Lumi's Plan

"Hellfire."

"Unlike normal fire ignited from mana, hellfire is caused by the concentration of malevolence mixing with dark mana gathered from the environment. Hellfire can be produced by warlocks, who utilize black magic by using dark mana. However, normal sorcerers cannot utilize this energy…"

The archmage of the Aclarian kingdom walked amid the destruction caused by the saintess.

"Archmage…! The situation has now gone out of hand! Aclaria's infrastructures, the citizens—"

"Have they been evacuated?" The Archmage simply retorted.

"Y-yes," the mage replied.

"Then that's enough. What about the king?"

"He's coming this way," said the Supreme Mage, "He said he wishes to be of help."

"How foolish," the archmage exclaimed as he continued to walk to the aisle of the Aclarian streets. As he passed through the street, he easily kills the monsters with a simple lift of his black staff.

The archmage's black eyes darted to the corpse of the saintess.

"Is there still no response from the archmage of Estela?"

"N-no, there hasn't been. It seems like they're deliberately ignoring our messages…"

The Estelan Archmage sighed.

"That woman…"

**

The damage sustained from the hellfire was immense. Siegren ran with Lumi, searching for a place that would be less saturated with malevolent power and hellfire.

--Earlier--

"Here's the plan. To get the numen, we'll have to go to the saint somehow," Lumi exclaimed as the two of them ran.

Siegren listened, fighting monsters as he clears the path for the two of them.

"I could materialize a tall platform that could lift you up to the saintess, but that would require an ample amount of divinity—and I'm almost at my limit."

"So!" Lumi stopped, facing Siegren. "We have to somehow get to a place where the malevolence isn't thick enough. Earlier, when I was getting farther away from the saintess, there are places where the miasma isn't thick. This means that the miasma isn't evenly dispersed."

"If we find that spot, you can use your sword to absorb the malevolent power just like what you did in the underground dungeon. Then, after that, I'll call for the blessing of the goddess while you ward off the monsters."

--

"Siegren," said Lumi. "You have to remember. We have to do this as quick as we could."

Lumi wasn't even sure what time it was—if it was day or night. But it would be better if it was daytime, wherein when the mantle is cleared up, most of the monsters below could be exterminated due to sunlight.

As the two of them reached a spot a little farther away from the saintess, Siegren closed his eyes to oversee the Border, evaluating whether the malevolent is much more dispersed or not.

"Here," Lumi said. "The miasma is less heavy."

Siegren then lifted his greatsword, then buried it into the ground, standing upright. The soulless began to absorb the enmity scattered in the atmosphere.

Lumi then clasped her hands to pray as she chants the liturgy in her mind. Golden light flickered in her hands as she slowly gathers the blessing from the goddess.

As the soulless absorbs the miasma and Lumi chants her prayers, Siegren firms his stance as he vigilantly stands before a swarm of monsters who had been attracted by the divinity wafting in the air.

He then clenched his fist, channeling the malevolence around the air as he utilizes it to his own body.

Siegren felt a sharp pang of pain from the double-edged ability he harbors.

But that doesn't matter now.

He then advanced to the monsters who came to attack him.

Gravesnares crawled towards the ground on all fours; their mouth gaped wide, ready to bite on his flesh. Their protruding spine cracked as they speedily walked their way toward Siegren, but he was able to stop them instantly by kicking them sideways in one swift motion that sent them flying back to where they came from.

Morphed mutants then reproached Siegren, but he avoided their fists with his agility. He then gave each of the morphed mutants an uppercut and kicks, sending them into enraged strife.

As Siegren continued to ward off the monsters from Lumi, golden light gleamed from her, gaining attention from the corpse.

Siegren noticed the soulless ring inaudibly, like a pulsating vibration that can only be detected by him; he then glanced towards the sky, noticing that the hollow eyes of the corpse now gleamed purple, glancing to their direction—no.

It has noticed Lumi's divine light!

Siegren then lifted the soulless as he saw the corpse's bony finger pointed at them. The mist around the corpse gathered into the tip of its index finger, generating enough dark mana to create a hellfire.

"Siegren," said Lumi, eyes opening as a magic circle with unknown golden inscriptions marked to the ground below them, teeming with divinity.

From that magic circle rose a pillar that lifted the two, ascending them into the firmament.

Rising above and beyond the edifices was the golden pillar from materialized divinity.

"I can only hold this for so long, Siegren…" Lumi exclaimed. "This pillar wouldn't last for a minute or two."

Lumi then propelled her hand forward, materializing a bridge that was leading to the corpse of the saintess.

"Go," Lumi uttered; voice hoarse as she tries to hold the platform from collapsing.

Siegren nodded, running through the materialized bridge of divinity as he advanced toward the saintess. He ran forward, meeting an even thicker mist of malevolence. The bridge stops at a certain point where the darkness has shrouded the entirety of the space.

Siegren then jumps away from the platform, landing on one of the thick chains that held the saintess.

The darkness mixed with purple haze almost clouded his vision—but his grey eyes were set on one thing.

The glowing purple light amid the darkness.

The numen of the fallen god.

"Finally," he said, reaching to the purple light.

But then, a deafening scream resounded as the chains rattled, making him almost lose his balance.

The dark haze slowly cleared as a more purple hue encompassed the vicinity.

Up close, he met the corpse's hollow eyes gleaming with a mauve glow.

The corpse's mouth gaped open, as it let out a scream.

Siegren held his greatsword rigidly, grabbing the corpse's neck as he positions his sword to strike.

But then…