Chapter 73: Sanctuary of Restful Purification — Resolve (1)
Chapter 73: Sanctuary of Restful Purification — Resolve (1)
“Understood.”
Seraphina.
The last Saint of the Guardian Church quietly observed our group for a moment before beginning to walk.
“If that is your will, then I will accept it as well.”
“You accepted it more easily than I expected.”
“All the priests and Holy Knights who come to this temple try to risk their lives just like you.”
She shook her head, yet a faint smile lingered on her lips.
“At first I tried to persuade them too. But now I’ve given up. Every single one of them is stubborn. I imagine you all are the same.”
“That’s correct.”
“I thought so.”
Standing at the entrance of the healing ward, the Saint turned toward me.
“New volunteers will arrive soon to relieve you. Please rest well for a day and prepare for battle against the monster army.”
“We will.”
“And Sir Kar, please come see me later. As a cultist of the Twisted Truth known for possessing countless pieces of knowledge, there are many things I wish to discuss with you privately.”
A cultist receiving a personal invitation from the last Saint of the Guardian Church.
I was probably the first.
Though if you included the senior cultists summoned by the Inquisition, I would probably be number one hundred thousand in line.
“I will see you later.”
Not long after the Saint left the ward, Priest Elion arrived.
He was accompanied by volunteers composed of Harmony Church members and explorers who, like us, had come from the future.
At last—it was time to switch shifts.
“Please follow me.”
Lumian led us to the believers’ living quarters built outside the temple.
The accommodations were so simple that they consisted only of mats and parasols, allowing one to fully enjoy the experience of sleeping outdoors.
The vintage style was so poor that even most slums looked better.
“…I am sorry.”
The middle-aged priest, who seemed to apologize almost constantly, gazed toward the distant sky.
“Brother Kar, please follow me for a moment.”
Guided by Elion, I walked deep into the inner part of the temple.
A space surrounded by partitions of pure white boards.
It was as small as a single-room apartment.
The Saint had given her original quarters to the patients, so this narrow room served as both her office and living space.
“Please sit here comfortably.”
Seraphina, her gaunt face illuminated as she drank a blue beverage from a glass cup, pointed at a small floor chair.
It was so tiny that sitting in it made me feel like a cute little mascot.
So I quietly sat down.
“Expedition Leader Kar.”
Seraphina, seated in a somewhat careless posture that did not match her noble status as a Saint, gazed at me and gestured.
“May I address you like that?”
“You can call me that blond half-ear bastard if you’d like.”
“That blond half-ear bastard.”
“…Hmm. I didn’t expect you to actually say it.”
“Oh, my apologies. It’s something half-elves say often.”
“Actually, it’s fine if you call me that.”
Since I had come to a labyrinth era where half-elves had only recently risen from being less than slaves to roughly the level of pets, experiencing life as a pet dog didn’t sound too bad.
It might even become a precious life experience I would remember forever.
“Anyway, everyone here respects your opinion.”
“That’s because I chose to enter this labyrinth.”
“You are foolish.”
While I twisted my body trying to find the least uncomfortable sitting posture, I was suddenly insulted.
“Yes. Half-elves like me are indeed a very stupid and pitiful race.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Why do you keep agreeing so easily? It hurts my feelings.”
I puffed out my cheeks to show my distress.
Seraphina placed the cup of blue drink on the floor and slid it toward me.
“Drink.”
《Azure Idiot》
《A cheap beverage made in the labyrinth city of Jeima. It has no merits except addictiveness. For a Saint, her taste is rather low.》
“I saved money to buy this precious drink. It’s not bad for something to drink one week before dying.”
“Thank you. It suits fools like us perfectly.”
The moment I took a sip, my tongue screamed in protest.
I ignored it.
What could a mere body part trapped inside my mouth know about the quality of beverages?
“Sir Kar, through the mystic Heavenly Ear, I have gathered much knowledge about the future from explorers. Even so, there is still much I do not know.”
Even a Saint who served as Arteine’s representative and possessed countless mystics could not know what awaited in the distant future.
“In the future, is the Forerunner of the Twisted Truth still a deity with such vast faith that he can grant endless knowledge to his cultists?”
“Yes.”
《I wish that were true. :(》
“Then I will ask you one thing.”
“You may ask several.”
Seraphina glanced around cautiously, worried that priests behind the partitions might overhear.
Then she suddenly whispered quietly.
“In the future… has it been revealed?”
A typical cultist of the Twisted Truth would have simply blinked in confusion.
But I was a half-elf whose Eye that Pierces Truth possessed knowledge so vast that it could not even be expressed as a number.
I immediately understood her meaning and whispered back.
“No one knows. Even in the future, you are still simply ‘Saint Seraphina.’”
“…Phew.”
Seraphina exhaled in relief and stretched out both legs.
A gesture unbecoming of a noble Saint.
Pretending not to notice, I spoke.
“Saint, are you alright? You look exhausted.”
“Of course I am fine.”
With a face that looked anything but fine, Seraphina blankly drank from the cup.
“I sleep less than four hours every day. I constantly use mystics, pray to replenish my divine power, comfort suffering patients, and handle the temple’s paperwork. But I am not tired at all.”
“That sounds extremely exhausting.”
“That is correct. In fact, I am nearly dying. If I didn’t possess four health-enhancing mystics, I would have collapsed long ago. And knowing the grim future makes it impossible for me to relax even for a single day.”
The Saint calmly raised her cup.
“Do you truly not regret your decision not to return to the future?”
“I am a half-elf who has regretted something only once in my entire life.”
I raised my cup to the same height and gently tapped it against hers.
Clink.
The blue liquid rippled softly.
Seraphina drained her drink and leaned back on her hands, staring at the ceiling.
“Explorer from the future, thank you for choosing to meet a foolish end with me.”
“An end? You seem to be misunderstanding something.”
She narrowed one eye slightly.
“I will not die. At least not in a labyrinth ranked B or lower.”
Death in an S-rank labyrinth would be an honorable end.
An A-rank death would still be somewhat acceptable.
But B-rank or below?
Unacceptable.
A true explorer should close their eyes while exploring a high-difficulty labyrinth.
“Very well. Then I will be the only one who dies.”
“What are you saying? You already know what I am about to say.”
“……”
I pushed the cup of Azure Idiot aside and said:
“Let us commit a benevolent distortion of history, Saint.”
The Saint would survive.
Unlike in the original history.
There was now roughly one week left before the monster army attacked the Sanctuary of Restful Purification.
Not much time to prepare for battle.
Perfect preparation was impossible.
Remaining in the temple was essentially a declaration that we were willing to die.
“Are you serious?”
Seraphina asked while patting my back.
My lower back had begun to ache from sitting in the miserable chair, so I twisted my body as I answered.
“When I explore, I am always serious.”
“For someone serious, your movements are rather frivolous.”
“Didn’t you give me this chair so you could watch me dance while sitting? My body below the waist has already stopped obeying me.”
“…Your speech is quite frivolous as well.”
Seraphina finally stood up and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me to my feet.
“Anyway, I have fully received your pure wish, burning enthusiasm, and unwavering sincerity—completely free of lies.”
《When exactly did you sense such beautiful feelings? I’ve been speaking nonsense with a blank face the whole time!》
A divine familiar of an Evil God could not possibly understand the warmth and determination shared between humans.
I waved my hand, dismissing the meaningless text.
“I will now gather every Holy Knight stationed in the temple and prepare for the coming attack. The priests and lay believers will continue caring for the patients.”
Seraphina glanced at the pure white armor hanging on a long rod that served as a temporary wardrobe.
Even at a glance, it looked too heavy for a priest class to wear.
“The original me failed to notice the monster army’s advance because she was too busy. But I learned of it far in advance. With your help, Sir Kar, we may be able to twist history. I strongly feel that possibility.”
The intuition of a high-ranking Harmony Church priest like her was almost equivalent to prophecy.
It was the result of analysis derived from all information gathered by both conscious and unconscious thought.
“Please tell me everything you know from the future that might help. And I would appreciate it if you could assist me in changing into this armor.”
“…Wouldn’t it be inappropriate for me to help you change clothes?”
“…Ah.”
It sounded suspicious, but it was simply a mistake.
If someone slept less than four hours a day for more than a month, their mind inevitably became somewhat loose.
“First, let me explain the monster army approaching the temple.”
“I am listening.”
Seraphina placed only the helmet on her head and raised the face guard.
“Monster armies are usually led by the strongest or most intelligent dominant individual. However, different species do not follow each other’s commands. Except for rare exceptions, monsters usually gather only with their own kind.”
But this time, the monster army was enormous.
Disgustingly dense.
Seraphina tapped her helmet thoughtfully and leaned against the wall.
“Since even I, a level-9 priest, could not stop their advance in the end, that means there were at least five hundred thousand of them.”
“A perfect deduction.”
Seraphina, a level-9 priest, was practically a living fortress.
Her healing and defensive abilities were exceptional.
Yet she had still fallen.
Because the enemy’s numbers were simply overwhelming.
“If more than one hundred thousand monsters of the same species gathered, then their leader must be a Great Monster.”
Like the creature on the highest floor of the Nightmare Dungeon.
The difference in rank was significant, but the immediate danger was comparable.
Since they would attack in one week, any complacency would allow history to proceed unchanged.
“All the same species…”
Seraphina adjusted her helmet.
“Then they must all share the same weakness. If we target that, we might survive.”
“In theory.”
“Your tone suggests that may not work in practice.”
“Well, the monsters’ physical structure is rather… unusual.”
If they had ordinary biological weaknesses like hearts, we could simply target those.
But monsters were not always biological creatures.
“That’s the problem.”
“The monster army we will face…”
“All five hundred thousand of them are high-intelligence golems.”