Beneath the skies of Noctera, from within the majestic World Tree itself ..
A mysterious woman emerged, unseen by mortal eyes for countless ages, draping the island in golden light that overwhelmed the prevailing darkness.
An aura of purest gold radiated from her, accompanied by a noble presence unlike any other.
Uriel Platini was the first to notice her, being the closest.
Her wounds began to mend instantly, healed simply by the proximity of that overwhelming sacred power.
A holy force.
A noble presence.
A familiar figure—this woman was a Saint.
But which Saint?
"This is not your fault, Uriel Platini... there is only one true culprit for this heinous crime."
The Saint’s voice was gentle, though her tone carried an undeniable weight.
Her eyes were hidden behind a black blindfold embroidered with a golden sigil, concealing her vision yet not her clarity. Even without sight, she immediately discerned the true enemy.
And that enemy was none other than Joseph Blattier.
He recognized her presence at once. Her figure was too distinctive, her name too sacred in church records for him not to know. Yet still, he refused to believe.
"This is impossible..."
She was supposed to have vanished long ago, already dead and gone from this world.
Yet here she was, appearing at the most critical moment of his life.
Her golden aura reached out, pulling both Snow and Frey away from danger, as the Saint rose slowly into the sky, her every movement measured and solemn.
"Dawn Saint... Liora..." Blattier uttered the name aloud, stunned as recognition struck.
For centuries, she had been venerated in books and hymns as the Saint who once stood beside the First Hero, battling demons of unimaginable might during the Great War—an age when SSS-ranked beings roamed freely.
And she looked exactly as the records described, untouched by time, her youth preserved as though the Great War had ended only yesterday.
"There must be some trick here..."
Blattier ascended into the air to meet her, rising to her level.
"There are no tricks, Joseph Blattier," the Saint replied, her expression firm, her aura intensifying until the golden light eclipsed his. "What stands before you now is one of the founders of the very church you have defiled with your hands."
Her radiance bore down upon him, forcing dread into his heart.
"Defiled it? I am the Church! The Church is me! I kept this order alive when you vanished, abandoning it!" Blattier roared back, unleashing the full extent of his newly awakened SSS aura, struggling to push back against her overwhelming presence.
The Saint merely raised her hand, and from the void, golden chains manifested like furious serpents, coiling tightly around him.
They constricted with such strength that Blattier could not break free.
"I never abandoned anything. I was always here—sheltered within the great Tree, preserved across the ages."
The Dawn Saint, Liora, had been here all along, concealed within the World Tree that humanity had worshiped but never truly understood.
"I have no eyes with which to see this world, for I lost my sight long ago. But I never needed them to witness the atrocities you committed with your hands."
"You, who claim to be the Church—how can you represent its faith, when you desecrated every value and doctrine it once stood for?"
Each word from her lips inflamed Blattier’s anger.
"Silence! I have no interest in hearing another word from you!"
Clutching his great spear, he tore through the golden chains and lunged forward.
"The Lord of Light abandoned me long ago! The First Hero gave his life and vanished! And you—you disappeared without warning! By what right do you judge me for what I’ve done?!"
BOOOOM!
His spear clashed with her raised palm, unleashing a deafening storm of power.
But the truth was undeniable—Blattier’s light paled before her absolute gold.
"The Lord of Light never abandoned anyone, Blattier. He is a noble, mighty being whom we chose to follow. But we never claimed him to be a god. He was never omnipotent. That was a truth known by all in the past.
It was you who twisted the truth.
You who rewrote history to suit your desires."
Her golden radiance surged even brighter, forcing him back and threatening to overwhelm him entirely.
"You claimed to embody the Church. But you represent no one but yourself. Because of you, millions of innocents died. By your filthy hands, you nearly brought about the death of this generation’s greatest heroes."
Forming a strange seal with her hands, Liora unleashed her full strength.
"This is the burden I have borne in silence. For centuries I was bound by the vow... forced to endure as I watched, unable to intervene."
Her words unsettled Blattier, especially the mention of a vow. But his attention was fixed on the overwhelming aura forming behind her.
From her seals emerged a celestial figure—an awe-inspiring being, immense enough to cast its shadow over the entire island.
Golden eyes glared down at the bishop, ready to deliver judgment.
"I had no choice but to break that vow. When this generation’s heroes fell, when death stood a step away from them—then the old had to return. To cleanse the chaos you have unleashed, Joseph Blattier."
Liora’s revelation confounded him. He could hardly believe she had been slumbering within the World Tree, preserved by its divine blessing, waiting for this very moment.
But to defeat an SSS-ranked being, another SSS was required.
And Liora had reached that stage long ago.
"Divine Lament: Tears of Salvation."
With those words, she summoned a golden pillar from the heavens, a cascade of light like tears of salvation and judgment, descending upon Blattier.
The sacred technique scorched his body and spirit alike, leaving him writhing against its might.
But still, he resisted, grinding his teeth, summoning the fury of the 35 million souls that burned within him.
"Do not think for a moment that you can defeat me, Liora!"
Struggling forward through the storm of light, he advanced, his madness refusing to yield.
"Your time is over! There is no place for you in this world anymore! Return to your grave! Upon this earth and beneath this sky—I AM the Lord of Light!"
Clinging to his arrogance and obsession until the end, Blattier refused to fall.
Even against an SSS Saint, he did not flinch.
"There is no right or wrong in this world. The victor is the one who writes its laws! The victor decides what is true!
And I am the victor!
I am the one who will rule this land!
I will fight until my last breath, with the boundless power bestowed upon me!"
His cry was a savage roar of defiance, hurling himself against the Saint’s judgment.
In the end, Blattier was caught off guard when she came at him herself, striking from close range.