“I’ll choose the third one.”
[You have selected the third reward.]
[Class Change – Holy Mage (?)]
Purpose – Rescue the Forgotten Emperor.
Reward – Acquire Holy Mage Level 4, Saintess Path (Restricted).
[If this quest is not cleared, the World Boss, ‘Forgotten Emperor (Half)’ will appear in the world!]
The other two pieces of parchment, aside from the third, burn away in a pure white flame.
They burn well.
[Oh]
[Let’s go, Saintess Lily~]
[Saintess Lily returns ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[I was eager to defeat her, but bye for now ;ㅂ;;]
[Level 4 upgrade! Level 4 upgrade! Level 4 upgrade!]
[I totally chose 3 because Lily is a tsundere ㅋㅋㅋ]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[How do we stop Level 4 Lily now?]
[Oh, nice Saintess]
[As expected, it’s Lily]
The past Lily looked at me with a surprised expression.
“I thought it was a meaningless choice, but this is really unexpected.”
“If it were up to me, I’d want to choose Divine Descent… but I can’t help it if I want to fulfill all my desires.”
“Why?”
Her expression turns enigmatic.
It really looks like she’s asking for the answer.
Although she was the one who presented the options, she could not know what I would choose.
I extended the parchment a bit longer.
Inside the parchment, a Saintess kneeling with a spear embedded is drawn.
“If you choose number 1 and defeat me, you’ll gain Level 4 and the Path of the Spear. It won’t hurt me at all. It’s not like I can’t win.”
“…Are you sure about that?”
“Yep.”
I can win.
No matter how strong she is, I have all the knowledge I’ve accumulated.
The past Lily made a bit of a pouty face, but I continued to speak with a smile.
“But… you won’t achieve what you want. If you lose, it will definitely go in a bad direction.”
“…And the second option?”
“The second option is Divine Descent. I would have chosen it before hearing the third one.”
It’s not a quest that allows for an instantaneous Level 4 upgrade, but it’s a technique that enhances stats without any real constraints.
Unlike the other two choices, it doesn’t require additional tasks, and you can use it right away.
It’s also the choice that the past Lily desires.
“However.”
[However?]
“The purpose of being here is not for me.”
It feels like the roles have reversed, but I came here to find the ‘Pharaoh’s’ body.
I just need to fully locate the Pharaoh’s body, nothing more, nothing less.
That’s why even during the first time frame, I gathered information about the Pharaoh and Serrek.
But as the past Lily learned the truth and started moving along a different path, the focus shifted away from the Pharaoh.
“This is That Guy Uncle’s. No, it’s the Pharaoh’s dungeon. I need to take care of the most important thing first.”
[Oh]
[King That Guy Uncle]
[He Who Must Not Be Named]
[That Guy lol]
[Oh, you’re right]
[By the way, isn’t That Guy Uncle still on floor 9?]
Isn’t it something?
[Pharaoh Uncle lololol]
He picks up the parchment.
As the white-clad saintess slowly opens her eyes, the pure white room shifts, returning to the desert ruins.
A man quietly keeping his eyes closed.
The one who coveted Pharaoh’s body, the Forgotten Emperor.
“For Pharaoh to fully acquire this body, the impurities within must be removed.”
“…But is there really a need for salvation? You could easily remove it, right, senpai?”
It’s not that I’m limited by interference; as long as I can return, I can definitely remove it with my own power.
But I’m intentionally choosing the third option and trying to save the Forgotten Emperor, who is a ‘Celestial.’
I turned my head.
“I said I’d fulfill everything you desire.”
“Why…”
“If you choose the third option, you will go to Deoen. However, since you haven’t lost your power, you will go with your memories erased.”
It’s not certain, but the three promises past Lily received from the System were probably as follows.
The first option allows you to go to Deoen with all power and memories if you can defeat me.
The second option lets you go, but you lose all your powers and memories.
The third option means you won’t lose your power, but you will lose your memories.
‘Technically, I was the fourth option.’
No loss of power, but intact memories.
Moreover, the chances are high that past Lily’s second and third options will result in her being ‘reincarnated’ in a new body, rather than her original.
After all, there’s no way they’d give a complete reward to someone who hasn’t cleared the main quest.
In fact, the third option could never have been chosen if it were truly the original.
“……”
“As you know, I believe a price should be paid for that kind of thing.”
You’re someone who deserves to receive a price.
“…The quest is not about me but the salvation of the Forgotten Emperor.”
“One must give up one to gain another. It’s not without my responsibility.”
Above all.
This guy’s meddling hasn’t changed in decades.
[Wow]
[Saving myself, on behalf of Lily]
[This is hilarious lololololol]
[Wow]
[Definitely a saintess]
Past Lily bows her head.
Having hesitated to say something, she finally lets out a sigh and nods.
“…I will leave it to your choice.”
“Then.”
The holy power bursting from my fingertips sketches dozens of magic spells.
As if breaking free from the restrictions of interference all at once, the magic entity flies and separates the Forgotten Emperor from the Pharaoh.
The Forgotten Emperor, floating in the air.
Having lost his body, he’s startled by his own form but soon starts to flap his wings slowly while looking at himself.
[Is that a bird?]
[That’s a bird]
Wings he had longed for so much.
Finally, the child with wings transforms into a bird and disappears into the distance.
“…What did you just do?”
“I did as you wished.”
“So you can fly high.”
“I gifted you the wings of the ‘Celestial Race.'”
Ding!
[Quest, Class Change – Holy Mage (?) has been completed.]
[Temporarily, Holy Mage (Lily Elbrite) has reached 4th tier, ‘Path of the Saintess.’]
[(Temporary) Unique Holy Power has been unlocked.]
[(Temporary) Unique Ability has been unlocked.]
[(Temporary) All stats and Holy Power have been converted to ‘Holy Healing.’]
[(Temporary) Dedicated weapon is being generated…]
…
[User, Lily Elbrite is currently undergoing ‘Integration.’]
[This is a limited Awakening. A maximum time restriction of 3 hours per day has been imposed. (02:59:59)]
Finally, 4th tier!
■
A pure white light of healing spreads out.
An overwhelming divinity fills the space, and a translucent fabric emerges at the tips of my shoulders, hanging down like a cloak.
Behind me, the healing divinity forms pure white wings, while white magic circles protect their master.
I take a deep breath.
“It’s been a while.”
The sense of omnipotence is vividly felt.
This is on par with the level of wearing a coffin.
[Oh wow]
[Lily has grown]
[OMG]
[This is epic]
[4th tier Lily, lolololol]
[She seems super strong, right?]
[Saintess Lily is crazy, lololololol]
[What a vibe]
[Definitely an alien]
[Wow, wtf]
“Wait? This is a bit less than I expected…”
“……”
“Maybe if I reverse the healing, it could work? It’s a bit tricky. Since the holy power has been altered, my techniques might not work as well as before─”
“As expected.”
“What?”
“There was a reason for everything.”
Swish.
Eyes filled with distant divinity look back at the past Lily.
She gazes at me with a look of astonishment.
“I wish to have a conversation.”
“? We’re already talking, aren’t we?”
“I want to talk just the two of us.”
“Hmm…”
Is she asking me to turn off the broadcast?
[?]
[Are you telling me to leave?]
[4th tier test, shall we? 4th tier test, shall we?]
[Why do NPCs these days all know about broadcasts?]
[No way]
I do kind of want to head back, though.
“I’ll just chat for a bit, hold on.”
She must have something she wants to say.
[Ah]
[Don’t go]
[Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go]
[Lily, do you want to see me going crazy?!]
“What if I miss the highlights?”
I briefly turned the screen to somewhere in Elbrite and switched off the mic.
Now I can have a conversation.
I lightly waved my hand and returned to the room we first met in.
This time, I sit in the chair first.
“Now that there’s no one watching, feel free to speak.”
“Understood.”
“……”
This feels way too comfortable now!
Creak─
Past Lily sits down.
Now the situation has flipped.
“I have a lot of questions. I know you’ll forget everything now, but there was something I really wanted to ask. You are my future, after all.”
“Sure. Ask away.”
Since it’s her last chance, I’ll answer everything.
“When I first learned of your existence, I couldn’t understand you. If you had returned to Earth, you would’ve ended the battle between the two races, but you seem so weak.”
“That’s true.”
Look at all the power I’ve sealed away.
Then they just tossed me twenty million won and acted like it was none of their business.
What the heck am I supposed to do with twenty million won?
‘When I meet you, I’ll smash your head with a hammer.’
“Be grateful. I’m taking care of what the system doesn’t.”
“…I’m thankful, really.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Just because I’m a bit twisted doesn’t mean my values have changed.
“…I don’t get it. To suppress those damn beings, you need god-like power. Even without strength, you should think that way to be normal.”
“That’s not necessarily true.”
With a mental age of a child, there are tons of demons out there.
Later on… well, I guess we won’t meet anymore, but among the upper beings, there are definitely some childish ones.
Especially that clone of Eight Seats I met back then—gosh.
‘Ugh.’
Seriously, the more I think about it, the more pathetic it seems.
Hearing that, the past Lily’s expression became bizarre.
“…I really hate it.”
“So do I.”
“Just bring back the Emperor. Let me kill him.”
“When did you ever say to let him go?”
A momentary conversation.
Even though it’s just my past self, this chatter is quite interesting.
She has become a completely different existence, a separate incident from me.
Her fingertips are fading away.
“…I don’t have much time. I had a mountain of questions to ask.”
“The system must be busy.”
“Then I’ll ask one last thing.”
What on earth.
“How did the war end? You must have reached the ‘end’ at last.”
The great Lily Elbrite who ended the war between the two races.
What on earth happened to her?
“That….”
They made peace?
“We reconciled. From now on, we won’t fight anymore.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah?”
They made peace.
“…What the hell?”
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