Ch.129129. Operation Gehenna

Seraphina and Briana were examining the underground armory that had served as the central headquarters of the Slaves.

The floor and walls of the armory were difficult to find intact, suggesting there had been an intense battle. The most striking feature was a diagonal slash mark that cleanly bisected half of the armory.

The knight who wielded the giant mech must have been exceptionally skilled, as the cut was perfectly clean without any fractures. Creating such a pristine slash with a single strike would be difficult for anyone.

Seraphina let out a hollow laugh while examining the slash mark. It was already challenging to create such a cut with a giant mech, but the enormous gash before her had been made by a single man, not a mech.

“Master, this defies all martial logic. Is this truly the work of a Grade 5 knight?”

“It’s normally impossible.”

“Indeed. It should be impossible…”

Seraphina thought of her disciple, the one responsible for this mark. He had already surprised her many times before, and now he had managed to astonish her yet again.

On the night of the operation to eliminate the Slaves.

When she heard they possessed an older model giant mech, she hurriedly contacted Briana and led the knights toward this underground armory.

On her way to the armory, Seraphina chastised herself. She berated her arrogance in thinking she had accounted for all variables.

She never imagined the Slaves would possess a giant mech. It wasn’t that she underestimated them, but considering the size of their central headquarters, she had concluded it was nearly impossible for them to house a giant mech.

Yet these cunning individuals had prepared an older model giant mech in their central headquarters. They had counted on its smaller size compared to current-generation mechs and kept it ready for emergencies.

During that brief journey to the armory, Seraphina imagined what might happen if the enemy broke through their encirclement. If a suddenly deployed giant mech were to launch a terrorist attack, not only would the Empire’s prestige be shattered, but countless innocent citizens would inevitably perish. This thought refused to leave her mind.

Carrying these worries, when she arrived at the armory, she was left speechless by the scene before her.

Gilbert standing straight, holding his sword in his left hand, the diagonal slash through the armory, and the giant mech split in two.

She couldn’t believe her eyes.

But quickly regaining her composure, she hastily ordered emergency treatment for Gilbert before having him transported.

Gilbert had been standing on his own two feet, but he was unconscious and wounded all over. His Academy cadet uniform was soaked with blood; it was remarkable he was still alive.

Had their rush been worthwhile?

Fortunately, his life wasn’t in danger.

Though she was concerned that he hadn’t yet regained consciousness, she had absolute faith that Gilbert would soon awaken.

Meanwhile, Briana viewed the slash mark with different eyes than Seraphina.

This mark was created by Winter Sky Cleave, the ultimate technique of the Winter Sword style. Moreover, it was a perfect strike with no wasted energy, demonstrating masterful control of the sword’s energy.

She had thought it would be too much for Gilbert to perfectly execute this ultimate technique, but it seemed she had underestimated his skills. He had already reached a level of mastery.

Gil, it could only be you.

Briana smiled faintly.

Her intuition wasn’t wrong.

Looking at this near-perfect slash mark, Briana was convinced she hadn’t been mistaken.

The only one who could walk the path of the sword alongside her was Gilbert.

“Master, I think we should keep it secret that my disciple cut down a giant mech.”

“I agree. Even though it was an older model, if word gets out that a Grade 5 knight sliced through a giant mech, he’ll be caught up in all sorts of trouble.”

“Yes. Especially your brothers and sisters wouldn’t leave him alone. That’s not what you want.”

Seraphina and Briana decided to keep this matter confidential. If it became known that a Grade 5 knight had cut a giant mech in half, it was obvious that many would try to get their hands on Gilbert.

There were already countless nobles trying to draw him into their factions, as he was steadily making his mark in the Empire.

Neither Seraphina, who wanted to make Gilbert her own, nor Briana, who wanted him as her companion on the path of the sword, would find this situation agreeable.

Not realizing that each was the greatest threat to the other’s objective, they decided to quietly cover up this incident.

***

Gilbert regained consciousness feeling pain that threatened to shatter him.

When he tried to sit up, his vision spun and he felt intense dizziness, so he gently abandoned the idea.

Blinking his barely opening eyes a few times to assess the situation, he realized he had been moved to a hospital upon seeing the pristine white ceiling.

So I managed to pull it off.

His last memory was of cleaving the winter sky in half.

He had delivered the finest strike of his life—one he couldn’t replicate if asked—and even as he lost consciousness, he thought he had succeeded. Being in the hospital now confirmed his success.

After blinking at the ceiling for a while, as his dizziness subsided, he painfully raised himself up.

His entire body felt tight and stiff.

Although he had awakened his hyper-regeneration ability, it was fully occupied just treating the aftereffects of his limit break. Normally, such exertion would cause permanent damage, so this level of discomfort was bearable.

Thanks to the healing from holy power, his recovery time would be significantly shortened, but it seemed advisable to avoid strenuous activities for the time being.

Gilbert leaned back on the bed and opened his mission window.

The main scenario “Slave Traders” was marked as cleared.

While he had been unconscious, Seraphina must have captured all the remaining members of the Slaves. With this, various incidents that could have erupted in the latter part of the main scenario had been concluded before they even began.

Sudden kidnappings of companions or large-scale disappearances had all vanished into another timeline. This also preemptively blocked individuals who would have fallen to corruption in the future, making it impossible to gauge just how much benefit they had gained.

So it’s time for a rest.

Gilbert stretched and slid back down onto the bed.

He had been too busy since the school break. He resolved to do nothing and rest until the next main scenario.

While working hard was important, even more crucial was appropriate rest.

-Creeak

“You’re awake.”

“Hmm?”

Gilbert slowly sat up as the hospital room door opened and someone entered.

He slightly furrowed his brows. It was someone he knew very well.

“The Holy Maiden.”

The Holy Maiden.

An absolute authority in the Holy Empire second only to the Pope, and a sacred being called the daughter of the Supreme God.

The product of a legend that had continued from ancient times when heroes and demon lords still existed, now standing before his eyes.

Traditionally, Holy Maidens were born through divine revelation from the Supreme God, but the current era was a peaceful world where the Demon Lord had disappeared.

It had been over a thousand years since heroes and demon lords vanished, and the position had long since become merely a symbol of tradition for the Holy Empire. Most current wars were not survival conflicts for humanity’s continued existence but rather conflicts fought for human self-interest.

In such circumstances, why would the Supreme God, watching over humanity, issue revelations to select a Holy Maiden?

Obviously, there was no reason.

The selection of Holy Maidens through divine revelation had become something that only appeared in history books.

However, to maintain tradition and symbolism, the Holy Empire began directly selecting Holy Maidens based on strict criteria.

They needed the title of “child of the Supreme God” and used the Holy Maiden as propaganda for this purpose.

Thus, the position of Holy Maiden continued through generations, and the Holy Maiden standing before Gilbert now was no exception.

An artificial Holy Maiden created through rigorous screening.

Holy Maiden Veronica now stood before Gilbert.

“My, you seem to recognize me? How grateful I am.”

Though she smiled brightly like a blooming flower, Gilbert did not lower his guard.

He still remembered her appearance from Tactical Combat.

“Oh? Why are you so tense, Sir Gilbert? Are you still feeling unwell?”

“That’s not it. I’m just wondering why the Holy Maiden would suddenly appear in a place like this.”

“You don’t seem pleased that I’m here. I came only at the earnest request of the Princess to heal you.”

“I see. Please convey my thanks.”

Gilbert looked at the grinning Holy Maiden with mixed feelings.

It was unexpected for him to meet Veronica now, when she should only appear in the middle to late stages of the game.

Even by real-world standards, her presence here made little sense.

Even at the request of the Empire’s Princess, it was unheard of for the Holy Maiden to move personally.

This was easy to understand considering the symbolic significance of the Holy Maiden in the Holy Empire.

Therefore, no one could compel her to move against her will. Only she could decide her own actions, unless there was divine revelation from the Supreme God.

In other words, rather than coming here at someone’s request, she must have decided to come herself.

But who would believe that the Holy Maiden personally moved to heal a mere Grade 5 knight of the Empire?

Gilbert found this puzzling as well.

Even searching through the original “Gilbert’s” memories, this was his first meeting with Holy Maiden Veronica. There was no reason for the esteemed Holy Maiden of the Holy Empire to visit him.

“It seems you’re curious about why I came here?”

“To be honest, yes. There was no need for the Holy Maiden to come personally to heal me. The Princess’s earnest request? That’s nonsense.”

In reality, while Seraphina had requested a cleric from the church in Byzantium, she hadn’t asked for the Holy Maiden of the Holy Empire. Seraphina, with her keen political insight, would understand the implications of directly summoning the Holy Maiden.

“That’s true. I came here because I wanted to.”

Her smiling face made it increasingly difficult to discern her thoughts.

Perhaps because she was naturally skilled at concealing her true feelings, he couldn’t even begin to guess her intentions.

“Let me ask directly. Why would the Holy Maiden of the Holy Nation come to see me?”

“Oh? A Holy Maiden is merely a shepherd tending to the Supreme God’s lambs. Does one need a reason to visit someone in need of help?”

“You don’t want to tell me.”

“I told you. I came here because I wanted to. You needed help, and I wanted to provide it. That’s all.”

Gilbert gave up trying to discern Veronica’s true intentions. She clearly had no intention of revealing her thoughts to him.

“Well, now that I’ve seen you’re awake, I should be going. I hope we can have a more calm conversation next time.”

“Yes. Let’s have a proper talk next time.”

Veronica, maintaining her smile until the end, left the hospital room.

Gilbert, who had remained tense until then, let out a long sigh and released his tension.

It seemed too exhausting right after waking up.