239 – 69. On the edge of despair.
In the sky, rain and snow mix and sleet falls.
A season that passes from autumn to early winter.
With every breath he exhaled, white steam was forming.
A battlefield where everything was burned.
A place where not even traces of the former academy remain today.
The place where you could meet and become friendly with new people has disappeared into the dark side of history.
“…Damn it.”
Even if I scratched the ground until my fingernails were bleeding, I couldn’t even salvage the corpses of my comrades.
I faced the complex reality while spitting out harsh words inside.
The current Grand Hearts Academia was very similar to what it looked like in 10 Years later.
Even the face of the nameless saint, Fine, smiling while trying to hold back her tears.
“…….”
I wonder if it was an irreversible fate from the beginning. Was there no hope that everyone could be saved in the first place?
“… Not yet. It might not be too late.”
Possibility to revive everyone.
As I shook my head, I was moving my steps to find the last remaining hope.
[The conditions for the Grand Route have not been met.]
I cut through the status window that popped up in front of me countless times.
A hidden word in a sentence that urges me to give up.
‘Grand Route.’
As the demon Magic Hat said, other world lines are woven together like a skein and tied into a single possibility.
If you revive everyone and complete the grand route….
Not only Fine, but I can make the death of other people into something that never happened.
“Chartines senior..! Are you there..!”
I knocked on the gate decorated with golden phoenixes.
A phoenix mark painted brilliantly as if it were proud of the family’s status.
“Oh, Licht junior..? What the hell is that blood..?!”
The place I finally arrived at was the Duke of Aureus, where Shalltines was the hostess.
This person might know the whereabouts of Jisheh’s temple.
***
Duke of Aureus with Nex and Chartines.
At the place where the fireplace glows with the sound of crackling.
“Everyone, including the princess, is dead.. Kainel and Ariel’s juniors are missing….”
I had no choice but to tell them that everyone was killed.
“I can’t believe it.
The expression of the two turned white after hearing the hopeless news.
Looks like he’s feeling dizzy, even staggering a little.
The heroic couple’s whereabouts were unknown even after the battle was over, perhaps due to the magic hat’s influence on the world.
“It’s all my fault.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Wouldn’t they have been different if they had filled their romance 100% like Nex did in the first place?
Nex and Sartines told me in advance not to go into battle just like them.
Still, it’s best to write the cradle of the phoenix with the help of Asha, the head of the household, just in case.
‘I have reached 100% of the love level shown in the status window.’
Other people might have had different results if I had worked hard to complete the love line.
Because the Cheonma Baek Mokryeon was also safe.
“It’s not your junior’s fault. You did your best enough.”
“……”
A man with purple hair patted me on the shoulder and comforted me.
I couldn’t even save the one person I wanted to save the most. What is not my fault?
“Chartines senior. Do you know about the temple of Jisheh?”
I asked a question to revive my dead comrades.
A temple said to enshrine the god of reason, Jisheh.
In the original game, detailed information did not come out, and it was known that it did not exist even after extracting the data.
“The place where the first saint healed her wounded..?”
However, things were different here.
History says that the first saintess healed the wounded during the war.
“Yes, if you are senior, don’t you know the location?”
There were rumors that even the dead were brought back to life.
As the second-generation saintess following the first saintess, Chartines must know her location.
In the game, Chartines dies and she takes over the place, but Finée takes over.
At that time, she was in a state of ignorance.
Fine, the nameless saint, was clueless.
“There is one place I heard from the God of Light…”
Hearing my words, Chartines tilted her head and murmured briefly.
“If possible, I will save people, even at the cost of my life.”
I said while tapping the center of the armor I was wearing.
So far, all temples have helped me in the end.
I was able to meet my deceased father, be honest with Fine, and know the possibility of another world line.
‘Then, there must be a way to revive Fine in the last remaining temple.’
To be honest, I felt like grabbing at least a straw.
Reviving the dead was originally taboo in this world.
“It is a place where people heal by cutting their own lives..! How the hell did you know that?!”
So it was simple to make this prediction.
If the traitor who was a vampire was to the extent that the first ten saints would be assassinated.
“…It’s obvious. It’s because the first saintess, to the point of being called the Ten Girl, died so easily.”
It was obvious that she had weakened by cutting her own lifespan.
“Brother Licht. Are you really going to be okay?”
The purple-haired man who was listening to the story closed his eyes tightly.
“Even if other people return alive through the sacrifice of juniors.”
It was Nex who continued the conversation by asking him to think again.
“…Would the princess be happy if she knew you were gone?”
He mentioned something I had been ignoring. Well, I guess I’ll be sad and cry a lot.
“Still, it is better than other people giving their lives.”
I can hear only one heartbeat in my heart right now.
The mana circuit that was connected to Fine was also cut off.
If time is delayed here, even the breath of the diamond queen might be cut off.
“I am a person from another world, and because I am an orphan, there is no one to miss me.”
For the sake of Fine, who gave me everything, I would have given her life as much as I could.
“If it wasn’t for Fine, I wouldn’t be of this world.”
“……”
In the first place, if it wasn’t for Fine, I wouldn’t be able to have a conversation like this here.
I must have remained as a sad boy who fell and died on a rooftop on a summer day.
“Okay. I will tell you the location of the temple.”
“Char..! What are you going to do if your junior dies too!”
After hearing my determination, Chartines nodded his head contemptuously.
I can’t dry it anymore.
It is also a good thing when Fine, the younger brother he also cared for, returns alive.
“Thank you.”
“…Instead, there is one condition. Licht junior.”
At that time, the black-haired saint added a condition to me.
As if they were scolding me for risking my life without thinking of Fine.
“You must live and come to our wedding.”
Chartines said that he would tell me the location of the temple where Jisheh is located only if I promise my life.
“Yeah, it’s a wedding where the eldest son of the duchy is getting married. It’s not good if there are few guests.”
Nex Aureus lived as a madman because he couldn’t summon a spirit.
Chartines has been discriminated against for being a vampire.
Going even further with what she said, Nex even said that if I wasn’t there, there would be fewer guests at her wedding.
“I understand. Of course.”
I said my final goodbyes to them while making a promise I couldn’t keep.
If it wasn’t for me, I wouldn’t have seen these two happy.
***
The old site of the country of grass.
In a place where the greenery is lush like a jungle and you can hear the sound of a flowing stream.
“Is this the temple of Jisheh?”
I saw a statue of a woman with dragon horns.
Yongin dressed as a nun. Anyone could see that it was a structure that signified Jishir, the god of reason.
‘The Temple of Jisheh is a place where life is cut to save others.’
I moved to get to the depths of the temple, cutting down a bush that had grown as tall as a person’s height.
How long did it take?
“Nice to meet you. Soohyun Lee. I was waiting.”
A wide space appeared with bright light, and a woman with blonde hair shining like the sun greeted me.
“The First Saint..?”
“As expected, you have a good eye.”
A person I thought died during the Demon War.
The first saintess was standing in front of me with the same appearance as the statue at the academy.
“How are you here?”
“Because the gods gave an order to meet Lee Soo-hyun who is coming to this temple.”
Another one.
With the sound of heels ringing, the blonde-haired saintess slowly walked towards me.
“I really wanted to see you someday. Thank you for treating the saints who came after me well.”
She raised the corner of her mouth as she nodded.
“My name is Freya. She is the first saint chosen by Starter, the god of light.”
Using divine power, her hair even turned gray.
“Now I am the person who manages the temple of Jisheh.”
A look that matches the first saint I’ve heard of.
“Nonsense. Then can you really bring the dead back to life?”
I opened my eyes wide and swelled with hope.
Seeing that the person I thought was dead was in the temple like this, I thought I could really save Fine.
I curiously asked Freya a question.
“I am only a soul.. I don’t know.”
What came back was a question-type answer.
“Lee Soo-hyun’s situation must be different from mine.”
Freyja lowers her eyes in pity.
“The situation is different, what the hell does that mean….”
“Do you see the dagger in front of you over there?”
Freya pointed to an object lying on the altar in the distance.
Unlike the rest of the temple where dust has accumulated after a long time, a dagger that shines like new.
“It takes sacrifice to save others. Mr. Lee Soo-hyun.”
The invited saintess wants to say something to me while watching it.
“Lee Soo-hyun said he could save everyone on the condition that she sacrifice her life.”
“……”
The test of Jisheh, the god of reason.
It was a test to see if he could die by stabbing a dagger directly into his own heart with cold reason.
“Really.. Fine is coming back..?”
“Yes, but I am more worried… I just heard that this test is like this…?!”
We moved forward without hesitation.
If I lay down my life on that altar, everyone will return.
“Lee Soo-hyun..?! Wait a minute!”
I aimed my dagger at the center of my heart and stabbed it.
Then Fuuk—. With a groan, blood began to flow.
Before the strength in his grip loosens, he pushes it in even harder.
I didn’t even worry about it from the beginning.
Memories of crying and laughing together. A bloody face. A voice I no longer hear.
Even if I gave my all, it was enough when you came back.
*
[Do you want to try again?]