Youngest on Top - Chapter 268

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 268

“S-Saelika?”
“It’s Saelika!”

The faces of those groaning and collapsed on the ground brightened.
The savior they had been waiting for had finally arrived!

“We believed in you, Saelika…!”

* * *

My vision swam dizzily.

Enrik: Youngest!
Anakin: What’s going on?
Enrik: What on earth happened in there?
Kailros: I was hoping to feel my beloved younger sibling even more closely!
Anakin: The connection was completely severed!

‘Just… be quiet for a moment—.’

Kailros: Do you know how my heart burned from not being able to feel my precious, beloved younger sibling?
Enrik: Are you still going on about that even now?!
Kailros: There is nothing in this world more important than my younger sibling.

‘…Maybe I should just go back into the gate and sever the connection.’

Watching their endless stream of words, such a thought even crossed my mind.

But I couldn’t blame my brothers for making such a fuss.
The space inside the gate was composed of sacred power.
Naturally, the connection with my brothers should have grown stronger.

‘After all, it’s a space where I declare and gain recognition as the High Priestess before God.’

But instead of strengthening, the connection had been severed.

Serha: It seems some dirty interference has gotten mixed in.

Serha, who had been silent until then, spoke.

Serha: The child has Misa’s aura clinging to him.
Serha: Was it his doing?

‘…Turbidity has infiltrated the gate. It must be Misa’s work.’

Enrik: What?

‘Anyway, we’ll talk about that later.’

There was something I needed to do right now.
I approached the fallen people.

‘Kailros.’

Kailros: As expected, my precious younger brother seeks me out first among all the brothers.
Kailros: Indeed, thinking of our happy breath-sharing moments, it’s only natural….

‘Lend me your power!!’

Kailros: Ah, yes.
Kailros: You wanted to fully feel my essence dwelling within my strength.

“….”

I gave up trying to speak.

Whoooosh!
With a burst of light, Kailros’s power descended upon me.
The unique authority of the Archangel Kailros.
A powerful healing force spread like a wave of water.

“Ah….”
“The wounds are healing!”
“No matter how much healing we received, we could barely cling to life!”

My grievous wounds—ones that had brought me to the brink of death—began to mend.
I approached the young girl, whose eyes glistened with tears as she gazed upon me.
She was the child who visited the Temple Priest’s branch every week to place flowers before Artemia’s shrine.

“Sacred Maiden Saelika….”
“Did it hurt terribly?”
“No. I knew you would come for me, Sacred Maiden Saelika.”
“You’re safe now. Rest for a while.”

The child, reassured, closed her eyes at once.

‘Serha.’

Using Serha’s power, I sent the child beyond the protective barrier.
Within the barrier, there were several places untouched by demonic presence.

Joyful voices echoed from all directions.

“Mother! Mother, are you awake? Sob—I thought you were dead…! Waaaaaah!”
“Thank you, thank you. For saving my son, thank you. I’m truly grateful….”

Those healed by Kailros’s power began to multiply.
It did not take long for hope to bloom in a space once filled with screams of despair.

“A miracle!”
“As expected of the Great Sacred Maiden!”
“Sacred Maiden Saelika…!”

Those saved from death cried out my name with fervent voices.

‘There’s bound to be someone who can’t tolerate this. Especially those who orchestrated this chaos.’

The moment I thought this.
“W-what are you doing right now?”

As expected, a sharp voice cut through the air.
I turned slowly to face what lay behind me.

A Parmanass Priest around Amelia’s age was glaring at me.
It was a familiar face.

‘Perhaps because I just witnessed the past, it feels even more recognizable now.’

“So you came rushing over because Amelia arranged things to save people!”
“….”
“Are you trying to steal Amelia’s Achievement again? You’re not a Sacred Maiden—you’re a thief!”

“A worm like you coveting Amelia’s accomplishments again?! You thieving wretch!”

The present face and the past face overlapped.
I shrugged my shoulders.

‘How hasn’t Meira changed at all.’

But I have changed.
I’m different from before my regression, when I cowered and was merely used.

“I don’t see what the problem is.”
“You don’t see? Right now you’re taking away from Amelia—.”
“Is it a problem that I healed people?”
“…!”

Meira flinched.
Her eyes glanced sideways, gauging the people’s reactions.

“The issue is that I healed and saved people, right?”
“No, that’s not—.”
“Then what’s the problem?”

Meira couldn’t answer.
I looked around at my surroundings.

“There are countless Sacred Maidens here besides me, all striving to save people.”
“….”
“Not just Temple Priests and Priests, but knights and mages too. In fact, anyone with even a little capacity is doing their part to help.”

There are people who help strangers escape alongside them, even though fleeing alone would already be overwhelming.
Even though it would be difficult enough to escape by myself.

“Do you understand how difficult that is? The person I extend my hand to could turn into a monster at any moment.”
“….”
“Yet they still try to help.”

Somehow, the surroundings felt quiet.

“I’m not doing anything more special than others. It’s the same—doing my best to help as much as I can.”

I can only use these abilities because Artemia chose me.

“But if I step forward, am I stealing Amelia’s achievement?”
“That, that’s—. Everything you say is sophistry! It’s true that the moment I stepped in for Amelia, this came out—.”
“Then let me ask you. You said Amelia made arrangements to save people, right?”
“Yes!”
“Then why did you stay silent all this time?”
“…!”
“If your true purpose was to save people, you should have stepped forward from the beginning. Before more victims were created!”

Meira’s lips trembled as if she had lost her words.
That was the most certain answer of all.
Only then did she cry out, her face flushed.

“I, I had no choice! It took time to receive the shared power—.”
“Move aside. I don’t have time to deal with you anymore.”

I turned my back on Meira.

“While you’re arguing about achievements and credit, I’ll save one more person.”

* * *

People gazed at Saelika with expressions of deep emotion.

“…I didn’t help people because I wanted their gratitude.”
“Hmm! But now that you acknowledge it, I feel energized!”
“I cannot agree that what the Sacred Maiden does is unremarkable.”
“But isn’t it precisely because she is such a person that she is the Grand Sacred Maiden?”

The people who had been fidgeting restlessly suddenly sprang to their feet.

“Wait, we just barely made it inside the defensive line—why are you leaving? There aren’t even monsters here….”
“How could I sit still after hearing that! I need to bring at least that person back.”
“Let me come with you!”

They even ventured beyond the safety of the defensive line and began helping people.

‘The atmosphere has completely changed. And so suddenly…!’

Beatrix watched the scene unfold, her lips trembling.
The change wasn’t limited to that alone.

“This is ridiculous. We’re saving people’s lives, so why are they saying she’s stealing Amelia’s Achievement?”
“Are people’s lives just trophies to Amelia?”
“Didn’t she show up late just to claim more glorious Achievement? That’s different from the Sacred Maiden who had to deal with the Gate problem.”

Attitudes toward Amelia had shifted as well.
The girls speaking particularly loudly were Saelika’s fans.

‘That’s why I attacked those vermin first.’

Saelika had spared the vermin that were dying anyway.
In the end, everything was Saelika’s fault!

“Those wretched rats again…!”

Everything had been proceeding according to plan.
The demons had begun eliminating Saelika’s supporters first.
The herders shrieked, cursing Saelika and calling out Amelia’s name.

Just as despair and lamentation were reaching their peak.
Meira appeared as Amelia’s representative.

Back then, I thought it was a perfect success.
Within the orchestrated situation, people’s hearts had tilted toward Amelia.

‘To think she would overturn it like this…!’

The Temple Priest beside me carefully opened his mouth.

“What should we do, Beatrix? Regarding the agitators—.”
“No. If the agitators here criticize Saelika while citing Amelia’s treachery, it will only create backlash.”
“Yes, indeed…. Artemia’s side doesn’t even have agitators, so how did she manage to sway the atmosphere?”

Beatrix fell silent at the Temple Priest’s words.

Though I hated to admit it, Saelika possessed power.
The power to captivate people’s attention in an instant and shake their hearts.

“We should have finished everything before Saelika escaped from the Gate.”
“She emerged from the Gate faster than expected.”

I had thought the demons would have held Saelika longer within the Gate.
Though I didn’t know why, the Demon King’s objective seemed to be Saelika.

“The Demon King wouldn’t have released her easily, so how did she manage to escape?”
“…We can think about that later.”

Beatrix cut off the conversation coldly.

“Our plan hasn’t failed.”

That’s right, the plan hadn’t failed.

‘I merely regret that we couldn’t reduce the number of vermin in this opportunity.’

Beatrix gazed at Saelika.
Saelika was indeed effectively suppressing the Mains.

‘But that’s all.’

No matter how much sacred power she poured out, she couldn’t restore the Mains to humans.

‘Of course I can’t purify it. Because that’s not a monster or anything like that.’

Beatrix chuckled softly and signaled to Meira.

‘Ha!’

Meira, regaining her senses, cried out loudly once more.

“It doesn’t matter how you insult Amelia. Saving people is Amelia’s will!”

The sacred stigma of Amelia inscribed on the back of her hand blazed crimson.

“Amelia, I beseech you to save these lost lambs!”

Then something miraculous occurred.
The people who had transformed into monsters returned to their human forms!

“Oh, Mother!”
“How is this possible… What happened?”
“Ah, thank you, Goddess. Thank you for returning my daughter to me….”
“Not just any goddess! The Goddess Parmanase! Didn’t you just hear? Didn’t she say she borrowed Amelia’s power?”

The herders resumed their activities at the opportune moment.
Beatrix chuckled softly.

“Either way, we’ve accomplished the most important thing.”
“Yes, and we’ve made it clear to Saelika as well.”

Demon-possessed humans could return to their human forms.

“Now Saelika can never dispose of the demon-possessed. She won’t be able to kill them.”
“And she doesn’t have the ability to turn them back to humans either.”

Beatrix laughed with satisfaction.

“I was suspicious she might be able to reverse it, but as expected, she can’t. Well, naturally.”

* * *

I carefully observed the demons transforming back into humans.

‘That is…’

That’s when it happened.

Enrik: Hey, youngest.

‘What? I’m concentrating right now.’

Enrik: That’s not the issue right now.
Anakin: You troublemaker!

‘Why am I a troublemaker again!’

Anakin: Did you sell off Artemia’s sacred relic again?
Kailros: I was wondering why you weren’t pulling it out, but it seems to be missing?
Enrik: Yeah, I don’t feel its power.
Serha: Haven’t you been carrying it as a necklace all this time?

The sacred relic my brothers were referring to was singular.
The Kailum Crystal.
It was the sacred relic I obtained when I first met Shuri at the Papuka black market.
When I was young, Ilay crafted it into a necklace for me, so I always carried it with me.
Thanks to it, I used it whenever I needed to seal Shuri’s curse.

‘I didn’t lose it!’

Enrik: You’re lying.
Anakin: You lost it.
Serha: Speak honestly.

‘I didn’t lose it, I’m telling you?!’

Kailros: Alright, everyone stop.
Kailros: My little brother might lose things sometimes.

No, seriously, you’re all being too much.
Did I really have so little credibility with you all?!

Enrik: Reflect on your actions.

‘This time it’s real. I simply lent it to the person who needed it most.’

Anakin: Are you insane?!
Enrik: You lent that out?
Serha: If we had that now, the Mains would….

‘No, it’s better that we didn’t.’

I watched the Mains as they returned to their human forms.

‘Thanks to that, I think I’ve come to understand something.’

I smiled wickedly.

* * *

The interior of the gate was completely saturated with thick turbidity.
Behemoth walked through it leisurely.
Beyond, a figure came into view.

“Well, I thought Darling would remain, but some other trash is left instead?”
“….”
“Then again, with those trivial fools putting on a show outside, Darling’s nature would’ve demanded he leave.”

As I drew closer, the opponent’s face became clear.
Kaishurit stared at Behemoth with a rigid, hardened expression.

‘Hmph, is he frightened?’

That would make sense.
For a human to stand firm after directly facing the Demon King was an extraordinary feat in itself.

‘I did encounter him when I was younger, but that was merely a possessed vessel—no different from a puppet.’

Then, Kaishurit’s tightly clenched lips parted.

“Darling?”
“Hmm?”
“Who are you calling darling?”

Roooooar!
An explosive surge of power erupted from Kaishurit.

Kaishurit wasn’t frightened or tense.
He was simply furious.
At that term of endearment.

Behemoth’s face, which had been composed until now, hardened.

“I call my darling ‘darling’—what business is it of yours?”
“Ah, I see.”

Kaishurit nodded.

“It’s you.”

Eyes gleaming with an enigmatic light gazed down at Behemoth.

“You’re the scoundrel Saelika doesn’t care about in the slightest—not even as much as the dirt beneath her fingernails.”
“What?”
“I’ve been waiting.”

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