Ch.521I Woke Up.

Looking through the hazy vision beyond, I stared blankly at Elpinel and the angels, briefly wondering if I had lost my life and been dragged to Elpinel’s heaven.

Until my painfully blinking eyes regained focus, and I realized the goddess before me was merely a painting on the ceiling.

A familiar ceiling.

I was lying on a bed in St. Ellunel Cathedral.

“Thought I was dead…”

Just like when I fought the werebeasts that attacked the Imperial capital before… no, even more than that, my body had absolutely no strength. I felt so weak that even a child could probably kill me now.

[That’s all you have to say after coming back from death’s door after a month?]

Hersella asked incredulously. So I had been unconscious for a month.

A month…

I really must have been close to death.

Well, I had sensed it the moment I swung my sword. As I exerted power that transcended my capacity by several levels, it felt like everything that constituted me was burning away.

By the time the blade that had split the sky pointed to the ground, my consciousness had already faded. When I woke up, I found myself lying here.

Since I’m still alive, it seems that strike must have taken down that demon.

Sky Slash.

How was it even possible? Looking back, it was an impossible sword strike. It had power comparable to the holy sword’s strike in my memory. I couldn’t even imagine attempting to recreate it in my current state.

‘You were awake, I see.’

[I woke up two weeks ago. It was quite an ordeal to lie here for two weeks without being able to move a finger.]

So she regained consciousness but couldn’t move her body. Well, even now I could barely turn my head, so it must have been worse two weeks ago.

‘…What happened to the others?’

I carefully voiced the question that had come to mind as soon as I realized I was alive. My lips trembled slightly with anxiety.

I didn’t want to think they were dead… but the last time I saw them, they were all in critical condition. In the original world, they would have lost their lives just from blood loss and shock.

[Don’t worry. They’re all alive and well. The Paladin was called back to his church, and your subordinates are standing guard outside the door. Call them and they’ll come right in.]

‘I see. They’re all alive…’

[Worry about yourself. Do you realize? You truly could have died.]

…I suppose so.

But still, I protected everyone.

‘…That’s a relief.’

I smiled with a sigh of relief.

—-

[By the way, that final technique… no, that divine strike that was close to godly power—what exactly was it?]

Well, what was it?

‘Sky Slash? I don’t know the details since I unleashed it unconsciously. I think I combined the art of cutting space with Defying Fate when I swung…’

The sensation I felt then seemed hazy like fog when I tried to recall it.

Perhaps I might get a feel for it again when I swing a sword, but that was a distant possibility while lying here like this.

Well… even if I figured it out and succeeded, such widespread destruction would be impossible without becoming stronger.

If used normally, I could probably cut through only about ten meters at most.

Even that would be an impossible technique, though.

[Sky Slash… if it’s a technique that requires your Tale of Heros, it would be impossible for me. I thought if I could just learn it, I could cut down even Orhan with a single strike.]

Even after witnessing the overwhelming sight of the sky splitting, her first thought was to use that technique for patricide?

That was truly like her, so I just let out a hollow laugh without answering.

—-

After that, I had various conversations with Hersella. About things that had been left unsaid… about the fight with Cardinal Lübitz and what happened in Arad.

‘So, why did you hide the fact that you could control my body at will? And how is that even possible in the first place?’

[It’s MY body. You thief.]

‘…Anyway.’

Hersella remained silent for a while as if choosing her words, then began to tell a lengthy story.

[…I only realized it recently. Haven’t you found it strange? The power of your achievements can only be wielded by you, yet the power of Karma of Murder can be shared between us without distinction.]

It was certainly strange. I could use her power, albeit imperfectly, but Hersella seemed unable to use any of the achievement powers I had gained.

[I pondered this endlessly, and after several experiments, I finally found the answer. Karma accumulates in both body and soul. Then wouldn’t a person’s soul also be bound by Karma?]

Is that so…? I had never thought about it that way.

‘And?’

[The power connecting our souls and binding them to this body is none other than Karma of Murder. The power of the Karma of Murder I accumulated has been sustaining the connection between my soul and body, preventing it from breaking.]

So she’s been hanging on without passing to the other world thanks to the power of Karma of Murder. Then, if all the Karma of Murder is used up, would Hersella achieve enlightenment…?

No, not enlightenment, but perhaps she would fall into a long sleep like before.

[Perhaps because we share the same body, that thread extends to you as well. That’s why you and I can share each other’s Karma of Murder, and why control of the body returned to me when I received all the Karma of Murder.]

‘…I see. I understand that much.’

So… Hersella is like a spirit of Karma of Murder now.

If all the Karma of Murder is transferred to her, she takes over the body, and conversely, if all the Karma of Murder is consumed, she falls asleep or disappears.

‘So, why didn’t you tell me about this?’

Did she think I would make her sleep forever or destroy her if I knew?

…I might have considered it before, but not anymore.

[Umm… well…]

Hersella hesitated uncharacteristically, then answered in a quiet, reluctant voice.

[…I thought if you knew I could regain control of the body, you would become wary of me again, like before.]

“What…?”

The reason was so absurd that I couldn’t help but let my voice escape.

She kept it secret because she didn’t want to be disliked? That’s quite out of character.

She’s not some lovestruck high school girl confessing her promiscuous past. Was that really the reason she kept it hidden?

[Well, you see… if my warrior distrusted and distanced himself from me, that would be most unwelcome for a lord, wouldn’t it? That’s why I had planned to keep it hidden until the war with the Aishan.]

…Well, I didn’t particularly plan to be wary of her.

Perhaps because we’ve shared a body for over half a year, I had long since developed a certain trust and affection for her.

Even if Hersella temporarily borrowed control of my body, I no longer thought she would cause havoc or commit unacceptable atrocities.

To be frank, I even doubted whether this woman was truly the same mad Hersella who appeared in the game.

There was too great a gap between this boastful woman who called herself the Heavenly Demon and the slaughterer who had killed tens or hundreds of thousands.

—-

Her reason for hiding the Field of Mortality was even more ridiculous.

She said she wanted to first reveal the technique she created to kill her enemies in front of those enemies. It was a sentiment I couldn’t understand.

Anyway, after Hersella’s absurd explanations were all finished, the arrow of interrogation turned toward me.

Hersella persistently questioned what had happened while she was asleep, and I told her about my experiences in Arad.

About how the Stigmata of Astraea came down, about my relationship with Ceylon, and such things.

[…Are you insane?]

Hersella, who had been listening silently, burst out in anger as soon as my story ended and launched into a lecture about chastity. She said there were things one should and shouldn’t do, even if it was just a cover.

A lecture on chastity from a woman who had the infamous reputation as the whore of Ka’har. It was ironic in many ways.

—-

I hadn’t noticed right after waking up because I had no sensation in my body, but Lena was sleeping next to me, clinging to me. She was half-sprawled across me, using my chest as a pillow while firmly grasping my left hand, which was now free of Frosting.

She seemed to have fallen asleep from exhaustion while nursing me at my bedside.

…Should I wake her up?

Seeing her sleeping so soundly, I hesitated a bit, but it was also quite uncomfortable to lie here motionless.

“Sister… Sister is bad… should tie her up…”

I should wake her up.

What kind of dream is she having? Has Menes’s mischief spread to Lena?

“Lena…? Hey, Lena? Can you wake up?”

“Mmm… Sister…?”

Lena drowsily lifted her eyelids and stared blankly at me for a moment before sitting up in shock.

“Sister…?!”

“Yes, sister’s awake. Have you been well…?”

I smiled awkwardly. I didn’t know what to say. After boasting that I wouldn’t get hurt, I had been lying in a near-death state for a month.

“Uuu.”

Instead of answering, Lena moaned as she touched my face with both hands. Tears welled up and streamed down from her half-closed eyes.

“Hic, huuuu, hu… huaaaaaang!”

“There, there. Don’t cry. Everything turned out fine. Sister won.”

Lena hugged me and began sobbing loudly. My front was instantly soaked. I wanted to pat her back, but my arms wouldn’t move, so I could only comfort her with words.

“Hic…! Liar! You said it was just a monster! You said you wouldn’t get hurt…!”

“Well… about that… but I’m fine now, aren’t I?”

That must have been the wrong answer, as Lena’s arms tightened around me even more.

I felt intense muscle pain surging through me and had to endure Lena’s embrace until Nigel and Leonore rushed into the room, having heard the commotion.