Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 433

Victoria looked very tired. “If we save the Saintess, could the Holy Kingdom really help us? Noviens has been attacked before… maybe even soldiers?” Her voice faded away.

She knew it was probably a silly idea.

“The Holy Kingdom doesn’t start wars just to take land,” Aileen explained gently. “They only fight for their faith. Helping defend is different from starting a war.”

“But they must still be angry at the Empire…” Victoria stopped herself. “No, sorry. It was a bad idea.”

Victoria still hoped, but she couldn’t say more. She didn’t give up on helping Viktor though.

“Maybe my brother thought differently,” she said. “He might not know about wars for land. He might think saving the Saintess would make things easier after the war, with the Holy Kingdom’s help.”

*Yes, maybe,* someone thought.

*But is it worth letting the Holy Kingdom get all the praise?*

“A knight must save those they can,” Aileen said with a sigh. Victoria and her husband looked at her and just smiled sadly, shaking their heads.

Victoria watched them, her face still worried. She moved her hands slowly, using her magic.

*Grrr.*

Suddenly, eight golems appeared. They were small, only waist-high to an adult, but their shoulders were very wide and strong-looking.

These golems were made carefully, so they wouldn’t break anything in the office. Even though they looked rough, they gently lifted the Saintess and Viktor. They moved so softly, it was surprising for such strong-looking creatures.

Logan’s eyes widened. He could see Victoria’s golem magic was even stronger now.

*Wow,* he thought.

But Victoria didn’t seem to notice his surprise. Her face was blank as she bowed her head.

“…For now,” Victoria said, “I will make a ‘life support system’ like this to protect the Saintess.”

This “life support system” was something Victoria had made before. She had used all her amazing talent to create one for her dead teacher.

Neither Logan nor Victoria thought they would have to make another one so soon. But it was the best thing to do now.

“Yes,” Logan agreed. “That ‘box’… sorry, Ria, I didn’t mean to say that.”

Victoria’s face became even sadder when he said “box.”

Logan quickly waved his hand. “Wait a little longer,” he said. “Just a little bit. I think I might have a way to fix this.”

“…Really?” Victoria asked, looking confused.

Victoria now understood why her teacher had collapsed. Becoming a powerful 6-circle mage meant feeling the power of the soul, even a little.

But the joy of becoming stronger was quickly gone because of something terrible she learned.

Losing your soul was a wound that could never heal. It was hopeless.

But then, her king said something different.

“…You know the Sword Master got better, right? He collapsed for the same reason as Clayton and the Saintess.”

*Of course, it’s not as bad for him…*

“Really?!” Victoria’s face changed completely.

“Is it really, really possible to bring my teacher back to life?!”

“…It’s hard right now,” Logan said. “I can’t promise it will happen for sure. But there is a chance.”

“Ah…!”

If anyone else had said that, she would have been angry. It would sound like nonsense. But it was Logan saying it.

Color came back to Victoria’s face, which had been so pale.

She changed so quickly that Logan felt a little embarrassed.

*I just wanted to make her feel better…*

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Victoria said, tears running down her face. “Thank you so much.”

Logan felt awkward. Victoria looked like she already believed her teacher would be saved.

*How can I tell her it’s not very likely now?*

“…I will try my best,” he said. “Don’t worry too much.”

It wasn’t just empty words. Getting stronger himself was the fastest way to make her wish come true.

*I will make it happen somehow,* Logan thought, looking at the crying young mage. He felt determined.

That evening, Viktor woke up.

The first thing he did was look for the Saintess.

“…It’s made to give them food to stay alive,” Victoria explained. “It works like this. If you change the magic stone sometimes, it will keep working for a long time.”

They were deep inside Kyle Castle, in a stone room that was very safe. The room had stone walls all around.

Victoria glanced at her teacher and the Saintess. They were lying in a clear box that looked like a coffin. A soft blue light glowed around it. Victoria finished explaining and looked at Viktor.

“Thank goodness,” Viktor mumbled. “Thank goodness. Really…”

But he just stared at the box. He sounded tired and didn’t seem to understand what Victoria was saying.

Victoria sighed quietly.

“You’ll be safe here,” she said. “Your condition won’t get worse. And His Majesty said he might be able to bring you back to life somehow.”

“Yes, thank goodness…” Viktor repeated.

“Are you even listening to me?!” Victoria suddenly shouted, angry.

Viktor turned and hugged her tightly.

“W-What are you doing?!” Victoria stammered, surprised.

“Thank you, Ria,” Viktor whispered. “Thank you so much.”

“Why are you thanking me…? Why?”

“Just… because I’m thankful.”

“No, not that! Seriously!”

The brother and sister were close for only a moment.

Victoria pushed her brother away, annoyed. She sighed again and looked at him.

“Do you even know how dangerous it was to bring the Saintess here?” Victoria asked, her voice sharp.

“…I know,” Viktor said quietly.

“Then why did you do it?”

“Just… I didn’t know what else to do.”

Victoria stared at him, shocked. His answer sounded so simple, almost foolish. Her face turned red with anger. “I know you must have thought about it more than that! Do you know how much I argued for you to His Majesty?! And you say ‘just’?”

“…Because I had to save her,” Viktor said, his voice low.

“How can you say that now…!”

“Because… I felt like I was going to die too,” Viktor admitted.

“…What?” Victoria’s anger faded, replaced by confusion.

Viktor smiled sadly. He sounded like he was trying to explain himself, but not very well. “I just… I had to save her. I couldn’t think of anything else. I just hoped His Majesty could help.”

“Brother, don’t tell me you’re…” Victoria’s eyes narrowed. She suddenly understood something. But Viktor quickly turned away, not letting her finish.

“Anyway, thank you, Ria,” he said. “I’m going to see His Majesty now.”

“Hey…!” Victoria called after him.

*Thud.*

Viktor ignored his sister’s voice as the heavy stone door closed behind him. He took a deep breath and walked away.

A short time later, Viktor stood before Logan in the office. He knelt down quickly, bowing his head to the floor.

“I have sinned,” Viktor said, his voice low and serious. “I put the kingdom in danger because of my own selfish desires. Please punish me.”

*Thud.* His forehead touched the floor.

Logan looked down at Viktor, a little surprised. He tilted his head. “…So, you’re saying you didn’t plan this? You just acted without thinking?”

“…I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” Viktor repeated. He didn’t try to explain or defend himself.

Logan watched him silently for a moment, then sighed softly and shook his head. “First,” he said, “tell me what happened with the Holy Kingdom.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty,” Viktor said, still kneeling.

*Is he ignoring what I did? Or just putting it off?* Viktor wondered, feeling even worse.

With a heavy heart, he began to tell Logan everything that had happened at the Central Temple.

“Sir Harman said the Apostle wanted to start a holy war,” Viktor explained. “It’s about the abandoned people. I think you understand, Your Majesty…”

Viktor finished his long story, ending with Harman’s request.

Logan sighed again and rubbed his tired face.

“…I see,” Logan said. “He went that far.”

After hearing that the gods were against him, Logan wasn’t surprised by anything about holy wars anymore.

He was just glad they had stopped something terrible from happening.

“…What about Sir Harman now?” Logan asked.

“He left to find all the relics around the world,” Viktor said. “He wants to get rid of them so another Apostle can’t appear.”

“Get rid of the relics? Can he do that?” Logan knew about the relics of the Nine Gods.

They were things that showed the gods’ power. People said they were so strong, even Aura couldn’t destroy them.

“I only heard he was going to seal them away,” Viktor said.

“A seal…” Logan repeated.

*He probably won’t use magic to destroy the relics of the Nine Gods.*

*Maybe he’ll hide them in a secret place that only he knows,* Logan thought.

*I trust Sir Harman,* Logan thought.

Just hearing Harman’s plan made Logan feel like the danger from the gods was over. He didn’t even need to know how Harman would seal them.

Now, there was only one thing Logan was still interested in…

“Let’s see the mark the Apostle left,” Logan said.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Viktor said. He stepped forward and held out his left hand.

*Haeresis.*

As soon as Logan saw the old words written there, he frowned. He felt something evil coming from the bright blue letters.

It wasn’t just a mark on Viktor’s skin.

“Heretic,” Logan read. “They marked your soul. The gods are so mean.”

Logan didn’t believe in the Nine Gods anymore. He thought they were terrible. He spoke harshly about them without thinking.

“Viktor, you need to wear gloves from now on,” Logan said.

“…I will,” Viktor agreed.

“What did Sir Harman say about it?” Logan asked.

“He said divine power will work backwards now,” Viktor explained. “And priests can’t heal me anymore.”

“Hmm?” Logan tilted his head, confused.

He hadn’t asked about Harman’s reaction to hear that.

He wanted to know how Harman, who had served the gods his whole life, felt about seeing their true nature. But Viktor gave him a different answer.

“Divine power works backwards? Just from this little mark?” Logan asked.

To Logan, it just looked like a small mark on Viktor’s soul. He could feel the evil inside it, but it didn’t seem very powerful.

But Harman wasn’t even a master mage. How could he know this?

*Does it feel different to people with divine power? How?* Logan wondered.

Thinking about this, Logan’s eyes became focused. He used his spiritual eye for a moment, opening it wide. He wasn’t just looking quickly. He was trying to see every change in Viktor’s soul, using all his power.

*Ooooong.*

As he used his Force, his Force Cores, which were still healing, hurt a little. But Logan didn’t stop focusing, even though he frowned in pain. He knew this was important.

And then, his soul, now stronger, found the answer.

The word “heretic” on Viktor’s soul. The strange but familiar power in that word.

*Divine power? No, this is… the power of wishes?!* Logan realized.

He understood that the power in the mark, full of strong will, was changing Viktor’s soul slowly.

*Changing the soul with will? Is that possible? Wait, no. When I think about it, my own power of wishes comes from souls joining together…*

Logan no longer thought divine power was holy and given by God. He had seen the truth.

Soul power, divine power – it was all based on the power of wishes, forcing your will onto the world.

*Then, were the Nine Gods, who were once so powerful, also based on the power of wishes?*

“Um… Your Majesty?”

The office was quiet.

Viktor’s soft voice broke the silence. Logan had grabbed Viktor’s hand without realizing it. But Logan’s eyes stayed still, lost in thought.