A Great Being (7)

“It’s clear that changes are occurring in the world. Even if we can’t be certain yet whether it’s the great calamity that ended the mythical era as some claim.”

The hero and Saint secured by the Order had to become those who must be controlled by the Order unconditionally. If necessary, they didn’t hesitate to engage in political affairs.

Fortunately for the Order, this hero and Saint were both from unremarkable commoner backgrounds. They had no family background, so the Order, becoming their guardian, could use them as vanguards to spread their influence widely.

“You two, awaken the power sleeping in your bloodline and soul through the true holy water.”

Additionally, a privilege that only the Order in this world can provide is given. That is, forcibly awakening talent using holy water.

This way, both the hero and Saint become completely bound to the Order, which must provide the true holy water. Because without the Order, their power doesn’t exist either.

And such strengthened power of the Order soon returns to the priests who control the Order.

‘It’s real. I’m really becoming a Saint.’

In the underground of the Order headquarters, in this sacred place where only permitted individuals can enter at permitted times, Melissa, dressed in neat clothes and waiting quietly, had to struggle to control the corners of her mouth. At least until the end of the ceremony, she had to maintain solemnity and calmness.

This was also the words of Grand Priest Deus, who secretly visited Melissa last night.

“There’s no need to wear a mask unnecessarily, Saint.”

“Y-Yes…?”

Deus, an experienced and skilled politician with a head full of gray hair, instantly saw through the mask of Melissa, who was just a teenage girl. However, contrary to the frightened Melissa’s expectations, Deus grinned instead of scolding her.

“The Hero seems to have a truly admirable and upright spirit. But as you know, this world doesn’t run on principles alone.”

Realizing that the pure-hearted but strong-willed hero Ian wasn’t a target for persuasion, Deus approached Melissa instead. He planned to use her appropriately as a puppet, young but greedy as she was.

In return, Melissa would be able to get everything she wanted. The hero, wealth, status, all of it.

Although her plan to kill her abusive foster parents using the Order’s power wasn’t accepted, Deus subtly showed her another way.

That there are plenty of people in this land who will do anything for money anyway.

“Both of you, enter the holy water. Now you will awaken true power by receiving that power.”

Meanwhile, the tedious ceremony was all over. In fact, only the main event, the awakening ceremony, remained.

Melissa, who had taken Ian’s hand, was desperate to throw herself into that blue water right away.

“Wait! Hold on!”

But at that moment, the entrance to the sacred place burst open with a loud noise. Grand Priest Lebevre, who had suddenly disappeared for several days, appeared.

And in his hand was the hand of a red-haired girl.

“Wh-What is this, Lebevre! How dare you disappear on your own and then disrupt the sacred ceremony!”

Deus, startled, shouted first. However, Lebevre calmly explained the situation to his colleagues. He said he had brought a candidate for the ‘true’ Saint.

“You all know. The fact that the Saint in distant myths originally had not only healing power but also Parma’s power to purify enemies. The Order’s first Saint also had such power. Although that power hasn’t appeared much in the past few thousand years, now in this era, right here! That person has appeared!”

Lebevre told his colleagues the truth, mixing the facts Isilia had told him with the already known legends.

Naturally, great confusion overtook the place. The priests, regardless of rank, were in an uproar with widened eyes.

“D-Don’t say such nonsense. The bloodline of the first Saint?”

“Strictly speaking, she could be called the origin of all Saints in this world.”

Lebevre nodded at Deus’s hesitant appearance. After all, even the first Saint they served wasn’t a person from the mythical era.

“This is the proof.”

Lebevre didn’t stop there and proved Maria’s power, whom he had brought. Like before, he forcibly drew out that power using a corrupted artifact.

This time Isilia didn’t help, but Maria had focused all her might on controlling her power with Isilia’s help during the short time coming here.

Thanks to that, she was able to prove Parma’s power for a brief moment.

Everyone, already in an uproar, gaped at the purified artifact. It was a power that could truly counter the ‘curse’ that had been passed down for ages, like the power the hero possessed.

“Of course, all the Saints the Order has served over the past years had healing power. The person you brought, according to the law, is certainly a Saint, but strictly speaking, this person can be called the true Saint.”

Lebevre pointed to Maria while glancing at Melissa, whose face had turned paler than white paper.

Lebevre doesn’t know what kind of person Melissa is. He felt guilty because her position had become ambiguous due to him bringing Maria.

“Come, why hesitate? Let’s have the awakening ceremony for all three.”

Lebevre tried to end the ceremony by including Maria. If he established his position by becoming Maria’s backing, he could use Maria to secretly open the sacred place’s door and call Isilia.

It was a bonus to put those audacious colleagues like Deus, who were eyeing his position as second-in-command, in their place using the Saint and hero.

“No, it’s all lies!”

However, the situation began to grow larger than expected. Some priests, including Deus, who had fallen into panic over an unimaginable event, resisted.

‘How dare that bastard Lebevre!’

Deus’s head was a mess with anger, dejection, and bewilderment. It was he who had joined hands with Lebevre to suppress the opposing faction, but the problem was that Lebevre suddenly displayed business acumen.

Lebevre, who had suppressed the opposing faction with an enormous amount of gold from an unknown source, became an influential figure at once, receiving the trust of the Chief Priest for his achievement. Deus, who had intended to remain a moderate competitor, couldn’t stand being in a position to receive orders from Lebevre.

‘So he’s staking everything on this.’

To overtake Lebevre, he had to preempt the hero and Saint. In fact, the priests following him discovered the two first, and now the game was over.

No matter what unknown trump card Lebevre might have, openly revealing outside forces would be grounds for impeachment. So he, who had all the justification and power, could win.

He could control the stupid and impudent young Saint and grasp and wield the entire Order in his hands.

“What are the holy knights doing! Capture that heretic and witch at once!”

With all of that about to fly away, it was natural for reason to fly away too. It was a rampage that even Lebevre, who thought other priests would step back appropriately to maintain the balance of power, couldn’t have predicted.

“What do you mean, Lebevre is still…”

“Capture them!”

While others were bewildered by the suddenly unfolding situation and didn’t know what to do, the problem was that there were those among the holy knights who shared the intentions of extremists including Deus or had been bribed.

They, who were controlling the surroundings for this ceremony, intended to kill Lebevre and Maria before things got bigger. It happened so suddenly that there was no time for neutral parties to stop it.

“Y-You bastards, how dare you, do you know who I am…”

Lebevre, holding his staff, unconsciously faltered. It was because several holy knights approached, drawing their swords as if to cut him down in one stroke.

Lebevre, who wondered if they would really cut him, was terrified when he saw their raised swords glinting. The killing intent contained in them was full of will to truly cut the two of them to pieces right here and now.

“Ugh?!”

“I-Is it an earthquake!”

It was then that the ground suddenly shook. All who were off guard staggered once, and it was the same for the holy knights who had raised their swords to cut down Lebevre and Maria.

“What is this!”

And they were astonished to see their swords blocked by stone pillars that had sprung up from the ground. At the same time, their feet sank into the cracked ground, burying them up to their shins.

It was useless to struggle to get out. Rather, the ground increasingly sucked in their bodies. If this continued, it was obvious they would be crushed, caught in the ground from the groin, so they abandoned their swords and froze like statues.

“What a spectacle, indeed.”

As everyone held their breath and looked around, wondering if another earthquake would come and this underground would collapse, someone’s voice quietly echoed through the space.

It was the clear, beautiful voice of an unsullied girl.

However, the emotion contained in that voice was full of disdain and anger.