Inside the training ground, Leanna slowly swung the longsword infused with magic.
With her movement, all the light in the training ground began to warp and gather, condensing on the blade.
Soon, the blade-light appeared.
It had no physical form, yet it caused tiny black cracks to appear in the surrounding space.
These were fissures created because space itself could not withstand the manifestation of its presence.
“Strike!”
Along with Leanna’s voice, the blade-light flew rapidly forward!
The light finally hit the testing target at the far end of the training ground.
At the moment of contact, the target simply disappeared from everyone’s sight, as if it had been erased by something.
But it didn’t stop there. The range of disappearance continued to expand.
Not only the target, but even a portion of the training ground’s floor vanished, leaving behind a void with edges as smooth as a mirror.
Dead silence filled the training ground.
After several seconds, the Rose Knights standing behind her finally erupted into bursts of exclamations.
Many knights wiped the sweat from their foreheads and slumped onto the ground.
This was the time they had coordinated with the most perfect chemistry.
With the boost from everyone else, Leanna’s strength had reached the world’s peak.
Even the training ground, reinforced by the Divine Court using the power of the Goddess, could no longer withstand the power of her magic.
Gripping the longsword in her hand, Leanna was exceptionally excited.
Unlike the other Rose Knights, only she, after truly merging everyone’s strength, knew just how terrifying she was while standing within the Judgment Array.
A continuous flow of terrifying power, an inexhaustible mental energy… With these two combined, she even felt that at that previous moment, even Isavel would not have been a match for her.
The training was completely over. After the Judgment Array dispersed, Sana leaped down from the observation deck and landed in the center of the platform.
She looked around at these girl knights who had undergone a complete transformation.
After a long silence, she finally spoke slowly, her voice exceptionally clear in the quiet training ground:
“To this day, the Divine Court has nothing left to teach you. You have mastered every inheritance of the Divine Court. Furthermore, your Magic Levels have all exceeded Level 90…”
She paused, then said the words that should have been said long ago:
“It is time for you to leave this place.”
Unknown amounts of time had passed since the Rose Knights first arrived at the Divine Court.
As the Captain of the order, her duties had shifted from patrolling the Divine Court’s territory and handling Demon harassment to training the Rose Knights.
However, judging by the results, her task had been completed quite well.
Leanna, within the Judgment Array, was the strongest Demi-God she had ever seen.
Of course, Lady Isavel was an exception. After all, she was a Goddess.
Even when she was only at the Demi-God Level, she was not someone Leanna and the others could compare to.
Leanna sheathed her longsword. She had anticipated this day’s arrival long ago.
Regarding their departure, although she felt some reluctance in her heart, she was now more eager than anything.
“What about Lady Isavel? We haven’t seen her for a long time.”
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
The existence of the Judgment Array gave her a great deal of courage.
She believed that at that moment, she would not lose to anyone.
Therefore, having always treated Isavel as her goal, she naturally wanted to get revenge the moment she possessed power!
‘Isavel mistreated us for so long; she will eventually face her retribution!’
To her surprise, however, this question caused Sana’s body to stiffen almost imperceptibly.
She shifted her gaze toward the illusory shadows of stars slowly rotating on the training ground’s dome, as if organizing her words:
“She… she… has already left the Abyssal Ancient Battlefield.”
“Already left?” Leanna frowned. “When? Why weren’t we notified?”
Aixi, on the other hand, didn’t mind.
After all, in her eyes, Isavel’s movements had always been unpredictable.
“Is that so? Then it’s time for us to leave this place too! With this kind of strength…”
She clenched her fist, feeling the immense power of the Demi-God Level.
“It seems challenging Lady Isavel won’t be a problem! And… never mind Lady Isavel, even the Abyssal Evil Dragon probably won’t be our match, right? After all, we are the Saviors of the prophecy! Haven’t we been cultivating for so long just for this?”
What she said was actually what the vast majority of the girls in the Rose Knights were thinking. After collectively stepping into the Demi-God Level, they knew the fated duel would soon arrive.
And they were full of confidence.
However, Teresa and Iserine noticed points that others did not. After exchanging a look, Teresa asked in a heavy voice:
“Why did Lady Isavel leave the Abyssal Ancient Battlefield? Isn’t she supposed to cut the Root of the Abyssal Evil Dragon? Isn’t that our ultimate goal for coming here?”
Faced with Teresa’s questioning, Sana instinctively took half a step back.
“This… well…”
She stammered, her eyes flickering. Seeing this, Teresa’s heart gradually sank.
The other girl knights also realized that things might not be as simple as they thought.
A terrifying guess was born in Iserine’s heart. Her brow furrowed, and she asked coldly:
“Captain Sana, please tell us. Exactly how much time has passed for us in this Ancient Battlefield? And what has happened to the world outside?!”
There was no concept of time in the Abyssal Ancient Battlefield.
When they first entered, the outside world was already being affected by Abyssal Demons.
If they stayed in the Ancient Battlefield for too long, the Mortal World would likely have already become a paradise for Demons.
Thus, they were now desperate to know the situation in the Mortal World.
Just as Sana was about to buckle under the repeated questioning, a long sigh came from the entrance of the training ground.
“Sigh…”
Adela was standing there, though no one knew when she had arrived.
Today, she wore a simple, plain white robe. Her platinum-blonde hair was without decoration, draped loosely over her shoulders.
Her face was even paler than usual, with deep shadows under her eyes. She looked exhausted and weighed down.
She walked slowly into the training ground, her footsteps clearly audible in the silence.
Her gaze slowly swept across the girls, passing over the complex emotions of confidence, doubt, and unease in their eyes.
“Since you’ve asked, are you… prepared to know the truth?”
After that question was asked, time in the training ground seemed to freeze.
The truth?
This word was like a crack of thunder, striking the hearts of all the Rose Knights. They did not know if anything they had experienced over these years was false.
They had always felt they were living in reality.
But even though their hearts were filled with doubt, after Leanna, leading the group, exchanged a few looks with the others, she still nodded heavily.
She was prepared to see exactly what this truth the Saintess spoke of was.
……
Inside the hall, the crystal reflecting everything that had happened before stopped rotating. The chamber fell into a deathly silence.
Although the words about the Goddess, absorbing magic, abandoning the world, and so on were no longer echoing through the empty hall, they seemed to linger in the ears of the dazed girls.
The dead silence lasted for a long time.
Then, sounds of disbelief erupted from within the Rose Knights.
“Wh — what? Our true purpose… was actually just to replenish Lady Isavel’s divine power?”
“The prophecy that we could defeat the Abyssal Evil Dragon… was fake? All our cultivation, all the suffering we endured… was just… to become a better source of divine power?”
“Tools. She was right. From the very beginning, we were just tools!”
The upheaval brought by the truth was, for a moment, impossible for the girls to accept. Leanna was different. She scanned the girls, her eyes carrying a hint of doubt.
“If that’s the case, why is she unwilling to sacrifice us at a time like this?”
The girls were stunned.
“If she truly saw us as tools, she should have used us without hesitation, shouldn’t she? Why… did she choose to face an enemy she couldn’t possibly defeat alone?”
The girls fell silent. Teresa and the others, who knew Isavel’s true identity, breathed a sigh of relief.
They had originally wanted to stand up and defend Isavel, but now it seemed unnecessary.
Once everyone understood that “tool” was merely Isavel’s disguise, they would understand why she was unwilling to sacrifice them.
And now, the most important thing was to save Isavel.
Adela watched everyone fall into silence. She didn’t offer comfort but instead spoke softly:
“Whether you believe it or not, the truth is right here. This was the Goddess’s original plan, the true purpose for which you were nurtured to this point.”
She paused, her gaze sweeping across every young face:
“And now, Lady Isavel has long since left the Abyssal Ancient Battlefield and is locked in battle with the Evil Dragon. Even if you leave the Abyssal Ancient Battlefield right now and rush out, it won’t change the course of the battle at all.”
“Your strength… even with the help of the Judgment Array and reaching the peak of the Demi-God Level, cannot truly threaten the Evil Dragon without divine power. So…”
She looked at everyone and asked the final question:
“Do you still want to go out?”
After a brief silence, Meilin stood up.
Gripping her magic wand, a certain fire of determination was already burning in her eyes. Because she knew more of the truth than the others, her voice trembled with emotion:
“Yes! We definitely have to go out!”
Meilin took a step forward, looking directly at Leanna:
“Lady Isavel was so cruel to us and pushed our training to the limit because… she was actually just worried we would die on the battlefield in the future! Like us, she didn’t know the truth before! She was protecting us in her own way!”
Her voice grew louder, as if she were waking her companions:
“She didn’t know the truth from the beginning either, did she? And after she learned the truth, she chose to face the Evil Dragon alone instead of sacrificing us. Isn’t that clear enough?!”
“Captain!”
She was afraid Leanna would hesitate, make a “rational” judgment, or say something like “us going out won’t change anything.”
But surprisingly, Leanna stepped forward immediately.
“No matter what, I am going out.”
She had already gripped her sword hilt again, her fingers steady and strong. There was no confusion in those eyes, only determination.
“If only to ask her to her face. To ask her what she really thinks of us, to ask her why she made this choice… I want to know her true opinion of us, regardless of life or death.”
Saying this, Leanna turned to look at her other companions:
“Everyone…”
She didn’t continue, but her gaze contained all the questioning they needed.
“Then we go out.”
Teresa gave a light chuckle. Aixi stood by her side, heavily setting down her giant hammer.
“Whether it’s to save the world or to ask her clearly to her face, we need to go out.”
“Besides, we worked hard for so long and suffered so much. Even if we can’t defeat the Abyssal Evil Dragon, we at least have to try! Having crossed the threshold of the Demi-God Level, I refuse to believe one strike of my hammer can’t shake it!”
Iserine didn’t speak; she simply nodded to Leanna and Teresa.
The reactions of the other girls were similar. They stepped forward, their eyes not filled with despair or confusion.
On the contrary, they burned with the fire of battle.
Everyone looked at Leanna.
Leanna took a deep breath and turned to face Adela. She placed her right hand over her chest and performed a standard knight’s salute.
“Lady Saintess, please lead us out.”
Adela watched them quietly. Finally, she sighed softly.
That sigh contained no helplessness. Instead, it carried a sense of relief and memory, and even a trace of gratification.
As expected, the Goddess was still the Goddess.
No matter which lifetime it was, the Order of Knights she raised was always so outstanding and brilliant.
“I understand. Follow me.”