Chapter: 220
Luca had no special reason for choosing this forest as the trial location.
He simply picked it because it was the most suitable among the few remaining places after excluding the dungeon.
Some spots seemed far too easy for someone named Lucy, while others appeared excessively difficult. Some were crowded and likely to expose them, while others were so remote that timing would be a challenge.
Considering all those factors, what remained was this dead forest.
He started contemplating this morning, made a decision by noon, and brought them here in the evening. So, it was impossible to have prepared in advance.
If this forest had been a well-known location, he could have explained it by saying he already knew about it, but that was not the case.
The dead forest was a place tainted by many unpleasant rumors. The nobles felt no reason to approach it, and the superstitious adventurers wouldn’t even dare set foot here.
The clergy might visit it regularly, but they only managed the area to prevent malevolent spirits from escaping.
In short, the dead forest was a place that people knew nothing about.
Thus, it could be confidently stated: studying this forest in advance was impossible. How could one study something unknown?
However, strangely, Lucy Allen seemed to know far too much about this forest.
Walking through the pitch-black woods, her steps were unhesitating.
If nothing had appeared at the end, one might think it was baseless confidence, but that was not the case.
There was always something at the end of Lucy Allen’s steps.
It was always something that had a significant influence on the forest, things that those aware of the woods unanimously said should not be encountered.
When she first defeated a malevolent spirit, she thought it was a coincidence.
By the time she met her second opponent, doubt began to arise.
When she encountered her third opponent, a certain thought crossed her mind, and after defeating the fourth creature, she considered it quite likely. Now that she was face to face with the true master of this forest, she was convinced.
Lucy Allen’s objective was clear. She sought to purify this forest.
A forest that no one dared to resolve since the time of the necromancer long ago.
With no one considering it worthy of the effort, the status quo was deemed sufficient for this woodland.
She was trying to revert it to its former state.
Why?
That was probably not Lucy Allen’s intent but rather the will of a greater existence that had a profound influence on the creation of the current Lucy Allen.
What had surely tainted the forest with death was something immensely grand.
It had hidden the light of the moon and stars with black magic. As the beings that once led the forest disappeared, what filled the void was not light but its own dark energy.
Even Luca, a professor at the academy, felt an overwhelming presence from it.
If an ordinary citizen encountered such a being, they would kneel and cry out to the god they believed in.
If an experienced adventurer faced it, instead of drawing their weapons recklessly, they would have fled swiftly to report on it.
If the lord of this area laid eyes on it, rather than confronting it directly, they would have asked the church for salvation.
This being that overshadowed the sky was not something a mere first-year academy student could confront alone.
It was something that warranted the church’s knights to declare a hunt.
If what stood in front of them were just any first-year academy student, Luca would have jumped in instead to defeat that necromancer.
He was one who would throw students onto the line between life and death, not one who would throw them into death.
However, this time, Luca felt no need for that.
Luca was not the unusual one. Anyone who saw Lucy Allen shining like the sun in the middle of the forest would think the same.
Luca saw it.
He saw Lucy walking towards the ominous presence that anyone would surely recoil from.
He saw her preparing for battle instead of fleeing when faced with that dreadful scenery.
He saw her confidently becoming a beacon in the darkness, attracting all the necromancers’ attention.
He witnessed her raising her voice towards the master of the forest.
And he watched as she continued to fight without retreating against the unholy being.
The curses emitted by the surrounding necromancers were not even permitted to reach Lucy.
Likewise, the unholy magic of the forest’s owner was no different. The power that would have rotted what it touched merely scattered like smoke before Lucy.
The necromancers resurrected from the earth were purified the moment they touched her divinity, and even the magic used by the forest’s owner was not significantly different.
On the other hand, Lucy’s attacks were always threatening.
Every time she swung her mace, the immense divinity possessed by the forest’s master trembled, and a groan of pain echoed throughout the forest.
Whenever she ignited the divine light, the surrounding necromancers dispersed.
It was not something that could be described simply as a matter of superiority.
An overwhelming strength that could not be possessed at her age.
Having been in the field for a long time.
Having taught countless students at the academy.
Having engraved numerous stars in his eyes.
Knowing what the most radiant star looked like, Luca could not help but exclaim in admiration.
“Is that really a first-year student at the academy?”
If what stood there was the saintess of the church of Jushin, Luca would have understood.
She was someone chosen by the god and had polished her divinity since childhood, already performing miracles in various places.
But she was not a saintess.
Just a few years ago, she had been a reckless child who would boldly utter insults against the gods.
Without the prestige of the Allen family, she would have been erased long ago for blasphemy.
That person held such divinity.
“Is she someone favored by the gods?”
Luca, who was well-versed in rumors within the academy, knew the recent nickname that had stuck to Lucy.
The favored one by the gods.
It was a silly nickname given due to her closeness with Phoebe, but for some reason, Luca thought that name aptly described Lucy.
Thinking back, it was said that her transformation was due to hearing the words of the gods.
Luca personally disliked the idea of using the phrase “favored by the gods” for those with widely acclaimed names. He believed it was a statement that misconstrued the cause and effect.
He thought that she gained talent because she was bestowed by the gods, not that the one with talent was being marked and chosen by the gods.
The idea was that she must have already had exceptional talent to catch the god’s eye in the first place.
In that sense, Lucy Allen was certainly someone favored by the gods.
Someone regarded as having talent worthy of the great god’s favor.
“Wow. No matter how proud I am of my craft, I guess I have to concede to the gods.”
The great god was practically Luca’s senior in this path.
In the long, winding history, he had created countless suns, and if that person had already taken notice, how could Luca be so foolish?
Gazing in awe at Lucy threatening the master of the forest with her mace, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
He had to admit it.
That Lucy had been touched by a greater craftsman’s hand.
That he would only hinder the shining star that was her.
“Well, let’s see if I can learn something from the side.”
“I wonder how exceptional my senior is.”
“And maybe I’ll sneak in a bit of my own taste along the way.”
“I don’t know if I will be allowed to, though.”
– Whew, you insignificant creature!
“Whoa! Are you really proud of your auntie’s assets?♡ That’s a unique taste! Are you perhaps half-human and half-orc?♡ You fit together so well~♡”
“Hmmm. But first, I should be worried whether my magic will work on Lady Allen.”
“That person has already surpassed the level of the academy by a landslide.”
“Honestly, it makes me a little uneasy. If I fail in magic, how can I persuade her? Would saying I’ll let her keep my life satisfy her? Because I really don’t feel like dying yet.”
“Even if I die, I want to see that person fading the light I once saw.”
*
[The necromancers are approaching!]
‘Got it!’
Despite having been holed up in the lord’s territory since the festival in Partlan, that time had been filled with the word “training.”
During the day, I had been training together with the knights of the Allen family, and at night, I practiced divinity with grandpa in practice mode.
On top of that, whenever I had free time, Bishop Johan would visit our mansion to teach me various things, so the me before the vacation and the me now were practically different people in dealing with divinity.
One of those accomplishments was this.
Purification Light.
The divine magic that served as the basis for the miracle shown by grandpa during the confrontation with the Evil God of Fire in Menestel has the effect of purifying the unholy with the light of divinity.
Like all magic, the effectiveness greatly depends on the divinity of the user.
The divinity I possess is the one granted directly by the Sloppy God.
How could any lesser creature stand against a divine power that even the Evil God fears?
The spirits summoned to rise from the earth could not withstand the light and returned to where they originally belonged.
– So you block my way again, Holy Knight!
With the battle intensifying, the necromancer lost her wits.
She no longer sought her daughter’s name.
She was merely moving to kill me, identifying me with the holy knight she had seen in the past.
“Well. I guess I’ll just beat her up a bit more to weaken her first…”
[Unable to persuade.]
‘…I’ve never thought of that.’
[I know everything. Do you think I’ve only seen a handful of people like you? ]
To be honest, I had thought about it. Wondering if there was a way to progress differently from the game.
Perhaps there might be a method, just as when I rescued Karia.
But the truth was, I was tired of seeing the usual endings. If possible, I wanted to see a different conclusion this time.
However, grandpa firmly stated to me.
“You have already crossed the road of no return. What you are attempting now is impossible.”
[Do not harbor regrets. Cut off what must be severed.]
‘…I guess so?’
I actually knew deep down.
The reason I could save Karia was that she was still alive. The necromancer, already consumed by the spirit, could not be saved.
[Finish it. That is the way to save her.]
I dumped the divinity into the head of my mace, cutting off any lingering feelings.
The transformation brought about as my Holy Fist Technique evolved into Divine Sword Technique led to several changes.
First, it became easier to infuse my weapon with divinity.
Second, with less divinity, it could unleash tremendous power.
And one more: I now had a technique that could be labeled a finishing move.
Taking a deep breath, I raised my mace above my head.
As all the divinity swirling within me concentrated, a small sun appeared above my mace.
Bathe the forest in warm and gentle light, causing the necromancer to panic and gather her magic.
However, after a series of battles, the necromancer’s power was not enough to withstand the Sloppy God’s divinity.
As the mace swung down, the sun fell from above, erasing all evil around in a sweeping motion.
– Ding!
[You have succeeded in purifying the dead forest!]
[You have passed one of Luca’s trials!]
[Rewards are being distributed!]
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