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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!

"...!"

A spurt of blood gushed out, and Acrede stifled a scream, unable to even let out a proper cry.

But at the same time, a massive blessing descended upon her body.

Her blood-soaked side healed rapidly, with fresh, white skin forming over the wound.

Acrede barely escaped death, collapsing weakly.

I quickly caught her falling body.

At that moment, an incredibly soft sensation met my arms.

Looking down, I saw that the force of pulling out the sword had torn the clothes tightly bound around her body, revealing a formidable chest.

Such weight.

She had been hiding this so well.

To prevent any further exposure, I carefully cradled her in my arms.

"Boy, get out of here."

"Yes."

White petals continued to swirl around the woman.

Far off in the distance, Centriol was charging forward again, emitting an overwhelming aura.

This forest would be completely devastated by these two monsters today.

So, holding Acrede close, I quickly fled the area.

Acrede’s breathing was labored and ragged.

The pain and exertion of using blessings had caused her to lose consciousness.

Her injuries were fine now, but she had overexerted herself.

It would be a while before she could regain her composure.

"Ugh... ah..."

If we were talking about her mental composure, that is.

Acrede’s eyes fluttered open, round and wide, looking at me.

The calm and expressionless demeanor she had maintained earlier was entirely gone, replaced by the gaze of a startled rabbit.

When her eyes met mine, I gave her a bitter smile.

"Hello, Miss Acrede."

"H-hello."

She replied reflexively, then seemed to realize her state.

Her face flushed bright red.

"Kyaaah!"

With a scream, she flailed about, but I held her tighter.

Because I had expected this reaction.

"Miss Acrede, let’s save the embarrassment for after we leave the forest."

She froze at my words, realizing the urgency of the situation.

Her large, teary eyes filled with tears, and she bit her lip hard.

Her cheeks puffed up as if about to burst, but I paid no attention and sprinted out of the forest.

After running for what felt like ages, I finally made it near the forest's edge.

In the distance, I saw the battered remnants of the mystic group.

They had been bound by knights summoned by the white-haired woman.

Among them were some who had been violently subdued by her.

I couldn’t take Acrede, in her current state, out into the open.

So, I gently set her down in a place hidden from their view.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine,"

Acrede replied, clutching her chest and struggling to speak.

But the dreadful weapon kept slipping out of her hands.

I had no choice but to take off my outer garment.

"Here, at least put this on for now."

"Ah, th-thank you."

She accepted my outer garment with an incredibly shy expression.

She then did her best to pull it over and cover herself.

"This, um, this matter..."

She glanced at me nervously, stealing hesitant glances.

Her timid demeanor was utterly at odds with the image of a saint.

The stark contrast was almost jarring.

I knew exactly why she looked so different.

Acrede of Saint Narea.

She had a dual personality.

To be precise, two souls coexisted within her.

And the soul dwelling within her...

One of the six heroes who, along with the great hero Wolfram, founded the Six Academies.

The first saint, Narea.

Acrede was the reincarnation of Narea.

* * *

Flame Butterfly Arc, Act 5

The main storyline of Act 5 revolves around the reincarnation of heroes.

Six heroes, led by the great hero Wolfram, had their heroic deeds recognized by the benevolent goddess, who granted them the gift of reincarnation.

Thus, Wolfram and the six heroes were reincarnated.

Their reincarnation, their connection to the Demon Sovereign, and uncovering the nefarious deeds of the Robliage through the heroes form the central narrative of Act 5.

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.