A Great Being (8)

“—, —.”

“Hah…”

Just in case, I sent in the wind spirits to quietly approach during the commotion when Lebevre entered. And thanks to them, I heard everything.

If things had been resolved neatly, this wouldn’t have been necessary, but in the end, I had to step in. After all, I couldn’t let Lebevre and Maria be killed by those madmen.

I called Arisa from outside through the wind spirits and hurriedly headed to the Order’s underground sacred place.

“Wh-Who are you! This place is… kuhurk…”

There were holy knights trying to stop me, but before they could draw their swords, I moved the wind spirits to cut off the air around their faces.

They didn’t do anything, but suddenly unable to breathe, they dropped their swords and frantically fumbled at their faces and necks, trying to breathe, but eventually their faces turned red and then purple, and they staggered and collapsed unconscious.

This is a technique I practiced as soon as I got the wind spirits, but it requires incredibly delicate control, so I still can’t use it on a large scale.

It seems that even in the future, I’ll only be able to quietly subdue a few people at most.

“Go stop those idiots.”

“—!”

The sacred place I entered was like an underground cave, and as I had heard, it was a mess. At the same time, the spirits’ energy became incredibly strong.

When I gave instructions to the spirits, they excitedly began to subdue the enemies who were trying to go wild.

“Kuk, who on earth are you!”

When everyone’s gaze was fixed on me, one holy knight who had somehow noticed something strange about the wind and earth swung his golden glowing sword up and down to drive away the spirits, and urgently pointed it at me.

“I’m the person who brought the girl you call a witch.”

In front of them, I took off my hood to show my face. I could see over a hundred eyes widening.

Yes, this is the normal reaction to seeing a High Elf. It was strange that Maria just stared blankly.

Of course, the ripples that would burst out due to this action would not be small, but I was already prepared for it. Having come this far, I too had to start letting go of a few things.

“Maria is a descendant of the mythical era Saint that I, High Elf Isilia, vouch for. Not the half-baked Saints you know, but someone who can directly purify the calamity that’s coming now.”

I openly pointed at them and vouched for Maria’s identity to those who were speechless.

Of course, they might not believe me. But there were plenty of ways to prove it. I could prove it both in words and in power.

* * *

“Did you all hear? Anyway, it’s all true. Lady Isilia is indeed a High Elf who has lived since 10,000 years ago, from the mythical era.”

Boasting about myself with my own mouth is an extremely ugly and unnecessary act.

Instead, Lebevre took charge of explaining and testifying about me. He was already someone who knew and accepted who I was and what kind of being I was.

“Th-That can’t be. Do you think this makes sense right now?!”

It’s not that there weren’t people who objected or resisted. Especially that instigator Deus, even with Lebevre’s explanation and vouching, still doubted and denied me.

“But haven’t you heard the explanation about recent events? The unprecedented situation of erosion originating from the great calamity 10,000 years ago has been revealed, and its momentum is not ordinary. Moreover, the unification and external activities of the elf clan. Don’t tell me all of this…?!”

On the other hand, some people who had been uncertain seemed to have made up their minds, buzzing with surprised eyes.

Of course, things they pointed out like the discovery of erosion, interference in the Order’s internal affairs, and unification of the elf clan were indeed things I had done, but I feel like some misunderstandings are also growing.

Surely they’re not having strange delusions like I’m really manipulating the world from behind the scenes?

“There’s no need to talk this long. Whether everything I say is true or not, whether Maria is really the true Saint from history or not, we can verify it directly.”

Not wanting to give more tedious explanations, I ended their buzzing and pointed to the rippling holy water pool.

The holy water containing the power of the first Saint was a beautiful pool of water about the size of a pond, with both blue and turquoise colors.

I had already shown Maria purifying an artifact, but if that wasn’t enough, we could just do it directly.

“What on earth are you hesitating for? Back when the Tower collapsed, this world was already finished. Everyone should have died. But somehow, some people survived and rebuilt this world, and now the system that couldn’t tolerate this is reactivating to sweep away this world, and you’re hesitating?”

My patience was starting to run out. It was pathetic to see them dawdling when I had even revealed my identity to push things forward.

I understand. Even I, who didn’t know about the Tower back then, wouldn’t have batted an eye if some strange girl appeared and shouted that the mass extinction that ended the Mesozoic era was coming again.

From the beginning, the extinction process due to the failure to conquer the Tower was too long ago. Isn’t it treated as legend and myth beyond history?

It’s difficult to easily convince people of the current era. I knew this just by seeing Renia, who could be called my vanguard, struggling with numerous scholars who think of erosion as a simple accident or phenomenon.

“Even if you are a being who lived in that era, we who live in this era have our own laws. The Order can never join hands with outside forces, and now they have violated that decree!”

“Outside forces…”

Deus was still denying reality. It’s not like I’m saying to overturn everything, and while everyone else is watching their step, seeing him alone eagerly stepping forward made it seem like he had something to be wary of.

I swear I’ve never once bragged about my age since I opened my eyes here. After all, my age is definitely not really 10,000 years.

However, as a result of those who know my identity consistently instilling it from the side, and most of the knowledge I know remaining only as relics from 10,000 years ago in this world, one thought naturally sprouted.

That if I set my mind to it, I could really act like a 10,000-year-old fossil.

“How old are you?”

“Wh-What?”

“Outside forces. You lot, mere groups that have only emerged a few thousand years ago at best, dare to call me an outside force?”

I hardened my face and pressed him with a cold voice. There were quite a few who were trying to act up, but at least Deus was the only one not watching my mood right now.

“You who don’t even know what kind of world it was before the Tower collapsed. How dare you, not even knowing what kind of being the god you believe in and follow originally was.”

The descendants of those left after the end learned and passed on the denied world through their parents’ mouths.

Thanks to that, they believed in things like electric lights as gods, but those numerous beliefs passed down for over thousands of years and acquired true divinity. The world after the Tower’s collapse was a world where that was possible.

The fact that the Order of Light has established itself as the mainstream order in this world is purely due to the merits their ancestors built up one by one, not because they were chosen as these arrogant descendant bastards think.

‘It would be utter chaos. That can’t happen.’

I didn’t actually expose such things. The world is already chaotic enough, and I couldn’t make it more chaotic.

“From my standpoint, outside forces are bastards like you. Know-nothings with only big mouths. I’ll show you the proof.”

I smirked at the speechless Deus and pointed my finger at the rippling pond.

It wasn’t that I had come forward without any countermeasures.

After all, the being that called me here was waiting for me to summon it even at this moment.

“This can’t be!”

“S-Saint?!”

The wildly turbulent water suddenly surged up and began to form a shape.

The water spirit that had communed with me was proving the secret it had been harboring all this time.

‘Is that the first Saint?’

The form the water spirit imitated using the holy water was a young woman with long hair. It wasn’t the Saint I knew.

She must be one of her descendants, and could be called the root of this Order.

The water spirit dwelling in the holy water had preserved that memory intact and now appeared borrowing my power at this moment.

[The crisis will not end]

She opened her mouth. The true holy water here is a sacred relic created by the first Saint as she ‘died’.

Inside it, the Saint’s lingering thoughts dwell. Those thoughts are now being expressed through the water spirit.

[Before, and in the future. There is no room for carelessness. The calamity will come again. As long as we live, it will not stop]

The Saint made of flowing water looked around at the surrounding people with a regretful face. To be honest, I only thought this was possible right after I came here.

It was the result of the other spirits, and the water spirit I finally met, going crazy and pestering me.

“…”

I could see the fist-sized water spirit protruding in front of the Saint wiping its forehead and sighing in relief.

It must have had some emotional distress carrying the Saint’s lingering thoughts for such a long time.