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Shin Woo narrowed his eyes at the unexpected suggestion.

What could it mean?

It was clear nothing good would come from Hana regaining her memories at this point.

Though a sense of unease crept in, he couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity.

Hana seemed to have made up her mind at the Black Goat’s enthusiastic proposal.

Anything would do. As long as she regained her memories, everything would surely be alright.

The girl cautiously approached.

She reached out her hand and caressed the light.

At that moment, a brilliant light that illuminated the world enveloped her.

Something was changing. Everyone in the cathedral realized this fact.

Finally, as the light dimmed, the girl came into view.

The mask that had obscured her face shattered in two, revealing her features.

Standing silently with her eyes closed, she didn’t appear to have any special issues at first glance.

“…”

Shin Woo, who had been staring blankly at her, carefully opened his mouth to call her name.

“…Hana?”

As the boy’s voice came, the girl slowly opened her eyes.

With her sparkling amber eyes blinking a few times, tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Shin Woo… Why…?”

It was the same voice calling her as when she first entered the cathedral.

But Shin Woo could tell that the emotion contained within it had completely changed.

“Hana. Finally.”

After barely calming his overflowing heart, Shin Woo looked at Hana. She continued to weep with sad, vacant eyes.

“Why… am I…?”

“It’s alright now. Everything has come back.”

Thump!

The Black Goat, having jumped down from the grasp of the demon, approached the girl.

Seeing this, Shin Woo immediately stepped in front, baring his teeth.

“Stop.”

“Finally, it’s complete.”

“…What?”

“You trickster. First, let me say thank you. Because you used the power of the Holy Grail, the Savior has finally regained fullness.”

The Black Goat’s voice was buoyant as if he were in a good mood.

Realizing something was off, Shin Woo turned to Hana with a frantic expression.

“Hana. Are you really okay?”

“By the way, that’s quite unexpected. I thought it was just a side effect of awakening, but who knew you’d imprisoned your own memories.”

Hana lost her memories of her own accord?

What in the world does that mean? Why would Hana do such a thing…

Shin Woo fell into panic, unable to comprehend the situation.

Hana, tears running down her face, murmured.

“I can’t turn back now…”

“Having purified the Savior using the Holy Grail’s power, there is only one thing left.”

As the Black Goat spoke, a sinister black power surged around him.

At the end of his crimson eyes, there lay nothing but a sacrificial offering for all.

He nonchalantly extended his hand.

The inverted cross drawn on his palm emitted a foreboding black light as thick, sticky darkness began to ooze out.

Without any hesitation, the darkness charged toward Hana.

Just as it was about to engulf the offering…

A purple spear shot in from the cathedral entrance and pierced through the darkness.

With impeccable timing, as the interloper appeared, the Black Goat clicked his tongue.

Longinus, who had barely saved Hana, glared at the opponent.

“Stop.”

“Holy Spear. Why are you interrupting me?”

“This is wrong.”

“Why? You know this is the purpose of coming to the land of the Savior.”

“At least not in this way.”

Upon hearing those words, the Black Goat sneered cynically.

“Then does that mean the way of humans is right?”

“That’s…”

“In the end, there is no such thing as right in this world. What matters is simply who desires it more desperately.”

Though he could not see the expression behind the mask, he could infer that his voice was filled with heightened emotion.

“And no one in this world desires more than I do.”

The Black Goat realized that if he couldn’t pierce through her, he couldn’t proceed with his plan.

Then there was no other choice but to eliminate her as quickly as possible.

As he raised his hand, the Balrog outside the cathedral began to move.

Longinus automatically retrieved his spear and shouted to Shin Woo.

“Get her and run!”

“…Explain later, for sure.”

Even though he had no idea about much, staying here would do no good.

For now, the priority was to escape as far away from that demon as possible.

“Hana! We have to run now!”

“…”

The girl seemed to be in a daze, showing no reaction.

But she had her eyes open and was breathing fine.

In his anxiety, Shin Woo eventually grabbed the girl’s hand and forcibly pulled her away.

As the two tried to flee, a giant hand from the sky swooped down to ensnare them.

However, Longinus leaped into the air and swung his spear, blocking the Balrog’s attack.

Leaving behind a mythic battle that surpassed human limits, they barely escaped the cathedral.

But that didn’t mean it was over.

It was just as dangerous outside due to the war.

Where should they go?

Could they really defeat the Apostle in their current state?

Though they had run as far as possible from the cathedral, there was no destination in sight.

The streets of the Academy had long been reduced to ruins.

The main building, once the tallest, had completely collapsed beyond recognition.

Auditorium? Cafeteria? Library?

None seemed safe.

It appeared there was no secure place within the Academy anymore.

Ultimately, this left only one option.

“We need to leave the Academy.”

“Yeah. We need to… Aah!”

Shin Woo jumped in surprise at the voice that came so naturally from the side.

Turning to look while belatedly letting out a scream, he found Han Si-hyun, tilting her head in curiosity.

“Being that surprised is a bit embarrassing.”

“…You surprised me.”

“Sorry, but it looks like you two finally met.”

Han Si-hyun watched with interest as Shin Woo and Hana held hands tightly.

As Shin Woo caught on to her gaze, he immediately fumbled and let go of Hana’s hand.

“T-this is, I mean…”

“More importantly, where have you been all this time? I thought you must have been dead since I couldn’t see you.”

“Well, let’s just say a lot happened. Anyway, that’s not important right now.”

Just as she said, the only remaining option was to escape the Academy.

They needed to get as far away as possible. That was the only way to save Hana.

“But Hana seems a bit off, doesn’t she? Is she okay?”

“That’s…”

As the situation improved slightly, Shin Woo finally began to worry about Hana’s condition.

The Black Goat had stated right after she regained her memories that it was Hana’s own will to lose them.

That didn’t seem like a simple falsehood; Hana’s response had indeed felt somewhat strange.

Now she stood there as if in a daze.

“Hana.”

“…Yes. Shin Woo.”

Thankfully she didn’t appear to have any major issues.

“What should we do? Is it alright to go outside the Academy?”

He couldn’t act unilaterally without asking her thoughts.

Eventually, Shin Woo resolved to act for Hana’s happiness.

To his question, Hana replied with a mixed expression.

“I’m not sure… how to escape…”

“Isn’t it better to move than to just stay here?”

“I agree with that. If we stay here and encounter an enemy…”

Before Shin Woo could finish his sentence.

He sensed an overwhelming presence coming from a distance.

Something massive was slowly approaching from the edge of his vision.

It was not the form of an ordinary human but rather that of a lion, adorned with fur, claws, and a mane.

“Apostle! We need to run now!”

“Wait a second!”

With a sharp eye, Si-hyun realized something was off about the lion-shaped Apostle.

He didn’t seem to be in good shape, even if it were just an empty phrase.

Soon, the creature swayed with even its slow movements before collapsing helplessly.

Whatever was happening, he couldn’t let his guard down.

Then, from behind the size of the lion, a petite girl stepped confidently into view.

“Human…?”

“Did you defeat that monster?”

Soon, Lea from the opposite side spotted the three standing there and approached.

Up close, her condition wasn’t exactly good either. It was almost a miracle that she hadn’t collapsed.

“You all…”

She weakly opened her mouth.

“Could it be… Lea?”

They could hardly not recognize Lea, the Great Mage famous for her rank S.

With the strongest human in the world, having the most reliable ally felt like a boon, and Shin Woo’s expression brightened.

But it was only for a moment.

The boy soon noticed something odd.

Lea’s body began to flow like water.

The only one privy to the change in her condition was Hana, who looked at her with sorrowful eyes.

Realizing her body was in a strange state, Lea first expressed surprise before managing a bitter smile.

As the renowned Great Mage, she had suspected the Holy Water she consumed might have side effects long ago.

However, there was an unforeseen variable even for the Great Mage.

“I’ll help you!”

“Uh?”

The radiant light of the Holy Grail enveloped her.

“My body…”

Lea looked down at herself.

Her body, turning into holy water, was reverting back to its original state.

Not only that but the injuries she had sustained in battle were also miraculously healing.

“Lea. Please help us. We need to get out of the Academy right now.”

The Great Mage, still bewildered as she checked her body, then looked at the three students before her.

“You’re my lifesavers. Of course, I can help. But…”

Lea pointed directly at Hana.

“This girl seems familiar. Haven’t we met somewhere before?”