A heavy silence lingered within the main hall, leaving only the flickering light of the Yggdrasil tree to radiate throughout the space. A sense of dread haunted both Carol and Saria, while Sarah treated the situation as if it were completely normal.

  "Why... Why did you kill him..?" Saria began, unable to hide her disgust as she stared at the headless body of Pope Zen, his blood washing over the ground. "You know that the rules can punish him, right..?"

  "I know," Sarah stated with a flat expression.

  "Then, why—"

  "It's because the rules only forgive him rather than punish him properly," Sarah answered, her tone lingering with frustration as she cut Saria off. "I've been in your place before, you know? Blindly trusting my own faith in that psychopathic Pope, only to realize it was too late for me to know what he had been doing in the shadows. But what can I say? The consequences were already grim on my part anyway."

  "What do you mean by that?" Carol asked with a harsh tone, clenching her hand and gripping her sword's hilt in fury. "Are you telling me that you've already experienced all this before?"

  Sarah snorted after hearing such a statement from Carol. "I guess you could say that. After all..."

  She lifted her scythe with one hand and slammed the handle harshly against the ground. Instantly, she was enveloped in light. As the light faded, her clothes had changed completely; she now wore a dark blue, worn cloak with a dirty, long-sleeved shirt underneath, as well as blood-soaked pants covering her legs, looking every bit like a mercenary. A small, dark bird also appeared on her shoulder, acting as her familiar.

  "...I'm from one of the possible futures."

  Upon hearing the word 'future' from Sarah, Carol and Saria widened their eyes in utmost shock.

  "Future, you say..?" Carol chuckled in amusement, though she felt disbelief. "You must be joking, right?"

  Sarah let out a sigh. "Even in this timeline, your sarcastic tone never changes, Carol," she said, her flat expression slightly softening with sympathy.

  Saria fell into deep thought. Yet it wasn't long before she asked Sarah for confirmation. "Are you... perhaps the future version of me..?"

  Sarah’s eyes widened in slight surprise, only for her to harden her expression afterward. "Correct. But it's more of a possible 'bad ending' based on your choices."

  "Based on my choices..?" Saria's confusion escalated. "Are you saying that you're a 'what-if' version of me if I didn't rebel against my fate?"

  Hearing Saria's statement, Sarah closed her eyes and fell into deep thought, only to offer silence as an answer when she opened them again.

  "This is getting more and more ridiculous," Carol mumbled to herself, grinding her teeth in annoyance. "If you're from a bad timeline, why did the so-called 'Paradox', as the Pope stated, come to this world?" she asked loudly.

  "Remember what I said about unfinished business?" Sarah touched the tree's bark behind her. "It's about this Yggdrasil, the root of all timelines. It is also the one responsible for the Grace Ceremony, predicting and telling the roles for humanity like a true messenger."

  "Is that 'business' related to destroying the tree?" Carol asked once more, curious, though her sense of dread escalated further.

  Sarah chuckled in amusement. "Of course not. If I did that, every world would fall apart." She removed her hand from the tree, changing her focus entirely toward Carol and Saria while gripping her scythe tightly. "But alas, the real business is related to my wish..."

  Suddenly, she rushed forward without warning, immediately appearing in front of both girls with her scythe in hand, holding it behind her like a tail as the blade's edge enlarged with light. The sudden speed startled Carol and Saria greatly, leaving them no time to react.

  "...A wish to see the strength of your resolve, Saria Wisp!" Sarah declared, giving a gazes full of contempt.

  Gripping the scythe tightly, she swiftly swung it toward Saria and Carol, knocking them back with a single strike so powerful that they crashed against the structures outside the church.

  Returning to Hana and Arvain's situation, Arvain fired his usual light blast, knocking back a few of the guards and blindfolded figures with the help of his mother, who was amplifying his magic thanks to her Vergus Spell.

  However, the battle suddenly ceased, leaving Arvain and Hana in confusion as the dark collars around the guards and figures fell to the ground—a sign that the control was broken. Consequently, they lost consciousness, collapsing to the floor like corpses.

  "D-did they make it?" Arvain asked, surprised yet feeling relieved.

  As soon as Arvain threw out his question, a sudden explosion erupted behind them, causing both him and Hana to turn their heads toward the source. In that moment, they caught a glimpse of Carol and Saria being hurled through one wall after another until they were blasted completely out of the church.

  "Wha... what just happened..? Have they been defeated or something?" Arvain said, his confusion escalating alongside his frustration as he gritted his teeth.

  Hana, noticing something was wrong, turned and extended her palm toward the Neraca hovering above. Responding to the direct command, the Neraca moved to Hana's side, allowing her to grip it and morph it back into her wand.

  Noticing her sudden shift in behavior, Arvain shifted his focus toward Hana. "Mother? Do you have a plan or something?"

  "What makes you say that, dear?" Hana asked with a gentle smile, though a slight tension lingered in her expression.

  Arvain responded with a sigh. "Knowing you, I bet it’s something about your 'bad feeling' or something."

  Hearing his statement, Hana chuckled in amusement, then changed her expression to a sympathetic one. "I suppose you're right about that."

  Arvain snorted at his mother's answer, yet his genuine feeling of worried surfacing.

  "So, let me ask you this, Arvain," Hana's words caught her son's attention, making him curious about what she had to say. "That moment when you saw both of them getting hurled over... did you manage to get a glimpse of the future with your foresight ability?"

  "Unfortunately, no. Ever since we stepped into this territory, somehow my foresight hasn't been able to activate properly. Even to this day," Arvain explained briefly.

  "I see. Well, for now, let's see what kind of new problem has arisen in our time," Hana stated, her expression hardening with resolve.

  "Of course you're going to investigate it despite the danger," Arvain replied, showing a hint of annoyance on his face.

  Outside the church, Carol and Saria slammed against a massive structure. The impact was so severe that they coughed up blood. Their landing kicked up a thick cloud of debris, momentarily obscuring their vision before the smoke slowly settled.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  "D-Damn... Her attack is really... something," Carol stated, trying her best to suppress the pain as she hardened her expression. "Not to mention that her power is the same old Holy Magic, yet different at the same time."

  "Y-You really think so..?" Saria replied while groaning slightly in pain, clutching a small wound on her stomach that had been inflicted by Sarah moments ago.

  At that moment, as Saria and Carol stood up, Sarah appeared in front of them, standing menacingly amidst the rubble with her usual flat expression.

  Carol's gaze was full of contempt as she looked directly at Sarah, while Saria only watched her future version with worry.

  Noticing their different reactions toward her, Sarah let out a light sigh. "I suppose you two have more questions for me, then?"

  Carol snorted, finding Sarah's statement ridiculous. "Before you suddenly showed your hostility to us, that is."

  "Well, I can't deny that."

  As Sarah spoke, she vanished with incredible speed, causing Carol to widen her eyes in surprise.

  Then, Sarah reappeared above Saria, gripping the hilt of her scythe with both hands as she prepared to swing. "At least, until I see what the Child of Light's choice really is!"

  When Sarah swung her scythe, Saria froze in place, unable to do anything as fear overwhelmed her emotions. Yet, her fear was shortly replaced with utmost shock as Carol intervened. She managed to read Sarah's speed and blocked the scythe with her sword, causing a loud, metallic clang to echo around them.

  "Choice this, choice that. Don't you have better things to do than just forcing someone to do what you want..?" Carol said, gritting her teeth in frustration as she held back the scythe, though she was being pushed back slowly with each passing second. "Even if you're one of her possible futures, I can't tolerate your actions... or even your wish to see Saria's resolve!"

  With her speech finished, Carol tightly gripped her sword, using her remaining strength to swing it downward to break the clash between them. Not stopping there, Carol quickly lifted her sword above her head, channeling her wind energy before releasing a wind rush against Sarah. As a result, Sarah was pushed back by Carol's devastating wind energy, covering her face with her arms. Yet, she snorted in amusement instead.

  "If only you could say that to me as well..." Sarah mumbled to herself.

  Gripping her scythe tightly with one hand, she slashed through Carol's wind rush, splitting it apart until the energy dissolved into thin air. Not stopping there, Sarah charged forward, knocking Carol away with her scythe before chasing after her, leaving a flabbergasted Saria watching from behind.

  As Carol was still being hurled backward, noticing the countless gazes of the citizens looking at her warily, she thrust her sword into the ground. She tried to stop herself from hitting another wall, skidding to a kneel. At the same time, Sarah appeared in front of her, readying her scythe as she swung it directly at Carol's neck.

  However, to her surprise, Carol once again managed to block her attack. She morphed her sword into a scythe, pulled it from the ground, and swung it defensively, causing Sarah's blade to strike against the shaft of Carol's scythe.

  "What a surprise. To think that you have a Dual-Vergus form... I guess you're one of the rare ones who finally came this far," Sarah stated, still focused on pushing Carol back with her scythe.

  "Heh. Are you implying that the 'me' in your timeline couldn't reach my progression?" Carol asked, trying her best to hold her ground while slowly standing up.

  As soon as Carol spoke about the other timeline, Sarah's memories flickered, showing a scene of Carol screaming in pain upon being pierced by her own light arrow.

  Despite such memories causing Sarah to widen her eyes slightly in horror, she decided to push them aside. She morphed her scythe back into her wand, surprising Carol, and kicked her in the stomach. She then re-gripped her wand, morphed it back into a scythe, and immediately charged forward to attack Carol.

  This time, Carol managed to stand her ground despite the strong kick from Sarah. She closed her eyes, then snapped them open to reveal her reddish, hollow pupils. Entering her battle stance, she swung her scythe behind her and charged directly toward Sarah at high speed.

  As they closed the distance, Carol and Sarah swung their respective scythes, leading to a loud metallic clang that sent the citizens running in panic.

  In that moment, both girls clashed repeatedly on equal terms. Each impact generated strong winds that demolished the remaining structures around them. With one final, devastating clash, Carol and Sarah locked eyes with different expressions; Carol looked at Sarah with frustration, while Sarah glared back menacingly.

  They both retreated from each other, but Carol immediately held her ground. She swiftly swung her scythe a few times, releasing a dozen grey wind blades against Sarah, who had just regained her footing.

  Sarah easily split the wind blades in half without breaking a sweat, as if it were a basic task for her. Not stopping there, she tightly gripped her scythe and threw it heavily toward Carol, sending it spinning through the air.

  Noticing it, Carol dodged the spinning weapon, only to be surprised when Sarah appeared alongside the scythe in mid-air, gripping its hilt with both hands as she prepared to swing once again.

  As Carol turned around, Sarah quickly swung her scythe. The impact hurled Carol toward the structure, but she had managed to morph her scythe into a broadsword just in time, its wide blade protecting her neck.

  Sarah hardened her expression, a slight frustration lingering as she watched Carol land against the structure. A cloud of debris rose from the impact, but Carol slashed the smoke away with her broadsword.

  Carol panted heavily, a trickle of blood dripping from her forehead. Her cheek and arms bore slight bruises from the sharp stones of the structure. She tried to move, trying her best to continue, but her fatigue finally kicked in. Her reddish eyes slowly reverted to her usual dark, human eyes. Due to the exhaustion, her Vergus spell finally broke, reverting the weapon back to her wand as she collapsed onto the ground.

  (Am I reaching my limit..? Is this... what the side effect of repeatable usage feel like..?) Carol thought. Her frustration showed as she clenched her hands tightly.

  Sarah, watching Carol struggle, let out a light sigh, a look of sympathy drawn across her face as she descended to the ground.

  "Carol. From what you said about the green hat guy sending me here back then... It was true. Though it involves him in 'my' timeline more than yours," Sarah stated, trying to start a discussion with Carol.

  "So..? You think I wanna know or even listen to you..?" Carol replied with a harsh tone, looking directly at Sarah with silent fury.

  "Of course you wouldn't. But at least... let me demonstrate what my path really is. For each Chosen One has a different path and power."

  As soon as Sarah spoke, the small, dark bird on her shoulder took flight, wrapped itself around her scythe and fused with it. As a result, her scythe vaporized into thin air when she released her grasp, and a pair of dark yet beautiful wings appeared behind Sarah's back, resembling a fallen angel.

  With that, Sarah stomped the ground hard enough to crack it, flying toward the sky with the wind swirling wildly around her wings. Now above, she looked down on the Royal Church's grounds, extending her left palm downward.

  In that moment, the church bell tolled wildly as if responding to a divine figure. Countless huge magic circles, radiating powerful grey light, appeared above the area, covering the entire atmosphere like a trap set for a mouse.

  "Hear thy prayer, O Lord," Sarah began her chant, and the magic circles radiated even more light than before. The atmosphere around them grew overcast, causing several dark, giant hands to emerge from the clouds. "For I shall use my authority to show the sinner below me a direct judgment of light. For my true name is Saria Wisp, the Abraxas of Executioner. Thou shalt hear... that I am 'End'."

  In response to her finished chant, all of the magic circles released their beams of light simultaneously, a direct sign of the havoc coming for the territory.

  But, as Carol widened her eyes in horror at Sarah's display of power, her focus suddenly shifted to the sound of footsteps appearing out of nowhere. Two figures leaped into view, landing in front of Carol.

  "M-Miss Hana and Arvain..?" Carol said, flabbergasted at their sudden appearance.

  "Arvain, patch Carol up! I have a little business with that light!" Hana demanded, throwing her wand into the air where it morphed into the Neraca.

  In that moment, Hana extended both of her hands, palms facing up in a direct command. In response, the Neraca created a huge, yellowish barrier that covered most of the Royal Church's territory.

  "Sis Narlia. What are those beams and giant hands in the sky? Why is there a giant barrier that looks like Sis Hana's?" Rurin, now outside their own church, asked curiously alongside the other children her age as she pointed her finger toward the sky.

  "Oh, dear. Rather than asking, how about you and everyone else go inside the church? It's dangerous, you know?" Narlia demanded gently, though Rurin and the other children gave her a curious and confused look.

  (Oh, Miss Blight. Whatever you do, please don't endanger yourself.) Narlia thought. Her expression was full of worry as she looked directly toward the barrier above her.