episode_0230

A New Saintess

“Aaaaaaaargh!!!!”

“…..?!”

As Sherev screamed while being disintegrated by Protega and Andres’s light beams, it reached their ears. All the worshippers and Children of Light flinched in surprise and fell into great shock at the sight of Sherev being disintegrated by the light beams. However, unlike them, the rebels who witnessed the Children of Light defeat Sherev, who had transformed into the Radiant Splendor of the Holy Ring, began to cheer.

“Ha… one has fallen!!! This was a battle we could have won!!!!”

“Oh… no way…!! Priest-nim Sherev… has fallen at the hands of heretics…?!” “Priest-nim Sherev, who could transform into the Radiant Splendor of the Holy Ring?!”

“Sherev…!! How dare you tarnish the name of our Children of Light!!! Such a useless fellow!!!!”

Okute was greatly enraged by Sherev’s fall at the hands of Protega and Andres, and he screamed at Sherev. But his rage was insignificant enough to be drowned out by the cheers of the rejoicing rebels, and Dio V Runner, who had been fighting Camilla when he sensed a powerful aura, turned around to watch the scene and muttered with a smile.

“Ha… there’s still hope in this fight after all. It seems those so-called Children of Light of yours aren’t as strong as Aria, are they, Camilla?”

“Th-this can’t be… Sherev… Sherev is dead…? Th-these wretched beings dare… kill my precious child!!!!”

“….?! Urgh…!!!”

At Sherev’s death, Camilla denied reality, then suddenly erupted in fury, releasing divine power from her entire body. Dio V Runner flinched in surprise at the pressure surging from Camilla and began to endure it somehow. Then, others too were greatly bewildered by the pressure emanating from Camilla, and they braced themselves, putting strength into their legs to avoid being pushed back. At that moment, Camilla felt a chill on her leg, flinched in surprise, and looked down. When she saw Yuria had emitted a chill from afar to freeze her leg, she frowned and spoke to Yuria.

“How dare a Saintess freeze my leg right now…? Do you wish to die first…?”

“I understand you’re grieving for your lost child right now… but many people have already lost their families at your hands, haven’t they?! Besides… if you truly ruined our lives… then we too have already suffered much pain from you!!”

“Ha… do you truly not know that your lives are worthless…? My worshippers are the ones with the most valuable, shining lives in this world…!! Your lives, who rejected my light… are so useless as to be worthless!!!”

“Yes… your kind always says such selfish things… That’s why your kind is even less forgivable…!!! Black Orb…!!!”

“Don’t play around, outsider!!!”

As Camilla claimed that the lives of those who were not her worshippers, those who did not receive her light, were all worthless, showing that only those she embraced were special, Dio V Runner frowned as if disgusted and unleashed black flames from his flamethrower towards Camilla. Then Camilla fired light beams from her hands to counter Dio V Runner’s flames, and as the two began to fight again, the rebels and the Order, who had been momentarily distracted by Sherev’s death, once more pointed their weapons at each other and resumed fighting. And Andres, who had been watching from the sky, collapsed onto Protega’s back and spoke to him.

“Hahaha… thankfully, everyone has regained their vigor and begun to resist again. It seems our defeat of that worshipper, Sherev, has boosted their morale…”

“It seems so… Now that the battle with that fellow is over, I must admire your magic and insight. Andres, your plan was perfect, which is why this attack succeeded.”

“Hahaha… but it seems that attack used up all the energy I had left… I can’t possibly stand up… Excuse me, Protega… may I rest on your back for a moment?”

“…I’m sorry about this… but I also poured almost all my strength into that last attack… I recommend you brace for a fall.”

“….Wait, what did you just say….!? Aaaaaaaargh!!!”

Just as he was about to ask for permission to rest, having completely exhausted his strength, Protega, whom he was riding, also advised him to brace for a fall, saying he too had lost strength like him. Andres flinched in surprise and was about to speak to Protega. However, Protega’s wings had already stopped, and Andres, still on Protega’s back, began to fall to the ground. Just as Protega was falling to the ground with Andres on his back, a gigantic bear-shaped variant monster, a boar variant monster, and another dragon urgently rushed over and caught the falling Protega and Andres. Then Andres let out a sigh of relief on the boar’s back and said.

“Phew… I never thought I’d be saved by a boar’s help… Truly… this war seems to be giving me a lot of experience…”

“Are you alright, Protega-nim? Other rebels are now fighting the Order with renewed strength, inspired by your actions and with their morale boosted.”

“Ah… I saw it as I was falling, so there’s no need to mention it… But I’m a bit tired, probably because it was our first joint attack and it took a lot of power… May Andres and I rest for a while, comrade?”

“Of course… Hey, you human called Andres…!! I never thought I’d say this… but that was truly excellent and magnificent…!!”

“Hahahaha…!! To receive praise from the dragons-nim… Haaah… I’m glad I can rest with such a good feeling… I’ll leave the rest to you…”

Perhaps it was because their defeat of Sherev with Protega was so impressive, or because the dragon who saved them acknowledged them, only then did Andres lie down on the ground with Protega and begin to rest with a sense of relief. While Protega and Andres directly showed the rebels that they could win, boosting their morale, Viola lost consciousness, pierced by Adoleth’s four spears, and Adoleth smiled as she looked at Viola.

“Although you betrayed us and ended up in this wretched state… still, the will you showed just now… that will is certainly worth appreciating. But… that will, too, is ultimately futile without Goddess Camilla’s light… Don’t worry. I’ll send the others to where you are too. Reflect there with the heretics. And realize what a great sin it was to defy Goddess Camilla’s light…”

Seeing Viola slumped, pierced by her spear, Adoleth scoffed at Viola one last time and slowly began to walk past her, heading to kill the rebels fighting the other worshippers. At that moment, the spear of light piercing Viola shattered instantly, and Viola grabbed the spear that had fallen beside her, spun around, and attacked Adoleth. Then Adoleth felt her spear of light suddenly shatter and, bewildered, quickly spun around to block Viola’s spear with her own, then asked Viola.

“Y-you… how are you alive…? Your body was clearly pierced by my spear of light… and you even lost consciousness…?!”

“I don’t know…!! My body just moved on its own, strangely…!!! But in this situation, shouldn’t I be grateful that I can keep moving, rather than questioning why?!!!”

“….!! Don’t play around, you fallen one!!! If you move again…!! I will utterly crush you!!! Holy Shock!!!”

“!!!! Aaaaaargh!!!”

As Viola began to push back, saying she didn’t know why she was still alive but now that she was, shouldn’t she actively use this opportunity, Adoleth emitted a mist of divine power from her eyes, then released a shockwave from her spear, sending Viola flying into the air. Then Adoleth quickly charged towards the airborne Viola, leaped high in the middle, and created a powerful spear of light in her hand as she spoke.

“Then what if I pierce you with a spear even bigger than before…!!! Aren’t you curious…!!!”

“….!!! Urgh… in mid-air, it’s hard to respond…!!!”

“Heavenly Spear!!!”

As Adoleth created an even larger spear than the one that had just pierced her and prepared to shoot it at her, Viola tried to move her body somehow to respond, even in this airborne situation. But when Adoleth hurled the enormous spear at her, Viola’s abdomen was pierced by the spear, and she was sent flying with it into the Temple of Pioneering. Then Adoleth quickly rushed to the Temple of Pioneering, and upon seeing Viola slumped against a wall, still impaled by the spear, in some storage room, she recalled Viola’s earlier revival and muttered.

“This is truly strange… She lost consciousness and ‘died’ like that earlier too… How is she still alive? Goddess Camilla said that when one dies, they clearly go to a place called the underworld, and resurrection itself is impossible because other beings block rebirth… How can you come back to life again?”

“Cough… Gasp… Ugh…”

“….? She’s still alive…? How are you possibly alive in that state?”

When Viola, impaled by the spear and pinned to the wall, coughed and regained consciousness, Adoleth was more than surprised; she was filled with admiration. Just moments ago, Viola had seemed truly ignorant and foolish, but now, seeing Viola clinging to life in a way she herself didn’t understand, Adoleth couldn’t help but admire her. Then, as a thought crossed Adoleth’s mind, she grinned and spoke to Viola.

“But… I can’t let you keep wielding such power for the heretics. That tenacious life force, refusing to give up on life… isn’t it truly a fitting ability for our Saintesses? So, what do you say? How about returning to our Saintesses…!!”

“Haaah… Haaah… Do you think I’m crazy enough to go back to being a Saintess…?!” “I’m no longer that madwoman…”

“Ah… don’t worry. I’m not asking for your opinion. Anyway, it seems you’re relieved that the divine power has left your body… but Goddess Camilla and all of us Children of Light have the ability to ‘re-inject’ divine power, you know?”

“What…? That me…!!!”

When Adoleth said she wouldn’t ask for her opinion and that she and Camilla could ‘re-inject’ divine power into living beings, Viola was greatly bewildered by her words. Then, as the spear of light piercing her emitted divine light, Viola flinched in surprise and, realizing what Adoleth was doing, frantically screamed at Adoleth.

“N-no…!!! No!!! I don’t want to go back to that time anymore!!! Please don’t inject divine power into me!!!”

“Puhuhuhu… You’re resisting divine power with your whole body now, but I expect your attitude will completely change once you accept it into your body later… This is truly exciting, isn’t it?”

“N-no!!! I hate it!!! I don’t want to go back!!! I… I’m not anymore…!!!”

As Viola was greatly horrified by the divine power being injected into her body and struggled and pleaded to prevent it from entering her body, Adoleth, finding pleasure in her reaction, injected divine power into Viola even faster. As divine power was forcibly injected into her body, Viola’s eyes began to turn yellow. And Viola’s soul, curled up in a dark space, watched a yellow glowing mass approaching her side.

“Ah… in the end, I couldn’t do anything again… I truly was a foolish person who was no help at all… What’s the point of making such resolutions…”

“…..”

“Indeed, I am… just a tool to be swayed. And a being that is not human, having lost its will long ago… This is as far as I go… I am…”

“….Are you giving up already? I don’t think those people gave you hope for this.”

“….?! Th-this voice is… me…?”

Viola, who had been merely watching the glowing mass slowly approach her and despairing over herself, flinched in surprise when her own voice came from the glowing mass, and stared blankly at it. At that moment, as the glowing mass transformed into her younger self, Viola froze, utterly dumbfounded. The younger Viola poked her forehead with a finger and said.

“Hey, you… why are you still so frustrated? Didn’t those people already forgive you?”

“H-how…? Who are you…? Are you not Camilla’s divine power…?”

“Hmm… you could say that. But to be precise, I am the divine power that still remained within you, and also your will.”

“My… my will…?”

“But that’s not what’s important right now, is it? Why are you squatting like this? Where’s that resolve you had earlier, saying you wouldn’t fall? Is your will only this strong?”

When her younger self asked why she was squatting like this, looking as if she had given up on everything, and what happened to the determined look she had just moments ago, Viola bowed her head deeply, her hands trembling, and replied to her younger self.

“I’m scared… It’s so scary to receive Camilla’s divine power again like this… The sensation of not being myself is vividly returning… And I’m scared that the innocent people who lost their lives at my hands will be displeased to see me losing so miserably to the Order…”

“…..”

“At first, I managed to calm myself down and come here with the others… but now that I’m actually fighting, it’s so terrifying… Even though the victims’ families forgave me… my heart was still screaming that it wasn’t enough… And now divine power is even being injected into my body… Camilla’s divine power… How can I resist that power…?”

“Resist with greater strength!!”

“….? What did you say…?”

As Viola confessed that she still cared about the innocent people who died by her hand, yet showed a powerless expression towards the divine power being injected into her body, asking how she could resist Camilla’s divine power, the younger Viola shouted at her that she just needed to resist with greater strength. Then Viola looked at her younger self with a bewildered expression, and the younger Viola smiled and said to Viola.

“The more will you have, and the more resolve you have, the more certainly you’ll be able to resist even divine power. So, show your will!”

“…But I’m still scared and anxious… Will those people truly… truly forgive me…? I… I experienced what they did… So I can’t be sure they’ll forgive me…”

“Then… with the divine power flowing into your body right now… how about directly asking the experiences of those you absorbed?”

“Wh-what…? What do you mean by that…!!!”

When Viola said she was still unsure if the victims would forgive her, the younger Viola, for her sake, spread her hands towards the empty space and advised her to directly ask the experiences of the victims. Then, when her younger self summoned forth their very selves, created from their experiences through divine power, before her, Viola felt great self-reproach and fear upon seeing their faces. But even so, Viola instinctively began to move her body, and after bowing deeply to them, she spoke in a trembling voice.

“I-I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I… I was wrong… I… I…?”

The moment Viola prostrated herself and apologized in a trembling voice, the apparitions of the victims slowly began to embrace her. Then, in their embrace, Viola finally burst into tears, as if releasing everything she had kept in her heart at once, and the younger Viola, seeing her, slowly faded away, saying to Viola.

“Although I don’t know if they will truly forgive you… Cecilia and the others already advised you, didn’t they? To remember the victims, and also to remember the faces of those who are helping you now. Are you going to just leave them… like that?”

“They… Cecilia who took care of me… and everyone else… Ah… I…”

Viola watched her younger self and the apparitions slowly fade away, and she gradually began to realize something. Meanwhile, in reality, Adoleth, who had finished injecting all the divine power into Viola, dispelled her spear of light that had pierced Viola. Then Viola slowly stood up, and Adoleth welcomed her with open arms.

“Ah… it’s a relief that you’ve finally returned to our fold, Saintess Viola… No… a new Saintess, different from before, has been reborn…!!”

“…..”

“Together, let us defeat the heretics and fulfill Goddess Camilla’s will….?!!”

The moment Adoleth was imagining defeating the heretics with Viola, reborn as a Saintess, suddenly, blue spears pierced through the walls and ceiling from outside and impaled the floor, greatly perplexing Adoleth. And Viola, standing between those spears, tears streaming down her face, glared at Adoleth and muttered.

“I… I was fighting to protect the grateful people who believed in me…!!”