Ch.129Amidst Destruction (5)

*

“Holy sword… you say?”

Alice muttered with a deflated sigh.

Holy sword.

The legendary blade said to be used by heroes to slay demon lords.

She had heard of it before.

Only in those damn fairy tales.

During her actual time with the Goddess Church, no, even when Sylvia was traveling as a hero, not once had she ever heard any mention of an actual holy sword.

In other words, the holy sword was something that didn’t really exist.

“Are you joking right now? This is supposed to be a holy sword?”

“That’s what they say.”

“Where was this… kept?”

“It was enshrined in a secret vault in the Papal Office.”

Alice let out a hollow laugh.

“Don’t be ridiculous. If something like this existed, they should have given it to Sylvia, why…”

“That sword was definitely a staff until quite recently.”

“…What?”

“When the Pope went to the secret vault to escape, he discovered that sword. I don’t know the details, but the sword was definitely placed where a staff used to be.”

“If you mean that staff…”

“Yes, the staff that should have been wielded by the Saint who would have appeared to save this world if not for that disgusting Cardinal.”

“…”

Alice was struck by a shock that felt like a heavy blow to her head.

A staff transforming into a sword?

The staff that should have been wielded by the Saint becoming a sword and coming to me?

This was almost like…

‘The Lady in Green told me this too, that I must help the hero defeat the Demon Lord, that it was my destiny.’

It seemed just like the destiny Ash had spoken of.

Sylvia pushed the gleaming sword back into its scabbard with trembling hands.

For some reason, she kept letting out hollow laughs.

“What Ash… said… was it actually true…”

Alice covered her mouth with her palm as she whispered to herself.

Ovid spoke to Alice.

“I won’t ask what you’ve been doing all this time, or why you didn’t appear during the Church’s crisis. It seems you have a greater mission.”

“Ovid… Commander,”

“I’m no longer a commander. The Goddess Church has fallen… and I’m merely the leader of a band of thieves now.”

“…”

She could have been kind enough to deny his words, but Alice simply kept her mouth shut.

If the man before her, unlike the other corrupted priests, truly still carried the same sense of duty and devotion as before, he certainly wouldn’t want such hollow consolation.

It was a strange feeling, difficult to explain and complex, but one that Alice could fully understand.

Ovid seemed to read her thoughts and moved his thick chin to form a slight smile.

Alice asked him:

“If the Goddess Church falls, what’s the use of all this… What is the Goddess…”

“That’s true. You’re certainly not the type to spread the Goddess Church.”

Just as he said, Alice couldn’t even recite all the doctrines of the Goddess Church.

Even if she helped Sylvia and Ash defeat the Demon Lord, it was clear that the current Goddess Church—having lost its Pope, most of its priests, and nearly all its believers—would never return to its former state.

Ovid quietly agreed with that thought.

“The Goddess Church is certainly finished. It failed to guide humanity toward goodness and couldn’t protect humanity from the Demon Lord’s threat. Perhaps the Church ended the moment Cardinal Elliard raped the girl who should have become the Saint.”

“Certainly…”

“But humanity doesn’t end here.”

“…!”

Ovid spoke firmly with a resolute tone.

“The world will not perish. This world will never fall into the Demon Lord’s grasp.”

“…”

“Because you’re here, Alice.”

“…”

*

Alice walked through the empty city carrying a heavy burden.

The armor and weapons she carried for herself, Ash, and Sylvia seemed to weigh unusually heavy on her shoulders.

The new sword at her waist rattled conspicuously.

Its size and weight felt strange yet somehow familiar.

It was completely different from the ceremonial sword of the Goddess Church she had been using until now, but it was very similar to the sword she had used when trying to join the hero’s party before entering the Goddess Church.

Honestly, this type of sword felt more familiar in her hand.

As if prepared for her from the beginning, the holy sword had taken such a form.

“Damn it,”

Ovid’s final words kept echoing in her ears.

Though the Goddess Church might fall, humanity would not perish.

No,

She.

She, Sylvia, and Ash had to prevent humanity’s destruction.

That had clearly been her intention all along, but somehow the feeling that all of this was predetermined fate kept making Alice uneasy.

To me, to Maria, to our parents, to countless people in this world.

Were all the numerous sufferings and misfortunes that happened to so many people all for the sake of this destiny?

Since that thought occurred to her, a heavy, oppressive piece of metal in a corner of Alice’s heart seemed to keep growing larger.

Being conscious of the vibration and sound of the mechanical device quietly turning in her chest made her feel even more bitter.

“No, that’s not it.”

Alice quickly corrected her thoughts.

Destiny is just a current, while she still held the rudder.

Alice’s determination to capture the Demon Lord had never wavered, but it had never stemmed from any noble purpose of saving the world.

What Alice wanted from the beginning was just one thing: revenge.

Revenge for her parents, for Maria, and for Maria’s parents.

That was all.

Perhaps now, the only addition was her desire to give Ash a happy future.

“…Right, that’s enough.”

Alice muttered, steadying her resolve.

She had chosen this.

It was her choice to swear revenge, and it was her choice to volunteer for such a dangerous experiment.

So there was nothing to feel resentful about.

If she could finish her revenge, save the world, and give Ash a happy future that she couldn’t give to Maria,

If she could do that, Alice could have no complaints about this destiny.

No, she constantly pushed herself that she shouldn’t have any complaints.

Even though Alice herself might not be alive in that future.

The sky was already covered with a deep sunset.

Quickening her pace, Alice returned to the basement of the tavern where she had spoken with Eric.

They had promised to meet here again after finishing their respective tasks.

Only after carefully setting down the burden she had been carrying on her shoulders and sitting on a large barrel did Alice let out the deep sigh she had been holding back.

Eric hadn’t arrived yet.

Judging by the thick darkness outside, he probably wouldn’t return today.

Of course, she hadn’t expected Eric to return in just one day.

Unlike Alice, who had a clear location and objective, Eric had gone to investigate spirits with no clues except for a sage named Malier.

Moreover, given the current situation, he clearly wouldn’t be able to ask anyone or leisurely search for information in a library, so there was a good possibility that Eric wouldn’t arrive tomorrow… or even the day after.

Alice began mentally organizing what she needed to do while waiting for Eric.

The journey to the Demon Lord’s castle would essentially involve passing through the Lying Tree Forest, so it would take at most two months to complete.

Food for those two months could be supplemented by hunting, and fire could be managed with magic, but she needed to prepare simple cooking utensils, sleeping bags, and emergency rope.

She briefly considered whether to bring bandages but decided they weren’t particularly necessary since her own holy power could handle wounds and injuries.

Rather, since she couldn’t be sure of having opportunities to bathe comfortably, she might need cloth to wipe her body.

Alice held her head in both hands and muttered quietly:

“I should have asked Sylvia beforehand.”

Sylvia would certainly know better than herself, who had never joined the hero’s party, about necessary supplies.

There might be items whose necessity she would strongly feel during the journey but couldn’t anticipate now.

Although Alice had traveled to many regions before, those journeys had been supported by the Goddess Church, so she hadn’t particularly packed anything herself.

“I’ll need a portable whetstone to sharpen blades, and linseed oil too! It’s useful for cleaning swords and keeping armor joints moving smoothly… Also…”

It would be good to write these down, but without paper or writing implements, Alice was verbally listing the necessary items one by one.

As the number of items grew, Alice stopped abruptly and ran her hand over her face.

“Let’s get writing materials first. Eric won’t be back for a day or two anyway.”

With that thought, Alice slid off the barrel and plopped down on the floor.

She had met Eric immediately upon arriving in the city, and shortly after their brief conversation, she had eliminated the remnants of the corrupted Goddess Church.

She was extremely tired, and her mind wasn’t working properly.

Deciding she needed to get some sleep first, Alice dozed off right where she sat on the floor.

*

From the next morning, Alice wandered around the ruined city to gather necessary supplies.

After fortunately finding a piece of parchment, she carefully folded it and used charcoal from burnt wood to list needed items in every empty space, crossing them off as she found them.

One day, two days, three days,

The days were busy but quite fulfilling as there were many items needed.

Was it because the city had been destroyed long ago, or because Alice had killed all the priests on the first day?

She hadn’t encountered any dangerous criminals or looters.

In fact, she hadn’t encountered any living person at all.

Here and there, she could find some traces of people having passed by recently, but there were far more corpses lying around than living people.

There were bodies brutally murdered with maggots swarming, corpses of people who had starved to death sprawled on the ground, and even the bodies of a young newlywed couple who had taken their own lives.

Whenever Alice found a new corpse, she would briefly stand in place for a moment of silence, using them as landmarks to remember her way.

Finding items, discovering corpses, finding traces of people.

And so, a week after Alice had begun wandering the city,

Eric still hadn’t appeared.