Church.
The morning sunlight passed through the stained-glass windows, spilling onto the marble floor and scattering a patch of soft, colorful spots of light.
This place was originally where people sought spiritual solace, and where people expressed loyalty and reverence for their faith.
But now, it was used to house a corpse.
The head of the Kaslana family, Kallen’s biological father, and also Schicksal’s strongest warrior: Francis Kaslana.
To protect Otto and Kallen, he activated the 0th rated power of the Key of Destruction, the Judgment of Shamash—Cleansing Flame.
The price was his life.
Holy white flowers crowded around the coffin, the young maiden kneeling weakly beside it, her ears filled with her incessant and hoarse sobbing.
Otto looked at this scene before him, silent.
After he was truly able to walk, he and Kallen had once witnessed Francis fighting against the Honkai with their own eyes.
That posture of protecting the people and the heroic back once gave him a great sense of security.
The hero was invincible, bringing holy judgment down upon monsters of all kinds, yet now he had turned to ashes in the Cleansing Flame.
Otto was unwilling to believe this fact, until he smelled the scent of charred carbon drifting from the coffin—a smell that no amount of fresh flowers could ever mask again.
Listening to the weeping by his ear, he painfully pondered whether he and Kallen would also meet such an end.
Above all this, would the “world” in his eyes also collapse?
The youth’s eyes trembled, subconsciously looking toward the young man beside him, only to be met with a chuckle that was incomparably familiar to him.
” Otto, you wouldn’t want Kallen to be sad either, would you?
” As a Shenzhou person in Europe, Lucien spoke in his hometown dialect from the Far East.
His original intention was to make Otto feel more relaxed.
But the speaker meant nothing by it, while the listener took it to heart.
Otto withdrew his gaze looking toward Lucien and looked at Kallen.
Also?
His expression became slightly gloomy, yet he pursued the question without hesitation:
” Can you resurrect Kallen’s father?
What price needs to be paid?
”
” Uh, that’s effortless.
”
Lying, how could such a thing not require paying a price?
Perhaps it was trading a life for a life?
Then, his life should probably work too, right?
Thinking he had guessed the answer, Otto stepped toward Kallen.
Seeing this, Lucien, who hadn’t guessed what his foolish boy was thinking about all this time, scratched his head.
At this moment, there was no one around, and the timing was just right, so he no longer dawdled and reached out to mimetically create Black Abyss White Flower.
Bringing back the dead was beyond him, but saving someone on the verge of death who wasn’t completely burned away was still doable.
” Kallen, ” Otto walked to Kallen’s side with a determination to die, hiding his jealousy, ” your father will come back to life.
”
Suddenly, a brilliant golden light fell from the dome, enveloping Francis’s coffin.
” As long as I use my own life in exchange…
as long as it can make both of you happy, I…
”
” Slap—!!
”
Before he could finish his words, a crisp slap interrupted him.
” Ungh…
” Otto was slapped dizzy, his train of thought cut off.
Kallen withdrew her hand, holding back her tears as she stared intently at Otto, ” What are you talking about!
My father protected you not for you to do such foolish things!
”
With those words, her tears burst forth like a broken dam, and she could no longer control her emotions.
Otto covered his face, staring fixedly at Kallen in a momentary daze.
He hadn’t expected that he was so important in Kallen’s heart.
Right at this moment, a pair of large hands embraced him and Kallen from left and right, pulling them into a warm embrace.
Lucien’s helpless and exasperated voice fell into the ears of the two:
” Kallen slapping you is not the least bit excessive.
You foolish boy, have you eaten something dirty lately?
What the heck are you randomly thinking about all day long?
Look— ”
Hearing this, the two of them looked in the direction he pointed.
They saw that Francis, who should have been dead, was now lifting the coffin lid and rising.
His body, which had originally been burned to charred carbon, had also become completely intact, as if he had been reborn.
Ah?
Francis couldn’t figure out what was going on and scratched his head.
Kallen’s tears were still suspended on her pretty face, and for a moment she didn’t know whether she should still cry or not.
Otto hurriedly checked Lucien’s body, but found nothing amiss, so he ended up dumbfounded as well.
[ Inside the church, the three people other than you wore different expressions, all looking dumbfounded together.
]
[ The resurrected Francis felt his mind was in chaos, truly unable to clearly figure out what kind of situation was unfolding right now.
]
[ Otto and Kallen both huddled in your arms, shocked by your heaven-defying ability to resurrect the dead so casually.
]
[ For a moment, they didn’t even have time to mind Francis, focusing entirely on worshipping and revering you together…
]
[ And with a smile on the corners of your lips, you concealed all the pain within your body.
]
[ Just like when you transmigrated and were eroded by the Honkai without uttering a single sound, you were very good at this. New chapters come out on g.com first.
]
[ Unnoticed by anyone, your body had become much more transparent in the warm, slanted sunlight.
]
[ The reason you stepped in to save Francis was very simple.
]
[ First, you didn’t want Kallen to lose her father at a young age.
]
[ This feeling was very painful; you had experienced it firsthand, so you didn’t want her to be as sad as you were back then.
]
[ Second, Francis had only unleashed Cleansing Flame to protect Otto and Kallen.
]
[ If he hadn’t done that, then you should have launched an immensely awesome attack back then to annihilate all the Honkai Beasts.
]
[ Even if no one would blame you, you yourself were still unwilling to be indebted to Francis.
]
[ Besides, as long as one is alive, some things can never be avoided.
]
[ You wanted Otto and Kallen to be happy, you wanted to protect everything you cherished, and you would inevitably carry your understanding and practice the path you yearned for.
]
[ Since that was the case, there was no escaping the consequence of using your ability.
]
[ The ability on your body was never any kind of amulet; if you didn’t use it when it should be used, wouldn’t it lose its meaning?
]
[Ultimately, the time you had left to exist was abruptly shortened by another chunk.]
[Life cast endless interrogations upon you, asking whether you had the courage to shoulder everything, and whether you were prepared to welcome your own end.]
[At this, you only chuckled softly, your gaze toward Otto and Kallen inadvertently holding a bit more tenderness.]
[Haven’t you already said it, you had been prepared long ago.]
[…]
[The news of Francis returning from the dead caused quite a sensation among the two great families, Apocalypse and Schariac.]
[Even within the quarters of the Kaslana Family, there was endless discussion.]
[Everyone could not resist the temptation of immortality, wanting to pry the information they desired from Francis’s mouth.]
[Yet Francis was, after all, the head of the Kaslana, a living head of the Kaslana, and the strongest warrior of the present day.]
[Everyone who coveted his secret of returning from the dead ultimately returned empty-handed, leaving behind only sighs.]
[Of course, part of the reason was that even he himself didn’t know anything.]
[In the end, the matter concluded with a rousing speech from this Kaslana head.]
[He attributed the entire event to his good constitution, calling on everyone to attach importance to physical education and strengthen their bodies…]