Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: The King of Pigs
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—...(omitted)...The day is not far when the Goddess's nation will stand tall on the Isle of Britannia.
It was indeed the handwriting of Cardinal Nikolai, an elder of the White Magic Tower. Though it was merely one of Dale's plausible lies, meant to deceive Charles VII.
There had been no collaboration between the White Magic Tower and the Holy Maiden from the start.
And if Charles had failed to believe the contents of the secret letter, Dale had been prepared to offer up Nikolai's head as 'proof of betrayal'.
To behead an elder of the White Magic Tower, a cardinal no less, was not something that could be done with an ordinary justification. Not unless he had, for instance, betrayed the Empire and colluded with its enemies.
'Fortunately, the worst-case scenario that would have required cashing in my insurance policy never came to pass.'
It was a truly fortunate outcome for them both.
The Geas of absolute obedience carved into Cardinal Nikolai's heart. Dale's puppet, planted in the heart of the Sistina faith. He was far too valuable to be used as a disposable pawn here.
There was still a mountain of tasks for him to carry out while he lived.
* * *
“...A truce, you say?”
“That is correct.”
At Charles's words, the Holy Maiden Orelia was left speechless.
“The Empire will never stop until the Kingdom of Britannia has fallen!”
“Have they not already suffered immense losses themselves?”
Charles VII spoke in a tone as if soothing a child.
“Too many of the kingdom's sons have already shed their blood.”
“...”
“Our Sister Goddess Sistina emphasizes compassion and mercy to us so...”
As if he were utterly weary of war.
“Why do we defy the Goddess's will and repeat this cruel slaughter!”
“The Empire brought this upon themselves.”
“And are they not the ones now wishing for peace?”
Peace.
“The supreme commander of the Imperial Army has proposed an 'indefinite ceasefire agreement' and promised to withdraw his troops within a few weeks.”
“Do you trust the Empire's word?”
“I simply wish for peace.”
“Peace...”
The Holy Maiden tried to say something.
“Our kingdom officially accepts the Empire's 'ceasefire agreement.' There will be no more war.”
But Charles cut her off. As if he would not permit a single objection.
“The war is over. An age of peace has now arrived.”
Charles VII's conviction regarding peace was incredibly firm.
To mindlessly indulge in pleasure and luxury, to bury his head in the bosoms of courtesans and savor wine.
To obtain that very peace, it was time to put an end to this dreadful war.
* * *
Some time later, while the Imperial Army began its weeks-long preparations for withdrawal.
Reports came in that some soldiers had deserted their units and begun pillaging across the territories of the Kingdom of Britannia.
Imperial deserters committing plunder and arson throughout the kingdom's lands. A band of outlaws.
The kingdom responded with mobile warfare, deploying small strike forces to swiftly dispatch the bands of thieves. And the Holy Maiden Orelia volunteered to lead those strike forces, wielding her sword for the peace of the kingdom.
A few weeks later, an Imperial force numbering less than 20,000 began to withdraw from the port city of Dover.
Just as Charles VII had said, it seemed the age of peace was drawing near.
Furthermore, to root out the remnants of the Imperial Army within the kingdom's territory, the Holy Maiden repeatedly led small forces on rapid deployments.
* * *
A few more weeks passed.
News arrived that a band of Imperial deserters had attacked Orléans, one of the key cities on the Loire River. The Holy Maiden immediately set out on another campaign, leading her small strike force.
And as soon as the Holy Maiden Orelia left the royal capital of Reims, Archbishop Thomas Becket was arrested in the name of Charles VII.
On suspicion of treason.
Using the 'secret letter from the White Magic Tower' that Dale of Sachsen had previously handed to Charles as evidence.
* * *
Immediately after.
When the Holy Maiden Orelia, having annihilated the band of Imperial deserters surrounding the city of Orléans and secured victory, crossed the drawbridge into the city with her knights.
“...”
Orelia momentarily held her breath, an inexplicable sense of unease washing over her. A stillness enveloped the city. An ominous silence, as if she were walking through a city of the dead.
“You've arrived.”
And from within the silence, a very familiar voice was heard. A voice she could never forget.
The commander-in-chief of the Imperial Army, who should have left the Isle of Britannia and be sailing for the Empire by now, was there.
“...Lord Dale.”
It was the very same 'Black Prince' who had fought the Holy Maiden to a draw when she was at her full power.
Behind him stood countless powerful figures of the Empire.
A seat among the Seven Swords of the Continent... the Holy Sword Master and the Knights of Saint Magdalena.
A high elder of the Red Magic Tower, the 7th-circle Red Mage 'Lady Scarlet' and the Purifier Squad.
Even the White Mages, led by Cardinal Nikolai of the White Magic Tower.
The Empire's greatest military powers, gathered there to face a single 'transcendent powerhouse'.
“His Majesty Charles has sold you out, Lady Orelia.”
At Dale's words, the Holy Maiden Orelia gave a bitter smile.
“Furthermore, by now in the royal capital of Reims, Archbishop Thomas will have been accused of treason.”
“...!”
Archbishop Thomas. A former high elder of the White Magic Tower and a 7th-circle White Mage. She couldn't even bring herself to laugh at his words. To think the kingdom's greatest powerhouses, each one as precious as blood, would vanish so futilely.
“Did I not tell you?”
Dale spoke to the bitterly smiling Holy Maiden.
“You should have considered it, Lady Orelia.”
The meaning of your words, that you would save the Kingdom of Britannia.
“For giving the throne to that man was, in the end, the same as choosing not to save the Kingdom of Britannia.”
Dale sneered coldly.
“Is this truly the will of heaven that the Goddess desired?”
The fate of one who claimed to be heaven's puppet. The Holy Maiden Orelia could say nothing.
She could only offer a bitter smile, until the very, very end.
* * *
The nameless soldier's sword broke.
* * *
“Kuh, kuhuhuhu...!”
A man was laughing like a madman.
He was a man with the head of a pig.
The mass of flesh swelling beneath his armor was so immense it looked as if it might burst at any moment.
A pig in the shape of a man. The very image of a beast, so hideous it was nauseating.
But the sword in his hand, radiating a 'pure white light,' was not. One of the continent's strongest artifacts, forged by the first Master of the White Magic Tower.
'The Holy Sword Durandal.'
In other words, the man in armor with the head of a pig was the Empire's celebrated war hero... the 'avatar of Count Brandenburg,' the Holy Sword Master.
The pinnacle of knighthood, projecting one's ideals onto a sword. An armor of ideals. And this was the result of layering his ideals onto his sword, armor, and body.
The true form of the Holy Sword Master. A beast who had abandoned the path of man, twisted by the desire for eugenics. People called him "The King of Pigs," a name filled with both mockery and awe.
And that very King of Pigs stood before the Holy Maiden.
The steel plate on the armor's abdomen bulged to the point of buckling. He had abandoned all human decency, becoming a pig faithful only to its desires.
*Crack, crack!*
And unable to withstand the gradually swelling desire, the armor burst apart. Beneath it, a massive, pinkish lump of flesh was revealed.
“...”
So utterly hideous, it was the very crystallization of the grotesque, a condensation of all the world's ugliness.
The King of Pigs.
Pig fat dripped from his body like broth. Saliva dribbled from his mouth.
And that very King of Pigs, the Holy Sword Master, charged toward the Holy Maiden, who was resisting to the very end.
Six wings amplified the light, striking down with pillars of annihilation, and a barrage of fire raged within the focused bombardment.
An overwhelming annihilation, enough to shatter the entire city.
And yet, the pig-headed Holy Sword Master was still there.
“...!”
The massive lump of flesh was completely unscathed.
Being a 'transcendent powerhouse' was not the Holy Maiden Orelia's sole domain. Moreover, the 7th-circle White Mage who could amplify her power severalfold... Archbishop Thomas was not here.
With high-ranking Red and White Mages supporting the Holy Sword Master, the chances of victory were meaningless.
Driven by desire, the King of Pigs kicked off the ground. Disregarding his body's weight, or rather, adding acceleration to that weight, the Holy Sword Master's strike descended.
A clash of avatars. But the result was utterly one-sided.
The pig's sword was overwhelming the angel's sword.
The holy sword of a pig, possessing both weight and speed, but without a speck of nobility.
“Kuh, kuhuhuhuhu!”
With a single swing, the wings of light were torn. The wings tore, the armor shattered, and the Holy Maiden's noble body was ripped apart, scattering blood.
A pig violating an angel. An incomparably grotesque sight.
Apart from his ugliness, the martial prowess of the pig-headed Holy Sword Master was not to be taken lightly. The title of one of the Seven Swords of the Continent was not earned for nothing.
“Gack, keoheok...!”
The Holy Sword Master reached out his arm. The pig's hand seized the Holy Maiden's neck and lifted her up.
“You seem like you'll make a good female.”
The pig spoke.
“Keoheok, kheuk...!”
The "King of Pigs" spoke to the struggling angel, who was in agonizing pain, on the verge of suffocation.
“Bear my children, female.”
His voice was twisted with eugenic desire and obsession.
“You will bear my children, and bear them, and bear them, and bear them, and bear them again...!”
The pig let out a crazed laugh.
“Ten, no, you'd better not even think about resting until you've borne a hundred!”
Shamelessly revealing his pig-like, hideous desires.
“Oink, oink-oink-oink!”
He slammed the Holy Maiden to the ground, and the pig's body crushed her.
“...!”
In agony, feeling as if she were being crushed to death, the Holy Maiden turned her head. A broken sword lay beside her.
The sword of a nameless soldier who had fought and died for her.
She no longer had the strength to face her enemy. But she surely had enough strength left to plunge the sword's tip into her heart to escape further shame and humiliation.
And so, the Holy Maiden reached out her hand. No, she tried to reach.
“Stop.”
The voice was heard again. For a moment, Orelia's hand froze. But the pig-headed Holy Sword Master did not. He was about to crush the Holy Maiden right there and pour out his desires.
“Before the divine covenant—I said stop, you pig bastard.”
And so, Dale continued.
Geas (A Covenant of Binding).
Dale's voice, appealing to that very covenant, echoed throughout the area.
The contents of the covenant Dale and the Holy Sword Master had carved into their hearts that day, staking the course of the war. To absolutely obey Dale's commands in all future battles and operations.
At the same time, the pig crushing the Holy Maiden turned its head toward Dale.
It was an instant.
From the moment he turned his head until the tip of the Holy Sword Durandal touched Dale's chest.
“...!”
It was fast. A divine speed that even Dale could not have anticipated. But that was as far as it went.
“...You damn pig bastard.”
Dale spat a low curse. The hilt of the holy sword was trembling faintly. The shackles of the Geas were gripping the pig's heart.
Immediately after, a vortex of aura swirled, and the Holy Sword Master's avatar vanished.
A naked man stood there.
A naked man whose armor and clothes had all been torn and burst apart.
“Oh my.”
Seeing this, Lady Scarlet let out a cold sneer.
“With a farmer's plow that shoddy, I doubt any crops would grow.”
Casually mentioning what was the Holy Sword Master's greatest complex.
“It's smaller than mine.”
Dale also muttered, as if it were someone else's problem.