The world doesn't need succubi to save it.

Page 647

If the brothers were together, they would each bear part of the burden. Although it would leave irreversible aftereffects, it would be possible for them both to survive.

This precocious child understood everything long ago.

But now, Ash has taken both in by himself.

Because his younger brother is afraid of the cold.

Because his younger brother doesn't like being sick.

Who told me to be the older brother?

"Keynes, you must...grow up healthy."

……

When the one-legged Habaron finally arrived, he saw Jaslin, who was holding Cairns, kneeling in front of a huge block of ice.

"...Tsk!"

I'm late.

He couldn't save anything himself, and it was these two children who paid the ultimate price.

He clenched his teeth tightly, suppressing the urge to cry.

"They are not dead."

Habaron turned abruptly and looked at the woman who had appeared beside him at some point.

"What did you say!?"

Are you telling the truth? Is there any hope for them?

"Although the child tried to accept everything on his own, I took back most of it. He is affected now, but he will be able to adapt after a long enough period of time."

"However, this adaptation period will be very, very long."

"So, I froze him."

Do not……

Wait!

The excited Habaron suddenly realized he recognized the voice.

Long ago, he had overheard the prophet speaking with the being whose voice this was…

"Are you... Her Majesty Alice!?"

I was incredibly excited.

"...It's me."

The lingering feeling of being abandoned that had been buried in my heart vanished, replaced by a sense of relief.

Habaron knelt before Alice, trembling uncontrollably.

at last……

We have not been abandoned.

Great.

Alice looked at Habaron, then at Jaslin, and finally at the twins of fate.

Finally, she sighed silently.

“I never thought of abandoning you. The previous trials were because we were trapped in the curse that god had before his death.”

“From this day forward, while your prophet is not here, I will continue to guide you on your journey.”

After being deceived, she did not vent her anger on these mortals.

And now, she has taken up the prophet's lantern.

She opened her eyes and, in the endless darkness, walked to the front of the Prophet's Council.

Navigators sailing on the sea determine their direction by the twinkling stars in the night sky.

These people who look up at the stars and search for a way forward once had another name—

she says:

"From now on, you may call me..."

"【Stargazer】."

……

After everyone left, a phantom figure appeared in front of the ice block.

"I'm sorry, there's no way to save you."

Looking at the child frozen in ice, a faint sadness crossed his face.

He pressed his palm against the ice and whispered a promise:

"At the very very end, I will come to pick you up."

Make a promise to the sleeping little hero, a hazy phantom.

"I promise you, I will definitely come to pick you up."

Then, the phantom that had once been called the Prophet vanished in an instant.

It was as if it had never existed.

Chapter 529 Evil Spirits from the Past

Shortly after the shadow left, Alice's figure appeared.

She seemed unaware of the presence in the shadows, only gazing sadly at Ash, who was frozen in ice, before speaking softly:

"do not worry."

"Your efforts will not be in vain; I will lead them forward."

After saying that, Alice shifted her gaze from Ash and looked in one direction.

“Previously, although I was frozen and unable to interfere with the outside world, it did not mean that I was unaware of anything.”

Gazing into the empty space, her eyes seemed to be fixed on someone who should be there.

"Ash had conversations with certain people before making his final decision."

"I don't know what he heard. Maybe those words made him make his final decision, or maybe they made him waver..."

There was no reflection in the child's light-colored eyes. She seemed to be talking to herself, or testing the waters, or making a certain statement.

"Whatever he heard, he did it; he is a hero."

Alice paused, not hearing the answer she wanted, and continued:

“Turs is right. I was already unable to stay out of it all. My previous restraint was just self-deception.”

“I… will become the stargazer they speak of, the successor to the prophet, not only because of Ash’s sacrifices, but also because of their unwavering faith in me.”

Just now, Alice, who had been alone atop the Sky City tower for countless years, broke the crystal protecting her and stepped out of her cage.

"I... will not stop them from conducting those forbidden experiments, trying to explore the mysteries of magic."

"I can't watch them die like that."

Alice had never thought about the struggle between gods and mortals before. She had seen too much of it and understood that such conflicts were basically irreconcilable.

She always analyzed and observed from a detached and superior perspective, never getting involved herself.

But now it's different; she has personally experienced the kind of disasters that gods can bring to mortals.

The goddesses of ice and plague didn't even intend to harm mortals; they only cursed themselves, yet it nearly wiped out the inhabitants of Sky City.

“They may fall on the road of hard work, but they should not die so easily simply because they have no strength.”

If the prophets had possessed magic during this time, more of them could have survived, instead of helplessly struggling against the natural disasters caused by the gods and ultimately dying in agony.

That's wrong!

“I will hand over the key to this calamity to them, no… I will personally open that door for them.”

“I will help them steal authority from the gods, and I will make each of them entitled to control their own destiny.”

If a sage once stole the fire that belonged exclusively to the gods, bringing civilization to humankind...

Then Alice will have to take even more from the gods.

She wants to sever the foundation of the gods!

"I will make every single one of them a blasphemer!"

This was her vow.

There was once a prophet who wanted everyone to live.

The prophet's successor wanted to empower everyone to rebel.

While saying these things, Alice remained very calm, without getting angry or agitated; she simply quietly explained her thoughts.

After saying this, Alice withdrew her gaze and continued to look at the sleeping Ash.