Shei was still Shei.
However, the moment she became a Saint, the world showed her a different face.
A Saint blessed by the Celestial God is not particularly bound by etiquette. However, the expectations of tens of thousands of people became shackles in themselves. There were not many Saints who engaged in public activities, and devout believers yearned to see the Saint even once from afar. Because of this, everyone cheered at the appearance of the new Saint, Sheiel.
Shei herself was uncomfortable with that fact, though.
Shei's power is exerted when she dies. In other words, in this world, Shei can no longer use the power of a Saint. If Shei's power is activated, it means Shei is dying, and with a high probability, the world will be destroyed.
Shei was probably the most useless Saint in this world. Unless it was the next world.
"...Since I've become a Saint, shall I try everything I can for now?"
However, instead of pondering deeper, Shei decided to act faithfully to her desires.
"Cheonaeng... you mean?"
"Yes. That's right."
At the end of the previous cycle, Shei gripped and swung Cheonaeng. She died immediately at the hands of the King of Sins, but the omnipotence and sense of liberation in that brief moment were something she had never found even once in her many lives.
It was probably the first material desire Shei had ever felt. Now that she was a Saint, Shei visited Cheonaeng's former owner and boldly demanded Cheonaeng.
The paragon of Holy Knights, the strongest knight serving the Heavenly Saint. The Grandmaster of Heaven's Holy Sword, Cryos. Evaluated to soon receive the title of a Sage due to his high cultivation and grave demeanor, even he was flustered by the bold demand of the rookie Saint.
"Please forgive my rudeness, Saint. There is no problem in giving Cheonaeng to you. However, passing the Relic's trial depends entirely on you, Saint."
"The Relic's trial?"
"A Relic is an item crystallized from the mental image of a Demonic Swordsman who possessed a powerful Unique Demonic Blade in life. In other words, using a Relic means using another's Unique Demonic Blade. You can only utilize its power if your mental image resonates with the Unique Demonic Blade. However, since the Saint's mental image vastly surpasses human intellect, the Relics usually cannot resonate with you."
At the very last moment of the previous cycle, Shei gripped and swung Cheonaeng, and at that time, Cheonaeng also exerted its full power. If a Relic's trial was necessary, why did it lend her its power then? Was it because the Relic was also in a rush?
How could an ordinary Shei, even as a Saint, pass such a formidable Relic's trial? Feeling slightly uncertain, Shei spoke as if making an excuse.
"I've used a Relic before without taking a trial."
"If you have seen such a future, then there will be no problem."
Cryos readily handed Cheonaeng over to Shei.
Lakion's Planetarium. Inside the virtual celestial globe monitoring threats from the far reaches of the universe, Shei met Cheonaeng again. It hadn't been long enough to call it a reunion, but Shei felt somehow glad to see Cheonaeng. At the same time, she was also anxious.
'What if it rejects me this time?'
The Saint's dignity, who had boldly claimed to have seen a future where she used the Relic, was a problem, but above all, Shei's heart was a bigger problem. She was worried that this feeling might be a one-sided affection.
Shei stepped into the virtual celestial globe. Stepping into the swirling space, Shei walked amidst the starlight twinkling in the void.
Cheonaeng was the Relic of a Sage who had drawn the map of heaven and earth on a freezing plain. It held the sorrow of one who watched the principles of the universe but failed to see a single person. Having died like that, it still monitored the distant universe. Shei walked through this void space without any thoughts.
How mystical this void space was. How it connected to the Demon God, what could be done with it. Shei knew nothing. She advanced toward Cheonaeng driven solely by a simple desire.
I want it.
Why?
Because I want to be strong.
Why?
Because I want to survive.
A very fundamental and simple desire. An ordinary wish that any Relic would shake its head and refuse. Cheonaeng would probably have done the same.
However, Shei regresses.
She had already died seven times and was living her eighth life. She experienced different deaths in different futures, and each time, she overcame death and moved on to a further future. Then, she encountered a certain limit, an end.
To survive, Shei had to prevent the end. She was placed in such a fate. Unlike others, Shei couldn't even run away. Even if she died, the power of regression forcibly sent her back into the arena.
Shei would fight against the King of Sins even with those lacking talents and insufficient abilities. In fact, she had already done so.
Since she would fight if there was a crisis for humanity, she had essentially already passed Cheonaeng's trial.
Shei drew Cheonaeng. Cheonaeng did not resist.
With this, Shei obtained the weapon she would continue to use in the future.
Having drawn Cheonaeng and proven her prescience, Shei continued her unstoppable advance. Having repeated the cycle seven times, she knew the future information almost perfectly, and by foretelling ensuing tragedies, she gained the trust and support of the people.
Thanks to her advance warning of the corpse golems crawling out from the bottom of the Bottomless Abyss, they were blocked near the border. She preemptively blocked the subsequent epidemic and prepared medicine in advance. She also foresaw the attacks of the Earthly Immortals and Vampires, buying time for the Holy Imperial Court and the Empire to prepare for the raids.
"With this, I've prepared for all the major events I know of."
She had solved almost all the problems that would come according to her memories. Now, she just needed to cultivate her strength. And Shei had not yet forgotten the Sword Empress.
The single title of 'Saint' was more powerful than any treasure, qi technique, or weapon she had obtained during her past regressions. Even the renowned Ecliptic Twelve Palaces could not simply ignore Shei, who had stepped outside the current era. Through the Holy Imperial Court's arrangement, Shei was able to meet the Sword Empress right away.
The Sword Empress, whom she reunited with, was not significantly different from the moment she had died. Shei revealed a subtle joy and asked the Sword Empress to teach her.
The Sword Empress spoke with an unreadable expression.
"...A disciple?"
"Yes. You definitely said you would teach me."
"That was, prescience? Were you my disciple?"
"Not a disciple, but you said you might have taken me as one if we had met earlier. I heard that clearly. That's why I came to find you earlier."
The silence grew long. It was the first silence she experienced since becoming a Saint.
A Saint rarely reveals herself to the world. Even the richest and most powerful people go with fortunes of money only to fail to see even her shadow, let alone hear a single line of prophecy. In the meantime, Shei was a Saint who appeared after a long time. She accurately foresaw disasters and saved many from tragedy.
The Saint of Salvation, Shei. A Saint who prevented disasters shortly after appearing.
The Ecliptic Twelve Palaces were not inferior either, but before the Saint, they seemed to fade in brilliance. It was the difference between admiration and faith, envy and earnestness. With such a Shei before her, the Sword Empress immediately shook her head.
"Saint, I cannot teach you."
"Huh? Why?"
"A Saint is a Saint. Not my disciple."
The Sword Empress was resolute. Feeling anxious, Shei said.
"Can't I be a disciple while being a Saint?"
"In my heart, no. A Saint is a Saint. You cannot become a disciple."
Shei was still Shei. However, the moment she became a Saint, the concept of a 'Saint' became an inseparable existence from Shei.
If she were not a Saint, she wouldn't have made it this far. But because she was a Saint, there were also things she could not have.
The first rejection Shei experienced. Failure. And change.
This was the beginning of a massive change to come.
She could have requested lessons by paying a donation to the Libra Palace, but that was already a method that had failed. Instead, Shei practiced drawing out Cheonaeng's power. Just as she was about to immerse herself in training for a while, an incident broke out.
The Azalea Principality and the Lilac Principality. And the Leaf Principality. Violent incidents occurred on the borders of the three principalities bordering the Enger Plains.
Border guards clashed with beastmen, leaving dozens dead and hundreds injured. Such violent uprisings occurred all along the border.
"Why?! We blocked the corpse golems!"
"Well..."
They had blocked the corpse golems, but the corpses and curses they scattered while moving ate away at the Enger Plains. The Holy Imperial Court wanted to cremate all the corpses, but the principalities were not very proactive about it. To minimize damage to their own territory, they fought them on the Enger Plains, and the corpses scattered on the ownerless land were none of the principalities' business.
However, it was the business of the beastmen wandering the Enger Plains. Beasts that flocked targeting the corpses even attacked the beastmen, and the beastmen driven out from there surged toward the principalities.
'Block the borders.'
'Never let the filthy beastmen in.'
It is difficult for a principality to organize an army without the Empire's permission. They have an army, but moving it requires various procedures and pretexts in many ways. Even more so if it's outside the border.
But coincidentally, a disaster warned by the Saint, the corpse golems, had just arrived. The principalities sent armed forces, and to avoid any aftereffects, sent them outside the borders to deal with it.
The principalities, reluctant to disband the army they had just gathered, used this as a pretext to maintain their military and tested their might against the beastmen.
In the meantime, the prophecy Shei had made also became a basis.
'The Saint of Salvation prophesied to beware of the harbingers of plague.'
'Our actions are to prevent disaster.'
'It is the Saint's will to block the beastmen who carry plagues.'
It was already a region where hatred for beastmen was rampant. The barbaric beastmen beyond the Enger Plains often caused various problems. The moment a reason was attached to that hatred, it became justice.
'Why are beastmen crawling into our borders in the first place?'
'An inferior race that only causes trouble.'
And beastmen were not a race with deep patience either. Enraged beastmen ran along the border, inflicting indiscriminate destruction and violence.
Eventually, a violent uprising occurred, difficult to say where it even started. It was something that couldn't be solved and wouldn't subside quickly.
Anti-beastmen sentiments rose throughout the Empire and the principalities, and beastmen were gradually driven into a corner. It was much faster and more threatening than the previous cycles Shei had seen.
"...Is it... because of me..."
"No, Sheiel."
An old beastman approached Shei, who was sitting alone hugging her knees. Her kindly wrinkled face was filled only with goodwill, and her drooping ears comfortably covered her face.
It was the Furred Saint, Meel. A symbol of peace signifying that beastmen also received the Saint's blessing, and the Saint who put an end to the long-standing conflict between beastmen and humans.
Already over a hundred years old and recuperating, the Furred Saint leaned on her cane and approached Shei's side.
"Furred Saint..."
"My eyes are dim, and I can't leave my room well, so I'm only meeting the new Saint now. Here, it's a hat I knitted myself. Would you like to try it on?"
"Ah, thank you..."
Shei didn't refuse and put on the hat. The hat had large holes on both sides of the top, allowing her hair to stick out. It seemed to be a hat for beastmen.
Meel slowly sat across from Shei. She gently held Shei's hands and said.
"I have a petty power of smelling scents. Sheiel. Your scent is honest and clear, making me feel good just looking at you."
"...But, the beastmen are suffering because of me. Far more than my prescience."
"That is not your fault. Sheiel, you did your best."
"Doing my best is not enough! This could possibly become the seed of an even greater disaster!"
"Even if the world were to perish, it would definitely not be your fault. It would be the fault of this world being too sinful for someone as honest and upright as you to bear."
An old person facing death is detached from life and death. To her, comforting Shei in front of her seemed more important than the impending end.
"Even if you suffer, do not agonize over it, Sheiel. Because it is not your fault."
Shei found a little comfort in the grave words containing the old woman's life. Seeing that, Meel smiled radiantly and said.
"I... probably endured until now just to leave these words."
The next day. The Furred Saint peacefully met her death lying in bed. The great person who protected the human rights of beastmen and delivered the Saint's blessing to them curled up in a round, soft cradle and fell into a long sleep.
It wasn't particularly strange. She was a beastman with a relatively short lifespan, yet already an old person over a hundred years old. She had lived out her natural lifespan and even lived on borrowed time. Whenever she died, it could be called a natural death.
However, hatred was already rampant in the world, and they even grasped the death of the Saint, which should be mourned, and wielded it as a weapon. During the Saint's funeral, such rumors spread throughout the world.
That the Saint had abandoned even the beastmen and departed.