massive than buildings to smaller ones.
Countless roots completely filled the space beneath the floor of Sky Castle.

How should I describe that sight?
It gave the feeling of encountering an indescribable, sentient entity that far exceeded human comprehension.
Seeing them all writhing around, I thought nothing could be more disgusting than this.
But as soon as I saw it, I knew one thing for sure.

I gathered Holy Magic at my fingertips and formed a bullet.
Luckily, I was more comfortable dealing with giant monsters than humans.
After all, no matter where I shot, it would be a solid hit.
The black roots surged up in unison and aimed at us.
Every single one of them was brimming with killing intent.
Even so, the root in my hand was pointing toward the center of this place.

Should we give up and turn back?
Or should we pierce through that forest of black roots?
The answer was already decided.

"Let's blow them away."

Starting with the Holy Bullet fired from my fingertip, everyone let out a battle cry in unison.
With that, the forest of black roots completely covered our vision.

---

The Sword Lord's disciple. Aranseol.
She had now reached a level of skill where she could proudly call herself a full-fledged swordsman.

She was chasing a man.

Sohan—once a fellow disciple of the Sword Lord, just like her.

She was in pursuit.

Even as she chased a fellow disciple, Aranseol's eyes remained calm.

Sohan had appeared out of nowhere one day. A Transferee, he had stumbled upon Soun and Aranseol during training, and Soun had caught a glimpse of his potential.

The talent to one day succeed him as the next Sword Lord.

That dazzling talent was something even Soun couldn't simply overlook.

And so, Soun gave him the name Sohan and raised him as a successor to the Sword Lord.

Meanwhile, Aranseol—the one who had become a disciple first—couldn't even dream of becoming Sword Lord.

'Jealousy, huh.'

Aranseol recalled the emotions she had once felt toward Sohan.

Her parents had been murdered by a No-Named. That incident had planted a deep hatred for Transferees inside her.

To someone like her, Sohan had been an unwelcome intruder—a stone that rolled in out of nowhere. Naturally, she hadn't been fond of him.

But even she had to acknowledge his talent. He hadn't been holding a sword for more than a few days, yet his skill climbed endlessly.

At the very least, there was nothing false about the way Sohan's abilities grew.

Watching Sohan, a longing had taken root in Aranseol's heart.

She envied him in many ways—possessing the dazzling talent she lacked.

If only she'd had that talent, she could have avenged her parents and aimed for the title of Sword Lord.

Those foolish thoughts kept surfacing unbidden.

That was precisely why Aranseol had been all the more furious when she learned of Sohan's betrayal.

He had all that talent, so why the hell did he betray them?

What about living in this world was so unbearable?

He had talent. He had luck. He had everything.

And yet he exploited his comfortable status as a Transferee to—

"Ha."

A bitter breath escaped Aranseol's lips.

The hatred toward Transferees she thought she'd shaken off—it was still tangled deep in the recesses of her heart.

She knew it, too.

This hatred was not the kind that could simply be shed.

It would torment her, relentlessly, again and again.

But she also knew something else.

A man who was a Transferee, yet one she loved beyond measure.

A man who had once run parallel to her, yet before she knew it, was running the same path.

Harua.

When she thought of him, she could suppress this wretched feeling.

Harua believed his Resurrection magic was what kept saving Aranseol's life.

But what had truly kept her alive all this time wasn't Resurrection magic.

It was the person called Harua himself.

And this world was the world she would live in alongside Harua from now on.

The ones trying to destroy that world were right here.

Aranseol no longer swung her sword out of hatred.

She swung it to protect the world she would share with Harua.

Wuuuung—

Danmyung's crimson aura surged.

As if answering Aranseol's resolve, Danmyung resonated.

Gripping the resonating blade, Aranseol slowly came to a stop.

Because there, standing before her—

A man in a robe.

A familiar face visible between the folds.

The moment she saw that face, Aranseol's lips parted.

"Sohan."

A sharp glint flashed in Aranseol's eyes.

The hunter's gaze, honed through Danmyung.

She had been tracking Sohan through those eyes this entire time.

In pure speed alone, Aranseol was the faster one.

Knowing he'd been caught, Sohan had stopped.

"Long time no see. Aranseol."

"I'm not here for pleasantries."

Aranseol drew Danmyung and leveled it at Sohan.

"Here to avenge your master?"

Soun had been devastated by Sohan's betrayal.

And in the end, he had concluded that part of the blame lay with himself.

Soun was a good man. Rigid, but righteous and deeply caring.

"No."

But Aranseol hadn't come here today for Soun's sake.

"For the person I love, and for a promise."

She had promised Harua they would live in this world together.

That was why Aranseol stood here today—purely of her own will.

"Haha."

Sohan let out a short, hollow laugh.

His eyes were stained red for some reason.

That wasn't all.

His skin, too, was tinged with that same crimson aura in places.

Aranseol had felt that sensation once before, long ago.

The Radiant Faith bishop she'd seen in the cave.

The marks of the Apostle Transformation he had invoked.

"According to Harua, you've been summoning Transcendents."

Aranseol realized what the power surrounding him was.

Bloody Crown had offered himself as a tribute to summon the Transcendents.

Sohan was doing the exact same thing.

"Correct."

Sohan glanced down at his own body.

Then he cracked his neck and tossed a question her way.

"So, aren't you going to ask why I made this choice?"

"No."

A clean answer.

With that, Aranseol stomped the ground.

In that instant, her silhouette blurred.

Her presence faded and her figure vanished simultaneously.

Aranseol disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The moment Sohan saw this, he flared his robe.

Blood seeped out from between its folds.

The blood took the shape of thousands of swords and spread in every direction in an instant.

KAGAGAGAGAGANG!

Right in front of Sohan.

A blood-forged sword shattered, and Aranseol emerged.

Her eyes, brimming with murderous intent, were laid bare.

"You always hated me from the start, didn't you, Aranseol?"

Sohan smiled that sly grin of his, even as he stared into those eyes.

"Yeah."

Aranseol didn't deny it.

"Your eyes were the filthiest among all the men who lusted after me."

"Ahaha."

Sohan laughed at the insult, apparently finding it amusing.

"True. If we hadn't been fellow disciples, I'd have laid a hand on you at least once."

"Trash."

"Hey, they gave me the title of Lust among the Seven Deadly Sins. Own it."

More swords began forming around him.

"Then—let's enjoy this."

Sohan, the Deadly Sinner of Lust.

His battle with Aranseol had begun.