episode_0182

James Randolph grew up as an ordinary boy.

His studies were ordinary, his athletics were ordinary, and even his magic was ordinary. He wasn’t outstanding in anything compared to others, but he was at least a well-behaved boy who didn’t cause trouble.

He only ever knew that being kind was praise.

“Jay! Lend me your textbook.”

“I have my next class soon…”

“Aw, come on. Just this once!”

Even though this was already the third time someone borrowed his textbook and didn’t return it, he couldn’t help but hand it over reluctantly.

“Alright… You have to give it back.”

“Thanks! You’re the kindest guy among my friends~”

After that, Jay attended class without his textbook, received punishment, and ultimately didn’t get it back. But… he just thought that it was okay because he had been called kind.

He liked people’s smiles.

So he always listened attentively to what they said, chimed in at the right time, and sometimes took the lead in cracking humorous puns, making everyone laugh—it was his hobby.

“And then, the neighbor’s uncle, while chasing a runaway bull—”

“Puhahahaha-!! So, so? What happened then?”

“Uh, so…!! He tripped on the plow attached to the bull—”

How could he make them laugh more? How could he make them happier? He always looked for funny stories around him, shared them with his friends, and laughed together.

He thought he was spending a happy time.

But that was all. It was his thought, his misconception, and as he got older, his reality and his heart began to drift further apart.

Jay wasn’t a kind and funny person. He had become an easy and ridiculous person.

“Ah~ This is boring. Hey, Jay. Go buy some bread for us.”

“Huh? Oh, okay… Um, but the money…”

“We’re friends, so you’ll pay for it, naturally, right?”

He wanted to believe. He was definitely a kind boy who would buy food for his friends.

He didn’t want to believe. That everyone he thought of as a friend didn’t consider him a friend at all.

One day, he felt a little more tired than usual. He collapsed in the classroom, and no one helped him. He was only found a while later, and had to be carried home on his teacher’s back.

Jay quit school and ran away. He happened upon the Aiter Temple, and on that dark, cold day, he found light and warmth there.

He decided to study theology and become a priest.

* * *

“Ah… Ah… Yes, I am truly nothing… I am a useless person who can’t do anything…”

“But even you, the Goddess cherishes and gently strokes.”

From Jay’s faint whisper of a memory, I instantly understood his worries.

But he was in Pope Gregorio’s clutches, and his light was closer to the Pope than to me.

“Ah… Goddess…!!”

The hot tears streaming down his eyes were no longer their original clear brown.

Jay’s gaze completely darkened, and the Pope’s golden radiance filled its place.

This is the sacred word. This is Pope Gregorio’s brainwashing method.

A ruthless madman who fiercely rakes over the most painful wounds in a person’s heart, then pours a whole bottle of the bitter antiseptic of the Goddess of Light.

This was the first time I saw it with my own eyes, not through a monitor.

Cakduk—

For the first time in a long time, anger surged through me.

“Alex-! Tier-!”

I called out the priests’ names loudly, but the situation was the same for everyone.

“Ah… Mother…”

“No… I don’t want to die…!!”

They tore at their hair in anguish, then, enveloped in the Pope’s golden radiance, stood up.

When they turned to look at me again, they were no longer their former selves.

“Damn it, you dog—!!”

If I were to grab them right now, and infuse them with my Aether to stimulate their minds, I could certainly break the brainwashing.

But not now.

Cheol-geok- Cheol-geureuk—

This is the center of the Holy Kingdom, the heart of the Luminous Orthodox Church. Unbrainwashing the priests in the enemy’s territory is not a wise move.

On the contrary, their current state, brainwashed by the sacred word, is the safest.

‘If I time it right… I need to attract their attention.’

Toward the Knights of Light, one by one, approaching with the clamor of their armor…

I openly drew my ethereal blade.

“Unbrainwash them immediately-!!”

“My, my… Brainwashing? That’s a bit strong, isn’t it? They are merely devout followers who have heard the Word of .”

I didn’t suppress the surging emotions, it instead poured out.

One, to show my genuine indignation and draw the Pope and the knights’ attention. And another, to make them think I was half out of my mind, thus making them careless.

“How long do you think this charade will work? Today? Tomorrow? Or forever? Never…”

I raised my voice in an exaggerated, theatrical manner, wielding my sword with large movements.

I pulled my Aether to its limit, exuding overwhelming pressure, just like the Pope did when he first met us.

Hwirik-

“I’ll destroy all of this right now—!!”

Chak-chak-chak-

“Heh… Hehehehe…”

Then, Pope Gregorio burst into aimless laughter.

“Khahahaha-!! This is fun, really fun-!! Alright, go wild as much as you want. Of course…”

Kwadduk-

He crushed the glasses he had just thrown on the floor, and spread his arms again.

“You will have to defeat all of my puppets-!!”

Like puppets on strings, the curtain rose on the stage at the heart of the grand temple, Chapel Luminosa.

The protagonist on the side of good, Pope Gregorio. And his faithful subordinates, the brainwashed priests and paladins.

The villain surrounded by all those puppets…

was Narias Philbrogue, me.

. . .

I threw my ethereal blade into the air, scattering it into Aether.

Even if I harbor enmity, the people before me raising their swords and spears are all victims of the Pope’s brainwashing.

To cut them all down… their pure souls were vividly felt beneath their skin.

“My, you are discarding your sword? It’s too late to surrender now…!!”

Under the Pope’s gesture from offstage, the bodies of the unknowing knights began to move.

Jeol-geureuk- Cheol-geok-

Kung- Kung- Kung-!!

The first to charge were a dozen knights in full plate armor.

I lowered my stance, thrust my foot forward, then grabbed the arm wielding the descending sword and flung it in the opposite direction.

Tu-kwang—!!

The knight, soaring through the air, collided with the group of knights rushing from behind, causing them to fall en masse.

“No time, all at once-!!”

Driven by momentum, my voice soared to the ceiling of the temple.

But there are more enemies than I thought. The knights densely surrounded the area, blocking out the light coming from the entrance. It seemed endless, to knock each one down with my fists.

“Hueup—”

Aether, seething like lava resonating with my angered emotions.

I leaped, sending all the Aether above my head.

Like a ball thrown into the sky falling back down, all the energy traced a parabola along my body’s periphery, descending.

And I brought down my raised left foot.

“Haat—!!”

Florain martial arts, Heaven’s Peak!

Kuwaguang—!!

Like seething lava erupting from the ground, the Aether I slammed into the ground shattered the tiles of the temple and surged forward. A pure white shockwave engulfed all the oncoming knights.

“Damn it, what kind of power…!!”

Pope Gregorio’s startled voice came from within the rising cloud of dust. A golden flash of light swept away all the dust and debris.

Cheol-geok- Cheol-geok-

I’d significantly reduced their numbers with that attack. But there were still plenty more knights bound by the sacred word.

“Keep going-!!”

This time, I controlled my breath, slowly accumulating Aether in my dantian to prevent it from flowing outward.

Huu-

As I breathed out and in, the seething Aether settled down within me as if it had cooled, and at the same time, my body felt as light as a feather.

Taat-

Sending the Aether from my dantian to my lower body, I powerfully kicked off the ground.

Five knights with swords, three with spears. The swords were more numerous, but the spears, with their longer range, were far more threatening.

Like the wind blowing through the blades of grass in a forest, I rapidly cut through the gap between the three vanguard knights.

Taat-

The moment my foot touched the ground, I used the recoil to draw Aether up to my upper body, gathered my strength into my fists, and quickly hammered the knights’ armor.

Florain martial arts, Hundred Unflinching Strikes!

Because of the unseen speed of my punches they landed to each point, nearly simultaneously.

Pababat—!!

The spearmen lost their balance and fell backward. The vanguard knights finally noticed that their line had been broken and turned around. Before their gaze reached me, I tripped them and once again rapidly struck their armor with my fists.

Pabak—!!

“What…what happened—!!”

“What? Your strings are cut.”

Having reduced the number of knights, I focused on the Pope’s glistening head. I kicked off the ground again, sprinting toward him, but…

Kaang—!!

My fist struck a large chunk of metal.

“Ouch… go easy on me. My fist sounds like a sledgehammer…”

A large greatsword stood before me, the Luminose emblem was inscribed in gold on the hilt.

Taat-

I quickly put distance between us and brushed my aching fist.

“You are?”

“Ah, my apologies for the late introduction. I am Chiron, Captain of the Holy Knights.”

A man with a heavy build and flowing blond hair. His appearance contrasted strikingly with his martial abilities – he looked rather like a gay man.

“Chiron-!! It’s no use… We’re about to begin the temple ritual, so stop that impious woman!”

“Yes, that was my intention as well.”

Ttuk- Ttuk-

Compared to Pope Gregorio who was overwhelming me with numbers, Chiron seemed to possess the honor of a true warrior. He showed no signs of launching a surprise attack while watching me loosen up, instead he stood there with his sword, waiting for me to do the same.

“Well, my physique is somewhat… impious.”

“Haha- I don’t have the same taste, but you’re quite striking.”

“I don’t have your taste either, you gay bastard.”

This opponent seemed skilled, so I gathered all my Aether into my dantian.

Chuzit- Chujik—

I drew the fully condensed, maximum power ethereal blade.

[Ethereal Blade-Draw].

“You, you shameless…!! Where did you get that sword—!!”

“Vaginal draw, never seen one before?”

Those who played that old game where you pull out a sword from between a character’s breasts are going to fall over, clutching their neck.

Unlike Pope Gregorio, who was flustered and confused, Chiron seemed to have sensed the power of my ethereal blade, he gulped, taking a short breath.

“Then… shall we proceed to round two?”

“As you wish.”

I held the ethereal blade, which was distorting the surrounding space, firmly in my right hand, and rapidly dashed towards Chiron’s core.