Free Web NovelIn other words, Muen Campbell had indeed affected time at that moment.
Not reversed it, but paused it?
How long had it paused?
Gaius frowned and calculated briefly...
One second!
Only one second!
The difference between his perception and the time of reality was less than a single short second.
But that one second had already been enough for Muen Campbell to transfer that half of the control core onto Afrella!
“Pulling this on me before you died? Trying to save this girl? But even so, what can that change?”
Gaius was angered. He stepped forward again, and at the same time, an invisible ripple suddenly burst out before him.
It was as if the entire space had folded. Layer after layer of transparent creases began to appear in front of Gaius, and every single crease was a real existing space.
The grand barrier could send Afrella to any place in this city, and Gaius could also rely on himself to instantly arrive at any place in this city. And so, although neither side seemed to have made any movement at all, a chase across layer upon layer of space had already begun within this city.
“The current grand barrier cannot stop me!”
Gaius sped up his movements, and the distance between him and Afrella finally began to shrink at a visible rate.
Terrifying tremors echoed through the void. Around the outer edge of the entire city, more and more cracks appeared, and the whole city seemed to be on the verge of shattering. But Gaius did not care in the slightest.
As long as he could obtain the control hub, he could repair the grand barrier however he wished. But if something this important remained in the hands of this little girl, then his plan truly would die before it was even born!
If millions of souls could not be sacrificed, why would the Evil God give you power? Why would He eat your bait?
He was not stupid!
And if the most important fish refused to bite, then there was no need to even mention the luxurious full-course dinner that came after!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The entire city trembled with Gaius’s fury, swaying on the brink of collapse.
“What do I do... what do I do...?”
Afrella tightly gripped the control hub, so anxious that sweat kept breaking out.
She tried to manipulate the grand barrier, searching for a way to shake off Gaius, but Gaius’s strength was truly too terrifying. He could actually contend against the entire grand barrier alone.
Although the grand barrier could continuously add obstructing space between her and Gaius, this was not without limit. In addition, most of the grand barrier’s power was being used to maintain the city’s independence outside the timeline, so as time passed, it would inevitably fall further and further into a disadvantage.
“I have to think of a way, but...”
What way could I possibly have?
Afrella stared blankly at that swaying wisp of black flame, looking a little lost.
That was right. What way could she possibly have? Although she bore the name of princess, in truth, she was only a fourteen-year-old girl.
She was not strong, and she was not especially clever either.
Her fairly decent talent had already been more or less wasted after so long without training.
Aside from a little courage, she did not seem to have anything worth mentioning.
Even that courage had been given to her by Mr. Bruce.
That was right. Everything was Mr. Bruce...
“Mr. Bruce...”
Thinking of that name, Afrella’s eyes reddened slightly. She instinctively clasped her hands together and prayed in a low voice.
“If you can still see me, please... guide a path for weak and useless me.”
Rustle.
It had only been Afrella’s instinctive prayer, yet it seemed to truly take effect. The wisp of black flame before her suddenly began to sway violently.
First, it abruptly grew much larger, changing from a tiny spark into the size of a fist.
Then, from Gaius’s perspective, it was only a swaying ball of black flame.
But from Afrella’s perspective, a torn page appeared within the fire.
A damaged, blank page.
The page was blank, but under Afrella’s confused gaze, words as bright as blood emerged on it.
[Who are you?]
“Eh?”
Afrella tilted her head in confusion.
“Who am I?”
Who was she?
Of course she was Pero. She was Afrella. She was the youngest princess of the Kingdom.
But... what was this page within the fire, and why did it... ask such a question?
[Who are you?]
The words on the page changed again.
[And why do you pray to Him?]
“Pray?”
Afrella froze, then abruptly startled awake.
That was right.
She was Pero. She was Afrella. She was the youngest princess of the Kingdom.
But there was another identity she had almost forgotten.
She was... His believer.
“I am... the first believer of the Black Sun. The Pope... personally appointed by Him.”
Afrella’s gaze gradually grew firm. As if drawn by something, she answered seriously, word by word, as though reciting holy scripture.
“I am—His representative in the mortal world!”
“...”
The moment her words fell, that ball of black flame swayed fiercely again.
In an instant, Afrella felt some kind of blessing descend upon her. It was very faint, but it truly existed.
The sensation of the black flame instantly became clear. It was still that same coldness, yet it was incredibly gentle.
[Then go do what you ought to do.]
The words on the page changed.
[Your Holiness.]
Rustle.
The sound of turning pages vanished beside Afrella’s ear. That ball of fire suddenly contracted again, then slowly descended.
Afrella stretched out both hands, lifted it up, and raised it high, as if raising a holy crown.
Just like last time, this wisp of flame did not come from Muen.
It came from... her.
But since this wisp of flame still existed, that proved one thing.
The spark had not gone out.
Therefore, what she needed to do was let this spark blaze!
“Come.”
Buzz—
A sharp sound suddenly rang out, like metal scraping against metal, and like the piercing noise made by some sort of amplification device.
But this sound did not only appear inside this small safe house. It appeared throughout the entire royal capital!
“What are you trying to do?”
Gaius suddenly sensed something. His expression turned hideous in an instant, and terrifying power surged around him as he tore through the layers of space obstructing him at an even faster speed.
But he was still stopped.
Stopped by the final second that Muen had frozen before his death.
No matter how furious he was, it was useless.
“Nothing.”
Afrella’s eyes calmed. She was no longer afraid, and no longer panicked.
She understood what she had to accomplish, and so her entire body seemed to be plated in a layer of sacred radiance.
Although that matter was so far beyond reason, she did not feel there was anything wrong with it.
She believed it from the bottom of her heart, just like last time, and the time before that... those several thousand times!
“I only... wish to fulfill my duty.”
“Duty? What duty? What duty could you have? You are only a fourteen-year-old little girl!”
Gaius said furiously, “Do not do something so meaningless. Do not forget that the Kingdom’s authority is in my hands.”
“No.”
Afrella shook her head.
“The me right now is not trying to become King.”
“What?”
Not King?
Then for what?
Gaius frowned. He could not understand.
By common sense, no matter what extraordinary goal this little girl had, she should not be able to affect his plan.
But for some reason, an ominous premonition rose in his heart.
That premonition was powerful, forcing him to launch attack after attack.
Yet for some reason, the grand barrier seemed to have suddenly become much sturdier, causing his progress to slow instead.
“Then watch from there, Holy Lord of Salvation Gaius.”
Afrella said, “—as the audience member in the special seat.”
“...”
The familiar words nearly made the corners of Gaius’s eyes split open, but aside from intensifying his assault on the grand barrier, he truly had no other method.
He could only watch as Afrella finished speaking and knelt upright on the ground.
Her hands were clasped together, and her head was slightly lowered.
She looked like the most devout believer.
No. She was a believer.
“Everyone of Saint Blancfazesiya.”
She spoke.
That young but firm voice echoed throughout the entire royal capital with the spread of the grand barrier.
From the west gate of Saint Haze Palace to the docks of the Posis district.
From the ruined Hall of Rituals to the lonely, deserted cathedral.
From the nameless graveyard to the chaotic battlefield.
Every place in this city, every corner, could clearly hear that voice.
And so, all the people still struggling desperately in this city instinctively raised their heads, following that voice.
The elderly.
Children.
Men.
Women.
Nobles.
Commoners.
The slaughterers.
The slaughtered.
Those fleeing in every direction.
Those on the edge of despair.
Even the controlled soldiers stopped moving under the influence of some power at this moment and listened closely.
The city suddenly fell silent, and even the process of destruction was forcibly stalled.
“I am Afrella. Afrella Saint Peron. I am a princess bearing royal blood, and a legitimate heir to the royal family.”
“Here, on behalf of the royal family, I offer all of you, the people of this nation, my most sincere apology.”
At this point, Afrella’s voice trembled slightly.
“My royal father, the King of this country, Saint Peron V. Because of his selfish desires, because of his brutality, because of his debauchery, pushed this country, this city, to such a state, pushed it to the brink of destruction.”
“He... was a sinner. And so am I. Because just now, I killed him with my own hands. As his daughter, as a citizen, I killed my own father with my own hands. I killed my own King with my own hands.”
“Regicide. Patricide. These are unforgivable crimes. I know that once such sins are revealed, I will have no qualification to become King.”
“But I no longer care.”
Afrella finally could not quite control herself and choked up. But she still continued.
“I am not saying these things to beg forgiveness from all of you. I also know that I do not have that right.”
“I am only here, in the name of Saint Peron that has not yet been stained by sin, to pass on to all of you a method of salvation. The only method that can save you, save this city, and save this country.”
Hearing the word “salvation,” faint light appeared in the eyes of countless people in the city.
A faint light of hope.
“Everyone, please listen to me...”
“In the not-so-distant past, there was a person who once tried to save this city.”
“Once, twice, again and again. Although no one remembers. Although those pasts were all annihilated in the long river of time. Although doing so brought him no benefit whatsoever, and even that achievement would not be remembered by anyone. Although he was called a sinner, a villain, a demon by many people...”
“He still repeated it again and again, repeating it like a fool, only to save this city that had nothing to do with him.”
“Even now, he has not given up.”
“So...”
“Everyone in the city, everyone of Saint Blancfazesiya, in the name of Afrella Saint Peron, I beg you.”
“If you are facing despair with nowhere left to go, if you still care about this country and do not wish to see it destroyed like this, if you feel that the person who tried again and again, like a fool, to save this country... is worthy of being called a hero, a savior.”
“Then...”
Afrella took a deep breath, using all her strength to shout that one sentence.
“Please pray to the Black Sun!”
