CHAPTER 194
My faded consciousness returned, and my eyes opened.

The medical ward?

The next thing I saw were familiar faces.
People moving urgently to treat the wounded, and two people directing them.
My master, Rapiel, and the Saintess, Lua.
From the looks of it, they were transporting and treating the casualties from the battle at the Sky Castle here.
Holy Mages and the Holy Church working together to save people.
In the past, this would have been a sight hard to even imagine.
Even though they were in the same line of work, there had always been a strange wall between them.
I suppose I deserve at least a little credit for breaking that wall down.

"Are you awake?"

Just then, another voice called out.
I shifted my gaze and saw Ririran standing there.
She absentmindedly brought her pipe to her lips out of habit, then lowered it.
It was an action born from the realization that she shouldn't smoke with so many patients around.

"Ririran-nim."
"You suddenly started regenerating from a finger, so we moved you here, boy."

I see.

"What's the situation?"

Right after I channeled the Transcendents' power and destroyed the Artificial Transcendent Vessel, my consciousness had completely blown away.
Having taken on a level of Transcendent power I couldn't handle, it was the obvious outcome.

"First of all, you should know that your revival was delayed by 3 hours, boy."

Hearing her next words, my eyes went wide.
Delayed by 3 hours.
That meant a long time had passed even after I revived.

"To be precise, the resurrection magic wasn't functioning properly. The Saintess said it was the side effect of containing far too much holy power."

Even though I had poured all the holy power out, the toll of accepting such a massive amount remained.
Because of that, my body's resistance to the holy power had prevented the resurrection magic from triggering properly.

"The one who resolved that was the Saintess. She stayed by your side for 5 hours, extracting the excess holy power and nursing you."

Lua again, huh.
I owed her one.

"After that, you were transferred here while we monitored your condition."
"What about the situation up there?"

I had finished assessing my own state.
Even to me, it was a perfectly plausible side effect, and a 3-hour delay in resurrection wasn't overly strange given the circumstances.
Because of that, knowing the current situation at the Sky Castle was far more urgent.

"The Sky Castle is being safely dismantled. The black roots are still moving autonomously, but they aren't showing the violent movements they did before. It's likely the result of you and the others throwing your bodies on the line."

"So the situation isn't completely over yet."

If it was a situation that could be cleaned up in 3 hours, it would have been resolved by now.
I decided to get out of bed and move immediately.
But the moment I stood up, my body pitched heavily forward.
I didn't misstep; my legs just couldn't hold my weight properly.

Right before I smashed my head into the floor, Ririran lightly caught me with magic.

"You may have regained your senses, but you are still not in a normal state."
"Exactly. Harua, I take my eyes off you for one second, and you're already doing this?"

Lua, who had just finished treating a critical patient, glared at me with clear disapproval.
"I wonder whose disciple you are. Good grief."

Behind her stood Rapiel as well.
Under their reproachful gazes, I quietly sat back down on the bed.
Just as they said, my legs still weren't fully functional.

"Given the situation, you know how it is. Plus, while I was out cold, I'm sure several people have died."

Even when we were breaking through to the Artificial Transcendent Vessel, there was more than just one or two casualties.
Since I was the only one who could revive them, I couldn't just sit around.

"Harua, you just died and came back yourself. If Ririran-nim hadn't made a quick judgment, you might not have revived at all."

Lua knew better than anyone just how dangerous holy power was.
If she was warning me, it was the truth.
Since I had been warned plenty of times that the resurrection magic might not work properly, I obediently kept my mouth shut.

"So please, get some rest. You'll have to use your power again later anyway."

Hearing Lua's words, I had no choice but to lie back down on the bed.
It seemed I really did need to rest until my legs moved properly.

Laying my head down like that, countless thoughts swirled in my mind.
Did Aranseol defeat Sohan safely?
Did Babiyen make it back okay?
Was the soul safely delivered to the 1st Princess?
Did everyone escape the center of the black roots safely?

There were more than just one or two things on my mind.
Then again, I was rolling around in the dead center of that battlefield just a moment ago, so it was only natural.

'First, I need to find Babiyen.'

She completely drained her magic too, so she's probably sleeping like the dead. Still, I should at least see her face to make sure she's safe.

That was what I was thinking.
Until a sudden thought flashed through my mind.

"...?"

What did Lua just call me?
Harua?

I slowly lifted my head from where I was lying.
Then I looked at her, who was working hard to heal the wounded.
Her incredibly benevolent and beautiful appearance was undoubtedly fitting for a Saintess, but...
The name she called me kept echoing in my head.

Lua.
She had said she would call me "Haru" so we could distinguish each other.
So why did Lua just call me "Harua"?

I slowly raised my head again.
When my eyes met Lua's, she gave a brief smile.
Staring blankly at that smile, I opened my mouth.

"Lua."
"Yes, Harua."
"How did you heal me that day again?"

At my question, Lua blinked and tilted her head.
"Why, I healed you like I always do, didn't I?"

As soon as I heard that, a faint smile spread across my face.
"I see."

And then, my brain exploded.
It was because the Holy Magic I had prepared in advance surrounded my brain and detonated.

"Harua!?"
"......!"

Screams echoed from all around.
Whether they did or not, I awakened my Holy Power within my fading consciousness.

Right, I realized what situation I was in.
'I remember hearing that No-Nameds can't be properly brainwashed.'

That must be because they were exposed to the Transcendents' power while being dragged through the hole the Transcendents tore open. In that process, people awaken Abilities, and those who are more heavily influenced become No-Nameds.
Someone who received such a massive amount of power that the Transcendent's power infused into their brain.
Because of that, they forget their original name and gain a powerful Ability as a No-Named.

And that explains the brainwashing.
Why are No-Nameds immune to brainwashing?
'The power of brainwashing probably couldn't fully take hold in a brain already infused with a Transcendent's power.'

Just like now.
The sense of incongruity a person instinctively feels.
It was the result of the brainwashing failing to completely cover up that unnatural feeling.

Then, on the flip side, you could think about it differently.
What if the brainwashing was applied during the process of the brain being destroyed and regenerating?
It wouldn't be entirely impossible.

So, a certain someone I knew was more than capable of coming up with this idea.

"Isn't that right, you crazy bitch."

As soon as I opened my lips, a blurry light appeared before my eyes.
There was a woman with her fingernail dug deep into one of my eyes.
Meeting my gaze, the corners of her lips slowly began to curl up.
Her hair was deep and still, like spilled black ink.
Every single strand was neat yet flowed naturally, swaying like gentle ripples with every movement.
Amidst that black hair, so dark it hardly reflected any light, eyes reminiscent of a crimson moon glowed eerily.

Asheria Eve.
She was right in front of me.

"Hmm, I thought I timed it perfectly. Is it because you were exposed to too much Holy Power? I guess it didn't work out so well, huh?"

A wave of disgust instantly washed over me at her beaming, smiling face.
But setting that aside, assessing the situation was more important.
Why was I currently captured by Asheria Eve?

The space visible to my eyes was familiar.
Even though the curtains were drawn, I immediately recognized where I was.

'The Regular Army Commander-in-Chief's office.'

The space where Anastasia would have been working, succeeding Rapha Hastel.
Beneath the desk I was laid upon, shadows were writhing.
There, I saw a tiny, severed arm.

There was only one person with an arm that small.
The master of space magic, Ririran.
She had been taken down by Asheria Eve.

Ririran had been holding onto my severed finger, meant to be used for my resurrection.
Asheria Eve must have caught on to that fact and captured her.

Squeeeelch—

At that moment, a sharp pain shot through my eye.
Asheria Eve was stirring the area around my eyeball with her fingernail.

"Thinking about something else, are we? How can Harua keep looking away when a woman like me is right in front of him?"
"Shut up. How did you catch Lady Ririran?"

Ririran is a master of space magic.
On top of that, she recently even grasped the concept of the Void Space, greatly contributing to the growth of her space magic.
There was no way someone like her would be easily caught, even by Asheria Eve.

"I learned something really fun recently. I picked it up while researching the Artificial Transcendent."

Asheria Eve wore a sly smile as she slowly rolled her finger over my eye.

"Since it was impossible to extract Abilities through brainwashing due to the Transcendent's influence, I studied really hard. And guess what? By applying the Transcendent's power, I found a way to extract Abilities even from No-Nameds!"

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up the moment I heard that.
Asheria Eve could read her opponent's brain, implant brainwashing, and copy their Abilities.
But even she had a weakness: she couldn't steal the Abilities of No-Nameds.

Drip—

A drop of saliva fell onto my head.
Above me, an entity that should have been following a different master revealed its form.
A Dimension Eater.
The Ability of the Japanese Transferee, Cain.

Asheria Eve laughed in delight.
The sheer terror hidden in that laugh was incomparable to anything I had felt before.
Now I understood how she caught Ririran and how she managed to escape the 2nd World, which the Regular Army had completely surrounded.

"...Did you kill Cain?"
"Hmm, shall we keep that a fun little secret for later?"

This woman only said what was advantageous to her; she never gave a straight answer to anything.

"So this whole thing was just to steal my Ability?"

When I brought up the main point, Asheria Eve slowly tapped her cheek with her other hand.

"Sadly, no. Honestly, I didn't expect to get caught so quickly. I needed more time."

Asheria Eve spoke, dripping with feigned disappointment.

"And I couldn't steal Harua's Ability anyway. Maybe it's because you have too much Holy Power, but my new method didn't work so well on you."

Was she lying? Or telling the truth?
Asheria Eve was a woman who breathed lies as easily as she ate.
Right now, she was just parroting exactly what I had been thinking.

"So, what, are you going to take revenge for your failed plan now?"
"Huh? Plan?"

Hearing my next question, Asheria Eve tilted her head.
Then, as if remembering something, she let out an "Ah!" and smiled brightly.

"Ah, the plan. Don't worry, Harua. The plan didn't fail."

She pointed toward the window beyond the curtains.

"That was just an unfinished piece anyway."

Unfinished piece?
As soon as I heard that, my eyes slowly began to widen.
It was because I realized what 'unfinished piece' she was talking about.
The vessel of the Artificial Transcendent.
If that was incomplete from the very beginning...

"And right now, it should be fulfilling its true purpose."

[HQ, this is the battlefield! This is the battlefield!]

At that moment, a voice began to flow out from the receiver hanging on the wall.
It was a communication magic tool created directly by the Regular Army for reporting.

[Sky Castle is suddenly soaring into the sky! There are still people inside...!]

With that, the transmission cut off.
Asheria Eve and I locked eyes.
Sky Castle was soaring into the sky.
It was blatantly obvious what direction it was heading.
The hole opened by the Transcendents.
Sky Castle was advancing straight toward that hole.