Hard Carry Support-Novel

Chapter 95 - Priestess (1)

"Are you... A Heavenly Being?"

The guard was looking sharply at the two figures approaching. When he realized Radiette's identity, he changed his posture to a more cordial one.

Because both Radiette and Ain had the runes of a Heavenly Being, it didn't take them long to prove which side they were on

"It isn't good…"

Radiette frowned while looking around.

That was the only city on Iluna that had a temple.

Usually, it was a comfortable and relaxing place, but at the moment, it was full of anxiety and fear.

"Ah...!"

Everyone turned their heads around after hearing someone groan.

That place beyond the horizon was where one of the two remaining magic circles was.

The light beam that was rising to the sky suddenly disappeared.

The sight of the magic circle becoming powerless could be seen from all over the city.

"The light turned off…"

"That means that it's our turn next?"

"We don't have much time! Monsters are soon going to attack the city!"

The city was filled with panic and nervousness as the light pillar disappeared.

The people of the city had realized that they were the Abyss’s last target.

Hyun, Ain, and Radiette also saw that.

"This is the only remaining place."

Radiette couldn't hide a bittersweet expression.

Hyun had a similar expression on his face.

While playing Asra, he hadn't felt it, but there, everyone around him felt real, so he felt as if he was assimilating their feelings.

What made Hyun come back to his senses was a quest notification that’d suddenly appeared.

Ting-!

[<Quest: Iluna's Crisis>]

- 6 of the 7 magic circles have been destroyed! If the last one is destroyed, this will no longer be a territory of the Heavens.

- But it isn't over yet. The Priests who felt Iluna's crisis are trying to summon an angel.

- Go with the Heavenly Being to the Heavens’ Altar! The Priests will thank those that arrive to help!

<Reward>

- The Priest NPCs will completely trust you.

- You'll be recognized by a Heavenly Being and a Transcendent.

Hyun's eyes widened after reading the quest description.

—It was because of a certain part of the quest details.

'Angel summon...?'

* * *

The preparations were over.

The army was also fully prepared.

There was only one place left…

They were about to start the last step when the demon received an order it couldn't refuse.

"The law of cause and effect is balancing. Wait until I order you."

It was an order from Keidrial, the Great Demon of Deception.

She only said that and didn't give any more details.

After thinking about it for a while, the demon started to laugh.

That's right. Even if there were a delay, the result would be the same.

Everything would end up going as they planned, so there was no need to hurry.

* * *

'Is this the end?'

That new quest he'd received was one of the easiest since he’d started playing Asrian.

The quest would be over after he took Radiette to the temple at the city's center.

"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Radiette."

The Priests greeted Ain and Radiette.

"But the person with you…"

Just because she was with a Heavenly Being, Ain received a lot of attention.

"If someone asks you, just say you're a Heavenly Being. That will save us time."

"Can I do that?"

"It isn't a lie, right?"

When she thought about it, that was true. From then on, whenever an NPC asked who she was, Ain said she was a Heavenly Being.

Radiette nodded.

The moment they learned about Ain's identity, the NPCs were moved.

"Two Heavenly Beings visiting the temple simultaneously!"

"Could we please know your name?"

"I'm Ain."

Ain ended up saying her ID.

"Ain…? I think I heard about… Oh!"

It was a coincidence that an NPC knew about that name at Iluna's temple.

He was one of the Priests that the Holy Kingdom had sent.

It seemed like he'd heard about Hyun and Ain's achievements for the Empire.

"An Empire user..."

"What you're thinking is probably right."

Translator - Daniel Shin

Proofreader - ilafy

* * *

“I see. I heard that there was a user who was recognized by a Heavenly Being… But I never thought that you'd continue the bloodline! It's an honor to meet you!"

"Huh…?"

It seemed like the Priest had misunderstood something, but since Ain didn't correct him, the topic flowed into the next.

The Priests treated her as if she were noble.

The fact that Ain was a user had already been revealed, but no one treated her less because of it.

It was obvious if you considered the weight that the words “Heavenly Being” had in the Heavens.

"Now we have three Heavenly Beings here. It feels like the fog of darkness is slowly being lifted!"

The topic completely changed after an old Priest said something.

"Wait, three? Is there someone else?" Radiette asked back in surprise.

"You didn't know? The Heavenly Being Mrs. Maria is also staying here."

"Maria... Is here?"

Radiette's eyes narrowed.

—It was because an unexpected name had come out of the Priest's mouth.

"I'm going to meet her right now."

"Let me guide you."

The Priest bowed. There wasn't an NPC of the Heavens that could refuse a Heavenly Being's request.

Radiette looked at Ain.

"I'll go alone. Is that okay?"

"I don't mind."

As Ain nodded, Radiette followed the Priest through the corridor.

Ain was left alone.

The Priests wanted to talk to the new Heavenly Being, but they couldn't get themselves to do it because it looked like Ain didn't like talking.

Ain was talking with Hyun through whispers.

「Hyun, didn't you say that you have a quest to complete on Iluna? We came here because of that.」

「That's right, Ain. Now is the perfect opportunity.」

「Opportunity?」

「Let's sneak into the temple.」

「Huh...? So suddenly?」

Ain seemed confused by Hyun's sudden words.

「I just got a hunch. It seems like I'll be able to find her here.」

「Who?」

「Hmm… It’d take a long time to explain. I'm going to do it now, so rest for the moment.」

They were lacking time if he wanted to explain to her everything related to Louise from start to finish.

Before Ain could say anything, Hyun used two skills.

«Invisible»! «Acceleration»!

The moment the skills were activated, Ain, who was calmly sitting on the sofa, disappeared.

"She vanished...!"

"Where did she go?"

"She probably had something to do. We don't need to worry about her."

The Priests were surprised after Ain suddenly disappeared, but that was all.

Since they recognized Ain as a Heavenly Being, they thought there was probably a good reason behind her actions.

That's how Hyun could easily reach a place deep within the temple.

「Hyun, do you know where we're going?」

「No, it's my first time here… But I think I know.」

Iluna's only temple wasn't small, even compared to the main temple of the Holy Kingdom.

It was big and luxurious.

It was as if the majesty of the Royal Palace had fused with the church's holiness.

The statues and chandeliers that decorated the hallways were made with transparent crystals.

One could tell the financial power of the Holy Kingdom by looking at how they wasted money on expensive crystals.

'It should be around here… There are no more possible places…!'

Hyun wandered around the insides of the temple.

Thanks to «Invisible» and «Acceleration», Hyun could go through places that were forbidden to even high-ranking Priests.

They’d probably let a Heavenly Being in... But Hyun chose to sneak in just in case.

Ten minutes had passed.

Hyun and Ain reached a place where there wasn't anyone around.

「It's quite dark around here. It looks like an old museum.」

「Judging by the fact that there isn't any dust, it isn't an abandoned place.」

「Fufu... Maybe there's a secret passageway? There's always something incredible around these kinds of places!」

Both of them walked through the empty place.

At first, Ain was looking to see what Hyun would do, but now, she was having fun.

It was because the memories of both of them wandering through unknown places came to her mind.

The dark temple had a mysterious and charming atmosphere.

'If it's now… It should be okay, right?'

Ain suddenly fell into relaxing thoughts.

'It's going to be okay, right?'

Ain was about to take action when suddenly…

Paf-!

Suddenly, flames erupted and spread light through the darkness.

Hyun and Ain looked at the place where flames had appeared.

They saw a girl who was about the same size as Ain standing in an awkward position there.

She had a small flame in the palms of her hands.

"Ah…!"

Paf-!

The unknown girl mumbled some words and quickly smothered the fire in her hands.

They could only hear the girl’s voice in the place that had darkened again.

"D-did you see...?"

"What?" Ain asked while tilting her head.

"My… Magic. Flame is, in reality, an element of the Abyss. However, I can use it by mere coincidence. I'm not of the Abyss, but the Heavens..."

"What?"

Ain, who still couldn't understand, shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't care. I'm also part of the Heavens and can use flames."

After replying that, Ain tried to ignite a fire in her hands.

Crack-!

But instead of that, «Efreet's Claws» came from her hands.

She had forgotten that, because Hyun was using «Assimilation» on her, the skill level had increased and thus evolved.

"Oh, this isn't it."

"H-hic…!"

"Oh?"

The girl started to walk backward after looking at Ain's hands, which had become similar to a monster's.

Surprised, Ain tried to approach her, but that only made the girl collapse.

"Oh, is it because of these…?"

After discovering that the reason behind her reaction was «Efreet's Claws», Ain asked Hyun.

「Hyun, «Disassimilate» for a little while. I was trying to show her another thing… But this weird thing ended up coming out.」

But from the moment Hyun saw the girl, he couldn't properly hear Ain's words.

Was it her?

At first, he had some doubts since her height and face were different from his memories.

But after looking at her reaction, he was sure of it.

The face she made while frightened hadn't changed at all.

'I've found her.'

He was sure of it. The girl in front of him was Louise.

In those five years, she had grown a lot. She was at the same height as Ain.

When they’d first met, she was around 10-years-old, so considering that she was 15, the growth rate was understandable.

"Louise? You're Louise, right?" Hyun asked her using Ain's voice.

But that only made her even more scared.

"N-No... I don't know a person by that name. If you want to kill her, that's another person!"

"What are you talking about? It's obvious you're Louise."

Hyun finally laughed.

He thought it might be fun to tease Louise a little bit more but decided to stop.

It wasn't appropriate to play a joke at a reunion.

To calm Louise down, Hyun took off Ain's gloves and showed her the rune.

"Y-you're a Heavenly Being!"

Then, finally, Louise wiped her tears and stood up.

"Ugh… I thought an enemy had infiltrated… I'm glad you weren't."

"Louise."

"Yes, I'm Priestess Louise."

'Priestess?'

Although an unexpected word came out of Louise's mouth, Hyun started to wonder if she remembered him.

But Hyun was part of the Abyss. He didn't know what would happen if he «Disassimilated» while in the territory of the Heavens.

Radiette was someone very sensitive, so if he became suspicious of them, the situation could worsen.