Chapter 273: Righteous Light (4)
Chapter 273: Righteous Light (4)
"This is unbelievable."
After running wild yesterday until she collapsed from exhaustion, Righteous Light had gone out first thing this morning to have another scrap with the monsters before returning.
Naturally, the other believers, who had fully recovered thanks to my support, were with her.
Perhaps she had paced herself today, as she was rolling around the bed with a languid expression instead of falling straight into a deep sleep. I asked her, "Is it really okay for you to use your divine power so recklessly?"
"Actually, it's not. I haven't even recovered the power I bestowed upon you and Helena yet. It would be a lie to say it isn't a burden."
"Then..."
"But Reckless Roar and Boiling Silence have essentially thrown away far more divine power into the void than what I'm using now. Imagine how twisted their guts must feel, seeing me—the one they thought would fall from grace—running wild like this while they're seething with rage."
Righteous Light giggled as if she were having the time of her life.
True. Teebagging is a temptation no one can resist...
"Wait, hold on. Why is Boiling Silence being mentioned here?"
"Hm? Did you really think I was just out there killing monsters?"
"Was that not the case?"
"...No! Hunting isn't just about the combat. Investigating your prey is the most basic step!"
Even if she said that in a solemn voice, she was currently lying flat on her stomach on the bed.
Well... I think I get what she's trying to say. She did some investigating while she was out there fighting.
Come to think of it, there were more than a few strange things about this battle.
In H&A, it was only mentioned that Righteous Light had suddenly fallen, and the believers of the Church of Light had either gone mad or turned traitor following their god; the specific details were never revealed.
The episodes to prevent that usually involved infiltrating a branch of the Church of Reckless Roar to steal items needed for the ritual or assassinating key figures who would conduct it.
It was all about ruining the plans of those who had prepared for a long time and were just waiting for the day to trigger it.
Since the invasion event itself was blocked, it was never clearly explained how they had invaded in the first place.
"Did you find out something? No matter how specialized Boiling Silence's authority is, it would be impossible to hide an entire army of this scale, so there must be something else..."
"That's exactly it."
"...Pardon?"
"They used the power of Boiling Silence to hide the monsters and invade this far. Of course, they didn't cut across the middle of the continent; they likely struck from the east along the coastline."
"......"
That sounded impossible. It was true that Boiling Silence bestowed authorities specialized in such stealthy actions, but there were limits.
Even at the Cardinal level, the most they could do was hide a few dozen people along with themselves.
Hiding that many troops? Unless Boiling Silence descended in person or sent an Apostle...
'Wait.'
Maybe that wasn't necessarily the case?
The image of Jeff and his subordinates, who had sacrificed themselves to complete the ritual in an instant, flashed through my mind.
Human sacrifice is a type of self-sacrifice spell.
Though it had been twisted to only nourish the power of an Evil God, it was the same in the sense that it consumed the soul to make the impossible possible.
Of course, no matter how many cultists sacrificed their lives, it would be difficult to hide an entire army of Greenskins...
But what if they weren't looking for an amplification of authority through human sacrifice?
A moment ago, Righteous Light said that Boiling Silence must have suffered a massive loss as well.
If so, we should assume that it wasn't the believers of the Silent Sect who used the power, but Boiling Silence himself.
In other words, whether through human sacrifice or some other method, the cultists had merely created a channel through which Boiling Silence could directly exert his power.
If Boiling Silence had used his own divine power to hide the Greenskins' presence, it would make sense.
The same went for the Fallen Ritual, which had accelerated at a mad pace following the human sacrifice and was completed in an instant.
The barrier surrounding Solaris and the twisted faith to be injected into it—it would be a simple matter if Reckless Roar himself bore the burden of it all.
It's hard to create money you don't have, but it's easy to take it out of your own wallet.
"Am I right?"
"Correct! At least, that's how it looked from what I observed."
They must have made such a massive investment because they were confident of success once the plan was set in motion.
The reason they had scrapped the plan entirely in H&A the moment things went slightly south was because the power required was too great.
But they used all that power and still failed to make Righteous Light fall?
"They must be dying of frustration right now. Since they've already failed, they'll probably try to salvage the remaining monsters at least..."
"Before that, I need to thin their numbers as much as possible."
"Aha. So that's why you've been using your power so recklessly despite saying it's a burden?"
"Grrr!"
Righteous Light let out a pleasant growl as if I'd hit the mark and flipped her body over.
Her pressed chest rose upward, and her carelessly sprawled legs revealed the skin inside the side slit of her outfit.
Was it because I knew the feel of Helena's body? I found myself gulping involuntarily and hurriedly looked away.
"B-By the way, is this what you called me here to talk about? I thought you called me for my treatment."
"Krrr..."
Righteous Light suddenly blushed, making that strange animalistic sound again.
I barely managed to change the subject, so why was the atmosphere getting even more awkward...?
In the first place, Righteous Light was the one who told me to come alone because she had something to say about the treatment!
My internal sense of injustice lasted only a moment. Righteous Light, who had been rolling around sloppily until now, sat up.
She tidied her clothes and turned her feline eyes toward me.
"Ahem. Right. Actually, I have a very, very important story regarding the treatment."
"You said you'd do the treatment once Helena woke up. I thought I'd have to wait at least another day..."
"Right. Helena is still asleep. Right now... should I say I'm explaining in advance how I'm going to treat you? That's why I called you."
"I see."
But why did she tell me to come alone? Now that I looked, the medallion she always carried—the one Clara was in—was nowhere to be seen. She must have sent her away somewhere.
As I tilted my head in confusion, Righteous Light pointed her index finger at me with a flourish.
"First of all, even though your soul is damaged, you don't really feel it, right? Let me explain that part in detail."
"I'd appreciate that."
After a good night's sleep, I didn't feel any pain or abnormality; if anything, I felt overflowing with strength.
"Actually, the soul is a concept that even gods don't fully understand. No one really knows where it's born or where it goes after death."
"You said Heaven is just a place you created to hold souls for a while and give them a fun place to play before they move on to somewhere else, right?"
"Yes. In my case, I created a space where they can just rest peacefully, but if they wish, they can throw themselves into endless banquets and endless battles."
"......"
Is she a Viking...?
"Anyway, while I can't say I know everything about the soul, there are a few things I can answer for sure. For example, the fact that the soul is the source of faith."
"What? Not the mind?"
"Of course, belief comes from the mind. However, the power that faith provides—the root of divine power—seeps out from the soul."
According to Righteous Light's subsequent explanation, when one truly believes in something, the soul shines brighter than usual and produces a certain kind of energy.
This energy flows into the object of faith, and a being that accumulates a certain amount of power awakens as a god and can manipulate divine power.
By bestowing holy power—which is divine power processed for easier use—the god can then grant power back to the believers who sent their faith.
"Self-sacrifice spells are powerful because they consume not just the bestowed holy power, but the fundamental soul itself. For the same reason, through human sacrifice, an Evil God swallows the divine power and its source, the soul, whole to nourish themselves."
"So... if there's a goose made of gold that lays golden eggs, it's usually better to just enjoy the golden eggs for a long time, but when you really need to, you sell the goose itself? Is that the feeling?"
"Exactly. But things like self-sacrifice spells aren't something just anyone can do, you know?"
Human sacrifice is just unwrapping the candy for the Evil God to swallow, so that's one thing.
But a self-sacrifice spell must be controlled entirely by one's own will.
If one's will is lacking and cannot reach the depths of the soul, or if one's faith is lacking and there is little power in the soul to begin with, they can't even burn themselves.
"But since that qualification isn't something visible to the eye, there are some kids who end up burning themselves in a rather ambiguous way."
"Even if the soul doesn't burn away completely, it would end up tattered. Like I am now."
"Exactly!"
"What happened to those people?"
"Hm? The symptoms varied slightly from person to person... but to tell you the common ones, their maximum output, whether in physical ability or holy power, surged. Yandel, if you use magic now, it'll probably be more powerful than usual."
"That sounds like a rather ominous phenomenon."
There is no power without a price. It's impossible to become stronger for no reason at all.
It is the way of the world that one must sacrifice time, money, or something else to achieve results. If so, in this case...
"I'm using power that leaked out from a half-broken soul."
"Probably. Most likely."
"I don't really want to know what happens afterward... but I'll ask anyway. What happened in the end?"
"They went mad, became idiots, or died suddenly. One of those three. No exceptions."
How terrifying.
Is that why she told me to absolutely not fight and just rest?
If I just stay still, it might be okay, but the moment I start using power in earnest, my will and the leaking contents will react and start being consumed.
Once that happens, there's no turning back.
"You said it's treatable, right? What do I need to do?"
"If a vessel is cracked and leaking water, you just need to plug the part where the crack occurred! It's simple. I'm going to personally patch up the problematic part. Not just anyone can do this, you know? It's only possible because I'm a god!"
"Oh...! That's a huge relief! Ah, I'm asking out of curiosity, but how are you going to patch it? I mean, it's a bit awkward to say this, but you've been using a lot of power lately, so I wonder if you have enough to spare..."
Despite my concern, Righteous Light only gave a beaming smile and continued in a nonchalant voice.
"It's nothing much. It's something I've already done once before. You remember when I bestowed my blessing to make Helena a Saintess?"
"Pardon? Of course I remember... Wait a minute."
I snapped my head up at a sudden ominous premonition, but it was already too late.
Righteous Light was licking her lips like a predator looking at captured prey.
"The reason I called you today was so we could think together about how to get Helena to forgive us."
"......"
"Male! Female! Mating!"
It's not permission, it's forgiveness?
I'm going crazy.