"The truth is this—Bishop Orad was a devil hiding within the Church.
And Vivian… was nothing more than the sacrifice he needed to achieve his unholy goals."
Hel raised the crystal high for all to see.
The air instantly turned heavy with the stench of corruption.
Even those without magical talent could feel it—an instinctive revulsion, a primal disgust that twisted their stomachs.
If not for the stabilizing properties of the crystal itself, most of them would've fallen into madness just from looking at it.
"We… followed a devil?"
The first to break down were the Church knights who had accompanied Orad.
As the Church's militant arm, their faith in the Lord of Light was absolute.
They had always believed themselves to be the defenders of holy glory—and now, they realized they had been serving a devil in disguise.
Some of them even drew their swords, kneeling before the statue of the Lord of Light, ready to take their own lives—for only through such a death could they wash away the stain of blasphemy.
While everyone's attention was fixed on Hel, Lily stepped forward and slashed through the ropes holding the cross upright.
She and Anna gently lowered the wooden frame, then carefully lifted Vivian's frail body free.
At the same time, without drawing attention, the two women quietly collected the blood that had spilled across the platform—
and even gathered the tiny sprouting shoots that had grown from it.
Such evidence was far too important to leave behind.
Meanwhile, Hel sealed the soul crystal—still containing Orad's spirit—inside a small box that Sebas had brought.
Then she turned and walked slowly toward Vivian.
When her eyes fell upon Vivian's form, she noticed two new inscriptions flickering faintly in the air above her body.
Hel sighed softly.
"You think taking everything upon yourself is the best solution?"
She murmured the words almost to herself, too quietly for even Lily, who stood closest, to hear.
"Perhaps these marks are a curse to you… very well, then."
Her fingers brushed Vivian's cold cheek.
The girl looked as though she were only asleep.
[Extracting Traits]
[Trait Acquired: Avian Sovereign (Pink)]
[Trait Acquired: Avian Witch (Red)]
Hel silently absorbed both traits, then turned her attention to the weapon impaled in Vivian's chest.
Gently, she drew out the long spear, blood no longer flowing from the wound.
Her hand rested over Vivian's heart.
When Vivian had awakened as a witch, her elemental nature had shifted.
Even though she no longer bore the Witch's trait, the trace of that transformation still lingered—a small but dangerous flaw.
Hel intended to erase it completely.
Her fingers probed for the element core within Vivian's chest, found it, and tapped lightly.
Vivian's soul rose softly into Hel's palm.
Then, just as she had done with Orad, Hel switched the cores—storing Vivian's crystal and placing Orad's in her stead.
Vivian's soul she carefully settled inside the new core.
It was not enough to restore her life—Hel knew that—but it was the foundation she needed.
When she finally finished, Hel rose and spoke again in a clear, ringing voice:
"I once made a promise to that angel—that I would protect her descendant, no matter the cost.
But alas… I came too late."
She turned toward the crowd.
Sebas stepped forward, offering a small ornate box.
Hel opened it and drew forth a rolled parchment edged with golden thread.
"To fulfill that promise," she declared,
"I will offer my family's most sacred treasure—to complete the covenant between House Heim and the Angel herself."
She tore the scroll apart.
A surge of pure, radiant life energy spilled out, sweeping through the square.
Beneath her feet, a vast green magic circle unfolded, glowing with light.
[Supreme Life Magic: Grand Resurrection]
Yes—the scroll was merely a ruse, crafted by Hel herself as a prop.
The true magic was her own doing.
But none of the onlookers could tell.
Even an expert would have found her forgery flawless—
let alone these trembling priests and soldiers.
Hel lifted Vivian gently in her arms.
The overwhelming tide of life energy poured into the girl's broken body.
The gaping wound in her chest knit together before their eyes, the skin smooth and whole once more.
The shattered crystal within her heart dissolved into pure mana, flowing through her veins like sunlight.
Thump… thump…
The steady beat of a heart echoed in the silence.
Vivian's eyelashes fluttered.
A faint color returned to her cheeks.
[Trait Bestowed: Angelic Bloodline (Red)]
"I said you are an angel," Hel whispered,
"and so—you shall be an angel."
The words were both a declaration and a decree.
The moment the trait fused into Vivian's soul, her entire body began to change.
The dark brown wings upon her back shimmered—their hue fading, brightening—until they turned a perfect, radiant white.
If Vivian had once been a fragile, awkward fledgling,
now she was a white swan reborn.
The divine light around her grew blinding, until she began to rise into the air, her wings unfolding like those of a celestial being descending from the heavens.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Priests and nuns clutched their chests, bowing low.
The Church knights dropped to one knee as one, their voices trembling with awe.
An angel stood before them—a messenger of the Lord of Light, the holiest of all beings.
The crowd erupted in fervent cries, cheering for her rebirth,
and for the miracle that had blessed their city.
Then—
From above, a pillar of purest light pierced the clouds.
It descended like a river of gold, shaping itself into a radiant staircase that climbed all the way to the heavens.
At the top, a great golden gate appeared—its edges gleaming with sacred fire.
Through it came the faint sound of hymns and divine chants, echoing from the unseen realm beyond.
A single beam of light drifted forth, forming a glowing halo that gently settled upon Vivian's head.
In that instant, her body flared with dazzling brilliance.
A colossal angelic silhouette—vast as the sky—rose from her, wings outstretched to the horizon.
It was as if the heavens themselves were proclaiming:
The Angel has descended.