Chapter 307: Wings of Freedom (8)

A wave of golden divine power lit up the area that had been darkened by storm clouds. Even Sea Serpent Harley flinched at the terrifying power radiating from the holy sword and hesitated.

Kai felt as if everything around him began to slow down. The raindrops poured by the storm clouds, the lightning accompanied by thunder, and the tsunami-like tidal waves—all of Harley’s attacks, which were each a natural disaster in their own right, slowed down. The slowly falling lightning looked as beautiful as a flower blooming, and the raindrops floating in the sky appeared like jewels.

What's happening...?

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Kai was taken aback at the situation he had never experienced even when summoning Cherantia and Shimizu.

In the next moment, he realized the place beneath his feet had changed.

“This place is...”

It was the sanctuary, also known as the Forgotten Temple, that Kai had once visited before.

“This is the temple where I got backstabbed by Zirukan.”

Kai became sure as he looked around. Of course, the temple didn’t look collapsed and worn like it had back then. At the moment, it had a clean appearance, as if it had been built not long ago.

Kai glanced down at his own body.

Translucent.

He resembled the ghostly state of Zirukan or Desmond, when summoned through Eternal Rest.

But why had he, who had been battling in the Black Sea, been summoned to this place? The answer to that question likely lay at the end of this path. Having been here once before, it wasn’t difficult to find the room.

The room where he had been betrayed by Zirukan. In the chapel-like room, a man in priest robes with a hood drawn was in the middle of prayer.

“May Your light always shine brightly upon this world...”

After finishing his prayer, the man slowly got up. He was slightly taller than Kai, with just the right amount of muscle in a well-toned physique.

The man slowly turned and took off the hood from his head.

“

Oh

...

!

”

The moment Kai saw him, he knew immediately who it was. It was Patrick. Although he looked much younger than when Kai had met his soul, it was undoubtedly Patrick.

The golden-haired, golden-eyed, expressionless man stared at Kai and asked, “Is this our first time meeting like this?”

“We met once at the Trial of Hanox...”

“That was only a thought of mine I left behind.”

As Kai questioned him with his gaze if things were different right now, Patrick slowly nodded. “The current me is whole. This place is a personal space, unaffected by time and space.”

“That’s quite an ability.”

“It’s only a place I prepared to speak with you for a moment. It won’t last long.”

“By speaking with me you mean...”

“It’s just the meddling of an old man.”

Those words didn’t carry much weight, considering his face didn’t look much older than Kai’s.

Patrick looked at Kai with a curious gaze and said, “You called for me.”

"Yes, because I needed your power. I encountered an enemy far too powerful for me to handle alone."

"But didn’t you learn everything from the training grounds I established?"

"I still lack in many ways."

"Why do you think so?"

"Well... because I’m still weak."

He couldn’t face Harley, and according to Helik, he couldn’t stand against the powerful beings of the demon realm either.

Without power, I can't protect anything.

The desire to protect something wasn’t enough to keep it safe. What he needed was strength that could support such a desire. Only with that strength could he truly protect what mattered to him.

As if reading Kai's firm thoughts, Patrick let out a faint sigh and said, "You must already know well what Descent truly is, having summoned Cherantia and Shimizu a few times."

"It’s a skill that allows me to borrow part of the previous apostles’ abilities, isn’t it?"

"That’s right, but haven’t you begun to suspect that isn’t all there is?"

Kai's eyes widened at Patrick's words.

That statement put an end to the dilemma Kai had been struggling with for a long time. In fact, he had been having similar thoughts ever since the battle with Desmond had ended.

Army of Light was originally Cherantia’s technique, but I learned it as a skill, which means...

Perhaps the Descent skill wasn’t merely borrowing strength from the past, but a skill designed to pass down the abilities of predecessors to the future generation. If that was the case, then it made perfect sense why he was able to obtain the Army of Light skill.

Patrick then said, “It seems you had already sensed it, and you are correct. The Descent skill is meant for the user to embody the form of a predecessor with their own body, to remember the sensation, and ultimately recreate it by themselves. In short, the former apostles continuously teach their successors.”

"... I still have a long way to go."

“Life is always like that. When you look back, the path you’ve walked always seems short, and the road ahead always looks endlessly far. But never forget, life has a set starting point, but it has no finish line.”

“I’ll continue to run forward with all I have—without arrogance, without straying from the path.”

Patrick greatly nodded at Kai’s attitude. "... Since ancient times, only those pure as snow, those without a speck of dust even when shaken, could succeed as Apostles."

Kai lowered his head with a guilty expression. After all, the reason he started helping others had been the rewards—hardly what one would call pure, and Patrick didn’t hesitate to point that out.

"But you are different. You are reasonably selfish, greedy, and at times, even ruthless depending on your opponent."

Kai dropped his head again, struck by the brutal truth.

But Patrick wasn’t finished. “However, that’s exactly why I have hope in you."

"... Pardon?" Kai blinked and lifted his head.

"Shimizu, Cherantia, and even I—we became relics of the old era, unable to take the final step. But you... I believe you might be different." Patrick stepped closer and gently placed his hand on top of Kai’s head. "You are a kind-hearted person at your core. And yet you never stop moving forward and growing. That’s because you are a human with desire."

It wasn’t meant in a bad way. Patrick was praising Kai’s ambition and effort to continually improve himself.

"We have never seen what forms when goodness and desire are combined.”

"You mean..."

"Show us, will you?" Patrick extended his hand, and Kai slowly reached out to take it. "O fourth apostle, you are our future."

At the same time, immense holy power began to surge into his fingertips.

Ding!

[You have used the Descent skill.]

[20 Benevolence stats have been permanently consumed.]

[Patrick has descended into the user's body.]

[You can now use some of his restricted abilities.]

[You have temporarily acquired the skill: Sword that Divides the Sky.]

[You have temporarily acquired the skill: Divine Downpour.]

[You have temporarily acquired the passive skill: Swordsmanship of Radiance.]

[You have temporarily acquired the passive skill: Patrick’s Blessing.]

[Skill (Passive) - Due to the effect of Patrick's Blessing, all movements are imbued with a divine effect.]

“

Oh

...

!

”

It was a level of power completely different from when Cherantia and Shimizu had descended, and a moment that clearly revealed why Patrick was called the strongest paladin in the church's history.

Kai barely steadied his trembling body and looked up at Patrick. He, who had worn a blank expression, now smiled softly.

“The goddess has been smiling often these days, thanks to you. Please keep it up.”

“O-of course.”

“She has suffered much. Never make her cry.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well then, it’s time to return.”

As Patrick slowly raised his hand, a magic circle rose above it and began to spin fiercely. In an instant, the distorted space expelled Kai.

***

Kai realized that he had returned to the battlefield. After all, the temple and Patrick's presence was nowhere to be seen.

Harley.

What came into sight was Harley, slowly gathering water for the pressurized water cannon.

I love this kind of after-service.

Kai smirked, and said, “Divine Downpour.”

As the skill activated, holy power surged from his entire body like a tidal wave. Of course, by the law of equivalent exchange, the benefits he received were considerable.

Ding!

[You have used the Divine Downpour skill.]

[The skill Supernova has been enhanced.]

[All stats temporarily increased by 150.]

A power boost incomparable to Supernova!

At the same time, Kai’s body radiated heat. Raindrops that touched his skin instantly turned into warm water from the heat.

“Mimic, hang in there even if it’s hot.”

“

Kkaaak!

”

Understanding its master’s heart, Mimic flew straight ahead.

—Lowly human... You repeat the same mistake!

Last time, Harley had unsummoned Mimic with the water cannon and made Kai incapable of combat. Moreover, the pressurized water cannon Harley fired this time was a deadly blow intended to annihilate its opponent with all his might. It wasn’t a prophet, but it predicted the near future a few seconds ahead.

Arrogant, impudent human. He doesn’t know his place and will die this way.

That was how confident Harley was in the power of his attack.

The water cannon tore through the air with a deafening roar.

Kai, who balanced himself on Mimic’s back, gripped the holy sword with both hands. He stared at the incoming water cannon to the very end, then slowly closed his eyes. Suddenly, the words that Master Huey of the Training Grounds of the Dawn had often repeated echoed in his ears.

—Even in a single swing, give it your all. Swing with the determination that your sword could cut even the sky.

Ah, so that’s what he meant.

Kai thought that once this was over, he should bring a bottle of the wine Huey liked and pay him a visit.

He slowly brought down his sword from top to bottom with the resolve that he could even cut the sky.

“Sword that Divides the Sky.”

The Black Sea was a sea of darkness, covered 365 days a year by storm clouds created by Harley.

—Th-this is... this is impossible...!

The holy sword sliced through the water cannon as smoothly as butter. Then, it sliced through the storm clouds that had blanketed the world and the tsunami that towered as high as a building. Finally, it cut through the horn on Harley’s head, whose eyes had widened in disbelief.