Ch.277277. Trials and Faith

Boom!

“Tch!”

The fist swung with a staggering force, powerful enough to create a small tornado, but Ranhart clicked his tongue and gritted his sharpened teeth in frustration.

His fist, which had been aimed at Findenai, was once again blocked by a protective spell, leaving only a sharp ringing sound.

“Getting frustrated?”

As Ranhart’s momentum carried him forward, Findenai immediately swung Baekseol downward. Unable to withstand her axe strike with his bare body, he hastily raised his hands to defend himself.

Their exchange of blows continued.

The elegant yet powerful offensive and defensive maneuvers created a rhythmic tempo that heightened the atmosphere of Norsweden.

Whenever a situation arose where Findenai might miss or find it difficult to counter, I unhesitatingly cast protective spells to assist her.

“This…!”

Eventually, Ranhart began to be pushed back by the coordination between Findenai and me.

He seemed to want to voice his complaints, but he knew how difficult our combination was to overcome.

He could only let out a faint sigh, acknowledging our superiority.

I could anticipate Findenai’s every move. Likewise, she trusted me enough to sometimes forgo defending herself.

“Hah!”

The intense exchange of blows was fierce enough to be fatal with even a moment’s distraction, yet there was a smile on Findenai’s face.

“Are you two soulmates or something?!”

I too enjoyed how seamlessly our coordination flowed, but…

‘This is getting dangerous.’

I couldn’t keep casting protective spells at this rate.

We were still too far from pushing him outside Norsweden.

Moreover, Ranhart had realized that targeting me was the way to end this fight, and he was now glancing in my direction, paying attention to my movements.

“Uwaaaaah!”

Darius joined the fray with a battle cry. Thanks to him, I needed to use protective spells less frequently, but we still weren’t overwhelming Ranhart enough to push him back.

My remaining mana was running low.

It was time to make a decisive move.

“Deia, come here.”

“…Are you going to fire another shot?”

“I don’t have much mana left. We need to use it all here.”

At my words, Deia cautiously approached, glancing around nervously.

“G-go easy on me.”

“…”

“Huu.”

Deia let out a strangely seductive sigh. Standing behind her, I placed my hands on her shoulders and said:

“Stop talking like that.”

“B-but it feels weird. Suddenly you’re inside me, stirring things up… Eek!”

I wasn’t sure if she was joking or serious, but it was uncomfortable to listen to, so I simply infused her with mana without saying anything.

Deia’s shoulders tensed up.

Though startled at first, she quickly pulled the trigger.

BANG!

A magical bullet flew out with a harsh gunshot sound. Though a shotgun normally spreads its shot widely, this bullet, made of mana, converged into a single point and flew straight.

It grazed past Findenai and struck Ranhart directly.

“Urgh!”

The strike contained most of my remaining mana. Ranhart’s body was lifted into the air, spinning as he flew toward the outskirts of the city.

Without needing to be told, Findenai and Darius immediately sprang into action.

The two pursued Ranhart with determination, not wanting to miss this opportunity.

“Whew.”

Deia exhaled deeply, realizing her role was complete.

“Now go back and help direct the people. They’ll be confused without you and Darius.”

“What about you? You’ve used almost all your mana, so you can’t even support us anymore.”

“I still have something I can do.”

Deia gave me a puzzled look, demanding an explanation.

I looked at her for a moment and gave a bitter smile.

“Thank you for recognizing my true self.”

“…Huh?”

Her eyes wavered slightly, thinking my words were out of nowhere. But I continued what I wanted to say.

“Walking this continent as Shinwoo Kim wasn’t as frightening as I thought it would be. You helped me realize that.”

“W-wait, what are you talking about?”

“What I mean is…”

I slowly reached out and carefully embraced her. She trembled slightly in my arms.

“It’s time for me to return to being your brother.”

“…!”

I released Deia. Her lips quivered as if she wanted to say something to me.

But in the end, she couldn’t speak and simply let me go.

Leaving Deia behind, I headed toward the city entrance—a wide boulevard that led directly to the mountain range.

“They’re still struggling.”

Violent sounds echoed from within the city. Since I could no longer block attacks, Findenai and Darius were running around, trying to lure Ranhart.

BOOM!

Just then, I spotted Findenai between buildings. She landed on a rooftop and immediately ran toward another building.

Ranhart followed her, letting out a predatory laugh.

“Now that the mage is gone, you’re just running away! Let’s have a proper duel, wolf!”

Ranhart now seemed to use his tail with great dexterity. When jumping, he not only used his legs but also coiled his tail like a spring for more elastic movement.

“Findenai!”

Hearing my shout, she quickly turned her head.

“What are you doing?!”

She called out urgently.

Mana residue gathered at my fingertips—not enough for a protective spell, but enough for a bluff.

Like Findenai, Ranhart spotted me and immediately changed direction, flying toward me.

“Oh no…!”

Not understanding my intention, Findenai desperately threw Baekseol at Ranhart, but he deflected it with his tail and continued charging at me.

“A mage who exposes himself so carelessly is useless!”

His fist flew straight toward me.

CRACK!

My body bent as something inside me shattered with a grotesque sound.

The mana that had been clinging to my hands connected me to him.

“…!”

I flew backward from the impact of his punch. Since he was connected to me and his center of gravity had shifted forward, he was forced to follow.

THUD!

We rolled on the ground together, entangled, and somehow ended up outside the city.

“Ugh.”

Ranhart dusted himself off as he looked down at me.

“A puppet…”

Though he had realized I wasn’t human, he seemed surprised by how intricately my body was crafted.

With my body split in half, only my upper torso remained on the ground as I looked up at him.

“If you’re a guardian spirit, I’ll just summon another guardian spirit.”

Thud.

A heavy forepaw landed on the ground with a resonating sound. We had flown outside the city and arrived at the entrance to the mountain.

This place was still within the Mountain Spirit’s territory.

[Deus Verdi, you always use me.]

The Mountain Spirit clicked his tongue but didn’t refuse.

With glowing blue eyes, he prepared for the final battle with Ranhart.

But Ranhart was staring at me with surprised eyes.

“Deus… Verdi…?”

He seemed confused about my identity since he didn’t fully understand who I was.

But he had no time to organize his thoughts.

“You bastard!”

Findenai’s Baekseol swung heavily as she charged from behind.

Caught off guard, Ranhart took the hit directly and was sent flying further into the mountain area.

“Are you okay?!”

Findenai rushed to me anxiously, but I smiled faintly and shook my head.

“This is the end for Shinwoo Kim, it seems.”

Thanks to Ranhart’s predatory instinct that couldn’t resist the tempting bait of a mage, we had cornered him.

Now I could only hope that the Mountain Spirit, Findenai, and Darius would finish the job.

“I’ve done all I can. I’m counting on you to finish this.”

“A-are you sure you’re okay? If you disappear again, I swear I’ll kill you and keep your soul with me!”

Even though she couldn’t use such magic.

I raised my barely functioning hand and gently caressed her cheek.

“As Shinwoo Kim, just being able to touch you… is satisfying enough.”

“…”

“I’ll see you soon.”

At my words, Findenai nodded and stood up abruptly. Ranhart had already regained his footing and was preparing to charge again.

[Aheya, I’ll lend you my back.]

Thanks to the Mountain Spirit’s kindness, Findenai mounted his back.

As I watched this, my artificial body gradually completed its role.

The souls that had been watching me from the sky carefully came to greet me.

Emily and the woman with burn scars.

They held my soul form from both sides and transferred me to Deus Verdi’s body.

There were no words exchanged.

It felt like being a student going to receive a grade.

As I approached Deus Verdi’s physical body, all the souls that had been floating in the sky descended.

Tired beings who wanted to rest in the right place.

Had I pleased them?

It was time to receive my grade.

“Deus Verdi.”

A heavy, lifeless voice resonated. He solemnly declared to my soul form:

“We have observed your sacrifice well. Some are moved that you fought for us at the risk of your life, despite having no power.”

I had a strange feeling.

The voice, which was essentially a collective of souls, still contained traces of concern.

“However, we still cannot trust you.”

My lips were tightly sealed.

A devastating result.

“No, come to think of it, who could reassure us? Great power is a fruit that stimulates human greed…”

They worried that their immense power might be misused on the continent.

“Even you, we’ve heard, once indulged in power for your own desires.”

I immediately recalled what he was referring to.

In the Great Forest of Marias, I had forcibly manipulated souls to kill those who had kidnapped Illuania.

Although I had later apologized to the souls and paid the price…

Like Ranhart and others, I too had used souls for personal gain.

An undeniable truth.

I could have felt wronged, but perhaps if I hadn’t acted that way, I could have earned their trust.

In the end…

“We want to trust you, but we cannot.”

I vaguely felt that they were apologizing to me.

But even so…

Could they just be left alone?

They needed to be bound somewhere, isolated where no one could touch them.

‘Am I not qualified?’

I had nothing to say.

In the end, the one who could contain them needed to be unwavering, but I had already shown myself as a necromancer rather than a spirit medium.

How could I have earned their trust?

Wasn’t the standard too high?

Someone might cry out that the souls were making excessively selfish and unreasonable demands.

But their power was that immense.

A power that could destroy the continent. They had to be stringent.

So what did they intend to do now?

As I was about to ask…

[Well then.]

It was a familiar voice.

One I thought I would never hear again after our farewell.

A voice so calm it could be described as serene, and its elegant tone naturally inspired trust.

The former Saintess who I thought had perished in the battle against the gods.

Stella was suddenly standing beside me.

[What if someone were to watch over him?]

“Watch over…”

It seemed like a somewhat displeasing expression, but Stella continued.

[Yes, watch over. I too am well aware that he has a history of forcibly using souls for personal emotions.]

“…”

[But he didn’t act selfishly. It was to save a pregnant woman and her unborn child.]

“Even so, the fact that he forcibly used souls remains unchanged.”

[That’s not wrong. But then, is there truly anyone on this continent who can accept and protect you?]

“…”

[If kingdoms or religions found out? People who would use that power politically would surely emerge. You are mighty, but you must remain hidden.]

She wasn’t wrong.

The more people who knew about this power, the more chaos the continent would fall into.

[Trust him. The outsider who came to this land and acted solely to save us.]

“…”

[As a former Saintess who now holds the divine position of the Goddess Hertia, I will take responsibility and watch over him eternally.]

So that I wouldn’t waver.

She would stay by my side, not leaving.

Those words stirred an unexpectedly touching emotion.

Then.

On the opposite side of Stella.

Another woman appeared beside me.

[It seems you have no plans for the future anyway?]

A translucent veil covering her face.

Unlike Stella, her purple eyes coldly rebuked them.

The black staff in her hand exuded an intense presence.

The Dark Spiritmaster.

The woman I thought had perished after being defeated by Heralhazhad.

She stood beside me as if in a dream.

“You…”

The souls reacted adversely to the Dark Spiritmaster’s appearance. It could be due to her karma, but there seemed to be something more.

Heralhazhad?

I wasn’t sure of the exact circumstances, but…

It seemed as if the enormous karma he had accumulated was now contained within the Dark Spiritmaster.

[In the end, when it comes to matters related to souls, I, the continent’s greatest necromancer, can monitor him more strictly than anyone else if I’m by his side.]

The Dark Spiritmaster made the same declaration as Stella.

Deus’s gaze, which had been fixed on me, slowly alternated between the two women.

[As a Saintess who loved you more than anyone and sacrificed her life to save you, and now as one who holds a divine position, I vouch for him.]

Stella smiled gently as she looked at me.

[Having regarded life more lightly than anyone, I conversely understand the value of that power best. I will watch over from his side.]

Similarly, the Dark Spiritmaster leaned on me, placing her hand on my shoulder.

[Trust him.]

“…”

They sealed their lips.

The souls seemed to be deliberating among themselves, trying to reach a conclusion.

But I couldn’t just stand there silently with these two women who had trusted me.

[Just once.]

I expressed my honest feelings.

[Just one chance.]

To me, who had been closer to the dead than anyone, who had valued them more than anyone.

[All that I have felt while walking this land, breathing, and living… I will protect it.]

I…

[I will be your tombstone.]

At that moment.

My vision spun wildly.

In the sensation of being sucked into somewhere, various voices echoed in my ears.

[Thank you.][I trust you.][There’s no other way.][Take responsibility.][Live without wavering for the greater good.][I don’t trust you, but there’s no other option.][Thank you for protecting us.][I’m sorry.][Thank you! Thank you!][Thank you for protecting our tribe.][Don’t let us wake up with worry.][How old are you?][What kind of world did you come from?][Stop with the unnecessary talk.][It will be hard for you from now on.][Carry the heaviest burden of the continent.][Thank you for always bringing flowers.][Thanks to you, Spirit Medium, I got to say goodbye to my dad.][How are Sevia and Illuania doing?]

I couldn’t hear all the voices.

I couldn’t answer all of them either.

But clearly…

Those contained within me began to close their eyes one by one.

I heard the sound of the wind.

The world, now quiet, welcomed me with serenity.

As I slowly opened my eyes…

Stella and the Dark Spiritmaster stood before me.

“For your trust…”

Once again, I…

“Thank you.”

I had become Deus Verdi once more.