Chapter 81: Sanctuary of Restful Purification — Conclusion
Chapter 81: Sanctuary of Restful Purification — Conclusion
After Captain Cassius Blackburn of the Royal Wyvern Cavalry joined the battle, the war rapidly rushed toward its conclusion.
“Captain, how can you go alone!”
“His Majesty is furious!”
“Are you in your right mind?”
While the undisputed strongest warrior of the Great Holy War era single-handedly blocked the advance of the non-living legion, the other reinforcements of the Kingdom of Rumes also began arriving one after another.
The Royal Wyvern Cavalry under Cassius.
The Sky-Piercing Knights, whose commander was a Level-10 powerhouse.
And a massive army of hundreds of thousands led by the Level-9 commander of the Rumes legion.
When the very heroes who had subjugated the golem monster army in real history stepped onto the battlefield, the tide of battle reversed instantly.
— Unidentifiable combat power detected. Engagement initiated.
— Requesting support!
— Uaaaah, aaah….
The reinforcements completely swept away the golems and dolls that had relentlessly attacked the sanctuary.
It took only one hour for the battlefield to be completely cleaned up.
Even considering that the enemy’s main force still had not arrived, it was an overwhelmingly decisive victory.
— …Beginning retreat.
In the end, the monster army failed to withstand the offensive of the Rumes legion and returned to its homeland, [Golemophia].
Victory.
The Sanctuary of Restful Purification had not fallen in the end.
However, it was not a perfect victory.
They had merely sent the golems back to the labyrinth—they had not completely exterminated them.
“We won!”
Still, no one deliberately ruined the atmosphere by pointing out that the war against the non-living legion might continue in the future.
“Arteine has protected us!”
“Glory of victory to the One who protects the innocent!”
“Long live Saint Seraphina! Thank you, Kingdom of Rumes!”
The surviving Holy Knights shouted in unison.
The priests, who had struggled greatly while caring for patients with only a small number of personnel, also came out and shared in the joy of victory.
“…It’s finally over.”
Bartimir, who had been watching the Guardian Church followers hugging each other in celebration, collapsed flat onto the wasteland.
“I almost really died. If it hadn’t been for Treacherous Companion, I’d probably just be a torso without limbs by now.”
“…You certainly handled your body rather recklessly.”
Lucius, his hair drenched in sweat and hanging down like seaweed, channeled divine power into the demon’s body.
He respected Bartimir’s wishes and left the disaster affecting his mind and body alone, restoring only his vitality.
“It was much harder than I expected. But I gained an enormous amount of real combat experience and my Soul Rank also increased, so I’m satisfied.”
Pendrick, sitting down on the ground, spoke with a faint smile.
— Hanging around Lord Kar has rubbed off something strange on you!
Astrimia, sheathed in the artifact scabbard, shook violently.
— This absolutely wasn’t a situation where anyone could say they were satisfied! If we had slipped up even a little, we would have died!
“But we didn’t die, did we?”
“Yeah. Byulsun, stop ruining the mood and keep quiet.”
— B-Byulsun?!
Astrimia struggled in her lover’s arms before letting out a mental sigh.
— Still… I’m glad everything somehow ended safely. Especially since Lord Kar didn’t die….
“…That’s true.”
Pendrick gave a bitter smile.
“I followed him because the situation was urgent, but entering the body of that giant golem to destroy its mana core was basically the same as going there to die, wasn’t it?”
— Yeah. Normally he only says strange things, but why did he go that far…?
“Because it reminded him of his past.”
Bartimir glanced toward the sanctuary.
Kar was currently lying in the temporary Saint’s office inside the sanctuary.
Seraphina had rescued the half-elf—who had fainted after losing one arm inside the Gigantic Destruction Golem—and brought him away for intensive treatment.
“This is something I heard from a black magic guild that bought me as an experimental subject. In some elf societies, there’s still an atmosphere of looking down on half-elves.”
Half-elves.
A race that had once been classified as property—less than pets.
Now that the spirit of harmony preached by the Harmony Church had spread widely, their treatment had improved, but discrimination had still not completely disappeared.
“…That is heartbreaking.”
Valentin, who had been lying unconscious after struggling greatly while clearing a path, suddenly spoke.
“Lord Kar possesses elven blood that should naturally serve Metherd. Do you know why he became a cultist?”
“Maybe he fell deeply for an Evil God?”
— …He definitely looks like someone fascinated by Evil Gods. But the original reason he became a cultist must be something else.
Unfortunately, the contempt toward half-elves remembered by the Ego Sword—discovered in a labyrinth from the distant past—still applied almost the same way even today.
— As far as I know, a half-elf child born in an elf village that despises mixed blood has only two possible futures. Either they die right after being born, or they’re sold.
“Exactly, Ego Sword.”
Valentin, who had been helped into a sitting position by Holy Knight Alia, continued with a dark expression.
“Lord Kar was likely handed over to a cult of some Evil God when he was young. Usually they’re raised like livestock and eventually offered as sacrifices, but….”
Kar did not become a living sacrifice.
He had survived until now.
That was not necessarily a good thing.
It probably meant he had experienced something even more horrific.
“Some cults of extremely radical Evil Gods conduct cruel training and experiments on children—sometimes even ignoring the control of the very deity they worship.”
Valentin frowned deeply, as if even recalling it was too horrifying.
“It is to create children with the constitution known as Blind Devotee.”
Blind Devotee.
A constitution loved by all Evil Gods—closer to a curse than a blessing.
Kar was a cultist who served multiple Evil Gods simultaneously.
Everyone had already guessed as much after seeing him use the Mysteries of different Evil Gods.
“Lord Kar must have watched helplessly as the children who lived alongside him during the experiments died.”
“……”
A cultist who serves multiple Evil Gods.
Anyone who had studied history even a little could not help feeling sympathy rather than surprise.
Bartimir recalled something Kar had once said.
‘When I was young, my younger sibling and I were abandoned together. I was only five years old.’
That sibling was dead.
Most likely during the experiments.
“After witnessing the deaths of innocent children like that, it is not strange that he would step forward to protect innocent patients.”
Lucius, who had been listening silently, nodded solemnly.
Even though the exhausting battle had just ended, the eyes of the two Harmony Church followers were still full of vitality.
“Of course, it’s still an achievement that no one else could easily imitate. Who would willingly risk their life for complete strangers… even for the wraiths of the labyrinth?”
Bartimir closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and stared at the sky while still lying on the ground.
When the battle had started earlier, it had been pitch-black night.
Now a cloudless blue sky filled his vision.
The sun was dazzling.
“I think I made the right choice joining the Moon Expedition.”
It was a thought that suddenly occurred to him.
All the treatment rooms in the sanctuary had long since reached full capacity.
They had already been filled with countless patients who had gathered from across the entire continent, and beds had even been installed inside the Saint’s office, which had originally been used only for administration.
Because of that, there was no proper place left to accommodate the many Holy Knights injured in the battle against the non-living legion.
“We’re fine with just this!”
So the Holy Knights of the Torch of Purification chose a ward outside the sanctuary.
By laying down simple mats beneath parasols and adding old blankets that had been scheduled to be thrown away, an outdoor treatment ward was completed in an instant.
Naturally, the Holy Knights were satisfied, but the other followers of the Guardian Church were not.
“…We cannot allow this.”
As expected, Elion and the other priests were horrified and tried to stop them, leading to a beautiful argument as everyone attempted to give the comfortable sleeping space to someone else.
“Don’t you think they’re all fools?”
Inside the Saint’s office—now serving as both workplace and living space, surrounded by white wooden boards.
I was lying on an old bed that barely retained the concept of softness.
After fainting inside the body of the Gigantic Destruction Golem, I had awakened here.
“Even though it wasn’t intentional, this sanctuary somehow ended up filled with people like that.”
Seraphina, who had been watching the Guardian Church followers arguing outside the window, turned back toward me with a smile.
“I wish you would occasionally allow yourself to think selfishly too.”
“Then why are you looking at me while saying that?”
“Why do you think?”
Frowning slightly, the Saint sitting beside me grabbed my left arm.
The left arm—now lighter, with everything below the elbow missing—had gained a new function that allowed one to feel the virtue of completeness.
“A body part offered to an Evil God through an act of self-sacrifice cannot regenerate. Not even with divine healing performed by a high priest like me.”
“You know that well.”
I continued while observing the smooth, rounded end of my left arm.
“My dead left arm is probably feeling proud right now. After all, it was sacrificed to save so many people.”
“……”
Seraphina leaned back against the stand used to hang armor.
“But the ritual was performed without asking the arm itself, wasn’t it? Your left arm might actually be furious right now, wondering why it had to go that far for a wandering soul from the labyrinth.”
“Ah. I was thinking too much from my own perspective.”
After turning my gaze toward the pure white ceiling, I remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“Saint. I was born broken.”
“That sounds like a trait befitting a mongrel elf.”
“…Isn’t that a bit too blatant as discrimination?”
“Hm?”
The half-elf-discriminating Saint widened her eyes.
“You kept saying self-loathing things, so I assumed you enjoyed being treated with contempt and disdain. Was that not the case?”
“That’s quite an admirable attitude—turning cold treatment into something positive. I don’t mind, but ordinary people usually don’t appreciate being insulted so directly.”
“…I’ve learned something new.”
For someone who was a Saint, it seemed strange that she didn’t know even such basic etiquette.
But the reason was simple.
Overwork.
When I worked under Manager Choi—the evil spirit—I also wandered around like a zombie with my brain practically melted.
“Anyway, because I was born broken, there were many times when I couldn’t properly get along with others. No matter how hard I tried to learn, innate flaws were difficult to overcome.”
In fact, even the expression “broken” was an exaggeration.
Something can only be broken if it was whole at least once.
“…In that sense, you are not very different from me.”
The Saint murmured in a voice so quiet that no one else could hear and slowly turned her head toward the window.
“Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
“Not yet.”
“Actually… I don’t really know either.”
“…Pardon?”
“But there is something I must say.”
Seraphina, who had been looking outside, turned her gaze toward me.
I raised my now-missing left arm.
“Don’t waste time trying to figure out why I risked my life to protect people. Or why I sacrificed an arm for the people inside the labyrinth. Even I cannot logically explain the reason.”
“…Ah, I see.”
Seraphina chuckled softly and relaxed her shoulders.
“And to be honest, I don’t understand something either. To protect people—why is that not enough of a reason? I am sincerely asking because I’m confused.”
“…No.”
The Saint slowly shook her head and placed a hand on her chest.
“For someone who bears the title of Saint of the Guardian Church, I was foolish. Thank you very much for stepping forward to protect the innocent. Arteine must have engraved your sacrifice upon the Heavenly Shield.”
Seraphina paused for a moment before smiling mysteriously.
“Well, you already know that, of course.”
“…Yes.”
The King of Rumes had been furious about his subordinate flying off alone without following proper procedures, yet he had never withdrawn the reinforcements.
Because Arteine, responding to my request, had willingly delivered a revelation even to the king.
In the end, it had been to save his precious Saint.
But the starting point of it all had been me.
And now every follower of the Sanctuary of Restful Purification knew that fact.
Valentin had been spreading the story everywhere.
“Priest Elion said something interesting. He said that if fate had not twisted your path, Lord Kar would have become a great priest holding a high office within the Guardian Church.”
With slightly flushed cheeks, the Saint whispered quietly.
“What do you think, Lord Kar? Are you interested in becoming the next ‘Saint’?”
“Hmm… It would certainly be an interesting life experience, but I’ll decline. I still have too many things I want to do.”
There were things I had to do.
“To be honest, I prefer exploring labyrinths more than serving Arteine.”
I had been born with the nature of an explorer.