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After the tumultuous battle, Diolia, Shione, and I momentarily stepped back to discuss the recent conflict. The learned wizards, not content with mere physical combat, meticulously sifted through the ranks of skilled knights and priests to investigate the slain monster.

Some keen-eyed rangers decided to circle back around the temple with a few wizards, hoping that luck might yield more valuable information.

Tania, playfully teasing the priest assigned to her, stood alongside Elvis and Orna, who were obviously worried about her antics. Meanwhile, I gulped down a mana potion and thought to myself.

‘Finding the weapon the World Tree spoke of is important, but this matter is quite critical as well.’

It was rather amusing that the guardian of the temple had attacked without recognizing even a junior from their alma mater. Perhaps it was due to being submerged in magic for so long, but their gaze was dull, and I could detect no hint of keen intellect.

I granted that senior some much-needed rest, and as a junior, I inherited their mysterious power. Well, I suppose that’s a decent response to the situation.

‘Let’s confirm this then.’

Here I was, caught up in fate and all its twists. They claimed my abilities were blossoming remarkably.

Wouldn’t it make sense to see if these powers truly live up to their name?

So, upon reading the description calmly, I couldn’t help but emit a chuckle.

“Ha…”

“Ah! Is there something wrong? I can heal you—”

“It’s fine. I just found that monster absurdly ridiculous, so there’s no need to worry.”

“Then it’s a relief. Please let me know immediately if you feel uncomfortable.”

I felt a little bad seeing the priest fidgeting nervously beside me, but I couldn’t help my response.

‘What an overpowered ability.’

In terms of healing.

This power forced the fates woven through causality to bend to my will.

The guardian appearing and reappearing in front of me, or Tania narrowly missing a fatal blow only to return to life, seemed to be thanks to this ability.

And that power, which lingered with the guardian, seemed to have directly transferred to me upon their death.

‘That said, I doubt I could wield it as dramatically as the guardian.’

While I was sucked dry, I wondered if my powers were diminishing due to that or some other factor. The limits were quite clear: I could perhaps adjust minor events to my favor once every three days.

Even if I couldn’t bend fate around to revive myself upon losing my head, creating small ripples during critical battles could possibly lead to a butterfly effect.

Furthermore, the total amount of mana had significantly increased compared to before the battle. My body was growing and absorbing mana due to the arrangements left by the Fate Deity. It seemed my physical form was also affected positively.

‘Moreover, if I could accumulate this power further within such a sacred temple…’

Not only would my abilities enhance, but I could also aim for higher pursuits more easily than before.

‘Yeah, this level of power should suffice to face the final demon and the real body of the one that nearly swallowed the Kalia Marquis Family whole.’

Of course, not just me—but Shione and many others needed to grow stronger too. But in the end, who would lead them all? That would be me, right?

“Deputy Commander Carpel, treatment is complete.”

“You did a great job. I feel much better now.”

As the priest moved aside, Shione quickly glued herself to me.

I wondered where Diolia had gone, and it seemed she was still with the guardian. Earlier, when she had been flattened, she had felt she struck cleanly and could sense that through her hands, but the failure to properly land her attack piqued her interest.

It seemed her pride had taken a little scratch.

“Ray, is Tania okay?”

“She should recover quickly once she returns to the spirit realm.”

“Phew… That’s a relief. I was shocked to see her missing an arm.”

“Even so, she must have felt pain, so once this mission is over, it’d be good to have a little mood-lifting celebration together. What do you think?”

“You mean it’s because she protected you? I’m totally in favor!”

Pretending not to care, Tania perked up her ears at the mention of her name. Just from her side profile, I could sense she was really excited, so I figured it’d be a good idea to show a little care and throw her a small party.

Having concluded our brief conversation about Tania, we transitioned to the serious topic at hand.

“By the way, that monster we faced was rather weird. Objects corrupted by magic typically attack the closest people… but this time, it only targeted you, Ray.”

“I do have something regarding that. It ties back to what we discussed earlier about me.”

“…You mean the discussions about you?”

“Exactly.”

Considering Shione knows my background, I could speak about what I saw in my status window and she would likely believe it to an extent.

However, discussions about the Fate Deity were merely passing references related to the origins of my powers, and I had never mentioned that to Shione.

‘Orna, can you take care of keeping our conversation from spilling outside with Elvis?’

—Myaaaang.

As we revealed some weighty discussions, we fortified our voices.

The unique power of mana-infused winds should help shield our secret discussion from leaking out.

“It’d be better to find a separate place to discuss this further—”

I scanned the surroundings.

The priest near me, as well as the priest beside Tania, had quietly slipped away, and everyone had instinctively made themselves scarce.

With the magic in place and everyone having cleared out, I carefully began to elaborate.

“Simply put, it seems both this temple and the monster are intertwined with me.”

“……”

Shione wore an adorable expression, as if she wanted to say something desperately but was holding back.

“I used the spirit’s power to keep the conversation from leaking. Speak freely.”

Finally allowed to breathe, Shione exhaled, her expression shifting to one of refreshment as she quickly shot out various sentences.

“…I mean, your very existence could be labeled a miracle. The ruins and the church we found last time, as well as this temple, have all appeared in miraculous ways. Moreover, if miracles are the power of the divine… then, for that, it seems strange—”

Shione’s gaze drifted far away.

The grand structure loomed, vines enveloping its exterior, showing signs of neglect yet still retaining its inherent beauty.

“That temple distinctly differs from the Church’s architecture. There’s no doubt that the only recognized good deity on this continent is the Church’s celestial being, and any gods with greater authority than local beliefs have been dismissed as heretics according to the Church’s agenda. In reality, they don’t exhibit the dramatic, miraculous power that the Church does.”

Thus, that raised a significant concern.

If such a large temple existed, information about this deity would normally be widely disseminated and detailed.

“Which makes it weirder.”

The Church, without exception, abstained from any mention of this god, and outside of the Demonic Realm, stories about this peculiar faith spread as though governed by some controlling force.

“The monster used abilities I had never seen before. If it were originally a celestial being, even here in the Demonic Realm, it wouldn’t be so tainted by magic. Divine power and magic are conflicting forces.”

“……”

“If we assume it’s a deity other than the celestial one, then even if that deity is considered a heretic by the Church, they wouldn’t have been worshipped so reverently during the time of the demon wars.”

“Princess Shione.”

“Is the temple’s deity indeed the celestial one? If not, is that deity merely another heretical god according to the Church, or perhaps forgotten or intentionally erased by someone—”

“That topic is a little dangerous to dive deeply into here.”

I merely interrupted her words. I didn’t dismiss Shione’s arguments.

In truth, the deity of that temple was quite likely a different god, not the beloved celestial deity praised by the Church, and according to her suspicions, it had held a far grander faith than one could simply forget.

However, given the number of notable priests and wizards around us now, even with Elvis and Orna aiding us through magic, it was a delicate conversation.

“…I should probably discuss this with my mother later.”

“Your father, the Head of the Family?”

“Everything relating to the exploration of the Demonic Realm is overseen by my mother. Furthermore, until Sion, our family hadn’t awakened divine power at all. Besides Sion, our household hadn’t been particularly devout towards the celestial deity.”

“Ah.”

“In light of the discoveries that could potentially be tied directly to the Church, we may well run into conflict directly. This is something I need to discuss with her.”

Indeed, since we were probing into this temple, there was no avoiding entanglements with both the family and the Church.

If it progressed to this level, Ainel would likely take matters into her own hands. To conduct oneself appropriately against the Church, which had spread its influence widely across the continent, conversations between Sion and Shione, who had experienced this firsthand, would likely be necessary.

Shione let out a small sigh and continued her thought.

“Anyway, given how things are, it’s going to be difficult to continue with operations here.”

Well, I suppose that makes sense.

“They say the city within the Demonic Realm holds the essence of divine power and various technologies. The true identity of the deity might not even be the Church’s celestial being—”

“The closer we get to the city, the stronger and more bizarre monsters may appear, even more than the one we faced just now.”

“Exactly. Who knows? They say the city is filled with divine power, and those monsters we just encountered might be lurking around every corner.”

It may be disappointing that we couldn’t enter the center, but finding such a magnificent temple like this was a sufficient achievement.

Beyond identifying unique entities, we had discovered monsters that approached singularity. Thus, one could definitely consider this operation a solid foundation for future strategies.

“…The World Tree surely said being too loyal to angels is of no good, right? Initially, I was quite dubious, but suddenly it feels like progress is being revealed.”

Shione displayed a rather sharp intuition.

“Let’s head back. We ran into our family name in the books at that church from before.”

At that moment, voices of the knights called from afar.

“There were weapons mentioned in the books and wall paintings…! I’ve located a hidden space! Wizards! Wizards, hurry over here and lend a hand!”

The Special Mission Team had uncovered yet another significant item.

“This success is sure to bring about a massive change.”

With this, Shione offered a subtle smile.

*

Leaving behind any residual energy we had, the Special Mission Team decided to return under Shione’s command.

Though some felt regret at not being able to delve deeper, the majority were caught off guard by how much they had managed to obtain from such a grand temple and likely expected glory to be showered upon them.

Thus, even after ceaselessly toiling post-battle, the knights of the Special Mission Team began their return, all with shining eyes full of glimmers of excitement.

And among them was a little girl, equally sparkling with anticipation.

“Hey! Are you really going to throw a party for us?”

“You were pretending not to listen, yet you caught every word, huh? Is it really that intriguing?”

“Really, like, super…!”

“Then go ahead and ask Shione about it.”

“Got it!”

Tania zoomed off to ask Shione.

“Sis, will you throw a party for Tania?”

“Of course! Since you fought so hard, I’ll be sure to prepare something special.”

With the little spirit’s joyous expression, she wrapped her little arms around Shione and shouted.

“Wow, Shione, you’re the best…!!”

 

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