episode_0132

000

“High Priestess, Eschatology. In accordance with the doctrines of the Saint’s Protection Order, I recognize you as the Saintess of the Highest Order. This means that you are the one who will follow me and lead the Order’s future.”

The center of a massive temple filled with pure white. In the sky, three circles slowly rotated, each displaying a symbol representing the Hero, the Holy Sword, and the Saintess.

On the ground, over a hundred priests wore pure white robes and masks with three circles, identical to the symbols in the sky, painted on their faces as they offered prayers.

Among them, only Pope Emelus III of the Saint’s Protection Order and the woman receiving the holy veil from him were permitted to raise their heads.

Despite being over 30 years old, her appearance remained unchanged since her mid-teens, eternally beautiful and youthful.

Hair of an azure color, almost silver. It reached the ground, but was slightly elevated above it by holy power, preventing it from dragging.

Her open eyes were reddish-brown. A modest color compared to her hair, but they were the only part of her that displayed her humanity amidst the dignity created by the divine power that enveloped her entire being.

Eschatology. Originally a nun from a small rural church, she received a divine revelation from the Holy Sword one day, and embarked on a journey to find the sword “Caladbolg.”

Later, she would be with the hero “Resia” who would save the kingdom from the empire.

A living miracle. An angel of hope. The kingdom’s Saintess.

She was called by various titles and epithets, but it wasn’t as if she had been skilled in divine magic from the beginning.

Her faith was certainly no less than that of other priests, but she always seemed to be missing a screw somewhere.

She was so naively kind that she often nearly fell victim to scams, relying on her companions for help.

She resembled Resia in that respect, and often caused Sophia and Talcheck considerable worry during their journey.

But now, about 20 years after the fall of the empire.

While her appearance remained the same, she emanated a divine aura that even high-ranking priests could only look up to.

Always wearing a benevolent smile, she inspired hope in the people of the Order.

Working tirelessly day and night to protect the people from despair caused by unfortunate events, she was truly worthy of being called a “Saintess.”

Although her companion, the hero Resia, had gone missing for some reason.

One year later. She had risen to the position of “Highest Saintess” in the Order, second only to the Pope.

As proof of this, she smiled at the praying members of the Order while wearing the holy veil, one of the ancient relics, on her head.

Talcheck and Sophia watched her from a slightly distant location, near the entrance of this sacred hall of the Order, with somewhat worried expressions.

“Hey, Sophia. That girl…”

“It’s as you suspect… She’s changed. I had a feeling from the start, but I didn’t think it would be this much.”

Sophia nodded at Talcheck’s observation and clicked her tongue.

“…What are we going to do?”

“What are we going to do? There’s nothing we can do. She’s now the second most powerful figure in the continent’s most powerful force. Even if we were fellow companions of the Hero, I’m just a mere magician. You’re a knight of the intelligence agency. All we can do is watch over her.”

Sophia then added to Talcheck.

“Ah. And Talcheck recently gained a family, you know.”

“…Tch.”

Sophia patted Talcheck’s shoulder, who seemed dissatisfied, and then rested her chin on her hand, appearing to contemplate for a moment.

“Her goal is the same as ours. Ultimately, it’s to find ‘Resia.’ She’ll do anything for him, I’m sure.”

“…Anything, huh. In the end, she’s one of us.”

Talcheck said, gripping his sword tightly.

The red luminance vibrated low, reacting to its owner’s anger, or resolve.

“…This is definitely a curse. One we placed on ourselves.”

“Heh heh… Perhaps you’re right.”

Sophia gazed at Eschatology, who was still smiling, alongside Talcheck.

The first female Pope, later to be called “Holy Mother.”

Eschatology, Sophia, and Talcheck.

It was the last moment the three companions of the Hero, who had thrown themselves into the battle against the Empire, were together in one place.

001

“Is she the subject for this experiment?”

The man in the white coat looked down at the small girl trapped inside the barrier in front of him.

With red hair and brown skin, she was a member of a minority tribe in the west of the kingdom, known for their strong physiques.

A barbaric tribe that worshipped Vulcan, the god of burning war and the forge in the volcano, a natural deity.

However, these people, who were extremely exclusive and had uncontrollable tempers, were constantly in conflict with the surrounding countries and villages.

In addition, the Vulcan tribe only gave birth to women for some reason, and had a custom of kidnapping men from the outside to produce children.

They were a race that received tremendous resentment from the victims who had their sons, husbands, and brothers stolen.

However, they also regarded all the outside races who tried to avoid conflict and maintain peace as cowards.

It was the last emperor of the Empire who took notice of their character.

The villain of the century who would later ignite a war that would engulf the entire continent, earning the title of “Demon King.” The Sword Emperor.

The Vulcan tribe accepted the Sword Emperor’s proposal. The tribe leader at the time married the Sword Emperor with the intention of friendship and became one of his many wives, thus coming under the Empire’s banner.

Truly like raging flames, they engaged in battles combining powerful magic and spears at the forefront of the Imperial army, throwing themselves into countless battles as they had always wished.

As a result, hatred for them deepened to the point where rumors spread that they, like the Black Magic clan, were descendants of demons.

And. On the day the Empire met its demise. They too met their demise.

All but one member of the Vulcan tribe were executed.

Unlike the Black Magic clan, some of whom survived and fled, the Vulcan tribe never ran away.

Also, it was because they had built up a great deal of notoriety even before joining the Empire.

The last surviving girl was secretly transported to a research facility somewhere, where she was subjected to experiments every day that inflicted pain that felt like her body was being torn apart.

Sometimes she was forced to fight monsters with her bare hands.

Sometimes she had to move to her destination even as powerful gravity magic was cast, causing the bones in her body to scream.

Sometimes she had so much blood extracted that her mind became clouded, and she was made to watch how that blood reacted to other reagents.

She thought about wishing she were dead countless times.

But unfortunately, Vulcan’s blessing was gathered entirely on her, the last remaining believer.

Her death would mean Vulcan’s extinction, and Vulcan was pouring all of his power into her to protect her, trying to keep her alive no matter what.

“How is it? That heretic girl?”

“She is showing remarkable numbers in almost all experiments. There are only about three people, including her, who show similar numbers… Ultimately, we plan to use them as the base for-”

The man who appeared to be a researcher was telling this to an elderly man, but the man frowned and rebuked the researcher.

“Do not speak too much aloud. There are spirits everywhere in this world. Always be mindful of their presence, even in places where there are no mice or birds.”

“I, I apologize. I will submit a written report later.”

The man nodded as if satisfied with the researcher’s response, stared at the red-haired girl for a moment, and then turned away.

The red-haired girl could tell that the emotion in the man’s eyes directed at her was nothing but “contempt.”

“Hey, mister. Who was that old geezer just now?”

“Tch, how rude! That man just now… You don’t need to know! Hurry up and prepare for the experiment!”

“Tch… You could have just told me. So? What’s today’s experiment?”

As the girl spoke, the researcher manipulated a lever to open a door on the other side of the room she was in.

Appearing from within was a girl who seemed to be about the same age as her.

Black hair, black eyes. And fair skin.

“We will be testing the strength of your bodies. From now on, fight each other with the intention of killing one another.”

“Huh…? It’s no fun fighting someone who looks so weak. Bring a minotaur like last time.”

“…I. I’m not weak. You. Look weaker.”

“…What did you say, you little…!? Fine. I’ll beat you down right now. What’s your name?”

“Lilim.”

“I’m Ishtar! Come at me!”

002

“Wait…! Please wait! Why…! You said you loved me!”

A woman with disheveled emerald hair grabbed onto the blond man who was leaving her.

The man looked at the woman holding him with a complicated expression and spoke.

“I’m truly sorry… But nobles have duties they must fulfill. It’s certainly true that I love you… But I’m sorry.”

He spoke calmly as if trying to suppress his sadness, but that alone was not enough for the woman to understand.

“It’s a lie…! If you truly loved me, wouldn’t you be able to abandon such noble duties?”

“That’s impossible. If I were to abandon even that, I would have…”

The man clenched his fist tightly and then turned his back to the woman again.

“My brother rendered distinguished service in the previous war and has become, in name and reality, the most important figure in this country. It is my duty to support him from the sidelines.”

“Is it impossible for me to be by his side?”

“It’s impossible for a commoner. Enduring the life of a noble. You… Return to your hometown and live a normal life. There are that many dangers involved in being my wife.”

“… …”

The woman dropped her hand that had been holding the man onto the ground with a shocked expression. Perhaps accepting it as a resignation. The man clenched his fist tightly so as to never look back again.

“Farewell.”

With those parting words, he left the place of love where he had spent a short but sweet time with her.

The woman sat down on the cold floor, clutching her stomach and murmuring as if possessed.

“Why… Even your child is inside here…”

And then, she messed up her hair and laughed madly.

She was denying the unacceptable reality and her mind was collapsing.

A week later, she boarded a carriage leaving the royal capital without telling anyone.

Towards the village of the sacred tree where her younger sister was waiting.

003

“…Cleon… Cleon.”

Cleon slowly opened his eyes at the touch of a hand shaking him, and a quiet voice.

Still inside the carriage, with the women who had been chatting growing tired from the long journey and falling asleep one by one.

It was Galatea, who had taken on a human form, who had awakened him.

“…What kind of dream did you have? I can feel your soul shaking.”

At Galatea’s question, Cleon tried to recall the dreams he had just had in his head, but the image did not clearly come to his mind, as if hidden in a fog.

So he simply shook his head, took Galatea’s hand as if to say he was okay.

Galatea took Cleon’s hand in return, then leaned against Cleon as he was.

Although her body was cold, Cleon felt more at ease the closer he was to her.

“You don’t know, but when we were living in the Dragon Valley village, when you were too scared to fall asleep, I used to sing you a lullaby.”

“…Is that so. I… didn’t know.”

“Hehe. I suppose not. I didn’t think it would function as a lullaby, either.”

Cleon once again felt sleepiness creeping in little by little.

But this time, he was sure he wouldn’t dream.

If he fell asleep connected to Galatea, all the nightmare-like illusions trying to devour him would be blocked by Galatea.

“Galatea…”

Cleon called out the name of his lover, friend, teacher, family, and soulmate in a voice that was gradually losing strength.

“Yes?”

Galatea replied to Cleon in a kind voice that she only showed when it felt like it was just the two of them.

“…Thank you…”

“…You’re welcome. Well, there’s still a bit left until we reach the royal capital. Just like the other children, you’ll wake up and we’ll be there.”

As Galatea stroked Cleon’s hair while saying that, Cleon quietly fell asleep again.

She looked at the young man as if he had returned to his boyhood, then looked out the window.

The carriage was moving without stopping, and the scenery outside was flowing by.

Endless plains, green meadows, blue skies.

Over that-

Burning earth, sulfurous smoke. And the illusion of a red sky overlapped.

Galatea stared at the scene for a moment, then quietly closed her eyes and clenched her fist.

“This time. It’s different.”