The holy relics that the holy knight was secretly holding earlier had already been delivered to the high priests. It wouldnât be long before they could track Linaâs location.
Every time the bloody knights were transported to the base, Seria tried not to pay attention to them as much as possible.
âStern!â
Seria frowned as they passed by the foggy lake.
âWhat?â
There was a large sculptural statue set in front of the glacier. The Stern insignia, donated by the Great Temple, was always placed there.
But â¦..it was empty now. It was as if someone had taken it on purpose.
When did they take it? It was certainly there when she inserted the branch of the silver tree earlier.
âSternâ¦.Sternâ¦.â
A dying voice was heard. Seriaâs eyes opened wide. The knight staggered over to her, covered in blood.
The holy knights hurriedly jumped off their horses. Seria bit her lip as she looked closely at the knight. He was missing one of his legs. The fallen knight managed to squeeze out his voice.
âWe need to modify the routeâ¦â¦ The Knights northeast of the glacier have been wiped out.â
ââ¦â¦!â
***
Lina looked down with a pale face. The ground she was standing on was so high that she could see what was going on below.
And the dead demons by her side.
It was Liegelâs. After Jun was being locked in the holy prison, Liegel wanted to use other means of communicating his voice to Lina.
But right now the only ones left were the demons. The bodies of the demons were very vulnerable to the sacred power.
In any case, Liegel was the guardian star that preyed on the stars. When he delivered his voice, the demons that became the host died instantly on the spot. But it didnât matter. There were so many of them, and when they died, they didnât stay long and burned black.
Like so many lunas, they were merely expendable tools for Liegel.
Lina knew it well.
She just had to pretend not to know.
But why did it bother her so much â¦.
Lina put down the Stern insignia she was holding in her trembling hands.
She finally retrieved it from the front of the glacier.
âI have the insigniaâ¦.. Tell me here â¦.â
Stern insignia, contaminated by Magi, was as black as poison. Liegelâs words began to be inscribed on the black insignia.
Linaâs gaze turned downward. Soon her eyes opened wide. As Liegel had said, the sparkling Stern ceremonial dress came into her view.
It was Myote Stern.
And by her side was High Priest Jubelud.
Linaâs hands went cold. The armor of the 100 or so knights protecting Stern was filled with red blood. Since the demons would never spit blood, it was probably all the blood of their fellow knights.
âYour Highness!â
A voice came from the other side. Lina, who had shifted her gaze, shuddered.
The knights, including Grand Duke Berg, were advancing at an unbelievable speed. Lina thought they had come this way by chance, but they were not.
How could they have tracked her so quickly?
Linaâs trembling gaze suddenly turned to Lesche Bergâs wrist. Her eyes couldnât get any bigger.
âThatâs â¦â
For that brief moment when Lina couldnât take her eyes off him, Lesche Berg was looking at her.
It was at that instance when the two pairs of eyes met.
âI found her!â
Alliot, who had sensed her presence like a lightning bolt, shouted. Lina fell down, startled. The snow wall that touched her back melted into her skin. It felt cold and wet, but she didnât have time to care.
The clattering of the Holy armor felt like horror. Theyâll catch her and kill her. She was sure theyâd kill her.
Lina crawled closer to the holy relics.
These were the holy relics that protected the border. No human arm strength could break them no matter what.
Slam!
Liegelâs forceful hand struck down on it repeatedly, and it cracked.
In the blink of an eye, only one holy relic remained. At the same time, her spine felt a chill.
âDemons!â
âD*mn it! This side has collapsed, too!â
âKeep the formation! Donât break away!â
In no time at all, it became hell below. Linaâs arms and legs were stained with magi as she ran to destroy all remaining relics.
âWe Stan Stern!â
At that time, Linaâs eyes stopped because of a screeching sound that sounded like a scream.
âWe stan Stern! Run backwards with Stern on your back!â
âMyote Stern!â
The voice of the dead High Prest Amos came to life like a lie.
âWe Stan Stern!â
Lina remembered the High Priest who had died for her. She remembered the worry in his eyes as he looked at her when his body was cut in half.
âLina!â
ââ¦â¦!â
âYurina!â
High Priest Jubeludâs voice rushed into her ears and her heart thudded in her chest. Her eyes immediately grew hot with agony as the frozen sword raked through her heart.
âCome down, please, please! Pleaseâ¦!â
âIâll come every week. I will come and read you this book.â
Perhaps noticing Linaâs trembling eyes, the Stern insignia she still held in one arm began to be inscribed with words.
At the same time, the pitch-black demons screamed out to Lina.
âLunaaaaahhh!â
ââ¦â¦!â
It was a horrible scream. The vocal cords of the demons could not be the same as humansâ. Liegel continued to scream in this same violent voice.
After spitting out that one measly word, the demons fell straight down and died.
Linaâs shuddering gaze roamed over the fallen corpses. The body of the demons gradually scattered and disappeared, as did numerous Lunas.
Again, other demons cried out and died.
âLunaaaaaaah!â
âLunaaaaah!â
Lina screamed and covered both ears. Cold tears trickled down onto the white snowfield. Everything was like a nightmare.
Luna.
Luna.
Luna.
The desire she had held all her life was cracking. She wanted to be real. She wanted a name. She wanted to be loved by Liegel. She didnât want to be abandoned or die as a replacement. â¦.
Luna wasnât her name anyway, and Lina wasnât her name either.
Was there such a thing as a name for her?
What does a name matter in a life born as a substitute?
âYou too would have wished that you were a saint and not something else â¦â
High Priest Jubeludâs voice cried unceasingly in her ears.
âYurina! Yurina!â
What could possibly go wrong?
Lina thought of the holy knights she had killed with her own hands in the 4th Palace Canyon. They turned away, smiling brightly when they realized it was her. But those eyes could not believe the dagger stuck in their chest.
Everything was wrong.
She had never chosen anything right.
Lina looked down at the divine power coexisting with the thick Magi that shimmered from the surface of her skin.
ââ¦â¦.â
Its sacred power to counter the demons and purify the evil special disposition, felt like spring sunshine.
She had never told anyone this, but she had felt the warmth of Seriaâs sacred power that remained in the holy relic. She had never felt unpleasant.
Even if this body was filled with demonic energy, even if it was born as a false vessel, even if it was created in such a way that it was destined to live and die as a substituteâ¦
Lina laughed and cried at the same time.
There was no reason to hate the truth that she was a substitute.
She had to hate Liegel who made her a substitute.
She should have held the hand that Seria offered herâ¦.
Liegelâs power-filled demons walked constantly and fell down screaming.
âWhat you did cannot be forgiven, and those who died cannot return⦠Stillâ¦â
It was a feeling that shattered existence into pieces. Lina broke down and sobbed.
She gathered as much of the sacred power that was in her body as she could and pushed it into Liegelâs bracelet. Then she raised her body and touched the snow wall.
Lina shouted with all her might.
âLesche Berg!â
As soon as Lescheâs blood splattered cold face turned toward her, Lina threw the bracelet.
It was impossible to tell if the man had caught it or not. Lina did not have the strength to endure any longer.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
If she died, would there be nothing left but Magi swarming around her?
If not, would she still be human?
Lina placed the Stern insignia, which had been tainted by Magi, and wrapped it carefully. There was nothing left on her arms that could be called human skin anymore. It was just as black as a demon.
âStill, I wish I was a person in the end.â
The Stern insignia was exhausted by Magi, but the sacred power that even Liegel could not extinguish was breathing thinly.
Lina did not destroy the last piece of the holy relic.
She did not even go down to where High Priest Jubelud was. Instead, she crawled to the high cliff on the other side. When she reached the end of the cliff, Lina took out a silver tree branch that she had kept hidden in her chest.
It was stuck on the Stern insignia on the glacier.
Who would have inserted this branch of the silver tree?
Would it be Myote Stern? Or, since the Sterns were busy right now, the priests below may have inserted it insteadâ¦.
She thought it would be nice if Seria would put it in. Of course, she didnât think God would allow her to have such good luck.
Lina staggered and barely stood on the cliff. A cold wind blew like a gentle breeze.
âMy name is Lina.Yurina.â
âIâll remember that.â
Lina suddenly remembered Kalis. She was irritated and wanted to hurt him, but he hated her. Still, he was the first family Lina had in all her life.
A family she could never have again.
She felt that it would have been far more interesting if the child she had was Seriaâs sacred power.
So, could Seria and her have been a family?
She wished she could have lived so peacefullyâ¦.
Lina laughed, and the tears that had been hanging on her eyelashes fell in droplets.
The branch of the silver tree did not need to be sharpened. Lina stabbed the silver tree branch with all her might in her left chest.
A terrible amount of Magi burst out.
It was as if the strings that had always been holding her in place were being cut. Linaâs legs went limp. The light slowly disappeared from her eyes.
At the same time, numerous demons screamed like a nightmare.
âLunaaaaahhh!â
Linaâs body tumbled down the snowy cliff.
***
*I cried translating this chapter. Itâs so sad how Lina desperately wanted to live but died terribly and alone. And only 5 more chapters the main story will end.