If Julian had erased that "half-man" priest from existence, then at least one piece of trash had been taken out properly…
"What about Isabella???"
I asked curiously, since I had a feeling that bitch would definitely find a way to escape…
"She left before Julian even reached the Venaria Capital…
Julian destroyed the Capital of Venaria in one Excalibur Alter…" Said Bellatrix fiercely…
She seemed happy about the deaths of the traitors, but her tone shifted…
"But the casualties were too high…" Said Alethia…
Indeed…
There must have been tens of thousands of innocents there as well…
I could only say that the casualties were staggering…
Julian had single-handedly crushed the entire resistance of Venaria all by himself…
Even if he remained quiet afterwards and let the [Black Calamity] do the Dirty Work…
"So that means the Last Kingdom is still ongoing purely due to your aid???"
I asked, my voice echoing through the final stretches of the shimmering spatial tunnel…
"Yes," Alethia's voice resonated within my mind, tinged with a weary sorrow…
"We have been focusing our resources so that the priests can last as much as possible under the pressure of the [Black Calamity]…
However, even burning them with divine power is not working as a permanent solution...
This is once again due to mortal constraints and the fact that Julian will keep their numbers constant as long as he is alive…"
I nodded slowly, the tactical nightmare of the situation crystallizing in my brain…
Divine energy could indeed vaporize those Black Warriors, but it was like trying to empty an ocean with a thimble when the source remained untouched…
As long as Julian breathed, the mud would rise again…
Not to mention the ones receiving the divine power were also humans with weak bodies and insufficient base…
They may withstand the Divine Energy over-cap once, twice or even thrice but it's not possible to do so forever…
They will definitely Break themselves soon at this rate…
Besides, he hadn't personally joined the fray since the annihilation of the Venarian Capital…
That meant he was essentially acting as an obedient, high-output battery for the [Black Calamity]…
The army attacked incessantly on pure, predatory instinct, while Julian sat at the center of the web…
It was entirely possible that he had regained a shred of sentience but remained trapped by his own monstrous nature—trying to slow the army down from within while his presence simultaneously powered their immortality…
It was a tragic, paradoxical stalemate…
However, it was ultimately too hard to train or find a counter to an SS-Rank warrior under Mortal World restraints...
Even the Goddesses were at a loss, forced to put the planet's fate on "pending" while they searched for a variable that didn't follow the rules...
After all, life isn't like those "Black Summoner" stories where the Goddess hands the protagonist a cheat-level power-up at the start because of some inexplicable ecstasy soup...
"Well, it's almost time…"
I said, squinting as the exit of the portal transformed from a pinprick into a blinding, white sun...
"We will remain in Contact Zero,"
Alethia whispered, a final benediction before the connection dimmed...
I nodded, braced my soul, and finally passed through the door, plunging into the reality of the New World...
…
…
…
"Ahhh…
The summoning was successful…
We could finally summon the hero…"
"Great, the Gods have not abandoned us…
We can finally fight back…"
As my consciousness stabilized, I was already prepared for the worst…
I expected to be interfered with, sabotaged, or thrown directly into the maw of the [Black Calamity]—knowing my lousy system and the crazy plot twists this world seemed to enjoy…
Just like my first entry into this world which caused me to be thrown near the Capital in the army of Demons by a Certain dog Helios…
But unexpectedly, what came into view was an ordinary castle and a classic, stereotypical summoning plot…
"Interesting…" I muttered under my breath…
I stood in the center of a massive, rectangular hall...
A bunch of priests were practically dancing with joy around the perimeter of a glowing circle…
Likely a Summoning Circle…
About ten guards in full-body iron armor stood at the far end of the hall, their hands resting on their sword hilts with newfound hope…
The Welcoming Party???
The architecture was ecclesiastical—soaring arches and a massive dome—but there were no idols to be seen…
A typical Hall in the Castle???
I thought it would be a Church…
Through the tall, open windows, I could see the Grand Capital City oozing the usual Opulence in the inner city and definitely poor in the outer city…
I said definitely because my line of sight is still within the Summoning Hall and It won't magically reach the city…
Of course my perception is an exception but I will focus on the Castle for now…
It was a textbook summoning chamber…
At the forefront stood a stereotypical 15 Year Old Saintess, her hands clasped in prayer and her face glowing with a radiant, almost desperate happiness…
In my high-speed vision, I kept my guard up, scanning for hidden traps or hostile mana signatures…
But as the seconds ticked by, I finally allowed myself to relax a fraction…
There seemed to be no immediate problem with the summoning; the mana was stable, the guards were disciplined, and the atmosphere was one of relief rather than treachery…
I guess at least these people are fine…
I thought and made a quick scan on the Place and then turning my attention to the Saintess casually without exposing any serious demeanor…
I stood tall, waiting for the cliché to play out as the Saintess stepped forward and began to speak…
"Thank you for coming, Big Brother Hero…"
The Saintess spoke, her voice thin but resonant, as I finally focused my gaze on her…
She had a petite body—likely no more than sixteen years old—with a lithe figure and a handsome oval face…
Her almond-shaped eyes were a deep, piercing blue, and her shiny blond hair was dressed in a white outfit with golden trims, heavily embroidered with Divine Runes…
Her name was Clara Despond…
A name that felt a bit too heavy for a girl of her age, yet it fit the weary state of the world she carried on her small shoulders…
But her face was a bit too pale…
It shouldn't be…
Most Saintesses in these settings have a minimum talent bar that keeps their vitality high…
Yet, she looked burned out, a state that shouldn't have occurred unless she was being pushed far beyond her limits…
"She is an obedient child who has been working too hard to decrease the casualties as much as possible…"