Ch.165Black Magic War – 2

“We’ve arrived, Holy Maiden. You must never go into the forest alone again.”

After circling the walls smeared with dried black fluid for quite some time, the boy and Christine finally entered the city through a small side gate and stopped only when they reached the front of an enormous temple.

The boy shook his head, thinking how terrible it would have been if he hadn’t found the Holy Maiden in time, but Christine was equally uncomfortable.

It was because of how her god addressed her.

She couldn’t get used to the boy showing her respect, speaking formally to her, or treating her with such deference.

In her heart, she wanted to cry out to her god right now, begging him not to speak highly to such an insignificant being, not to lower himself.

‘However…’

She had been feeling conflicting emotions within herself for some time now.

If the desire to kneel before the boy and bow her head was Christine’s memory and thought, there seemed to be another different memory and thought that didn’t care about such things.

‘The Religion of Compassion, wasn’t it?’

She recalled the name of the religion followed by the woman who called herself Christine’s ancestor, Christina. As she remembered the name, she felt she could vaguely identify who she was supposed to worship.

Though it was merely speculation, she thought perhaps her inner conflict stemmed from the need to worship the god of this Religion of Compassion that Christina, the owner of this body, served, instead of the boy.

While Christine was engaged in this difficult battle between two contradictory feelings, the boy opened a small door and entered the temple. Christine followed behind him.

“That’s it. Now you just need to go up to your quarters on the upper floor of the temple. No one else knows that the Holy Maiden went out alone, so you must move secretly until the end to avoid being discovered. Do you understand? It’s as if you were never out of here.”

Christine hesitated to answer, not wanting to be separated from her god. If she acknowledged his instructions, he would leave right away.

“There’s no one upstairs either. No one was looking for the Holy Maiden. That’s fortunate at least. You didn’t leave any traces of having gone outside, did you?”

A muscular giant who had gone ahead to check if anyone was upstairs approached the boy and Christine.

He was at least two heads taller than the already tall boy, with forearms as thick as Christine’s waist. Even his weapon was larger than the height of an average adult male.

She had heard that this man was the one who had thrown the boy and slammed him into the ground earlier. Apparently, he wouldn’t have arrived in time if he had run.

Christine considered killing this blasphemous being who dared to lay hands on her god, but suddenly all her murderous intent dissipated, leaving her blinking in bewilderment.

“What does it matter if traces remain? As long as the Holy Maiden stays properly inside, no one would dare suspect she went out. They’d just think they were mistaken.”

“That may be true… but do you know how shocked I was when you came looking for me saying the Holy Maiden had disappeared? I was sweating cold.”

The man turned his head, revealing a long scar diagonally across his face.

“Holy Maiden Hildegard, I earnestly request that you refrain from doing such things in the future. You are someone who must never be alone. There may be nothing to see outside now, but if you wish, our knights will protect you, so please let us know anytime.”

Christine did not answer.

She kept alternating between rising murderous intent at a man other than her god daring to speak to her, and inexplicably feeling calm again.

It felt strange. She wanted to kill him, but every time such feelings arose, her murderous intent would suddenly subside without warning. She simply couldn’t bring herself to want to kill anyone.

She wondered if this was a side effect of inhabiting the body of that woman called Christina.

“If you have no further instructions for us, we’ll take our leave now. Rest well.”

As her god was about to leave, Christine hesitated momentarily. She had been about to reflexively call out “my god,” but stopped in confusion.

This was a memory from Christina’s past, not Christine’s. And this body belonged to Christina, not Christine.

So, would it be appropriate to address her god with this filthy woman’s mouth?

If only Christine’s memories had been transferred into Christina’s body, she would never call the boy a god with these unclean lips.

The boy should be Christine’s god alone, and all others were either heretics, unbelievers, sacrifices, or sinners who should repent.

Even if that included Christina herself.

But if that were the case, what should Christine, now dwelling in Christina’s body, call her god?

“T-terrible news! Terrible—oof! Holy Maiden! I apologize!”

While Christine was caught in this contradiction, a blood-covered soldier tumbled into the temple. Upon seeing Christine, he startled and tried to stand up.

Of course, his wounds were too severe, and he collapsed back onto the floor. The muscular giant standing next to the boy frowned at the sight and approached the soldier. The ground shook with each step he took.

“What happened?”

“They’re coming! They’re approaching the walls again!”

“…Oh no.”

The boy and the giant’s expressions hardened at those words.

“How long has it been since the last attack?”

“Not even a week. You were right. The intervals between attacks are getting shorter.”

“I told you. The more of us die, the stronger they become. If this place falls, the next attack will probably come within a day. Well, if this place falls, there won’t be a next time.”

“…Damn it.”

“Don’t waste energy cursing. Gather all remaining knights and prepare for battle. I’ll try to buy us some time.”

“Understood. Then, the Holy Maiden…”

As their gazes turned toward her, Christine took a few steps toward the boy. The boy looked surprised.

“…You want to come with us? Are you sure?”

When she nodded in response, both the boy and the giant exchanged startled glances.

At first, she thought they were surprised because they couldn’t imagine a Holy Maiden going directly into the middle of a battlefield, but judging by their reactions, that wasn’t the case.

Christine was puzzled. What had this supposed ancestor of hers been doing all this time to make her god react this way when she offered to go herself?

“If that is your wish, very well, Holy Maiden. Please follow me.”

The muscular giant took the bloodied soldier and left through another door. Christine followed her god out through the temple’s main entrance.

The city landscape she now properly observed was utter devastation. The faces of people walking the streets showed no signs of life, and not a single ray of light shone in the sky.

People were sitting haphazardly on the streets everywhere, wearing clothes that were little better than rags, as if they had been scavenging through garbage.

One of the people on the street happened to look toward the temple, and upon seeing Christine, wore an expression of astonishment.

“The… the Holy Maiden!”

“The Holy Maiden, you say?”

“Oh… Holy Maiden!”

At those words, people began to change their posture one by one. They knelt on the ground, placed both hands down, and bowed their heads. The murmuring sounds of prayer gradually grew louder.

It took barely 30 seconds for everyone visible on the street to bow their heads.

“…”

Christine said nothing. Instead, she became extremely curious about what kind of person this Christina had been.

“This way, please.”

The boy cut through the crowd without hesitation. People willingly made way.

Some tried to reach out to touch Christine’s clothes or hair, but before their fingertips could make contact, the boy prevented them by pointing his greatsword.

Christine gazed at the boy’s gallant figure with dreamy eyes. Noticing her gaze, the boy whispered softly in her ear.

“I know my actions make you uncomfortable. But please bear with it. If you allow one, you must allow all others.”

Uncomfortable? Who? Allow? Christine?

She was neither uncomfortable with the boy’s actions nor did she intend to allow anyone to touch her, but his presumption made Christine wear a troubled expression.

Why should her god be subservient to Christine? Rather, Christine should be the one to approach her god and be used as a tool as he pleased.

“The Holy Maiden has arrived! Quickly, show your respect!”

“Hey, don’t you see who’s here? Stop working and kneel down first!”

The reverence continued elsewhere as well. As soon as Christine arrived at the city walls, led by the boy, she was met with knights and guards who abandoned their tasks to pay their respects.

Her inability to maintain murderous intent persisted.

“What’s the situation?”

After dismissing the soldiers with a gesture, the boy asked what appeared to be the highest-ranking knight. The knight answered with a grim expression.

“Our detection magic has spotted a horde of monsters approaching. We’ve eliminated what seems to be an advance party of about 100 monsters, and judging by the remaining distance, they should arrive here in about 10 minutes.”

“10 minutes… I understand. The rest of the knights should arrive here soon. Tell them to prepare thoroughly.”

“Yes, understood!”

The knight answered vigorously and rushed back to his position. The boy turned to Christine.

“I shall escort you, Holy Maiden.”

Christine obediently followed him.