Chapter: 496
Seeing the magic circle stained black, Yuden swiftly swung her sword.
Not a casual probing strike. This was a single blow aimed to sever the neck of her opponent.
An attack so brilliant it could be deemed the pinnacle of a Sword Saint’s technique pierced the air and soared towards the Apostle of the Void.
The moment her sword sliced down, Yuden felt certain it had made contact.
Her extensive experience accumulated over countless encounters had guided her instincts, prophesying her victory.
Reality later confirmed that her intuition was spot on.
The Apostle’s body and head separated, splattering a crimson liquid all around.
“What do you think the Void is, Sword Saint?”
Yet the Apostle’s voice did not cease. Even as his head floated in the air and rolled on the ground, it still managed to speak.
“Many scholars claim that the Void is a space of nothingness—a hellish place devoid of any positive elements that govern the world.”
“Saint! Lady Partran! Channel your powers!”
“I’m already doing it!”
“The energy here is overwhelming!”
From the moment they arrived in this chamber, Phoebe and Joy had been striving to counter the powers of the Void.
Despite their efforts, the sheer amount of Void energy was too much to dispel entirely.
Even with Phoebe’s holy powers that befit her position as a saint, and Joy’s remarkable talents that everyone at the academy wished to harness, the vast power they faced proved too formidable.
Damn, this is turning chaotic! I might have to accept some losses but I must ruin their plans!
With a tense expression, Yuden prepared to swing her sword once more, but the Apostle’s head, still grinning, spoke with ease.
“Some say the Void is a power not even worth discussing. Why pay attention to something that doesn’t even exist?”
As Yuden swung her sword again, cutting through not only the Apostle’s rolling head but also the followers of the Void lingering inside, the Apostle’s voice still echoed in the room.
“But that’s not the case. The Void is purity, untouched by anything; it is the essence of pure white itself.”
With each word from the Apostle, the scenery in the room began to change.
Those Yuden had just cut down regained their composure.
The previously blackened magic circle transformed into a brilliant white.
The view outside the now-dark window turned whiter than a snowy landscape.
The Apostle’s gaze was fixated on the group, his eyes shifting to a colorless blank canvas.
“Too many things exist in this world right now. Over a long, tedious time, many things have piled up, distancing themselves from purity.”
Listening to the Apostle’s ramblings, Yuden held back her attacks for a moment.
If I keep attacking blindly, nothing will change. It’d just tire me out. What is this? It’s different from their bodies simply regenerating.
I’ve faced enough of their kind. If it were that simple, I’d just slash them until they couldn’t regenerate.
“The bountiful pollution stacked upon purity is staining the world black. If this continues, everything will turn so black that it’ll reach an irreversible level.”
“What? So you plan to blow everything up and restart?”
“Precisely! Yes! That’s right! Starting from this world, we’ll return everything to purity and begin anew!”
The Apostle of the Void spoke of a world without classes. A world without capital. A world without discrimination. A world without nations.
“Lady Partran, you’ve been born into privilege, so you wouldn’t understand. I comprehend! Such is the nature of power! However, the other two are different! The saint who grew up in an orphanage and experienced hell! The Sword Saint who was a mercenary from the slums! You know how trashy the established order is!”
As he raised his voice, veins protruding from his neck, Phoebe and Yuden didn’t seem moved in the slightest.
Phoebe looked down at the Apostle with a sympathetic gaze, while Yuden merely shook her head, indicating it wasn’t worth responding to.
Meeting their eyes, the Apostle stared blankly ahead before erupting into a fit of mad laughter.
As laughter filled the room turning it whiter, Joy piped up, stepping between Phoebe and Yuden with her tiny voice.
“Attacking them now is pointless. No matter how much we attack, we’ll just revert to square one.”
“…Please explain further.”
“It’s the Apostle’s power of the Void. It just reset what just happened back to nothing.”
Joy recalled the details that Lucy had scribbled in the book and continued her explanation.
The origin of the power of the Void starts from casting oneself into the Void—a state of being nothing.
Being nothing allows one to become anything else.
Most followers can only throw themselves, and even that is limited, but the Apostle is different.
As someone favored by the Evil God of the Void, the Apostle can transform not only himself but the very phenomena around him into nothing.
Even if it’s his own death.
“Lucy mentioned there is a limit to this, but…”
What the Apostle is displaying now seems far from any limits. He must be receiving an immense amount of power from the academy’s magic circle.
This power not only supports the dungeon comprising a hundred floors, but also nurtures various positive energies within the academy and maintains a barrier to prevent outside disturbances.
“The Lady can sever the connection if she approaches the magic circle?”
“In theory, yes.”
Having been taught by Erginius, the creator of the magic circle, Joy believed that if they could get close enough, they might sever the link.
And with Phoebe by her side, dispelling the evil energy that invaded the magic circle shouldn’t be too difficult either.
The issue, however, was that just getting to the magic circle itself was a challenge. How can we overcome those beings that can turn even death into nothing?
“…This is troubling.”
Yuden felt just as bleak about the situation. Slashing through those in front of her was not an issue.
No matter what they did, she had confidence everything she did would turn meaningless.
But then what should she do? Anything she achieved would just be rendered void.
Hmm. I guess the only thing to do is keep swinging my sword until the magic circle’s output hits its limit.
“I think I might be able to help.”
Just as both Yuden’s and Joy’s expressions were clouded with confusion, Phoebe stepped forward.
The warm divine aura surrounding her began restoring the world to its original colors.
Could it be that the power of divinity couldn’t be ignored? In an instant, the Apostle of the Void stopped laughing and looked at Phoebe with narrowed eyes.
“Help? Are you referring to the fake saint created by the Church of the Lord?”
At the Apostle’s words, Joy’s eyes widened in surprise and even Yuden glanced over, shocked, but Phoebe remained unflinching.
“Yes, indeed.”
“Hahaha! What a ridiculous claim! What can you possibly do? You—who should be the shame of the Lord—what can you achieve? You might as well just start over! For within the purity, even your existence, as sinner, can become pure.”
“I refuse. You, who are nothing.”
Even in the face of the Apostle’s provocation, Phoebe smiled, causing a glint of irritation to glisten in the Apostle’s eyes.
“That trial. Those hardships. That sin. Everything that makes me who I am now! What good is resetting all of that to nothing?”
“Then perhaps your genuine faith might be acknowledged?”
“You truly know nothing. I’ve already been rewarded by the Lord.”
“…What?”
Phoebe outwardly revealed her divine presence. This wasn’t the mundane divinity that priests of the Lord used, but a warmth akin to the sun.
As the great divine energy spread out around her, the power of the Void began to retreat, slowly coloring the once pure white scenery.
“Unlike the petty figure you worship, the Lord is infinitely merciful.”
Standing in the middle with newfound confidence, Phoebe smiled at the Apostle of the Void.
“Enough to embrace a sinner like me.”
“…What arrogance.”
“I think it’s natural that you wouldn’t understand. Your God likely holds no such tolerance.”
Even in front of the Apostle’s furious glare, amidst numerous enemies targeting Phoebe, facing threats infused with the power of the Void, Phoebe stood with poise.
It wasn’t that the current situation didn’t frighten her.
It wasn’t that she didn’t value her life.
It was simply because she believed.
Believed in the Great Lord who had just cheered her on. And the Apostle of the Lord who had set all of this up.
“Why the long face? If everything’s going to return to purity like you say, then my words should disappear too, right?”
“If you truly wish for a return to the Void, then so be it.”
With the Apostle’s hostility looming, Phoebe unleashed her magic.
A spell she had once used when Lucy performed miracles. And now, it was hers.
The domain of divinity spread around Phoebe.
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