SWNOVELXO Chapter 252
Chapter 252
“I’ll contact you soon.”
Escorting Aria to the cathedral, Karl invoked Divine Magic again to transport himself back to the Pilgrim’s Path.
“This place is...”
“This is the closest part of the path to Babel. I’ll ask Ludwig to help teleport us from here.”
Puzzled by the explanation, Se-Hoon couldn’t help but wonder, Can he not teleport inside Babel?
Thinking about how all of the places they’d been teleporting to so far were filled with ambient divine mana, like the Pilgrim’s Path and the Cathedral, Se-Hoon deduced that there were likely some restrictions to Karl’s teleportation skill.
And Karl, having guessed Se-Hoon’s thoughts from his expression, confirmed it.
“Yes, there are some limitations to my teleportation skill, but more importantly, showing up suddenly inside Babel might displease Ludwig.”
“Does he actually care about things like that?”
“He probably will. We’re essentially outsiders to one another, after all.”
Se-Hoon glanced at Karl.
They’re not friends or even comrades, huh...
Although the two had fought together countless times and were even cooperating again against a common enemy, there was apparently still a significant distance between them, enough for them to address each other as strangers.
Now, Se-Hoon understood a bit more about how the Perfect Ones were picked off one by one in his previous life.
So it wasn’t just because the Harbingers of Destruction had an advantage in skill compatibility; the Perfect Ones never intended to work together from the start.
While they didn’t outright fight among themselves like the Ten Evils, goodwill didn’t exist between them either—they were extremely indifferent.
As Se-Hoon was deep in thought about the relationship between the Perfect Ones, Karl calmly added, “Also, if word of how you’re siding with me spread, you could become a target of Apostate. So it’s better to be cautious.”
Caught off guard by Karl’s straightforwardness, Se-Hoon looked at him. He had assumed Karl would avoid such sensitive topics, but he had brought it up himself.
“Uhm... I heard you once titled him as your successor...”
Karl nodded slightly in response.
“I wrote a will instructing him to take over as the Pope of the Pilgrimage Church if I were to leave this world. He was truly devout.... It’s just a shame.”
“...”
Getting an answer he didn’t expect, Se-Hoon looked at Karl strangely. Then, suddenly, the space around them trembled slightly.
It should be Ludwig’s space manipulation.
And as if confirming his guess, the surrounding space peeled away like a shell, revealing a Whitespace that quickly transitioned into a new setting.
In an instant, the three of them found themselves in a private ward of Askus. Glancing at the nameplate bearing “Yeom Jin-Hyun,” Karl turned to Sung-Ha.
“Please wait outside, Yeom Sung-Ha.”
Sung-Ha immediately frowned. Then, turning to stare at Se-Hoon, he questioned, “Why is he allowed in?”
“Because he’s less likely to interfere with the treatment process. I also have some things to confirm with him.”
“...Understood.”
Unable to refute, Sung-Ha nodded reluctantly and watched Karl and Se-Hoon enter. But just before they entered, Sung-Ha bowed his head.
“Please take good care of my master.”
Gazing at the surprisingly obedient Sung-Ha, Karl gently responded, “Everything will be up to your master’s and God’s will.”
He then entered the room, and before following, Se-Hoon quickly approached Sung-Ha and whispered in his ear, “If the treatment somehow goes south, I’ll handle it somehow.”
“...”
Simply nodding without a word, Sung-Ha watched Se-Hoon follow Karl inside until the door closed.
Beep- Beep-
The rhythmic beeping of medical machines rang out in the room, mingling with the pungent scent of medicine. Several IV drips were hooked up to Jin-Hyun, making it evident his condition was far from good.
“Over here.”
Called over by Karl, Se-Hoon walked over to the side of the bed and looked down. Jin-Hyun’s face was pale, his body so emaciated that it revealed bones protruding from under his skin. He appeared to be barely clinging to life, causing Se-Hoon to furrow his brow.
So that’s why he didn’t want Sung-Ha to come into the room.
If Sung-Ha had witnessed the sight of his master, he might have demanded immediate treatment regardless of what God’s will was. Now more curious about how Karl would start the treatment process, Se-Hoon was staring at Jin-Hyun in thought when Karl, who was watching Jin-Hyun, smiled.
“His condition is not bad.”
“You count this as not bad?”
“I was referring to his spirit, not his body. Maintaining such mental clarity in this state is not easy.... He’s a truly courageous man.”
Still unable to understand, Se-Hoon scrutinized Jin-Hyun's body once more.
He doesn’t look that way to me...
It would still be a stretch even if his mana source was intact, but even that was unstable. Pondering how Karl was assessing Jin-Hyun’s condition, Se-Hoon's thoughts arrived at the difference between them.
Oh. Is he using divine mana to enhance his sight?
Though he hadn’t heard about it before, Se-Hoon thought Karl could be using a unique vision skill that utilized divine mana. And if that was the case, then since Se-Hoon himself had also acquired divine mana, he thought he possibly could attempt it as well.
However, he decided against it.
Using unfamiliar vision skills is quite risky.
If he really wanted to know, he could just ask Karl to teach him after they were done with the treatment. Meanwhile, as Se-Hoon had been organizing his thoughts, Karl had finished inspecting Jin-Hyun.
“Let’s wake him up.”
Karl then extended his right hand, and a small bell soon appeared in his grasp. Looking closer, it was an ornate bell with a golden base and white patterns crafted from divine mana.
Chime-
With a gentle shake, the clear sound of the bell resonated throughout the room, and Jin-Hyun’s closed eyes slowly opened moments later.
“You are...”
“It’s been a while since we last met on the battlefield, Yeom Jin-Hyun.”
Jin-Hyun stared at Karl in surprise, trying to recall where they had last met, until a moment later, when he spotted Se-Hoon standing behind Karl.
“Sung-Ha must have requested something pointless again,” he muttered in a bitter tone, realizing the situation.
He then returned his gaze to Karl, a serious expression on his face.
“There’s no need for you to treat me.”
Without giving them a chance to say anything else, Jin-Hyun rejected the treatment straightaway.
Similarly, Karl accepted it immediately, without question.
“Understood. Then—”
However, just as Karl was about to release Jin-Hyun back into his slumber, Se-Hoon moved his hands first.
Clang!
Golden chains suddenly tightly bound Jin-Hyun’s body, and his wavering consciousness became sharp once more.
Frustrated, Jin-Hyun narrowed his eyes and asked, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“That’s my question.”
Snap!
Swiftly invoking Divine Magic, Se-Hoon forcibly reconnected Jin-Hyun’s mind and body, glaring at him with determination.
“After all the trouble I went through to bring him here, don’t you think rejecting us outright is a bit much?”
Staring at Se-Hoon incredulously, Jin-Hyun sighed deeply.
“I’m sorry for making you go through all that trouble... but it’s all pointless.”
“Well, that’s not for you to decide when you haven’t even—”
“I have tried.”
Jin-Hyun looked at Se-Hoon with steady eyes.
“When I first noticed my body was failing years ago, I went straight to the Pilgrimage Church. But they turned me away.”
If a patient personally requested treatment from the Church but was outright refused, there could be only one reason.
“They said God did not permit it.”
Se-Hoon’s head spun to Karl for confirmation. However, Karl stood silent, offering neither affirmation or denial. Discontented with him once again, Se-Hoon scowled.
I’m seriously going to expose this fanatic one day...
If such a thing had happened, Karl should have told him sooner.
Seeing Se-Hoon’s reaction, Jin-Hyun made a bitter smile.
“Don’t look at him like that. I also couldn’t accept why this was happening to me back then, but I’ve now come to peace with it. One cannot question the inevitable.”
“I see you’ve grown stronger.”
Though Karl genuinely admired Jin-Hyun’s bravery, the current situation made it seem like bordered-line mockery. Yet neither seemed bothered.
This isn’t good.
If things continued as they were, Karl could even end Jin-Hyun’s life himself. Desperate to find a solution, Se-Hoon quickly devised a plan.
“I guess it’s time to let him—”
“What if God allows it this time?”
“...What do you mean?”
Facing Jin-Hyun, Se-Hoon’s expression became serious.
“While He might have refused you last time, who knows whether He will this time?”
“...”
“And if you’re just going to give up, it shouldn’t matter to you what that damn God says, right? So we should check again, and if you still don't want treatment, you can refuse afterward.”
Taken aback by Se-Hoon’s audacious words, Jin-Hyun looked at him in disbelief.
“Why are you going so far to heal me?”
“For my own experience.”
“Experience...?”
“Yes. I want to learn how the Pilgrim heals using Divine Magic. After all the trouble I went through because of Sung-Ha, I need to at least get that much out of it.”
It was all intentional. Se-Hoon had phrased his words so that Jin-Hyun would believe he didn’t really care about his survival. It was a blunt and brazen approach, but Se-Hoon knew it was the correct one.
If I could sway him using sentiment, he would’ve agreed from the start.
He could tell that Jin-Hyun had already completely let go of his attachment to life. The only leverage left was his bond with Sung-Ha—the one person he still cared about.
“If I don’t get this chance to witness the Pilgrim’s holy magic here, I’ll dump the entirety of this debt on Sung-Ha and work him to the bone. I mean it.”
For a moment, Jin-Hyun just stared blankly at Se-Hoon. Giving in, he sighed and smiled wryly.
“Fine. If that’s your reason, I suppose I can’t refuse.”
Having already decided that he wouldn’t receive any treatment, Jin-Hyun didn’t have much expectation in his voice.
Regardless, Se-Hoon quickly turned to Karl, urging, “Alright then, shall we begin?”
“...”
“Uh... Mr Anderson?”
Seemingly pondering something, Karl remained silent briefly before turning to Se-Hoon.
“In that case, you should try it yourself, Lee Se-Hoon.”
“...What?”
“I’ll help you with the skill activation. Alright, then...”
Before Se-Hoon could even make a peep, their positions were switched, and Karl’s hand had settled on Se-Hoon’s back.
“Let’s begin.”
“Wai—”
Woong!
Under Karl’s guidance, the divine mana dormant within Se-Hoon’s body began stirring, forming a golden ring in midair.
Swish-
Starting from the twelve o’clock position, cards began to appear one by one as white particles gathered and formed cards in a clockwise direction, creating a total of nine.
Nine cards... that’s the highest record even among archbishops.
Regardless of whether it was thanks to Karl’s support or not, Se-Hoon was amazed by the fact that he managed to draw two more cards beyond the usual seven.
Similarly gazing at the cards from the side, Karl nodded in satisfaction.
“This amount should adequately reflect God’s will. You can now go ahead and check.”
“...Alright.”
Taking a deep breath, Se-Hoon began flipping the cards from left to right.
[Past] [Summit] [Arrogance] [Recession]
Each card, framed in white with golden letters at the bottom, depicted parts of a sequential story—a man gazed at himself in a mirror, then deciding to climb to the peak of a mountain he thought little of, only to tumble down.
“...”
Jin-Hyun stared silently at the cards.
[Despair] [Hope] [Resignation] [Resolve]
The next set of cards depicted a man wandering in the darkness, trying to return to the peak, before finding a lone child. With two choices before him, the man immediately turned his back and descended with the child. Then, the moment he realized that the child’s body was slowly freezing up...
[Death]
The man set his own body aflame to protect the child from the coldness.
“...I’m sorry you couldn’t see the healing magic.”
Even as he stared at the card confirming his death, Jin-Hyun apologized to Se-Hoon. In fact, he seemed somewhat relieved in the face of his inevitable fate.
And at the sight of him like that, Se-Hoon’s mind was flooded by a rush of memories.
“What a damn stubborn relationship this was...”
The voice of his master as she let go of everything and disappeared vividly resounded in his mind, causing Se-Hoon to frown unconsciously.
Why are they all like this?
Even though he somewhat understood why they believed it was the best choice for their disciples, their actions only intensified the self-blame—stemming from their inability to do anything for their masters—felt by those left behind.
Frustrated, Se-Hoon glared at the nine prophecy cards floating in the air.
I refuse to accept this fate.
Whoever this so-called God was, He couldn’t be allowed to end Jin-Hyun’s life with such a regret-laden, trashy closure. With eyes flashing with determination, Se-Hoon seized the ring in midair, taking back the divine mana that had been under Karl’s control.
He wholeheartedly believed that there was a way for Jin-Hyun to survive, and it was just that the incompetent God wasn’t showing it. Feeling the divine mana pulse in his grip, he manifested the vision of an alternate, rightful future.
Woong!
Watching the golden ring trembling in resistance to the forceful change in fate from behind, Karl’s eyes widened.
Is he trying to defy the will of God?
However, even though Se-Hoon’s action of rejecting the Divine Will to pursue his desire embodied what many would call a heretic, Karl didn’t intervene, choosing to just observe the unfolding scene.
“Urgh...”
The thrashing divine mana threatened to tear through Se-Hoon’s hand, their unbending will making his efforts to create a new fate seem futile. But instead of giving up, Se-Hoon altered his approach.
If creating a card isn’t the solution, I’ll just use the materials...!
Focusing on the white particles that appeared when the cards were formed, Se-Hoon attempted to mimic the process. He didn’t fully understand their nature, but he had seen the process twice already.
Woong-
Responding to Se-Hoon’s intent, unlike the divine mana, the white particles converged in his palm, gradually shaping into a card. But then, a blinding light painted his mind white, trying to erase his memories and hinder the card’s creation. However, Se-Hoon’s racing mind managed to devise a countermeasure.
Ba-dump!
Even though his thoughts were slowed down by the intense light, his heart and the blood coursing through his veins carried the work forward by instinct.
Se-Hoon’s soul, honed over decades, was now continuing the work independently to achieve the impossible.
Woong!
Responding to his will as well, the Hero’s Ring glowed brightly and enveloped Se-Hoon’s body in a shimmering golden light.
With the addition of the light, the white particles compressed instantly, forming a new card that Se-Hoon placed immediately with the others in the ring, without even thinking.
[Resurrection]
The card depicted a man reborn in flames. And once it settled, the Death card shifted next to it, flashing with a golden light as it transformed into a new card.
[Succession]
The man, who had died and resurrected, held the child close and sprinted back toward the summit, his body ablaze.
Jin-Hyun’s eyes widened at the sight—a miracle he never dared to imagine.
Looking toward the dumbfounded Jin-Hyun, Karl calmly declared, “God’s will has changed. What will you do?”
Jin-Hyun remained silent, his gaze fixed on the burning man racing toward the peak.
He closed his eyes, as if he wanted to believe it was all a dream. But right at that moment—
Bang!
The door burst open. Opening his eyes, Jin-Hyun turned his head to see Sung-Ha standing there, pale and wide-eyed.
Wondering if he had entered thinking the treatment was complete, Jin-Hyun sighed at the sight of his weak, immature disciple who couldn’t stay true to his words and actions.
“It seems like it’s too early for me to leave.”
With a bitter smile, Jin-Hyun turned to Karl.
“Would you be so kind as to heal me this time?”
Smiling gently, Karl declared his verdict.
“If that is God’s will.”
Hum-
A thread of divine mana emerged from Karl’s fingertips, unraveling into strands of golden light that transformed into a chalice. Inside it, a white light shimmered like liquid, slowly rising to the top.
Then, when it was almost filled, Karl tipped the chalice forward.
Richness Grail
The light pouring out surged through the entire hospital like a tidal wave before subsiding in the blink of an eye. It was an extraordinary spectacle that had startled patients throughout the entire hospital. However, that wasn’t the real miracle.
“How... am I standing up right now?”
“Is my arm... moving?”
“I-I can see...!”
The thousands of patients within the hospital had been instantly cured.