[The Authority of the Apostle of the Unseen, "The Emptiness of Existence," was retracted.]
[The concealed present and future have been revealed.]
[Since you do not belong to the past, you have been forcefully repelled to the present era.]
[The system is being affected by a mysterious power.]
[The system will temporarily be shut down.]
[Soul connection has been lost.]
Noticing my dimly lit surroundings, where the pillars of once luxurious and beautiful grand hall of the castle proudly endured, where an entity veiled in a cloak remained on his knees facing the shattered throne, and when my ultimate privilege as someone from another world was cut off...
'I've returned...' I muttered inwardly.
However, I didn't know how much time had passed, and what happened to every one of my companions, especially my younger sister.
Time was and would always be a deceitful element of reality.
Vanishing out of nowhere and in an instant, wherever they were, whatever happened, I just hoped they were safe.
Some distance away, as I observed the Apostle of the Unseen, a character of the [Hero's Apocalypse] that supposedly to encounter the True Hero if not for the fact that she was recalled due to the appearance of the Demon God's Apostle, everything that I experienced surged within me—all of which in the body of the White Princess' unnamed advisor, the body of her personal maid, Krishnaya, who ended her own life due to extreme guilt, and Princess Yuridika herself, the one who fell into ruins just for the sake of avoiding to marry the Church of Harvest and Prosperity's successor.
Remaining in silence, I heard the serene voice of the apostle, who seemed to dread for thousands of years trying to find enlightenment on something Princess Yuridika had committed—something that I both personally lived and witnessed.
"Will you be able... to do it too?"
It was a vague question. After all, Princess Yuridika had committed a few morally questionable things—or something that deserved condemnation.
If there was one thing I admired, as I resonated with the White Princess' body, it was her undying resolve to move forward despite everyone opposing her... even her own soul.
Once she decided on something, she would see it through to the end.
Considering everything that had transpired, I thoughtfully and curtly replied, "I would."
If I were in Princess Yuridika's position and was not a mere spectator using her own body, would I be able to commit the same things she did?
However, that was not the true essence behind my response.
The Unseen God's Apostle fell into silence, seemingly unable to comprehend my answer.
In the end, did I just admit to killing twelve children, none older than twelve years old, in the name of euthanasia?
But why was it known as mercy-killing?
There was something I understood in the last moments of that vivid illusion, apart from being unable to live a moment where the so-called Miss Yuridika's friend was in the twelve children's journals.
"The princess refused your proposal to save them—no, to save and hide the children."
"..."
The apostle continued with his silence.
"You could not understand—though perhaps you already were aware—that the twelve children from the Ishmael Empire had something in them... Their souls were already tainted with dormant corrupted divinity!"
"...?"
"You do not care about them!"
I deeply lived it—the last moment of Nari, the first kid to receive a poisonous concoction from Princess Yuridika.
In that split second, my soul resonated with her, feeling every kind of emotion she was feeling at that moment.
It was an utter sense of relief. Hence the line in her journal—"Should we just kill ourselves?"
With her sense of freedom, I also sensed something buried deep within her consciousness... A pulsating seed that was too repulsive to be accepted in this world.
'Perhaps it's the unknown origins of distinct corruption... That's why in the original story, the particular cult that Alana eradicated had records of the White Princess Labyrinth!'
"You wanted the war orphans because you thought you were their only salvation... That you can contain the unknown seed planted in them!"
I did not know why the Apostle of the Unseen wanted the twelve children... Or why his actions in the original story were discreetly kidnapping (?) remote villages during the Great Divine War through his authority of concealment.
It was at that moment that the Apostle of the Unseen turned his head, shaking my entire being as I met his gaze—only for me to see his face crafted from ethereal nothingness.
Only a grayish mist constructed his existence, as if he were the ultimate personification of secrets.
But that obscure look was a signal of query and tension, because whatever was in the twelve children's bodies was something I was never supposed to know.
"You..."
Despite his calm voice, as he slowly raised his body from prayer, I spoke in riddles, "Are you surprised?"
No. Everything happening at this moment was not in any way written in the original story of the [Hero's Apocalypse.]
So... How did I know about the twelve children's soul corruption?
"In thousands of years you've been in this place, longing and waiting for a miracle, you still haven't learn a single thing regarding warfare, have you... Apostle of the Unseen, Obscurach the Thirteenth!?"
"...!"
Blurting out his true identity, the Unseen God's Apostle's divinity rapidly dissipated. Unable to contain his surprise, as it was something that should have never come out of someone's mouth in this era, his human features were gradually exposed.
However, there was no time to even grasp how I was aware of it—not that I would tell him in any way that it was merely the author's response to the [Hero's Apocalypse Forum] in my last life when one reader curiously asked:
- No matter how obscure you wanted him to be, what name would you still give this character, author?
The question still remained—how was I aware of the children's condition?
And the answer was...
Stab!
"You should never turn your back against the enemy," I added as my gaze remained on him before...
"Keuk?!"
A supple hand pierced his chest through his back!
Spurt!
Slowly turning his head, being in his fragile human body, the apostle's expression hardened in horror, letting out a livid scream.
"H-how... How are you here, YURIDIKA!!!"
It was the Imperial Princess of the forgotten Britanoia Empire...
In the flesh.