Ch.1011Thinning Out

======[ Haschal ]======

After the fairy army lost the strength to resist, as soon as the opportunity arose, I tore up the peace treaty, invaded the Holy State, and dealt with all the Guardians and Patrollers.

【 The Great Forest shall become a desert. In the forest that crumbles into sand, capture all the fairies who have lost everything and bring them before me. 】

Claiming to be the Goddess of Stars, I ordered the Holy Corps and Paladins to capture all fairies as prisoners.

It was my duty to distinguish between those to be forgiven and those to be punished, so I instructed them to treat the fairies as prisoners, not as death row inmates or slaves.

With any army other than the Holy Corps, such orders would have been useless.

After victory, atrocities disguised as “victor’s rights” typically follow.

While commanders might strictly obey my words, it would be nearly impossible for all low-ranking soldiers to resist the desire for plunder.

Even with a prohibition on looting, it was obvious that some would commit theft behind their superiors’ backs, thinking they’d be fine as long as they weren’t caught.

But the Holy Corps was an exception.

How could the Holy Corps, who prioritize following God’s will over worldly desires, violate the prohibition on looting due to carnal or material desires?

Especially when the order came directly from a god descended to earth.

They might rough up resistant fairies, but they wouldn’t kill or violate them since I ordered them to be taken as prisoners.

Most of them worship gods other than me, but since I claimed to be Ausrine’s successor, in the eyes of the Holy State people, I and those gods were bound together as human deities.

So they wouldn’t disobey my orders.

—-

It didn’t take long for the Holy Corps to capture all the fairies.

The Great Forest was considered an impregnable fortress solely because of the dense trees and the World Tree’s defense system that protected the forest.

Having lost all that, the Great Forest was nothing but an exposed sandy field, so the Holy Corps could easily capture the fairies and bring them before me without difficulty.

The reactions of the gathered fairies were truly diverse.

“The Great Forest… Alvheim…”

“World Tree… why…”

“It’s all over, we’re all finished…”

Some sat in despair, weeping and lamenting.

“Be cursed. A thousand curses upon you, short-lived ones…!”

“What have you done to the World Tree! You devil-like bastards!”

“Kuh…! If you’re going to kill me, do it quickly! Rather than surviving to face humiliation…”

Some defiant ones, having already given up on life, freely vented their resentment and hatred.

“Mommy, I’m scared…!”

“The forest is gone…. Are we, are we going to die too…?”

“…Shh, it’s okay. Everything will be fine… so, don’t worry…”

And children who didn’t understand the situation but trembled with pale faces in their parents’ arms, filled with vague fear that something was going wrong.

It seemed all those who could be called warriors had been drafted as Patrollers, as most of those captured as prisoners appeared to be civilians who had never held a bow.

“You too will someday perish like us! I’ll watch as a vengeful spirit! I’ll laugh and mock you! When you face your doom!”

There were about a dozen mixed in who made me wonder why they chose civilian life instead of becoming warriors.

With that personality, shouldn’t they have been warriors? It seems like it would have suited them well.

Anyway, with so many fairies gathered in one place kneeling before me, I felt like some legendary slave trader.

Selling elves as slaves would have been considered madness when the World Tree was intact… but not now.

Fairies who had lost the World Tree’s blessing could be considered the weakest among all races. Even if I decided to sell them as slaves, they would have no strength to resist.

Of course, I had no intention of committing such vulgar acts.

Perneisia had subtly suggested implementing a “one fairy slave per household” policy, but I ignored her, telling her not to say such crazy things.

If I wanted to reduce them to that state, I would have just killed them cleanly. Why would I waste manpower and time gathering them in one place like this?

My task was not to enslave the fairies. Though depending on the outcome, some fairies might beg to be sentenced to slavery instead.

【 You remain foolish, still wicked, and still arrogant. Losers who have lost power, homeland, and even your god. 】

I moved forward, spreading the Holy Corps to the left and right, and revealed myself as a god before the fairies.

“Ugh…! What is that…?!”

“What is that light…?”

“Impossible. No way, it can’t be…”

The fairies instantly stopped their crying and cursing, and every single one raised their heads to look up at me.

“…A god?”

Blank faces with mouths stupidly agape. It seemed fairies were just like humans in being shocked by the sudden appearance of a deity.

“Ausrine…? No, that goddess has already…”

Among them, an elderly fairy muttered the name Ausrine, as if recognizing my identity.

A fairy so old that I thought they might drop dead by next year even if I did nothing.

It’s impressive they managed to bring such an elderly one here. They might have died of natural causes with just a little strain during transport.

【 I am the god-slayer who burned the World Tree, the successor of Star and Dawn who will judge your karma on behalf of all humans sacrificed to you. 】

I looked down at them and strengthened the halo above my head to emit light. As divine-looking as possible, as overwhelming as possible.

【 Today, in this place, the fate of your race shall be decided. 】

Announcing to them that the time of judgment had come.

—-

After deep contemplation and various debates, I concluded that I would spare the fairies and accept them as subjects of my country.

Of course, not everyone agreed with this. It was closer to me using divine authority to suppress their objections.

You might ask if it’s right for me, as a goddess, to act like such a dictator? Of course it is. This is that kind of world.

Whether nobles, kings, or gods, they all rule and command their subordinates according to their will, just on different scales.

If you don’t like it, become someone higher than me. Though you’d get nicely roasted by Heaven’s Wall if you tried.

Anyway, I declared to the entire Holy Corps that I would decide the fairy issue according to my will, and they chose to obey rather than resist.

They did ask how I would distinguish between those to spare and those to kill.

I explained to them my method in detail… that is, my own criteria for judgment.

– Well, if that’s the case…

– Astika—no, Ausrine…? Um, anyway, I will follow the goddess’s will.

Since I’m not particularly clever, my method of distinction was closer to being full of holes than perfect… but they agreed to it anyway.

So, what was the criteria?

You’ll see. I’m about to distinguish those to be spared among the fairies according to that criteria.

First, the initial task is…

【 …Among you, those deep in sin shall be torn apart before the scales of justice. 】

To filter out those with serious crimes.

I extended my left hand toward the fairies, declaring that I would punish the sinners among them, and as I made this declaration, golden rain filled the sky and poured down.

The Church of Astraea’s attack miracle, Light of Judgment.

“Ugh?! Kyaaaah!”

“What, what is this!”

“Rainemia! Get down!”

Startled fairies screamed and prostrated themselves.

Parents embraced their children, shielding them with their bodies, while the defiant ones who had been hurling insults at the Holy Corps glared at me with vengeful eyes, as if they had expected this.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Kyaaaah!”

Blood spurted and torn flesh swam in it, screams and wails echoing like a chorus of ghostly voices.

It was reminiscent of the cries of criminals tied to stakes, burning alive.

What drama.

I watched their disgraceful display with a smirk.

I was honestly dumbfounded.

That’s because the Light of Judgment currently unfolding was so weakened that if poured into the middle of a city, it would be fortunate to kill just one or two people.

I had already verified this with Ceylon and other members of the Church of Astraea.

The Light of Judgment, reduced to minimum output, wouldn’t kill anyone unless they were heinous criminals who truly deserved to be torn to pieces.

For petty thieves, it would end with just bruised wounds. For those without sin, it was merely warm rainwater.

I had worried that the power might differ because all fairies have original sin, but when I tested it, that wasn’t the case.

While Elpinel hates non-human races like fairies and werebeasts, what Astraea hates is not races but sins.

Even for non-humans, if they hadn’t committed sins themselves, they wouldn’t be injured by the minimum output. It was fair and just, befitting the Goddess of Order and Justice.

“Kyaaaaaaah! My arm! My aaaarm!”

Thanks to this, we were able to pick out the criminals who deserved to be killed from among the gathered fairies.

—-

Those involved with human farms. Those who committed crimes against other fairies. And others who committed various serious crimes were torn apart by the Light of Judgment.

Most were elderly fairies. Perhaps because they had lived in the era when humans were slaves?

Conversely, most fairies under seven hundred years old survived. Except for those wearing tattered research clothes.

And so the first verification ended.