Chapter: 220
Luca didn’t put much thought into choosing this forest as the trial’s location.
He simply picked this place because it was one of the few remaining spots without a dungeon that seemed appropriate.
Some areas looked way too easy for Lucy, while others appeared excessively difficult. Some spots were teeming with people, making it risky to be detected, and yet others were so far away that timing was out of the question.
After considering all these factors, what remained was this cursed forest.
He began pondering this morning, made a decision by lunchtime, and brought her here by evening. There was no way to prepare in advance.
If the forest was a well-known location, it could have been explained based on prior knowledge, but that was out of the question.
The dead forest was notorious for its dark rumors. The nobility saw no reason to approach it,
while superstitious adventurers wouldn’t even dare set foot here.
Even the clergy only visited to ensure the evil spirits couldn’t escape, which was the bare minimum of management.
To put it simply, the dead forest was a place where there was nothing to be known.
Therefore, it was safe to say that studying this forest in advance was impossible. Where there’s nothing known, how can you study it?
But strangely enough, Lucy Alrn knew far too much about this forest.
Her steps walking through the pitch-black woods, where one could barely see an inch ahead, were utterly unrestrained.
If nothing appeared at the end of her journey, I might have thought it was just baseless confidence, but it wasn’t.
At every turn, there was always something waiting for Lucy Alrn.
That ‘something’ was always pivotal to this forest. It was those things that the few who knew about the forest would all whisper and advise against encountering.
When I defeated the first malevolent spirit, I thought it was coincidence.
Upon meeting the second, I grew suspicious.
By the time I faced the third, a single thought crossed my mind, and after defeating the fourth one, I deemed it highly likely. Now, facing the true master of this forest, I was absolutely certain.
Lucy Alrn’s goal was to purify this forest.
This forest, which had been cursed since ancient times, a place no one had thought to resolve.
People deemed it not worth the effort to clean up, choosing to let it remain as is.
She was trying to return it to its former state.
But why?
It probably wasn’t Lucy Alrn’s will alone. It more likely reflected the intentions of a higher being, one that had significantly influenced the creation of current Lucy Alrn.
The foulness that had tainted this forest with death was colossal.
It blocked out the light of the moon and stars with its black magic. It filled the void left by the vanished forest’s guardians with its own vast power.
Even Luca, a professor at the academy, would feel a sense of dread in its presence.
If an ordinary citizen were to encounter me, they would kneel and scream for their god.
If a seasoned adventurer met me, instead of drawing a weapon, they would have scampered off to relay tales of what they saw.
If the lord around here saw me, rather than face me themselves, they would have sought refuge in the church.
That which obscured the sky with its imposing form was not something that a mere first-year student at the academy should have stood against.
It was a creature that called for the clerical knights to come to hunt it down.
If the being standing before me was indeed just a first-year student at the academy, Luca would have jumped in to fight that necromancer instead.
He was someone who would throw a student into the border between life and death, not someone who would throw them straight into death itself.
Yet, this time, Luca didn’t do that. He felt no reason to intervene.
Luca wasn’t unusual. Anyone would think the same seeing Lucy Alrn shining like the sun in the middle of the forest.
Luca witnessed it.
He saw Lucy bravely walking toward the ominous energy that would cause anyone to shiver.
Instead of panicking, she was ready to fight, a steady beacon in the darkness, attracting all the maleficent stares of the spirits.
Raising her voice toward the forest’s master.
And entering a fierce battle without a hint of retreat against that wicked presence.
The curses spat out by the surrounding spirits were not even permitted to approach Lucy.
The foul powers held by the forest’s master were no different. The magic that should have corrupted everything it touched merely scattered like smoke in Lucy’s presence.
The spirits resurrected from the ground were purified the moment they touched her sanctity, and the spells the forest’s master used weren’t much different.
In contrast, Lucy’s attacks were consistently threatening.
Every time she swung her mace, the immense, sinister force possessed by the forest’s master would falter, a groan echoing through the entire woods.
Every time she ignited her sanctity, the spirits roaming nearby were blown away.
It was beyond just possessing the right match-up.
The incredible strength she demonstrated was something that surpassed what anyone her age should have.
With her extensive field experience.
Having taught numerous individuals at the academy.
Having imprinted countless stars into her eyes.
She understood what the most radiant star truly was.
Thus, Luca couldn’t help but utter words of admiration.
“Is that really a first-year student at the academy?”
If that person standing there was a saint from the Church of the Lord, Luca could have understood that.
Having been chosen by the divine and honing her sanctity since childhood, she would have been someone to perform miracles in various places.
But that person was not a saint.
Just a few years ago, she had been a reckless child who didn’t shy away from spitting insults toward the gods.
Had it not been for the radiance of the Alrn family, she would have probably already been erased for her blasphemy.
And yet, here she stood, possessing such extraordinary sanctity.
“Is she one being favored by the gods?”
Luca, well-versed in the rumors within the academy, knew of the recent nickname that had attached itself to Lucy.
“Favored by the Gods.”
It was a foolish nickname bestowed because of her closeness to Phebi, but for some reason, Luca thought it perfectly captured Lucy’s essence.
Now that he thought about it, the reason for this change in her might have been due to hearing the words of the divine.
Luca detested the phrase “being favored by the gods.” In his view, it presented a reversed causality.
He didn’t think that due to receiving divine favor, one gained talent. Instead, he believed that the talented were noticed and chosen by the gods.
It meant that those with great potential had been recognized by divine eyes.
In that sense, Lucy Alrn was undoubtedly someone loved by the gods.
A person deemed worthy of the gods’ affection due to her remarkable talents.
“Wow. No matter how much pride I take in my crafting skills, I should bow down to the divine.”
The great god was practically a senior to Luca in this path.
Given that within the long course of history, so many suns had been created at the hands of that being, how could Luca dare to act foolishly?
Overwhelmed by Lucy’s impressive stance as she threatened the forest’s master with her mace, Luca let out a chuckle.
He had come to acknowledge it.
That Lucy bore the touch of a greater artisan than himself.
That he would only act as an obstacle in the process of refining her star.
“Well… should I watch and learn on the side?
Let’s see just how exceptional my senior truly is.”
And perhaps add a little of my own flair here and there.
I’m not sure if I’ll be allowed to, though…
– You insignificant worm!
“Eek ♡ Are you proud of your thick body, lady? ♡ What unique tastes you have! Are you perhaps a half-breed of human and orc? ♡ It really suits you~ ♡”
Um. Before that, I should be worried about whether my magic will work on Lady Alrn.
That person has already surpassed the level of the academy by leagues.
Even if she were to operate in the field, she would be treated as an excellent talent. Honestly, it makes me a bit anxious.
If I fail my magic, how should I convince her? Would offering to save my life suffice? I sure hope so. I don’t want to feel suicidal just yet.
Even if I were to die, I’d want to see how that light I once beheld would fade…
*
[Spirits are rushing in!]
“Got it!”
Since the Partran Territory Festival had ended, I had holed myself up in the territory, but that time was filled with nothing but training.
During the day, I endlessly trained with the Alrn family’s knights, and at night, I practiced handling sanctity with Grandpa in practice mode.
Furthermore, whenever I found spare moments, Bishop Johan visited our mansion to teach me various things, so I had become a completely different person in the field of sanctity as compared to the me before the break.
One of those achievements was this.
Purifying Light.
It was the sacred spell that served as the original source of the miracle Grandpa had shown me when facing the Evil God of Fire in Menestel, with the effect of purifying unclean things in the presence of holy light.
As with such spells, the user’s sanctity greatly influences their effectiveness.
The sanctity I possessed was that which the pathetic god directly bestowed upon me.
How could any evil spirits dare withstand this sanctity that even the Evil God feared?
The spirits resurrected to the earth could not endure the light and had to return to where they originally belonged, thanks to the summon of the necromancer.
– So, you stand in my way again, Holy Knight!
Now that the battle had intensified, the necromancer had lost her composure.
She no longer searched for her daughter’s name.
Merely identifying me with the holy knight she once saw, she aimed to kill me.
Hmm. First, let’s hit her a bit more to weaken her…
[You cannot persuade her.]
‘…Never had such thoughts.’
[I know everything. Do you think I’ve not seen someone like you before?]
In truth, I had thought that there might be a way to veer off in a direction different from the game.
Maybe, like with Karia, there might be a method.
However, I had grown tired of conventional endings. At this point, I wanted to see a different conclusion.
But Grandpa had declared to me.
You have already crossed the road leading back. What you intend to do is impossible.
[Do not hold onto regrets. You must sever what needs to be severed.]
‘…I suppose you’re right?’
I had understood it well.
The reason I could save Karia was that she was still alive and hadn’t become consumed. The necromancer, who had already been consumed by the spirits, had no way of salvation.
[Finish it. That is the only way to save her.]
Abandoning my regrets, I imbued the head of my mace with sanctity.
With the evolution of sacred martial arts into holy martial arts, various changes occurred.
First, it became easier to imbue my weapon with sanctity.
It also meant that I could produce great power with less sanctity than before.
And one more thing. A technique that could be called my ultimate attack had emerged.
Taking a deep breath, I raised my mace high.
With all the sanctity circulating within my body concentrated at the top of the mace, a small sun materialized.
As the gentle and warm light brightened the forest, the necromancer gasped, gathering her magic.
However, after exhausting herself in the continuous battle, her spirit wasn’t strong enough to withstand the sanctity of the gods.
As the mace swung down, the sun descended from the sky, erasing all the wickedness in that vicinity from existence.
– Ding!
[You have successfully purified the dead forest!]
[You have passed one of Luca’s trials!]
[Rewards are being issued!]
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