Ch.16856. The Last Hope (3)

“Perhaps this will be the last reality, with no more regressions after this.”

At my words, Soso’s eyes darkened with despair. Hoping for some glimmer of hope, she quickly looked at Arini.

But Arini shook her head.

“I swear in the name of the Lord. The senior is only speaking the truth right now.”

Soso collapsed onto the floor of the transport aircraft.

“How… could this be…”

Yuri was the same. Her expression turned so pale that her blue eyes seemed to turn completely white.

Her tears froze as they fell, hitting the floor as ice.

“Novel… regression… those words don’t matter. Even if all of that is true… the feelings I’ve had for you, Minsu… and our memories… and our connection are my everything. That’s reality.”

Saying this, Yuri continued to shed tears, unable to control herself.

“So… so that can’t happen. You dying, Minsu… I’d even give you to Soso or… Arini… but you must… *sob*… you must live… you must…”

Yuri hurriedly approached Arini.

“If that’s the case… if Ayel can’t do it, what about Arel, the god of Ailetan? If Minsu has a past life related to the divine beasts… if that soul continues in Minsu, couldn’t Arel’s power somehow save Minsu’s life…”

“As I already said, Arel lost his divine power in the final battle against the evil god. That means he’s no longer a god. So he might as well have ceased to exist as a deity. It’s impossible right now.”

At those words, Soso shed even more tears.

“How… how can you be so calm when Minsu might die!”

When Soso shouted like that, Arini shook her head.

“We haven’t done everything we can yet. And making a scene by crying and wailing won’t help Senior Minsu. I don’t want to hurt Senior Minsu again like you two did.”

The two fell silent at her words.

Arini was now showing them a cold expression she had never shown me before.

I diverted the attention of the three. After all, I was the one who had to resolve everything.

I couldn’t leave the three of them with their emotions in such disarray. I had to take responsibility.

“Everyone, calm down. This isn’t over yet.”

Not only Yuri and Soso, but also Arini looked at me simultaneously.

Yuri spoke with a trembling voice.

“What do you mean… it’s not over…?”

“It’s just as I said. Defeating the Archdemon Amon… this is the first time it’s happened in the current reality.”

As I said, defeating Amon was something that had never happened in previous cycles.

“So we have no idea what will happen from now on. We’ve gone far beyond the timeline of the original work. And…”

Continuing my words, Arini explained.

“And the Eastern Sages gathered here. The three of us must succeed in finding the sacred incantation Epitheus together. With Senior Minsu.”

“Epitheus… I know that’s already our goal, but…”

Arini shook her head at Yuri’s words.

“Keep listening to me. The sacred incantation Epitheus is a gift from Arel to the people of Ailetan, and the only means to defeat the Red Dragon. Although Arel has lost his divinity, if we destroy the Red Dragon who stole that divinity…”

Arini looked at me as she spoke.

“The restored divinity of Arel will surely reach Senior Minsu, who has received the blessing of the divine beasts.”

“Divine beasts… you mean the power of the Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, and Black Tortoise that Minsu now possesses…”

Yuri understood what Arini was saying right away, as she knew I had obtained the power of the Black Tortoise in Setsunomura.

Soso also easily understood what I had told her, as she knew the legends of the Four Gods passed down in Wu Kingdom.

But then Soso quickly spoke up as if something had occurred to her.

“But Minsu still doesn’t have the power of the White Tiger…”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Now that all the Eastern Sages are gathered like this, we will guide the way for Senior Minsu to become the Colorless Key. We will find where the power of the White Tiger exists.”

As these were the words of the Holy Maiden, everyone listened seriously. Arini spoke to me.

“Would you like to check the message from the Vatican?”

I hurriedly opened my smartphone to check.

Although we were inside a transport aircraft, encrypted communication was possible via satellite. As Arini had said, there was a message from the Vatican.

“I’ve received word that divine power has manifested in the Vatican.”

Arini nodded. After finishing our business in Tokyo, our destination was the Vatican, so we had already been in contact with them.

Divine manifestation.

It was a phenomenon predicted in advance from the book of prophecies currently kept by the Vatican.

‘A great power passed down from Ailetan will awaken.’

And it said that the Eastern Sages would find it. The message stated this.

As the group was heading to the Vatican, they were following the natural course of events.

I explained this fact to the group.

“So Senior Minsu will definitely obtain the power of the White Tiger there. If we fulfill our roles as Eastern Sages…”

“Yes. What comes next is what I must do.”

If I were to possess all the powers of the Four Gods, it would be time for me to act as the Colorless Key.

“Finding the sacred incantation Epitheus. That would be my duty.”

When that long conversation ended, Yuri and Soso calmed down a bit.

“Then I too… will help you… definitely…”

“Me too… I’ll make sure you don’t die, Minsu…”

And the two, having shed too many tears, collapsed on the floor as if exhausted.

I was startled and tried to get up, but Arini raised her hand to stop me.

“It’s okay. They’re both fine.”

Divine power was emanating from her body.

“Unlike me, who understood your memories at once through divine power, those two must be very confused. They’re also still tired from the battle with Seo Mun-yeom. So I put them to sleep with a divine spell.”

After saying that, Arini blessed the two with another divine spell.

I said to Arini.

“You did well. They’ll calm down after they get some sleep. Thank you. I’m always indebted to you…”

“No way. This isn’t something to be dismissed so easily! I’ve been with those two people who hate being together, all for your sake.”

“Ugh… w-wait!”

At that moment.

Arini pushed me down onto the floor. Then she climbed on top of me.

“Now that all the intruders are asleep, give me some time too, Senior.”

Then our lips met.

***

The passionate kiss between the two continued for quite some time.

Yuri and Soso seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep, so Arini didn’t hesitate at all as she threw herself at me.

“Mmph… mmm…”

The nun’s habit of the Cross Society—the special silver-white habit that only the Holy Maiden could wear—overlapped with my clothes.

And her pink long hair flowed down onto my face.

Her kiss was so fierce and unexpected that her nun’s veil flew off, but Arini didn’t care.

“Haa… haa… Senior…”

When our lips parted for a moment, both our lips were sticky with each other’s saliva.

I was flustered, but I didn’t push her away.

In fact, as she said, if there was anything Arini truly wanted from me, I was willing to give her anything.

“Liar. You always refuse to sleep with me…”

I had spent many nights in the same bed with her, so I couldn’t misunderstand what she meant by spending the night together as a man and woman.

“Is it okay for a Holy Maiden to say such things?”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I turned my head slightly. But Arini seemed sincere as she pressed her soft upper body tightly against mine.

“It doesn’t matter. I have the Lord’s permission.”

That made me even more embarrassed. And I couldn’t help but recall the reason why I had continued to reject Arini’s feelings.

‘I wanted Arini to continue her life without suffering after I die.’

But Arini, who immediately read my inner thoughts, shook her head.

“No. I’ve always told you. You are my first and last man, Senior. No one else can enter my heart.”

“When you say it like that… it sounds rather suggestive. You’re joking, right?”

“I meant it exactly that way.”

When she spoke so explicitly, I felt the blood rush to my face. I tried to turn my head to hide my expression.

But Arini held my face straight. Our eyes met.

“I already know you’ve spent nights with those two. So don’t pretend to be innocent.”

Arini’s expression was complex and subtle as she said this. Sad, yet at the same time, a look that said she loved me to death.

“But I forgive you. Because I love you, Senior. I can love that part of you too. I love you much more than those two!”

Arini pressed her lips against mine again. After the kiss lasted a bit longer and ended, I finally revealed what I had been hiding from Arini.

“Haa… why are you… so devoted to me? I haven’t done anything for you.”

“You saved my life, didn’t you? If it weren’t for you, I would have been killed by that villain that day. I’ve always said it. Everything I have is yours.”

“That… I just did what had to be done.”

“That’s what I like about you. You pretend it’s nothing, but you’re always so kind and righteous. If I was destined to become a Holy Maiden, isn’t it natural that I would fall in love?”

“That’s…”

“I know well. Sister Mina and… Brother Siwoo weren’t as honest as you. They didn’t have the courage to risk their lives to protect others.”

I remained silent at her words. I had never thought of myself as such a great person.

“No, you are great. Because you’re the person I love.”

Arini embraced me again and said.

“And I answered because you asked for a reason, but actually, that doesn’t really matter. I just…”

For that moment, even Arini, who always maintained a composed expression, blushed.

“I like you because you’re you, Senior.”

Her words conveyed all her sincerity.

At that moment, I opened all the doors in my heart that I had kept closed for Arini’s sake.

“Senior… ah…”

I turned our bodies, laying Arini on the floor.

“Don’t say anything more.”

Our lips met again. And the two of us joined our bodies, secretly from the sleeping Yuri and Soso.

After some more time had passed, a day after leaving Yokosuka Base.

The group finally arrived at an air force base near Rome.

The moment the transport aircraft’s door opened, with the sound of urgent radio transmissions, a group of people surrounded the aircraft.