Chapter 90: The End of Holiness – 2

Chapter 90: The End of Holiness – 2

It was something hard to believe, no, it was stranger to believe it.

I had seen a lot of divine magic, and actually used it myself, but this was the first time a human without any divine power was using divine magic.

…Especially since that divine magic was the same kind of magic exclusive to the inquisitors.

And it seemed the Inquisitor Commander, who was directly fighting, felt the same way.

“……Hmph. Yes, indeed, you are impersonating the power of God.”

“Right. So, let me ask again. Why on earth did the church call me a heretic before?”

“Ha! Isn’t it already clear to you? You are impersonating the power of God…”

“That’s about now, but what I made before only had healing effects, didn’t it?”

To that question, the Inquisitor Commander had no answer.

…Suddenly, I felt that the girl’s eyes, as she spoke, were directed at me.

“The church is merely a group that prioritizes their own interests and benefits, so they wouldn’t give a proper answer.”

“…It seems I won’t be able to properly fulfill His Holiness’s request.”

With that, the Inquisitor Commander’s flail swung widely, and dazzling divine power fell upon the girl.

However, the girl neither retreated nor dodged.

She fired back the same chains made from her potions, and at some point, charged towards the Inquisitor Commander with a greatsword that glowed darkly.

It was a similar situation to before, and I expected it to be a close fight ending with the girl retreating a step, just like before.

…Until the girl’s chains cut through the Inquisitor Commander’s chains and the girl’s greatsword repelled the Inquisitor Commander’s flail.

Although I had to concentrate on deploying the barrier and couldn’t see the entire flow of the battle, it was clear that the girl was gaining the upper hand.

“……Hmph.”

“What? Are you struggling a bit?”

“I wondered what you were thinking, bringing a sword that wasn’t even properly enchanted at first… but it seems you intended this from the beginning?”

The battle continued, and time steadily passed.

The Inquisitor Commander’s attacks continued, but they clashed with the girl’s counterattacks, who responded with the same divine magic.

The same scene was repeating countless times.

…Meanwhile, my divine power, which was maintaining the barrier, was gradually running out, as an added bonus.

It wasn’t that the Inquisitor Commander wasn’t giving his all.

However, due to the divine power suppression magic circle, which seemed to have been given by the ‘False Prophet,’ and the girl’s divine magic, which in some ways was more powerful than the Inquisitor Commander’s divine magic, a decisive outcome was not being reached.

If an attack seemed too difficult, she would instantly use the stone pillars or sculptures in the park for cover,

Or use the lamps for lighting as springboards for surprise attacks, and various other tricks of the girl combined to make it even more so.

Clang!

Again, metal scraped against metal.

The flail tried to entangle the greatsword, and the greatsword tried to cut the flail’s chains.

After that fleeting, yet not fleeting, moment passed, both prepared their respective magic.

On one side, weapons created through divine power, and on the other, the magic seen before, and the deadly chains hidden within, targeted each other.

However, in the end, neither reached the other and faded away.

The artifacts shaped by divine power crumbled before the girl’s greatsword, which glowed with a dark white light,

Conversely, the girl’s magic was shattered by the light of divine power.

The only things remaining between them were the chains each had created through ‘Divine Restraint’.

The Inquisitor Commander’s chains were more numerous, but the girl’s were more powerful.

…Truly, paradoxically.

The magic that was merely an imitation, not even possessing divine power, was more powerful than the divine magic of someone who had dedicated their entire life to the church.

……Was the church truly a place that only pursued profit, as the girl said?

Moreover, at least from what I had seen, the girl before me was far from being a heretic.

She didn’t have that feeling, nor did she have such intentions.

…Furthermore, as I had just seen, someone who could truly impersonate God if she put her mind to it, hadn’t done so until she was cornered.

There were countless heretics who, though inferior to that girl, possessed divine power themselves and called themselves priests.

Then, if what that girl said was true, and the church was doing this because they thought the healing potion she made would harm the church’s interests?

For a moment, my faith in the church was greatly shaken.

A feeling of distrust, not in ‘Him’, but in the church, seeped in.

…No, perhaps I had been intentionally ignoring the true nature of the church that had been subtly revealed to me before.

Stories I had always dismissed as rumors, ‘that can’t be true,’ and so on,

Memories of accidentally overhearing some archbishops lamenting about the church clearly came back to me.

……Then, are we, am I… now persecuting an innocent girl, no, a girl who can actually save people with the medicine she made… branding her a heretic just because it harms the interests of a mere church?

“Saintess-nim! There’s no time! Please provide support.”

It was the Inquisitor Commander’s voice that broke through the growing distrust and thoughts.

…As he said, the time I could maintain the barrier was practically at its limit, and at this rate, neither side would reach a decisive outcome.

Therefore, even if the barrier became unstable for a moment, if I cast a support spell on the Inquisitor Commander, a decisive outcome would surely be reached.

…It should have been.

“Saintess-nim?”

I had been watching the fight, though not perfectly, and now, having heard the girl’s words, I hesitated.

Looking back, it seemed that cardinals and priests had always referred to ‘Him’ simply as ‘God,’ and hadn’t believed with absolute conviction.

…But, despite that, I learned ‘His’ mercy and will in the church.

Also, an instinctive aversion rises within me, for some reason, at the thought of calling the church corrupt and dishonest.

Then, is the corruption and dishonesty of the church not true? Or does it only apply to some cardinals and priests?

“Now, you’re even asking for help from a fake Saintess created by the church?”

“…Excuse me…?”

However, at the girl’s subsequent words, I couldn’t help but stop thinking.

…Fake? Created?

My body froze at the sudden question.

Normally, I would have denied it, saying the church couldn’t possibly do such a thing, but the thoughts I had been having prevented such a denial.

Moreover, if it were anyone else, perhaps not, but if the church was truly dishonest, it was the words of a girl who was being unfairly branded a heretic, which made it even more so.

“…The heretic is speaking falsehoods. Ignore her.”

“Falsehoods? By gathering all the children with strong divine power and brainwashing them to the level of teaching God’s mercy?

Oh, and of course, they’d also brainwash them with loyalty to the church and that the church is the absolute good and truth.”

“This person has no end to her words…!! Saintess-nim, I…”

However, the Inquisitor Commander suddenly saw my face and expression and stopped speaking.

But… that didn’t really register with me.

I recalled vague childhood memories.

……Familiar memories came to mind. …Too familiar.

I just thought I had forgotten, but something was strange.

It was as if it was too similar to the daily routines of the children at the cathedral’s monastery, as they had described them.

“Oh, by the way, the children who couldn’t become a Saintess… they were ‘disposed of,’ right?”

“You!!!”

The Inquisitor Commander lunged at the girl, but the girl now skillfully parried the Inquisitor Commander with her greatsword.

Instead, the Inquisitor Commander, who had moved hastily, was pushed back.

However, there was no time to observe such things.

…Again, I recalled memories. Those who grew up with me… were gone.

They clearly existed in my memory, but when I tried to recall them, I couldn’t, as if they had been forcibly excised.

“Saintess-nim! You are straying from God’s will! Do not be swayed by the words of that heretic…”

“…God, you say.”

“Yes? What are you suddenly talking about, Saintess-nim?”

“To the Inquisitor Commander-nim, is ‘He’ merely ‘God’?”

“How could I think of the merciful one who bestowed divine power upon us and created the world in such a way! More importantly-“

“No, you… still perceive ‘Him’ as merely the one who gives divine power and created the world…!”

Clearly, ‘He’ whom I learned about in the church as a child was not merely a transcendent being called ‘God’.

He was a being who cared for humans, guided their lives, and bestowed mercy to correct their wanderings.

He was not merely… a being who gave divine power so that the church could exist.

“…You seem confused, Saintess?”

“……Shut up.”

Even as this happened, the fight between the girl and the Inquisitor Commander continued.

However, the Inquisitor Commander, whose concentration was divided by worrying about me, was gradually being pushed back by the girl.

…What should I do now, then?

Should I affirm the church’s actions and act as the Saintess?

Or should I give up everything here?

Or… should I not believe the words of a girl I’ve only seen once and trust the church instead? Even with my doubts?

Suddenly, I remembered my ability that had been with me since childhood.

The unstable, flawed sense that allowed me to tell if someone was evil or not just by looking at them.

…That sense had always identified the cardinals as evil.

……But, could I really trust such a mere sense?

Countless thoughts began to constrict me.

It no longer mattered whether she was a heretic or not.

What… on earth should I do?

Only questions remained, churning in my mind.