Chapter 5: My power

The Holy Maiden opened her eyes at a strange sensation.

It was too quiet.

Considering her sensitive hearing, which could pick up even the sound of a tiny insect, it was certainly unusual.

Focusing on her senses, the Holy Maiden immediately noticed the anomaly.

‘What in the world…?’

The barrier protecting the Academy had been broken.

The barrier, which had countless times protected the Academy from all sorts of dangerous Transcendent beings and demonic beasts, now had a large hole torn through it by someone’s hand.

The Holy Maiden carefully got out of bed and looked out the window.

It was late, so there were few people moving about, but a small number who sensed something unusual were outside, surveying their surroundings.

They too had good instincts, but to the Holy Maiden, who possessed immense divine power, much more was visible.

The Academy Head, whom she had briefly met during the day, was examining the broken part of the barrier.

Although it was a great distance, the Academy Head seemed to notice the Holy Maiden’s gaze and briefly turned her attention towards where she was.

Soon, a thought projection telling her not to worry came from the Academy Head, but the Holy Maiden could tell that the Academy Head was somewhat uneasy.

Beyond the broken space in the barrier, she could feel powerful Transcendent beings from all over the continent, eyeing the Academy, their eyes wide open.

However, everyone merely stood by and watched the broken barrier; no one dared to attack or approach the Academy.

They were all afraid.

Afraid of someone who had shattered the Academy’s barrier and intruded.

The moment the Holy Maiden’s thoughts reached that point.

Her vision suddenly narrowed drastically.

From the vision of a Transcendent imbued with divine power, she instantly plummeted to the level of an ordinary person’s sight, and she frantically opened the window and looked up at the sky.

All the stars had vanished.

The eyes of the gods, who observed this world through starlight, were completely obscured.

Recognition.

[External interference is not permitted.]

Awareness.

[External eyes are obscured.]

The Holy Maiden frantically tried to move her divine power, but it remained motionless deep within her body.

The supply of divine power had stopped.

The gods’ responses were also unheard.

The Holy Maiden had truly become an ordinary person in an instant.

She enhanced her sight and hearing to their limits with unfamiliar magical power, not divine power.

Her vision was much blurrier than when she used divine power, but she could still make out the Academy Head and the broken barrier.

Looking at the Academy Head with her magic-enhanced eyes, she couldn’t help but gasp.

The Academy Head, who had been examining the barrier, was plummeting to the ground.

Recognition.

[The sight of those who try to recognize me is temporarily closed.]

Awareness.

[Those who try to perceive me temporarily cease activity.]

The Academy Head crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

Although her Transcendent body wouldn’t be in mortal danger from an accident of this magnitude, the reason for her fall was utterly unknown.

The Holy Maiden, worried about the Academy Head, whose body had stiffened with eyes wide open, was about to close the window and contact Academy officials when…!

– Thud!

Feeling as if her heart had plummeted, she carefully turned around.

“……!”

For a moment, as if her heart had stopped, no sound could be heard.

Before her eyes stood someone shrouded in pitch-black darkness.

It’s him!

The Holy Maiden instinctively knew that this person was the one who had shattered the Academy’s barrier and intruded.

Furthermore, it was clear that this was also the one who had incapacitated the Academy Head in such a short time.

The Holy Maiden calmed her startled heart and began to rack her brain, trying to figure out how to deal with this situation.

‘Should I call for backup? But there’s no way he’d just stand there and watch……’

This being had incapacitated the Academy Head in an instant.

No one from the Academy would be able to stand a chance, no matter who came.

Even if she called the Pope, who was currently at the Papal Palace, there was no way he could come immediately, and it was uncertain if even the Pope could handle this, plus, even if he did come, her most powerful weapon, divine power, wasn’t responding……

She didn’t know what to do.

There was no way out.

The Holy Maiden decided that she first needed to somehow figure out the intruder’s purpose.

“……Heh heh……”

The Holy Maiden let out a small laugh, pretending not to be flustered, but the being before her showed no reaction.

Her unease grew steadily.

“Your coming to find me means…… the time has finally come, doesn’t it?”

“……”

“How intriguing. Very amusing. Heh heh……”

The Holy Maiden’s act began.

The woman from the book she admired the most… From now on, she was not the ‘Holy Maiden of the Papacy,’ but the queen and boss of an evil organization that held sway over the underworld.

“I suspected a day like this would come eventually.”

“……”

“That’s right. Everything you desire is here, so feel free to take it all. But would that truly be a wise decision?”

Meaningless stalling, spoken by the Holy Maiden herself, who didn’t even know what she was saying.

But just as she was about to bring up another topic to pique the interest of her still-silent opponent…!

The being before her reached out a hand towards her.

Could it be that what he wanted was her life?

The startled Holy Maiden took a step back, but he casually walked past her and picked up something placed on a small table.

To her, frozen in confusion, he spoke in a low voice.

“I’ll take this.”

“……Huh?”

“By the way, you put on an interesting act. It was quite entertaining.”

“……!!!”

– Whoosh!

At his words, the Holy Maiden’s face flushed crimson.

He watched her for a moment as she bowed her head in embarrassment, and just as he was about to turn and leave, the Holy Maiden hastily called out to him.

“W-wait a moment!”

“……?”

“My, my item, and, um… Where are you going with it?!”

“……”

“Th-that is……”

Was she too rude?

Although she had discovered that he was someone she could communicate with, the Holy Maiden was still afraid of the being before her.

But because she felt she absolutely had to ask this, she braved her fear and… the slight embarrassment from earlier, and asked him.

“How did you… infiltrate the Academy? Wh-what exactly is your identity…?”

“Hmm……”

At her question, he seemed to ponder for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“Just know me as… a thief who steals valuables and runs away.”

“…? What do you mean……”

Recognition.

[My presence is temporarily erased.]

Awareness.

[My traces did not exist.]

The Holy Maiden tried to grab him again, but he had already vanished from her sight.

– Whoosh!

“My divine power…?”

Simultaneously, the Holy Maiden felt her vision return to normal and hastily opened the window again, looking up at the sky.

The stars that had lost their light began to shine brightly again. Her divine power also functioned perfectly.

The Academy Head, belatedly regaining her senses, quickly repaired the barrier, and the gazes of the Transcendent beings who had been eyeing the Academy, licking their lips, gradually faded away.

As her body, which had been no different from an ordinary person’s, regained power almost akin to a Transcendent’s, the Holy Maiden finally relaxed and slumped onto the bed.

Up in the sky, she could feel the gods, whose vision had been temporarily obscured, stirring.

The Holy Maiden reassured them with a short prayer, then let out a deep sigh.

“Whew… What just happened…?”

She tried to find traces of who had been there, but found nothing.

All she knew was that one of the holy relics, a cross necklace, had disappeared.

Was the cross necklace what that unknown being had said he would take?

She didn’t know why he took a holy relic that was merely ornamental, rather than another powerful one, but she felt it was fortunate nonetheless.

The Academy Head, having finished temporary repairs on the barrier, seemed to briefly contact other professors, then soon sent a short thought projection to the Holy Maiden.

[Morning. Head’s office upon waking.]

The Holy Maiden conveyed her understanding and simultaneously collapsed onto the bed.

‘If she finds out I lost a holy relic… Yulia will scold me.’

She might even bring up the topic of returning to the Papal Palace.

Her adorable younger sister cared more about the safety of her Holy Maiden older sister than her own youth… She was already at a loss as to how to persuade her.

“Heh heh.”

Thinking of her sister, the Holy Maiden, who had been chuckling softly, suddenly recalled the last words the intruder had spoken.

‘A thief who steals valuables and runs away, he said……’

Chewing on those words, the Holy Maiden chuckled, “Heh heh.”

There’s no way he’s merely such a being. Though his identity is unknown, he must undoubtedly be one of those ridiculously powerful Transcendent beings……

Suddenly, a memory flashed through the Holy Maiden’s mind.

It was definitely a self-introduction she had heard somewhere before.

Valuables.

Thief.

And a Transcendent.

She had heard about a being to whom these three connected, a few years ago.

With a thought that struck her like lightning, the Holy Maiden shot up from her bed.

With her slightly trembling right hand, she gripped her left wrist.

If her thoughts were correct, ‘those Transcendent beings’ would start to move.

“No way…!!!”

No, not “no way,” but certain.

Just a few years ago, while ‘Great Pioneers’ were transporting treasures from a tomb, a being suddenly intruded.

A Transcendent being who overpowered all the ‘Great Pioneers’ and stole all the tomb treasures they had painstakingly retrieved.

A mad monster whose identity was unknown, whose name wasn’t even revealed, and who simply called himself a ‘thief.’

‘That being’, for whom an enormous bounty had been placed by the enraged ‘Great Pioneers’.

Had stolen the Holy Maiden’s cross necklace from the Academy today.

****

Everything had gone smoothly.

He had successfully pierced a hole in the barrier to feign an external intrusion and safely retrieved the cross necklace.

He had also enjoyed the Holy Maiden’s amusing act, so it seemed today would be a satisfying day.

– CRASH!

Recognition.

[Eyes are obscured.]

Awareness.

[Presence is erased.]

“Ha, still can’t see properly.”

“……”

“Is it stealth? It’s clumsy for that.”

Damn it, it doesn’t work well on her.

I clicked my tongue slightly and put some distance between us.

The attacker before me didn’t let her guard down and immediately took a charging stance.

Right. It *almost* was a satisfying day.

When I naturally vanished before the Holy Maiden and left her room, I thought all my tasks for the day were done.

– BANG!

That is, until I stepped outside and immediately ran into the ‘Regressor’, who was charging at me with terrifying momentum, spear in hand.

“It’s you, isn’t it?”

“……What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Infiltrating the Academy on this day. And stealing that cursed necklace.”

“……What?”

“So you did know, didn’t you? That the cross necklace Arie wears was cursed.”

“……”

“At first, I didn’t even know it was a holy relic, so I didn’t pay attention… But to think the holy relic you stole was that necklace, now I understand the reason a bit.”

“I haven’t the slightest clue what you’ve been talking about this whole time.”

……Of course, I understand everything.

But since when did the Regressor know about the necklace?

She definitely didn’t intrude in the previous regression.

Until now, she had never shown interest in the cross necklace, and the Holy Maiden didn’t seem to regard the necklace as important either.

Even in the announcement the Academy Head would make tomorrow, it would only state that an intruder stole a holy relic, without specifying what that relic was, indicating that the Papacy didn’t seem to consider it particularly important either.

The Regressor, who had never even wondered about the cause of the Holy Maiden’s corruption until now, since when did she notice the black cross necklace?

“Do you know something?”

“……?”

“The one who gave that necklace to Arie was none other than a Cardinal. One of those arrogant bastards just below the Pope.”

“So what do you want?”

“I absolutely must kill him, and in that process, the necklace will be crucial evidence.”

“……”

“So hand it over!”

Hearing her speak, I roughly understood.

The Regressor seems to have found a traitor within the Papacy.

I don’t know exactly which regression she found it out in, but given that she even knows I stole the necklace, it’s possible she heard it directly from the Holy Maiden.

‘Hmm, she’s smarter than I thought.’

Dodging the Regressor’s attack as she charged at me, I slightly revised my assessment of her.

Surprisingly, the Regressor is quite thoughtful.