SAINTESS [Chapter 57: You killed me]

"Demon, gods, pillars?? Cantarius had no time to ponder what Isatia was saying. His eyes were bloodshot, wide with horror.

Impossible. How could he ever die??

No, it couldn't be. He had already achieved godhood, long freed from the frailty of mortal flesh. Now he stands among the gods themselves, immortal, indestructible! How could he possibly be brought down by two foreign women in such a humiliating way?!

Cantarius' heart burned with utter refusal. He desperately wanted to convince himself that no matter what kind of extraordinary flame the pink-haired foreign woman wielded, it could not harm him.

He was the king who had carved his way out of an endless sea of blood. For hundreds of years since forging his pact with a Archon of Enslaved Souls, he had lived and died countless times without ever laying down his weapons, conquering innumerable alien races and territories, building millions of thousands and temples, achieving legendary feats. He had walked through fire and water, danced at the gates of death so many times??

Even the gods sang praises of his devotion and accomplishment, granting him true eternity after death.

It gave Cantarius a sense that he could never truly die. The limitations imposed upon mortals did not apply to him.

His death was merely a prelude, a temporary step toward a timely resurrection.

He was the greatest and most powerful king in history, how could he possibly die here??

His resurrection was due to divine revelation. His eternal existence, continuing as King of Mars, was the will of the gods themselves.

How could he be completely defeated here??"

Cantarius, a veteran of countless battles, did not fear pain, pain only made him more exhilarated. But death? Death was his one true fear.

It was precisely because of his extreme terror of death that he had ordered the entire Mars civilization to convert to worshiping the deities of “Eternity” and “Continuance,” ruthlessly exploiting slaves and commoners to construct temples for himself, hoping this would earn him divine favor.

In the end, when he realized that no matter how many gods he worshiped or temples he built, death still could not be avoided, he refused to accept it. He dragged all the soldiers loyal to him during his lifetime, along with countless slaves and commoners, into his tomb for a live burial ritual, burying the living alive, inscribing their names on the walls of his burial chamber, and carving his name into their bodies with flaming blades, branding them as his eternal slaves, trapping their souls within the tomb for eternity.

Yes, the ancient Mars King Cantarius feared nothing more than death.

He could not bear the thought of taking nothing with him from all he had conquered, nor accept that the great empire he had built with his own hands would be passed on to others while he himself could only close his eyes and sleep forever in endless nights.

He never wanted to experience that feeling of death again.

Meanwhile, observing everything, Isatia had come to understand something. A flash of clarity passed through her mind.

So that's it. During the previous incident involving the Alchemical Demon God Erunes' invasion, the 'Goddess of Radiance' or 'Radiance Saintess' who appeared, was most likely Winnie.

In truth, ever since that incident, Isatia had harbored deep skepticism toward the idea of 'goddess manifestation.' She found the notion of the Goddess of Radiance or Saintess appearing in person utterly absurd and illogical.

If the Goddess of Radiance or Saintess could truly manifest, why hadn't they appeared during Varelis family's most desperate crisis to save their own bloodline??

The Lanteville family was also a family of saints. As such, they understood far better than others how such manifestations worked. They knew clearly that these stories were meant only for public telling, to deter potential enemies and add sacred prestige to their lineage. To believe them themselves was mere self-deception.

Unless one possessed the power of [Divine Blessing], the ancestors of past generations were truly dead. There would be no manifestation. When the family faces danger, the ancestors will not intervene. They had personally 'tested' this truth many times over."

Everything depends solely on those still alive. Just like now.

Thus, Isatia had always harbored strong suspicions about the previous Goddess of Radiance manifestation incident. Now, all the doubts finally make sense.

Still, there was one odd thing.

How had Winnie released such a massive [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings] back then??

The few threads of [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings] flying from Vanessa's palms completely shattered Cantarius' [Archon of Enslaved Souls], and then another strand emerged, descending toward Cantarius' heart.

“No, no!” Cantarius strained his immobile body, desperately tilting himself sideways. Under the overwhelming instinct to survive, the flame landed on his left shoulder. Instantly, it spread rapidly, burning away the left arm that was just beginning to regrow.

“AAAAAAHHH!!” In a split second, the frenzied Cantarius used his newly grown right arm to draw his waist blade, cutting off his own arm at the shoulder joint without hesitation or delay, then quickly threw the knife aside.

Using this lizard-like tail-severing escape method, Cantarius collapsed onto the ground, staring in horror at the left arm and knife that had been purified by holy fire into nothing, not even ash remained. His eyes were filled with terror.

What kind of fire was this?!

“No, no!” Realizing that his left arm, once burned away, was truly not regrowing, and that he could no longer sense its existence at all, Cantarius' fighting spirit completely shattered. Gone was his former majestic bearing.

He knew now, he was truly about to die.

This time was different from before. Last time, he still had his tomb and so many people buried with him. But this time, once touched by this terrifying flame, he will be purified until not even his body remains.

Where would he go then?!

Cantarius lay on the ground, staring up at the cherry-haired beauty towering above him. Beneath his mask, his face was deathly pale.

“W-wait! Don't do it! We can still negotiate! Do you want immortality? Do you want eternity? No matter how powerful you are, you can't achieve immortality, right? Heh... heh... If that's the case, can't we cooperate?? You wouldn't want your incredible talents to end up buried with you someday, would you?? I..."

At this moment, he no longer cares about dignity. He knew everything depended on him staying alive. To survive, he would stop at nothing.

Before Cantarius could finish, Vanessa swung her mace, sending him flying in a spray of blood and flesh, his body shattered into several pieces.

Under normal circumstances, she would never have listened to Cantarius' babbling. A tyrant as utterly evil as he would have been completely purified by the [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings] the moment he opened his mouth.

But—

Isatia also felt something was missing. Vanessa clearly knew that ordinary attacks couldn't kill Cantarius. So why hadn't she decidedly used the [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings] to burn him? Why had she chosen to knock him away instead??

A bad feeling stirred in her heart.

Sure enough, that mace strike was Vanessa's helpless choice.

She could no longer release the [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings].

Vanessa knelt on one knee, supporting half her body with the mace, her other hand clutching her forehead. Sweat streamed down her smooth, glowing skin.

It was only now that Isatia realized Vanessa had looked extremely strained when releasing those few threads of [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings] earlier, her expression forced, drenched in sweat. Now she seemed utterly exhausted, unable even to lift her gaze, her eyes unfocused.

'Virtue + 50.'

'Current Virtue: 3334.'

“Winnie??” Isatia called out.

But at this moment, Vanessa could no longer hear Isatia's voice.

She felt darkness closing in, her senses failing, limbs numb, even her lips trembling uncontrollably.

During spellcasting earlier, she'd been fine. But the moment she accessed [Divine Blessing], a severe anemic reaction immediately set in. If she hadn't bitten her tongue, she would have fainted on the spot.

Vanessa knew exactly what was happening. She had lost too much vital essence, she could no longer release her strongest [Divine Blessing].

The greater the Divine Blessing, the higher the cost.

[Flawless Holy Wings] was controlled. But [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings]? Impossible.

It consumed not only vast amounts of mana but also the essence-blood of the blessed angel.

Normally, Vanessa had plenty of blood, she never noticed. But now,

“Miss Aesphyra, you really caused me trouble,” Vanessa whispered weakly, tilting sideways as she collapsed.

“Winnie??” Seeing this, Isatia rushed forward to catch her.

Even the one responsible for healing had fainted. Now the situation was truly dire.

“Angel blood,” Isatia murmured. Although she hadn't heard Vanessa's whisper, from the earlier hints, she understood why the other had suddenly collapsed from exhaustion.

“Heh... heh... hahahaHAHAHA!” Then, from the direction where Cantarius had been flung, a wild, boisterous laugh erupted.

Cantarius strode out triumphantly, wielding his wolf-toothed club in his remaining right hand.

“I thought you were so powerful? Turns out you're just bluffing.”

“Do you really think you can kill me? What a joke. I am the chosen of the gods! Divine favor protects my fate, I cannot die!”

“Do you know what it means to make the great King of Mars lose an arm??” Seeing his greatest threat unconscious, Cantarius instantly swelled with arrogance again.

Isatia silently watched Cantarius approaching, gently tightening her hold on Vanessa's soft body. Looking down at the cherry-haired girl in her arms, her breathing labored, drenched in cold sweat, appearing utterly weak, Isatia's expression turned grave.

“Where... where am I? So... so dark...”

“Father... Mother... don't... don't leave me... all alone..." The cherry-haired girl seemed to have lost consciousness, mumbling in a voice so soft and pitiful it sent shivers down the spine, overflowing with vulnerability and helplessness.

Recalling Winnie's tragic childhood and experiences, those words struck deep into Isatia's heart.

'Virtue + 100.'

'Virtue: 3404.'

‘At the very least... I must protect her.’

Several ornate golden spears shot out, impaling Cantarius.

“HAHAHA! Useless!” Cantarius let himself be pierced by the spears, even using his body as a shield to make them difficult to withdraw.

“No magic, no soul armament, can harm me!” Cantarius sneezed.

Isatia held Vanessa tightly, silent for a moment.

She knew she was already teetering on the brink of spiritual sea collapse. Without the holy light barely sustaining her, she might have already become a living corpse, never to awaken.

Her [Divine Blessing] had reached its limit, already collapsing. Soon, she will be finished.

But... how could she know unless she tried?

If her spiritual sea was already in chaos, what harm was there in overexerting it once more?

Closing her eyes, Isatia centers herself. A thunderous, primordial sphere of light began to spread outward, but before it could cover the area around her, it shattered.

“Trying that same move again? Heh. Even if you could use it, what then? Do you really think you can kill me??” Cantarius showed no fear.

She couldn't kill him. But... what if she sealed him inside the collapsing [Eternal Imperial Crown]??

Granted, she will also be trapped forever within the uncontrolled [Eternal Imperial Crown], and the success rate was nearly zero. Still, she had to try.

But,

Indeed, not only was it questionable whether she could summon the [Eternal Imperial Crown] without its central clock tower, even if she could, the [Eternal Imperial Crown] couldn't be released in a place where she hadn't previously constructed it.

If only... if only there were one of her built structures here, or if she could be directly teleported into the [Eternal Imperial Crown].

But that was absolutely impossible. If that were possible, an [Eternal Imperial Crown] that could be released anytime, anywhere, would be too terrifying.

That was how she saw it. After all, her ancestors had left strict warnings: never attempt to summon the [Eternal Imperial Crown] in a place where it hadn't been previously constructed, or suffer terrible backlash. There were far too many cases in history.

She'd heard these ancestral teachings since childhood. Her father, disenchanted she might do it, had repeatedly emphasized them.

Yet now, Isatia no longer cared for.

She was practically already dead. Why worry about rules? Rather than wait to die, why not take one final gamble??

Isatia glanced at the cherry-haired girl in her arms.

The old, rule-abiding she would never have made such a decision.

With that single thought, Isatia closed her eyes and recklessly expanded the [Eternal Imperial Crown].

To her astonishment, this new method of summoning revealed an entirely new world.

Although her eyes were closed and darkness filled her vision, suddenly a bright, magnificent path appeared within the darkness.

Strange. What was this??

What was this road? Where did it lead??

Isatia looked ahead, where a grand, pristine silver-white palace stood resplendently on the path.

She recognized it.

That was the Church of Radiance inside her [Eternal Imperial Crown].