Ch.519Arvil’s Backstory

========[ Arvil ]========

A single powerless swing left a mark to be engraved in myth.

A slash that cut through everything in its path, from the distant sky to the earth below. White clouds and blue sky split in half, revealing a night sky filled with stars.

“The sky…”

All who had been watching and praying were captivated by the sight.

A miracle impossible to believe was accomplished by human hands. Following the descent of the evil god and the intervention of the gods, another divine presence unfolded in the heavens.

“Oh gods…!”

The starlight was telling them.

That the calamity had finally ended.

【 Gya҉̡̖͍̦҇̅aa҉̨͚̖̂̎̃͝aa҉̜͕̠̅̅̏͜͡aa҈̧̰̝̌͗͠a҈̢̠̟̲҇̄….̵͉̩͗́͜͠ 】

The right arm of the evil god that had been like a nightmare. The monster that had reduced an entire city to nothingness collapsed with a death rattle.

From its head that housed its consciousness to the black jewel containing divinity. The demon’s body, split in half, melted powerlessly and sank into the earth.

And the divinity flowing from the shattered jewel settled upon the hero who had struck down the god’s fragment.

So that the warrior’s soul, which had been fading like a burnt-out candle after giving its all, could shake off approaching death.

Thus, the calamity of Arvil came to an end.

—-

The aftermath was left to those who could still move.

Sensing the danger had passed, Hush carried Lena, who begged to be taken to her sister, and entered the city to rescue the five who had collapsed in tatters.

Each was in a state where death wouldn’t have been surprising, with Haschal and Ceylon’s conditions being particularly severe.

Ceylon had poured out so much life force that his lifespan had likely been shortened by twenty years. Haschal lay face down in a pool of blood, having lost an eye and an arm.

Lena remained conscious only because of her desperate need to save her sister.

“Sister, sister, sister…! Lady Saulite, please…!”

Though trembling and shedding tears, Lena cast the highest miracle she could manage toward them.

‘Grace of the Sun.’

The wide-area healing miracle that only high priests of the Church of Saulite could use unfolded from her fingertips.

Brilliant sunlight descended upon the five bodies, restoring lost vitality and repairing broken flesh.

Lena had been somewhat marginalized within the church for her inability to use miracles other than healing ones, but in exchange, her talent for healing miracles was superior to any priest. This was the moment her true value was revealed.

Hush found severed limbs scattered throughout the city and helped with the healing of Haschal, Leonore, and Nigel. Connecting severed body parts before healing always accelerated recovery.

Lacy, who had followed in a carriage, turned pale at the horrific sight of her companions and poured out what little recovered holy light she had to perform healing miracles.

Grace of the Sun and Embrace of Grace.

With the addition of healing from the paladins who entered afterward, the five who had been at death’s door barely managed to reclaim their lives.

Though their injuries were so severe they couldn’t regain consciousness.

“Arvil… is finished now.”

“Lady Saulite, forgive our sins and unworthiness…”

The paladins caught their breath and made the sign of the holy cross as they looked at the city turned to ruins.

Their hometown, once vibrant and prosperous, had fallen to become a den of vice, debauchery, and despair. Now it had become uninhabitable ruins.

The city walls and outskirts had completely collapsed, and the interior looked as if hundreds of high-level mages had held a frenzied magic demonstration.

Moreover, the city center had been so saturated with dark mana that the ground itself had turned black, making it not a matter of reconstruction but an area that should be designated as forbidden.

It was the end of Arvil, one of the great cities representing the history of the Holy State.

—-

The Holy Corps of the Church of Saulite, which had marched to eradicate the entertainment district of Arvil, arrived two days later.

They were astonished by the sight of Arvil, which looked as if a meteorite had struck it, and questioned the paladins who were protecting survivors in temporary shelters outside the city about what exactly had happened.

“So… Valkers, Eljur, and Direide were hiding in Arvil, took over the city, and when Elmaine’s group eliminated them all, a monster summoned by Valkers using an evil god’s power appeared and reduced the city to this state… Is that what you’re saying? And the Empire’s First Sword defeated this monster?”

“That’s correct. A monster born from the evil god’s arm, and a final strike that cut through the heavens… It was a holy war like something from mythology.”

“…And you expect me to believe this now?”

The commander of the Holy Corps asked with a furrowed brow. His skepticism couldn’t be blamed. Anyone in the world would find it difficult to believe without having witnessed it firsthand.

The paladins swore by Saulite’s name and explained in detail what they had seen, but to the commander, it seemed as if they had experienced collective brainwashing followed by mass hallucination.

‘Claims about an evil god attempting to descend and gods intervening to stop it are hard to believe… but at least the fact that there was a fierce battle that destroyed the city and turned it into a magical wasteland must be true.’

The Holy Corps commander sighed as he looked down at the paladin kneeling before him.

‘…This is beyond my authority to judge. I should report to His Eminence the Cardinal.’

He discarded all the plans he had made during the march and contemplated the content of the report to send to the Cardinal.

“So, where is this Lord Median? And Elmaine Stardolf who came with her?”

In such matters, asking the parties involved directly was the most accurate approach. He intended to meet them and confirm the detailed circumstances once more.

‘…They’re all said to be in critical condition, so if we eliminated them now, we could remove the focal point of opposition to our church in one stroke… but that would be unthinkable.’

The commander immediately erased the wicked thought that had suddenly occurred to him.

Though they were in an adversarial relationship with his church, assassinating heroes who had saved so many people while they were weakened was something his faith would not permit.

“They departed for the Holy City yesterday. I thought you would have met them on the way… but it seems your paths must have crossed.”

“Is that so…? That’s unfortunate.”

Hearing the paladin’s answer, the commander immediately understood the situation. Elmaine must have had the same thought as him.

The thought that if they remained in Saulite Church territory without the strength to defend themselves, they might “martyred” without anyone knowing.

In fact, even the commander himself thought it was a reasonable concern. If the Holy Corps commander had been someone more cold and secular than himself, her concerns might well have become reality.

Thinking that he should delay dispatching a messenger to the Holy City by about two days, the commander prayed in his heart for their well-being, believing that Saulite would approve of this as well.

“Very well then. Continue your report. What is the condition of the other believers and residents? …I can tell just from hearing that they endured cruel and terrible hardships.”

“…Not good, sir.”

The paladin continued his report with a dark expression, telling the grim and dismal reality left behind the glorious heroic tale.

—-

After the demon collapsed and vanished, the responsibility of commanding and protecting those remaining in Arvil fell to the surviving paladins.

It wasn’t an easy task. They had to search the devastated city to secure usable supplies, set up temporary shelters so those who had lost their homes wouldn’t freeze to death in midwinter, and care for those awakening from their stupor.

The reactions of those who awoke fell into four categories.

First, those who were still trapped in distorted common sense even though the brainwashing power had disappeared.

These people had to be forcibly controlled. If left alone, the men would attempt rape and the women would accept it, continuing to accumulate sin.

Still, compared to others, these were in relatively better condition.

Those completely freed from brainwashing. Those who recalled what they had done and what had been done to them were all out of their minds with indescribable shock.

Those who shut down their consciousness, those who lost their sanity, and those who sought death to escape their pain.

No words could comfort them, so all the paladins could do was care for the unresponsive, isolate the frenzied, and prevent those attempting suicide.

…Even that had limitations due to manpower shortages and differences of opinion. More than a few victims had taken their lives by evading the paladins’ watchful eyes.

Now that the Holy Corps had arrived, the manpower shortage was resolved, but… even with more personnel to manage them, it wouldn’t be a fundamental solution.

It couldn’t be helped. Even among the paladins, some were saying that respecting the citizens’ choices might be the more merciful approach.

“Lady Saulite, have mercy on them…”

The commander sighed deeply and prayed.

A catastrophe where even saying that time would heal wounds couldn’t be uttered. Even if they took the time to embrace and care for each person, how many of them could return to their previous lives? No one could dare to say with certainty.