episode_0096

As Lily appeared, coloring the clear sky that seemed to be receiving the grace of the goddess with darkness, everyone trembled in fear.

“I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die.”

All the holy knights who were looking up at the sky turned their gaze towards Lily.

Her jet-black hair fluttered in the wind, and within the eerie aura that seemed to devour even the light, her dress was soaked in a blackness that seemed to absorb blood.

The target that instilled fear just by looking at her was none other than a 14-year-old girl.

It wasn’t just a feeling of fear.

The black mana flowing from her entire body. It was to the extent that mana was visibly emanating from her body just by standing still.

As the mana spread through the air, it naturally affected others.

The impact was beyond imagination.

The mana felt as if it were alive. The spreading mana felt like thousands of small insects crawling past one’s skin.

Although mana usually couldn’t have any effect when overflowing into the air, Lily’s mana was different from others.

“How can she possess such mana… Is she really, truly a witch…!”

Just by looking at her, one could feel disgust and the sensation of bugs crawling all over their body due to exposure to mana.

Moreover, the mana was so black that it couldn’t even be considered mana.

She looked like a witch without a doubt.

“How many lives has she taken…”

The Pope was shocked upon seeing Lily, whom he had only heard about before.

Mana. The source of magic and the energy that creates magic.

Interestingly, mana has various colors depending on a person’s disposition. However, those colors are usually subtle.

Usually, it is a blue color, but sometimes talented individuals have different mana colors.

For example, the Saintess’s mana evokes a white light, while Helena’s mana has the color of wood.

But even if one has a common blue color or a different color like the Saintess, there is a common factor.

The color of mana becomes darker as one’s heart becomes corrupted, as they kill people, or as their mind becomes wicked.

Initially, the Pope thought Lily’s mana color was simply black when he saw her with magic.

However, the color he felt from Lily’s mana with his own eyes was not black but red.

The reason Lily’s original mana was red and her mana appeared black was none other than corruption.

“A hundred people? No, a thousand? No, at least tens of thousands.”

There had never been a person who possessed such black mana.

Even the psychopaths that appeared in wars had mana that looked like a murky gray, like smoke.

Among the worst murderers who killed hundreds, the psychopath’s mana was like that.

But Lily’s mana, which swallowed and absorbed even light, was a color that made one wonder how many atrocities she had committed to become like that.

“We must flee. That is not human. Isabelle. How do you know that monster?”

The Pope realized that he had to run away as soon as he saw Lily. The creature in front of him could not be called human.

When did she start possessing such mana? The Pope had known about Lily’s existence since ancient times.

The youngest mana awakening user. At the tender age of 8, she awakened her mana and became a sorceress who was unrivaled in the Viteum nation by the age of 12.

The problem was that she had been using black mana since the age of 8. So, she was simply known to have black mana. However, it was revealed that the black mana was due to corruption.

This meant that from the age of 8, Lily’s mind had surpassed the worst and possessed the most evil spirit in human history.

The Pope immediately gathered his mana and prepared to flee.

When the brainwashing magic previously cast on the paladins was activated, a downpour poured from the sky.

It wasn’t just any downpour, but a black rain from the black clouds.

The Pope immediately realized that this rain was no ordinary rain. As the rain fell, it stuck to everything around, seizing all the natural mana in the vicinity.

In an instant, this vast plain fell under Lily’s control.

The paladins began to melt under Lily’s unconventional attack, and the Pope found himself at the mercy of the magic he had cast.

“That witch. She must be killed. She absolutely must be killed. But not now. I need to gather my strength.”

As the paladins melted away, the Pope, who had activated the brainwashing magic on them, raised his mana to its boiling point.

Just as the Pope was about to disappear, Lily gestured towards him.

At that moment, the pouring rain seemed to stop as if time had frozen, then surged towards the Pope.

As the Pope was disappearing, Lily melted his right arm.

“I never expected you to use such magic. Pope.”

Seeing the Pope who had already fled, Lily clicked her tongue. She never thought that the Pope, a person of such stature, would know forbidden magic and be willing to use it.

“Are you alive?”

“Too late.”

“Too late? I sensed the holy mana and came right away.”

“I know. Thank you… for… saving… Isabelle…”

Emily, who had unknowingly crawled to Isabelle, holding her and protecting her, looked at Lily and sighed in relief before fainting.

“Medicine!?”

When Saint Isabelle, trembling all over, opened her eyes and saw Lily in front of her, she screamed.

“L-Lily?”

“Are you awake? Then let’s quickly treat your wounds first.”

“What the…!”

“I did what I could in terms of treatment, but I’m not skilled in healing.”

Isabelle couldn’t understand the current situation.

Her last memory was of being carried by Emily and treating her wounds.

Then she lost consciousness. When she opened her eyes, she saw Lily, whom she had seen a year ago, looking down at her.

“Wait, what about Emily!?”

“She’s alive. But you need to recover first before we can treat Emily.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Do you lack mana? I can lend you some.”

“I-I’m fine!”

Seeing Lily’s mana flowing abundantly and fearfully from her hands, Isabelle recoiled in horror, raising both hands.

“Are you scared of me?”

Seeing Isabelle’s refusal, Lily chuckled. She knew her mana was a bit peculiar, but Helena and Amelia had accepted it without hesitation.

Especially Amelia, despite being a normal person without mana, had always embraced and caressed Lily’s mana without any aversion.

But Amelia’s affection for Lily made her not dislike even that feeling.

“I-I’m not scared. It’s just… scary.”

“Alright. I’ll call Helena.”

After calling Helena for help, Isabelle quickly got up from the bed and went to Emily.

“Emily!”

Her body was covered in terrible wounds, and there was a large hole in her abdomen.

“You can’t die, you can’t!”

“I’m not dead. Time is frozen there. Of course, if the magic is released, I’ll die within a minute. So you have to save me within that minute. Can you do it?”

Since healing is impossible while time is frozen, Lily instructed Isabelle on what to do while looking at her.

“I’ve even revived the dead Emily.”

“Of course! I’m a saint!”

“I release the magic.”

“Yes!”

Lily reached out her hand to release the time stop magic that was cast on Emily.

-Poof!

Blood spurted out like a fountain from Emily’s pierced hole, covering Isabelle and Lily.

Nevertheless, Isabelle, without hesitation, received help from Helena and poured her gathered mana onto Emily.

“As expected of a saint. Your skills have improved since last time.”

Lily looked at the disappearing hole in Emily and then turned to Isabelle.

“I couldn’t find a way to save Amelia for a year. Maybe manipulating the saint and helping her grow is one way to go?”

Even though she had definitively destroyed and killed Emily’s heart before going back in time, Isabelle had also miraculously revived her.

Before they knew it, all of Emily’s holes had disappeared, and her breathing had returned to normal.

Once Emily’s treatment was over, Lily gently lifted the exhausted Isabelle with magic and embraced her.

“You’ve been through a lot. Now both of you rest well.”

“Is she recovering well?”

After washing them both with magic and laying them back in bed, Helena asked Lily.

“Yes. They’re both safe.”

“Thank goodness. I never thought the Pope would go this far.”

“Yeah. I can’t understand why they would do such a thing. Especially when it involves the fate of the nation.”

Lily shook her head in disbelief.

“Is there a reason to start a war even at the expense of the entire country?”

“For now, what should we do with them? It will be quite troublesome if it’s revealed that they are here.”

“We plan to take them to the World Tree.”

“To the World Tree?”

“Yes. It’s the best option for hiding people, at least.”

“Even if the World Tree is sealed, isn’t it too reckless?”

“Well, the only disciple of the World Tree right now is our maid, so what does it matter?”

“Is that so?”