"We won, Lishia!"
The victorious cannon blast echoed through the back mountain. Like Yog-Tos before him, the Old Dominion fanatic's soul became the price for wielding a Wicked God card, dragged into the abyss.
Finally able to breathe easy, Aisha looked at Lishia, wrapped in golden holy light.
Her face, already adorable without her glasses, and her plain flaxen hair now loose and touched with golden radiance, looked so dazzling that even a fellow girl like Aisha couldn't help but be captivated.
"The Saint really is just like in the stories—elegant, noble, and divine!
"…But the glow seems dimmer than before?"
The sacred golden light flowing around Ecclesia gradually lost the brilliance it had when she first revived. If Aisha had to describe it, it felt burned out.
"I'm out of energy, Aisha-senpai."
Back in a weak, exhausted state, Saint Ecclesia clutched her stomach and stumbled into Aisha's arms.
"Looks like one piece of chocolate only keeps me on Earth for three minutes."
"Are you some kind of Chocolate Ultraman? And why do your eyes look so… hungry?"
"Because you look delicious, Senpai. Can I have a lick? Just one!"
"No way!" Aisha shook her head furiously.
"Then there's no helping it. Continuing this possession would only overburden this body. I have to leave for now."
So possession wasn't like a simple soul swap—it drained the body's energy even more.
Understanding this, Miles could finally make sense of how Lishia's small body could hold so much food when possessed by the Saint.
"Aisha-senpai, before I go, can I ask one more favor?"
"Anything except licking me."
"So cautious! As expected of Senpai. That makes me feel better about entrusting this to you."
Weakly leaning in Aisha's arms, Saint Ecclesia used the last of her strength to pull a metallic shard from her clothes.
It had a unique, irregular shape, etched with dense, unfamiliar writing that neither Aisha nor Miles had ever seen.
"I didn't expect the Old Dominators to chase the key to the Obelisk Tower all the way here. So I hope you can keep it safe for a few days, Aisha-senpai."
"The key to the Obelisk Tower?"
Aisha accepted the metal shard from the faint Saint as if it were her final will.
It was hard to imagine something like this being called a 'key.'
"Why give it to me, Lishia?"
"Because you, too, are chosen by the Egyptian Gods, Aisha-senpai. Sealed within the Obelisk Tower is the card of [Obelisk the Tormentor], one of the Egyptian Gods. That's why the Old Dominators want the key."
Miles said, "So it really is [Obelisk the Tormentor]."
During the Duel earlier, Miles had vaguely heard the Old Dominator mention names like Obelisk and giant god soldier.
Now Lishia confirmed it: one of the three Egyptian Gods, Obelisk, was indeed in the western region of the kingdom.
"This possession consumed too much energy. I might not be able to possess again for several days. I'm afraid that next time, if I'm not here, Lishia might not be able to defeat the Old Dominators alone. So to avoid the worst, I have to rely on you, Aisha-senpai."
"Uh…" Looking at the key in her hand, Aisha felt like she was holding a scorching hot potato.
"Senpai! Senpai! Senpai!"
"Senpai?! Fine, I promise."
Hit by the adorable golden-haired Saint's repeated cries of "Senpai," Aisha, clutching the key tight and shutting her eyes hard, once again surrendered and solemnly accepted the key to the Obelisk Tower.
"Now I can rest easy, Senpai."
Having delivered her "final words," the Saint's golden light fully faded. Lishia's hair returned to its original flaxen color, and the X-shaped mark on her forehead disappeared.
Yet, even without the possession, Lishia's body was still weak from hunger.
Miles could only summon Stardust Dragon once more to carry her back to the dorm. Then Aisha fed the half-conscious, starving Lishia all the snacks she had hidden in her dorm, declaring a total snack bankruptcy.
"Thank you, Aisha-senpai!"
"(￣—￣) Eat up, eat all you want. Not like there's much left."
Watching her entire semester's snack supply vanish into Lishia, Aisha could only force a smile while silently weeping inside.
"If you hadn't saved me, Aisha-senpai, I'd be dead for sure."
Though her voice and appearance were the same, the thick western accent was nothing like the Saint's sacred tone. It was clear these were two entirely separate personas.
Aisha suddenly remembered something Camille had said earlier that afternoon in this very room:
"Perhaps even Lishia herself hasn't noticed she's possessed by the Saint."
"Lishia, why did you suddenly run to the back mountain?" Aisha probed.
"Huh?"
Stuffing chips into her mouth, cheeks puffed out, Lishia looked at Aisha with pure innocence.
"I don't know. When I woke up, I was already in the back mountain—actually, already in Aisha-senpai's arms."
"Don't you find that strange?"
"It's a little weird, but I'm used to it. It's happened before. Mom, Dad, and Arnold all say I probably just sleepwalk."
It seemed Lishia truly had no idea she was possessed by Saint Ecclesia.
So Aisha kept silent about the key, Obelisk the Tormentor, and everything else.
Her task was simply to safeguard the strange key sealing the God until Saint Ecclesia could appear again.
As long as she stayed obediently at the Academy for the next few days, the key would be safe.
Of course, that was assuming the Old Dominators didn't resort to threatening the academy town's civilians with soul-contract Duels again.
"Tomorrow's worries can wait until tomorrow…"
As she relaxed, a wave of exhaustion crashed over Aisha.
Just before she drifted into sleep, she thought she heard Lishia's gentle goodnight.
"Oyasumi, Senpai~ If I sleepwalk again, make sure to bring me back."
"Don't worry, Lishia. I'm your Senpai, after all."
Half asleep, Aisha still clung to her dependable Senpai persona.
Anyhow, in her dreams, she didn't notice that the metal shard sealing the Obelisk Tower seemed to react with the God card in her Deck.
The card of [The Winged Dragon of Ra], the chief of the Egyptian Gods, glowed dimly in the night, shining on the sealed key and transferring the divine power within [The Wicked Eraser] card into the key.
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going!
[Patreon.com/RedZTL]