Chapter 131

Ch.131 Apostle of the Goddess of War

“What?”

Ravienne’s meticulously adorned, lovely face crumpled instantly. This provocation made it utterly impossible to maintain her dignified demeanor.

She’d just been told, to her face, “Your Goddess is an Evil God.” This wasn’t a situation that could be smoothed over.

“L-lastly…”

Ravienne bit her lip hard, using ventriloquism to urge an apology—the last shred of her pride.

“S-s-sorry…”

“I won’t apologize. It’s my conviction.”

Sion cut her off sharply. His wide eyes showed no hint of compromise.

In Ravienne’s long career as a knight, she’d never met anyone like him. Not only had he insulted her Goddess before the Apostle of Purity, but he stubbornly refused to yield, calling it ‘conviction.’

“Fine.”

Ravienne’s eyes sharpened. She’d shown him more than enough leniency—more than enough mercy. Cutting him down here wouldn’t invite criticism; in fact, she felt it was for the best.

Ravienne vanished from her horse in an instant.

Sion’s senses flared.

Kaang!

He drew his sword like lightning and swung it through the air.

Their blades clashed midair. Sparks flew. Ravienne immediately followed up with her next strike.

Whirik!

True to her reputation as a twin-sword master, her attacks were unpredictable—like petals swirling from a fully bloomed flower, except these petals were forged of steel.

Cha-cha-cha-chang!

Receiving a flurry of sword strikes like falling snow while on horseback, Sion was limited in posture. He leaped down from his mount.

Spin.

As he landed after a midair somersault—

Whoosh!

Ravienne’s pink cloak fluttered, blocking Sion’s vision. In that instant of blindness, two blades thrust toward him.

Sion quickly grabbed the cloak and hurled it forward. His sword suppressed the fierce attack.

Flutter!

Sion wrapped the cloak around once more, momentarily sealing Ravienne’s twin blades.

‘Now!’

Sion struck instantly—swinging from right to left as if beheading a prisoner.

“Mental Realm Unfolding.”

Ravienne whispered, her lips barely moving.

Boong!

Sion’s sword cleaved the air. Along its path, pollen spread like silt in water.

“Ugh!”

Sion covered his nose and created distance. Ravienne’s mental realm had unfolded.

On closer inspection, the petals were as large as houses. Flowers and stems filled the space almost like mountains. This must be how plants looked to an ant gazing upward.

“What is this…?”

Ravienne’s mental realm was nothing but a flower field. It was hard to grasp what it meant for each flower to be this enormous.

“Let’s end this here before greater damage occurs, Apostle of the Goddess of War.”

“…”

Ravienne descended from a petal, beginning her fall as gracefully as a gliding bird.

Whoooo!

Petals swirled around her, spinning like a storm.

Kwaaaaang!

The floral storm struck Sion directly. He hadn’t even had time to discern the power within the petal blizzard. Attempting to block it would’ve been dangerous.

Scratch!

The sound came a beat too late.

Sion stood unharmed after taking the full force of the petal-blizzard sword art. In fact, he remained perfectly still, holding his sword in the upper stance.

Tch!

Ravienne, who’d grabbed Sion from behind, flinched. A cut appeared on her porcelain-like cheek. It was blood.

‘He cut through the petal blizzard…?’

It wasn’t evasion. It wasn’t defense.

He hadn’t just charged straight through—he’d completely dismantled her twin-sword storm, enhanced by immense rotational force, and even landed a counterattack.

Whoosh!

Both turned simultaneously. The match wasn’t over yet. They’d merely exchanged blows.

Keeeng!

Each other’s blades touched each other’s necks. Sion stood upright; Ravienne knelt on one knee.

“…”

“…”

Their blades scraped minutely, grating against their eardrums. They stared at each other expressionlessly.

Soon, Ravienne withdrew her sword first. Seeing her pendant emit an eerie light, it seemed the Goddess of Purity had given her some instruction.

Achille then whispered to Sion.

[Sion, you should stop too.]

‘Wouldn’t it be better to settle this?’

[They’ve apologized.]

“Huh?”

[Goddess Lirienne proposes a draw.]

Sion couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief.

‘Did she really say that? The Goddess herself?’

[Yes. Lirienne always had that childish— bratty side.]

Sion squeezed his eyes shut.

The joys, sorrows, loves, rages of humans—their unique personalities and quirks…

It was true, as he’d heard: all these traits were reflections of the Goddesses themselves.

Even that high pride and childish pettiness were attributes of a certain Goddess.

[She thought her Apostle could crush you, but when it didn’t go as planned, she pretended to be generous.]

‘That’s ridiculous.’

[Still, it felt satisfying. She must’ve clearly realized how strong my Apostle is.]

Though Achille tried to hide it, her shoulders were tense with pride.

Her sisters had dismissed her, but Sion had delivered a proper blow on her behalf.

‘But it feels a bit unsatisfying to let it go like this. We should at least get a proper apology or compensation…’

[Heheh, that’s so like you, Sion.]

Goddess Achille laughed pleasantly. It sounded like clear bells ringing in his head, dispelling his stray thoughts.

[Don’t worry. As compensation, you’ve received divine power.]

‘Can divine power even be traded like that?’

[Of course. During the last Apostle assembly, the Goddesses held their own meeting. Divine power trading will be active for the time being.]

Sion nodded. There was no longer any naturally generated divine power from the heavens.

Divine power itself had become limited.

Since it was now finite, its value had increased—making trade only natural.

[Take it, Sion.]

Whoosh!

Instantly, Sion felt as if he were submerged in an ocean. His whole body floated upward, wrapped in inexplicable warmth.

He’d received compensation substantial enough to drown him in divine power. A vast amount of divinity now resided within his circulation rings.

“This… this is…”

[Even the Goddesses who dislike me acknowledged your achievements during the Holy Kingdom assault. This is the divine power I received then. Use it wisely.]

The Goddess stroked Sion’s cheek.

His feats had been so remarkable that even Goddesses who hated war had acknowledged him. Without him, the Heavenly Realm would’ve fallen into the Evil Gods’ hands.

If you can’t possess it, it’s better to destroy it.

‘How… intriguing the relationships between Goddesses are.’

[Not ordinary at all. Complicated, they say. Even I find it exhausting to think about.]

Finishing his brief exchange with Goddess Achille, Sion watched Ravienne awkwardly fiddling with her hair.

She’d sheathed her twin swords and was now preoccupied with fixing her disheveled locks.

“This isn’t the end.”

Ravienne said curtly. This woman just wouldn’t let go. Sion nodded wearily.

“Yes, yes.”

“…Next time, it won’t end as a joke like this.”

“Next time, I’ll finish it for good.”

“Hmph!”

Ravienne turned away. She mounted her horse with elegant grace and glared at Sion.

After a moment of silence, she slowly opened her peach-like lips.

“…I’m truly sorry about Garfenn. He was someone I respected as well—regardless of cult affiliations.”

Hearing her say that made it hard to keep his attitude sharp. After all, personal respect was separate from cult politics.

Sion gave a slight bow in thanks.

“Thank you.”

“Good fortune to you.”

Ravienne spurred her horse again. Watching her depart, Sion pondered why she’d gone out of her way to find him.

She could’ve killed him outright if she’d wanted—after all, his side had only Sion, while hers had an entire knightly order.

‘If I had to guess… was it a warning?’

That the War Cult couldn’t join the new Round Table alliance.

‘Well, that’s what I wanted anyway.’

He’d never liked the Round Table to begin with—not even considering the Goddess of Light’s goodwill.

Now that they were openly hostile, he could freely subjugate them. This was far better than an ambiguous alliance.

Sion let out a short sigh and rejoined the returning procession. After one last look at his master’s coffin, he moved to the front.

* * *

[How was it?]

“I almost died.”

Ravienne spoke frankly.

Though she loved wordplay and metaphors outwardly, she never did so before her Goddess.

[Was it really that bad?]

“Yes. Anyone seeing the Petal Blizzard Sword Art for the first time could never break it.”

You either overpower it with brute force, get overwhelmed, or at best, both sides suffer damage.

Ravienne explained patiently to Lirienne, who knew nothing of swordsmanship.

[Hmm.]

“But the new Apostle of the Goddess of War didn’t do any of that.”

Ravienne had seen it clearly.

The new Apostle of the Goddess of War, eyes wide open, hadn’t missed a single move of her relentless twin-sword storm. He’d evaded precisely, found the one opening, and struck.

She’d been so shocked her reaction was delayed. She’d barely managed to twist her body away. The cut on her cheek was sheer luck.

‘I nearly got split in half.’

Though the blemish on her pretty face bothered her, the moment had been so chilling she’d forgotten even that.

[So he’s truly that strong?]

Goddess Lirienne of Purity stroked her Apostle’s cheek. Following her touch, the wound healed, fresh skin forming.

As the Goddess of Purity, she couldn’t bear any flaw marring her Apostle’s beauty. This was the main reason she’d halted the fight.

“Yes. Just as the other Goddesses feared… if we leave him too long, he’ll become uncontrollable.”

[He’s grown that strong already?]

Ravienne swallowed hard and forced a smile.

“I heard he’s only held a sword for about a year…”

[That’s right.]

“And yet, he matched me—a swordsman with over ten years of experience—at minimum.”

Only then did Lirienne grasp the gravity of the situation.

[He really is a monster, isn’t he?]

“Yes. If you hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve staked my life to kill him right there.”

[That serious?]

“Absolutely.”

Lirienne pressed her thumb to her lips, frowning.

[What should we do now? Should we side with them again…? But I really, really hate submitting to Achille.]

“I will always follow your will, Goddess.”

Ravienne replied respectfully. Even if her Goddess seemed childish, her insight far surpassed any human’s.

[Still, I’d rather die than see that child become the Sovereign Goddess.]

“Then…?”

[We must gather the Holy Grail shards as quickly as possible. Let’s return to the cult first. We’ll form an Anti-War Cult Alliance to oppose them.]

“Wise decision.”

* * *

The journey to the Holy Kingdom ended.

Just as Sion had said when leaving Elim, much had changed after their visit to the Holy Kingdom.

The world, Elim, and the relationships surrounding Sion—all had transformed.

Though Sion’s appointment as Apostle was cause for celebration, Elim postponed its joy.

A grand funeral was held.

Rain fell over Elim. Behind Gustein, who recited a eulogy drowned in sorrow, countless War Cult followers cast flowers onto Garfenn’s coffin with conflicted expressions.

Sion and Ruina consoled Anna, who wailed while clutching the coffin.

On the hillside of Elim, a tombstone was erected beside the path upward.

“Most virtuous, and strongest.

Most noble, and most burdened.

Apostle of the Goddess of War, Garfenn Denkert.

Rest peacefully in the Goddess’s garden.”

May he sit upon this hill, gaze upon the new era, and enjoy eternal rest.

One week later,

In a calm atmosphere, the War Cult held the appointment ceremony for its new Apostle and Priestess.

All blessed those who would lead the War Cult into the new era.

Schedule: Every mon, wed, fri and sun

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