Bersia couldn’t comprehend this sequence of events.
Why was the person she tried to save collapsing?
Why was there a smile on his face?
Why was his body falling, crushing her beneath him?
Her mind wasn’t sharp enough to understand such things.
She could only repeat the question in her head.
Why.
Why now, of all times.
Amid this turmoil, Bersia’s thoughts began to converge on a single point.
There was only one entity in her life capable of orchestrating such a cruel event.
An entity in the heavens that would take everything from a cherished doll to protect it at all costs.
“Ah….”
Her head burned with hatred.
Her eyes felt as though they were scorching away.
Her breaths grew so rapid that oxygen barely circulated in her system.
In the midst of this, she felt the sticky, hot blood soaking her entire body.
That emotion ignited the divinity within her.
Whirrrrrr!
The halo spun.
Only Bersia remained unaware of it.
Even as it painted a scene akin to the end of the world, all of Bersia’s attention was fixed on Usher.
It was no different from a state of frenzy.
Bersia clung to Usher’s trembling body.
She forced her voice out, but her throat was cracked, producing only a metallic rasp.
“No… you can’t….”
She couldn’t accept the fact that Usher’s breathing was fading.
She didn’t want to believe that a hole had been blown through his chest.
“Wake… up….”
What she performed was a prayer for healing.
But the phenomenon defied natural order.
It wasn’t regeneration—it was reversal.
It was a miracle that couldn’t be explained by any other term.
There was no logic, no calculation behind it.
It was no different from a child throwing a tantrum.
Bersia commanded the world that favored her.
She demanded that Usher Therbion be saved at all costs.
Boom—!
The heavens, the earth, the atmosphere, and the plants bore the brunt of the backlash.
And so did Bersia.
“Cough…!”
She vomited blood.
The veins in her whites swelled and burst, streaming blood from her eyes.
Yet Bersia did not stop.
She restored his heart, then his lungs, liver, and stomach.
She repaired the bones, muscles, and flesh that would cover them.
She sealed the hole in Usher.
But he didn’t open his eyes.
Rational thought was impossible.
Bersia clutched the unresponsive Usher so tightly it seemed she might crush him, releasing a soundless scream.
It felt as though everything was her fault.
What if she hadn’t tried to sacrifice herself?
If the deity who wouldn’t let her break apart had chosen a different way to grant salvation, wouldn’t things have turned out differently?
Her assumptions piled endlessly one after another.
At the end of her deeply emotional reasoning lay nothing but guilt.
From the start, it had all been a mistake.
Feeling affection for him, getting close to him, being moved by his logic—none of it should have happened.
She should have chosen rationality, not ideals.
Had she done so, such a disaster wouldn’t have occurred.
What now?
If he were gone, would she return to how things were before?
It was a strange thought.
Despite having lived her entire life that way, and despite having spent barely a month with Usher,
Bersia was terrified of returning to a life without him.
She was convinced that such days would be far more dreadful than before.
Her vision darkened.
It felt as though she were flailing in the depths of the ocean.
Her breath was cut off.
She would drown.
She didn’t want that to happen.
‘Please….’
Wake up.
Wake up and smile stupidly again.
Get angry when I tease you, then act like nothing happened, laughing foolishly.
As she conveyed her thoughts inwardly, she continued the healing.
But it was a meaningless act.
Piiik—
The healing of his body was already complete.
No matter how much divinity she poured into him, there was nothing more that could be done to improve his condition.
And yet, why—why wasn’t he waking up?
Bersia couldn’t understand.
It was only natural; she had already lost the reason needed to comprehend it.
Her chest felt suffocated.
If she didn’t let it out somehow, it seemed as though something inside her would explode.
It was then that something caught Bersia’s eye.
[Aaah, what a shame!]
It was Bourbon, laughing maniacally despite his body being completely crushed.
No, it was something wearing Bourbon’s skin.
The voice was that of a girl.
Whatever it was, it exuded an unbearably vile and sinister stench that made her want to retch.
Ah, that thing had pierced a hole in Usher’s chest.
It had fired its tendrils, and she had used her body to shield Usher from them.
Recalling that fact brought a wave of self-loathing and hatred.
She didn’t care what it was or what its purpose might be.
She didn’t need to know.
She just wanted to kill it.
That one reason was enough.
With that reason alone, Bersia could move the world.
Drip—
Blood trickled from Bersia’s nose.
At the same time—
Crash!
The heavens collapsed, crushing it beneath their weight.
Saturn realized something was amiss just as his fist slammed into Bourbon’s face.
He realized that whatever it was, it wasn’t Bourbon, but something wearing his skin—a construct of an “artificial witch” that had not been found in the depths.
Recognizing this, Saturn wrapped his entire body in white phosphorus.
But he couldn’t take any further action.
“…!”
Crash—!
Bersia’s divinity manifested.
An ominous, endless crimson light radiated, staining the world.
The intensity of the divinity, the overwhelming density of it, robbed Saturn of his freedom.
He wasn’t the only one affected.
Bersia was clearly performing a prayer of healing.
However, as her focus remained solely on Usher, the vitality of everything in the surrounding space was being drawn out.
Only then did Saturn truly grasp the weight of the title used to describe Bersia.
For the first time in his life, he felt the emotion called fear.
‘…The world’s favoritism.’
It wasn’t merely a matter of reverence.
It was the literal meaning of the term.
Bersia was an extraordinary being who could enforce such cruelly unreasonable events on the entire world, simply because her heart demanded it.
Only now did that reality truly sink in.
His title as a top-ranked knight blessed with a sacred sword and the great achievement of inheriting the power of dragons—all of it meant nothing.
In her presence, everything was equal, reduced to mere creations.
And yet,
If nothing was done, an irreversible catastrophe would unfold.
That was why Saturn gritted his teeth and moved.
Suppressing the sensation of his body being crushed, he ran.
He embraced Rubena, who was gasping for breath from afar.
With her in his arms, he rushed to the center of the missing individuals.
There was no other way to resist this disaster.
“Uooohhh!!!”
With a shout, he unleashed his divinity.
The white phosphorus spread beyond his body, enveloping Rubena and the missing individuals.
A miraculous coincidence occurred.
Just as the veil of white phosphorus was completed, the space began to gain mass and crush the ground.
Craaaack!!!
Saturn’s entire body swelled.
Veins bulged on his forehead.
And then—
Puhak!
His muscles tore apart.
His whites turned bloodshot.
Blood erupted from his nose, dribbling out between his clenched teeth.
His body began to tremble.
“Kyahhh!!!”
Rubena screamed.
Gripping Saturn’s collar with a face drained of all color, she desperately prayed for healing, but the destruction of his body outpaced her efforts.
Saturn felt his mind turning blank.
Even amid this crisis, he was struck by a chilling sense of relief at the sight beyond the veil of white phosphorus.
The ground was collapsing.
The artificial witch was not just being crushed—it was disappearing entirely, leaving no form behind.
The underground where they had escaped was beyond salvation.
With the ground caving in, anything or anyone left alive would be buried forever.
A chill ran down his spine.
What if he hadn’t acted quickly to protect them?
The missing individuals, Rubena, himself—they would all have ended up like the artificial witch.
Of course, it was too soon to feel at ease.
Who could stop this?
How could it be stopped?
It felt distant—infinitely so, leaving only a sense of hopelessness.
How long would he have to bear this weight?
As he forced himself to hold on, pushing such thoughts aside—
Piik—!
Suddenly, the pressure disappeared.
The reason became clear at once.
“Bersia!!!”
Rubena’s scream turned Saturn’s gaze toward Bersia.
Her body was tilting to the side.
The crimson halo that had floated above her head had vanished.
She had fainted.
Relief swept through his breathing instantly.
But his body had already collapsed beyond its limit.
Saturn fell to his knees.
His shoulders drooped in exhaustion, and he let out a hollow laugh.
Even now, his gaze remained fixed on Bersia.
To think she could only be stopped by losing control and fainting.
A power that could only end through such a result.
‘Utterly dangerous.’
Saturn, who had studied doctrine and history extensively, had never encountered a power like this.
His expression twisted.
It was blasphemy, and he knew it.
Even so, he couldn’t help but question it.
‘Oh Great Deity….’
Why have you bestowed such power upon the body of that small girl?
What intent lies behind this?
What are you planning?
But eventually, even the strength to harbor such doubts faded.
Thud!
Saturn collapsed sideways, his head spinning.
Though his eyes were open, only bloodshot whites remained visible beneath his eyelids.
“W-What?! Hey! What do you think you’re doing fainting too?! Oh, this is driving me crazy!!!”
Rubena tore at her hair in frustration.