Chapter 173
Artificial Saint (12)
『Now, at this moment, the holy woman is dead.』
In return, I was able to bring one person back to life.
A person who is willing to lay down his life for others.
* * *
“Heo-eok-!!!”
Suddenly, his breath caught and his eyes brightened.
What, what? What? Is it an enemy!? What about Jack?! No, what the hell happened?!
My head is dizzy from the sudden awakening.
The moment you raise your upper body after realizing that you are lying down in a situation where your head is not organized due to all sorts of miscellaneous thoughts.
– Puff!!!
“Evil—!”
“Ah-oh… … . What?”
Stars flashed before my eyes.
He clenched his eyelids in pain.
I was awakened by the sudden pain.
When I stroked my left eye, I could clearly feel that it was swollen and swollen.
At the same time, I could see Desiree holding her forehead in her narrowed eyes.
Ah, I jumped into Desiree’s window.
I wondered if a hawk was medicine for a man who couldn’t keep his head up, that might be the most appropriate word for me right now.
“I’m sure my last memory was in the basement… … .”
With tears in her eyes, she held her forehead with both hands and shouted ‘Aak!’ and ‘Ako!’
A bright red lump grew on Desiree’s white forehead.
… … mistake.
The hump is a little big, but I’m sorry.
A small horn grew on her forehead due to my sudden surprise, and she rolled her eyes at me and lifted the corners of her mouth.
It was the smile of a victor.
“I told you not to die, right?”
It was clear that he was a victor who had achieved his goal, but he looked a little evil somewhere.
Not caring what I was thinking, she continued with her lips parting.
“If you want to hear me say thank you, do it yourself.”
“… … What the hell happened?”
At my question, Desiree held out her chest proudly, cleared her throat, and answered my question.
“How do you do it? He brought back a man who was running away with debt on his own. Who said that if you run away, you will be finely sent?”
Every time he cleared his throat, he inadvertently averted his gaze at her throbbing chest.
So, Elizabeth, who had been casually thrown behind Desiree, caught my eye.
I knew it in that moment.
That a little bit of time has passed since I sacrificed myself.
You’ll have to listen to the details, but judging from Elizabeth behind the grinning Desiree, it seems like I saved her well with the power that came from sacrificing myself.
He let out a sigh of relief.
You did a good job. I wasn’t a kid who needed help.
After that, all she had to do was hear how Desiree had saved her.
As expected, Jack retreated as he lost his reason to fight and the victory was decided.
It wasn’t too much of a surprise, as I had fully expected him to back down so meekly.
Even if it looks like this, I am the body that is ranked first in the 『Seven Deadly Sins』.
Well, of course, the weight of that name is by no means light, even if its fighting power is infinitely inferior to its rank, like an empty can.
She is the holy woman I created through sacrifice.
No matter how much Jack is one of the strongest in the future, he is still in an unfinished state, he must be a tough opponent to handle.
This much was predictable from the seat.
Conversely, the real question is… … .
“Taeyang-kun, what did I do? Just by hand… … .”
“Desiree, I have a question for you.”
“Lizabeth… … , yes?”
I asked the woman who was excited for a long time to tell the story.
“… … How did I survive?”
While Desiree’s story was going on, I also checked [Everything’s Shop].
It was clear that the automatic purchases I had checked were deleted at the time of my death, so it was not a problem.
Because my death preceded the judgment that increased Desiree’s rank—.
He raised his hand and covered his mouth.
—Then, in the end, the sacrifices I made helped raise Desiree’s rank.
Desiree is a person from the Museion district, and the gains from the Museion district are certain.
I stared at Desiree with a questioning face, and in an instant, she shook her shoulders and quietly avoided my eyes.
“lol… … . You know that.”
The way she wiggled her fingers and stretched her tail for a while seemed to overlap with that of the child who had been in an accident.
In an instant, a cold sweat broke out on the back.
Boy, what the hell have you done?
“Yeah… … .”
I looked at Desiree’s mouth as he answered.
Anticipating how much my backbone would be pulled by the words that would come out of those fine lips.
“… … The power Taeyang gained through sacrifice, he blew away all of it.”
“what… … ?”
And the ominous premonition came true without any deviation.
“I gave up all the power I absorbed in the basement. It’s back to square one… … ?”
Looking at the saintess who proudly declared her bankruptcy, I thought it was a good idea to catch the back goal in advance.
No, what kind of power is that, just blow it up?!
Even if you just hear the story of defeating Elizabeth and Jack, even if there are restrictions attached to it, it is at least the world’s end-class spec?!
In the future, I just had to stretch out my two feet and live comfortably!!!
Immediately, Desiree fluttered her arms in response to my strong grip on the back of her neck.
“No, if you think about it, it wasn’t even my strength in the first place, right? But we can’t just leave Taeyang as it is!”
“That’s right, but… … .”
“In a way, everyone had a good ending, so wasn’t my choice the best choice? No, you were right! I’m sure!”
X feet.
I thought it was a meaningful life retirement, but I’m bringing this back to life.
I’m human too, so I can’t help but feel sorry for myself.
The opportunity to achieve my goal – a comfortable life – was blown away in front of my eyes, and I felt it was a waste.
Well, the past can’t be helped.
I sighed and looked around.
Against the background of the ground that was hollowed and clawed here and there, and the church building, which was half-destroyed and only sparse columns and walls remained, the early morning sun slowly began to poke its head out in the distance.
The orange-red sun, which had just begun to sprout, pushed away the darkness of the world and took its place.
Suddenly, I had this thought.
Even I, who was lying dead right now, felt sorry for me, so it is the power that reminds me of it.
No matter what ideals you have, what dreams you have, and the power to achieve anything you want, no matter which direction you look.
If you want to put the world under your feet, you will be able to command, and if you want to be the savior of all people, you can heal the sick just by walking.
A transfer that is infinitely close to omnipotence.
“Wasn’t it worth it?”
“… … yes?”
I looked at Desiree who asked.
“Honestly, you could just leave as it is. If you pretended not to know me alone, you could have saved hundreds, thousands, or as many people as you wanted.”
“ah… … , is that it?”
The sun has risen. An intense mass of light emerging from Desiree’s back warmly embraced the unsightly world.
Carrying the halo of the sun on her back, she grinned.
“Am I already satisfied?”
“… … Are you satisfied?”
“Like Taeyang said, if I pretended not to see you right in front of me and passed by, I could have saved countless people.”
“… … .”
“One life vs. tens of thousands of lives. In terms of numbers, it was the right choice when it was clear that I had to choose the latter.”
“Then why… … ?”
The wind brushed her cheeks as she smiled.
The wind that brushed the nape of my neck was also warm.
It was gentle and cozy.
“Numbers, good stuff. When comparing something, you can easily guess its size. It’s definitely good stuff. But, Taeyang-kun.”
A stream of air caught my eye through Desiree’s swaying side of hair.
“I think so.”
Why?
“Numbers are just a ‘tool’ that makes it easy to ‘compare’, but they are not criteria for all choices.”
It’s obviously just reflecting the sunlight, but for the first time, I felt that it was shining from humans.
“Can you compare the weight of life? If so, what should be the standard?”
“… … .”
“More numbers? high or low status? If not that, then the nobility of the lineage?”
“… … .”
She shook her head.
“I think ten or one is the same. After all, numbers are just tools to make comparisons easier. A tool is just a tool, and you cannot be called a person until you are swayed by it.”
The saintess shook her head.
“The same goes for the king who rules all peoples and the life of a single people. Regardless of their position, if you follow the logic of numbers, they are ultimately only one, and the environments in which they were born and raised are different, but it seems that they were not born holding a single straw.”
“… … .”
“There is nothing as stupid as thinking about a topic that cannot be compared in the first place. I think life is like that. Something that is weightless and priceless, to which comparison is stupid.”
“… … Desiree.”
I felt it.
“That’s why I’m just saving you right in front of me, and for that, I can give up my strength as much as I want. Power and you, I did my will. I chose you right in front of me rather than the future that has yet to come.”
“… … .”
To become a true adult, you don’t need feats such as defeating evil dragons or slaying demons.
“Save people. There was no meaning other than that to what I did.”
The power to change the world and the lives of others.
People say. Of course it’s not right to choose the latter. what a great thing that is
However, the world I saw and grew up was a world where the mouth speaks of the lives of others, but the fingers point to the power to change the world.
easy. Of course. Even though he said so, when the choice comes to himself, he chooses the former.
The humans I’ve seen were such creatures.
It was such a tribe.
I thought about it.
In a sense, isn’t Desiree transcending human beings?
Called.
Desiree brushed the side of her hair tickling her ear.
I stared blankly at her.
Standing with her back to the sunlight, she was radiant.
In my eyes, Desiree was still an adult.
After entering the Chevalierute, he seemed to understand the meaning of the saying that the choice determines Desiree’s disposition.
We stood like that for a while.
* * *
How long had she been with Desiree and Elizabeth in the ruined cathedral? Leaving behind the French troops who had come to clean up, they reunited with the Korean ambassador to France.
As soon as he got out of the military vehicle, he jumped right at me in the suit he had seen earlier.
“You suffered.”
“you’re welcome.”
At my light reply, the Korean ambassador to France shook his head at my words.
“No, this side was holding the minimum operation for a week, but I never imagined that it would be handled in such a short time.”
“Thank you if you think so.”
“Hey, that’s what I mean… … .”
I felt uneasy at the words of the ambassador that followed quietly.
Hoping for help, I glanced in the direction of Chevalier, and saw that she was also being held by Captain Blanche, who was talking about something.
He sighed inwardly and replied to the ambassador.
“… … It’s okay to talk comfortably, so please don’t hesitate.”
“What are you planning to do with Princess Elizabeth’s recruit?”
ah… … .
I was distracted by Desiree and forgot about that.