The Angel's Lament
Abel walked on thin air.
Not a metaphor, he really walked.
A barrier had been spread out in the air that he could step on, allowing him to walk like a tightrope.
I clung to him and headed towards the angel.
There was no special reaction from the angel.
'Before the rampage, movements are normally restricted.'
Like when Abel tried to rampage after fighting Antonio last time.
At that time, it was due to overwhelming emotions, and somehow it was resolved, but this angel is different.
'He didn't get enough food.'
But I couldn't capture humans to torture for the angel's meal.
It would cause a commotion due to the saint's personality.
More importantly....
'It's better to just kill and feed it.'
The high priests could come to retrieve the now docile angel.
I clung to Abel and pointed at the angel.
"Hey, can you lower me to the top of the sphere?"
"..."
Abel glanced at me.
But without saying anything, he lowered me to the top.
I climbed onto the angel's surface.
Abel stood on the air and looked at me.
But soon he turned his body.
It seemed he wanted to go back, so I quickly reached out to him.
"It would be good if you could hold on."
"...Why."
"I need mana. Quite a bit."
"..."
"Please..."
He smiled awkwardly.
Then, the one who had been staring at me gently extended his hand.
I grabbed his hand with one hand and pressed the other to the angel's surface.
'Status Window.'
Name: Yustea Esgard
Class: Saint
Traits: Purification, Healing, Status Window (Activated)
MP: 43/53...
Looking at the mana status, I let out a sigh.
Still, it had increased a little, but only by the size of an ant's eye.
'Purification activated.'
Trait: Purification (Activated), Healing, Status Window (Activated)
'And the rampage happens because the mana is contaminated.'
And I am a person who can purify the contamination.
If it's Abel or the angel, it would take enormous power.
But from the tower, Antonio shouted.
"Aigoo, what are you trying to do!"
Yuis also shouted fiercely.
"Don't do anything dangerous and come down."
But I didn't answer and focused.
Abel looked down at me and said.
"Is that so."
"Yeah. But you can't."
"Why?"
"If I go down, you'll all die."
"It doesn't matter. You're not the one dying."
When I rampage, I can offset it with the saint's strong healing power, so I might be the only one who survives.
Didn't I survive that way in the Geojo incident?
Abel said with a blank expression.
"There are many people. Even if those die, they can be replaced."
"There are people who can't be replaced."
"?"
"The Irregulars told me that."
"..."
"You should meet such a person too."
With that said, I started the purification.
The lacking mana was pulled from Abel.
When the light gathered at my fingertips descended, I immediately felt a strange sensation.
'The end is not visible.'
It was as if the angel's contamination itself wasn't the issue.
The angel's body shook violently.
The angel's wings flapped like a ship caught in a storm.
My stomach churned.
It was as if the angel's contamination would pour into me at any moment.
At that moment.
"Here I come—!"
A loud voice came from the tower, and whish! Cutting through the wind, something fell to the side.
It was a chain scythe.
It firmly pierced into the angel's body.
"Aigoo, be careful!"
It was an Irregular member.
When the Irregulars pulled the chain attached to the scythe, the angel moved towards the tower.
When the distance was close enough, the two jumped up.
I opened my eyes wide and looked at both sides.
"This will be reported to the leader."
Yuis.
"You'll be scolded, Aigoo."
Antonio.
The two looked at me.
Antonio said.
"Do you know what the first thing the vice-leader said to me when he taught me the monster hunting method?"
"Uh... that's..."
"First, take out your energy. Hold tight."
Antonio raised his giant axe.
Upon closer look, there were strange letters densely connected on the axe.
It was enhanced with Yuis' shaman magic.
Kuang—!
Antonio slammed the axe in.
"Kuaaaaaak—!"
The angel opened its mouth wide and its body staggered back.
Yuis and Antonio supported my waist from both sides at the same time.
Yuis, who held me so I wouldn't fall, glared at Abel.
"Grab this kid. If you drop him, you'll die."
"..."
Abel still had a blank look.
But he suddenly pulled my hand.
The body that had gone up like a spring was caught by Abel with both hands.
Yuis and Antonio jumped off the falling angel.
And they grabbed the window frame of the tower and fell to the ground in an instant.
Kuang!
The angel's heavy body rolled on the ground.
In front of it was the vice-leader who had evacuated the people.
The vice-leader flicked, throwing the spear to change the angle of his grip.
The angel's mouth opened.
"I am... Quaron... the daughter of the knight captain... ugh... kiki, kick, kiki..."
It seemed he had taken Carmen's dark emotions as food.
The vice-leader's eyebrows twitched.
"It's not possible."
The vice-leader who had spoken threw the spear into the angel's interior as is.
"Kuaaaak!"
The angel screamed again.
I shook Abel's collar.
"Hurry. There. Quickly!"
Abel, holding me, fell onto the angel.
I knelt and sat down to attempt purification.
'It works...!'
Much easier than before.
Paduk.
The angel's body shook violently.
But that was it.
It didn't move anymore.
'Purification complete.'
Just as I thought that.
Feature Unlocked
Divine Sight
...What is this?
After the angel fell, things went smoothly.
The believers saw the leader throwing the high priest into the angel's mouth.
And even helping to deal with the high priest.
It was perfect evidence that I couldn't be suspected.
And the scene where the absolute belief disappeared was....
"Ah... ah..."
"Lies. It's a lie..."
"It can't be...!"
Hmm. It's an asura hell.
On the contrary, the Irregulars were excited.
"Gem as much as this!"
"Gold! Gold!"
"Magic tools! Lots!"
They filled the treasure that had filled the prayer hall onto carts and let out ecstatic cheers.
They seemed like people who had almost lost their language.
Among them was Ross.
"Ancient magic tool. Ancient. Wow."
Roslyn, holding one adult man-sized money bag in each arm, said while moving.
"Hurry up and move. The sun is setting."
"This is. Magic tool. Ancient!"
"Since you're releasing the barrier from outside, move quickly. I don't want the entire manor to be taken away!"
While watching this scene, two people came running to me.
The old lady from the lab and Rene, holding the old lady's hand.
"Since you saved me from the high priest, I wanted to say hello. ...Yo."
Rene, who was stumbling in speech, suddenly said.
I smiled wryly.
"I should be thanking you. It's the horn pipe, right?"
"I heard from the believers. You said you were going to proceed slowly at first, right? Because of me, did you ignore it...?"
That's true.
Originally, the Irregulars' appearance was not planned.
The believers wanted to make the high priest suspicious.
To pull down the high priest that way.
'But since we ended up dealing with the angel, changing the plan was right.'
"Thanks to you, we saved time."
"Thank you."
"Besides, is there a place to go? If not, how about Quaron?"
"Really?"
Rene's face brightened.
But soon, scratching his face, he said.
"It's too much for me. I want to stay here. With grandma."
"Grandma?"
"Grandma lost her son, and I lost my dad, so we'll live relying on each other. Also, the believers... no, the residents here are worrying too. Right, grandma?"
Carmen called Rene a hypocrite, but that wasn't the case.
Rene was really a kind child.
But the old lady's face darkened.
"Saint... is the doctrine of the Dawn Society really all lies...?"
"Eh?"
"Our son. He's a good kid. Because he was kind, he joined the riot. The lord made the residents miserable. Then he was executed... ."
"..."
"But I'm a bad person. Because I worked under that evil lord. So, I can't go to the same place as my son...?"
"..."
"If believing in the saint means receiving salvation is a lie... then it's right that I can't go...?"
Looking at the sobbing old lady, Rene whispered cautiously to me.
"After my son died, she lost her mind. Originally, she was said to be a very smart person. She worked as a maid and was recognized for her abilities and became a saint... ."
"Saint...?"
It was an enormous thing for a commoner to become a saint.
She must have been an amazing talent.
Rene let out a sigh.
"Grandma was secretly trying to legally expel the evil lord, but her son didn't know. So, even before dying, he blamed his mom... ."
I stared at the old lady.
And I held the old lady's wrinkled and small hands with both hands.
"You can go to the same place."
"!"
"Your son wants you to live happily for a long time."
"Really?"
"Of course. I'm the saint. I know everything."
Sometimes, some lies are the greatest salvation.
The old lady and Rene returned with bright faces.
I waved at them and turned my head.
But.
From the first floor window, the vice-leader, Yuis, and Antonio were looking at me.
Antonio, with his chin on his hand, said.
"Can I meet our dad too? The one who sold me, I want to kill him with my own hands."
Yuis also said, arms crossed.
"Am I going to heaven? Hell is bad because my skin gets burned."
The vice-leader hit Yuis and Antonio with both fists.
"Go prepare."
Yuis and Antonio rubbed their heads with dissatisfied expressions.
I tilted my head.
'Why are they angry?'
I approached the window and whispered to the vice-leader.
"Um, did I do something wrong?"
"It seems you were displeased that you received the mana from the Dawn Society leader."
"Why is that?"
"...Not knowing that is also one of the reasons you're displeased, right?"
"?"
"Anyway, as you said, we processed it. We will tell them that we are not actually Irregulars and that we can't enter other manors without agreement, so we were acting as Irregulars."
"Yeah."
We left some money too.
Not all the money came from the current believers.
The amount from the dead believers and the departed believers was much larger.
So, we returned wrapping the high priest and the angel's corpse tightly.
In the carriage returning, I thought.
'I wanted to thank Abel too.'
I gave him mana, helped with various things.
I wanted to make tiramisu again.
At that time, I didn't know.
That I would meet Abel again.
...Right after arriving.
The elites and I entered the conference room to report to dad.
There, we saw an unexpected face.
Dad was sitting opposite, looking at Abel with a terrifying face.
"What is that."
"How did this get here...!"
Yuis and Antonio immediately grabbed their weapons.
At that time, dad said.
"Yustea."
"Yeah?"
"Is it true?"
"What?"
Dad shot Abel with a face that looked like he would tear him apart alive and said.
"You sneaked in while this guy was sleeping."
That's true.
Because Abel had intruded into the sleeping laboratory.
"And hugged my waist."
He asked to move towards the angel.
"Was it because you asked to hold my hand."
I had to receive the mana.
"Th... that's true... ."
"True?"
Abel leaned his head on the sofa and said.
"I said that."
Dad stared at the air with a lost expression.
...The conversation was going in circles somewhere.
Esgard Main Castle.
"Haha!"
A pleasant laugh burst out.
The duke hit his knee and was happy.
"You really wiped out the heretics?"
Sintes Viscount laughed.
"Yes. We delivered a message of gratitude from the manor, which was the base of the heretics. They asked to send high priests. They will execute them in front of the territorial citizens."
"It's to raise his reputation by not being able to deal with the heretics and rolling around."
"Shall I send them?"
"You can't just give them easily. It's a chance Yustea worked hard to catch."
"What if I do?"
"From the region where the heretic cultists used as base to the coast, demand it."
"They'll grab your neck saying 'scam'."
"I have a granddaughter too, so why not take other manors?"
"Where would such a granddaughter come out easily."
The duke laughed "ki ki".
The Dawn Society was a big headache for those with territory in the north.
Not only the number of believers, but also magic power was excellent.
Having the Dawn Society in the north was like carrying a bomb that could cause any trouble.
"How impressive that we dealt with that so quickly."
As soon as the news of dealing with the Dawn Society came, various northern nobles contacted.
"We look forward to what the young lady will request."
"Yeah. What fun words will they bring."
The one who was laughing "ki ki".
A pigeon landed on the window frame through the window.
It was a carrier pigeon used when reports from the intelligence department come.
Sintes Viscount hurriedly untied the note tied to the pigeon's leg.
His face hardened after checking the content.
"Duke."
"What happened."
"Andres' carriage is heading towards Esgard."