Chapter 51
“Savior!”
Boom!
Eden pushed me aside to avoid a massive fireball, shouting in an agitated voice.
“Pull yourself together! What are you doing just standing there?!”
The sting in my palm where he shoved me wasn’t nearly as painful as his words piercing through me.
His sharp tone snapped me back to reality, and I murmured softly, “…Sorry.”
I must have been out of my mind for a moment.
Losing focus at such a critical juncture… how could I?
Finally regaining my senses, I turned my gaze toward where Lyria was.
As expected, Lyria was also standing there, staring into space, completely lost.
This sometimes happened to avatars when their connection with their constellation was severed—they’d lose their sense of self.
The closer the bond, the stronger the symptoms.
For Lyria and me, this connection was deeply ingrained.
Lyria, who had always thought of Hestia as a mother figure…
The shock must have been overwhelming.
If I, a grown adult, could barely hold myself together, how much worse must it be for a child like her?
“I’m fine. Take care of Lyria,” I said, forcing a smile to reassure him.
I nudged Eden forward, urging him along.
“Go.”
When I tapped his back again to hurry him, Eden’s face crumpled into an expression of frustration.
“Your hand… it’s hurt.”
Somehow, he’d noticed my palm had been scraped during the push.
“It doesn’t hurt at all.”
I wiped the blood from my palm onto my clothes and gave him a bright smile.
“See? All good now.”
But Eden’s face still showed his dissatisfaction.
“This isn’t the time for jokes. What the hell are you—”
“Eden.”
When I called his name with a much sterner tone, he flinched and froze.
“If you don’t go now, she’s going to cry.”
“…”
“Go. Quickly.”
At my firm words, Eden looked back and forth between me and Lyria before letting out a sigh and running toward her.
“Fine. I’ll be back soon. Stay here.”
Honestly, for all his grumbling, he’s the one who looks after everyone the most.
After making sure Eden had gone, I turned my head.
“…Stay here? As if.”
If this were the kind of place where you could solve things by waiting patiently, I’d be more than happy to oblige.
But unfortunately, I had somewhere I needed to be.
That place was the altar of Fire, glowing with a vivid crimson light.
To be honest, I was terrified.
I knew stepping onto that altar meant no turning back.
As a human, it was only natural to fear flames that seemed ready to consume everything in their path.
For a fleeting moment, I thought about saying I didn’t want to be a sacrifice.
To ask Sienna to take my place instead.
Cowardly thoughts flitted through my mind.
But I knew I’d regret it if I did.
Once you get used to running away, you eventually learn to accept defeat.
I wanted to overcome it.
My own limits.
And this wretched world that kept trying to make me feel insignificant.
One step, then another.
As I got closer to the altar, thick smoke filled the air, and crimson energy surged around me.
Finally, as I stepped onto the altar—
[A new sacrifice has been registered at the Altar of Fire.]
A notification window appeared.
[The target will now be marked by all monsters.]
This was all information I already knew.
Tensing up, I scanned my surroundings.
In the distance, I saw Eden looking betrayed, his expression filled with shock.
Lyria’s face was pale as a sheet.
Even Sylvester, holding his head as if expecting this, was there.
Looking at the three of them trying to rush toward me, I mouthed silently, “Trust me.”
Thankfully, Sylvester seemed to understand. He grabbed the other two by their wrists, pulling them back.
‘Thanks, Sylvester.’
Feeling grateful, I closed my eyes with a newfound sense of calm.
[The target’s fire resistance increases by twice their maximum mana.]
[All stats are doubled.]
As soon as I closed my eyes, I could feel a surge of fiery energy coursing through my body.
Life, strength, and mana radiated from every corner of my being.
I fully embraced and accepted this energy flowing within me.
[Wendy Porcelain]
<HP: 30 / Strength: 26 / Agility: 36 / Mana: 28 + Fire Resistance: 56>
“Huh?”
Something seemed strange.
Even though my stats had doubled, this increase felt excessive.
Besides, weren’t all my stats in single digits the last time I checked?
No, they were definitely in the single digits.
For example, if my HP was previously 9, doubling it should have brought it to 18.
Yet, my current HP was 30, meaning my stats must have been gradually increasing without my notice.
‘That’s odd.’
Despite countless sit-ups and relentless running, my stamina had never increased before. Why had it suddenly risen by six points?
And it wasn’t just stamina—every stat had gone up.
If I had more time, I’d investigate this thoroughly, but for now, I chose to focus on the overwhelming energy filling me from within.
[The target is granted access to use the holy relics!]
As a final notification granting me access to the relics appeared, I opened my eyes cautiously.
To my surprise, an unexpected sight greeted me.
‘Flap, flap.’
A small letter, fluttering its tiny wings, flew straight into my hand as if delivering an important mission.
The letter disappeared the moment it landed in my palm, as though its task was complete.
Then, a new message appeared before my eyes, and I blinked slowly.
{Sorry for the late reply. I was busy dealing with monsters.}
It was a straightforward response from Xenon, albeit delayed due to his battles.
I smiled wryly, skimming through the contents of his message.
{My wish is…}
My smile faded as I read the final line.
{For you to return safely.}
It felt as though his voice lingered faintly in my ears.
But the fleeting sense of warmth didn’t last long.
{Can everyone hear me?}
Sylvester’s voice rang out, reminding us that the fortress siege was far from over.
Startled back to reality, I turned my head.
{We will work together to stop as many monsters as possible from reaching the commander.}
Holding a loudspeaker, Sylvester shouted toward our comrades, likely retrieved from some dusty workshop.
{That’s why we need everyone’s help.}
Thanks to the loudspeaker, his words sounded as though he were standing right beside me.
{Even the smallest, most insignificant effort can create a miracle.}
Meeting his comrades’ gazes, Sylvester continued in a steady voice.
{I believe in miracles.}
A simple statement, but somehow incredibly powerful.
{No, I believe in you.}
His words were more effective than I’d expected.
Sometimes, it’s not a grand solution but sincere words of encouragement that provide the greatest strength.
Especially in moments like this, when spirits waver, and even belief in oneself falters.
“For the commander!”
“Let’s protect her!”
Motivated by Sylvester’s speech, the team cheered loudly and raised their hands high.
“Yeah!!!”
“Let’s create a miracle!”
Watching this unexpected display of unity, I couldn’t help but be slightly astonished.
I had worried that the disappearance of the constellations might have crushed everyone’s morale.
That their shaken resolve would lead to calls for abandoning the fortress altogether.
But seeing their burning determination, I realized my fears were unfounded.
Relieved, I left them to their preparations and approached the relics displayed on the pillars.
In front of me were 12 neatly arranged holy relics.
Thankfully, I didn’t need to choose all of them.
After all, I could only select four.
[Please choose four relics to use!]
‘Wait, I can’t use them all?’
I sighed quietly at this unfair restriction, shaking my head slightly.
Peering at the relics’ descriptions, I noticed only their basic traits were visible unless selected.
After a brief moment of consideration, I reached out to my first choice: Apollo’s Golden Bow.
The moment I extended my hand toward the bow, a notification window popped up.
[Apollo’s Golden Bow has been selected.]
- [Relic] Apollo’s Golden Bow (Replica) / Single-use Item
ㄴ A bow radiating dazzling brilliance.
+Additional Effect 1: Increases fire resistance by 50%.
+Additional Effect 2: Enhances fire affinity by 50%.
+Additional Effect 3: Boosts accuracy rate by 90%.
_
After reading through the bow’s description, I muttered a brief exclamation of admiration.
‘A replica with this level of power…’
With a 90% accuracy rate, missing would practically require effort.
Worried about how I’d manage to use a bow, I felt a sense of relief.
Next, for my second choice…
[Eos’s Solar Bow has been selected.]
It was Eos’s Solar Bow.
—
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