A New Heart
A New Heart
Hence, he had no choice but to cover his hands with his serpent scales.
It temporarily protected his skin from getting burned, but he had a feeling that the heat coming from the ball of divine power would melt his scales soon.
[I didn't know the Holy Scepter has this much power.]
It wasn't the first time he had seen the Holy Scepter, but he didn't remember it being this powerful– especially when it hadn't taken its original form yet.
[What changed?]
<"My lord, please hold onto the Holy Scepter until the Saint gets here,"> the semi-transparent deity begged him. <"If you let it go now, we might lose it forever.">
[It's the deity who put my son in this situation…]
"You don't have to tell me what to do," Kiho said indifferently. "I know what to do for my family."
He didn't mean to be rude.
But he also couldn't act nice to the person who put his son in that horrible state.
"M-Mommy, D-Daddy!" Winter yelled, his voice in a panic. "There's a huge hole in Brother Julian's chest where his heart should be!"
Kiho immediately knelt beside Julian, his hands still holding the Holy Scepter.
Seeing the hole in his son's chest was more painful than the scorching heat burning his hands at the moment.
More than that, Kiho was worried about Tilly.
His wife looked like he would snap at any moment.
[Both of us don't have the power to heal this level of injury.]
"Honey, let's put it back," Tilly said in a serious voice. "The Holy Scepter was inside Julian's heart all this time that it became his heart. That's why our son lost his heart the moment the Holy Scepter was separated from his body."
"Ah. I see," Kiho said, realizing that his wife was correct. He immediately lowered his hands near Julian's chest. "Let's put it back before it returns to its original form."
His wife nodded in agreement.
<"Lord Kiho, Lady Supreme, we need the Holy Scepter to fix the Plane–">
"Please shut up," Tilly said, cutting off the deity in a cold voice. "I'm barely holding back from blowing up this entire place, so please, not another word."
***
"YOUR HOLINESS, what the hell are you doing there?" Solenn asked, frustrated, as she continued punching the wall. "Why are you stuck there?!"
No wonder they couldn't find the saint.
When she arrived on the Plane with Julian and Saint Forrester, the saint was separated from them.
But now she knew why.
[The saint was probably absorbed by the Plane for his divine power.]
She didn't bother looking for the saint before because she was more concerned about protecting Julian.
Fortunately, it was easy to locate the saint.
Solenn just had to follow the strong source of divine power until she was led to an empty white room.
Saint Forrester was plastered on the wall, unconscious.
Several blue threads were inserted into the saint's veins– sucking out his divine power.
[The Plane lacks divine power to keep it from working properly because of the Abyss. Hence, I'm not surprised that they grabbed Saint Forrester as soon as the saint arrived and used him as a source of infinite divine power.]
"How awful," Solenn whispered, then she stopped punching the wall when she realized that her current strength wasn't enough to break through it. "I need to unleash my real power."
[I'm sorry, Father, but I have to undo the seal…]
***
WHILE TILLY and Kiho were figuring out how to put back the Holy Scepter in Julian's chest, their son suddenly opened his eyes.
And, as expected, Julian looked confused.
"It's alright, Julian," Tilly assured Julian while crying and pressing her hands on his chest to stop the bleeding. "We will save you."
Julian stared at her face for a moment, then he smiled. "Mother…"
"Yes, baby. Wait a minute," she said, trying to hold back a sob. "Your father and I will put back the Holy Scepter in you."
If Julian was an ordinary person, he would have died already for missing his heart.
And for blood loss, too.
However, since Julian had her blood and Kiho's blood as a god, his son was able to survive miraculously.
[Barely, but it won't last for long.]
"We need the Holy Scepter to fix the Plane," Julian said weakly. "Don't put it back…"
"Julian Nystrom, your life is more important than the Plane," Kiho said sternly. "We told you, didn't we? You don't have to sacrifice your life for us again."
"Mommy and Daddy are right, Brother," Winter said, crying. "I won't forgive you if die."
It was harsh, but Tilly didn't scold Winter for saying those vicious words to his brother.
She didn't get a chance since Julian coughed up blood again.
Tilly turned to Kiho in a hurry. "Honey, let's begin."
Kiho nodded.
But, all of a sudden, the door burst open and a loud yet weak voice echoed in the room.
"Stop it, Lord Kiho, Lady Soleil!"
Huh?
Tilly turned to the owner of the voice, and she confirmed that the voice really belonged to Saint Forrester.
[It feels like forever since I last saw him even though it's not.]
But the woman helping Saint Forrester walk seemed familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
[A grown woman with black hair and peach eyes…?]
Those features and the Mana that she could feel from the lady were very familiar.
"Solenn?" Winter asked in disbelief. "How did you get big so fast?"
Ah, right.
It was Solenn.
[My dear grand niece!]
"I had to unleash my power to save the saint," Solenn explained in a hurry. "Saint Forrester almost became a food source for the Plane."
Of course, none of them exactly understood what the young princess meant by that.
"Let's talk about what happened to me later," Saint Forrester said, removing his arm around Solenne's shoulders to stand on her own. "Lord Kiho, please hand me my Holy Scepter."
"I don't want to," Kiho said firmly. "We need this to become Julian's heart again."
"It's too late for that, my lord."
Saint Forrester opened his hand.
And, just like that, the ball of divine power in Kiho's hands automatically flew towards the saint's hand as if it was a magnet.
Then, before anyone of them could react, the ball of divine power turned to its original form.
It was a beautiful scepter full of pure divine power.
[It's really THE Holy Scepter…]
Tilly's heart sank, and she wasn't the only one who felt that way.
Even Kiho and Winter looked down.
[What are we going to do about Julian's heart now?]
"Finally," Saint Forrester said in a relieved voice, then he shook the Holy Scepter hard while scolding it. "Do you know how long I've been looking for you, punk?"
<"Lady Soleil.">
Huh?
The voice was coming from the Holy Scepter.
[Right, they say the Holy Scepter has its own consciousness.]
But she thought the Holy Scepter would only communicate with the saint.
<"Please allow me to become Lord Julian's heart.">
Tilly's eyes widened in shock. "Is that possible?"
<"Yes, and only you could help me do that, Supreme.">
"Me?" she asked, confused. "How could I do that?"
<"Because you are the Supreme Fire Mage, the tamer of the Beast Gods,"> the Holy Scepter said. <"Moreover, you can create Spirit Guardians, Lady Soleil.">
Spirit Guardians?
Tilly frowned. "I have bad memories about Spirit Guardians."
Lucina Morganna was Tilly's Spirit Guardian, after all.
"Me, too," Kiho said, nodding. "The White Snake is my Spirit Guardian, and I don't like her very much."
Yumi, Kiho's mother and the White Snake, would cry if she heard that.
<"Then let's start making good memories about Spirit Guardians,"> the Holy Scepter said confidently. <"Please help me become Lord Julian's Spirit Guardian in order to save him without wasting the opportunity to use the Holy Scepter for the Plane's sake.">
That was hitting two birds with one stone.
"As long as it will save Julian, then I'm open to it," Tilly said because she knew Kiho and Winter would agree with her. "Let's listen to your plan, Holy Scepter."
***
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