Ch.470Platinum Collision

Walking through the deserted city, I think.

About yesterday, about dawn, about what’s to come.

The Archbishop of Kranus, Radenis, is an unbelievable figure. A dangerous character too.

Especially annoying was the fact that I couldn’t simply kill him off.

Seeing how desperately he wanted to die, it might have been his goal all along to die by my hand.

Fanatics love to cause major incidents with their own lives.

They tend to consider it the ultimate devotion to their god.

I can’t rely on the Special Crusaders.

Fritz, the crusader suspected of sending the report to Lacy, was captured by Valkers and became his pawn.

And then died by my hand.

There might be other crusaders besides Fritz, but… even if there were, I couldn’t trust them.

Who knows what tricks Valkers might have played.

He might have already killed them all using Fritz.

Valkers. Yes, he was also a major problem.

I don’t know why he was hiding in the Holy State, but he’s clearly the one who manipulated Lacy’s manifesto to incite people.

A Mein who enjoys creating discord through all sorts of tricks, then watching the devastation he created from a distance.

By now, he’s probably hiding somewhere other than Arad, wondering how I discovered him.

If he had stayed in Arad, I would have torn the city apart looking for him and cut him to pieces.

He’s not a difficult opponent to deal with as long as I’m careful about his powers.

After this is over, I’ll have to find and kill him somehow.

My final concern was about the Church of Astraea.

The second culprit in this incident, and possibly the most inflexible group in the Holy State.

They won’t stop just because of some smooth talk. They believe they’re doing the right thing.

At least that Wilhelm fellow who gave the orders would think so.

If I revealed to them that all this was Valkers’ plot, would they calm down?

Well… I didn’t think so. They probably wouldn’t believe it in the first place.

Even if they did believe it, nothing might change.

Far from accepting it and backing down, they might consider the protesters as people bewitched by Mein and try to suppress them even more harshly.

No, they definitely would.

Iron Blood Wilhelm. The most stubborn among the already stubborn priests of Astraea was the leader here.

So… I have no choice.

“—Quite a grand welcome ceremony.”

Jin draws his longsword and points it.

Toward the golden paladins who have suddenly filled my view.

…I didn’t even need to worry about it.

While I was taking a brief rest, the Church of Astraea had already made their decision.

To exclude me.

“Are you ready to welcome the master of Arad?”

As I spoke in a calm voice, hundreds of spears and swords were pointed at me.

—-

The holy light falling on golden armor flashes blindingly.

Astraea’s paladins waiting for me in battle formation.

About five hundred in number. Their expressions were so rigid that it felt like looking at golden statues rather than people.

Judging by their eyes, mixed with hostility and determination… there was no room for compromise.

Still, I didn’t expect them to completely block me from even entering the cathedral.

“Where’s Wilhelm? I didn’t expect the master of the city to arrive and not even show his face. For someone called ‘Iron Blood,’ you’re quite cowardly.”

I placed Durandal on my shoulder and looked them over.

Led by high-ranking paladins, numerous paladins had formed a battle formation blocking the wide road, and the rooftops of surrounding buildings were also full of paladins.

Though it was hard to see because of the holy light, battle priests preparing attack miracles were probably lined up behind them.

It was closer to a formation for slaughtering a powerful magical beast than facing a person.

“You were looking for me?”

Perhaps not wanting to be called a coward, a middle-aged man presumed to be Archbishop Wilhelm emerged from among the priests.

Wilhelm had the impression of a stone statue compressed by a press after abandoning even the last piece of mercy, then coated with plaster.

In other words, he looked like someone who wouldn’t listen to reason and wouldn’t bleed even if stabbed.

…Still, I should at least give an ultimatum.

“Yes, I was looking for you. I want you to take your subordinates and get out of my city. The light is so bright I can’t sleep.”

“Regrettably… no, it’s not even regrettable.”

Wilhelm let out a hollow laugh.

“Whether it’s the ravings of a madman or the stubbornness of a child, I have no intention of accommodating such a request. The justice of the scales knows no compromise, nor exceptions. It is our duty to destroy those who follow chaos for the sake of proper order.”

A straightforward answer.

Judging by his talk about childish stubbornness, he seems to have grasped my intention… but he’s saying he won’t be satisfied until the protesters are massacred, even if it costs him his life.

Crazy fanatic bastard.

“Well, I don’t think Astraea would have wanted you to slaughter citizens.”

“The slaughterer of Ka’har dares to speak about Her before me? We merely follow Her scales, and if our actions are wrong, She will punish us. Not you.”

“…Ha, such arrogance from those without even a single saint candidate.”

Really.

What do they know to claim they’re following the will of the gods?

“If Astraea was pleased with what you’re doing, wouldn’t your church have a saint candidate too?”

The absence of such a person is evidence that the goddess Astraea herself doesn’t endorse the ‘strict justice’ they advocate.

That’s just my guess, though.

“…That’s only proof that we are still lacking. Because we haven’t yet achieved true order, She hasn’t sent down Her child.”

But Wilhelm seemed to disagree with me.

It’s not that they’re wrong, just that they’re still insufficient. So they need to kill more.

Our fundamental ways of thinking were different.

Well… I didn’t expect him to be someone I could reason with anyway.

If he were, I would have fought with words instead of swords.

To be honest, I was getting tired of talking.

I was starting to feel disgusted by his face, believing himself to be justice while creating a sea of blood.

No wonder the city ended up like this with such a person as its leader.

Religious belief? Fine. Such a mindset can be helpful at times.

If you put an Astraea paladin in front of a magical beast, he’ll fight with all his might until his last breath.

Without seeking any benefit, solely for his beliefs.

That was certainly a positive aspect of religious conviction.

But does that mean such beliefs are more important than human lives?

Of course, he would answer yes. Like a true fanatic.

I didn’t.

“This meaningless conversation ends here. I give you one final warning. Aishan-Gioro Haschal de Median. Leave Arad and return to Nashiriya. I can overlook your interference so far, but I cannot tolerate any more.”

Perhaps thinking it was a waste to continue the dialogue, Wilhelm cut off the conversation and delivered an ultimatum.

A proposal to forget everything if I left Arad. This was probably what he considered a negotiation offer.

I have no intention of accepting it.

“It’s you who should leave. Weaklings have no right to give orders.”

I lowered my stance and pointed my sword toward the paladins.

Durandal, imbued with the power of achievement, flashed blue, emitting a chilling aura.

“Refusing the offer of wine and choosing punishment instead, you’re as arrogant as they say. You’ll regret that choice.”

“Didn’t you know? I quit drinking a long time ago. I don’t care about wine or punishment.”

As I smirked and spat out my cigarette, Wilhelm raised his right hand high.

– Whoosh!

Brilliant holy light illuminates everything. Hundreds of Astraea’s followers. The holy light emitted by all of them spreads out, covering even the sky.

A golden tsunami engulfs the world and ripples. An overwhelming, sacred sight.

So what?

With just a branch office, not even the main diocese.

I haven’t lived so carelessly that I would lose to such opponents.

I firmly gripped Durandal with both hands and dashed toward them, kicking off the ground.

A rain of gold poured down.

—-

Dozens of priests simultaneously unleashed the light of judgment. The punishing downpour overturns the ground with a roar.

While running toward the formation, I sharply changed direction and took shelter in a building to the side.

– Crash!

The wooden door shattered into pieces as I kicked it. The broken fragments swept through the building.

Of course, there was no one inside. If there had been, it would have been terrible. It looked like an ordinary home, and a whole family could have been massacred.

As soon as I entered the building, I looked up at the ceiling.

Surely, several paladins had taken positions up there.

I leaped vertically and struck the ceiling with Frosting.

The roof exploded like it had been hit by a shell. Dark brown brick fragments scattered in all directions.

Slightly higher than the roof. Breaking through the debris, I looked down at the knights who were confused by the collapsing floor beneath them. Four knights. One priest. No high-ranking ones.

My left hand went into my pocket and pulled out four daggers.

“With bare hands, the roof…?!”

“Don’t think of him as human! Treat him as a magical beast the size of a human!”

Not a bad judgment. Offensive, but.

Who are they calling a magical beast?

– Swish!

The thrown daggers shot out like black lightning. A speed difficult to react to without master-level skills.

The black iron blades broke through the holy light armor and pierced their bodies. Beyond penetration, with enough force to tear off limbs.

“Argh!”

“Gack!”

Paladins with their right arms blown off lost balance and fell. The priest had already fallen under the collapsing roof.

With healing miracles and protection miracles, he wouldn’t die just from falling from this height.

– Thud.

Landing lightly on the corner of the roof, I swung Durandal at the paladins who were hurriedly getting up and picking up swords with their left hands.

Two slashes. Paladins with only their left arms and right legs remaining fell in succession, spurting blood.

The moment the battle began, I erased all other thoughts and focused on just one thing.

I must not kill them.

It was like fighting with my hands and feet tied, but I had no choice.

If I killed them because I didn’t like them, it would truly become impossible to resolve the situation.

So, I had no choice but to cut off only their limbs.

– Woong!

After instantly creating four disabled people, a bright light surrounded me and a clear vibration rang in my ears.

A high priest’s miracle, the Weight of Sin.

A binding miracle that makes the body heavier according to the sins committed.

If caught, I would fall straight down.

Before the power of the miracle could bind my body, I kicked off the roof railing and threw myself sideways to avoid it.

“He’s coming this way!”

“Aishan-Gioro-!”

Paladins swinging their swords as if they had been waiting. Golden holy light wrapped around their swords and shone.

The miracle strengthening physical abilities, the Executor’s Cloak, was also active, making their swordplay quite fast.

Still only at Hush’s level, though.

I caught the blade aiming for my shoulder with Frosting and crushed it, then leaned back to let the spear aiming for my side slip past.

My right foot extended. The toe filled with immense power crumpled his armor like clay.

“Kuhek…!”

The kicked paladin spat blood and flew like a soccer ball, crashing into the building wall.

Without time to confirm his fate, I cut down the paladins rushing in after him and quickly moved away.

– Crack!

Just as I threw myself away, the light of judgment poured down on the spot where I had just been standing.

The roof hit by the bombardment of light shattered into pieces and collapsed.

It was dangerous to stay in one place for too long.

These madmen were pouring area attacks without regard for friendly casualties.

Well, since it’s a technique whose power varies according to the sins committed, they probably think it doesn’t hurt much if they get hit themselves.

The fierce battle continued endlessly.