Those who noticed Sophia’s transformation denounced her actions, saying she had fallen, but Sophia boldly claimed to them.

— Those who claim to follow God’s words said magic beasts are evil in their very existence, and they are negatives that must be eliminated.

— But now I, who have become a magic beast, can still use holy power all the same. The proof of God, and the power God gives.

— Perhaps God never actually denied magic beasts? If so, it’s proof that the Kingdom of Heaven is just talking as they please while calling it God’s words.

— Or did God deny magic beasts, but didn’t know exceptions like me would arise? If so, it proves that God is not the absolute being that the Kingdom of Heaven claims.

That was right.

The Kingdom of Heaven had consistently treated the existence of magic beasts as something to be denied, and had managed those who used holy power, calling it God’s.

But if that doctrine wasn’t correct.

The justification disappeared from their actions of eliminating someone according to their own tastes and erasing history under the pretext of removing evil magic beasts and their bewitching knowledge.

The act of virtually monopolizing holy power users and exerting strong influence on earthly powers through holy power also degenerated into just a means of gaining power.

By becoming a vampire, Sophia directly raised her middle finger to the doctrine preached by the Kingdom of Heaven.

Although the previous free-spirited atmosphere had disappeared with the establishment of dictatorial power, the cultivation and knowledge built up in Doria didn’t disappear in an instant.

Scholars immediately understood how dangerous Sophia’s claims were, and how uncomfortable they were from the Kingdom of Heaven’s perspective.

This was the dragon’s reverse scale.

If handled carelessly, not only Sophia but also those who failed to prevent her from causing this phenomenon might be punished together.

Above all, the authority of the dictator currently ruling Doria relied heavily on heaven.

If heaven’s authority shook, the dictator’s authority shook with it.

Therefore, the dictator chose an easy and simple option.

He sentenced to death the one who was once his blood relative.

— Kill her, and tell heaven she died of illness.

Some who knew of Langwidere’s deal when she ascended to heaven expressed concern, but the dictator was firm.

— Not once has heaven checked on Sophia’s condition since that girl was taken away. They must have already forgotten.

However, the dictator’s orders could not be carried out.

It was impossible to kill Sophia no matter what they did—beheading her, piercing her heart with a stake, drowning her in water, burning her under sunlight.

The dictator became increasingly anxious.

Those involved in the execution were initially cruel, but as time passed, they showed signs of being rather fed up, and some even began to worship Sophia, feeling awe at her immortality.

The words of a new touring priest who mentioned in passing that a new “angel” had been born also fueled his anxiety.

The priest only spoke vaguely about angels being great and representing God’s will, but the dictator interpreted this to mean that a new power had appeared in heaven.

What if Langwidere had really become a high-ranking figure in heaven?

If she came to visit Sophia and learned what had happened to her all this time?

Would his throne continue to be maintained? No, would he even survive?

Sophia had to die.

Even if she didn’t die, she had to die.

Therefore, the dictator secretly gathered people and sent Sophia out to another place, enclosed in a coffin.

Far from Doria, in the eastern part of the continent.

There was information about the existence of a mysterious underground facility in a desolate place unsuitable for people to live or pass through.

It was much less troublesome to utilize and reconstruct existing ones than to create a new seal from scratch.

They concealed its existence, created traps in case the existence was revealed, and prepared disguised rewards in case those traps were seen through.

In preparation for all these measures becoming useless, they left inscriptions telling how dangerous the “monster” sealed inside was.

Only then could the dictator and his associates finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Heaven wouldn’t know about Sophia, and even if they found out later, by then they would have already left this world.

And just 3 years later.

Doria was destroyed.

The citizens rose up saying they could no longer endure such dictatorship, and neighboring nations that had harbored resentment towards Doria from the beginning took advantage of this gap to invade.

The military government, mired in indolence, couldn’t properly cope with the chaos unfolding inside and outside the nation, and much blood was shed.

Heaven, which had guaranteed Doria’s rights until just a few years ago, gave justification to hostile nations, saying that Doria had been tainted by the evil knowledge of magic beasts.

Monarchical nations willingly and thoroughly annihilated materials about a “nation operated by evil ideas tainted by the knowledge of magic beasts”.

A nation operated not by an absolute monarch, but through the votes and debates of various citizens, was a dangerous factor that made royal authority unstable just by remaining in records.

In the process, numerous technologies that Doria had built up, and teachings that might have led the entire continent to development, disappeared into ashes.

What remained were only the documents left by a few scholars who had left Doria, using as a guiding light the words Sophia had left before her confinement and the essentials that heaven had extracted in advance.

***

You only saw part of that process.

After all, you had to keep guarding Sophia’s side and fight against mysterious beings targeting her.

《STAGE ≡二 VS Angel of Divine Calculation》

《If you win the confrontation, it will proceed to the original history of ‘Sophia Hubris’ heart did not crumble.’》

《If you lose the confrontation, it will proceed to the altered history ‘Sophia Hubris’ heart crumbled.’》

A beautiful angel hiding mechanical indifference within a gentle smile blew a flute.

Numerous illusions bewitched your senses, and sound turned into shockwaves threatened you.

Your body was heavy, your joints creaked as if they were rusty, and your sword was rusted.

However, you were the Tin Knight.

Although its momentum had greatly diminished due to the opponent’s interference, the mana flowing in from the witch was still unbroken.

As long as you had fuel to move and proper limbs, you could continue fighting without knowing pain or fatigue.

The angel’s wings were broken, and she fell to the ground.

《STAGE ≡二 VS Vampire of Thousand Eyes》

《If you win the confrontation, it will proceed to the original history of ‘Sophia Hubris’ heart did not crumble.’》

《If you lose the confrontation, it will proceed to the altered history ‘Sophia Hubris gave up thinking.’》

A vampire with a very beautiful but languid atmosphere, as if bored with everything in the world swung her limbs.

Spears made of blood flew to pierce you, and your attacks became useless in the face of overwhelming regenerative power.

The metal composing your body was carved away as if being gouged out, and it was barely enough to use mana for battle to recover from wounds.

Of course, you didn’t mind.

You were a player.

It was familiar to find and somehow grasp the possibility of victory, even in adverse conditions.

Since the you outside the monitor didn’t know fatigue, your condition and control were always perfect.

The vampire’s regenerative power reached its limit, and starting from the heart pierced by your sword, her entire body collapsed.

Neither the angel nor the vampire had completely disappeared.

They were still aiming to kill Sophia’s heart and resurrect in her body by taking her place.

But it was also true that they were gradually losing strength.

The proof was that the red mist filling the world was reducing in scale each time you won a victory.

With a thud, you sat down leaning against the pillar Sophia was tied to.

It was when you were blankly waiting for them to start attacking again.

“Is someone there?”

Suddenly, such words were heard.

You slowly turned your body and looked in Sophia’s direction.

She wasn’t looking at you.

But she didn’t stop speaking either.

“When I used the Chalice of Tuberose, I saw a certain scenery.

“It was a scenery where a certain someone was with me as I was bound underground for a long time.

“The appearance of that certain someone was so blurry like a mist that I couldn’t tell what form they had.

“That certain someone was so taciturn that I couldn’t hear their voice either.

“I thought I might be able to know more details after absorbing the chalice, but instead I couldn’t see anything,” calmly, Sophia continued speaking. “Are you a real person? Or are you just an illusion created by my mind? I still don’t know the answer. After all, the last thing I saw was the scenery of this labyrinth.

“Still, if possible, I’ll pray to God that you really exist.”

You pondered for a moment about how to answer, then decided to respond with gestures instead of words.

Even if you look like blurry mist to Sophia, she might be able to see large movements.

As you shrugged your shoulders greatly, Sophia smiled.

As if the current her couldn’t see you, but her past self had already seen this future.

“Do you want to ask if I still believe in God even after suffering like this?

“Yes, I do believe. Because I haven’t met God yet.

“I’ve seen those who commit evil deeds in God’s name, but I haven’t seen God himself committing evil deeds.

“We shouldn’t hastily conclude about things we don’t know well. Just as I can’t conclude about you.”

You involuntarily asked back, knowing she couldn’t hear.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if it’s not true that God didn’t help Sophia!]

“I wonder what you said to me? Please forgive me for wildly guessing what you ask of me since I can’t hear the content.

“There’s no need to resent God for not helping me. I haven’t helped God either.

“There’s no need to be disappointed in God’s incompetence, because it’s just their arbitrary talk that God is omnipotent and good.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ answers that he doesn’t know much about theology!]

“Don’t you like this kind of talk? Then, let me talk about you.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ expresses doubt, asking if Sophia really can’t hear!]

A conversation that couldn’t continue continued.

The future and past that couldn’t intersect were exchanged.

“When I first saw you, I checked if your traces remained in reality. But there was nothing visible.

“When I saw you again, you were fighting someone. But those traces didn’t remain either.

“So I thought. The future I saw might not necessarily be something that happened in reality.

“An elaborate illusion, someone’s memory, maybe my own dream. Hehe, if it’s the last one, I’m talking to you who doesn’t exist here right now.

“It’s undoubtedly a crazy act, but I don’t mind. I’m used to being labeled as crazy, anyway.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ affirms that it’s okay to do as Sophia pleases since there are no eyes watching anyway!]

“Perhaps you nodded up and down at this point? Having a good memory is useful at times like this.

“Why are you around me? Who are you? Why are you fighting?

“I can’t know your appearance or voice. But it’s okay to have expectations, right?

“I hope that someday, I’ll be able to meet you.”

***

https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken