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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 68: Diana Becomes an Apostle
"Wait. Hey, Diana. Are you in your right mind?"
"Y-Yes! Aphrodite's control has already been lifted."
"Then why all of a sudden...?"
"Take a look at the seal."
Where's the seal?
It’s stamped on the Dragon Heart, but I have no idea how to view it…
Feeling unsure, I opened my inventory, and there it was: the Dragon Heart.
When I tapped it, another window popped up. It felt like an inventory within an inventory.
Inside were four items: Seal of Elprian, Seal of Drakia, Fragment of Chronos, and Fragment of Urd.
I selected the Seal of Elprian, and its description appeared:
[Seal of Elprian: Apostleship]
[You can temporarily appoint an Awakened of equal or lower rank as an Apostle. For elves, apostleship can be granted regardless of rank. The number of apostles is limited to a maximum of seven.]
[Please designate a target to become an Apostle.]
"Apostleship?"
"Yes. Elprian desired for me to become your Apostle. They said it’s the only way to overcome this crisis."
Crisis?
What crisis?
I’ve already cleared everything…
"But, uh… what does this have to do with anything?"
"My body has been chosen as the new vessel for Artemis. Because I'm a virgin, and, well, that matters to her as an A-rank Apostle."
A virgin goddess, Artemis?
Why is she suddenly in the picture?
"Wait, why does a virgin goddess even need a virgin vessel?"
"I’m not entirely sure, but apparently, she decided she needed a new body. She designated me as her candidate for a future virgin goddess vessel. When I was devoted to the Sun God, I thought it was an honor, but now… it gives me chills."
Diana hugged her shoulders, clearly disturbed.
Not only had her faith been misplaced in a false god, but her body had nearly been taken over entirely.
It was enough to give anyone the creeps.
But hold on—if Aphrodite’s control was still active earlier, wouldn’t that have prevented her from becoming Artemis’s vessel?
"If Aphrodite’s possession hadn’t been lifted earlier, wouldn’t that have freed you from becoming the virgin goddess’s vessel?"
"If you had succumbed back then, you would have been forcibly teleported to Aphrodite’s temple."
Aphrodite’s temple?
So, she was Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty.
No wonder she looked so stunning.
"Forcibly teleported? That sounds…"
"I heard she’s prepared thousands of nymphs there. She’s been determined to capture someone with abilities like yours, no matter what."
Thousands of nymphs?!
I almost fell into a massive trap earlier.
The thought alone sent chills down my spine.
"So… to avoid becoming the virgin goddess’s vessel, you’d need to… not be a virgin anymore, right?"
"Yes. Elprian asked me to help you reach S-rank as your Apostle. They said it would ultimately bring salvation to them as well…"
Elprian had already been completely defeated and erased by Hermes, so how could salvation even be possible?
Before I could dwell on that question, Diana grabbed my hand, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"You must… do this. A child isn’t suitable under these circumstances, so I’ll handle the rest…"
Gulp.
I swallowed hard.
Barely managing to hold onto my rationality, I asked again.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yes. You’ve done so much for me, saved my world, and… I really am fine with it. In fact, I’d be honored if you accepted me as your Apostle."
With her being this insistent, there was no way I could refuse.
I unequipped my armor.
Then hurriedly removed the rest of my clothes and activated my Clear Mind skill.
Using the control technique I learned from Hermes, I made sure to temporarily close my reproductive function.
Everything was ready.
As I stood naked before her, Diana shrank back, pulling up a blanket before curling up on the bed.
"Just… please be gentle."
Hah.
I couldn’t hold back anymore.
I deactivated Clear Mind.
"Oh, and… um… just once is enough… As long as Artemis doesn’t take over my body, that’s all that matters…"
"I’m afraid… that’s not possible."
It’s already too late, my dear.
"I-I really mean it! We don’t have much time…!"
Slap, slap.
Ah.
The sound of Diana’s hand slapping my cheek brought me back to my senses.
But only for a moment.
Seeing Diana huddled with her body barely covered by the tattered blanket nearly made me lose my mind again.
In a panic, I reactivated Clear Mind.
[Clear Mind activated.]
Wow.
My consciousness had nearly been completely blown away.
I guess I’ll need to keep this skill activated at all times.
"Oh, thank goodness. You’ve regained your senses."
Diana, her face flushed, looked at me.
Her expression was a mix of frustration and relief.
Looking around, I noticed the bed was in utter disarray.
Blankets and sheets were torn to shreds, green scraps of clothing scattered everywhere—items that hadn’t been there before.
As I stared, Diana, looking slightly annoyed, began speaking.
"Time was running out, so I tried to cover myself, but you tore everything apart. Seriously, if we’d been any later, the entire world could’ve been thrown into chaos, and we both might’ve disappeared. Were you using some kind of berserk skill? Your strength was… overwhelming."
Diana started venting her frustrations but, oddly, her lips carried a small smile.
Huh.
She’s smiling.
Maybe she felt relieved now that everything was resolved.
Anyway, that was way too close for comfort.
My body felt incredibly refreshed, and I was in high spirits, but my memory of what had happened was fragmented.
From the bits and pieces I could recall, I’d acted like a feral beast in heat.
Even in such a crazed state, I’d managed to remember some key points from the strategy guide and put them into action.
Ah…
As I tried to piece things together, the urge began to rise again.
No.
Focus.
"So… how long has it been? What time is it now?"
"Out of the 40 hours we had, more than 38 hours have passed. We’re really out of time, Jiho. Please accept me as your Apostle."
I initiated the apostleship process using the Seal of Elprian in my inventory.
[Designating High Elf Diana as an Apostle.]
[High Elf Diana’s rank is higher than yours. However, as an elf, she can still be designated as an Apostle. Would you like to proceed?]
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Wait.
She’s A-rank?!
On Earth, Liana was only B-rank…
Was it because Diana was a complete Apostle of the Sun God?
No wonder she was so powerful.
But then, why didn’t she overpower me earlier if time was so critical?
As an A-rank, she should’ve been able to subdue me with ease…
Hmm.
I’ll need to reflect on that later.
When I pressed "Yes" to the apostleship, a green light shone from both our bodies.
Soon, a faint green line of light connected us.
Diana, now fully dressed in newly summoned clothes, saw the glowing line and smiled in joy.
“Success!”
“Yes, thank goodness.”
“Jiho, you can speak casually to me. After all, I’m your Apostle now.”
“Haha, is that so?”
“Yes. In fact, just earlier, you gave commands quite firmly. ‘Lie down.’ ‘Turn over.’ ‘Get rid of that blanket right now!’ and so on...”
Diana pouted her lips.
She seemed to be showing a wider range of emotions now.
Tch... I need to recall everything that happened in the last 30 hours in detail.
Well, if she’s telling me to speak casually, I’ll do just that.
“Can you lend me the Fragment of Chronos for a moment?”
“Sure.”
I took out the Fragment of Chronos from my inventory.
It was something I had received from Elprian but had never actually seen before.
The fragment resembled a jewel in the shape of a star, deep red in color.
She took the jewel from me and began to draw out her magic.
The space resonated with her magic.
Right, this was inside the World Tree.
The World Tree’s magic flowed alongside hers, creating a tremendous force that surged toward the Fragment of Chronos.
As the fragment turned green, Diana chanted a spell.
“Time Slip.”
Time Slip?
A spell to reverse time?
The fragment emitted a green light that spread out in all directions before returning to its original deep red color.
Then, still holding the fragment, Diana collapsed to the ground.
“Hah... Hah... Thankfully, it worked.”
“What is this...?”
“In accordance with Elprian’s will, we’ve briefly returned to the past. We don’t have much time, so please trust me and follow.”
She chanted another spell, and the roots of the World Tree emerged from the ground.
The roots wrapped around both of us and began to drag us somewhere.
A few minutes passed.
The roots dropped us onto the ground before disappearing.
Wait... this place looks similar to where I met Elprian...
As I looked around, I realized it really was Elprian.
Her body was broken, with all her limbs severed, leaving only a torso and face made of soil.
When she saw us, she exclaimed in amazement.
[Ah... It worked! Just as I hoped...]
“Elprian! What happened to your appearance...?!”
Seeing Elprian in such a state, Diana began to cry.
It was understandable, given her god had been reduced to such a wretched condition.
[Awakened Jiho Kim, thank you for accepting Diana as your Apostle.]
“No, but how are you alive again...? Did we really turn back time?”
[Yes, the Fragment of Chronos was used to briefly reverse time. I’d explain more, but Diana’s Time Slip is unstable, so we don’t have much time. I will complete the seal before I perish.]
Complete the seal?
Her dirt-like eyes flashed green, and suddenly, a message window appeared.
[Elprian’s Seal is being upgraded.]
[Apostle’s Garden has been added.]
[Apostle’s Garden]
[A separate space detached from the world, where temporary Apostles can reside. It exists as a subspace. SP can be invested to expand it. Currently, 5 slots remain.]
Apostle’s Garden?
It seemed to be a place where those I appoint as Apostles could reside.
[Diana’s rank is higher than yours. Keeping her summoned constantly would consume an enormous amount of SP. To avoid the wrath of the Sun God, send her there for now.]
At Elprian’s words, I looked at Diana.
“Diana, can you enter the garden?”
“Yes, Jiho. Please summon me again when you reach Rank A.”
Ah... I felt reluctant to send her to the Apostle’s Garden like this.
We’d grown closer, after all...
As I gazed at her silently, she took my hand and kissed it.
It was a familiar sensation.
“Next time, let’s spend time together without being rushed.”
Without being rushed?
Yeah, next time, we’ll take it slow.
With my skills active, we’ll savor the time.
“Alright... I’ll reach Rank A soon and summon you.”
“I’ll be waiting for that moment.”
As her figure gradually faded, Diana turned into a beam of light and was absorbed into my chest.
[A-Rank Awakener ‘High Elf Diana’ has entered the Apostle’s Garden.]
[4 slots remain in the Apostle’s Garden.]
Sigh.
It’s disappointing...
But sending her to safety is the right choice.
The Sun God might throw a fit.
While they couldn’t touch me too harshly due to the Soul Mediation, they could mess with Diana...
[Please take good care of Diana, Awakened Jiho Kim.]
“Understood.”
[Since I’ll perish soon anyway, I’ll use all my remaining power to expand your potential.]
Roots of the tree wrapped around me, and a refreshing sensation swept through my body.
[User Jiho Kim’s potential has been permanently increased.]
[The stat caps for all abilities aligned with Order have been significantly raised.]
[The stat caps for all abilities aligned with Neutrality have been significantly raised.]
All my stats had risen!
Wow.
This feels great.
As I rejoiced, Elprian spoke with a hint of exasperation.
[I’ve poured a considerable amount of power into you, yet your potential still isn’t fully unlocked...]
“Is my potential endless?”
[No, your potential was so poor that it’s hard to reach your limit.]
Was that really necessary to say...
Just how bad is my potential...?
Feeling a little dejected, I heard Elprian continue.
[Also, please store this essence in the Dragon Heart.]
One of Elprian’s eyes rolled to the ground, transforming into a green-glowing jewel.
[This is my essence, containing my memories. With this, no matter where you are, you can enter this space once.]
“Oh, I can use this to escape danger?”
Can I warp into the World Tree in case of emergency?
Nice.
[It’s more for when the world undergoes upheaval. Please return here and use it then.]
“When the world undergoes upheaval?”
[The Fragments of Chronos and Urd... possess the ability to manipulate time. Olympus and Valhalla are undoubtedly planning something with these powers.]
Elprian’s lone dirt eye glowed.
[That essence will certainly come in handy when the time comes.]
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HELHEIM SCANS
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