[Skill “Body Reinforcement” is currently unavailable.]

[Skill “Time Freeze” is currently unavailable.]

[Skill “Body Reinforcement” is...]

The blaring warnings in my head ceased the moment I opened my eyes, as if someone had flicked off a switch.

Where was I?

And who exactly was I?

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I slowly sat up.

Kanya lay nearby, unconscious.

Her body was unscathed.

So was mine.

There was a clean, almost refreshed feeling running through me.

“Refreshed?”

Something felt… off.

Shouldn’t I be anything but refreshed?

My last memory was of being beaten senseless by the cultists—until I blacked out. And now I was fine?

Where the hell did the cultists go?

Question after question stacked in my mind, but none had answers right now.

I got to my feet, planning to lift Kanya and start walking—but stopped short when I felt how heavy my legs were.

Right.

Body Reinforcement.

Still disabled.

I let out a long sigh.

Grunting under the strain, I hoisted Kanya onto my back and began the steep ascent up the rocky slopes of Mount Talahaim.

If my powers were being sealed off one by one, there was no question anymore.

The Demon Lords were behind this.

Can’t really blame them, I guess.

If I were them, I’d be pissed too.

At this rate, the next move was probably a personal descent. A full-on manifestation.

And that would be it.

The end.

My soul would be crushed to dust.

Dying’s turning out to be a hell of a lot harder than I thought.

If only I could’ve just put a gun to my head and ended it all. How easy that would’ve been.

But I couldn’t.

So I climbed.

One agonizing step at a time, with Kanya on my back.

The higher we climbed, the thinner the air grew. The cold bit at us, but our shared body heat made it tolerable.

Finally—after what felt like hours—Kanya stirred.

“Jericho...?”

“You’re awake.”

“Where... where are we? What happened to the cultists?”

“Gone.”

“How?”

“...I don’t know.”

I didn’t.

My memory of everything after that final blow was a blank slate.

If I had to guess…

Asmodeus.

She was the last name I called out before losing consciousness.

She must’ve done something.

I’d done it.

I’d called on the one power I swore I wouldn’t use.

Now I was left with fear.

Guilt.

And a gnawing sense that I’d been swept up by something so much greater than myself—something I couldn’t possibly control.

What happens to me now?

Will Asmodeus devour enough of my soul to become the monster she was always meant to be?

What was I even supposed to do?

God, if someone would just tell me…

The path forward was pitch-black, and I was fumbling blindly.

“Jericho... can we rest for a moment?”

“Rest?”

“I… I’m starving.”

Her voice was small, almost embarrassed.

Only then did I realize we hadn’t eaten properly since leaving that rundown inn.

I nodded.

Without powers like Time Freeze or Body Reinforcement, even the basics were becoming a problem.

We crawled into a shallow crevice between boulders, and Kanya dug into a small pouch tied to her waist.

She handed me a few strips of jerky.

“Where’d you get these?”

“Snagged them during the first battle. My backpack’s all bullets now, so I had to keep food here instead.”

She smiled.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, taking the jerky and biting in. Tough and dry—but with enough chewing, it was passable.

We ate in silence.

Kon hadn’t spoken a word.

Even with the psychic amplifier cracked open, he was dead quiet.

And for the first time... I was worried.

He wasn’t dead, was he?

That would be a problem.

For all his vulgarities, Kon was an invaluable partner.

I wasn’t ready to lose him.

I nudged the amplifier, hoping for a reaction…

Nothing.

Of course I couldn’t fix it.

I was no tech genius.

So I let it be, chewing in silence—until the dread crept in.

What was the end of this journey going to look like?

The Demon Lords were tightening the noose with surgical precision.

My skills were being sealed off, one after another.

Their cultists were deploying with full counters to my every move.

And Kon… was offline. For who knows how long.

And me?

I had no clear mission.

No clear plan.

Just vague ideals and half-baked action.

All heart, no follow-through.

Would I even—

Could I even reach my goal?

Save Kanya.

Die in the process.

That was the plan.

But could I really do it?

I didn’t even realize I’d started pulling at my hair until Kanya gently took my hand.

“Jericho.”

“Yeah?”

“You said you were saving me because it was the will of your god... right?”

She was referring to the inn.

Back when she pressed me, again and again, to explain why I was doing this.

And I gave her that answer.

Because it was “God’s will.”

“Yeah. I remember.”

“Then… who is your god?”

And at that—I froze.

Embarrassed.

I had no god.

Even though they called me a Saint, I never believed in one.

Not back in Korea.

Not here, either.

The gods, it seemed, always turned their eyes away from me.

Back in Korea, that made sense.

There was no divine power. No miracles. Nothing to prove the gods existed.

But here?

Even in a world where gods undeniably existed…

They still ignored me.

The Pantheon had never once answered me.

Not properly.

Not sincerely.

All they’d ever done was threaten me. Pressure me.

I hated them.

I hated Lilia for saying she’d throw me into Hell.

I hated Lupiel for predicting I’d be killed by the hands of the people I love.

I may have loathed them, but I’d never once believed in them.

Never worshipped them.

“I don’t know either, Kanya. I’m not doing all this because I want to. But still…”

That was what I said.

And it was the truth.

I didn’t know how I’d gotten here.

I didn’t know why I was like this.

But there was one thing I did know:

“I just want you to be happy, Kanya.”

That was the truth too.

I was simply stepping into her place—taking her fate as my own.

If I died…

Then maybe Kanya could live a normal life.

One where her soul wouldn’t be torn apart.

That’s what I wanted.

Sure, it was selfish.

A calculation masked as kindness.

But Kanya didn’t seem to take it that way.

“You could die, you know. I’m not talking about just your body—your soul could be destroyed. Gone forever. The Demon Lords… they’re strong enough to do that.”

I laughed.

Anyone else might’ve flinched at those words—paused, re-evaluated.

But me?

That’s exactly what I was hoping for.

“Doesn’t matter, Kanya.”

She stopped chewing her jerky.

She stared at me.

“You’re a strange man, Jericho. You know that? You act like someone who’s detached from life itself, like you’ve given it all up. But at the same time… you feel oddly grounded. As if you’re more human than anyone else. You seem devout, like you deeply believe in a god… but I know that’s not it.”

She wasn’t wrong.

Kanya opened her mouth to say something more—then stopped.

“I won’t ask who you are. I won’t ask why you’re helping me. I may not know your name or your reasons, but I do know this: your actions show me everything I need to know.”

She tightened her grip on my hand.

“The Goddess of War always repays her debts. And so will I. As much as you’ve sacrificed for me… I’ll do the same for you.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her determined expression.

Maybe it was because of her hunched posture.

Or maybe it was her small frame and frail limbs.

But hearing such a solemn declaration from someone so small—it was almost cute.

I reached over and gently patted her head.

“You’ve been through enough, Kanya. I’m helping you for my sake. So don’t feel like you owe me anything. Just live a happy life. That’s enough for me.”

Kanya lowered her head and stayed quiet for a while.

Then something warm hit the back of my hand.

I turned to look—and saw her crying.

Startled, I looked at her, but she wiped her tears and chuckled.

“I’m scared, Jericho. My life has never gone the way I wanted. And the closer we get to the mountain… the more afraid I am. It feels like this sweet little hope will just shatter right in front of me.”

She buried her face in her knees and began to sob.

What started as a few tears quickly became full-on weeping.

“I didn’t want to become Belia’s vessel! Not once! Not ever! But she forced her way into my soul, and because of that, I…”

Why did her cries feel so familiar?

I was just like her.

I never asked for this life either.

I never invited Asmodeus into my soul.

Never thought I’d end up wandering the world, half-dead, just waiting for my soul to shatter.

I couldn’t hold back anymore.

I pulled her into an embrace.

“I wish my arms were whole, Jericho. I wish my back wasn’t twisted. Just once, I want to feel beautiful. I don’t want people to look at me with disgust. I want to live a life where I don’t wake up afraid of tomorrow. Jericho…”

Her voice trembled as she kept listing wishes.

“I want to be surrounded by people who love me. They’re all dead. All of them! I didn’t do anything wrong… and yet… I… I… I hate Belia! I understand her more than anyone, and I still hate her! I wish she’d never entered me in the first place!”

My shirt was soaked with her tears.

She clung to me and cried, and cried some more.

I just sat there, stroking her back.

“It’s healthy to hate someone, Kanya. You can’t be a true companion if you only ever have good feelings. Being a real companion means you accept even the shittiest parts of someone. That’s how you understand them. Right?”

She laughed through her tears.

“I didn’t think you could talk like that.”

“Of course I can. So listen, Kanya. Hating Belia, liking her—it’s all part of you. Don’t run from it. Accept it. And when you can… try to look at the good instead of the bad. Alright?”

I turned around and offered my back again.

The jerky was long gone.

Kanya climbed onto my back.

And I started walking toward Mount Talahaim again.

“Let’s say you became beautiful, Kanya. What’s the first thing you’d want to do?”

She didn’t answer for a long time.

Then, shyly, she tightened her grip on my shirt.

“I want to eat delicious food. All day.”

“Nice. That’s doable. What else?”

“I want to wear pretty clothes. And dance in them.”

“Also doable. What else?”

She hesitated.

“I want to fall in love… with a man who knows how I look now, and how I’ll look then. A man who’ll love me through both. A love so real, it makes me cry.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

If Kon were awake, he’d probably throw a fit about her spiritual purity score dropping or something equally dumb.

“You’ll find him. I’m sure you will. So stop worrying. Okay?”

She didn’t answer.

We kept talking like that for a while, chatting about what kinds of food she’d try first.

Then, before I realized it—she’d fallen asleep on my back, her arms slack and head resting against me.

I kept climbing the mountain, step by step, with her sound asleep on my shoulders.

By evening…

We could finally see our destination.

Mount Talahaim loomed ahead.