"Helant, no… you really will die." Mino clung desperately to him, her body trembling as sobs wracked her frame and tears streamed unchecked down her cheeks.
The focus sharpened instantly—not on the mysterious Holy Domain God Lord itself, but on the lethal cost of invoking him.
Seeing Mino's fierce, tear-streaked opposition, both Zinedine and Quaiesse grasped the gravity in an instant.
Ignoring the ring of expectant, hopeful faces from the surrounding defenders and adventurers, Quaiesse fixed Mino with a solemn stare. "Miss Mino… you just said Sir Helant will die if he does this?"
Summoning the Holy Domain God Lord would claim Helant's life. That single, brutal truth eclipsed everything else.
Mino gently cupped Helant's pale cheek, forcing down her grief to speak clearly. "Sob.. Yes. Without sufficient Faith Power to anchor the descent, forcibly summoning the Holy Domain God Lord places an unbearable burden on the summoner's body and soul."
Her gaze snapped toward the distant Lich King, once-soft eyes now sharp as daggers, burning with murderous intent—as though she could carve the abomination into oblivion with sheer will alone.
"But that sneak attack… it ravaged Helant's vitality. In his current state, forcing the summoning is nothing short of suicide."
With that, she pulled Helant tighter against her chest and turned her face away from the crowd, refusing to speak further. Her silence spoke volumes.
The words landed like stones in still water, rippling outward to drown everyone in guilt and bitter inner conflict.
They needed this young man—this apparent beacon of hope—to offer his life so theirs could continue.
Yet the instant that selfish thought surfaced, whatever scraps of conscience remained recoiled in shame.
Not one defender or adventurer dared lift their eyes to meet Helant's.
"Cough..The Holy Domain God Lord once taught, 'Human supremacy above all.' We ..cough.. must be willing to sacrifice for the greater good of our kind." Helant struggled upright, leaning on Mino for support. His gaze swept gently over the assembled crowd—soft, understanding, almost forgiving.
Wherever those calm eyes fell, guilt-stricken faces flinched away, heads bowing lower until chins nearly touched chests.
Seeing their shame, Helant continued quietly. "Of course… I intend to use my death to summon the Holy Domain God Lord and slay this Demon God once and for all."
His voice remained gentle, almost serene—yet it crushed the majority present. Heads bowed so low that faces vanished entirely behind shoulders and helms.
Helant truly embodied such selfless greatness. Zinedine felt a rare pang of genuine emotion stir within him, but he ruthlessly suppressed it. Remaining pragmatic, he ordered through the link, "Quaiesse—ensure you extract Helant the moment an opportunity arises. The people of E-Rantel are not worth his sacrifice."
The words lingered in Quaiesse's mind like lead, darkening his already grim expression further.
He had already maneuvered the griffon farther from the walls, positioning for a clean Reverse Teleportation once safely distant from E-Rantel.
"However…" Helant's soft voice carried a trace of self-deprecating laughter, "I also do not wish to throw my life away meaninglessly."
A spark of relief flashed through Quaiesse's eyes. Had Helant finally come to his senses?
Of course.. a man of his caliber wouldn't die pointlessly for a mere city's worth of commoners.
Quaiesse's gaze swept the walls. Expressions shifted rapidly: from guilt and desperate hope, to disappointment, resignation, and the cold certainty of impending death.
Some even thought privately: He's already done more than enough—holding back the undead tide alone, now mortally wounded for our sake.
A man like him has a future far brighter than this frozen grave. Why should he die here?
Despair crept back in, thicker than before.
Observing the shift, Helant's faint smile widened ever so slightly—almost imperceptibly. "Therefore… when I summon the Holy Domain God Lord, I ask that you all chant His title with true sincerity in your hearts."
Whoosh.
Heads snapped up as one. The dull haze in dozens of eyes flared suddenly with renewed light—then clouded with confusion.
Why summon the deity to save them if it meant Helant's death?
They stared at the handsome, wounded young man with desperate expectation, silently pleading for clarity.
"Cough..The Holy Domain God Lord teaches that life is precious and hard-won—it must be cherished." Helant straightened as best he could, each word ringing clear and deliberate despite his weakness. "E-Rantel holds over a hundred thousand souls. There is only one of me—Helant. Sacrificing one to preserve so many… that is.. cough.. that is worth it."
The defenders and adventurers felt the words strike deep. Hot tears welled in hardened eyes; throats tightened with emotion. They were profoundly moved by this spirit of noble sacrifice.
But before gratitude could find voice, Quaiesse exploded forward, face livid with fury. "I do not agree! Helant—you are a genius capable of Ninth-Tier Magic, an alchemist who produces God's Blood itself! Your value eclipses every soul in E-Rantel combined!"
His chest heaved as he glared at the crowd—soldiers, adventurers, all of them—daring any to contradict him.
Helant had utterly won Quaiesse over. The man's unshakeable resolve to sacrifice for others was precisely why he could not be permitted to perish here—not even for an entire city.
Quaiesse's aura—beyond mere Hero-class—pressed down like an invisible weight, forcing every head to bow once more.
Helant gently disentangled himself from Mino's support and staggered to Quaiesse's side. Placing a steadying hand on the man's shoulder, he spoke softly. "The Holy Domain God Lord teaches that all human lives hold equal worth. There is no 'not worth it.'"
"But—" Quaiesse began to protest, only to meet those deep blue eyes—firm, resolute, unshakable.
He knew argument was futile.
Helant turned back to the assembled crowd, voice gentle yet carrying to every ear. "As I said… I do not wish to die either. That is why I need your help."
Help with what?
At last, people dared meet his gaze. Even the smallest aid felt like it might lighten the crushing guilt bearing down on their souls.
Helant looked out into the night toward the Lich King—its form wreathed in eerie blue flames that seemed to devour warmth itself—and drew a steadying breath. "The Holy Domain God Lord is a mighty deity... cough.. What sustains any god is Faith.. the bridge linking divine essence to the mortal realm."
"If, during the summoning, you silently chant His divine name in your hearts with true sincerity… the Faith Power generated may ease my burden enough for me to survive."
He turned back to them, expression utterly sincere. "Is that… alright?"
"Yes!"
The response erupted as one—a thunderous roar that vented every ounce of frustration, fear, and pent-up anguish from the long, harrowing night.
The sound rolled across the battlefield, loud enough to reach even the distant Lich King.
A grotesque, oversized grin split its skeletal face. "Kekeke~~ The ten minutes are up. The banquet… begins."
Abruptly, every trace of lingering warmth fled the air. Cold surged back with vicious intensity. Countless snowflakes—sharp as microscopic blades—drifted down relentlessly, slicing at exposed skin and armor alike.
Woosh!
The azure flames around the Lich King roared higher, and its once-partially illusory form began to solidify, growing more oppressively real with each passing second.
It took one deliberate step forward—coming to claim its feast.
_____
If you are still wondering, Helant's character is loosely based on Gu Changge. Hehehe~~
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