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There were exceptions, though, such as Alicia, who became more energetic the more she stayed up late.

Roel’s sleep quality had been decent over the years. Grandar and the others kept an eye out for his safety, so he didn’t have to keep his guard up at all times… though things were a little weird this time around.

He opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. He was in a mostly dark room, lit only by specks of flickering light that occasionally cast a shadow on his face. He scanned his surroundings, but he didn’t lose his composure.

He knew where he was.

Back when he was still attending Saint Freya Academy, as one of the Ringbearers, he was privy to the details of some of the ongoing research. One of them involved a magic tool that monitored one’s vital signs, reminiscent of a modern-day ICU. It looked like it was finally being put to use.

The familiar magic tools around him sent a wave of nostalgia through Roel, making him feel as if he had returned to his academy days.

However, he couldn’t help but be confused by his current condition. It was not that he was in a terrible state; it was the opposite, actually. He was in an unbelievably good condition.

It was a stretch to say that he was invigorated, but he was faring much better than he had expected. Compared to the last time he fainted after undergoing Sia-fication, during which even opening his eyes was a struggle, he was healing ridiculously fast this time.

Wait a moment. I can’t have gone back in time or anything, right? Roel wondered.

Before he could dwell too much on it, Edavia suddenly appeared out of thin air, smiled at him, and said, “You’re finally awake. How are you feeling?”

“Not too bad.” Roel’s heart was put at ease by Edavia’s smile, and his hastened heartbeat calmed down.

Edavia nodded in relief as she remarked, “It’s a good thing you received Sia’s mana, or else things could have gotten troublesome.”

“Were my injuries severe?”

“‘Severe’ is an understatement. Sia-fication is too much of a burden for any soul to bear. Your soul becomes tattered each time you resort to it. Even as you recover from it, damage of this extent will leave a trauma on your soul, lengthening your downtime with each use.”

“I see… I really ought to thank Sia the next time we meet.” Roel recalled his encounter with Sia at the Divine Altar and felt a surge of gratitude toward Her.

However, Edavia was taken aback by those words. “Thank Sia? What do you mean?”

“Ah! I haven’t told you about it yet. Back when I made a breakthrough to Origin Level 1, I was brought to the Divine Altar, where I met Sia. She bestowed Her mana on me, which was why…”

“Hold on! You’re saying you met Sia?”

Edavia interrupted Roel in agitation halfway through his recount. It was rare for her to show such an expression, but Roel understood where she was coming from and nodded with a smile.

Sia held special significance to Edavia, occupying an important position in her heart.

Roel continued his account, and he couldn’t help but recall Sia’s motherly warmth. That filled him with fondness for Her. To his surprise, Edavia frowned upon hearing his account.

“That’s impossible. Sia has long since passed away. Putting aside the question of whether it’s possible for Her to leave a remnant of Her power, it should be impossible for Her to converse.”

“There’s nothing impossible about it. I saw Her with my own eyes.”

“Could it be a projection of the past or something?”

“No, that’s impossible. Her presence is unmistakable,” Roel replied affirmatively.

Even so, Edavia still refused to accept it. “It could be a dream.”

“There’s no way it could have been a dream… Dreams can only reveal what a person already knew, but I have never been to the Divine Altar or heard about it before. I only learned about its existence through Sia’s words.”

“But this…” Edavia still found it hard to come to terms with it.

“It’s not that far-fetched of an idea for Sia to have left remnants at important places. My ancestor, Ro Ascart, used that method to leave a message for me. If he’s able to do so, it should be possible for Sia to do the same.”

“…It’s not that simple. Even the smallest fragment of Sia’s soul harnesses a tremendous amount of power. She’d risk destabilizing the world if She recklessly severed Her soul. It’s unlikely for Her to have done something like that,” Artasia murmured in uncertainty, as if considering other possibilities but to no avail.

Roel was put at a loss. He had to concede Edavia’s words made sense, but he couldn’t think of any other possibilities regarding this matter. Supposing that the Sia he met was a fake, how did the fake bestow upon him Sia’s mana?

It was a baffling situation, but Roel decided not to dwell too much on it. He turned his attention toward another matter and asked, “By the way, Edavia, I felt much more clear-headed when I woke up this time, as if I had slept for a long time. Do you know what’s going on?”

“…” Duh, it’s because you really slept for a long time, not to mention that it was a really deep sleep. You literally fell asleep while you were already asleep!

Edavia stared weirdly at Roel for a few seconds before replying, “It might be because you had a good sleep. Your soul got plenty of rest.”

“Oh? This has never happened before. Is there a secret to it?”

“…” Edavia’s expression stiffened once more, as she found herself at a loss as to how she should answer the question. Even her eyes started to shift around unnaturally.

Secret? The secret is that you fell for the Witch Queen’s sleeping spell! You almost got taken advantage of, and you’re still praising the culprit?

Edavia seriously considered whether she should tattle on the Witch Queen here.

She had taken up the responsibility of protecting Roel’s soul when they made their contract, but this was only against enemies and not allies. The ancient gods were still free to summon Roel when they needed to, which was why Artasia faced no trouble dragging his soul into her domain.

Now that I think about it, the Witch Queen is the one responsible for this situation. I don’t think I can be faulted for anything. In fact, I was the one who brought him back! I don’t have to feel so nervous about this matter!

Edavia didn’t truly understand the significance of a kiss, having only read about it in her books. She didn’t think that there was a need for Artasia to hide anything, as her only wrongdoing was casting a sleeping spell on Roel. Given their relationship, that wasn’t a big deal.

Having thought things through, Edavia heaved a sigh of relief. Her eyes focused once more on Roel, as she began revealing the truth with a smile: “Actually, Arta–”

“!”

A surge of mana suddenly burst forth from Roel’s body and severed Edavia’s window within a split second.

“Ah?” Roel widened his eyes as he sensed something was amiss, but before he could react, Edavia had already vanished into thin air. Then, the Witch Queen manifested in front of him, short of breath.

“Hu, hu, hu…”

“Artasia?” Roel asked in bewilderment, not knowing what Artasia was up to.

The Witch Queen shuddered upon hearing Roel’s voice. She slowly turned to look at him, revealing the fluster in her madder-red eyes.

Roel was perplexed. He could tell that Artasia was the one who had severed Edavia’s window, and that made him wonder if a conflict had broken out between the two of them. Knowing that he was going to ask about it, Artasia blurted out the first thing she could think of.

“…The Savior.”

“What?”

“T-the Savior has awakened. You should be able to sense it too,” Artasia said as she forced herself to calm down. Ironically, the Savior was truly her savior in this instant.

Roel’s expression turned grave, as he immediately understood her words.

The room he was recuperating in was concentrated with mana, thanks to the magic tools operating around him, but he could sense a heavy and cold aura in this mana that induced vexation—it was the Savior’s aura.

“Why would the Savior’s mana appear here? Isn’t the entrance to the Abyss located at the Ancient Austine Empire’s Capital Cathedral?” Roel murmured with a frown.

As the entrance to the Abyss was located far away from humankind, he had thought that it would take a while before the threat of the Savior reached them. No matter how powerful the Savior was, His influence was bound to be diminished when He was far away.

Yet, as soon as the Savior awakened, the land they dwelled on immediately became a den for evil cultists.

This filled Roel with an ominous feeling. He looked at Artasia, and the latter nodded.

“He has moved.”

“!”

Roel couldn’t believe his ears. Before he could probe deeper into the matter, he heard footsteps outside.

“You should ask them for more details,” Artasia said before leaving in a hurry.

The door opened, and a tired-looking Antonio entered the room. He wasn’t surprised to see Roel awake, though he heaved a sigh of relief before asking, “You’re awake, Roel. How are you feeling? Any discomfort anywhere?”

“I think I’ve recovered pretty well. Principal Antonio, how long was I asleep for?”

“Not too long—three days.”

“Three days?” The world has changed so much in just three days?

Roel clenched his fist, as he struggled to accept how turbid the surrounding mana had become in just three short days. He was forced to concede yet again that the Savior was a formidable adversary.

“What happened over the past three days? How are Alicia and Carolyn? How did the surrounding mana get so turbid?”

“…” Antonio looked at the anxious Roel, not knowing where he should start from. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before replying, “You need not be worried about Alicia. Her soul has completely stabilized. She woke up once not too long ago, and she’ll likely be fully healed the next time she wakes up.”

“That’s good to hear. What about Carolyn?”

“Lord Carolyn’s situation is a bit more complicated. Her treatment went well, but the recent disaster has polluted all of the mana at the eastern border. That hinders her recovery by a bit,” Antonio replied with a frown.

“So, what in the world happened? Could it be…”

“Yes, the Savior has awakened.”

“…” Roel fell silent upon receiving confirmation of the matter.

Antonio didn’t continue right away either, as if to give Roel time to take in the shocking news. Heavy silence crushed the room. It was a few moments later that Antonio finally carried on, “The incident happened two nights ago. There was an unbelievable mana pulsation from Tark Prairie, and the Savior’s aura began to leak. It only took a few hours for the mana to turn this turbid.”

“Did the Savior finally crawl out of the Abyss?”

“No, he hasn’t fully awakened yet, but the situation may be worse.”

“Pardon me?” Roel was surprised.

Antonio took a moment to consider his words before explaining, “What appeared on Tark Prairie isn’t the Abyss but the entire imperial capital.”