That day was exceedingly ordinary.
After stepping down as the Saintess, on a day when I was busy traveling the world.
I was swiftly moving to handle a monster when I saw the sky splitting apart as divine and demonic energies surged in the distance.
It wasn’t just another space opening; it was the very ‘sky’ itself being torn apart in a bizarre phenomenon.
At that moment, I felt a tremendous force that was utterly beyond reach, and later learned it was the work of an impossible being.
“The one who has reached the tip of the sword.”
The one who has reached the end of the sword can even slice through the sky.
Holy moly!!
“Uh…?”
And the sky is being split apart by my own hand.
The sky is being cut, mountains are being severed, and celestial beings are being taken down.
Such immense power felt as if it was splitting the world in half, and Ertarn’s dreams began to shake violently.
Right now, this strength is certainly ‘unrealistic.’
[????????]
[What the hell? LOL]
[They said… the sky has been split]
[WTF, why is it splitting;;]
[This is insane]
[Heavenly Horse Lily! Heavenly Horse Lily! Heavenly Horse Lily!]
[Lily, the one who cut the world ㄷㄷ]
[Mind-blowing]
[The silver one is crazy strong, for real ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Wow]
[Did I catch a celestial being?]
[What did I get??]
I look up at the sky.
On the other side of the split sky, another world unfolds.
A gigantic golden whale flies through the aurora, using clouds as its backdrop, and numerous golden towers float throughout.
The golden towers emitted hundreds of square lights like buildings, clearly not ordinary structures.
‘Where on earth is that?’
“…This is going to be a disaster.”
I wanted techniques strong enough to easily neutralize things like the Demon King, but of course, the final boss has shown up.
The highest realm that can be reached with a ‘sword.’
I don’t know how much technique is contained within the Silver Purifier, but it’s probably the best technique out there.
How on earth I got this is a mystery.
“There’s no way I could have gotten it even at the ‘Upper’ level.”
“…Hey.”
“This isn’t… reality!”
Holy moly!!
It’s collapsing.
Dreams are shattering, and I can see the collapse level rising wildly.
If dreams collapse like this, the World Quest would clear, but the celestial being’s change would definitely head in a very negative direction.
I don’t want that.
I raise my sword high, creating a massive sigil made of divine energy.
And then.
├I had a dream.
The world turned.
The world turned.
“One round. Let’s do it.”
“…What?”
“One round. You said you needed proof.”
Warm sunlight streamed in through the window.
The creaky wooden chair looked old and worn with the passage of time, and the teacup on the table was empty.
“Huh?”
And there stood someone made of stone before me.
I snapped back to reality, momentarily dazed.
“Dream, reality, celestial being, Ertarn, me, Lily, Lyons. Restart.”
Countless bits of information about this situation organized rapidly, and I took immediate action.
Creak-!
“Alright. Nearby. There’s a. Bush. Where no people. Come.”
“……”
“Hurry up. Are you scared?”
“Are you stupid or something?”
“What?”
Kaboom!
The village chief’s house shook.
Ertarn clenched her fists, looking a bit angry, but seemed to hold back her strength with people around.
“You asked to prove whether you’re dangerous or not, and now you want to fight? Shouldn’t you show a more peaceful demeanor?”
“…Where did you say that?”
“Because it’s obvious. Anyway, I’ll just look around the village. I need to check that place where you did the ‘prayer’ too.”
Village chief?
“Yes, yes! Knight!”
“Guide me. And tell the people to keep an eye on that monster, as it seems to be having strange thoughts.”
“Is there really a choice…”
“Wait a moment.”
I stepped out of the house with the bowing village chief.
Ertarn tried to stop me, but the residents peeked out from the window of the chief’s house.
‘Uh-oh… If something big happens…’
Among them was the young child who had cried earlier.
Ertarn’s steps froze as her eyes met those of the young child.
“……”
Fortunately, I made a good impression.
[Got it]
[Round 2 begins lol]
[Reborn Hero Lily]
[Seems like I shouldn’t fight?]
[Yep]
[Thought I could just smash everything, but nope]
[It went according to plan]
I left one request with Jeokhye, fearing the dream might collapse unexpectedly.
“If there’s an emergency, shoot a signal, and make it ‘disappear.’”
While I could intervene without worry of being kicked out of the dream, I couldn’t change any text like before.
If I tried to do that, I’d have to break my immersion, and as soon as I did, I’d be kicked out of the dream.
I need to break the immersion, but the moment I do, I’ll be kicked out of the dream.
“But the Jeokhye outside is different.”
A power like that of a god, capable of turning the world with just a few letters.
Jeokhye, who doesn’t know the letters of the giants, hasn’t lived for 700 years without picking up a thing or two from the essentials.
Even if I can’t fix the finer details, writing “It’s a dream, someone’s coming, using something!” isn’t too hard.
The finer details are what I’ll have to handle from now on.
“Giving them a lead would be a bit troublesome.”
I had no choice but to fight to enter the dream, but once I’m in, there’s no need to fight again.
Whether I win or lose, the outcome won’t be good, and above all, I can’t deceive the eyes of the celestial being.
It’s better to hide my strength as much as possible.
The Village Chief kindly guided me, and perhaps because the village is so small, it took less than 20 minutes to finish exploring.
“…This is all there is to the village. The place where we pray is quite far. Is that okay?”
“No problem.”
“Yes. Understood.”
The Village Chief led me to a deep part of the forest, the place of prayer, after about 20 minutes of walking.
Normally, it would take two hours, but since I cleared the obstacles in my way, it was shortened to this.
“Haah… Haah…”
Part of it was that I was getting frustrated and used a buff to move quickly.
“You’re dramatic.”
“…Huu, I thought I was going to die…”
“Hmm.”
While the Village Chief took a moment to rest, I looked around.
The underbrush seemed well-maintained, and delicious-looking food was still placed on the smooth rocks.
Of course, judging by the standards of this remote village, it didn’t seem that impressive.
[Not much here]
[Let’s break the rock]
[It is quite far]
[I might just die here lol]
[Doesn’t look too appetizing]
[Seems like something might come out if I dig into the rock?]
“This is where we first prayed.”
“What was the prayer about?”
“It was a prayer to defeat a monster… It’s a bit awkward to say, but we do have a separate god we worship.”
“A god?”
What god?
“Yes, it’s a god named Buabua, a mythical being passed down in my village. I’ve never seen it, but I believe in it.”
“……”
Buabua…
I’ve never heard of a monster by that name.
It must be one of the monsters living here.
‘Gods and monsters are just a layer apart.’
“Then why are we believing in another monster now?”
“…At first, we were a bit taken aback too. Buabua is the god of the earth. So, we placed expensive food on a nice flat rock and prayed.”
They prayed to the existence they usually believed in, Buabua, but there had been no response for days.
Despite the ongoing prayers, everyone was getting tired without any answer, but they couldn’t give up.
‘This was the only method left.’
Monsters couldn’t be stopped with the strength of the village residents, and outside help was out of reach.
The Silver Lion Knight Order had come, but it took them almost three years to barely arrive.
For the villagers who were dying day by day, this hope was probably all they had.
“After a long prayer of patience, that person finally revealed themselves. But…”
“Something else came.”
“They didn’t look like what we had inherited.”
The god of the earth, Buabua, was a kind, motherly figure.
Contrary to the villagers’ expectations of a gentle and warm image, a woman made entirely of stone appeared.
Everyone was on guard.
Her expressionless face looked icy, and the gray stone surface seemed very cold.
The village chief shook his head as if imagining that day and then smiled contentedly.
“But it was our misunderstanding.”
“……”
“That person wasn’t cold. They just looked cold because they had never expressed anything.”
Also…
“Her touch was cold but also warm at the same time. She cares for us deeply.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. She’s not dangerous enough to worry the knight. It’s a bit weird to say, but she seems a little like a young child.”
An existence that doesn’t know much about the world.
After all, Ertarn had just developed a sense of self not long ago.
Right now, because she keeps repeating dreams, she shows various reactions, but the original Ertarn must have truly been like a child.
[Hmm]
[Totally captivated]
[Let’s break it]
[What do we do now, huh?]
[I feel like we shouldn’t touch it]
“…For now, let’s just observe. For a while.”
“Do you believe in her?”
“For a while. Just for a while.”
She slightly nods her hand.
The signal is 7.
And so, a week passed.
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