Volume 9, Chapter 40 – Savior

When the white light enveloping Yisi’s body dissipated into particles, a young woman with dazzling red wings, silver hair cascading like quicksilver, and silver cat ears appeared before the human and the dragon. Unlike the fourteen-year-old appearance Yisi had when she first used Third Form Awakening, because she had reshaped her body using the necklace, her height remained slightly taller than Pepe’s even in this form.

Strangely, however, although Yisi’s body had grown, the revealing yet sacred attire of her third form didn’t become ill-fitting. Instead, it seemed to have grown along with her, fitting her figure quite well. The combination of blue and white fabric, along with the design exposing her underarms, sides, and a large portion of her thighs, perfectly merged sacredness and allure in one person.

My tail feels heavier.

Bringing her silver fox tail around to her front, Yisi gave it a light squeeze—the fluffy, smooth texture felt quite nice. Although the tail looked incredibly large at first glance, its actual volume was very small.

“Well? Can you tell what race I am?”

Releasing her tail, Yisi looked up at the wind dragon. But the dragon also stared, its eyes wide, mouth slightly agape, looking utterly astonished.

“This… what kind of creature is this?”

Even the wind dragon doesn’t know.

She couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

“Cat ears, giant dragon wings, fox tail… and looking at the fangs, she seems to retain vampire traits. It’s almost like the incarnation of calamity. At first, I thought she might be an illegitimate child left behind by the ancestral Dragon Emperor in the Blood Clan world, but now…” At this point, as if remembering something, the wind dragon suddenly changed its tone, becoming serious. “Ahem, I think I might know what race you are.”

“What is it?”

“The legendary race living on the other side of the Sea of Thunderstorms, called—”

“Clarence, repaying favors isn’t done this way.” Just as Yisi was about to hear the wind dragon’s answer, Lin suddenly kicked it hard. Her face, dotted with faint cyan scales, was full of reproach. Then she turned back to Yisi apologetically. “I’m sorry, Yisi. Clarence is lying to you. He doesn’t know your race either.”

She must be referring to what Yisi said earlier: ‘If Clarence can answer one question, I’ll consider the debt repaid.’ While Yisi smiled wryly, she noticed something odd in Lin’s expression—Lin kept glancing at her from time to time. That alone wouldn’t be much, as looking at someone while speaking is basic courtesy. But the problem was, Lin wasn’t looking at her face, but at her ears and tail. Her deep, bottomless purplish-blue eyes flickered with intense craving, reminiscent of a desert traveler seeing an oasis. The thirsty gaze even gave Yisi the strange feeling of being stripped naked piece by piece. The fur on her tail stood on end involuntarily.

To confirm her thoughts, Yisi controlled the silver cat ears on her head to flatten. In that instant, Lin’s mouth formed a stunned ‘o’ shape. And if she made her tail sway back and forth while twitching her cat ears, Lin’s eyes would sparkle like stars, and her hands would unconsciously make grasping motions—one could imagine Lin fantasizing about holding her cat ears.

This girl definitely has a thing for fluffiness. I saw it from those fox-ear ornaments.

Yisi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Uh… Lin, I’m just looking out for you,” the wind dragon rumbled, oblivious to Lin’s abnormality, his voice tinged with thought. “Friend of the Blood Clan, have you considered a possibility? I wonder if you’ve heard of the ‘Calamity That Brings Ruin’? The so-called Calamity of Ruin is an existence with wisdom and sensibility, usually indistinguishable from humans. But when the Calamity dies, this human-like being transforms into a Demon Lord-like creature, bringing destruction to the world.”

“Yes, I’ve heard of it. And the ‘Calamity That Brings Ruin’ usually possesses features of multiple races.”

The wind dragon probably wanted to say she was the Calamity. But just as she thought before using [Third Form Awakening], in this state, she was filled with a sense of holiness; she couldn’t possibly be the Calamity. Besides, even if she were, her status bar or race bar should indicate it. The fact was, her race bar read ‘???’.

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Speaking of which, could Lin be the Calamity That Brings Ruin?

Possessing human, dragon, and deep-sea monster bloodlines, plus the deathly aura… if anyone fits the description, it’s Lin.

“I don’t think I’m the Calamity That Brings Ruin. Also, I hope you two can keep my current appearance a secret. I don’t want people to know I look like this.”

“I promise you, friend of the Blood Clan.”

“Lin?”

When Yisi looked at Lin, she found Lin wasn’t listening to her conversation with the wind dragon at all, just staring intently at her ears.

“Th-That… Yisi, can I touch your ears?”

“Huh?”

“Just touch your ears! It’s my greatest request! If that’s not possible, I-we can trade! I’ll let you touch my wings!”

No, no, this isn’t about mutual touching at all, is it? And I don’t think dragon wings would feel comfortable to touch. I’d definitely be losing out.

Of course, that being said, it was just touching her ears; Yisi didn’t find anything particularly strange about it. Although most adult manga often depicted beast-girl ears as sensitive zones, she didn’t have such a weakness. Back in the Ymir Church, when Evelyn touched her ears, it felt just like being touched on normal human ears. If she had to pinpoint a sensitivity, it would probably just be the inability to tolerate someone blowing into her ear; that ticklish sensation was unbearable.

Yisi sighed resignedly.

“Alright. But be moderate, okay? And don’t pull the fur hard.”

“Of course! Whoever dares mess up the fur is my enemy!”

Don’t say oath-like words while making ‘ehehe’ sounds.

With a soft ‘puchi’ sound, Lin pinched Yisi’s silver cat ear from the front. Since Lin was taller than Yisi, as she reveled in the firm, springy texture of the ear, Yisi was forced to look at Lin’s lips. If it were just looking, Yisi would at most feel a little embarrassed. However, when the warm, girlish scent emanating from Lin’s black collar wafted directly onto Yisi’s face, her cheeks naturally began to flush.

In a way, I’m being harassed by Lin.

Although Yisi felt she was the one benefiting.

This thought quickly changed.

The sensation from her ear became strange.

It was a gentle, delicate caress, with thumb and forefinger pinching the inside and outside of the ear respectively, sliding from the base all the way to the tip. Lin wasn’t using much force, yet Yisi felt a faint electric current shoot through her body. Her muscles instantly tensed, she unconsciously stood on tiptoe, her shoulders jumped violently, and a soft moan escaped her throat involuntarily.

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“Ngh!”

“Eh? Was that too stimulating?” Startled by Yisi’s reaction, Lin stopped, looked down at Yisi with an apologetic expression. “…Sorry. Because it felt so comfortable, I accidentally used the way I usually pet stray cats. When I do this, those cats usually lie down and show me their bellies to continue. I didn’t expect you to react so strongly, Yisi…”

“No… I was just startled. I didn’t feel uncomfortable.”

Please continue, rather.

It gave Yisi the feeling of being petted on the head by an older sister. If she were lying on a bed and Lin were rubbing her ears, she would surely fall asleep easily.

Unfortunately, saying such things out loud was too embarrassing. Yisi could only hope Lin would understand.

By the way, this girl treated me like a stray cat.

Since Lin showed no intention of stopping after a long while, and Yisi was happy to enjoy the feeling of being pampered, she simply found a rock and sat down. Lin then moved behind her, stroking Yisi’s ears with a look of pure enjoyment. It was worth noting that when Yisi brushed her fox tail against Lin’s face, Lin would unconsciously increase the intensity of the ear-rubbing, as easily controllable as a switch.

Lin’s fondness for beast ears is probably like my own when watching Mary and Tiffany feed each other. Maybe she should teach Andrea how to massage ears; then she could go to Andrea for healing every day.

…No, wait. If that happened, I might just stay in the Blood Clan castle and never leave. It would be paradise.

A considerable amount of time passed. Only when the wind dragon started yawning did it finally interrupt Lin and Yisi.

“Lin, you still haven’t told me your Divine Religion’s choice: fight the Empire, or retreat to another country? I’ve thought a lot just now. Even if your strength has now reached the realm beyond heroes, your power alone is not enough for the Divine Religion to defeat the Empire. And if the Empire also sends out powerhouses from the realm beyond heroes, your situation will be quite dangerous. You haven’t yet adapted to the power of the realm beyond heroes.”

Turning to serious matters, the pressure in Lin’s hands gradually lessened, and she finally, reluctantly, let go of the cat ears.

“What Clarence said is just common sense. I believe the Gospel will provide an answer.”

“Then how about taking out the Gospel? It answers any question asked. Just ask it, ‘How should you choose regarding confronting the Empire?’ and you’ll know the answer, right?”

“Indeed. Clarence is right. Since the Empire has already started sending people to observe our movements, it means they intend to move against us. So the Gospel telling us to prepare to intercept the Empire a week ago must have had a reason…”

At this point, Lin’s brow suddenly furrowed. She realized something.

The Gospel whose prophecy trajectory had changed had been in her possession, and she had been asleep the whole time. Unless Atwood changed the prophecy trajectory of the Gospel he held, there was no way he could know the method to deal with the Empire.

Damn it.

I forgot something so important because of the power increase.

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Lin quickly took out the Gospel, first offering prayers and blessings, then opened it before Yisi and the wind dragon, repeating the wind dragon’s words. Soon, an imperceptible wave of magic power swept past Yisi. In her experience, this was the sign of a prophecy appearing. But strangely, when Yisi leaned closer, she found nothing written on the Gospel.

“Lin, what does it say?”

Compared to Yisi’s surprise, the wind dragon seemed exceptionally calm. Yisi couldn’t help asking, “Clarence, can you see what’s written on it?”

“Cannot see. This is a characteristic of the Gospel. Only those who believe in it can see what is written. The more devout the faith, the clearer the information that can be interpreted.”

Ignoring the conversation between Yisi and the wind dragon, Lin pressed her lips together tightly, her complexion worsening, as if she were trying to understand the Gospel’s meaning over and over again, muttering something under her breath but delaying telling them clearly.

Lin’s entranced state worried Yisi, who couldn’t help but pat her shoulder.

“Lin, what exactly does the Gospel say?”

Like the tolling of a death knell, Yisi’s words made Lin suddenly clench her fists. As if unable to accept reality, Lin forced the words out through gritted teeth, suppressing her inner turmoil.

“…Have Red and Purple assassinate the Emperor of the Empire, Adonis Eli Gloria.”

“Assassinate the Emperor? Has the Gospel gone mad!?” The wind dragon’s voice instantly boomed, the rumbling sound echoing among the clouds like thunder before a storm. Excessive shock even made it sit up abruptly. “Lin, this is no joking matter! Check again! Could you have misread it?”

“I wish I had misread it. But the answer the Gospel gave is indeed to have Red and Purple assassinate the Emperor of the Norta Empire, and it requires me and the other members of the Divine Religion to remain behind… How could this be? Something must be wrong—No, my interpretation must be wrong! That must be it! I must return to the city immediately and confirm with Atwood! How could the Gospel give such a reckless command!”

If the assassination plan had allowed Lin to participate, she would never have been this shocked and despairing. But the Gospel’s answer was crystal clear: Lin was to remain behind, and other members were forbidden from participating in the assassination.

How powerful the Norta Empire was… even if no one could give an exact figure, everyone had a general idea: if the Norta Empire moved against either the Ymir Church or the Hels Kingdom, and the other party didn’t intervene, the targeted nation’s destruction was only a matter of time. That was the strength of the Norta Empire. Even setting aside individuals not affiliated with the military, the Norta Empire had at least three individuals in the realm beyond heroes. One of them, responsible for the Emperor’s safety, was renowned for their defense and ability to see through illusions.

Even if Red and Purple were absolute top tiers among their level, they couldn’t possibly contend with someone from the realm beyond heroes. Now that she had broken through that realm herself, Lin understood this profoundly. Even if a hundred Reds and Purples attacked her simultaneously, she was confident she could defeat them now, not to mention she hadn’t fully mastered her new power yet. And the person guarding the Emperor had reached that realm years ago.

It was basically a suicide mission.

Moreover, regardless of whether Red and Purple succeeded, the assassination attempt would ultimately provoke the Empire’s wrath. At that point, the relationship between the Divine Religion and the Empire would be beyond repair, just as the Divine Religion could no longer seek refuge in the Hels Kingdom now due to the assassination attempt on Alice, which completely severed any possibility of future relations.

“Lin, now you know! The Gospel is just toying with you! It’s not the savior you imagine it to be! Come, give it to me! I’ll throw it into the Sea of Thunderstorms! The Gospel was wrong from the start!”

“Shut up! Clarence! There must be a reason for the Gospel to issue such a command! If we don’t follow it, the consequences will only be more unacceptable! Don’t you know too, the tragedy forged by the old Pope’s own hands!”

“No! Today, I absolutely must make you hand over the Gospel! I will exercise the authority your father entrusted to me! I will not stand by and watch you send your best friends to their deaths! In the end, you’ll be the only one hurt! Not letting you suffer anymore—that is the contract I set for myself, and my responsibility having watched you grow up!”

Roaring, the wind dragon began to beat its wings, its body enveloped in a cyan glow. Intense wind pressure stripped away all surrounding elements, creating a suffocating feeling.

—It intended to use violence to keep Lin here, even prepared to injure her.

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However, just as Yisi thought the two would fight, Lin, standing on the ground, simply held the Gospel to her chest with one hand, while planting her silver scythe heavily on the ground with the other, shaking her head regretfully.

“…As expected. I knew this day would come. Clarence, did you think Atwood and I would trust the contract and let you stay here without making any preparations? The ten years of arrangements were for this very moment! I will not let you interfere with the Gospel’s plan! Afterward, no matter how you blame or scold me, I will have no complaints. But at least for now, be quiet—[Sleeping Spell].”

The moment her voice sounded, the entire forest suddenly lit up with a strange glow. If viewed from the sky, one would see that most of the forest had become the background for a massive magic circle. All plants within the circle rapidly yellowed and withered, replaced by a layer of gray, sky-obscuring mist.

The instant this dense fog, filled with a strong deathly aura, touched the wind dragon’s cyan glow, like water poured onto hot coals, large amounts of white steam billowed out. The cyan glow enveloping the dragon was rapidly corroded and thinned by the gray mist. As the dragon struggled to reshape the cyan glow with new magic while beating its wings forcefully to gain altitude, the gray mist quickly formed a birdcage-like shape, sealing the sky. Then, at an even faster speed, it converged on the wind dragon from all directions, completely submerging it in a gray ocean, accelerating the corrosion of the magic on its body.

The struggle lasted for nearly ten minutes before the wind dragon’s magic power was finally depleted. During this time, no matter how the dragon bombarded its surroundings with magic, the gray mist acted like an impenetrable wall, enveloping, segmenting, and ultimately consuming its breath attacks. The only price was the almost complete death of the entire forest. The Divine Religion had used the forest’s life force as a trump card against the wind dragon.

“Lin, you will regret this!”

“Yes. I have regretted it countless times. There’s no turning back now. From the moment Bishop Fulun placed his hopes in me and brought me back to the Divine Religion, my life no longer belonged to myself. As long as I haven’t completed my mission, I cannot face those who died because of me. This is my resolve as the savior. [Sleeping Spell] will only put you in a state of suspended animation; it won’t harm you. Sleep peacefully for a while. Goodbye, Clarence.”

When the cyan glow completely dissipated, Clarence finally lost all magic power, collapsing powerlessly onto the ground. Struggling, yet unable to stop it, he closed his eyes. Before falling completely into slumber, Clarence’s eyes shifted towards Yisi.

“Friend of the Blood Clan… please.”

Boom!

Like a string-cut kite, the raised dragon claw slammed heavily onto the ground.

Everything returned to silence.

Taking a deep breath, Lin shook her head at Yisi.

“Yisi, let’s go.”

However, Yisi just stood quietly in place.

“If one day I obstruct you, Lin, will you do this to me?”

Lin bit her lip, silent for a moment, then nodded with determination, without hesitation.

“…I don’t want to fight you, Yisi. But if that day comes, I hope you won’t hold back against me. That would be crueler than any scolding.”

“I see. I understand. I’ll remember that.”

Without another word, the two silently headed towards the Ducal Capital of Chloe.