episode_0343

Chapter 343 – Exuviation

Meanwhile, at that moment, a fierce battle was in full swing in the chapel.

In the high skies, Johann, the strongest Paladin, and Calisto clashed, while on the ground, the Sixth Sword, Rainstor, fought a fierce battle against the Dark Knight Commander.

And Isis was holding her own against the Dark Vice-Knight Commander with Regina’s support fire.

*Crash!*

Isis’s body reeled greatly after blocking the Dark Vice-Knight Commander’s strike.

Even wearing the Valkyrie Suit, it was hard to withstand his strength.

While his inherently higher cultivation realm played a significant part, the fact that he possessed a demonic sword was the most troublesome.

The problem was their poor compatibility.

The demonic sword Remian used weakened the opponent, allowing its advantages to be sealed by nullifying it with Valkyrie’s divine artifact, but the Dark Vice-Knight Commander’s demonic sword was the type that strengthened its owner.

The increase in power was so immense that with every clash, a searing pain shot up her wrist.

If she hadn’t obtained the Valkyrie Suit, her neck might have already been severed.

Isis, aware of the weight of the spear in her hand, simultaneously thought of the one who had helped her acquire this weapon.

‘Ruan…’

With the sudden attack, a flash of light appeared, and her younger brother disappeared.

More precisely, half of the people in the chapel.

She believed Ruan, who had always overcome any difficulties, would be safe, but she couldn’t hide her worry.

It was the crisis of someone she loved.

Who in the world could remain composed?

Others were worried about the Saintess’s disappearance, but Isis paid no mind to it.

Thanks to that, she was caught off guard.

*Crash!*

Unable to properly deflect the attack, Isis couldn’t overcome the force and was pushed back.

The Dark Vice-Knight Commander twisted his lips and laughed.

“Hahaha… You can’t concentrate at all. It seems your lover has been dragged away, hasn’t he?”

“…”

“That place is the Cradle of the Undead. To nullify the magic, one must deal with the caster. But the master of that space is none other than the Apostle Hersculer-nim. Your lover can never escape.”

“No, he will definitely return.”

Although she said that, she couldn’t ignore the fact that she was agitated.

Coincidentally, those dragged into the Cradle of the Undead, with very few exceptions, were not particularly strong.

Defeating Hersculer with such a small number of people was almost impossible.

It was as if she had been hit precisely where it hurt the most.

“Hahahaha! Still, don’t be too disappointed. At least you’ll be able to see his face. Though by then, he’ll already be undead, of course.”

“Shut up!”

Provoked repeatedly, Isis finally couldn’t bear it and erupted in fury.

Instantly, she switched from a defensive stance to an offensive one, wildly thrusting her spear.

Thanks to this, she was temporarily able to push back the Dark Vice-Knight Commander, but anger is a blind and utterly simple emotion.

Naturally, Isis’s spear-wielding became crude, and her trajectory became easy to read.

*Clang!*

In the end, her arm was violently flung up by a perfect parry, revealing an opening.

“Foolish woman!”

Immediately after, the sword plunged forward along the shortest path.

The moment she saw its trajectory, Isis realized an undeniable truth.

This couldn’t be dodged.

It couldn’t be blocked either.

No matter what she tried, she couldn’t think of a way to negate this attack.

‘Idiot.’

Isis reprimanded herself.

Even if Ruan returned, it would be useless if she died. In her worry for him, she had forgotten the most important prerequisite.

In the meantime, the sword had already closed to within an inch of her.

Now, in a mere instant, her heart would be pierced.

‘Is this how I’ll die?’

Although it was her own doing, such a result from just one mistake felt incredibly unfair.

If she had known this would happen, she would have paraded her relationship with Ruan freely, not caring about what others thought.

At that moment, as she was about to close her eyes in regret.

“Snap out of it!”

*Whiz!*

With a sharp shout, a cunningly shot flame arrow struck the sword blade.

Although the arrow’s power only managed to slightly slow the sword’s speed, that split second created a huge change.

Now, she could barely block it.

“Ugh…!”

Gritting her teeth, Isis twisted her wrist as much as possible, bringing her spear between them.

*Screech!*

The sword slid along the spear, making a sound like fingernails on a blackboard.

She barely avoided a direct hit, but unable to fully block it, the sword grazed her white skin as it passed.

Feeling a burning pain, Isis retreated without taking her eyes off her opponent.

Regina stood beside her.

“Your Imperial Highness. Thank you…”

“Isis. Is your heart for Ruan only that much?”

Isis, who had just expressed her gratitude, frowned at the unexpected words.

Regina continued, unconcerned.

“Are you worried Ruan might die? So much that you can’t even focus on the fight?”

“Don’t speak so carelessly.”

“Then don’t act in a way that makes me say such things. You don’t trust Ruan, do you?”

“Your Imperial Highness!!”

“Why, is it not true? From my perspective, you don’t trust Ruan. If you want to deny it, why don’t you ask yourself first?”

At the barrage of harsh words, Isis bit her lip tightly.

Even though it was a baseless fabrication, why couldn’t she easily refute it?

Was it truly because she couldn’t trust Ruan?

‘No, that’s not it.’

A word of denial immediately sprang forth.

If so, it meant there was something separate from trusting Ruan.

What on earth could it be?

Just as Isis was struggling to grasp it, Regina’s words struck her like lightning.

“Are you afraid?”

“Huh? Af-afraid of what…?”

“Are you afraid you’ll remain as siblings? Afraid you’ll fall behind others?”

“N-no, that’s not it at all…”

“Lies. I can see everything.”

Again, Isis’s lips pressed tightly together.

By this point, she could no longer deny her own feelings.

‘But there’s nothing I can do.’

The empire legally prohibited incestuous marriage.

No matter how much she trusted Ruan, it was hard to expect that the law could be changed.

No, even if it were possible, she didn’t know how long it would take. In the meantime, all the other girls would marry Ruan, have children, and live happily.

She alone would be left behind, waiting for days that might never come.

Of course, they could postpone all marriages until that day came, but Isis didn’t want to make everyone suffer for her own happiness.

As Isis faced the painful truth, head bowed low, Regina cried out, seemingly frustrated.

“You fool! Don’t you know who’s standing in front of you?”

“Huh?”

“Regina Solias. The Second Imperial Princess of the Solias Empire. And the most likely successor to the throne! Do you still not get it?”

“Surely not…”

“That’s right! If I become emperor, I can change that measly law as much as I want! So stop worrying about useless things and focus on the fight. Understood?”

The fog in her mind cleared as if washed away.

It was such a simple solution that she wondered why she hadn’t thought of it until now.

‘I’m really an idiot.’

A wry chuckle escaped her.

Having let go of her worries, Isis regained her composure, and suddenly felt that the wall blocking her path had become very thin.

It was so weak and insignificant, as if it would crumble with a mere touch.

What was needed to achieve ‘Exuviation’, a realm also known as ‘God-attainment’, was self-understanding.

At this very moment, all the pieces of the puzzle came together, and she was ready to transcend her current realm.

Isis confidently crashed against the wall.

*Vwooom!*

The mana in her Dantian pulsed.

The mana scattered throughout her body spun rapidly before instantly moving to her brain.

And it shattered the wall that had been separating her middle Dantian and upper Dantian, connecting all the mana pathways throughout her body into one.

*Crack! Crackle!*

Simultaneously, her bones, muscles, skin, and organs—all her bodily systems—evolved by a stage.

This transformation was impossible to achieve in a short time, but unfortunately, there was no time to wait leisurely.

Isis, having assimilated the enlightenment as quickly as possible, opened her eyes and gazed at Regina.

“Thank you, Your Imperial Highness. No, Regina-nim.”

“…If you know, then do well.”

“Yes. Then let’s defeat the enemy together.”

“I was going to do that anyway.”

Regina replied gruffly, yet a clear smile played on her lips.

At that moment, Isis suddenly declared.

“Ah, and after this fight, I think I should make Ruan and my relationship public.”

“…What? Do what?”

When a surprised Regina asked again, Isis repeated, as if it were nothing significant.

“I’m making our relationship public. You said you could revise the law anyway, didn’t you? So it doesn’t matter then.”

A lovely smile blossomed on Isis’s lips.

With even her minimal brakes gone, no one could stop her will now.

*

After traversing the pitch-black space for 30 minutes, we reunited with a welcome face.

Even with extremely limited visibility, those enormous breasts were recognizable at a glance. There was no need to ponder their identity.

“Oh, Saintess-nim!”

As I raised my hand and called out, the Saintess in the darkness turned towards us.

Even with a slight movement, her voluptuous breasts swayed violently, pleasing the eye.

“Young Master?”

“I’m glad you’re safe!”

I excitedly ran forward.

At a time when every bit of strength was precious, the Saintess, who was the antithesis of the undead, joining them was a tremendous boon.

It was definitely not because I wanted to see her breasts up close.

‘Hmm, indeed, seeing her breasts makes my heart feel at ease.’

I glanced at the Saintess’s voluptuous breasts again, then opened my mouth.

“Saintess-nim. I apologize for saying this as soon as we meet, but do you happen to know what this space is?”

“…No. I don’t know exactly either. But what’s certain is that to escape from here, we must defeat the caster at its center. And it’s extremely rare for someone to cast magic of this scale.”

The Saintess expressed that the opponent was Hersculer indirectly. She probably found it difficult to openly suggest fighting an Apostle.

Though that was exactly what I wanted.

“So that means we have to take down Hersculer.”

“That’s right. Can you lend us your strength?”

“That’s what *I* should be asking you. Let’s fight together.”

“…Yes. Thank you.”

Despite things going well, the Saintess wore a bitter expression.

It seemed she remembered that I had lost my master to Hersculer. She looked at me with such pity that it felt like she’d hand over her breasts if I asked right then.

‘Endure.’

As much as I wanted to act on it immediately, Sara was here, and given the situation, I decided to restrain myself.

“Alright, then Saintess-nim. Do you know where Hersculer is?”

“Yes. I can feel a strong demonic aura from this direction. It will take about 10 minutes to travel there.”

The direction she pointed was slightly to the left of the path we had been walking.

Although we had roughly estimated the location based on the frequency and strength of the undead appearances, it was unavoidable that our accuracy was somewhat lacking.

It was a good thing we met the Saintess.

“It’s closer than I thought. Let’s head out immediately.”

“We should hurry. There might already be people who arrived before us.”

Aligning our opinions, we ran at full speed towards Hersculer along the shortest possible path.