The massive damage caused by the extreme weather anomaly was steadily worsening. Like the advent of an apocalypse, the shadow obscuring the sun now covered half of it.

Scholars claimed that if it progressed even a few more percent, Earth’s temperature would plummet rapidly.

However, surprisingly enough, their predictions didn’t come true. The temperature changes were still all over the place.

From the start, the current artificial solar they faced had little to do with natural phenomena based on science, like a true eclipse.

Greater changes steadily occurred in the world, and people sank ever deeper into fear.

While some had already gone into hiding underground, others were trying to contact Davey, saying they should flee to Tionis.

Of course, once the phenomenon fully manifested, everyone would meet the same end, regardless of whether or not they hid underground or crossed over to another dimension. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Willow was currently drawing out power tens of times greater than what she’d originally possessed.

He had heard that she’d complete her awakening and appear soon, but until then, the damage would continue unabated.

Given that Earth was the most severely affected, news of global devastation kept pouring in.

At first, there were only simple reports of small natural disasters, but no one could deny that the severity was escalating with time.

Suddenly, the world became eerily quiet, as if exposed to a plague.

The incident that heightened this sense of alarm was the massive flood that occurred in Daejeon, Korea.

The extreme rain, which fell without any precursors, had caused extensive human and material losses. The fear that the phenomenon could appear anytime and anywhere further terrified the people.

Everything that happened was scientifically unproven, of course. The notion that it was an act of divine judgment had gained traction, but the Church of Neltarid simply stated that it was not divine punishment inflicted by the god Neltarid.

Of course, few people believed them.

In the end, public opinion shifted to blaming those who kept committing crimes even in a world where gods had descended, escalating into a social problem.

- Ah, Master. Were you busy?”

There was no end to the problems, no matter how much he tried to block and resolve them.

After resolving some of the issues that arose in the Heavenly Central Plains and Tionis, he was exhausted.

Unfortunately, that’s when Agatha called him. It was a truly cruel fate to make a child feel such a heavy sense of responsibility for the current situation.

“It's fine, Agatha. What's going on?”

- Well... I heard there are many people affected by flood damage in Busan, Korea. I'm going there to help.”

“You don't need to tell me every time.”

- Oh? Is that so...

Her voice sounded noticeably disappointed.

“Well, since you've decided to go, do your best.”

Feeling awkward, he soothed her, and her voice over the phone immediately regained its vitality.

- I heard many people are injured. I wanted to lend a hand. I'll work hard, Master!

“Okay, don't overdo yourself. Keep in mind, holy power is greatly influenced by the caster's state of mind.”

About an hour later, he heard the news while he forcefully held back a massive snowfall in the Middle East.

It was news that an unprecedented tsunami had rolled into Haeundae[1], causing immense damage.

That area had already been hit by flood damage once.

He figured it was where Agatha, the candidate for the Saintess of the Church of Neltarid, had gone.

Since he had completed the weather change and was slightly worried, he decided to move over to Korea.

But then.

- Aah. My god, grant me grace. Quickly!

A prayer was relayed toward Davey.

‘This damn praying style is undeniably from Saintess Shuneria...’

Maybe it was only natural for her to look for him, since the dimension where the Nacha Empire was must be in chaos too.

As he also had to pay attention to that side, he became momentarily unable to move by sending a massive amount of power connected to her.

“This is truly a pain in the ass...”

* * *

“Hurry and move the injured!” a small girl urgently shouted, in a place that seemed completely unsuited for her.

“Saintess! You must rest a little!”

She was still only a saintess candidate, but that was not something others cared about.

To them, whether a candidate or not, she was already effectively a Saintess for them.

Of course, that was not what mattered.

When she came to treat those affected by the simple flood damage, there was no problem. Even when she first arrived, she was just treating the injured, and the situation hadn't escalated to this point.

Boom!!

With a massive roar, a gigantic apartment building began to collapse, its debris about to engulf countless people.

However, a giant dragon suddenly flew in from somewhere, instantly catching and bouncing away the collapsing debris. It then created a huge barrier to prevent the small fragments from falling.

Evangeline O'Rowane! She was a trendy streamer and the apple of the Saint of Tionis’s eye.

She couldn’t stream in the current situation, so she was instead traveling around various regions, providing great assistance in solving major problems.

At first, people were afraid of the enormous dragon, but that fear greatly diminished as she traveled around helping people and gaining a reputation.

“Thank you, Evangeline!”

[Stop with the thanks and move them quickly...]

She conveyed her exhausted voice through her will.

Evangeline, who had instantly cleared the debris, flapped her massive wings and soared into the sky again. However, even with help, the injured didn’t get any better.

Agatha desperately spammed holy magic until all the holy power granted to her was completely depleted.

Soon, her face was pale to the point that it looked like she’d die at any moment.

“Save... save me...”

A person who had been severely wounded after being swept away by the tidal wave pulled on her clothes and begged to be saved. She responded by desperately manifesting holy magic again.

Even though she knew she could only save and treat so many victims of the tidal wave, she couldn’t stop when faced with such suffering..

Surely many people had already died after being swept away in the lower areas.

She felt like crying when thinking of the dead, but now was not the time to worry about such things as there were still many she could save.

“Ummm. Ah?”

Of course, the continuous manifestation of holy magic was bound to eventually exhaust even a saintess candidate.

The holy magic that was about to manifest was shattered before it could take effect.

She had treated hundreds of people in a short time. It far exceeded her capabilities as an immature saintess candidate.

In fact, she had only managed to heal so many people because she had learned how to use holy power more efficiently from Davey. Normally, she would’ve collapsed before treating even half that number.

She gasped for breath, trying to manifest holy magic again, but no magic emerged from her hands.

She and her magic had already hit their limit a long time ago.

“Why... why isn't it working...”

As her heart trembled and grew anxious, the efficacy of her holy magic steadily dropped.

“No! You bitch! You say you're a high-ranking member of the church! Save him! Save him now!”

Naturally, there were many people in the world who, after being saved from drowning, demanded boats as well.

A rough-mannered woman grabbed her by the collar, yelling at her to save the man immediately.

Agatha cried, senselessly repeating that she was sorry.

Even without hearing their conversation, everyone could tell what the woman was yelling.

“Stop! Stop it! What are you doing?!”

Priests from the church, seeing the scene, rushed over and separated her and the woman, but the woman screamed and yelled, “You just don't want to save him, right?! Huh?! Save him! Save him now! Hurry!”

Agatha should’ve been angry at the imperious tone that would make anyone frown immediately, but she desperately tried to collect herself.

However, the feeling of helplessness that had taken root didn't easily fade.

She was overwhelmed by the fear of failing again; the pressure to bring out her holy power right away; and the impatience as she still couldn’t manifest it and was driven into more of a corner.

And then.

“Heek. Hick.”

The man with a large penetrating wound let out a painful death cry as he took his last breath.

Agatha turned instantly pale upon seeing him.

The woman who had been yelling at her hugged the dead body and wept bitterly. While her behavior was indeed aggressive and presumptuous, no one could immediately blame someone who was clutching onto the dead body and sobbing so painfully.

“I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry...” she sobbed, clinging to the corpse as well.

The priests made sad faces, watching someone who was much younger than them suffer terribly.

“Saintess... you must rest. If you continue like this, something terrible will happen to you too.”

“I'm... I'm fine. My holy power is slowly coming back. The next patient... Ugh!”

In the end, she staggered and collapsed.

However, before she hit the ground, someone scooped her up. It was none other than Evangeline, who had been flying around in her dragon form, blocking both collapsing buildings and the relentlessly surging waves.

“Are you an idiot?! Who keeps spamming holy power until they're exhausted like this?! Do you want to die from vitality depletion?!” Evangeline scolded Agatha angrily, but she smiled weakly and shook her head.

“I have to. Who else can do it right now if not me?”

The treatment personnel were already at their limit. Few in the church could emit holy power on her level, so she couldn’t just stop and leave them to their own devices.

“No! I won't allow it. You go and rest, then the others will handle the rest...”

“If I don't do it now, more people will die!” Screaming in despair, she staggered toward the next patient.

Then, showing a look as if she could die at any moment, she tried to draw out holy magic but instead coughed up a mouthful of blood.

It showed just how much she had overworked herself, as she was normally a healthy child.

In the end, her holy power was completely drained, and she could no longer exert her strength on the front lines. She had no choice but to retreat.

As she pulled out, the pace of the treatment center visibly slowed down.

Watching that, she couldn’t hide her sadness.

“Saintess...”

“If... if only I had a little more power...”

She sank to her knees, her face exhausted. Then, with a weary voice, she slowly offered a prayer. “My Lord Neltarid, who watches over all creation...”

With tears welling up, she prayed desperately, “Do you see those suffering before my eyes?”

“Do you see this immense trial that is pushing your children to the brink of crisis?”

“I know well that my single life has no value compared to all of theirs. Nonetheless, I cannot simply watch idly those who are suffering, according to your teachings...”

Her sincere prayer ascended, but the holy power or stigmata didn’t move.

“Please. For this poor lamb's—” She suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Then, after contemplating for a long time, her eyebrows furrowed.

The onlookers thought she had forgotten the prayer.

“I know well that such a formal prayer means nothing. Grant me grace... please.”

Yet, her holy power didn’t react.

“Do you see this? If I don't step forward now, more people will die. So, grant me the grace to stand proud.”

Yet, nothing happened.

“I do not care how broken I become. Grant me the power to save these people in accordance with your teachings!! The power!! The strength!!”

As she prayed like she was screaming, her holy power finally started to move little by little.

“Are you going to keep doing this? If you keep doing this...” Agatha played her trump card. “I won't be your saintess anymore!”

Whoosh!!

After her scream, an immense holy power poured down upon her body.

Her exhausted body was somewhat healed, and the holy power that had not been moving well once again surged and became actively vitalized.

It was almost as if she was possessed.

She slowly rose to her feet and took one step after another.

“Saintess?”

Those nearby looked at her, startled by the sudden release of immense holy power.

It was clear at a glance that the holy power she released was incomparable to before.

“God had said, who dares to die on their own? No one will die without my permission.” Agatha clasped her hands together and manifested holy magic.

“That sounds more like what dad would say than Neltarid...” Evangline said in a small voice.

Unfortunately, no one heard her.

She miraculously cast an ultra-high-level holy magic she had heard about, but one she couldn’t even begin to grasp, let alone succeed.

[7th Level Holy Magic]

[Sanctuary]

Whuuum!!

In accordance with her will, an immense holy power poured out, and a temporary sanctuary unfolded around her.

It was absurd for even a saintess candidate to manifest 7th Level holy magic.

However, she was currently performing a miracle that she’d normally be unable to do, momentarily backed by a divine miracle.

The wounds of the injured began to heal as if they had never been injured to begin with.

Agatha didn’t know, but a pair of translucent, pure-white wings had sprouted on her back as if she were an angel.

“Ah. Aah.”

In that sacred spectacle, people just stared at her blankly.

The manifestation of a miracle! Yet, it didn’t last long.

“B-big trouble!”

Along with that cry, the light in the sky steadily grew darker.

“Ah...”

The sun, which had already half-disappeared, suddenly began to be sucked into the darkness at a rapid pace.

The world, which had already been somewhat dark, instantly grew even darker.

“No way... already?”

The sun was suddenly devoured by eighty to ninety percent. Even in that moment, the darkness was consuming it at an incredible speed.

Just before the sun was completely devoured, an extreme frost began to settle in the surrounding air.

It spelled doom for living beings. The Primordial Winter had begun!

Due to its influence, the sky looked as if the world itself was starting to freeze.

Agatha had manifested hope in the form of a miracle amidst despair, but the world's end could not be so easily averted.

The extreme cold slowly descended upon the ground, freezing everything. The moment its influence reached the earth, the world would completely freeze over.

Shedding a single tear, Agatha collapsed again.

It was truly a moment of hopelessness.

The sight of that despair, which couldn’t be resolved no matter how much they tried to block it, was something that all people around the world, not just in Busan, had to witness.

Since it was a disaster they couldn’t escape from, hiding in a bunker was meaningless.

People who had come out onto the streets and were blankly looking up at the sky knew their deaths were imminent.

Fortunately, there was still some time and a remaining chance to find a solution, so they could at least avoid the worst-case scenario of everything falling into lawless chaos.

If the phenomenon had manifested clearly, the entire world would’ve already become lawless.

Agatha, staring blankly at the apocalypse, clasped her hands and prayed again, muttering dejectedly, “I don't want to die like this. Everyone feels the same way. Please embrace these poor lives...”

Once she finished her prayer, she felt someone place a hand on her shoulder. There was no one around her to be seen. However, it nonetheless felt like someone was placing a hand on her shoulder, comforting her.

Then.

Boom!!

An immense, circular light beam fell from the freezing sky. At the same time, a blinding light burst forth.

Most people covered their eyes and bowed their heads to avoid the light.

However, those who could endure it, including Agatha, made sure to watch. They saw the presence of a beautiful goddess with a pure-white outfit and three pairs of wings, who had appeared by piercing the freezing sky.

She, who had descended without a word, slowly raised one hand high.

Everyone who saw her presence all thought the same thing. It was the descent of the goddess!

Some of them saw her face and made surprised expressions.

As she opened her eyes, they realized they had seen her beautiful face somewhere before.

That was why they couldn't understand. What they felt now was so overwhelming that even someone with no knowledge could sense her energy to be the presence of a goddess.

It made even less sense for that particular girl to be standing there.

“She’s... definitely...” someone mumbled.

They didn’t mention her name. Those who occasionally watched Evangeline's stream or had seen her on video sites recognized her face.

The goddess engulfed the world with her sacred power.

1. Haeundae is one of the most famous beaches in Busan, Korea. ☜