Chapter 261: The Descent of the Holy Sword (1)
Only after two sleepless nights did they finally finish cleaning up the aftermath. The survivors managed to clear away every last flower and tend to the wounded, purging the tainted land as best as they could.
For two days and nights, not a single person rested. Exhaustion weighed on every soul, but still, the work pressed on. Even so, not everything was restored. The holy land itself remained broken, the sanctuary’s heart still missing. The domain of the God of Harmony had vanished from the Mortal Realm. It was a loss they had no choice but to accept.
Perhaps it was a miracle that things had ended there, with only a single holy land erased. If Floris had managed to escape the battlefield, at least five more sanctuaries would have fallen before she was stopped.
When the dust finally settled, Ketal sat down with the Archbishop to discuss what had happened.
“How did Materia descend into this world?” the Archbishop asked him, his voice hoarse and wary.
Ketal replied matter-of-factly. “She descended through Floris’s body, using it as an avatar. That was her vessel.”
“I see.” The Archbishop still seemed troubled, a furrow creasing his brow. “Even so, no matter how powerful Floris was, I can’t imagine she could have brought Materia into the world on her own.”
Ketal was silent for a moment. He understood the reason but hesitated to say it outright. It was the fracture that Ferderica had created when opening the gate of the heavens, a wound in reality that had given Materia the opportunity she needed. However, Ketal had made a promise to the Mercenary King not to speak too openly about that particular event. The Archbishop arrived at his own conclusion.
“So the fracture in the world has grown that large... What is happening to this world?” the Archbishop muttered.
“Materia is one of the Four Pillars of Hell, isn’t she?” Ketal asked him, changing the subject.
“Yes, that’s correct,” the Archbishop replied, sitting up a little straighter.
“What exactly are they?” Ketal’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.