Uden, seeing the magic circle stained in black, immediately swung her sword.
This wasn’t a mere test strike. It was a single, decisive blow aimed at severing the opponent's neck.
The attack, so brilliant it could be called the pinnacle of swordsmanship, pierced the air like light and flew toward the Void Apostle, cutting through the sound of the wind.
The moment her sword swung, Uden was certain that it had connected.
Her long, accumulated experience. The intuition honed from countless battles. It was this intuition that foretold Uden’s victory.
The reality confirmed that Uden's instincts were correct.
As the Apostle’s body and neck separated, red liquid splattered around.
“But what do you think the Void is, Sword Saint?”
However, the Apostle’s voice did not cease. His head, which had floated into the air and rolled across the floor, was still speaking.
“Many scholars call the Void an empty space. A hellish place devoid of any positive elements that govern the world,” he continued, his disembodied voice ringing out.
“Saint! Lady Partlan! The power...”
“I’m already using it!”
“The energy in this room is too overwhelming!”
From the moment they arrived in this room, both Faebi and Joy had been working to counter the Void's power.
Despite their efforts, they could not expel all the energy, for the Void's influence was far too vast.
Even Faebi, possessing the holiness befitting her title, and Joy, a talented individual sought after by many professors in her department, struggled. The sheer magnitude of the energy was enormous, making it impossible for the two of them to easily dispel it.
Damn it. With this situation, there’s no time to spare. Even if I have to sacrifice a bit, I must disrupt their plans!
With a strained expression, Uden was about to swing her sword again when she noticed that the Apostle’s disembodied head, still rolling on the floor, was filled with arrogance.
“Some others say that the Void is a power not worth discussing. They ask why one should care about an existence that is nothing.”
Once again, Uden’s sword swung. The head, still rolling on the floor, and the Void Followers hidden within were all cut down. Yet the Apostle’s voice continued to echo in the room.
“But that’s not true. The Void is not like that. The Void is purity. It is pure, untainted whiteness.”
As the Apostle’s words continued, the scenery of the room shifted.
Those who had been severed by Uden earlier stood up, unharmed.
The magic circle, which had been stained black, was now a pure white.
The view outside the window, which had darkened, had turned whiter than a snowy field.
The Apostle’s eyes, staring at the group, were now blank, devoid of any color, as if they were empty sheets of paper.
“There are far too many things in this world. Over the long course of time, many things have piled up, making it far removed from purity,” the Apostle continued.
Uden, listening to the Apostle’s ramblings, decided to momentarily stop her attacks.
If I keep attacking blindly, the situation won’t change. It’s just a waste of energy. What is this really? It’s not the same as those fools’ bodies regenerating.
I’ve dealt with these kinds of idiots before. If it were something like that, I would’ve just kept slashing until they couldn’t regenerate and be done with it.
“The many impurities piled on top of purity are now staining the world in black. If things continue this way, everything will be stained black and become irreversibly corrupted,” the Apostle continued.
“So, are you going to blow everything up and reset it?” Uden replied, her voice laced with sarcasm.
“That’s right! Yes! We will start over from this world, and everyone will begin again from purity!”
The Apostle spoke of a world without class, without capital, without discrimination, and without nations.
“Lady Partlan, you were born with privilege, so you wouldn’t understand. I understand! That’s what power is! But the other two... you, Saint, who grew up in an orphanage and experienced hell! You, Sword Saint, who was once a lowly mercenary! You should know just how much the old order was a pile of garbage!”
The Apostle’s voice grew louder, veins bulging from his neck, but neither Faebi nor Uden seemed to be moved.
Faebi looked down at the Apostle’s madness with a pitying gaze, while Uden merely shook her head as if she didn’t even think it was worth responding.
Seeing the looks in their eyes, the Apostle stared blankly for a moment before suddenly bursting into manic laughter.
As the room filled with the sound of his laughter, Joy stepped forward between Faebi and Uden and spoke in a small voice.
“Attacking them now is meaningless. No matter how much we attack, it will all return to the beginning.”
“...Please explain in detail,” Faebi asked.
“It’s the Apostle’s Void power. What just happened has been undone, returned to nothing.”
Joy recalled what Lucy had written in her notes and continued explaining.
The origin of the Void’s power, according to Lucy’s explanation, began with casting oneself into the Void.
Because it is nothing, it can become anything.
Most of the followers can only throw themselves into the Void, and only to a limited extent. But the Void Apostle is different.
The Apostle, favored by the Void God, can turn not just himself, but the phenomena around him into nothingness.
Even if that means his own death.
“Lucy said that there’s a limit to this, but...”
What the Void Apostle was demonstrating now seemed to be far beyond those limits. It was likely because he had been endowed with immense power by the academy’s magic circle.
Not only was he supporting the massive structure of the 100-floor dungeon, but he was also imbuing the academy with positive energy and maintaining a barrier that prevented external intervention. The magic circle’s power was being used to perform what could only be called miracles.
“Lady, if we approach the magic circle, can we sever the connection with him?”
“Theoretically, yes.”
Having learned from Erginnus, the creator of the magic circle, Joy believed that if they could get close enough to the circle, they could sever the connection.
But that alone wouldn’t be enough. With Faebi by her side, dismantling the evil energy infused into the magic circle would be possible.
The real issue, however, was not just approaching the magic circle—it was how to get close to it in the first place. How can one defeat those beings who can turn even death into nothingness and step forward?
“...This is troublesome.”
Uden too found the current situation daunting. Cutting down those in front of her wasn’t the difficult part.
No matter what they did, she was confident she could make everything meaningless.
But what was the point of that? Whatever she did would ultimately become nothing.
Hmm. I guess I have no choice but to keep swinging my sword until the magic circle’s output reaches its limit.
“I think I can be of help.”
Just as Uden and Joy’s faces filled with frustration, Faebi stepped forward.
The warm divinity surrounding her turned the pure white landscape, returning everything to its original color.
Was it possible that even the influence of the divinity couldn’t be ignored? The Apostle’s laughter stopped in an instant, and his eyes narrowed as he glared at Faebi.
“Help? Are you talking about the false Saint created by the Church of the Sun?”
At the Apostle’s words, Joy’s eyes widened, and even Uden turned in surprise. But Faebi remained calm.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Hahaha! What a ridiculous story! What can you do? You, the disgrace of the Sun, what could you possibly do! You should have started from the beginning! In purity, even you, a sinner, could become pure!”
“I refuse. You, nothing.”
Despite the Apostle’s provocation, Faebi smiled. His eyes tightened with anger as he stared at her.
“That trial, that suffering, that sin, all of it has made me who I am now. What would I achieve by turning it all into nothing?”
“Then perhaps your true faith might finally be recognized?”
“You really don’t understand anything, do you? I have already been rewarded by the Sun.”
“...What?”
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Faebi revealed her divinity. It wasn’t the ordinary divinity used by the priests of the Church of the Sun, but the divinity that contained the warmth of the sun itself.
As the great divinity spread outward, the Void’s power retreated, and the pure white scenery began to regain its colors.
“Unlike the petty god you serve, the Sun is infinitely merciful.”
Standing proudly at the center, Faebi smiled confidently as she faced the Void Apostle.
“Enough to embrace this sinful person.”
“...Such arrogance.”
The Void Apostle’s veins bulged as his red eyes glared at Faebi. Yet despite the numerous enemies targeting Faebi, despite facing the Void’s power in various forms, she remained unperturbed.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid of the current situation.
It wasn’t because she didn’t value her life.
It was simply because she believed.
She believed in the great Sun who had just pushed her forward. And in the Apostle of the Sun who had created this entire situation.
“Why do you look so unhappy? According to your words, everything will return to purity, and what I’ve said will vanish, right?”
“If you wish for everything to return to the Void, I will grant it.”
With her enemies’ hostility right before her, Faebi unleashed her magic.
The very same magic that Lucy had once performed miracles with—and now it was Faebi’s.