Ding ding ding!
When the Swordsman Saintess Shecilly first heard the term Dark Princess, she couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Isn’t a Dark Princess originally supposed to mean the daughter or consort of a Demon King? How can an ordinary human, with their status and position all laid bare, be called by such a sinister title?”
In response, the Priest of the God of Peace, Tranqilo, politely bowed and replied.
“The literal meaning of Dark Princess has long faded. The current Demon King does not bear children to pass on the strength of a more powerful Demon King, so there is no daughter.”
“Really?”
“Naturally, as consorts are not permitted either, the powerful female Demonic Clan members that are born either unite with high-ranking demons or lose the title of Princess as they age.”
“So, Oknodie is a naturally born anomaly?”
“Indeed. However, even that will lose the title of Dark Princess in time.”
“Well, that’s not a big deal then.”
“Nevertheless, this Dark Princess is dangerous. Recall the God of Thunder, Matheus, who was part of the Twelve Divine Deities. He stained his holy light with darkness and ended up being expelled from the Divine Alliance of Humanity for becoming an unclassifiable entity.”
A sense of urgency struck within her as she realized the gravity of the situation.
This child was indeed extraordinary.
During her studies in theology, Shecilly often heard stories about the Apostles of God who lost their faith and turned traitor in the harsh winds of fate, as they faced dismal ends.
They had to convey lessons warning against abandoning faith, teaching that one must not turn their back on God.
Among the rumors circulating in the Gift Academy, which had no oversight from the church, some claimed that these betrayers had instead thrived by turning to other gods.
However, amidst all the gossip, no tales existed of someone twisting the Divine Class of God.
Bam! Pow!
Unprecedented.
Surprising news.
Oknodie, the current Dark Princess, was the one who had achieved a feat that had never existed in history.
“That was good advice. I’ll remember it.”
The Priest bowed his head and withdrew. The story of that moment and her vow not to become complacent still resided within her today.
Indeed, she had never let her guard down.
She had confirmed that she was leagues ahead in skill.
Yet, she had already lost the blessings of Sacred Magic on both of her swords.
One sword had its blessing unraveled.
The other was outright stolen by a fallen god.
“Why is it that wicked beings are so good at handling the unraveling of Sacred Magic!?”
Shecilly felt wronged.
Evil beings suffered severe penalties just by coming into contact with Sacred Magic.
That was why they feared the Priests, who were born to protect humanity from the invasions of high-ranking demons and the Four Kings. The Pope was born to this end, and the Saintess, who infiltrated enemy lines alongside the Warrior Party, carried the monumental task of subjugating the Demon King’s Army.
The church’s secret weapon.
The strongest means of offense.
The Sacred Magic unleashed by the Saintess should have made even high-ranking demons tremble, causing a commotion amongst the Demon Kings.
At least, that was what she believed.
But the Dark Princess casually wielded an unusual amount of Dark Mana, twisting, tearing apart, and even stealing Sacred Magic with her holy words.
There could be only one reason for this.
Ding ding ding!
Oknodie had high resistance to Sacred Magic.
And she must have possessed this from a very young age.
“Perhaps it had to begin the moment she was born.”
Every breath she took must have come with the torment of exposure to divine power, raising her resistance in an extreme environment where she risked death without it.
Extreme pain breaks the will of a human.
It makes existence feel miserable, shaking with fear in every moment of life.
Such a state cannot be referred to as living.
A life barely hanging on.
A life worse than death.
How much willpower and luck would it take to endure and overcome that?
Even if one possessed all that, could an entity with a twisted mental prowess beyond humanity be truly called human?
Gulp!
Shecilly realized her feet had stepped back a little.
She felt fear.
Like a high-ranking demon retreating before a Saintess.
Like a prey that discovered a predator of nature it could never defeat.
Suddenly aware of her position as mere food.
“…Don’t joke around. The God of Greatness, Grandius, may be a wretched god who has forsaken his own Saintess, but the God of Peace, Tranqilo, has not abandoned me! I still have a Third Sword to offer!!”
She gritted her teeth, having achieved victory through the peace she had offered.
The sword was a blessing obtained through inner peace, which included unwavering calm, consistency, and a will to keep practicing.
As long as she didn’t fall into demonic possession, it was impossible for a Saintess at Shecilly’s level to invalidate the blessing of this sword.
Thus, she made her decision.
To trigger demonic possession and nullify the sword while ensuring she wouldn’t lose her weapon anymore.
“With my devotion as an offering, I shall face my destiny until the day my training and faith please Him, allowing the divine light to radiate from this body! May my resolute will reside in the final sword!”
Becoming a puppet wielding only the will of the god, she gambled on the chance that one day, if she succeeded in satisfying the god, she could reclaim everything she had offered and rise to a higher level.
A glorious radiance descended upon Shecilly’s form, who had become the divine beast of faith, as profound holiness enveloped her.
Under the brilliant light of the God of Peace, Tranqilo, overshadowing the holy brilliance of the God of Greatness, Grandius that cloaked the body of Dark Princess Oknodie, Shecilly’s body floated into the air.
Flash! Bang!
Boom! Whack!
Zoom!
Whirling!
Raining down blessings from the gods themselves, the buffs bestowed upon the three swords were tremendously powerful, overshadowing any that had been laid before.
“Dark Princess Oknodie, the God of Peace, Tranqilo commands you. Surrender all resistance and submit. Hereupon, I lay down the chains of peace. The only way to survive is by wearing the chains.”
Such was the expected attitude of the God of Peace.
Gods originally possess strength transcending that of both Middle Realm and Afterlife beings.
They govern their own realms and dominate one hierarchy, projecting that power into the Middle Realm, truly a godlike existence.
Thanks to the devoted Saintess who willingly sacrificed herself, He could now manipulate that body.
Those who had weak divine power would suffer and perhaps even lose their lives merely by their will being projected. But the body and mind of the Saintess had no such restrictions.
It was because her body and spirit had been trained to withstand the projection of will with remarkable ease.
She could even realize the descent of the deity, albeit in a limited form, if she were willing to endure damage.
“The might of a god descending upon the Middle Realm will be known to Grandius, who has taken notice of you. Do not believe that the name of the great one will protect you.”
The vessel of the god bearing the name Shecilly floated into the sky.
The path remained for the Dark Princess to choose.
To cling to the name of the God of Greatness Grandius and make a meaningless resistance.
Or to realize reality, wear the chains, and voluntarily become a pawn of the god under an unfair contract.
In that instant, one human’s choice was set in stone.
Die for opposing God, or become a toy for God, forever exploited until her will extinguished, and her vessel was seized.
“I think otherwise!”
The Dark Princess chose the third path.
No, she pioneered it.
“Title Change!”
An act of revealing her holiest achievement to the world.
Yet, a symbol of futile hope with clear limits that a human could reach.
Title.
A divine weapon only permitted by God in a battle among divine classes.
That weapon shone more brilliantly than ever.
Shimmer!
Flash!
Shine!
Boom!
[The God of Greatness Grandius cries out urgently.]
[“The only way to endure the power of God is with the power of God, so entrust your body to me and escape this crisis!”]
[Grandius proposes an Apostle Contract to you.]
[This time, if you accept the contract, Grandius will guarantee you considerable freedom and benefits.]
[This is an extremely special and merciful contract.]
Even the other divine beings eventually show their true colors when they find ways to become even greater or satisfy their own desires.
The threatening Tranqilo and the scolding Grandius were no different in essence.
This is why the faith route is so troublesome.
Until graduation from the academy, it becomes difficult to oppose the call of gods due to the accumulated divine power.
Summoned by the church.
Following teachings.
Their influence has reached regions small and large across the world over time.
As the years passed, the Principal watched countless patterns, causing their boredom gauge to skyrocket.
Whether this crosses critical points or not determines the ending.
Crossing the critical point leads to the Principal Subjugation Route.
Not crossing yields the Faith Ending.
Succeeding in the Principal Subjugation leads to the final hidden route branching point.
Failing results in the World Destruction Ending.
Choosing to continue the academy at the final hidden route results in the new Principal Ending.
Choosing not to leads to the Great Invasion Route.
If you repel the invasions of a hundred dimensions exploited by the Principal, you achieve the True Peace Ending.
Failing to do so leads to the World Destruction Ending.
In this context, the statement about a hundred dimensions becomes crucial.
Gods are conquerors of a single hierarchy.
Does that hierarchy belong to a hundred dimensions or not?
The answer? It does belong.
Dashing toward the True Ending, gods become enemies without choice.
What if one holds even a scrap of faith?
On the phase of an invasion by the god, who is the master of that hierarchy, you essentially reach game over.
“I don’t need it!”
[You reject the Apostle Contract.]
[“You bring upon your own wrath. Your arrogance has decided your ultimate fate, so what will you do now?”]
[Grandius is both impressed and saddened by your brave defiance against God, frantically moving around in distress.]
Here, the term “I don’t need it” only refers to the rejection of the Apostle Contract.
Veteran players, having faced destruction through the Sacred Route, can never forget the sweet taste of the Sacred Coin.
So they developed a way.
To use Sacred Power without faith.
By following the guidance of Sacred Power or directly interpreting the spells to use independently.
Bam! Pow!
Zap!
[“Reckless! How could you not foresee that trying to reproduce divine power with a mere human body and mind without the qualifications of a scholarly god will destroy your soul?”]
[Grandius seriously contemplates whether to impose divine punishment upon you, but then senses another god’s presence and gasps.]
[Grandius puffs up, trying to resist, but he’s squashed by the divine power.”]
“?”
Grandius wasn’t wrong.
You couldn’t do this with a sane mind.
If you tried to reproduce the power of a world-area unit with a human brain, you’d risk putting your entire mind into it and might become a complete fool.
But what if all the magic in the world naturally heeded your will and helped?
If you could reduce the casting range while minimizing power loss and only mentally visualize the big picture to form the details automatically?
If you had a title that could enforce that.
“Title Change!”
[Title [Guide of Corruption] is released.]
[Guide of Corruption: Entities with Sacred attributes are at risk of being fundamentally warped by you.]
[Effect – Increased chance of success for [Interference] with [Sacred] by 10%.]
[Effect upon Equipping – Success chance for [Interference] with [Sacred] increased by 30%.]
[Title [Guide of Salvation] activates.]
Guide of Salvation: Having saved the world from devastation several times, you have become the hope of the world.
-Effect of Equipping the title: [Endless Respect] activated.
-Effect of Holding the title: Basic Favorability to all beings increased by 10.
[The effect of [Endless Respect] activates.]
Endless Respect (Blessing): When activated, all beings express their respect for you.
From the automatic function assistance of [Molunodi] to the divine interference assist of [Guide of Corruption], then expanding into the world-area assist of [Guide of Salvation], true divine power that not even gods could wield was now manifested here.
Boom! Bang!
Wham!
Shecilly’s body was stomped under the massive step of divine power.
