Chapter 225: Showtime

It was time to clean up a city in chaos and believers who’d lost their minds.

No matter how much money I had, I obviously didn’t have enough to restore not just a small town, but an enormous city.

Even setting aside the city, the bigger problem was the people.

Anticipating this, I had ordered everyone not to kill anyone. Thanks to that, there were no casualties, but the problem lay elsewhere.

Left like this, they’ll go insane…

They were already fanatics, but at least they listened well to authority figures.

But it seemed like their faith had cracked after losing to us. They probably wouldn’t obediently follow anyone’s words and would harbor doubts.

Unless a god comes down, that is.

If god won’t come down, why not bring god’s representative?

If you didn’t have teeth, use gums. If you didn’t have bread, use cake.

Besides, we had two beings who could pose as god’s representatives, right?

This is totally lucky~☆.

We just need to make a plan to rebuild the city and restore the Order simultaneously.

Just then, I had a brilliant idea.

“Let’s put on a show.”

“A show?”

“Yes.”

A nine-tailed fox, a reaper, and spirits attacked the Holy Kingdom. Thus, the Saint fought against such monsters to protect the believers and the nation.

I could already feel their faith rising just from imagining it.

Of course, an ordinary performance wouldn’t be very effective, but I have excellent slaves.

They were more than enough to create a production that made hearts swell and… other things harden.

There was some opposition, though.

“Master, do we really have to go that far for them? Let’s just convert them to the Reaper’s Order. Then our Order would be the biggest in the world?”

“Rin, do you want such people joining the Order?”

“…I was being short-sighted.”

For such reasons, the opposition quickly disappeared.

The actors are ready.

Now, it’s opening time.

Kassilon was turned to wasteland under the moonlight.

Death’s shadow foretold doom, while the yokais’ spirit energy spread madness. Meanwhile, spirits tore through the Holy Kingdom like a playground.

Fallen crosses were soaked in blood, and voices that sang hymns disappeared one by one into screams.

“God… has abandoned us…”

Prayers went unanswered, and miracles didn’t come. Even the Saint they firmly believed in couldn’t overcome the successive calamities.

Some believers gave up, and some fell to their knees wailing.

Faith wavered, and despair spread like groans.

But then…

Pure white light bloomed, a light like the hope the Holy Kingdom had lost.

Saint Elize rose within the brilliantly burning light.

Her pure white halo, washed clean of blood, spun fiercely. Her radiance was as bright as dawn, covering Kassilon in light.

Death’s reaper was then pushed back, and the fox’s spirit energy dissipated.

The battle began anew, a fierce monster battle reminiscent of the apocalypse.

The reaper drew its scythe and sent slashes; the nine-tailed fox launched giant fox-fire which looked like meteors. Each time, the Saint blocked those attacks.

The cross fell from the great temple from the shock waves, where children from the monastery were hiding below.

One couldn’t bear to look.

But what followed wasn’t the sound of collision or screams, but gasps of amazement. The falling cross stopped mid-air and rose back to the sky.

That wasn’t all. Wherever the Saint’s light touched, ruined streets and buildings were restored.

All the while, the Saint showed a gentle smile.

“Don’t worry, everyone. God is with us. God does not ignore our prayers. The divine oracle has descended.”

“Aah…!”

“As expected…!”

Believers clutched their crosses in emotion, their tears flowing.

“A miracle…”

No one denied these whispered words.

It was indeed a miracle.

The Saint had come to convey the great god’s will.

But the opponents weren’t pushovers, either.

The spirits’ fierce blade storm blew. Unable to block everything, the Saint’s clothes were torn.

Her white skin faintly gleamed in the moonlight, making the believers swallow their breath.

What lay beneath the usually tightly wrapped solemn ceremonial clothes was impossible to guess.

Just imagining it would be blasphemy and never permitted to be seen by eyes.

It was a sight that should be considered sinful.

Yet despite that, or rather because of that, they couldn’t look away.

Thighs were occasionally glimpsed between floating loose fabric. There was also a neat abdomen, a straight navel not deeply carved, and a slender waistline revealed by the wind.

And somehow, though she was attacked from the front, even the elegant curve of her exposed back was seen.

However, no one questioned it.

They had no capacity to mind such trivial things.

“Uh…”

The Saint, blushing as if embarrassed, covered her exposed skin with her arms.

The sight of the Saint’s precarious, dangerous figure stimulated the believers’ hearts even more.

“This is truly a miracle…”

The believers, especially the male believers, said in unison.

This wasn’t vulgar, but sacred. It was the dignity and grace only a pure being could possess. Mysterious, as if blessed by divine grace.

This isn’t blasphemy but worship. Turning eyes away from this would rather be blasphemous.

You who don’t believe in god.

Behold the Saint.

God exists.

Thus concludes the defense’s argument.

The Saint had awakened, but the situation still wasn’t easily resolved. While believers were clasping their hands anxiously, that was when it happened.

“Why are you kneeling?”

A familiar elderly voice echoed from the great temple’s balcony. The believers turned their heads in surprise.

A man stood there against the backdrop of a great spear engraved with scales. Though elderly, his somewhat raccoon-like features gave him a gentle impression.

It was the father figure the believers had long followed, the light of the Holy Kingdom.

It was former Pope Antonius.

“Was your faith so light?”

“Your Holiness?”

“It’s the Pope! His Holiness has returned!”

Joy and emotion burst forth.

The Saint and Pope had gathered in one place!

An electrifying thrill ran through the believers’ bodies.

“Don’t lie prostrate and rise. Raise your hands and convey your faith to the Saint.”

Antonius raised the papal ferula. Then, pure white light flowed into the Saint.

Following him, believers stood one by one and raised both hands high.

The Saint threw herself into danger for the Order without giving up, and the former Pope came rushing back when the Holy Kingdom was in peril.

A situation that would be criticized even in fiction had occurred in reality.

At this moment, it felt like the world was a stage just for them. Even a staged performance couldn’t be this perfect.

If this isn’t a miracle, what is?

An uncontrollable thrill wrapped around every corner of the believers’ bodies.

“Stay strong, Saint!”

“Take my power too, Saint!”

The prayers grew louder.

Like a wave, the tide of prayer swept over and bound together the Holy Kingdom’s people.

Their united faith gathered around the Saint.

“Thank you, everyone. Thanks to you all, I think I can win.”

Elize smiled gently and looked at the enemies.

A massive magic circle formed in the sky.

“Take this with that body. Our faith, our conviction!”

Elize dropped her arms with a powerful declaration.

Huge pillars of black and white light fell to the ground.

It was genesis—a divine punishment restoring order to chaos and returning the world to its beginning.

The reaper and nine-tailed fox couldn’t withstand the attack and helplessly collapsed.

“Amazing! Everything else is fine, but only the enemies are taking damage!”

“To be mindful of not harming us even in this situation…! sob. As expected of the Saint!”

“This light pillar, I can’t feel any holy power at all!”

“Of course mortal bodies can’t sense god’s power from another dimension. Just like how we can’t feel god but know he’s always with us!”

Any doubts were swept away without a trace before overwhelming faith.

The Holy Kingdom’s atmosphere had changed from fear and despair to something like a festival.

The reaper and nine-tailed fox that seemed invincible finally fell. They shattered and scattered into powder.

Silence fell.

“Is it over?”

“Did we win?”

Elize smiled.

“Yes, everyone. We won. This is our victory.”

“Waaaaaah! We did it! We won!”

“Long live the Saint! Long live the Order of Balance! Long live Ordo!”

A chorus rang out enough to shake the Holy Kingdom.

The shaken Order united under the Saint, and Elize had undoubtedly been reborn as a true Saint.

“They’re just playing around.”

At the back of the crowd, Rin grumbled with cold eyes.

In her hands was the goblin club stolen from the hobgoblin. She tapped with it, repairing broken buildings.

“Haha… But if everyone’s happy, isn’t that good enough?”

Beside her, Mirabelle gave a wry smile while casting magic with a twirl, similarly restoring the streets.

While the actors and audience enjoyed the performance, they played the role of staff handling the cleanup.

“Just a bit more effort, please. I’ll give you a reward when we get back.”

And the planning and production, Director Karami.

From start to finish, everything was a performance planned by Karami, a blockbuster production with amazing vitality.

The Saint upheld by the Order.

The living legend Pope who suddenly disappeared one day returned to save his people in their moment of crisis.

It was a direction that gave everyone a sense of participation by letting them gather their power without feeling left out, plus service scenes of the Saint’s wardrobe destruction.

It was also packed tight with elements that raised dopamine.

How could anyone resist liking this?

It was absolutely impossible.

The believers’ psychology was already in the palm of his hand.