[Translator - Night]

    [Proofreader - Gun]

    Chapter 110: Two Saints

    Inside the forest near Wolfram''s sanctuary,

    I was rolling on the ground in complete disarray.

    I had unleashed a massive explosion in the same posture I had swung my arm, so naturally, I lost my balance and rolled across the ground.

    After rolling for some time, I finally stopped when I hit a tree.

    My vision spun dizzyingly, but I forced myself to gather my wits and stand up.

    My eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.

    In the distance, I saw Centriol, who had toppled several trees as he fell.

    It was a carefully calculated strike, mixing variables with more variables.

    It had to pack enough power to achieve this level of impact.

    I felt my dislocated right shoulder and hastily wrapped it with a makeshift bandage made of cloth.

    Since only my arm had been exposed, my face remained hidden.

    Thanks to that, I quickly reverted to Hannon’s form.

    Drip, drip—

    At that moment, I heard something.

    The sound led me to raise my head, and my face froze instantly.

    The ground was soaked with red blood.

    And the person lying in that pool of blood was none other than Acrede.

    Acrede’s side had been pierced by a sword.

    Blood flowed from the wound and stained the ground.

    The sword''s owner was Centriol.

    Even as he was punched, this lunatic had managed to hurl his sword at Acrede.

    Crack, crack—

    The widespread blessing that had covered the forest began to dissipate.

    "Saint!"

    I hurriedly ran toward Acrede.

    She was slumped on the ground, barely breathing.

    Though she tried to heal herself, the wound refused to close.

    The blessing imbued in Centriol''s sword was preventing Acrede from using her own blessing to heal.

    "Stay calm. Acrede, you’ll be okay, you’ll be fine."

    At that moment, Acrede began muttering to herself.

    Her usually expressionless face started to waver.

    "Pull... pull out the sword."

    If the sword could be removed, she might be able to heal herself with her blessing.

    But only if she didn’t lose consciousness in the meantime.

    Thud—

    Just then, another sound came from behind me.

    Centriol was there, healing his own body with blessings.

    Though my punch had left him in a mess, the widespread blessing Acrede had cast had dissipated, allowing Centriol to regain his blessing.

    As a result, he had returned to his prime, fully restored as a paladin.

    "You’re quite remarkable for an academy student."

    Centriol spat out a broken tooth onto the ground with a spit.

    A new tooth had already grown in its place.

    "You’ll go far someday."

    Blessing energy erupted fiercely from Centriol’s body.

    From his tone, it was clear he had no intention of giving us a "someday."

    The worst was compounding on top of the worst.

    Centriol wasn’t going to let me remove the sword from Acrede.

    "...Saint, how much longer can you hold on?"

    "...About a minute, maybe."

    But judging by the blood she was losing, even a minute seemed precarious.

    So, I made my decision.

    I raised my hand above my head.

    Come, lightning...

    Step—

    "Boy, pull the sword from the saint."

    A voice interrupted me just as I was about to use Dragon Ascension.

    Hearing that voice, I immediately grabbed the sword''s hilt embedded in Acrede.

    Centriol moved to stop me, but someone stood in our way.

    A woman with snow-white hair appeared, her hair fluttering in the wind, her arms crossed as she faced Centriol.

    "You’re walking a heroic path, young man."

    White flower petals swirled in the air around her.

    "Don’t interfere."

    The swirling white petals engulfed Centriol in an instant.

    BOOOOM!

    Centriol, who had been charging toward us, was swept away by the petals and sent flying, smashing through the forest.@@@@

    Taking advantage of the moment, I pulled the sword from Acrede.

    Squelch!

    "...!"

    Act 4 lays the foundation for Act 5, weaving connections with those who are later revealed to be the reincarnated heroes.

    Among those heroes was Saint Narea.

    And the reincarnation of Narea was none other than Acrede of Saint Narea.

    Unlike the other reincarnated heroes, who had no memory of their past lives, Narea''s case was unique.

    The goddess''s blessing had been imprinted deeply into her very soul.

    When Acrede turned five, she received the goddess''s blessing, and Narea''s memories began to flow into her.

    However, the memories were too overwhelming for the young girl to bear.

    As a result, her mind split Narea into a separate personality.

    Thus, Narea and Acrede—two personalities in one body—were formed.

    "Acrede, you''re hoping I''ll keep quiet about what happened within the Holy Church, aren''t you?"

    Acrede''s shoulders flinched.

    Her eyes darted nervously in every direction.

    "Th-that’s, um..."

    "Yes, I''ll keep it a secret."

    Acrede turned to me abruptly, her eyes full of questions, as if to ask, Really?

    "I have no intention of getting tangled up with the Holy Church."

    Since the moment Whitewood and Centriol clashed, Centriol could no longer escape punishment for the attempted assassination of the saint.

    The Royal House of Lium, which had orchestrated the incident, would pin the blame entirely on Centriol.

    Thus, the Holy Church needed to act before this matter became public.

    If the internal conflict within the Holy Church were to be exposed, it would severely damage their reputation.

    To the Holy Church, this incident was a secret they wanted to keep while holding the Lium royal family accountable.

    "The Imperial knights? Whitewood will surely take care of silencing them."

    Whitewood was a sharp individual.

    Although she might use this incident to extract favors from the Holy Church, she wouldn''t do anything to make the situation worse.

    "Th-thank you so much!"

    Acrede trembled like a frightened rabbit but bowed deeply in gratitude.

    Then, as if to check if her thanks were sufficient, she stole a glance at me.

    She looked nothing like what one would expect of a saint.

    "Let’s get moving now."

    I decided to escort Acrede to a safe place.

    Until—

    Thud!

    Acrede grabbed my wrist.

    I slowly turned my head back to face her.

    Her rabbit-like expression had vanished, replaced by a cold, blank stare.

    "How did you notice me?"

    Narea had awakened.

    At her question, I tilted my head nonchalantly.

    "What do you mean, ''notice''?"

    "If you were going to lie, you should have done so from the beginning. You''ve been calling us separately—me as the saint and Acrede as Acrede—from the start."

    She was right.

    I had deliberately referred to them separately, hoping she would realize it.

    Narea usually reveals her identity after seeing Lucas''s Flame of Resolve and approaches him first.

    After Lucas rescues Acrede, Narea is convinced that he can help her and willingly reveals her identity.

    However, I lacked the same flame as Lucas.

    There was no reason for Narea to reveal her identity to me.

    So instead, I guided her into questioning me until she revealed herself.

    "I made a mistake."

    "Was it truly a mistake?"

    "Yes, it was."

    I replied with a calm smile.

    "Learning about you, Narea, was simple. Isn''t there an ancient legend in the old texts?"

    One day, when the world is in peril, the reincarnated heroes will protect it once again.

    The persona I had assumed, Hannon, was an archaeology enthusiast.

    Hannon even mistakenly believed I was the reincarnation of Zerion based on this.

    The reality?

    The one destined for that role would arrive next year.

    But I had used Hannon''s assumptions to my advantage, excluding him from the main narrative.

    His actions gave my claims legitimacy—an academic basis for discerning the saint''s true identity.

    "I''ll keep this matter a secret as well."

    "...Who exactly are you?"

    Narea looked at me with eyes full of incomprehension.

    So, I decided to solidify my connection with her.

    "Hannon Irey,"

    I introduced myself with a slight smile.

    "A student of Zerion Academy."

    Boom!

    Behind us, white petals scattered as Centriol was sent flying.

    That marked the end of Centriol''s clash with Whitewood.

    [Translator - Night]

    [Proofreader - Gun]