The bell within the church tolled loudly across the territory. The birds surrounding the church flew off into the sky, shedding a few dark feathers in their shock at the sudden sound.

  Carol hardened her expression in frustration, yet she stared in disbelief at the creation the Pope had placed before her.

  Saria, however, only widened her eyes in horror, unable to believe her eyes as she froze completely in place.

  "Beautiful, isn't it?" the Pope began, feeling proud of what he had achieved. "Like a supposed angel from mythology, am I right?"

  Hearing the Pope's statement, Carol snorted in disappointment. She then pointed her sword at the huge silhouette. "You call that thing an 'angel'? I must say, you really have bad taste."

  The Pope chuckled in response, not caring about Carol's taunting tone. "So what? You would prefer to get killed by the Child of Light than by my own masterpiece?"

  Carol let out a light sigh. "More like you want something that you can control, or perhaps," she flashed a nonchalant smile at the Pope. "Someone with no emotion, like a tool you can use anytime you want."

  In response to her statement, the Pope snorted, then burst into laughter. "You're really good at reading the room, huh? If you weren't born as the Child of the Underworld, I might have considered taking you in as my apprentice. But that's not the full picture..."

  His expression turned serious afterward, looking directly at Saria with a deadly glare. "...It is more of a replacement. A replacement for a failure, like a certain someone before her."

  As soon as the Pope finished his words, the silhouette heavily lifted its giant sword and swung it at Carol, who watched the descended blade with slight shocked.

  Although the sword hit the ground, causing a thick cloud of smoke to rise from the impact, Carol dodged the strike in time. She skidded to a kneel, using her sword for support. Her expression shifted completely to nervous, and she pressed her lips together tightly.

  Meanwhile, on the other side of the church, Arvain tried his best to knock out the guards and the blindfolded figures with his light blasts. Despite his success, one guard after another continued to advance relentlessly.

  "D-dang it! There’s too many of them!" Arvain exclaimed, still firing light blasts from his wand. "Why can't they just give up?!"

  "It's because they can't, dear!" Hana answered loudly. She, too, was firing blasts from her wand. "Remember? They've been captivated by the Pope, and there's nothing we can do about it unless we stop him!"

  "I know, Mother! But dealing with them one by one is too annoying!"

  Hearing the complaint from her son, Hana let out a sigh. "I guess I don't have a choice." Stopping her spellcasting, Hana gripped her wand tightly and swung it through the air, her expression hardening with pure determination.

  She exhaled slowly and tossed her wand into the air. The wand consumed itself in a brilliant light, a sign of it morphing into Hana’s signature weapon. "Vergus... Astraea."

  As soon as she finished her chant, the wand transformed completely into a Neraca. Hana swung her hand, thrusting her palm toward the massive group of guards and blindfolded figures.

  "Kneel... upon the light."

  In response to her command, the Neraca glowed with a brilliant yellow light that radiated across the corridor. Most of the guards and blindfolded figures who saw it immediately knelt, as if forced down by an invisible weight.

  Yet, some were not affected by it as they leaped toward Hana. However, Arvain barged in, pointing the tip of his wand at them. He released his usual blast, but this time, it was significantly larger. When the spell hit, it managed to knock them clear into the ceiling, rendering them unconscious instantly.

  Arvain’s eyes and mouth widened in shock, noticing that his spell had become much stronger than before.

  Hana chuckled in amusement at her son's reaction. "It seems the effect is still working. Though the area is much smaller than before."

  (The area was smaller..? The hell does she mean by that?!) Arvain thought, frozen in place in disbelief.

  Back in the Royal Church's main hall, Carol fought desperately to dodge every attack from Uriel, who swung its massive sword repeatedly at her. With every strike, thick clouds of debris and smoke rose from the walls—the direct result of the repeated impacts from the giant blade.

  The moment Carol’s boots touched the ground, Uriel gripped its sword’s hilt with both hands and thrust it into the floor. A magic circle of light instantly flared beneath Carol, causing her eyes to widen in shock. An explosion erupted, sending up more smoke and stone, but it wasn't enough; Carol managed to dodge just in time, landing safely in the corner of the hall.

  Carol panted heavily, sweat dripping from her forehead after the relentless series of evasions. Her expression hardened with frustration.

  Unfortunately, Uriel did not stop there. The entity released its grip on the sword and opened its arms wide, manifesting countless magic circles beside it.

  "Are you kidding me..?" Carol mumbled to herself, her left hand tightening its grip on her sword.

  Hearing her frustration, Pope Zen snorted in amusement. "What's the matter, Child of the Underworld? Tired already?"

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "Tired, you say..?" Carol’s right hand moved to the hilt, now gripping the weapon with both hands. She raised the sword high, wrapping grey wind magic around the blade as she closed her eyes. "Sadly... that’s not the case!" she exclaimed. She snapped her eyes open, revealing hollow, reddish pupils. With a powerful downward swing, she released a massive gust of wind energy toward Uriel.

  At the same moment, Uriel unleashed beam after beam of light from its magic circles. Most of them collided with Carol’s wind rush, causing both forces to dissipate mid-air.

  Yet, some of the beams slipped through, striking the area around Carol and kicking up a thick screen of smoke.

  Carol saw this as an opportunity. She manifested dark wings behind her, stomped the ground hard enough to crack the stone, and leaped toward Uriel as she soaring through the smoke.

  Once again, she lifted her sword above her head. This time, the blade enlarged as it was completely engulfed by her wind magic.

  "Destructive..." she squeezed the hilt with all her might. "...Whirlwind!"

  She swung it downward. But just as the blade was about to reach Uriel, a light barrier materialized around the angel, catching Carol's devastating attack. A deafening clang echoed throughout the hall as the two forces collided.

  The deafening clang snapped Saria back to reality. She had been watching from behind, frozen, but now her eyes widened in shock as she saw Carol already fighting Uriel.

  "Saria," the Pope called out, causing Saria to startle. "If you feel guilty for what you've done in the past, I might forgive you if you do something for me."

  Curious yet wary, Saria responded. "W-what is it..?"

  "I want you to kill the Child of the Underworld. Do that, and I will revert everything back to normal... as well as release you from your duty as the Child of Light," the Pope offered, flashing his usual gentle smile toward Saria. "Isn't that what you want? To release yourself from the burden of your fate?"

  Hearing such an offer from Pope Zen, Saria fell into deep thought, looking down at the ground as she clenched her hands in frustration.

  But her silence did not last long. "No... I'll never stain my hands with the blood of my friend," Saria said, raising her head to show an expression fueled by determination.

  "If Carol can defy her fate, using her power for the greater good..." She pointed the tip of her wand at Pope Zen, morphing it into a bow as she readied an arrow. "...Then I'm going to do it as well. Even if it means... for me to fight against the flow of this world!"

  As soon as she finished her declaration, she released an arrow toward Pope Zen, only for it to be repelled as a light barrier appeared around him.

  "I see. It seems that child has influenced you enough to become a sinner," the Pope stated, his expression shifting to dead serious. "I suppose your very existence is no longer needed, Child of Light. For you have disappointed me, your parents, and all of humanity."

  In response to his speech, Uriel changed its focus. Carol, who was still clashing against its barrier, widened her eyes in surprise as she followed its gaze, realizing it was targeting Saria this time.

  "You damn entity..!" Carol mumbled to herself, canceling her spell and backing away from the barrier. She flew as fast as she could toward Saria, extending her hand as she went. "Saria!!"

  At the same time, numerous magic circles of different sizes appeared above Uriel, forming a straight line as it focused its energy into a singular attack.

  Saria, noticing the massive energy radiating from Uriel, readied herself. She created an arrow with her bow, pointing it directly at the angel. Her expression hardened as she concentrated all of her Ender into that single arrow.

  (Please don't be too brave, idiot... Please... just run away from there!) Carol thought, straining to reach Saria.

  At that moment, a wild wind swirled around both Saria and Uriel, a sign that they were using all of their energy. Having finally channelled all their Ender, they unleashed their devastating attacks. A shockwave rippled out upon release, kicking up dust and debris from behind.

  Just as Saria's arrow and Uriel's beam were about to make contact, the sharp sound of a blade echoed through the hall, momentarily confusing the Pope. Carol, who had almost reached Saria, stopped in her tracks as she heard the sound as well. When she turned her head toward Uriel, her eyes widened in surprise; a giant, singular slash had appeared across the angel's body. Because of this, Uriel's beam dissipated, allowing Saria's arrow to strike the entity in a flash of light. Uriel vaporized completely, screaming in an inhuman tone.

  Saria felt confused as she watched what just happened, unable to believe the angel had been defeated so easily.

  "What in the world is going on..?" the Pope said in disbelief. "How... How could my own masterpiece be defeated?!"

  Carol landed on the ground beside Saria, dismissing her dark wings as they evaporated into thin air. Both of them watched the Pope warily.

  "That slashing sound just now... Someone here is sabotaging my plan..." As the Pope backed away, he bumped into a female figure in a nun's habit, startling him. When he turned around, his eyes widened in shock. "Y-you—"

  Before he could finish his sentence, the nun tightly gripped his face with one hand, lifting him into the air as if he weighed nothing.

  "It's really funny when I think about it. A manipulator like you falls apart so easily when someone interrupts your 'grand' plan," the nun said in a sarcastic tone, smirking. "Well, since I've learned my mistake from the past, that the rules will always defend you if I spare you, I guess death is the only way."

  Hearing such an outrageous statement, the Pope widened his eyes in horror. He tried to release himself from her grasp, yet it was no use.

  The nun snorted in disappointment, noticing how pathetic the Pope really was in the face of death. She released her grasp on Pope Zen's face, letting him land harshly on the ground.

  "Why..." The Pope raised his head, catching a glimpse of the nun's face. "Why is a Paradox like you here... of all pla—"

  His words were cut short, unable to finish as his head was severed completely. His headless body collapsed to the floor as blood flooded around it.

  Carol and Saria widened their eyes in utmost horror and surprise, unable to believe someone had ended his life without any mercy.

  Unfazed by the kill, as if it were a normal occurrence, the nun turned toward the tainted monolith, raising her scythe with both hands on the hilt. "Monolith, or should I say, the Messenger. It's time to show your true self."

  As soon as she finished her speech, she gripped her scythe tightly and swung it downward against the Monolith, slashed it with one devastated attack. In that moment, a sudden light radiated from the stone, blinding Carol and Saria to the point of forcing them to close their eyes.

  When the light slowly faded, both girls opened their eyes, only to be surprised as a giant tree appeared where the Monolith had stood.

  "What... is that..?" Carol asked, confused at the sight in front of her.

  "The true form of the Messenger," the nun said, turning her body toward them and revealing herself as Sarah with a flat expression. "Its name... is Yggdrasil, the World Tree."