Chapter 638
Truth and Lies.
From the moment she was born, she believed her life was a lie.
Abandoned by her birth mother, wandering the city’s sewers, then sold off to a drug-cultivating couple—none of this, she thought, could truly be the real world.
In moments near death, she often experienced out-of-body states.
She would shed her heavy flesh, soar high, gaze down at villages, mountains, and seas, and at last, merge with the clouds in the sky.
When winged angels sounded their trumpets and delighted her—
Only then did she believe that was the “true world”.
Rotting food teeming with maggots, harsh labor and abuse, the stinking sewers, these could never be her real world. She increasingly denied the environment around her as she experienced more frequent astral projections.
But in the end, reality always returned.
No matter how blissful and ecstatic her time was, it always ended with her returning to that shabby reality.
She believed herself a person of heaven. Among children collapsing from exhaustion as they were forced to tend the drug fields, she alone endured by gazing skyward, hoping angels would one day return her to her rightful world.
—Ever. Surely heaven is too joyful, so many people want to go, and that’s why it takes time.
Her only friend said that.
—Hold on. If we keep enduring and piling up misfortune in this life, those misfortunes will stack up into our ticket to heaven.
—Survive, Ever.
The very next day, that only friend collapsed in the drug fields, foaming at the mouth, and was discarded.
Ever Kire survived desperately in this false world, just as that last will had urged.
Because she was certain that soon she would ascend to that radiant reality, the heaven beyond the skies.
But the end never came, and her life proved stubborn.
‘…….’
Weary, she prayed.
If you will not end my life as you so stubbornly refuse to—
Then at least, show me a glimpse of the heaven I will one day reach.
—My daughter.
A voice answered.
Ever Kire was certain it was the voice of the Goddess.
That voice bestowed upon her a mission, and afterwards, she gained the power to create heaven itself.
—Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha!
She turned the drug fields into the dandelion meadows she so loved. The furious adults and the so-called “friends” who had abused her, she transformed them into trees and burned them together with the meadow.
Her own personal heaven.
At last, in her life of lies, she had gained a heaven of her own.
“I’ll forge my ticket to heaven, the one I’ll never have to come back from.”
To reach the true heaven, she resolved to create her own, here in the false.
Fwaaaaah—!
Blinding holiness spread outward from Ever Kire.
She wore the robes of the sacred, and from her abdomen dangled the limp, lifeless arm of the true Saint of Harvest, whose essence she had stolen.
With that grotesque and terrifying form, Ever Kire stepped barefoot onto the ground.
Ssshhhhh—
All across the arena, wheat stalks rose higher and higher, swaying in the wind. Before long, the entire stadium had transformed into a golden wheat field, as if bathed in the glow of sunset.
[Excellent.]
Ever Kire swept her gaze across the wheat field, seemingly pleased with her newly acquired power.
“You…!”
Lete clenched her teeth.
“How can you wield senior’s power? No—more than that, how are you even here on Roke Island?”
Ever Kire laughed, her shoulders shaking.
[I was here on Roke Island from the very beginning.]
Her true objective was the destruction of Keyzen, the heart of the necromancers.
She had manipulated the Valkese Clan and tampered with reality itself. Instead of returning Valkese Arena, she anchored it here on Roke Island, making it the 16th Arena. All was proceeding according to plan.
But then, the unexpected arrival of one person threatened to ruin it all.
The Saint of Harvest.
She could estimate the positions of holiness users with her Saintly authority. Ever Kire’s only stroke of fortune was that a “dummy” she had prepared was discovered first instead of herself.
The dummy reported this discovery, and Ever Kire used the flow of holiness to back-trace and find the Saint of Harvest.
Though the battle was difficult, she ambushed the Saint, who was suppressing her power, and at last succeeded in slaying her with her ability.
Afterwards, she read the Saint’s mind.
She learned that Israfil of the Holy Federation was cooperating with the Dark Alliance to prevent war.
And she learned that if the Saint of Harvest fell, an even stronger Saint with greater detection ability would be dispatched next.
The next one would be the Saint of the Stars, Lete Chardena.
Armed with this knowledge, Ever Kire changed her plans. She devoured the Saint of Harvest, absorbed part of her power, then disguised herself as the Saint, feigning defeat. Altering reality, she made wheat sprout all around her.
And to her second dummy, she gave the order: Leave the island.
Keyzen’s agents believed the Saint of Harvest had been defeated by Ever Kire and moved her “body” into a safe cavern, while they chased after the dummy who fled the island.
In the meantime, the Saint of the Stars entered. But Ever Kire had already prepared. Even if she sensed holiness across the entire island, she would only detect the holiness of the Saint of Harvest.
“Then…!”
Simon bit his lip.
“The one who’s been in the cave this whole time—!”
[It was me.]
Ever Kire grinned, her mouth tearing wide.
[If I resolve it so, then it shall be done. If I decide, then every human must obey. Not a single soul across the continent can resist this “power of Goddess”!]
Sssshhh—
The wheat stalks grew taller still.
[But before I battle the Witch of Death, I don’t need to waste Goddess’ power cleaning up the likes of you.]
She stretched out her fingertips.
[Let’s test this new Saint’s power.]
Pop!
At that moment, Simon, eyes bloodshot, lunged forward violently.
“Simon! Calm yourself!”
Lete cried. But Simon carved through the wheat as he charged, opening subspace.
Shrrrrrrrrk!
From subspace, Feer’s bones flew out and wrapped around Simon’s body. As his right arm was clad with Feer’s forearm bones, a massive white greatsword shot forth—thunk!—straight into his grip.
In an instant, clad in Feer and transformed into a skeletal knight, Simon spun once, the intangible cloak upon his back flaring as it whirled with him.
“Haaaahhh!”
Kaaaang!
The blazing white blade slashed in a furious arc—but it was stopped.
‘The Greatsword of Destruction…!’
Kagagagagak!
A barrier spread before her like a wall, blocking it.
This was not Ever Kire’s ability. It was holiness—no, Saintly authority—a barrier of protection.
‘The power of the Saint of Harvest!’
Ever Kire sneered. Simon immediately stomped down and leapt back, opening an enormous subspace.
“Mages! Fire!”
<Dark Blaze>
From within subspace, Skeleton Mages launched volleys of black flame, battering the barrier.
<Blind> <Paralyze>
Simon’s left arm, free of the greatsword, hurled curses one after another—but even curses could not pierce the barrier.
Physical might, darkness-element magic, curses.
Nothing worked.
Simon gritted his teeth and retreated.
[So Keyzen was hiding something incredible.]
Ever Kire sneered.
[A mere student turns out to be a legion commander. How amusing.]
She swept her arm. A blinding magic circle of light bloomed in the air, unleashing a downpour of radiant bolts.
“Kh!”
Simon furiously swung his greatsword on the spot, batting away the attacks. But one bolt bent unnaturally, slipping past the blade and streaking for his shoulder.
BANG!
At that instant, Lete appeared, her snowflake-like hair streaming, kicking aside the holy magic with a fierce strike.
“Lete!”
“Don’t rush in carelessly.”
Lete landed on the ground as she spoke.
“The Saint of Harvest boasts the strongest defense among the Saints. As long as her feet touch the ground, breaking through that barrier is practically impossible.”
Simon’s eyes sharpened.
“So the condition is her feet on the ground?”
“Yes. We’d have to lift her feet off it, but that’s easier said than—”
“We’ll try.”
Chuk!
Simon raised the Greatsword of Destruction. Dark-blue Darkness seeped over the blade.
At the same time, Lete leaned toward him, completely unsealing the choker at her neck. Starlight burst forth, and a massive surge of holiness radiated out.
[Never thought I’d see this sight.]
Ever Kire laughed.
The boy and girl, pouring out black power and white power, stood together against her with blazing hostility.
[A legion commander and a Saint joining forces, is it?]
“Let’s go, Lete!”
“Yes!”
The two charged, one stepping on Darkness, the other on Holiness. Ever Kire lifted her hand upward from below.
“!!”
As they cut through the wheat field, a massive beast’s head erupted before them. Simon thrust his greatsword forward.
Ka-ga-gak!
The beast’s fangs clashed with the blade, but the overwhelming difference in strength drove Simon back. Lete, too, was forced to retreat.
‘What the—!’
Upon the field, a lion of light the size of a house loomed, growling.
Its mane shone white, its fangs forged of pure holiness. The lion’s paws never touched the ground; it seemed to float upon the wheat itself.
‘A divine beast? No—this is…!’
A creature wrought from Saintly authority.
Shhhhhaaaa—!
Shhhhaaa—!
The lion began to move. Not by running, but as if riding the wheat like waves, circling in great arcs before lunging at incredible speed.
From Simon’s view, it was nothing but light suddenly surging toward him.
He reflexively raised his blade, and—BANG!—the impact sent his body flying as if struck by a carriage.
‘!’
Before he could land, the lion swept behind him across the wheat.
‘Not even time to glance at Ever Kire!’
Barely in time, he slashed backward, deflecting the lion’s attack.
SSSHHH—!
Then, all the wheat across the arena swayed. Grains glowing with holiness fell, sinking into the ground as if absorbed.
Woom!
Ever Kire smirked and closed her eyes. The barrier around her swelled even larger, and the lions grew as well, their manes dazzling with radiant light.
“They got stronger?”
“That’s why the Saint of Harvest is troublesome.”
Lete, fending off another lion, drew closer to Simon.
“Each stalk of wheat is like a priest. They absorb mana from the air and land, convert it into grains of holiness, and all of it fuels the Saint of Harvest and her creations.”
Grrrrrr!
A third lion had already appeared.
The longer the battle dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became.
“I admit, I’m surprised. She only recently stole senior’s power, yet just from reading her memories, she’s wielding the authority this well.”
“So what now?”
“We overwhelm her in one strike. Leave it to me.”
Just then—
Two lions lunged at Lete from behind, riding the wheat. Simon’s eyes widened.
“Le—!”
And then—
Behind the charging lions, two stars plummeted.
BOOOOM!
The stars crashed into the lions, dragging them across the wheat before exploding in a massive blast. Lete calmly traced her fingers afterward.
Fwoooooosh!
More stars fell in succession, smashing into the wheat field, laying waste to it. The field was scorched bare in an instant, Ever Kire’s barrier weakened, and the lions shrank in size.
With serene composure, Lete said:
“I am a Saint, after all.”
Simon grinned, drawing back his greatsword. Now it was his turn.
‘The space itself…!’
The Greatsword of Destruction hummed, trembling violently. Simon channeled Feer’s power and Darkness, then swung it against the ground.
‘The sensation of cleaving through!’
KWO-KWO-KWO-KWO-KWO-KWOOM!
The colossal slash tore through the ground like a mountain splitting apart. Countless wheat stalks were split in two, and the black strike surged forth, colliding head-on with Ever Kire’s barrier.
[It’s useless.]
Ever Kire declared.
“No.”
Already—
Lete had darted forward, pressing her palm to the earth.
“Even just draining the land’s holiness for a moment is enough.”
Woom!
In that instant, her vast holiness seeped into Ever Kire’s domain.
[What are you trying to do?]
“For a brief time, I’ll turn this section of the world into my star.”
She pointed her fingers skyward.
“What do you think it takes to drop a star?”
The true authority of the Saint of Stars.
It was—
<Gravity Field>
Gravity itself.
Ever Kire’s body floated, her feet rising off the ground, lifting into the air. The moment her feet left the earth, the barrier vanished.
And then—
Taaat!
Simon rose into the air with her, greatsword raised high.
“With just borrowed power—!”
[Ah!]
Simon’s blade came down.
“You can’t defeat us!”
SSSKRRRRAAASHHH!
The Greatsword of Destruction cleaved through Ever Kire’s head as it passed.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters
Very good story and translation but half the chapter aren't for free and it is wayyyy too expensive will it stat like tjis foreve or will it get free after some time