The Saintess had ultimately departed.

Yet even though she was long gone, that momentary pause she made had already set people whispering among themselves.

After all, she was the Saintess.

The future heir of the Holy Cross Kingdom—one of the Five Great Powers of the continent!

What’s more, her lineage was so illustrious?

The Protector King Family of the Holy Cross Kingdom, recorded in the Genealogy of Royal Blood—the tome compiled by the Neutral City-States for the world’s Sun Clan Arcanists to measure the nobility of bloodlines—ranked second only to the Supreme King family of the Myriad Laws Empire!

A wave of murmurs swept through the apprentices from the various schools’ Mage Towers gathered outside the grand hall.

“Did you see that just now? The Saintess seemed to be looking toward the Five Rings Mage Tower. Could there be someone important hidden there?”

“Five Rings Mage Tower? Director Chris’s disciples? I recall their First Disciple is the heir of House Morsol. Hmm, though quite impoverished, he does seem to have some talent. But is that enough to draw the Saintess’s attention?”

“Perhaps she was looking at Princess Louise? After all, the title of the city-state’s most brilliant jewel isn’t false, is it?”

‘Hmph.’

Amidst the puzzled and excited crowd, however, one figure remained exceptionally composed.

The future Savior of the world, Ivan, clad in the tattered robes of a menial trainee, exuded a confidence and arrogance utterly at odds with his shabby appearance.

“You fools,” his demeanor seemed to say, “you have no idea what the Saintess truly sensed.”

At that moment, the protagonist’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Though positioned at the very end of the procession, his heart swelled with such fervor that he felt as if he already stood at center stage.

Of course the Saintess was paying attention to me!

‘How truly worthy of the Holy Cross Kingdom’s heir.’

Ivan’s gaze flicked to Louise, who stood beside Lynn, radiant and stunningly charming amidst the surrounding crowd. A flash of irritation crossed his face.

‘She’s nothing like that foolish Louise, that princess who still hasn’t figured out Lynn’s despicable true colors! It was decided. Once I prove my noble origins, unless Louise sincerely apologizes to me—preferably by personally dealing with that scoundrel Lynn—I will never take her under my wing!’

He shot a spiteful glare at Louise, who was conversing naturally with Lynn, feeling a sour ache in his heart.

‘That position should have been mine!’

It was all because of that Chris, who shielded his student, and the blind Louise, that shameless Lynn continued to usurp the seat of First Disciple!

‘Calm yourself, Ivan. Our plan is already more than halfway to success.’

Just as Ivan’s mind grew restless and agitated, the authoritative voice of the mysterious master in his head smoothed his tangled thoughts once more.

‘The medal in that Lynn brat’s hand has long since been replaced. When the time comes, as long as you follow my plan, you’ll surely make him foolishly funnel his magic into you. Then not only will you gain over a decade of hard-earned magic for free, but you’ll also cultivate the Indestructible Body to match the prophecy.’

‘Master is right.’

Ivan nodded firmly.

‘Yes, all of this was only temporary.’

Watching the crowd, led by the First Disciples of each Mage Tower, slowly approach the great hall of the Supreme Arcane Council after the Saintess had walked away, Ivan’s heart swelled with heroic ambition. His gaze locked onto Lynn, who was leading the Five Rings Mage Tower through the entrance.

‘Sooner or later, I will take back everything you’ve stolen, Lynn. Just you wait.’

Ivan could hardly wait to savor the look of despair on Lynn’s face when that day came.

Squeeze.

He gripped the medallion in his pocket—the genuine Secret Treasure.

“Ha... achoo!”

Just as he entered the great hall, Lynn suddenly felt a chill approaching his chest and sneezed instinctively.

“Senior Lynn, are you alright?” Louise quickly stepped forward with concern, a trace of shadow flickering in her sparkling eyes.

‘That is…’

Though she had been reborn only two days ago, Louise had inherited the full memories of her previous life. While her magic capacity remained unchanged, her mastery of Arcane Art had undergone an earth-shattering transformation. In a fleeting instant, she detected something amiss.

‘That bastard Ivan... he’s delved into Forbidden Arcane Art this early?’

Painful memories surfaced in Louise’s mind.

‘How laughable I was in my last life, to have suspected that the mastermind behind the sacrificial incidents at the Five Rings Mage Tower was Senior Lynn!’

The moment she thought of this, she immediately reached out to touch the source of the anomaly she sensed—Lynn’s chest.

Plop.

That medallion, both familiar and foreign, came into Louise’s sight.

‘Just as I thought!’

Louise stared intently at the medallion, or more precisely, at the Forbidden Arcane Art clinging to it—the Soul-Snatching Technique.

If the Forbidden Spell she had cast before, the Soul-Splitting Technique, was widely regarded as cruel, then the Forbidden Arcane Art, the Soul-Snatching Technique, currently affixed to the medallion on Lynn’s chest, was a forbidden magic loathed and cursed by Arcanists across the entire continent.

Not just because its function was the despicable and shameless covert siphoning of the host’s magic, but also because of the spell’s horrifying casting condition.

Sacrifice.

Not of ordinary magical materials or creatures, but of souls—human souls.

Although generally speaking, Sun Clan Arcanists did not treat the Moon Clan, Star Clan, or Dust Clan as equals, those truly cruel enough to use the latter’s souls as mere spellcasting components were virtually nonexistent across the continent. Moreover, within the laws of the Five Great Powers, it was an absolutely unforgivable capital offense.

‘In my last life, it wasn’t until after Senior Lynn died and that bastard gradually revealed his true face that I began to suspect and secretly investigate the truth. That’s when I discovered that Ivan had not only been practicing Forbidden Magic early on, but that his victims were countless.’

Louise stared deeply at the medallion, her eyes swirling with a complex mix of regret and grief.

“Heh heh heh, Miss Louise.”

However, her immense sorrow was interrupted.

The very man she was single-mindedly determined to protect was now leaning down, snatching the medallion back firmly.

“Surely you’re not thinking of helping that Dust Clan servant Ivan retrieve this medallion, are you?” Lynn proclaimed righteously, “Have you forgotten the rules of our Mage Tower? A menial trainee may not possess any magical items privately. Isn’t it only reasonable that such a dangerous object be disposed of by me, his master?”

Facing Louise’s grief-stricken expression, Lynn felt as if his role as the Villain was about to transcend even the original script.

In just a few short sentences, he had not only made this heroine despise him, but more importantly, roused her sympathy for the protagonist Ivan!

Especially later, when she would see Ivan, despite such utter despair, still relentlessly challenge him?

‘Wahahaha, everything was on the rise, on the rise!’

In the original work, had he ever seen the normally aloof Louise so “losing her composure”?

‘Still…’

Lynn touched the medallion that was now faintly radiating a chill.

‘Although I already knew the medallion the protagonist gave me concealed a trick, the flow of this magic... why does it seem somewhat like the Usurp Magic within the Soul-Snatching Technique?’

Ah, he must be overthinking things.

‘Come on, that was a Forbidden Arcane Art.’

Even in the original work, Lynn, who was conventionally considered a genius, never mastered any Forbidden Magic—even when he took the villain route and was seduced into corruption by cultists—right up until the protagonist Ivan defeated him.

That wasn’t just ordinary evil black magic; it was a profound Arcane Art closely tied to the terrifying deities lurking deep within the Astral Plane, ever peering at the mortal world, merely waiting for the right moment to completely corrode reality.

‘In the original work, aside from the Supreme King of the Myriad Laws Empire and his Four Apocalypse Marshals, the other villains were at most tangled up with evil magical creatures from the Purgatorial Abyss.’

The two were on entirely different levels.

Let alone the fact that the protagonist was played by the player, the righteous and honorable Savior destined to represent justice.

‘It’s probably an ancient Arcane Art with a similar function, but one with a far more legitimate origin,’ Lynn quickly concluded.

After all, as revealed in the later plot, the protagonist’s mysterious master was an unlucky Ancient Legendary Expert who had perished in a Secret Realm, leaving only a Remnant Soul that escaped within a ring, which Ivan had picked up by chance.

‘Speaking of which, if I recall correctly, the bargaining chip the Saintess brought to win the Neutral City-States over to the Anti-Myriad Laws Empire Alliance is a treasure map to an ancient Secret Realm? Tsk, though fraught with peril, that was the perfect dungeon for getting rich in the early game.’

If he could skim a little off it, maybe he could pay off his debts immediately?

Of course, the lion’s share had to go to the protagonist. He’d just tag along, get slapped in the face, and then pick up the discarded scraps the protagonist’s party didn’t want, right?

‘Come to think of it, this was one of the perks of being a villain, wasn’t it?’

In his last life, he’d taken the cannon fodder supporting male route, running errands tirelessly for Ivan. But once the protagonist struck it rich, he himself had only been given a paltry reward.

Seen this way, being a villain did have its benefits.

Heh heh, with that in mind, he’d better put on a good show when he went on stage later, right?

‘And the protagonist has even conveniently delivered the perfect prop?’

Glancing at the “Secret Treasure” that could drain his magic, Lynn gleefully fondled it over and over, practically unable to put it down.

‘In that case, my original plan might just be unnecessary. As expected of the protagonist, his strategy is so much simpler.’

All he had to do was wait for Ivan to be declared the Savior, then step forward to provoke him. Then, during their duel, he’d just madly funnel his magic into this item, right?

“Since Senior Lynn already has a plan, I will say no more.”

Seeing that Lynn had already “understood” her hint, a flash of admiration crossed Louise’s eyes.

She, of course, understood Lynn’s implication.

Isn’t it only reasonable that such a dangerous object be disposed of by me, his master?

Truly worthy of Lynn, to have so quickly discerned that this counterfeit medallion was essentially a vessel for Forbidden Arcane Art.

It seemed she had never understood Senior Lynn as well as she’d thought.

How could her strategic wisdom ever hope to match his?

Louise admitted defeat wholeheartedly and retreated with a firm nod.

Clang, clang~

Just as Louise was lost in her admiration, a melodious bell tolled from the depths of the great hall.

There, dozens of figures clad in robes bearing the insignias of various Mage Towers were making their way to the center of the venue with slow, solemn steps, standing face to face with the Holy Cross Kingdom’s envoy delegation.

The masters of the Mage Towers, the Masters of each school from the Neutral City-States’ Supreme Arcane Council, all looked solemnly toward the Saintess and her retinue.

Lynn and the other trainees tactfully withdrew to the periphery of the hall, silently observing the city-state’s rulers like attendants.

“Saintess, we failed to greet you from afar. Please forgive our discourtesy.”

A dignified, white-haired elder at the very front of the procession nodded slightly toward the Saintess.

The man was the Council Chairman of the Supreme Council, the highest head of state of the city-state.

“Your Excellency Chairman, your reputation precedes you. It is our profound honor to meet you today.”

The one who spoke was not the Saintess, but the elderly female attendant beside her.

Yet no one present found this surprising.

After all, it was common knowledge that the chosen Saintesses of House Kilan, generation after generation, had to pay a corresponding price to receive the divine favor of the God of Light: the loss of one of the five senses.

And the price for this generation’s Saintess was... her voice.

“May I ask what matter has brought the Saintess here today? If it lies within the power of our Neutral City-States, we shall spare no effort, even through fire and water.” The Council Chairman continued, half using diplomatic pleasantries.

“We are grateful for Your Excellency Chairman’s kindness...” The elderly woman continued reciting a pre-arranged speech.

“I have come to the city-state today for one matter, and one matter alone.”

However, the elderly woman’s words were suddenly interrupted.

Though no audible sound was made, everyone distinctly felt that warm and holy voice resonate deep within their hearts.

It was not the physical sound of throat vibrations, but a resonance from the depths of the soul.

‘The Saintess?!’

“I have sensed it. The Savior prophesied by the God of Light is here, within the Neutral City-States, within this very hall.”

“The prophesied Savior?” The Council Chairman was initially bewildered, then his expression changed drastically.

“That prophecy spoken by the first Saintess of the Holy Cross Kingdom three thousand years ago?! But isn't that just a fabricated myth...”

“How dare you call my Lord’s prophecy a myth?”

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

Suddenly, six golden wings of light unfurled from the Saintess’s shoulders. The overwhelming force was enough to force even the Council Chairman, a peak Master-rank expert, to recoil.

“The prophesied Savior is…”

Lynn never imagined that this time, the Saintess would orchestrate such a grand spectacle.

‘Even in the previous life, the Saintess only had her initial suspicions and took several months to officially declare Ivan the prophesied Savior? Could it be... could it be that his efforts these past days were bearing fruit?’

Though he didn’t know the specific process, this was the butterfly effect—a small change leading to a completely different outcome was perfectly normal.

“It is him.”

Boom!!!

A beam of sacred, majestic light descended directly.

“How could it possibly be him!”

Though the situation exceeded expectations, the dutiful Lynn quickly got into character and immediately challenged, “A mere Dust Clan...”

‘Hm?’

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Feeling the heated gazes from all around, Lynn faltered slightly.

‘Eh? Although I am questioning the prophesied Savior, according to the script, isn’t everyone supposed to be very doubtful at first too? Why is everyone looking at me with such incredulous eyes? And... why does my body feel so warm?’

“Lynn.”

Swish.

It was the sound of a pure white robe being cast aside.

What met Lynn’s eyes was a visage beyond the power of words to describe, one that stirred an instinctive, primal trembling of the soul.

“Thank you.” The Saintess Elena spoke aloud.

‘Thank you, for returning to me, in this life, the voice I had lost.’