Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: The Holy Kingdom's Opening (1)
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The mission assigned to the shadows was exceedingly simple.
Seize control of the press and neutralize the archbishops' factions.
In summary, it was straightforward, but the difficulty of execution was immense.
Taking over the press would be easy enough.
Though the Holy Kingdom imposed various regulations on media, it still guaranteed a degree of freedom.
As a near-neutral zone, conflicts were rare there.
That made it the easier part of the job.
The archbishops' factions, on the other hand, were a different story.
They gathered periodically in one place for debates, and every one of them was no pushover.
Of course, the shadows could handle most of them, but each faction had a handful of formidable elites.
One might think to strike when they were separated, picking them off individually.
"Doing that risks them scattering or slipping away key figures."
That was why they had to be herded together and captured all at once.
It would minimize the chance of anyone escaping.
The shadows swiftly took over the press outlets.
The people inside were terrified, but no blood was spilled.
The real problem was the archbishops' factions.
Some were subdued quickly.
Not all archbishops' forces were equal; weaker ones existed.
The holdouts had greater numbers and highly skilled key personnel.
The face of a man close to an archbishop twisted in fury.
He glared at the shadow before him as if to say, I knew this was coming.
"Do you even realize how idiotic this is?"
"Please cooperate. We have no desire to shed blood either."
"Cooperate? You're surrounding and threatening us, and you call that cooperation?! Make some sense!"
Holy power began surging from the man's body.
The shadow drew a dagger in response.
It was a blade blessed by the Saintess herself.
The man noticed but couldn't back down.
Even as a decayed remnant, he was an archbishop's confidant and a bishop under his command.
The two clashed with their holy powers.
Killing intent rode waves of divine energy toward each other.
The shadow swung his dagger, while the bishop conjured a sacred hammer.
The two forces, granted by the same goddess but wielded differently, collided with a thunderous roar.
The room erupted in chaos, dust billowing everywhere in an instant.
Captured individuals seized the confusion to attempt escape.
The shadows, of course, blocked them and reasserted control.
Fortunately, the shadow holding the bishop exploited a gap and subdued him.
"Hoo... I said we could do this the easy way."
"Damn you! The Goddess will not forgive this!"
"Say that to the Saintess's face. Hey, drag him away."
In that manner, every faction was hit simultaneously and brought under control.
Some fled into hiding or resisted stubbornly.
But the Saintess had mobilized the maximum number of available personnel.
Overwhelmed by sheer numbers, the archbishops' forces were crushed in short order.
All that remained were the archbishops themselves.
Having witnessed their factions violently suppressed, they hurriedly gathered.
"Damn that wretched Saintess! No, she's a witch!"
"Exactly! Right now—!"
Boom!
One wall of the room where the archbishops had gathered exploded outward.
As the wall crumbled, a hole opened up.
The archbishops stared blankly, dumbfounded by the sudden event.
Then one caught on and began trembling as he spoke.
"This presence... could it be... the Saintess?"
"Yes, that's right. I've come to take you into custody."
She entered slowly, holding a spear of light in one hand.
Shadows flanked her for protection, but here, the strongest was the Saintess herself.
"Thank goodness you're all here."
With a halo now glowing above her head, the Saintess surveyed the archbishops.
Her brow furrowed slightly.
"One is missing."
"Saintess! What is the meaning of this?!"
An aggressive archbishop stepped forward, pointing accusingly.
He raised his voice, trying to pressure her.
"Is this the act of the Goddess's representative?! Stop this at once! If you do, even now—"
"I'm fully prepared for the consequences."
As the Saintess calmly raised her spear and aimed it, the archbishops faltered.
Realizing words were futile, they summoned their holy power.
"Saintess, if that's how it is, we won't stand idly by!"
"That's right! You'll regret making enemies of us!"
The archbishops' holy power raged wildly, filling the room.
In moments, the density turned it into a quasi-sacred domain.
The Saintess warned them coolly, her expression unchanging.
"That fate will be yours."
Her halo blazed brighter, unleashing overwhelming holy power.
It was enough to reduce the archbishops to mere mortals in an instant.
Their power was smothered outright, crushed beneath her own.
"Gahk!"
"Urk!"
She targeted only their positions, concentrating her holy power there.
Breathing became labored; they couldn't even stand on their legs.
They collapsed to the floor, writhing desperately just to draw breath.
Like insects squirming.
She withdrew her power then.
Only then did they gasp for air.
"Hahhh!"
"Heuk! Heuk! Da...mn..."
They had barely survived, but their fighting spirit was gone.
The archbishops raised their hands in surrender.
The Saintess bound them with handcuffs of holy power.
"Take them away."
"Understood."
Thus, the archbishops within the Holy Kingdom were subdued.
All those connected to them were also rounded up, awaiting judgment.
Hepiriya then went personally to confront the last remaining archbishop.
"You've come, Saintess."
"...Are you planning to surrender quietly?"
"Let's talk for a moment."
He casually picked up a small medicine pouch from his desk.
Ignoring her furrowed brow, he popped one into his mouth.
Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes and spoke softly.
"I recently acquired some interesting herbs."
"Those are bad drugs."
"If you phrase it nicely. Well, the effects aren't bad. I'd rate them middling, if I had to."
As lethargy set in, he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.
Counting the stains there, he continued.
"Why go this far? Weren't there more peaceful ways?"
"There certainly were."
Peaceful methods existed, of course.
She could expand the faction she'd cultivated and devour them from within.
It would devolve into political infighting, but that was nothing new.
The issue was the time it would take.
Besides, the Pope had handed her this opportunity on a platter—she couldn't let it slip.
That was why the Saintess seized the moment.
Especially since she had the power to do so.
"It's simple. The chance came, so I took it."
To avoid regrets.
To uproot them thoroughly.
She had no choice but to resort to this ultimate measure: force.
She couldn't afford to miss this chance.
"I do feel sorry for you all."
"Even though we're the guilty ones?"
The Saintess's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
She quickly schooled her features back to neutrality and uttered hollow words.
"Since you recognize it yourselves, the Goddess will forgive you."
"Forgiveness."
He chuckled lowly, lowering his gaze from the ceiling.
His face showed he didn't believe her for a second.
"It's far too late to beg forgiveness. Not that I regret anything. My days were numbered anyway."
"So, what is it you want to say?"
A spear of light materialized in the Saintess's hand.
Seeing her grip it, he rose to his feet.
"When you kill someone, strip away your emotions. Don't hide behind that expressionless mask like now."
"What did you...?"
Her emotionless facade cracked.
Visibly rattled, she stepped back as he summoned holy power and formed a spear.
"Kill or be killed! That's the truth of this world!"
In a single leap, he closed the distance to her face.
Hepiriya, caught off guard, hurriedly drew on her holy power.
Her halo flickered faintly as she swung her spear of light.
The archbishop was fast enough.
Had she been anyone else—even an ordinary person, or not the Saintess—she'd be dead.
But her opponent was the Saintess.
"Grk...!"
"You! Is this what you wanted?!"
"Yes. This is perfect."
His heart pierced in one strike, he collapsed with a faint smile.
Her spear propped him up momentarily, but he soon toppled backward, vomiting blood.
Yet his face held no pain or regret.
If anything, he looked relieved.
It was strange, but there was no way to know more now.
Teringha, the most senior of the archbishops.
He closed his eyes with a smile.
Or so it seemed—but the Saintess clung to his life.
"Gahk!"
"No. I won't let you die."
Her holy power began healing his wound and restoring his vitality.
The process was excruciating.
"Urgh... Won't even let me escape?"
"Not if you're fleeing through death."
In the end, the Saintess refused to let him go.
Once fully restored, Hepiriya cuffed him and said,
"You have a duty to speak. To the Holy Kingdom, to everyone. And to me."
"...It won't be easy. I have a rather heavy tongue."
"That's fine. I've subdued you, after all."
In truth, it was closer to resurrection than subdual, but he didn't point that out.
The Saintess called in a waiting shadow outside and ordered him to drag Teringha away.
"I'll follow shortly."
"Understood."
As the shadow and Teringha departed, Hepiriya stood alone in the center of the room and sighed.
She exhaled slowly, replaying the recent events in her mind.
"If I weren't the Saintess."
Her fingertips trembled faintly.
She clenched her fist to steady them, but it had little effect.
What if she hadn't been the Saintess?
He would have died, and that alone would have been enough to bring her down.
If word got out, she'd face condemnation; even if not, she couldn't escape the Goddess's gaze.
"I can't call it fortunate."
She'd avoided murder, but her hands were still stained with blood all the same.
The Saintess had bloodied herself not with monster ichor, but human blood.
There was no turning back now.
All she could do was move forward.
From the moment she'd chosen force, retreat was impossible.
"It's what I've resolved to do."
She clenched her fist once more, steeling her determination.
Her usual gentle, soft demeanor hardened resolutely.
As Hepiriya stepped outside, she called out,
"Prepare yourselves. From this moment, the Holy Kingdom will change."
They would expose the archbishops' misdeeds and build a new Holy Kingdom.
That was the fate Hepiriya had chosen as the Saintess.