Chapter 36: Alicia
“Detected low physical mana value.”
“Optimal solution deduced.”
“Skill, Blood Sacrifice, activated.”
The golden Holy Sword pierced the dragon’s head, and crimson blood splattered everywhere.
Calandia’s enormous body shrank visibly, while the power contained within her blood and flesh surged into my body at an astonishing speed.
“Hero, my lord?”
Calandia’s eyes were filled with confusion, but I did not respond to her.
In the end, Calandia’s body completely collapsed, while my strength returned to its peak.
‘Did I consume Tia?’
…
The silver-haired girl floated in the air, blankly staring at everything in the distance.
“The world, error, must, eliminate.”
I held the Holy Sword and attacked her from behind.
‘What am I doing?’
…
“Farewell.”
The dark-haired girl gently floated in front of me.
The Soul Spear pierced through my body, yet I could not move for some reason.
The excruciating pain of my soul being torn apart was unbearable.
But soon, the pain subsided, and my consciousness began to lighten.
‘Am I going to die?’
…
In a tranquil cave, the current hero Alicia sat cross-legged on a large stone, engaging in deep meditation.
Memories flowed back like bubbles.
Those were not memories etched in the soul, but rather memories held by the body.
Perhaps it was because she had been asleep for too long.
Those memories had become blurry, disjointed, and fragmented.
Yet, that was enough to make Alicia crumble.
“Puh!”
Suddenly, Alicia spat out a mouthful of dark blood, and her body leaned back, tumbling off the large stone.
Alicia collapsed weakly to the ground, crystalline tears streaming down her beautiful face, and her slender body trembled violently.
“I… consumed Tia.”
“I… also killed an innocent girl.”
“What have I done?!”
Despairing cries filled the entire cave.
Alicia suddenly stood up, swinging her fists against the large stone in front of her.
“Bang, bang, bang…”
The sound of her strikes echoed continuously, but the stone remained unmoved, while Alicia’s fists were already covered in blood.
“Ahhhh!!!”
Alicia screamed almost in madness, yet her fury and sorrow showed no sign of lessening.
She had done something absolutely unforgivable.
She deserved to die for her deeds.
Even if that was not her true intention.
“System.”
Alicia gritted her teeth and spat out the two words with a sense of hatred.
It was originally a tool given by the Sacred Domain to assist her growth.
But in the end, it had turned the tables, controlling her body and leading to that unforgivable act.
Alicia wished she could tear it to shreds.
Her companion, the thirteenth sage, had once told her that the essence of the system was a soul imbued with a hint of divinity.
If one day she no longer wanted this system, she could find her descendants; they would find a way to remove the system from her body.
But now, she could no longer do that.
Because the system had disappeared.
It had been torn to pieces by the dark girl’s Soul Spear, vanishing completely.
Alicia leaned against the large stone and slowly sat down, her face filled with tears of anguish.
Suddenly, a strange green light rose up, and Alicia’s mood instantly calmed considerably.
[Soul Purification lv.max]
Alicia’s [Soul Purification] had a passive effect that would forcibly activate when her mental state fell below critical.
Gradually, Alicia regained her calm. Looking at the gentle green light surrounding her, she sighed helplessly, “Am I now unworthy of even feeling sorrow?”
Alicia slowly stood up, activating the [Eye of Truth], and an interface immediately appeared before her.
Alicia looked at her blood-covered fists and gently sighed, “I may have sensed it earlier, but this is simply too tragic.”
In the past, she could easily move mountains or fill seas, but now, she couldn’t even break a stone.
“View negative status details.”
Alicia gently sighed, her beautiful face filled with helplessness and confusion.
The Holy Sword was lost, Calandia was dead, and her own body was covered in wounds.
But most importantly, she was tired.
A sense of fatigue she had never felt before overwhelmed her heart.
After over three hundred years of perseverance and protection, she had never felt as weak as she did today.
She was beginning to consider giving up.
With Calandia gone, there was no one left in the world she could call a companion.
They had all left, leaving her alone in this world.
Alicia slowly exited the cave, staring at the bright moon in the sky, lost in thought.
Is there really a need for the hero to exist anymore?
If she still wanted to be a hero, she should head to the Saint Franca Academy and seek help from the current sage.
Although she wasn’t familiar with the current sage, he might help her resolve her negative status and Holy Sword issues, considering her ancestry.
If she did not want that, then the choice was simpler: just live in seclusion.
After working hard for over three hundred years, the wealth she accumulated was astronomical, with properties all over the human realm and dedicated personnel to manage them.
She should be considered one of the most affluent women in the human world; she could easily travel and lead a life of leisure until death.
If she truly couldn’t stand the loneliness, she could find a knife and end it all; without the protection of the hero, she should die easily.
But just then, Alicia suddenly raised her head and looked northeast.
In that instant, [Disaster Prediction] was triggered, and she saw a nearby village in the northeast being attacked by demons.
A burning village, dead villagers, corpses strewn about, blood flowing like rivers.
“Wind Step.”
Without any hesitation, Alicia summoned a gust of wind and soared northeast.
Alicia had always been this way; even when her physical condition was at its worst, her strength less than one percent of what it once was, even after losing the Holy Sword, and no longer being a hero.
But when someone needed her, she would always step in to help.
That was her greatest strength, an unwavering heart of justice.
