The Life of a Wise Cult Leader - Chapter 158

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 158

 

Lake of Reflection. The mirror lake lived up to its name with an extremely calm surface.

 

“Wow.”

 

Celestia opened her eyes wide in wonder.

 

The lake without a single leaf floating on it looked as if the bottom was right in front of us.

 

It seemed like the kind of place where many drowning accidents would occur from people going in thinking it wasn’t deep because the water was so clear. Oh, looking over there, it seems like there might be a human skull…

 

I pretended not to see the skull that had sunk to the bottom of that deep lake.

 

-{Why are you pretending not to know?}

 

Anyway, obtaining the sacred relic here is easy. I just need to walk on water and retrieve the sacred relic that’s currently invisible, floating in the air.

 

In the middle of the lake, there’s probably some shadow, and I just need to place an item equivalent to the sacred relic’s value on the lake’s shadow.

 

If this feels familiar, it’s probably because it’s similar to the scales trading system from the catacombs. Come to think of it, it seems like they applied a similar process here too.

 

This isn’t a system that scams you, so I’ll just comfortably place any sacred relic and take what I need.

 

“Could you cast magic that lets me walk on water?”

 

“Uh… yes.”

 

Celestia’s complexion doesn’t look good.

 

“Sister?”

 

“Uh, uh…”

 

“Is there some big problem?”

 

*

 

Writhing…

 

Writhing enough to fill the vast lake.

 

Filling the inside of the Ascetic.

 

What are those things?

 

Celestia even forgot how to breathe.

 

Her gaze fixed on the Ascetic’s back, and below the water surface where he stood.

 

A crystal-clear lake that reflects the sky like a mirror?

 

No.

 

What Celestia’s eyes were seeing now was not such a pastoral scene.

 

Black.

 

No, red.

 

An indescribable festival of colors was boiling up from the bottom of the lake. A massive shadow that couldn’t be contained in the small, white vessel called the Ascetic, overflowing and covering the entire lake.

 

‘I knew, I did know, but.’

 

Eyes one, two, three, four, five six seven eight nine huge eyes looking at me! Oh forgotten gods, I’m sorry for forgetting, I will become your servant, a very faithful servant of yours! Right now tear apart that fragile vessel and descend to the afterlife, drag Lumensia to the ground and lead her to oblivion…

 

I can hear the sound of skin tearing. No, is it a hallucination?

 

The black veins extending behind the Ascetic’s back instantly dyed the lake’s clear water like pitch-black ink. Those weren’t shadows. The dregs of rotted divine power. Maws that crawled up from primordial oblivion through the flesh called the Ascetic were squeezing out of that small, white body, smacking their lips trying to devour all the light in the world.

 

Very very black primordial darkness where all light in the world is devoured! The authority of oblivion and death has drawn its veil…

 

It saw.

 

It saw us.

 

Really?

 

Found.

 

It saw us?

 

It found us.

 

It found me…

 

It seemed like those things would break through the mirror-like water surface and grab Celestia’s ankle.

 

It found me…

 

It’s looking at us…

 

“Ugh, urk…”

 

Celestia covered her mouth.

 

It felt like her brain would burn white.

 

Humanity’s fragile reason, trying to forcibly understand the incomprehensible, screamed. Her vision flickered. The world spun round and round.

 

Oh my.

 

The child is in pain.

 

A voice mixing child, adult, and elderly, woman and man said so.

 

“Sister?”

 

“Huff, gasp.”

 

Celestia took a breath. There was nothing in the lake.

 

No tentacles, no eyes, no massive… urgh.

 

As if nothing had happened, it was only reflecting Sernuan Lumiere’s back like a mirror.

 

“Are you alright? You have a nosebleed… Here, come over here.”

 

The Ascetic skillfully brought Celestia in front of him and poured kind, warm energy into her. The burning fever subsided and normal thinking returned.

 

‘How can such a person have such an inner…’

 

Even after the healing was complete, Celestia sat still in a daze. When this continued, the Ascetic seemed slightly flustered and began bending his waist and knees to examine her complexion.

 

“Nothing’s torn and you look fine…”

 

Who calls an injured person “torn,” Ascetic…

 

She wanted to say that, but Celestia’s mouth wouldn’t open. Her body had stiffened rigidly.

 

After a few minutes, the tension released starting from her fingertips and she could move. Cold sweat had soaked her clothes, but since the Ascetic kept infusing energy, she could quickly become clean.

 

“Are you okay? Your complexion looks really bad… your lips are blue too.”

 

The Ascetic seemed very flustered that her condition wasn’t improving despite him putting in his power. At that human aspect, Celestia could chatter as usual.

 

“It was nothing! Just, my mana got tangled…?”

 

“Is that something all mages experience?”

 

“Of course~ When mana circuits get tangled, uh, how should I put it. You become stiff like you have a cramp… anyway, that’s why. Don’t worry too much. Haha…”

 

“That’s a relief.”

 

“Ahaha… you were really surprised, weren’t you.”

 

Within his usual expression, she could read faint anxiety and worry… such emotions. Celestia hurriedly continued speaking.

 

“Ah, what did you say earlier? I think you asked for some kind of magic.”

 

“It was magic to walk on water, but in your current state, asking Sister would be…”

 

“I’m completely healthy! Really!”

 

“It would be better if you rest a bit more or I swim across instead.”

 

“I’m really healthy, I tell you!”

 

Celestia spent about 15 minutes expressing how healthy she was, 5 minutes explaining in more detail why that happened earlier and saying it was nothing. And for 20 minutes, she threw a tantrum at the stubborn Ascetic, begging him to please let her do it.

 

‘I think he just did this to make me rest a bit more?’

 

The young Archmage who had been fooled by the cunning fraud came to her senses 40 minutes later.

 

*

 

Splash, splash.

 

‘I’m walking on water!’

 

As of today, I’m a daily Jesus.

 

Now should I turn this water into wine?

 

If I obtain the Creator God’s divine authority, maybe I could really turn it into wine? Feeding ten thousand with one loaf of bread…

 

In the game, it was just a useless item that only gave some buffs, but now it might be different. Maybe it really has those effects?

 

‘Found it.’

 

Despite being in the air, there was one rippling shadow above the lake. Like scales.

 

I placed the healing sacred relic on top of it. The shadow made a clicking sound like scales on a balance and sank below the water.

 

‘…?’

 

The shadow that was slowly sinking didn’t sink completely.

 

-{Seems like the weight doesn’t match.}

 

“This is a sacred relic. If it’s a sacred relic, then naturally…”

 

-{Naturally?}

 

“No, it wouldn’t be. Just like the Sage series divided the power into three parts, this too…”

 

If it contains a lot of the Creator God’s divine authority, one ordinary sacred relic wouldn’t match the weight.

 

I took out one more purification sacred relic and offered it. Then the shadow scales containing two sacred relics gradually sank deep into the water…

 

Soon, the scales appeared in the air.

 

‘Yes!’

 

When I picked up the scales, the familiar status window appeared and showed an alert that the sacred relic had been recovered. I made the scales into a bound item. Probably another tattoo was carved somewhere on my body.

 

-{What about the sunken sacred relic?}

 

“Ta-da.”

 

I spread my hand wide to show.

 

“It’s not a trade after all. Though it was strange that it became a trade back then.”

 

Since it’s a bound item, it will return if I’m far away or if I want to retrieve it again. It’s natural since it’s one of my souls to begin with.

 

I walked on the water again with splashing sounds toward Celestia. Celestia’s complexion had improved compared to before, but seeing how she was quieter than usual, her condition didn’t seem very good.

 

“Now let’s go back. We’ve checked everything we needed to. I’ll handle the teleportation.”

 

Having obtained another sacred relic, the locked resurrection skill was activated again and the total amount increased. If I took one more person and used the veil to move, it would put strain on my body… but it was something I had to try once.

 

“You’ll handle the teleportation, Ascetic?”

 

“Yes. Sister’s condition doesn’t seem very good. Would that be alright?”

 

“If you’re okay with it, Ascetic…”

 

Celestia seemed simply curious about my teleportation. Her inner thoughts that came through the thread were roughly, ‘I’m not in that bad of a condition… but the Ascetic’s concern is nice! What kind of teleportation will it be? I’m curious…!’

 

“Don’t let go of my hand. This is my first time trying to move together, so if you let go, one of your limbs might disappear…”

 

“What? Wait a-”

 

Celestia and I disappeared into the shadows with a splash.

 

And we popped out again in the Demon King’s Castle in the Demon Realm.

 

I staggered a few times and managed to maintain balance, avoiding the disgrace of rolling on the floor, but she wasn’t so lucky.

 

Celestia plopped down on the floor and tried to hold her head, then dry heaved several times as her stomach churned.

 

“Urgh!”

 

Celestia ended up vomiting.

 

I tried to suppress my churning stomach but eventually vomited similarly to Celestia. The different color was the key point though.

 

“Let’s never do this again…”

 

“…”

 

It was a rare day when I truly empathized with someone else’s words. If I had known this would happen, I would have told Celestia to use teleport even if she had to push herself.

 

“What an unsightly scene.”

 

The Demon King, seeing two people suddenly appear in his office, sighed and moved his hand over the documents. When he cleaned up what we had vomited with purification ether, I had the illusion that the carpet somehow shriveled.

 

“Did you obtain the sacred relic?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You’re in that state because you used your power right after obtaining the sacred relic. Rookie…”

 

The Demon King kept picking on me. I couldn’t say “What do you know!” because the Demon King really did know a lot, so I had nothing to say.

 

Anyway, since the Demon King’s Castle was the safest place for Lumensia, we were sticking right here.

 

“Ah. Ascetic, there’s something we overlooked.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“About Lumensia and demons.”

 

“Isn’t that something we already discussed?”

 

My stomach was upset, so I stole and drank the tea the Demon King was having instead. Celestia was still crawling on the floor.

 

“Ugh.”

 

“How many sacred relics do you have now?”

 

Why are you suddenly asking something so obvious when your intelligence seems lacking?

 

“As of today, about 4.5… I suppose.”

 

According to the system display it was 4, but I had consumed two of the sage series.

 

Even the veil, despite not being treated as a sacred relic, was showing sacred relic-level effects, and was actually close to a sacred relic, so 4.5 would be correct.

 

“About half then. Don’t you think Lumensia has been too quiet while you were collecting half of those sacred relics?”

 

“What are you trying to say?”

 

“Leaving us alone like this means Lumensia must be targeting something.”

 

“I know that the Pope’s sudden death at the Central Church was Lumensia reclaiming power.”

 

The Demon King shook his head and put down his pen, taking his eyes off the documents.

 

“I’m not talking about such trivial matters.”

 

“Then what?”

 

“I’m saying that just as we’re preparing against the enemy, the enemy is also preparing against us.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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