episode_0212

The Cult’s Purpose

“First, to explain about the recent battles… Due to the cult’s growing power, we have reached a point where we can no longer handle the sheer number of enemies with our strength. It seems Camilla is turning the brainwashed people into Saintesses and priests.”

“I have something to say as well. Previously, I tried to wipe out the Saintesses and priests with Bivi. But strangely, as time went on, most of their power began to weaken. And even stranger, some of them gained immense power, to the point where they almost defeated a dragon.”

“Finally, something we beastfolk realized while fighting is that the enemies’ strength has grown even stronger over the past three days. As if they are receiving power from some driving force…”

Gid, Protega, and Arvina explained to everyone the information they had gathered while fighting the cult. Upon hearing the information, everyone began to wear serious expressions. Compiling this information led to the conclusion that the fight against the cult, which was already difficult due to their increasing numbers, had become even harder because the cult’s power had grown stronger, as if they had recently gained some new driving force. Then Dio V Runner sighed deeply and spoke.

“Furthermore, for some unknown reason, Camilla has stopped moving again. It’s clear she has some scheme, which is why she hasn’t shown herself again… But if Camilla were to descend and reveal herself again… everyone would surely be swept away by her overwhelming power.”

“Although the elves have pushed out and removed the divine power within the resistance members’ bodies with the power of nature, thus freeing them all from the influence of brainwashing… Indeed, it could be as Dio V Runner-nim said. We saw it with our own eyes.”

Even though they were free from the threat of brainwashing thanks to the elves, the resistance could still be swept away by Camilla’s overwhelming power, so Dio V Runner and Yuria, who had clearly witnessed Camilla’s power with their own eyes, felt uneasy. Then Cecilia, who had heard all of this, took Viola’s fidgeting hand beside her and asked.

“Are you really sure you can do it? Should I explain it to everyone on your behalf?”

“Thank you for the offer, Cecilia… But this is something I must do… If I can’t even overcome this, I’ll never be able to atone…”

“…Don’t overexert yourself.”

“Thank you, Cecilia… Everyone…!! I have something to explain…!!”

When Cecilia looked at her with genuinely worried eyes, telling her that while it was good she was gathering courage, she shouldn’t overexert herself, Viola smiled, thanked her, stood up, and loudly announced that she had something to explain. Then everyone’s attention focused on her, and Viola, though slightly trembling, hugged the teddy bear with her left arm and bravely spoke.

“First… I have something to say about the Saintesses and priests…!! As you all know, I am Viola Blossom, who was once a Saintess…!!”

“A Saintess…? So that’s why you were quiet earlier during introductions, huh…? But somehow… your aura is different from the priests and Saintesses I’ve seen so far?”

“I agree, Iruvan.”

Iruvan, realizing Viola was a Saintess, became interested by how Viola exuded a completely different aura from the priests and Saintesses he had seen before, and Rapien beside him agreed with his words. Then Viola placed a hand on her chest and began to explain about the Saintesses and priests to everyone.

“Everyone is probably wondering why the priests and Saintesses are trying to destroy this world like this. And for what purpose Camilla is going around brainwashing people, and why the stone statues have been erected… Although I wasn’t a Saintess of the highest rank, as a high-ranking Saintess, I do know a few facts.”

“Dio V Runner-ssi already revealed before, Viola, that the Saintesses were seeping divine power into the ground through the stone statues. But we haven’t been able to figure out why they’re doing that… Do you happen to know about that as well?”

“That’s a good question, Jid Looprian… In fact, all of these are just one of the preparatory steps for a certain purpose. To achieve their goal, they had to obtain the most crucial thing, and until the time came to retrieve it, like harvesting fruit, the cult performed various actions to cause confusion and prevent you from figuring out their true purpose.”

As Viola explained that the cult was actually waiting to obtain something, and to prevent anyone from guessing what that something was, the cult performed various actions to conceal their true purpose, Yuria nodded as if she had already guessed, and then asked Viola.

“Actually, I encountered your cult at the Rebarud facility before. There, I met a Saintess of the fairy race… She told me something important… The most important thing to the cult… it’s Aria, right?”

“So you met Renbu there… That’s correct, Ice Maiden. The most important thing to the cult was the Black Saintess, Aria Ritt, whom you all know.”

“…?! What… What did you say?! Aria-nim?!”

When Yuria said she had heard from Renbu that the cult needed the Black Saintess the most, Viola confirmed it was true and explained to everyone that the most important thing to the cult was Aria. Then everyone except those who had already heard this from Yuria was greatly astonished, and Rapien asked again, his voice filled with incomprehension. Then Kelly, who was equally astonished, asked Viola in bewilderment.

“What did you say?! Then we should have kept Zeke and Aria-nim back then!! To miss such… such an important thing… More importantly… a fairy Saintess?! For a fairy to become a Saintess… that makes no sense!! I already know about the Rebarud facility from Zeke-nim, and that was five years ago, wasn’t it?! Why was a fairy already a Saintess five years ago?”

“From the start, Camilla’s divine power has the ability to manipulate others’ emotions, Fairy Elder… Anyway, Camilla needed Aria’s power the most for her plan. That’s why she had been amplifying Aria’s emotions since before. Doesn’t everyone know that Aria showered Zeke with an excessive amount of love? In fact, that was because Camilla had tampered with Aria’s emotions beforehand. Camilla had designed it in advance so that Aria would fall into an extreme, overwhelming love for the one who saved her.”

“…!? What… What?! That was the case?!”

When Viola revealed that the reason Aria had showered Zeke with excessive love was actually because Camilla had manipulated her beforehand, everyone was greatly astonished upon learning that fact. However, only Tiavel looked bewildered, then wrote something on a piece of paper and showed it to Viola.

‘I don’t think that’s necessarily the case… Anyway, why did Camilla manipulate Aria-nim’s emotions?’

“Camilla has not fully descended into this world. Camilla is actually a being made of energy, and if she descends here without sufficient energy, her body will collapse. That’s why she is still gradually drawing her own energy from another dimension to slowly descend here. However, Camilla realized that if she obtained a power similar to her own, yet greater, she could fully descend here, and she also realized that her divine power reacted to emotions. So, she sought a being who could amplify her divine power within their body while also amplifying love, which she deemed the strongest emotion.”

“So she was looking for a kind of rechargeable battery… And that turned out to be Aria…”

Upon hearing Viola’s explanation, Dio V Runner realized that Camilla absolutely needed Aria, who could contain immense divine power, for her complete descent, and he was greatly astonished. Then Viola nodded, confirming Dio V Runner’s words were correct, and Protega, with a dumbfounded expression, asked Viola.

“Even so, I don’t understand. Then why is the cult going around brainwashing living beings?”

“With Aria-nim’s help, we Karizans discovered that the cult is currently drawing some kind of mark across the entire continent using divine power. What exactly is that, Viola? Is this also a trick to hide their plan?”

“No. That is also one of the cult’s purposes. No matter how powerful Aria’s strength is, Camilla had already made a plan even before Aria, because strong divine power was needed here as well. Long ago, she secretly planted divine power within us living beings, and waited for the time when our population would prosper to this extent. She manipulated emotions to make them worship her, and through the emotion of faith, she tried to amplify her own divine power. In a word, every single emotion of the living beings imbued with divine power is converted into divine power, becoming Camilla’s strength. And Camilla is dreaming of a complete descent using Aria’s divine power. And finally, the moment that mark is fully drawn… all living beings in this world will instantly be converted into divine power, becoming Camilla’s divine power…!!”

“What…?!”

When Viola revealed that the moment the mark being drawn by the cult across the continent was completed, all living beings on this continent would be converted into divine power, everyone was beyond shocked, unable to hide their astonishment. They were astonished not only by the situation being more serious than imagined but also because if they hadn’t all gathered like this, they would have died without knowing anything. Then Riera mumbled with a bewildered expression.

“My goodness… No wonder the Siren race fled so quickly… If they had instinctively known something like this, they should have said something and fled sooner…!!”

“But if you knew Camilla’s plan like this… Why didn’t you question it until now…? And how did you come to think the same way as us?”

“…That’s a good question, Elf… I’ll explain everything.”

When Alten asked why she hadn’t questioned Camilla’s plan despite knowing about it like this, Viola replied that it was a good question and that she would explain everything, then took a deep breath. Then, as if recalling the experiences of the victims, she winced, held her throbbing head with her right hand, and began to explain.

“In truth, I became an orphan around the age of four and was found by the cult. Afterward, due to their distorted teachings and Camilla’s divine power, I became unable to think normally… Because of Camilla’s divine power, I didn’t even question the cult’s actions… This was the same for other priests and Saintesses. Although there were some who didn’t join the cult as children like me… most were found by the cult when they were young… and after that, they underwent harsh training to become Saintesses or priests. Those who couldn’t endure the training were discarded… and not all of those who couldn’t endure the training remained alive.”

“Such cunning bastards!! They took young children because they’re perfect for brainwashing, didn’t they!! To have let such cursed bastards continue like this until now!! As a mother of a child, I absolutely cannot forgive those shameless scoundrels!!”

Upon learning the shocking truth from Viola that the Saintesses and priests had actually all been found by the cult as children and brainwashed, Bivi slammed her hand on the table, greatly enraged. Then the others also all grimaced, expressing their displeasure, and Dio V Runner, seemingly dumbfounded, sighed deeply and spoke.

“In a war I participated in before, there was also a despicable fellow who turned others into the same race as himself… Haaah… But this place takes children to turn them into their errand-runners… I didn’t think there could be anyone crazier…”

“They didn’t just take children to make them errand-runners, O one from another world. Has anyone here witnessed Aria Ritt awakening the Glow of Saintly Transformation? Didn’t part of her hair turn yellow?”

“…? Ah… I saw that. Her hair definitely turned yellow, and she burst into tears, asking Zeke to dye it for her…”

When Viola asked if anyone had witnessed Aria awakening with the Glow of Saintly Transformation, Dio V Runner raised his hand and replied that he had seen it. Then Viola exhaled deeply again and began to explain to the others once more.

“Camilla wanted beings who could possess divine power almost identical to hers. Because they could not only be a great strength to her but also help her descend… The Glow of Saintly Transformation is actually proof that a Saintess or priest has grown closer to Camilla. Oh, didn’t someone just say that some Saintesses and priests strangely grew stronger in recent battles?”

“Huh? Ah… that’s right. It was like that in our battles with the elves, too…”

“Camilla gathered the Saintesses and priests who could use the Glow of Saintly Transformation and formed a group called the Children of Light. To Camilla, the most important Saintesses and priests are only those Children of Light. So Camilla instructed the Children of Light to… absorb the power of the lower-ranking Saintesses and priests. However, the lower-ranking Saintesses and priests, due to divine power, considered such instructions an act of devotion and obediently offered their power. As a result…”

“The power of the numerous lower-ranking Saintesses and priests weakened over time… and was being replaced by the strangely and suddenly strengthened power of the Children of Light…!!”

Upon hearing Viola’s explanation, Gid realized why most of the Saintesses and priests had weakened in recent battles and was astonished, and the others, too, could not hide their astonishment at the cult’s bewildering actions. Then Viola bowed her head deeply, hugged the teddy bear with both arms, and spoke to everyone.

“Camilla’s divine power has the ability to manipulate emotions… I accidentally absorbed the lingering resentment, sorrow, and pain from the victims’ belongings, which allowed me to regain my senses and abandon divine power… If my heart hadn’t been swayed by hearing the grief of the bereaved families before I escaped from this place… I probably would have continued to side with the cult… Now, in that terrible hell… with my dreams crushed…”

“…So that’s how you regained your senses… But tell me, Viola. If we had captured Zeke and Aria-nim, who were in Karizan, would the outcome have been different?”

“That wouldn’t have been the case, Fairy Elder… Camilla was constantly monitoring Aria’s divine power. If you had sealed Aria, she would have personally intervened and taken Aria away… No matter where Aria is in this world… she is already in Camilla’s hands…”

“…Dio V Runner-ssi’s prediction was correct… He clearly said Camilla would read Aria’s divine power and track her down…”

To Kelly’s question about whether the situation would have been different if they had kept Aria, Viola replied that it would have been impossible because Camilla was constantly monitoring Aria’s divine power. Then Yuria recalled Dio V Runner having predicted this before and giving up on searching for Aria, and she was greatly surprised, and Viola continued her explanation.

“Aria Ritt is the most important key to the cult. Aria has become a being capable of containing divine power that surpasses even the current Children of Light… because she cultivated her own power through her blind love for Zeke… Perhaps Camilla will soon retrieve Aria… even if she has to do it herself.”

“This is driving me crazy… So many shocking revelations have come out, it’s dizzying… Anyway, the fact that we’re confronting the cult directly won’t change, but… We need to consider one thing.”

“…? What is it, Dio V Runner?”

“According to Viola’s explanation… most of the cult’s Saintesses and priests have been brainwashed since they were young… The question is… how should we deal with them… Should we break their brainwashing and accept them… or kill them…?”

“…..”

As Dio V Runner pondered how to deal with most of the Saintesses and priests, who were in the same state as Viola, everyone seemed to agree with his words and could not speak easily. Thus, the resistance began to deliberate on how to act in the face of the unexpected truth. Should they really save the brainwashed Saintesses and priests… or should they defeat them, deeming it too late…? Some even thought that Camilla had been planning this for a long time to prevent anyone from rashly defeating the Saintesses and priests…