Ch.490Episode 17 – The Blood-Drinking Tree

The old man narrowly dodges the attack, rolling backward across the ground.

A powerful wind whistles past my ear, followed by a thunderous boom. My entire body resonates with the sound as a 7.12g bullet breaks the sound barrier and tears through the desert.

Fierce rain pours down. Feet planted firmly on the earth cry out roughly.

Fire is born from pale hands. A symbol of purity, passion, life force, and creativity. The pristine flame distorts the air as it shoots forth from the index and middle fingers.

Shoes grind against the sand. As the sand gives way, nature grown from the soil gently wraps around the old man’s hunched body.

– ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ !!!

The fire doesn’t extinguish but blazes higher. Amid the sparks that leap hastily into the sky.

A faint laugh is heard through the crimson-tinged plants.

“Heh heh. I sensed an unusual energy, so I expected something.”

The old man, emerging from the flames and smoke, continued with a smile radiant with purity.

“…Could it be that you are a ‘Hero’?”

Scarlet flames once again engulfed nature. Perhaps thinking it wasn’t worth answering, Camilla controlled the fire with a hardened expression.

As if anticipating this. A staff encircled with distinct wrinkles struck the earth.

Green leaves dance. A breeze sings through nature. The breath of life and the fragrance of fruit spread deeply.

Branches adorned with sharp thorns protected the old man with gentleness and kindness, like a mother hedgehog protecting her young.

“Those who do not listen to useless and shameful words shall receive compensation for their deeds. They shall be among thornless Sidra trees and Talha trees laden with clusters of flowers and fruits.”

The old man stood in the midst of the thorn trees, but they did not harm him.

With a pure smile on his face, the old man stood at the center of nature, spread his arms, and said:

“You who have no faith and have strayed onto the wrong path. Cast off your ignorance and prostrate yourself before the sacred tree in praise. Then you may enter the embrace of the mother; come out of darkness and be reborn into light.”

Just as the incomprehensible sermon began.

Suddenly, with a flash of lightning, a name came to mind.

The group that stole the blood of the saint and the cedar coffin where an angel slept, fleeing to the Necropolis.

One of many religious groups that worshipped the ash tree as sacred.

Criminals who were eventually hunted down by the Templar Knights after being tracked.

A cult group that hoped for rebirth.

“…Al-Khair.”

Episode 17 – The Tree That Drinks Blood

The sun set in the western sky, deepening the shadows. Buildings cast long shadows, and the standoff continued in the shaded slum.

Just as Camilla stiffened her face and extended her index finger to aim at the target.

A small exclamation was heard.

“Oh. You know of our school?”

Graying eyebrows twitched once. As if surprised to hear that name here, the deeply wrinkled face colored with astonishment.

Like someone who had discovered joy in an unexpected place, the old man was elated.

As his staff touched the ground, the densely gathered plants retreated, clearing a path. The old man walked out with an extremely pleased expression.

“I never dreamed I would meet someone enlightened in such a humble place.”

“……”

“That you, who knows of Al-Khair, are here where the seed has sprouted. This should not be called coincidence. Surely it is a revelation from God.”

Looking at the old man with his profound smile, I couldn’t say anything. The words were too absurd. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

“But why are you with them?”

“…What?”

Absurd statements followed. The old man, who had been approaching with excitement, suddenly began to spout nonsense.

A question full of concern was thrown at me as I stood still. After asking with a bitter smile, the old man continued in a low voice.

“If the ‘Hero’ from the ignorant world is here, then the ‘Saint’ of the Papal State must also be here. Since there is only one woman cleric here, that woman must be ‘Lucia’ who serves the false god.”

In any group, addressing someone by name alone is considered extremely rude.

Only superiors to subordinates or close colleagues can address each other by name without titles. In that sense, the old man had committed a serious breach of etiquette, but.

The old man smiled peacefully as if nothing was wrong.

“That one who has stepped into enlightenment is with unbelievers. How sad and grievous. Is there anything more unfortunate in this world?”

“What nonsense.”

“Human sin runs deep. Nature created by the Mother of All is being defiled by greed.”

His wrinkled hand rested on his chest.

One step forward. The old man moved his foot and continued bitterly.

“Long ago, the prophet rebuked human ignorance and preached teachings. But those blinded by desire distorted the prophet’s sermons and misinterpreted the mother’s will. People lost their way, wandered, and eventually became stained with sin.”

“……”

“The only way to cleanse this sin is through faith. Only by gaining enlightenment through true teachings can the path to salvation be opened.”

His footsteps stopped. Standing in place, the old man smiled broadly.

“Like that brother over there.”

Fingers twisted like withered branches extended. In the direction he pointed was a dead police officer.

That’s when everything made sense.

“You call shoving plants into people’s guts salvation, you bastard?”

A cold rebuke was poured toward the old man.

I glared at the senile madman with an irritated look.

“Stuffing plants into perfectly healthy people’s stomachs. And that tree over there that ate people—that’s your doing too, right?”

“You should be more careful with your words. How dare you insult those who have dedicated their spirit and flesh to the growth of the sacred tree?”

Okay. I’m starting to get it.

The blood-drinking tree, plants parasitic to humans. Everything was connected to Al-Khair.

Now that I knew what I needed to, there was no need to listen anymore. I immediately adjusted my posture.

The seal worn down by time had lost its luster, but the firmly held sight wasn’t misaligned at all. The barrel, still smelling of gunpowder, aimed at the old man, and my finger rested on the lukewarm surface of the trigger.

Federal government soldiers who recognized the situation came running. Armed with Kiyen Empire rifles, they surrounded the old man.

The air rippled. A faint flame bloomed at the tip of the extended index finger. I unleashed an attack along with her.

*

Countless raindrops pour down.

Bullets breaking the sound barrier didn’t discriminate between objects and targets. Tatatatatata! Tadadada! Flames erupted in succession, and thick dust rose from the brick walls and dirt floor.

-Rumble…!

The ground shakes, and vines and branches writhe. Plants adorned with moss and leaves rise and fall, cutting through the heaving earth.

Nature sprouting from the cradle of life undulated like waves, displaying dozens of colors.

Trees bearing clumps of soil heavy enough to bend branches. Roots compacting gravel and asphalt. Pointed stems clustering together, and fluttering leaves dancing excitedly in the place where a breeze had lingered.

Nature embraced the fragile body.

The old man, standing on roots and entwined in stems and branches, kept chuckling.

“Tsk tsk… How can you be so obtuse!”

The head-shaking gesture revealed deep-seated regret. He was genuinely disappointed.

“Have you witnessed the Mother’s grace with your own eyes and still failed to gain wisdom?”

Wisdom my ass.

If that’s enlightenment, wisdom, and salvation, I’d rather live as an atheist my whole life.

Perhaps disappointed by the outright rejection, the old man offered a final persuasion in a seemingly sad tone, but my will was beyond clear—it was resolute.

“Open your latch, open your heart, and accept. Do not reject. Then there will be salvation.”

“Cut the crap!”

“This old man will personally promise you a not-so-bad future.”

“Fuck off!”

Bang bang bang bang bang-! Gunfire erupted without warning. The sound of shots firing illuminated the shadows along with flames.

The old man was clearly here, but the enemy existed everywhere. The damn plants were targeting not just us but Lucia and Francesca as well.

“Hmm-“

A thick tree was cut down, and a blue strike severed the base. Francesca used her rune sword to fend off the plants advancing from all directions.

-Boom.

Behind her, a white explosion occurred. Someone flew up from the thick smoke.

It was Lucia.

Soaring into the air, Lucia kicked away massive stems. Thud- The stems that took her kick fell helplessly, crushing nearby shacks and terraces.

Lucia landed lightly and took a step back.

“There are quite a lot. We should hurry to help the others.”

“How about paying as much attention to yourself as you do to others?”

Francesca stuck close behind her and gave a troubled smile.

“Currently, there’s no one in greater danger than you and me, Saint.”

The densely grown vines are as tough as iron chains, and the hardness of the wood is several times stronger. The leaves that have bloomed on each intertwined and twisted stem are visibly toxic herbs.

The two were standing alone in the middle of a poisonous herb field.

They were isolated. Completely surrounded.

To make matters worse, skin that had touched the leaves was turning dark blue. Francesca reached into her leather pocket, took out an antidote, opened the cap with her teeth, and poured the potion on the wound.

Crash! The broken glass shattered into pieces.

The potion was effective, and her condition gradually improved, but it was too early to relax. After checking her arm, Francesca twirled her rune sword.

“Well.”

Francesca smiled slyly.

“Let’s see if we can walk out of here alive.”

“We’ll be fine.”

Lucia replied, clenching her fist and lowering her center of gravity.

“As long as we don’t die, we’ll survive.”

As poisonous herbs attacked from all directions, white light and blue lines began to shoot forth.

“……”

After looking at the two isolated people, I quickly turned my gaze back to the front.

There was no way to help Lucia and Francesca now. We were just as likely to die. Instead, I needed to capture the enemy leader before anyone else got hurt.

I aimed and fired at the writhing plants. The target was the old man.

I poured bullets toward the old man’s form occasionally visible through the leaves and branches. But before the gunshots could reach him, the trees swayed their branches and tilted, so the bullets only left numerous scratches on innocent trees.

“Camilla!”

I shouted at the top of my lungs, and a response came.

But actions speak louder than words. Instead of a voice, a pillar of fire flew in.

-Whoosh.

The forest was engulfed.

The plants were as chaotic and dense as the eastern district of Nabuktu. Like an area slummed by unplanned development, narrow roads, and dense housing. Thick leaves, haphazardly placed stems, and trees packed without gaps.

And the flames swallowed it all in one gulp.

The plants that had easily withstood gunfire were helpless before the great fire.

-Crackle~

-Whoosh…!

The area swept by the fire turned gray. The flames that instantly devoured the trees spread, consuming everything around.

That’s why a sympathetic gaze lingered on the burning plants.

“…Oh my.”

The old man raised his arms with a sad expression. And then, thud!

“The Mother of All sends the wind, which raises clouds and revives the dead earth; resurrection is just like that.”

Burning leaves fall, and new sprouts rise to receive the ashes.

Shepherd’s purse, mugwort, sedum, plantain, hawkweed, sow thistle, and other herbaceous plants grew, turning the earth green.

The scars of the fire disappeared, and nature regained its original color. Matching the growing ecosystem, the trees also healed from the fire’s wounds and donned brown armor.

However, opportunities should never be missed.

The best way to catch prey is to not panic when the opportunity comes. And a skilled hunter never misses an opening.

The thumb separates from the four bent fingers. At the tips of the fingers that spring open are beads. Small, cute bead-like sparks hang there.

Of course, their power was anything but small and cute.

“Bang.”

When she flicked her fingers, four streams of flame shot out. The flames, causing thunderous noise, trailed long tails as they struck the trees.

Boom! The world shakes, and the entire desert trembles. The downy sprouts growing from Mother Earth’s bosom are trampled by flames.

Camilla, who had approached to exploit the gap, retreated backward, transforming into flames. The clear sound of her shoes grinding against sand could be heard as she emerged from the air, lowered her center, and took a stance.

Three fingers curl.

The only extended finger is the index.

With her thumb half-bent and index finger extended to aim at the target, Camilla calmly moved her lips after steadying her breath.

“Bang.”

A thick, straight stream of flame flies like an arrow.

Even a mere brush sets leaves ablaze. The flames devour the green leaves. Branches break from the air pressure, and the trunk is covered in soot. The straight flame filled the old man’s vision.

“…!”

His wrinkled eyes tightened, and his eyes widened.

The old man bent his knees and touched the trunk of a nearby tree with his staff. The branches shook, and the tree tilted its large body. Camilla’s flame shattered the tilted tree, causing a massive explosion.

“…Hoho! Such strong and powerful magic. Truly skills worthy of your reputation!”

Fire arrows struck repeatedly.

Camilla continued to shoot flames to deal with the plants, but the old man hiding within them didn’t show even a strand of hair.

-Tadadadadada-!

-Bang! Tadadang-!

The federal government troops who belatedly joined in poured bullets toward the old man.

The commander and soldiers didn’t know exactly what was happening, but since we were attacked first, they were responding in kind. While I wondered what happened to Lucia and Francesca and why these guys were here, I noticed that the number of federal troops had been halved.

I didn’t think about where the other half might be.

With continuous explosion sounds coming from far away, we struggled to capture the old man. When grenades rolled, explosions followed. When flames flew, the forest shook. Bullets flew toward occasionally revealed forms, but nothing could reach him.

-Bang!

“…Damn it.”

I muttered helplessly as I sniped at the old man. How the hell was this bastard blocking bullets traveling at the speed of sound?

Opportunities had come more than 20 times already. Not once had I succeeded.

Bullets that should have pierced his chest were blocked by layered branches, and bullets aimed at his ankles were stopped by writhing roots.

I took my eye off the scope and assessed the battlefield. And shortly after, I made an estimate.

“This won’t work.”

There were too many plants. What kind of cultist summons trees, flowers, and grass? It was like an environmental protection group.

The problem was that the plants summoned by the old man were far too numerous.

The slum, covered with sand and gravel, now resembled a small forest. It was only enough to fill one alley, but the old man facing two split groups alone was monstrous.

“If you like nature so much, go farm somewhere! Damn it, go to that sandy desert and plant some trees!”

Despite my cursing, all that came back was mockery.

The old man, protected by nature in the small forest, stopped laughing and began to speak.

“A tree or two cannot revive damaged nature. That cannot please the Mother. It was human greed that destroyed nature, and only by washing away that sin can the Mother truly smile.”

Mother of All. Nature. Earth. Creation….

These words were somehow familiar. While Al-Khair was completely unknown to me, the words from the old man felt strangely familiar.

I combined the keywords in my head. Mother, creation, nature, earth.

…Wait a minute.

Is this about the Earth Mother Goddess?

“Earth Mother Goddess? Is this cultist bastard actually worshipping the Earth Mother Goddess?”

Just as I was muttering to myself in disbelief.

Boom! A massive shock wave erupted from the forest.

Followed by a lion’s roar.

“You old fool! How dare you compare our school to a cult-!”

A fierce roar like a wildfire came from the midst of trees and plants. Calling Al-Khair a cult was the trigger.

The senile old man spewed anger. Curses fueled by rage poured out. Something about suffering eternally in sulfur and flames. Endless pain and so on…. All of it sounded familiar. Now I realized they were all from the Al-Yabd scripture.

Ah, these bastards. They weren’t just any cult but a heretical offshoot of Al-Yabd.

Well, religions don’t just fall from the sky. They always borrow from here and there. Like Christian heresies or Daesh (ISIL: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). Al-Khair seems to have been born in this way as a heresy.

“Huh.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Not for any other reason, but because these bastards happened to be Al-Yabd heretics.

Even mainstream denominations often denounce each other as heretical. And here they are, having created an entirely new religion, claiming they’re not heretical.

“Selective salvation theory, human sacrifice—if that’s not heresy, what is?”

As soon as I threw out that mocking comment, I got a bite.

Thorny branches fell. Sturdy stems rushed in. As if to tear me to pieces, the plants began to charge at me, smashing everything in their path.

“Stop!”

The air distorted.

With a strong gust, a red waterfall descended from the sky. The flames pushed back the grotesquely twisting roots, stems, and branches, protecting me.

A familiar back dropped down.

Having rushed over in one breath, Camilla was constantly regulating her breathing. Suddenly, she turned around.

“Are you okay?!”

I nodded.

“Thank goodness. I’ll slip out for a moment and save Lucia and Francesca- Oh, damn it…!”

As shadows fell, Camilla quickly looked up and raised flames. An enormous log was flying toward us.

Whether it was just uprooted, clumps of soil hung from the roots. As the rough branches trembled—leaves showered down. The compressed flame between her hands devoured the falling tree greedily.

Thud! A tree too heavy to move even with a truck fell from the air.

The tree, transformed into a fireball, could no longer even be called a “tree.”

-Whoosh.

While Camilla was gathering flames in preparation for the next attack, tap tap. Fingers began to tap her shoulder.

Turning around, Camilla asked with her eyes what was going on. And I whispered in a small voice.

“Just a moment. I just had a good idea.”

“What idea?”

“Your ear…”

I leaned my head slightly. As she focused on the whisper near her ear, Camilla’s expression changed subtly. Her eyes, which had been uncertain, tensed. Her pupils dilated.

“…Hmm.”

“Can you do it?”

“I don’t know if it will work, but…”

She smiled and nodded vigorously.

“I’ll give it a try.”

*

In the midst of the ongoing battle, a shout was heard.

“Camilla!”

A soldier firing his gun glanced back briefly before turning to the front again and pulling the trigger. A loud voice echoed across the battlefield filled with gunfire.

“Hurry and burn the tree that ate people first!”

The shout was loud enough for everyone to hear.

The officer commanding the battle looked this way with a confused expression. As if wondering what this sudden statement meant, and how they were supposed to fight without the mage.

But when a strong response was heard, the officer’s gaze turned elsewhere.

“Got it-!”

Camilla responded. After shouting at the top of her lungs, she jumped up.

As flames scattered chaotically on the roof, a person fell from the air in the blink of an eye.

Tap! After landing softly, Camilla began running forward with all her might. Toward the distant tree.

And then.

-Rumble…!

A massive pillar entwined with vines and branches appeared, blocking the way.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

The old man appeared with the pillar.

From atop the many intertwined plants, he raged with a distorted face.

“Unacceptable. Those who interfere with the growth of the sacred tree shall not die peacefully!”

Nature sings with anger. The pillar splits, and plants extend and rush forward.

And.

As Camilla raised her finger, the surrounding air suddenly rippled. Heat haze shimmered. In the wavering void, the heat haze converged into a single point.

-Thud!

The staff strikes the ground once.

The plants that were about to tear and cut through fragile flesh retreated as if they had never intended to, then clung thickly to the front of the old man.

Nature embraces the old body. The old man did not reject nature, and nature embraced the human.

“……”

Camilla stared sharply at the old man who was once again hiding among the plants. She lowered her finger and crouched. Fire and smoke rose from her position.

Immediately after, a person appeared before the old man who was being covered by plants.

Amid flames and flying sparks.

Her straight index finger aimed at the old man’s face.

“Bang!”

*

Heat haze rising from her fingertips turns into flames. Like an active volcano about to erupt, the flames were ready to burst forth.

Dense plants wrap around Camilla like a net and push her away. But there’s nothing they can do about her extended finger.

Just before the roots completely covered her.

A stream of fire rushed toward the old man’s face.

A scream spreads.

Wailing is heard from within the plants.

At the scream that seemed to squeeze the lungs and vocal cords, branches and leaves began to tremble.

As if empathizing with the pain, mountains and rivers wept loudly. The more the old man suffered, the more violently the plants shook.

-Tadadang-!

-Tadadadadada-!

The attack continued.

It was a one-sided attack that cornered the opponent and pounded them.

The consistently green nature was devastated.

As countless copper marched like soldiers with bulging eyes, holes were punched through the leaves lightly dusted with soil.

“Fire! Keep firing without stopping!”

“Kill him quickly!”

The federal government commander focused on directing. The officer who drew his pistol gave instructions while spitting.

A soldier with gritted teeth swept left and right with his rifle. Click, click. Empty magazines rolled on the ground, and new ones were inserted. The truck’s machine gun raised its head high and spewed fire with fierce momentum.

The soldiers suppressed the plants by pouring bullets.

-Tudadadadadada!!!

Old trees and newly growing saplings scattered brown flesh one after another. In the places where they fell, new stems grew.

The tug-of-war of creating and filling gaps continued, and the machine gun cut through everything blocking its path, while I carefully made an assessment.

“……”

Plants writhing in agony, screams coming from inside. We succeeded in drawing out the old man according to plan, but it seems we failed to finish him.

Well, a cultist who has lived this long wouldn’t die so easily. The small fry would have been dealt with by inquisitors or religious police.

But that’s not the problem.

“Ugh…”

Camilla grimaced, clutching her side. Blood was flowing from the gap at her left side and from her fingers.

Picking up a rolling branch to check, I found it covered in blood. Carefully removing Camilla’s hand to look inside, I saw a hole big enough for a finger to go through.

“The pancreas and stomach were spared. Fortunately. Since it hit a bit lower, the kidneys and spleen should be fine.”

The colon might be damaged. There’s a possibility of perforation in the descending colon.

If perforation is confirmed, laparotomy—cutting open the abdomen to pull out the intestines and suture them—would be necessary. Needless to say, that’s not a surgery we can perform here. We need to go to a hospital. A very large one at that.

“I-I’m f-fine…”

Camilla struggled to speak through the pain, insisting she was fine. With an expression that was anything but fine.

In a hurry, I took out a potion from my backpack. As I gently poured the potion, steam rose from the pierced flesh, and new skin gradually emerged, erasing the puncture wound.

Watching this, Camilla silently took my hand. I looked into her blue eyes, then put down her blood-stained hand and picked up my rifle.

“……”

Soldiers who had climbed onto the roofs moved between buildings. In the passage created by machine gun bullets fired from below. There I saw the old man.

I wrap the sling around my hand. I touch the wall with my hand. I firmly fix the barrel against the wall with my hand to prevent it from shaking.

The heavy pressure is felt only momentarily.

A dull impact strikes my shoulder, and a shot that grazes the leaves pierces through the flesh.

Several more gunshots followed in succession. I kept pulling the trigger toward the old man visible through the writhing plants.

Camilla, watching from a distance, grabbed the railing and stood up.

With trembling hands, she aimed at the target. Her left hand supporting her right, she bent her index finger with all her might.

The air tears.

Clothes flutter, and hair bounces. A streak of flame shoots like lightning, distorting the void.

The flame, using oxygen as fuel to burn itself, explodes. The intricately entangled trees caught fire. Overturned leaves and split branches fell off.

Amid the sparks flying in all directions.

The mad old man finally appeared.

“…The prophet said: You know the first creation, yet you do not take it as a lesson. Have you not seen the seed planted in the ground.”

The flames blew away the jungle-like condensed plants in one strike. Not content with that, they were eating away at the surroundings with residual fire and heat.

Gray-colored branches crumbled powerlessly, and the vibrant green leaves collectively lost their color.

Transparent, whitish sap boiled at each severed stem. The droplets of sap evaporated into gas before they could wet the ground, and only gray ash covered everything.

The old man who had been standing in the middle of the plants was now gone.

As nature completed its lifespan, the old man stood on what was essentially a pile of ashes.

Yet the old man remained incredibly calm.

Where distorted skin had fallen off, brown skin had formed. Like the outer bark of a tree—no, what he was actually wearing was bark.

A tree human.

If I had to describe it, the old man had become one with the tree.

No longer could he even be called human, yet the old man calmly walked out of the flames and smoke.

To one immersed in faith, despair and pain were merely parts of asceticism.

The madman proudly stood up on the ashes.

“Did you make it grow? Or did the Mother make it grow? It is our Mother who made the earth and sowed the seeds.”

He raises his head. With eyes glistening with madness, he looks up at the blue sky.

The madman, standing on the ashes, spreads his arms wide, and the wrinkles at the corners of his mouth form a smile.

“If She wishes, She will shatter it to pieces, and then you will fall into grief and say that all is in vain.”

-Rumble!

The earth shakes.

Plants rise from the shaking and heaving ground. Much larger and more prosperous than before, stems and leaves tinged with green appeared.

The struggle for life led to an earthquake. As the violent anger of nature began to erupt.

Clap! The madman clapped his hands.

“Some groups will be humiliated, and some groups will be praised. Then the earth will shake deeply. The mountains will shatter into pieces and scatter as dust.

You who mock the Word, who do not thank for nourishment and choose to disbelieve. Even when your souls reach your throats, the Mother is near, but you do not know.

You who rebel and wander will drink boiling water and be burned in hell.”

The vibrations grow stronger. To the point where one can barely stand upright.

Humans are animals that stand on their legs to maintain balance. On such shaking ground, they can’t maintain their center and can only fall.

Even without that, the moment one is hit by those massive roots, not a single part would remain intact. Or they would be dragged underground and crushed like minced meat.

This is dangerous. It’s truly a perilous situation….

“-When wisdom enters the heart and knowledge becomes the joy of the soul,

Discretion and understanding will preserve and protect.

It will deliver you from the dark path and the quagmire filled with falsehood.”

Light flows from the palms pressed together.

Like white fireflies, the clustered light spreads in all directions.

Lips moving as if in prayer. As the quiet prayer sound is heard, the pure white light settles on everyone.

The fierce anger of nature calms down. I can feel the shaking subsiding.

…No. The earth is still shaking.

What’s not shaking isn’t the ground, but the people.

Bodies float up. Click, click. A familiar and welcome sound broke through the silence and reached my ears.

Cubic cubes rotated by themselves, solving the puzzle.

Camilla, who had flown into the air, was lifting me and the scattered federal government troops. Beside her was a white light caressing her blood-stained side.

The light that started from joined hands climbs up the torn sleeve. It heals the poisoned wound and gently caresses the saint’s eyelids.

A change occurs in the sea-blue eyes. White energy seeps around the pupils.

Like the foam of shattered waves, eyes containing white energy appeared from within the eyelids.

Lucia opened her gently closed eyes and moved her lips.

“Heretic-!”

A death cry-like roar burst through the split lips. The brown shell on his lips trembled with rising anger.

The madman poured out his rage.

But ignoring this, Lucia’s prayer continued steadily.

“The Lord said: Behold, this one has taken the fruit and knows good and evil.”

Brown and green waves rise. Nature begins to sing its anger.

Breaking and shattering concrete, nature advanced. At the end stood Lucia.

Just before the surging waves touched her body. Blue lines were densely drawn, meeting the waves of nature head-on.

Like ingredients being chopped by a sharp kitchen knife, the brown and green waves were completely shattered.

After looking around, the mad old man soon found the culprit.

On a distant rooftop. Francesca sat on the railing, looking down at the scene.

-Crash!

Sharp wooden pillars swept her away along with the railing.

The trees flying toward her seemed to be moving in a straight line, but they suddenly changed direction and all crashed down. Embedded in the sides of the fallen trees were pieces of steel engraved with strange characters.

Francesca jumped down from the railing with a light movement.

Landing gracefully, she opened her bag and handed over several bottles of potion. Though she herself wasn’t in great shape, Francesca smiled gently.

“Drink this. It might not be as good as military potions, but it’s quite effective.”

She fed it to Camilla.

The complexion that had recovered with the military potion began to show vitality again. When her breathing stabilized, Camilla tried to get up but had to lie back down after being restrained.

After stopping the patient who wanted to join the fight, the alchemist turned her head toward the direction of the prayer.

“He raised His hand lest he eat the remaining fruit and gain eternal life. He personally drove him out of paradise and sent him back to the land from which he came, to till the soil.”

As the quiet prayer continued, suddenly something fell from the air.

Despite the thunderous noise, the prayer did not stop.

“Thus, the Father who drove him out placed a sword in the east to guard the way to paradise. This is the revolving sword, the burning blade.”

Smoke was rising from the object that appeared with the thunder.

The saint pushed aside the thick smoke with her hand and picked up the object. A long brass handle came up, and finally, several iron plates attached to the end emerged.

It was a mace.

A flanged mace.

Gripping the mace, the saint gently closed her eyes. And calmly made the sign of the cross.

“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

From forehead to chest.

From left shoulder to right shoulder.

Having made the sign of the cross, the saint concluded her prayer.

“Shut your mouth and die.”