The Saintess Descends
The Italian front.
The battlefield where the Ilshikgyo, the Temple Knights, and the European Union forces had clashed had been reduced to ruins, soaked in blood and screams.
On the streets, corpses whose allegiance was unclear rolled around, broken guns and severed limbs scattered everywhere.
Bang!!!
“Get out of the way! Don’t get burned!!”
A black explosion erupted beyond the cover where someone had hidden. One of the Ilshikgyo cultists had thrown an explosive.
Black flames greedily licked at the air.
“Aaaah!!! Who’ll put this fire out!!”
“Medics!!! Medics!!!”
Screams followed.
“Kyaaaah...”
“Mom...”
Those who couldn’t even do that were blown away, disappearing with faint sounds.
“Damn it, everyone fall back!!! Saintess! Sprinkle the holy water!”
This black flame couldn’t be extinguished by water or even a fire extinguisher. It burned on the dirt floor too. It was like kindling, burning until the host died. One spark and it’s over.
“Retreat!”
A clear voice rang out across the battlefield with light.
“Kyaah...”
“...Haaah!!!”
The black flames that touched the light writhed like worms and went out. Those whose lives hung by a thread let out relieved sighs, wiping their chests.
Some couldn’t be saved, but the chaotic battlefield had improved a little.
“Those damned whores have come!”
“Our enemy! The corrupt of the old era!!”
“Offer your corruption to the Eclipse God!!!”
The appearance of the nuns made the Ilshikgyo go wild. Madness piled on madness, and the flames grew uncontrollably.
“Everyone prepare for battle! Form ranks!!”
“Death to those who oppose the gods!”
“God will be with you all!!!”
The Vatican direct units joined in one after another. Nuns and priests alike drew their weapons without distinction.
Tadadadang!!!
Holy bullets rained down on the fake fanatics.
“Are you alright?”
The nun leading the unit approached the union commander’s side. The commander was smoothing his head that had been burned by black flames. A part was hollow.
“It’s fine. Thank you for coming even like this.”
“The situation is...”
Tadadadang!!
Kwa kwa kwa!!
The commander dropped to the ground. The nun fired her gun once more.
With a brief respite, she continued.
“We’ve managed to push them back somewhat, but the outlook isn’t good.”
The fight between the Ilshikgyo and the European Union forces.
It was a fight of vastly different scales, so the result was basically predetermined, but the process was dragging on.
Several days had passed since the war began, and it should have been that a single religion would have been wiped out.
But where was this organization coming from that could confront all of Europe?
They kept producing soldiers and continuing the war.
Of course, it wasn’t a normal war where armies clashed.
The Ilshikgyo had no navy or air force.
They were just crazy fanatics shouting about holy war, yet they inflicted meaningful damage on the union side.
They were using weapons blessed by the Eclipse God to cause massive damage.
This black flame was hard to extinguish unless it was some super ability or holy water. They had to wait for it to burn out on its own.
When the war started, cities with dense populations were attacked by this fire and suffered terribly. Police, heroes, soldiers, civilians — no one was spared in the cleanup.
Did the Ilshikgyo not realize they were at a disadvantage against the world?
They didn’t fight head-on.
They scattered everywhere, doing suicide attacks, ambushes, hostage situations, live hostage bombs, biological weapons, guerrilla tactics, etc. Consistently using despicable methods.
No matter how much the union side had the advantage, if crazy fanatics who didn’t care about death numbered in the thousands or tens of thousands, there was no answer.
On top of that, the union wasn’t just talk; everyone was bent over double trying to protect their own countries.
Even Italy had high officials killed, and villains exploiting the chaos were causing a ruckus.
The commander didn’t know if his family was alive or dead.
“Kill all these false bastards!!!”
“God’s hammer!!!”
With the Vatican’s involvement, the Ilshikgyo became even more aggressive.
“It’s fine. If we’re all together, we can win.”
The nun showed a clear smile.
Her beautiful appearance, which didn’t lose its light even in hell, made her stand out more.
“...What. That’s not the case.”
The commander responded hesitantly.
He didn’t dislike beauty.
But...
“Die!!!”
It was because he couldn’t distinguish between these crazy people and madness.
She who had burst the head of the heretic smiled brightly. That expression, as if she had done a very righteous thing, gave chills.
“Retreat! It’s humiliating, but we’ll reorganize the situation!!”
“Kyaak!! It’s unjust!!”
“May the Morning Star forgive!!!”
The Ilshikgyo scattered in all directions. They realized the situation was unfavorable.
“Damn it!”
How could they miss such a good opportunity!
“The heretics cannot escape.”
The nun didn’t respond.
“What are you saying! We have to chase them down and kill them all!”
The saintess had arrived, and the head had become a flower field?
“Saintess has arrived.”
“...What?”
At those words, the commander’s eyes widened.
Who had come?
Aaaah...
A beautiful halo rang out across the battlefield.
A hymn that instantly calmed the cacophony of all sounds mixed together.
It sounded like angels singing.
It was sacred.
Soldiers dropped their weapons at the sound. Everyone was hypnotized, staring at one place.
The commander followed the gaze.
There.
A saint on earth was there.
A blond beauty carrying the halo on her back, marching with firm steps.
It reminded one of Saint Joan of Arc who led France to victory.
Instead of a flag, a gun.
Instead of priestly robes, ragged military uniforms.
She appeared as one soldier who couldn’t be called a saint.
But the veil covering her face and the holiness that poured out with every step.
It was hard to think of anything other than a saint.
“Demons! Demons are here!!!”
“Kiiieeeeeek!!!”
The Ilshikgyo went into frenzy.
Like vampires who found sunlight painful, they covered their eyes and groaned. Some were reduced to dust on the spot.
Existence itself was sacred.
“Lord, have mercy.”
"""Lord, have mercy."""
“Christ, have mercy.”
"""Christ, have mercy."""
The Kyrie Eleison rang out.
They welcomed the god by lowering themselves and seeking mercy.
They did not tolerate the impious things blocking the way of the gods.
“Lord...”
Have mercy.
With those words.
Light descended.
***
“It is an honor to meet you, Saintess.”
“Stand up. A commander on the front line cannot bow to a mere woman.”
The Vatican saintess stopped the commander who seemed about to kneel. The commander couldn’t lift his head, as if seeing the saintess was a sin.
“Our Vatican will handle this front and move to other fronts. Commander, please attend to your duties.”
“...Understood. Please take care, Saintess. May the protection of God be with you.”
“May the protection of God be with you.”
The saintess, who had barely managed to stop the commander, let out a sigh.
She was not even a superior in position, and her unit was similar to a self-defense force, yet they were treated as superiors everywhere they went, so it was tiring. With the Vatican’s help, many fronts had stabilized, but this kind of treatment was not right.
The saintess was a saintess, and war was war.
“Kyuung.”
The saintess held her head in the private barracks.
She looked at the pile of documents on the desk.
The Vatican wasn’t just supporting Italy.
There was the question of how they could support with a population in the tens of thousands, but the Vatican used their symbolism to unite and ally the Catholic believers scattered across countries.
The number was significant per country, so they made holy water production and support, medical support, rescue activities, and even created mercenary units and self-defense groups.
Of course, it was all under the concept of volunteerism.
There were places where it wasn’t exactly like that...
The Vatican was not stupid, nor was it without darkness. They were simply using all the usable numbers.
Legal or illegal.
The saintess didn’t like it, but since the Ilshikgyo were so extreme, she had no choice but to deal with them.
She simply did her best as one religious person.
After wrestling with paper for a while.
When the moon set and dawn was about to break.
“I found it.”
A voice reached the saintess’s ear.
It could have been a hallucination, but the saintess was glad it was that voice.
“Finally...”
She closed her eyes tightly. It had taken so long. How long had she waited for this moment.
“Where is...”
“Saintess!”
Bam!
The door of the barracks was flung open, and a priest rushed in.
“What is it?”
The saintess asked, trying to hide her displeasure.
“Ilshikgyo from all over the world are retreating!”
“...What do you mean? What?”
The saintess stood up.
“Please explain in detail.”
“Follow me this way.”
The saintess realized that the priest’s words were true.
The Ilshikgyo who had been shouting about holy war had retreated without any resistance.
In some countries, they had disappeared without a sound.
What did this mean?
“Saintess... no way.”
“...It could be a deception. Keep your guard up.”
“...Understood.”
She said that, but
The saintess’s thoughts were no different from those here.
The war.
Was ending.