Ch.26Saintess Eirene (6)

# The Saintess Eirene (6)

Even if they used Esmeralda’s corpse, they couldn’t create a holy artifact.

At Lug’s matter-of-fact tone, Esmeralda was left speechless.

How did Lug know that? Information from the Demon Lord’s army? Or knowledge related to his own abilities?

But Esmeralda shook her head.

“…There are precedents, aren’t there?”

Throughout history, there had been heroes besides her. Heroes appear when the world determines they are needed.

But did they all fully accomplish their purpose? No.

The reason Esmeralda felt her life was threatened in the first place was because the title of hero wasn’t unique.

If she died, the holy sword would find a new hero.

There could only be one hero per era, but that also meant there must always be one.

More than a few heroes had been killed in this process. The final moments of such heroes were recorded in detail throughout history.

“In the past, the Flame Spirit Order created holy artifacts using a hero’s corpse.”

That was something that had already happened.

But Lug responded firmly to the hero’s words.

“Do you really think whatever they created was truly a holy artifact? You know what happened to the Flame Spirit Order. They were exiled and eventually perished.”

“…”

“Of course, grinding you up to make something would probably yield something useful. Heroes are beings whose potential has been maximized by the gods who imbued them with their power.”

What Lug meant was simple.

Even if they ground up a hero, it would be impossible to create a holy artifact capable of reproducing miracles. They would only create crude objects that merely appeared miraculous.

Like the relics that come from the corpses of high-ranking clergy.

He was saying such items might possess special power, but they couldn’t become miracles.

And the evidence for this…

[Note: I’ve seen what the Flame Spirit Order created in the Demon Lord’s army.]

It seemed all too clear.

An assumption that had transformed from doubt to certainty. Esmeralda swallowed dryly, then let out a deep sigh.

“Lug. I’m about to say something crazy, but please answer me seriously without getting upset.”

“Words are simple enough.”

“If Eirene were to discover that what she made by grinding me up wasn’t a reproduction of a miracle, but just a crude toy, do you think she could handle it?”

Interestingly, Esmeralda’s first thought upon this realization was concern for Eirene.

She doesn’t want to die.

But if she failed, if she couldn’t defeat the Demon Lord and returned as nothing but a cold corpse, she hoped they would use her remains to fulfill their purpose.

Whether it was Eirene or Millia.

She wanted them to achieve their goal even in a world she had left behind.

She was risking her life anyway.

If the end result could achieve their purpose, that wouldn’t be so bad.

“Well, nothing is more dangerous than being certain about something that hasn’t happened yet. But if the result obtained by sacrificing a friend turned out to be like that…”

Lug gave a bitter smile.

He understood the intention behind Esmeralda’s question.

She was worrying about her comrades more than her own life.

Even a sucker wouldn’t go this far.

Yes, that’s why she could have been chosen as a hero.

“Then I should stop her, right?”

“Do you think you can persuade her?”

“Honestly, if she’s in a situation where she wants to grind me up, I don’t think words will work? I’ll educate her with my fists.”

Esmeralda grinned and clenched her fist.

She didn’t have the holy sword right now.

Well, if Eirene had any sense, she wouldn’t have kept the holy sword nearby.

In the end, this meant the only means Esmeralda had to confront Eirene was her fists.

Even with just that, the outcome of the battle was uncertain, but…

Esmeralda didn’t hesitate.

“Lug, could you create a distraction to draw people’s attention, as I first suggested?”

“Ah, so we’ve come to the same conclusion after all.”

“That’s right.”

“But what if I refuse, hero?”

“That’s for you to worry about. I’ll start by smashing this wall.”

BANG!

Esmeralda swung her clenched fist toward the wall.

With a thunderous sound, the wall was cleanly punctured.

The surrounding area began to grow noisy from the commotion.

“My goodness…”

Such incredible initiative.

Lug sighed, thinking of the now-departed Esmeralda, then looked around and said:

“Ah, it seems everyone is light sleepers. I didn’t expect you to arrive so quickly.”

The building was already surrounded by holy knights and priests.

The sight of clergy holding torches in one hand and weapons in the other was terrifying for Lug, a demon infiltrator.

However…

“Well then, let’s take this opportunity to hear how you’ve all been living.”

For the one who wasn’t a demon, they weren’t something to fear, but something to understand.

Of course, while Lug invited them with a smile, the gathered forces seemed to have different ideas. People approached with weapons in hand, closing the distance.

Lug swept them with a cold gaze before asking in a matching voice:

“Oh, you don’t like that? Hmm, then how about this topic?”

In a world overwhelmed by greed, anger, and ignorance…

“Between humans who brought down a god and the Demon Lord who cooperated with them, which do you think is more at fault?”

It is lamentable that foolishness clouds your vision.

“To my eyes, there still seems to be no difference between the two.”

Blue Blood

Six Realms Manifestation – Heavenly Realm

[Six Desire Heavens: Four Guardian Kings Heaven]

***

Esmeralda was walking confidently in the opposite direction of the commotion, but no one noticed her presence.

She was using the invisibility technique she had stolen from Tina. It was a survival skill for thieves… no, archaeologists.

By now, Lug should be drawing people’s attention.

‘I hope he can hold out for a while, but that might be asking too much.’

Fortunately, Esmeralda had an idea of where Eirene might be.

There was a place unusually bright despite the dark night.

Yes, she had thought it strange that Eirene herself wasn’t visible when she was planning to grind her up.

It seemed preparations were needed for what she planned to do to her.

With this intuition, Esmeralda headed toward the source of light.

When she arrived at the place where the ritual was being prepared,

she found forces of a completely different caliber from those who had rushed ahead earlier.

“Enter. The Saintess is waiting for you.”

“Ha…! You know I’m going to punch your boss in the face, right?”

“The Saintess grew up too quickly. It’s the fault of our incompetence.”

They didn’t block her path.

Not only did they clear the way, but they also effortlessly saw through the invisibility technique she had learned from Tina.

“We weren’t as smart as the Saintess, and we didn’t know how to take responsibility or how to take the initiative to be tainted by evil.”

“So you want the wise hero to scold her instead?”

“No, we thought that even words from foolish friends might have meaning.”

“Who are you calling foolish?!”

While saying this, Esmeralda quickly assessed the holy knights who had cleared the path.

[Total Estimated Level: 452]

[Total Estimated Level: 502]

[Total Estimated Level: 494]

[Total Estimated Level: 727]

All of them were strong enough to easily surpass her. Yes, this was why Esmeralda had no choice but to leave Eirene alone despite knowing her intentions.

Even now, after growing stronger through countless hardships, even in the current situation where the Divine God Order was barely recovering its authority after its collapse.

She was still far too weak.

But because she was a hero, she decided not to be intimidated by such things.

“Then we’ll go no further. We hope for a good outcome.”

“Good. Look forward to it. I’ll bring that fool back as a proper, modest Saintess.”

In the end, she firmly believed that she would eventually become the strongest.

When she reached the place where the ritual was being conducted,

Esmeralda found Eirene kneeling in prayer in the middle of a pure white light.

“You’ve come, hero.”

“Yes, I have, Eirene.”

She looked quite composed.

And there was a reason for her composure.

[Total Estimated Level: 432]

A noticeably increased level since Esmeralda had last seen her.

Esmeralda realized that Eirene had been conducting some kind of ritual here to increase her power.

“I guess you need to be stronger than me to grind me up?”

“Hmm, as expected of the hero.”

Eirene nodded with a broad smile. She really was crazy.

Watching her, Esmeralda sighed deeply and said:

“Eirene, let’s stop pretending with each other.”

“Oh? I was sure you preferred this approach.”

As Esmeralda took a stance with clenched fists, Eirene raised her morning star with a chilling smile.

Eirene’s estimated level had already surpassed her own, but Esmeralda didn’t particularly care.

After all, Eirene had always focused more on support than combat.

Before starting the conversation:

“When did you find out?”

Esmeralda asked when Eirene had learned about the Emerald Tablet.

“You were unusually cautious around me. And despite pretending to be stupid, you maintained boundaries well and skillfully managed the tug-of-war between factions. Wasn’t all that too competent to be mere coincidence?”

“Haha, I tried to pass it off as good intuition, but I guess that didn’t work.”

“You’re dealing with me, after all.”

“You, that’s being self-important.”

CRASH!

Esmeralda caught Eirene’s suddenly swung mace with one hand. Her palm tingled, but at least she had made her point.

A weapon that could easily crush a demon’s head was caught bare-handed.

Most opponents would lose their will to fight at this point, but Eirene seemed unfazed.

Esmeralda frowned at Eirene’s expression and said:

“Eirene, I’ve been told that even if you kill me and use my corpse, you won’t be able to create a holy artifact.”

“Hero, you don’t think I’d believe that, do you?”

“But isn’t it worth considering the possibility?”

“If I were the type to consider such things, I wouldn’t have attempted this in the first place.”

“Really?”

THWACK!

Esmeralda’s kick struck Eirene’s head. A counterattack to Eirene’s surprise attack during their conversation.

“You’re tough.”

“It’s my specialty.”

But Eirene easily blocked Esmeralda’s attack by deploying a barrier, as if she had anticipated it.

“Eirene.”

Esmeralda stared at Eirene with a cold expression.

Her emerald eyes seemed to pierce through even hidden intentions, making Eirene frown.

“I made a mistake. That mistake was overrelying on the power of these eyes.”

“That’s right. If you hadn’t overrelied on them, I couldn’t have deceived you so easily.”

“You used brainwashing on yourself?”

“At this point, what’s the use in denying it? Yes. But I don’t like your choice of words. Could you call it suggestion instead?”

“Well, that’s how it appears to my eyes.”

“Didn’t you just say you wouldn’t overrely on your eyes?”

“You’re right. So…”

Esmeralda reached out her hand.

Like with her kick, it was a surprise attack during their conversation.

Eirene naturally deployed a barrier to block the hand, but…

‘It’s not a punch. Piercing hand? No, this is…’

RIIIIIP!

The fingers inserted into the barrier bent and grabbed the barrier itself before tearing it apart.

Esmeralda’s palm was shredded and bleeding.

“Now I’ll judge for myself.”

A simple display of brute force without any technique. Esmeralda’s fingers seemed broken from just tearing through the barrier, but she ignored it and grabbed Eirene by the collar.

“I just realized that you didn’t actually want to do this. Just as I became the hero representing everyone, you also took on a task that someone had to do, right?”

“…”

“You wanted someone to stop you, didn’t you? You wanted to be made to fail?”

“No, I was just trying to give a fair chance.”

“Really? Then I should make good use of that chance.”

What she had failed to see.

What she had failed to properly confront because she thought she had seen it.

Esmeralda reflected. Even if she could read surface thoughts, she couldn’t know the pain hidden deep within someone’s heart.

She had overrelied on her eyes and thus refused to see properly.

Yes, her reflection was over now.

From now on, like a sucker, as if it were natural, without seeking any benefit, just to save someone who was suffering.

Yes, even if it was clearly a thorny path ahead.

“Don’t worry anymore, Eirene. Your hero has come right before your eyes to save you, even if I have to beat you to do it!”

She would simply take the lead and walk that path.

While saying this, Esmeralda threw a punch full of personal feelings at Eirene’s face.

THWACK!

Honestly, it felt satisfying.