How to Live as the Terminally Ill Younger Sister of the Villain - Chapter 61
It wasn’t because the saint’s holy power was special, but simply because of its large quantity.
“Well, no matter how I think about it, it’s strange that he would willingly tell us that method. Isn’t he trying to pull something after we’ve depleted our holy power?”
“Tsk tsk. You know one thing but not the other.”
The High Priest clicked his tongue and scolded the high priest.
“Why do you think he told us this?”
“…Well, I’m not sure.”
He was being scolded for not knowing, so why ask again?
The high priest answered somewhat sulkily, and the High Priest clicked his tongue again and answered.
“He knows the method, but he can’t break this barrier.”
“Ah!”
The high priest clapped his hands, finally realizing the reason.
“So he’s waiting for us to retrieve the sacred object.”
“That’s right.”
Magic power has the worst compatibility with holy power.
No matter how well one can use magic, it’s difficult to break the barrier here.
Moreover, it requires pouring in an enormous amount of holy power that only a saint might be capable of, so even if the Tower Master persuades a few priests, the seal can’t be broken.
“He intends to use us to break the seal, and then attack to snatch it when we’ve exhausted our holy power.”
“Ah! So that’s how it was! Now I understand. That’s why you, High Priest, said you could trust that information.”
“Tsk tsk. You’ve only just realized that? And you call yourself a high priest.”
The High Priest clicked his tongue, but the high priest just laughed, pleased that his doubts were resolved.
“But we’ve prepared all the holy knights, and mercenaries are set to guard the path to the Grand Temple, so the Tower Master’s efforts will be in vain, right?”
“That’s right.”
The High Priest also chuckled at the High Priest’s words.
“Still, tell them to remain vigilant until the end.”
It was then, as he was adding this warning.
“High Priest!”
Another priest came running in, out of breath.
“The moon has started to eat the sun!”
At this urgent report, one corner of High Priest Wyatt’s mouth curled up slightly.
“Let’s begin the ritual.”
He disappeared outside with them.
“Shall we move too, then?”
And Blake’s group also began to act.
***
At the same time.
Angelina and her group, hiding among the willow trees at the top of the hill behind the building.
They too were looking at the sky. Thanks to the device Angelina had prepared, they could see clearly without hurting their eyes.
The sun was gradually being shadowed.
But the sun was so low, about to disappear beyond the horizon, that at this rate, it seemed the sun would set before the moon could fully eat it.
“At this speed, it looks like the sun will disappear before the solar eclipse occurs.”
Sean spoke, feeling uneasy.
“Yes. It seems so.”
However, Angelina was nonchalant.
“Then doesn’t that mean it fails because the conditions aren’t met?”
Unable to understand her calm attitude, he asked again.
Of course, contrary to appearances, Angelina was quite tense too. You could tell by the way she was fiddling with the old anklet on her ankle, with one leg folded up on the tree.
Touching that anklet, which she couldn’t even remember when she started wearing, was a habit she showed whenever she had a lot on her mind.
Touching it calmed her anxiety.
But Sean, who couldn’t know this, spoke sharply.
“You didn’t deceive us to put His Grace in danger, did you?”
“Hey. Who do you think you’re doubting right now?”
Jake, who was standing by, responded even more sharply to Sean’s pointed question.
Sensing the atmosphere might turn ugly, Angelina waved her hands.
“You seem to have forgotten that one of my people went in with the Duke too. If we’re being strict, that child who’s a mage is in more danger than the Duke.”
Still, Blake had his position, so even if discovered, he would be fine. Their relationship might become strained, but he wouldn’t die.
But Haley, who could be thought of as a minion of the magic tower, could be in mortal danger.
From the beginning, sending Haley instead of Sean was already an act of showing trust in Blake, but Sean didn’t seem to understand this.
“Sir Sean, you’re right. The sun will set before the eclipse is complete.”
“But if that happens……”
Angelina chuckled.
And she slowly recited.
“When the sun is devoured by darkness and the world is dyed in blood, heal the open wound with all your heart. The thorn that hurt me will eventually break.”
The exact inscription on the tombstone.
“When the sun is devoured by darkness……”
Sean repeated this again, raising his head. Now the sun was really almost gone.
“Didn’t you say the High Priest interpreted that inscription to mean that if they inflict a wound on the tree growing from the grave and heal it with a vast amount of holy power, they can obtain the ‘crimson thorn’ sacred object?”
“That’s right.”
Another document said that if you follow the inscription on the tombstone well, one tree branch would fall. That was supposed to be the ‘crimson thorn’.
“They thought that vast amount of holy power meant the saint’s holy power, so they couldn’t retrieve it until now.”
“But doesn’t that mean if the eclipse doesn’t occur properly, the High Priest might not conduct the ritual properly? The High Priest will be waiting for the eclipse……”
Sean said, pointing at the sun.
“Look at that. The moon only covered a part and is now heading in a completely different direction. And the sun is caught on the mountain.”
The eclipse happening today wasn’t a perfect eclipse. The moon and sun had only vaguely overlapped paths, and the moon couldn’t fully cover the sun.
And sunset had already begun.
“I know. But it doesn’t matter. The High Priest will proceed with the ritual anyway.”
No sooner had Angelina finished speaking than an enormous amount of holy power began to burst forth from the ‘tomb’.
“Because he’s that desperate.”
A thirsty person will dig a well.
After setting up this much, there’s no way they’d end it without even trying.
The holy power was so vast that even Sean, who was outside the building, felt momentarily dizzy.
Angelina frowned as she saw him grimacing and shaking his head.
“Haley must be having a hard time.”
“I hope that Mason fellow does well.”
Laura also expressed concern.
Haley’s role was to infiltrate them into that place, extract them, and relay messages as a communication channel.
And Mason’s role was to protect Haley.
Originally, Angelina had planned to send Laura and Jake. But when Blake joined, the plan changed. Haley was sent, and Sean remained.
After all, Catherine had seen Haley, Laura, and Mason along with herself, so it didn’t matter as long as one of the three was there.
“It’s here.”
As they were worrying about Haley, a strong beam of light shot from the roof towards the willow tree where they were.
It hit the tree trunk precisely.
It was condensed holy power.
“Sir Sean, be careful. If you’re pierced by holy power concentrated like that, you’ll really be seriously injured.”
Sean flinched at those words.
Angelina leapt down from the willow tree, cradled in Jake’s arms. Then she received a small dagger from Laura.
“Shall I do it?”
“I’ll do it. It seems fun.”
The beam of holy power shot from the ‘tomb’ was all the holy power of the priests currently performing the ritual there combined.
And the holy power poured into the tree in the center of the building was reflected by the ornaments hanging between the railings.
The holy power, reflected and gathered like this, reaches the glass on the ceiling.
The glass wasn’t just glass.
It was a distorted mirror, and the mirror sent that enormous amount of holy power, condensed into one, to this willow tree behind the building.
And…
“Is this really… the ‘real tomb’ we’re standing on?”
As if he hadn’t believed Angelina’s words until now, Sean asked incredulously as the holy power was shot here exactly as Angelina had said.
Angelina grinned.
“That’s right.”
She tapped the ground with her toes.
“We’re standing on the ‘real’ witch’s tomb right now. And this is the ‘real sacred tree’.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Angelina plunged the knife into where the holy power was concentrated and being shot.
***
One hour earlier.
“I’ll help as much as I can. But how do you plan to break through that tight security and steal the sacred object?”
Blake, who had agreed to raid the holy site, asked.
Angelina shrugged her shoulders and calmly said.
“We don’t need to break through there for the sacred object.”
“What do you mean?”
“The High Priest won’t even get to see the sacred object today.”
“Are you saying the method to break the seal is wrong?”
“No. The method is correct. Well… to be precise, it’s wrong, but it’s right.”
Seeing Blake’s expression of incomprehension at these contradictory words, Angelina added an explanation.
“The High Priest thinks that building is the ‘Witch’s Tomb’ mentioned in the literature. Since there’s a tombstone and a tree growing inside, there’s no reason to doubt the words in the literature.”
Angelina spoke while carefully going over the contents of the original work. This time, she wouldn’t miss anything. She had thought it over many times.
