Chapter 717: Anchoring Reality

As [Holy Light Manifestation Torrent of Light] completely collapsed, the only light left in the sky was Lyra, high in the depths of the night, and the silver-haired Regent behind her, holding the girl gently in her arms.

Noticing several Light Bishops attempting to take away the Pope of Light, Hebrew, who had already lost the ability to fight, Anthony immediately began chanting a spell in his mind. The arcane particles in the air drew together and condensed, forming shards of arcana hanging across the heavens, sealing off all the space around the Pope.

High above, six wings of light, golden and sun-bright, clung to the Empire Princess’s deep black, luxurious gown, making the soft robe and that waterfall of silver-white hair glow even more brilliantly. The heat upon them was no longer the scorching blaze of battle, but the warmth of a winter sun.

The pink-haired girl lowered her head, looking at the slender, pale hand interlaced with her own. The indifference in her blue eyes gradually dispersed, replaced by emotions belonging to humans.

The loosened relief of a burden set down, the joy of surviving catastrophe, the thrill of victory in war, and the tenderness that flowed at the bottom of her gaze from being embraced by the one she loved from behind.

"...Astrid."

Within their connected minds, Astrid heard Lyra softly call her name. The heart that had been hanging in her chest finally eased a little, and she asked with concern.

"How do you feel, Lyra?"

Even knowing that touching that crown with her current strength might lead to irreparable consequences, Lyra had still done it in the end.

Before the pink-haired girl could answer, she immediately felt Astrid’s consciousness, carrying a faint, cool fragrance, covering her, as if it meant to understand her completely from the outside in, from head to toe.

"..."

"My head’s a bit dizzy. Everything feels muddled."

In truth, Lyra didn’t need to explain. As a resonator connected into the other’s soul, Astrid was experiencing the same hazy sensation.

Carefully probing every part of Lyra’s soul, Astrid guided her slowly downward, finally setting foot on the frost-covered ground with a thin layer of ice.

Lyra’s mind hadn’t suffered serious damage, and Astrid didn’t sense any independent will that belonged to some other existence.

Only... that faint thread of light in the deepest part seemed to carry a trace of indifference that shouldn’t belong to a fool of a maid. It was extremely similar to the state Moserria had displayed, yet it contained only Lyra’s own aura.

In the wilderness, it wasn’t suitable for a thorough examination. As the highest-ranking imperial noble present, Astrid had to deal with the mess left after the battle.

"Lyra... can you stay awake?"

"...I can."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Do you really not need me to keep watching you?"

Faced with Astrid’s string of questions, Lyra nodded like a chick pecking at grain, replying softly from deep within her soul.

"It’s fine, Astrid."

She was indeed still somewhat dazed, but compared to half a minute ago, it was much better, the warm wave of light that had broken through her mental shackles, seeping into every pore of her soul world as if it meant to drown her personal will completely, had weakened considerably.

Maintaining her soul resonance with Lyra at all times and confirming the other wasn’t forcing herself, Astrid scanned her one last time and gave a quiet warning.

"Keep thinking at all times. Don’t space out."

"Okay."

Even after that, Astrid still didn’t let Lyra’s hand go. She only shifted the way she held her, while continuing to keep full soul resonance throughout, and summoned the head maid to report.

With the barrier collapsed and the Pope of Light captured, the diehard Light Bishops still remained. The other Arcanist mages who had come to defend the royal family had already withdrawn first, flying westward from the battlefield.

As for Brennild, the darkness of night was filled with drifting clusters of dark-element particles. After Moserria’s birth ritual ended in failure, the deity-blooded being, exceptionally adept at avoiding pursuit, took advantage of the surrounding gray mist and vanished into the shadows, escaping toward an unknown destination.

Since they had chosen to assist Lyra in focusing on Moserria, they were bound not to be able to catch Brennild’s tail. Astrid wasn’t annoyed by it; rather, she was glad her decision had been correct.

Successfully stopping the ancient existence descending upon Hebrew was already a tremendous victory for them.

"Pass it down. Detain all the Arcanist mages who didn’t escape. If they resist to the end, execute them all."

Whether Brennild had gone far or not was still unclear, but compared to leaving a living threat behind, letting them die and leaving only a bit of nourishment was absolutely the better choice.

"Understood, Miss."

The elemental activity in the air was still violent. Until every threat was under control, no one dared to relax.

After sending the head maid away, Headmaster Anthony arrived again. After a brief exchange of information, Astrid took out anti-magic shackles from within her black silk gloves, along with several bottles of magic potions with anesthetic effects.

"I’ll trouble Headmaster Anthony to imprison the Pope of Light Hebrew, control him for now, and keep strict watch."

Compared to high-ranking arbiters, a mage’s body was more fragile and more easily affected by external things. With a same-tier Arcanist mage, Anthony Ostring, watching him twenty-four hours a day, Hebrew alone couldn’t turn the world upside down.

"As you command, Your Highness the Regent."

After issuing some orders, crisp footsteps sounded behind Astrid. Wearing a sacred nun’s habit and silver stilettos, the white-stockinged Saintess Monica walked over, her voice tinged with self-reproach.

"I tremble at my dereliction of duty, noble Lady Astrid."

The so-called dereliction was, in essence, her inability to properly control the holy relic of Light. As a result, it escaped from her spatial storage and was seized by "Hebrew," ultimately becoming the vessel through which Moserria descended as a deity.

Looking at the Light Saintess, body bowed, slender white ribbons hanging naturally at both sides of her arms, and as her white-stockinged snow legs straightened, revealing pale skin, Astrid shook her head and spoke softly.

"No need to plead guilty. This matter has nothing to do with you."

Compared to the already-bonded [Sword of Light], Monica’s control over the holy relic of Light was far from sufficient. Not to mention the former Light God Moserria, even compared to Lyra, she was like heaven and earth apart.

Rather than saying Monica possessed the holy relic, it was more accurate to say that by virtue of her status as Saintess and long-term contact, she had gained partial recognition from it, allowing her to temporarily borrow its power.

Receiving Astrid’s comfort, Monica’s guilt only deepened, and then she heard Astrid continue.

"Strictly speaking, it was my decision, to have you carry the relic and garrison Hoskar City, that was too aggressive and too risky. That was my mistake."

If the relic had been stored in Capital City at the center of the Empire, then even if Brennild had the ability to summon it directly, the range of control wouldn’t have stretched so far, and Moserria might not have been born at all.

Hearing the incarnation of the Lord issue a self-reproaching decree, Monica pressed her lips together, her right hand tight against her left chest, her mind lightly trembling.

How towering, how humble, was the Lord’s incarnation walking upon the earth.

No wonder she was the supreme existence who could end the war and lead humanity into a new era.

"It’s still because your subordinate’s ability is lacking."

Her words overflowed with loyalty and reverence. Monica’s voice grew hotter than ever, and even her usually calm face rarely showed a trace of the fervor that once only appeared on the faces of fanatics.

Astrid had no attention to spare for such matters. The earlier battle had left her legs, clad in delicate black stockings, slightly weak, and her otherwise graceful figure now struggled to remain steady.

Noticing Astrid leaning partly against Lyra for support, Monica pressed her lips together. As the Light Saintess who served the Lord, she wondered if she ought to take a more active role at that moment, offering her own body as support and helping steady the woman of destiny before her. After all, everything she possessed ultimately belonged to the Lord.

Only... the Lord’s incarnation was incomparably noble. She had rushed here through wind and snow, and hadn’t yet bathed or changed...

If dust and frost soil were to stain Lady Astrid, wouldn’t that be defiling her perfection?

Just as the Saintess hesitated, Astrid looked at the Light Bishops still resisting not far away. She rubbed her aching temple with the tip of her index finger, and her pink lips parted.

"No need to speak of guilt. Go do something useful, Miss Monica."

See whether she could use that silver tongue to persuade these Light Bishops to abandon the darkness and return to the light.

Following Astrid’s gaze, Monica naturally understood. Though a trace of regret lingered in her heart, she showed none of it.

"As you command, Lady Astrid."

Watching Monica leave, seeing the pure white head veil scattered among her brown hair fluttering in the wind, Astrid tilted her head, looked back at Lyra, and her tone became extraordinarily gentle.

"Hold on a little longer, my dear."

.....................

With the battle fully ended, and nearly another hour spent cleaning up the entire battlefield, by the time everything settled, it was already a little past two in the morning.

Considering that Hoskar City was closer to the battlefield, and farther from the next one, less likely to be disturbed, Astrid, unwilling to make too much of a fuss, brought Lyra to stay in their former residence in the city.

This night should have been used to tally the gains and determine the next stage of strategy. However, as the overall commander, Lyra Beckett had now absorbed the other half of the holy relic of Light. Whether hidden dangers remained was unknown, so related matters could only be postponed.

After making an appointment with Anthony, Kales, and the others to discuss details tomorrow, Astrid and Lyra returned to the room they hadn’t stayed in for a long time, and Astrid immediately began a comprehensive interrogation of the latter.

"Lyra, how do you feel now?"

"How much influence does that relic have on you?"

It was rare to see Astrid this tense, her voice even quickened. Lyra removed all her armor and sat on the soft bed, reaching up to lightly touch the laurel crown of light on her head.

"When I first touched it, I felt like I was about to fall asleep..."

"Until Astrid hugged me from behind, and then it got much better."

At least she wouldn’t pass out so easily, and the mental haze gradually diminished as she truly sensed this world.

"..."

Astrid fell silent for a moment, then asked about everything that had happened. Lyra answered truthfully.

"In that instant, relying on the origin spell Astrid provided, I broke through Moserria’s protective outer shell and touched the crown above his head."

"After that, this Sword of Light erupted with intense resonance. The two were drawn to each other in midair. For that one second, I felt like even my soul was about to be pulled over."

"But thankfully, with us together day and night, my control over the Sword of Light was skilled enough. In the end, the result was that the crown was pulled by the Holy Sword, and it reshaped itself here with me."

This also indirectly proved that Moserria, descended into Hebrew’s body, was not in his complete form, perhaps weakened to less than one percent of his former strength. Otherwise, how could a Light Angel who could contain half a divine spark, who had wielded the Holy Sword across countless ages to arbitrate all things, fall into a disadvantage in a battle for status?

Astrid listened quietly, her gaze resting on the crown of holy light above the pink hair. After half a second, she spoke in a low voice.

"So Moserria’s use of that crown was, in fact, only slightly better than Monica’s borrowing of it?"

Lyra nodded, her ice-cream-like white-stockinged feet overlapping together, her pale pink heels pressed into the fluffy carpet like a soft white moon fallen to the floor.

"Mm. It’s also possible he had just awakened and didn’t have time to digest the relic yet."

Whatever the truth was, they had no chance now to ask that Light God for confirmation.

"..."

"So..." Astrid paused, her voice sinking.

"After absorbing that half of the relic, what state are you in now, Lyra?"

Would the indifferent light hidden deep within the girl’s mind, or the relic’s status she could not yet contain, affect Lyra?

Faced with Astrid’s question, Lyra didn’t answer rashly. She bit her lip and lightly flicked the holy-light leaves on the crown.

"To be honest... I don’t know..."

"The instant the absorption finished, I felt like I was about to dissolve."

She retold the situation at the time word for word to Astrid. As the intimate existence synchronized with Lyra’s mind, Astrid had actually felt most of it too, only, with distance between them, it was not as clear as what Lyra herself had experienced.

Being peeled away by the world, consciousness melting, the urge to sleep.

The feelings Lyra described made Astrid think of the world’s suppressive force she had faced when she advanced to Arcanist magehood.

The manifestations of the two powers were extremely similar, as though both were trying to make them abandon the so-called human part of themselves.

Of course, it might also be that this guiding method could avoid confronting a mage’s strongest mental power head-on to the greatest extent, hence its repeated use.

That day, in the magic workshop, Charlotte had pulled her back to reality with her very existence. And on the battlefield just now, it was Astrid’s appearance that brought Lyra’s hazy will back to the real world.

Perhaps... the way to stay awake was to establish many anchors rooted in reality...

Love, family, friendship, unfinished obsessions, unfulfilled dreams.