"So that's what happened. You were targeted too. That must have been difficult."
The speaker was an extremely ordinary-looking middle-aged man with no distinguishing features, the kind of person who would be forgotten the moment he disappeared into a crowd.
Caelus could sense that something was wrong with the man before him.
His soul, body, and even the deeper core of his existence possessed a chaotic distortion.
Yet all that twisted chaos had been forcibly compressed into this seemingly ordinary human form.
It was difficult to determine his true level of strength.
At first glance, he seemed like an ordinary middle-aged man who had not even reached the First Rank.
A deeper examination made him appear to be a Second Rank life-form with some supernatural power.
However, if a higher-ranking existence examined him carefully, they would discover that his strength seemed to have already reached the Fifth Rank, or perhaps even the Sixth.
He was a contradictory man, an existence filled with conflict from beginning to end.
Caelus glanced at the one-armed blonde woman lying unconscious on the bed.
"Lake, correct?"
"Yes. I'm Grimm, and she is Lake."
"I'm Caelus."
"You said you came to help me, and you've already explained what happened to you."
"In a way, you were dragged into this because of me."
"However, Lake's condition was caused by Lief, no, by that bastard Mary Sue."
"Forgive me for being blunt, but you are not stronger than I am."
"How do you intend to cure her?"
Grimm asked.
"I cannot heal her directly, but I can transfer the curse, or whatever else is affecting her, onto myself."
Caelus had no reliable way to counter the methods of an existence at the Creator's level.
However, transferring those methods onto himself was still possible.
"Hmm... Then what kind of payment do you want?"
"Your story."
"...Heh. That makes sense."
"Someone with an empty heart does need something to fill the space inside."
"To be honest, you are far more rational than I expected."
"I heard some of your story on my way here. Even I found what happened to you disturbing and twisted."
"Under those circumstances, I never expected you to remain so rational, or even appear this calm."
"What did you expect me to be?"
"A madman even more insane than the patients in a psychiatric hospital?"
"I passed through that stage long ago."
"I have already been every kind of madman imaginable."
"I once became a butcher who slaughtered an entire world."
"I once imprisoned every attractive person I found, women and men alike, inside a carriage and used them to satisfy my desires."
"I once loved only one person with complete obsession and traveled across the entire world in pursuit of them, regardless of the cost."
"I have been a father, an older brother, a younger brother, and a son."
"Throughout endless cycles, I have played too many roles and done too many things."
"Most of those stories were scripts written by the Rulers, but I invested the appropriate emotions into every one of them."
"I have already gone mad more times than I can remember."
"That is why I will not continue going mad."
Grimm spoke calmly.
Of course, when he said he would no longer go mad, he only meant under normal circumstances.
Caelus nodded.
"Shall we begin the treatment?"
"Please."
Caelus stood and walked to the bedside.
He looked at the woman lying there, whose appearance was almost identical to the Lake puppet he had met before.
The power of Nihility gathered in his hand.
Under the influence of his other Paths, Nihility transformed into a bridge connecting Lake and Caelus.
The power of existence began to take effect.
Their existences gradually linked together, making them increasingly similar until, in the end, they were practically the same existence and the same individual.
Even Grimm, who was watching from nearby, froze for a moment.
For an instant, he could barely distinguish whether the person standing there was Caelus or Lake.
The sight nearly triggered him into drawing his weapon.
However, after remembering that this was part of the treatment, he forced himself to remain calm.
Even so, a pocket watch had already appeared in his hand.
Once their existences were fully synchronized, the conceptual power inside Lake was transferred to Caelus as well.
The instant the power entered him, the nature of his existence changed.
A crown woven from thorny branches appeared above Caelus's head.
Sacredness.
Light.
Grandeur.
Authority.
Compassion.
These qualities and presences emerged from Caelus all at once.
"Although Nyarlathotep's Armor-Clad Ritual disrupted my mission, the ritual itself also gave me some inspiration..."
"Armor-Clad, God."
Caelus continuously reinforced his memories of the God he had once witnessed, along with the great power He had displayed.
Using the crown of thorns as the core of the ritual, Caelus indirectly completed a simplified Armor-Clad Ritual and temporarily borrowed God's power.
The moment the high-ranking conceptual corruption came into contact with that divine power, it vanished without a trace.
At the same time, Lake's previous injuries were healed through God's power.
Even her severed arm grew back.
Her lifespan was also restored to match her current Life Rank.
God loved humanity.
That was why Caelus was willing to borrow God's power without fearing that God would use the connection to corrupt him.
It was also why God's power instinctively expelled and purified the corruption, while healing the person who had been harmed by it.
Caelus ended the Armor-Clad Ritual and severed the bridge of existence created through Nihility.
He exhaled and stepped back.
"The high-ranking corruption has been removed."
"From this moment onward, she is free."
Grimm silently stood and walked forward.
He took out a black book from somewhere and tossed it to Caelus before approaching the bed.
He looked at Lake's healthy complexion and newly restored arm.
"Grimm."
Lake opened her eyes and looked at the lover who had remained beside her.
"You're crying."
"I was moved."
"It looks a little ugly."
"Mm."
Lake reached out and wiped away Grimm's tears.
Then, as though sensing something, she looked in another direction.
"I couldn't help it."
Caelus had already left the wooden cabin.
As he departed, a book with a black cover appeared in his hand.
Black Souls.
The book recorded the story of a protagonist named Grimm.
It was the story of how he danced across a stage constructed by the Rulers, endured countless forms of despair and suffering, shattered the stage, and finally lived as himself.
Standing outside, Caelus opened the book and felt the darkness within it.
Impulse.
Madness.
Suppression.
Despair.
Yet all of them surrounded a single core.
Love that wished to possess.
Love that wished to take.
Love that wished to be the only one.
Love that wished to protect.
Love that wished to cherish.
Love that wished to devour.
Love that wished to embrace.
Painful love.
Twisted love.
Love that never wished to separate.
Love that wanted everything.
Everything began with love.
Everything existed for love.
In the end, everything also concluded because of love.
The book closed with a soft sound.
"Cyrene."
Caelus called her name.
Cyrene appeared and looked at her partner in confusion.
"I love you."
The sudden confession left Cyrene frozen in place.
Then she saw the undisguised love within his eyes.
It was the desire to possess another person.
The desire to receive from another person.
The willingness to accept another person.
The longing for another person.
It was love in its purest and most impulsive form.
The Servant template appeared for an instant before disappearing again.
The final material required for her Saint Graph Ascension had appeared.
Her final Ascension was complete.
A sincere love.
Cyrene fully transformed into her adult form.
She stepped forward and embraced Caelus.
She smiled, happy and completely content.
"Mm. I love you too, Caelus."
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)