Ch.163Holy Maiden

Christine froze in shock at the unexpected declaration from the woman who called herself both a saint of the Church of Compassion and Christine’s distant ancestor. Every word raised questions.

Christine had never held the Hildegard name in high regard.

Her god had always called her by her first name, so the surname was merely a burden she couldn’t discard even if she wanted to.

Wasn’t it just meaningless letters now that her family had collapsed to near extinction? Moreover, Christine’s parents, who had also used the Hildegard name, were religious fanatics who had sold their child.

Since being entrusted to the Holy Church as a newborn infant, she had lived for over a decade enduring education bordering on abuse, never even knowing her parents’ faces.

Though she eventually met her true god after enduring countless hardships, the old memories still remained as scars, making it impossible for her to have a positive image of the Hildegard name.

Well, there had been a couple who seemed to recognize her when Christine was going around eradicating the Holy Church after gaining her new enlightenment, but that wasn’t her concern. She had simply killed them when they tried to speak to her.

So she shouldn’t feel anything about meeting an ancestor or whatever, yet somehow her intuition was whispering from deep within that this was not something to be dismissed.

There was another term that bothered her.

The Church of Compassion that the woman had mentioned. Christine had never encountered a religious group by that name, nor had she even heard of it.

Moreover, the woman claimed that Christine’s god had believed in this Church of Compassion. She couldn’t make sense of it.

If not for the overwhelming divine power emanating from the woman, Christine would have torn her apart limb by limb for blasphemy against her god.

Noticing her confused emotions, the woman, radiantly glowing with golden light, tightened her grip on Christine’s hand to comfort her.

“I understand it’s hard to believe what I’m saying. You must be confused and bewildered. I completely understand those feelings. I can feel your complex emotions flowing into me.”

“I, I…”

Christine stammered, unable to form a proper response. She had no idea how to interact with this woman called Christina.

Should she treat her as an ancestor to descendant? Or as one religious figure to another? Or perhaps as a devotee to a holy relic?

One thing was certain: regardless of which relationship she chose, Christine would have to submit completely to this woman. That much was clear.

So Christine hastily tried to kneel on the temple floor, but Christina shook her head and stopped her from bowing.

“There’s no need for that. I am merely a soul without a physical body, bound by a small divine power to complete unfinished business. I am a soul that will soon disappear, so there’s no need for formalities.”

Christine’s eyes widened at the woman’s description of herself as a soul soon to vanish.

“…Disappear? An angel bestowed by God… is that what you mean?”

“Calling me an angel isn’t entirely wrong, but it’s not entirely right either.”

The woman gave what must have been her umpteenth bitter smile.

“Though my body has burned to ashes and only a fragment of my soul remains, I dare to speak as one who was once called a saint of a religion. I am a being that should not remain in this world according to fate. I have kept a soul that escaped a dead body in the world of the living. However, thanks to the small divinity that my god arranged just before perishing, even this wretched soul could be temporarily anchored to the present world. By all rights, I should not exist in this world.”

“…”

Christine couldn’t respond. She felt the contradictory emotion of both understanding and not understanding the woman’s words.

She couldn’t easily determine what that feeling was.

“…If that is so, why have you revealed your holy soul to this worthless lamb? For what purpose have you allowed my unworthy eyes to behold your noble soul?”

“For salvation.”

Salvation.

Christine trembled as she sensed the immense responsibility contained in that simple two-syllable word.

Save? Who? From what? How?

“My god, just before experiencing complete annihilation, squeezed out the last of their divinity to place me here. Perhaps they foresaw this fate from that moment. I was about to leave this world and return to god’s side, and my god, having lost all divinity, was scattering into mere dust, no longer worthy of being called a god.”

The woman took a step back.

“I didn’t know why my god did this. If not for that final exertion of divine power, if they hadn’t made me remain in the world in this form, my god could have avoided complete annihilation and remained in the world as at least a small fragment. But my god chose not to do so. I impiously resented the god who made me like this. I couldn’t understand why such a heavy fate was entrusted to this insignificant woman, what was expected of the ashes that had already fulfilled their duty and burned their entire body.”

The divine power that had erupted so strongly it almost seemed to blind her gradually subsided. Inversely, the woman’s form became clearer.

“But not anymore.”

The woman’s appearance had returned to something similar to when she first appeared before Christine, but with a more clearly defined outline of her body.

“I realized when I saw you. It was never something we could handle. That which breaks the world’s balance, shakes the scales, and twists causality has far transcended what we, mere fragments of the past, could possibly deal with. My god foresaw even this situation. Knowing that fate had slipped from their hands, they burned every bit of their meager divinity to anchor my soul here.”

“B-but… how could someone like me possibly…”

“You must reclaim your god.”

At the woman’s words, Christine instinctively flinched.

“You must reclaim your god from the heresy that twists laws and distorts providence. That is the only wish of the ill-fated saint named Christina Hildegard, who has endured an immeasurable time just for this moment.”

The golden figure faintly smiled. Unlike the ambiguous, unsettling smiles she had shown countless times before, this one was full of compassion.

“My time is running short. Before it’s all used up, you must accept everything from me. It will be an extremely painful and cruel process. But I believe you can endure it.”

Christine nodded unconsciously. Her mind had reached a single conclusion.

The god’s final command to surpass.

The holy relic of the temple chosen as the means.

The woman who appeared from that relic.

The task the woman described.

All compasses pointed to a single path.

“…If this is God’s will, I shall follow it.”

Christine folded her hands demurely before her chest. Then, carefully, very slowly, she knelt down. Above her, the golden woman spread her arms wide.

“What I am about to show you are memories of a past that is painful, bitter, and extremely dangerous. I won’t sugarcoat this. Christine Hildegard, you might become trapped in the memories I show you and never escape. You might die there, trapped in the past. If that happens, your empty body will remain here to rot and decay. This is a task that risks your life. I can only show you the path and open the door; the rest depends entirely on you. Are you still willing? Are you prepared to risk your life for your god?”

Hearing the woman’s grim voice, Christine nodded. She might lose her life? That was merely a possibility.

But without her god, Christine would certainly die. Whether by taking her own life in despair after losing her faith or by some other means.

It wasn’t that she might die—she would die. Without faith, life had no meaning for Christine.

“One final admonition.”

Christine closed her eyes, listening intently.

“Christine Hildegard. You absolutely cannot overcome this trial.”

Christine paused as she was about to close her eyes. Absolutely cannot overcome it? What did that suddenly mean? As Christine fell into confusion, the woman reached out her hand toward her head.

“Therefore, you must create a miracle.”

A warm sensation touched her brown hair.

“Through a miracle, you must bring about an outcome that absolutely cannot happen. You must do what cannot be done. Otherwise, you will only lose your life in vain.”

The woman embraced Christine.

“Christine Hildegard, descendant of Christina Hildegard, saint of religion with divine power stronger than anyone else’s, savior of this world who will correct twisted providence and causality. May you… may you fulfill that wish. May you bring salvation from the monster that severs the laws of the world. I pray this in the name of Saint Christina Hildegard.”

With those final words, darkness enveloped Christine’s vision. Her body floated up and began to be sucked somewhere.

Since her physical body remained in this place, it must be only her mind that was moving. Into the memories of the past, where success had been declared absolutely impossible.

Christine’s presence soon vanished. Her body, bereft of its soul, remained frozen in a praying posture.

Looking at the place where the soul had passed, the woman wiped her eyes with her sleeve. It was fortunate that her descendant hadn’t noticed this weakness.

Her feet began to fade. Having squeezed out the last of the divine power sustaining her body, she could no longer remain in the present world.

It was expected. The woman looked down at her disappearing body with calm eyes. This was a life that should have ended long ago but had been forcibly prolonged. She had no more attachments.

Except for one, just one attachment that remained.

“…Farewell, Christine Hildegard.”

Christina Hildegard whispered her final words, meant for someone, with a voice choked with emotion.

She whispered her true feelings that she had been too overcome to add before.

“And may you, at least, fulfill the love I couldn’t.”

With those words, the woman completely vanished.

Only the praying figure of Christine remained in the temple.