Chapter 82: The Last of the Sky-Winged
Serie's keen senses picked up on the fact that Olivia had said "the true Goddess," not just "the Goddess."
"What oracle?" Norne asked.
Olivia took out a faintly glowing holy scripture from her robes. "By the oracle of the true Goddess, I have come to heal the chosen one of the future, the one who drew the Divine Right Sword, Org: Rhodes."
"Are you kidding me!?" Eirik raised his longsword. He didn't believe for a second that these bird-people were here out of the goodness of their hearts. They had been trying to kill each other just a short time ago. How could they just shake hands and make up? It was absurd.
"We received a false oracle and were made your enemies. But now, I am here with the sincere desire to help you," Olivia said, her voice full of genuine emotion.
But they didn't believe her. Rhodes was too important to their party. In a way, he was their party. They couldn't just trust that this Sky-Winged woman was here on a mission from the Goddess to heal him. What if she was lying? What if it was just an excuse, and her true mission was to kill him?
"Let her come," Serie said suddenly. "If she tries anything, I'll kill her instantly."
Her mana began to swirl around her. She was not bluffing. Olivia nodded gratefully and, dragging her injured body, made her way to Rhodes's bedside.
She opened the holy scripture with trembling hands and began to cast the most ancient of healing spells.
To their surprise, the light from the scripture was not the usual white of the Sky-Winged, but a soft, golden glow.
As she cast the spell, the residual holy magic in Rhodes's wound began to be purified, bit by bit. His breathing grew steady, and the color returned to his face.
"This is..." Serie noticed that the healing magic Olivia was using was different from any she had seen before.
"The original text of the priestly magic," Olivia said, holding up the scripture. "All the holy spells are recorded here."
After she had finished healing him, she coughed up a mouthful of blood and nearly collapsed. Serie caught her just in time.
"You're gravely injured," she said with a frown. When the Sky-Winged had retreated, Olivia had been one of the few council members who hadn't been seriously wounded. At least, her wings had been intact. But now, she only had one. "What happened?"
Seeing that Rhodes was healed, the group relaxed their guard, though Eirik still watched her every move.
Tears streamed down Olivia's face. "The Sky-Winged... they're... they're finished," she said, and then, in broken sobs, she told them what had happened over the past week.
After their defeat, the Sky-Winged army had been on their way back to the Heavenly Kingdom when they had been ambushed by a demon army. And, to their horror, the demons had been able to use their Divine Strike. In a single blow, the renowned Sky-Winged army had been reduced to ashes. "A thousand warriors... only a dozen survived... and of the Council of Thirteen... I am the only one left."
"The demons can use the Divine Strike!?" Norne asked in disbelief. "How is that possible?"
"I don't know," she said, closing her eyes in pain. "But it is the truth. And their Divine Strike is even more destructive, a dark power that corrodes all that it touches..."
She coughed again, a violent, wracking cough, and blood seeped through her fingers.
Serie quickly examined her. "Her internal organs are ruptured, and her mana is depleted... it's a miracle you're even alive."
"I must obey the Goddess's command," she said with a weak smile, and held the holy scripture out to them. "This... must be given to the one chosen by Org."
The original text of all the holy magic of the Sky-Winged was now right in front of them. Even the emotionally distant Serie couldn't help but be moved.
Just then, Rhodes's eyelids fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was his party, and the Sky-Winged Olivia. Norne quickly explained what had happened.
Rhodes listened in silence. He didn't feel that he had done anything wrong. He had to fight the Sky-Winged to survive. But now, first crippled by him, and then ambushed by the demons, their entire army had been wiped out. The Sky-Winged had been a useful pawn, but once they had outlived their usefulness, the false goddess had simply thrown them away.
"What is..." he said, his voice hoarse, looking at the holy scripture in her hand.
"The original holy scripture of the Sky-Winged, which records all of the divine magic. The Goddess has bestowed it upon you and awaits your arrival in the Godfall Land."
When he took the book, a wave of relief washed over her, and her breathing grew weaker. "The Goddess said... that as it is now, Org cannot truly slay a god. You also need the power of the Holy Right Sword, Athos." And with that, she could hold on no longer and collapsed at his feet. She had already been on the brink of death. To have even made it to him was a miracle. And to heal him, she had used the very last of her mana. Her life was now a flickering candle in the wind.
"The Holy Right Sword, Athos?" Rhodes had never heard of it and looked to Serie.
"It is a secret holy sword of the Great Elven Forest. It is said that only a true saint can draw it." Serie herself had tried once before, and had failed.
Rhodes opened the holy scripture. The woman before him was the only other person who knew the truth. She could not be allowed to die.
"The Sky-Winged's holy scripture is encrypted with divine magic," Serie reminded him. "You must use the power of faith to decipher it and learn the spells within." It was essentially an encrypted grimoire, and only the Sky-Winged knew the password. Even with his talent, he wouldn't be able to learn the spells right away.
"No. This original text has no encryption," he said. In his eyes, the words were perfectly clear; he didn't need to decipher them.
"Let me see!" Serie leaned over, but to her, the text was just gibberish. "What is going on?"
PS: I'm preparing to complete the hero's party, and then we'll begin the journey to slay a god. I'll be rewatching the No Game No Life movie in the meantime.
The weak human race raises the sword of rebellion against the false gods.
Divine blood falls from the sky, and the demons lose their favor.
The human race, looked down upon by all, will finally stand at the pinnacle of the world.
The crowning of two kings, the crowning of a saint, and the journey of a sage.
But the god-slayer will be consumed by the dark tide.
In the Godfall Land, I await the arrival of the one who will announce my death.
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