Chapter 83
Chapter 83
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: The Merchant and the Faithful One
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Among the religious fanatics, guys like this were pretty common.
There were, of course, plenty of perfectly normal and upright believers right here, just like these lower priests.
But there were also tons of scum who treated religion and the name of the goddess as nothing more than a storefront for hawking faith. The head priest of this Levendale Church was a textbook case.
Just like how one loach can muddy the whole stream, these bastards always seemed to slither their way to the top.
Did they turn rotten once they got there, or did only the rotten ones rise up in the first place?
He wouldn't even hear Benjamin out, instead accusing him of slandering the Sword of the Goddess vice-captain—all for this pathetic reason.
I bore down harder with the hand pinning the head priest's skull, smashing his face into the dirt.
"Afraid that if word got out the Sword of the Goddess vice-captain was a heretic, it'd drive away followers and cut the donations? That it'd scare off investors? And you're so greedy for that cash, you framed an innocent man—the one trying to spread the truth and demand action—as a heretic instead, and beat him half to death? And you still call yourself a priest of the Lunia Order? A servant of the goddess?!"
"Servant of the goddess? What goddess?! There is no goddess! She's never answered a single prayer—not for ages! She's abandoned this world! Eek...!"
The goddess's lingering divinity wrenched the truth from his core. The head priest thrashed in horror, but pinned down as he was, he could do nothing.
The lower priests cried out in shock at his words.
"H-Head Priest...! What are you saying?!"
"No goddess?! She's never answered prayers?!"
"You told us we couldn't hear her voice because our faith was lacking! That if we trained hard and prayed, someday we'd hear her like you do—that's what we've lived for...!"
Even amid the lower priests' near-screams of anguish, the head priest's mouth wouldn't stop.
More precisely, it couldn't stop.
"That's right—that blind faith is the perfect excuse to exploit! You lot, so blindly devoted, chasing a god that doesn't exist, desperate for salvation in your sickness! Anyone who climbs as high as I have just has to pretend to pray up front, toss out some sweet-sounding platitudes, and watch those idiots march right in on their own, boosting my status and showering me with 'donations'! Where else do you find a business this easy and profitable?!"
The lower priests' faces twisted as he dismissed their sacred faith as mere "business."
Despite the torrent of words spilling from him, the head priest's expression was one of sheer terror and horror, his face draining to a sickly blue.
The three women guarding me looked down at the pinned priest with expressions of pure contempt and disgust.
The faces they used to make at Alvis back in the academy days—supposedly the looks of "girls in love"—seemed downright affectionate compared to the loathing etched on them now.
"How can a head priest be like this..."
"What kind of monster is this? Treating people's faith like some... business?"
"This is the kind of scum who's been lounging around as head priest, belly-up and smug? How did the Lunia Order sink this low?"
The head priest was sobbing now.
But his mouth, embarked on this "voluntary" social suicide, still wouldn't quit.
"Of course it's business! The sicker their hearts, the more flaws in their lives or themselves, the easier they fall for peddling the goddess's name! They're the ones begging for salvation, throwing money at the void in prayer—why would I ever let a cash cow like that slip away? But that bastard Benjamin tried to ruin my operation!"
The head priest flailed to cover his own mouth, but it was useless.
"He's always been like that! Spouting nonsense about giving street thugs—worthless criminals—a chance at penance and redemption, like his brain's on another planet. And now he wants to expose that the Sword of the Goddess vice-captain—our biggest weapon—is a heretic? To announce that a criminal wanted by the Order is actually a true holy warrior? That would tank the Order's authority and prestige—followers would flee!"
Now wearing the look of a man begging for death, the head priest's mouth kept moving. Compelled.
"Holy warrior? Who gives a damn! You think it matters if a holy warrior's real or fake right now?! What matters is the Order's authority! And how much donation cash we can rake in! Once we've branded you a wanted man, you stay wanted—no matter what! The Order's spotless! The Sword of the Goddess is spotless! It has to be!"
"That's your excuse for what you did to Benjamin? And you thought you'd get away with it?"
The lower priests suddenly remembered the dying Benjamin and rushed to his side.
"B-Benjamin! Treat Benjamin!"
"We're sorry, Benjamin! What have we done...?"
"Q-Quick, heal him! Use every ounce of holy power we have!"
Even as the lower priests wept and regretted, rushing to Benjamin, the head priest's mouth droned on.
"Get away with it? Who's gonna judge me? The emperor, on par with the Order? A kingdom's king? Or maybe the other head priests who think just like me, calling some religious tribunal? Or that nonexistent god? Hell, even if I drop dead here, those criminals I left behind ten years ago at that 'church for crooks' gig will just claim ungrateful thugs killed their priest—end of story!"
THUD!!!
Unexpectedly, it was Ravi who stomped his face flat.
She withdrew her foot, her innocent, gentle demeanor utterly vanished—replaced by a face twisted in utter revulsion no one would associate with her usual self.
"Sorry, Alvis. I was so pissed I couldn't listen to another word."
Elfin and Lenis didn't act like Ravi, but their auras were murderous enough to kill him on the spot if provoked.
Linian, who'd brought Luna along, let out an incredulous laugh.
"I've seen all kinds in my time, but this guy's a fresh one. Nonexistent god? You ready to stand by that? What the hell is this clown?"
And Luna, dismissed as that "nonexistent god"...
Her face still an emotionless mask, she approached the head priest, knelt on one knee, and pressed a finger to his forehead.
Her voice opened in that same calm, unchanging tone.
"Raoul Primordial. Your 67th-generation ancestor, Romulus Primordial, was a faithful servant of the goddess and a true devotee who served the people with utmost dedication. Yet you, his descendant, not only tarnish his name but deny the hearts of the countless faithful who still carry the belief sincerely."
⟨ Judgment of the Punishing Brand ⟩
Her expression remained her usual blank slate, but her voice rang with resolve.
"Your faith has twisted from devotion to the goddess into a pursuit of material wealth and gold. You have committed a sin greater than ordinary heretics, and thus no longer qualify as her servant. Therefore, I render judgment upon all that has been granted to you and all that you possess."
"Wh-what...?! Who the hell are—"
Luna traced a sigil on his forehead with her fingernail. Miraculously, the glowing trail lingered exactly where her nail passed.
As the sigil completed, his body convulsed uncontrollably. White energy surged from him without restraint.
"Gasp... Hack..."
His body shriveled as if life itself was draining away, rapidly withering into a mummy-like husk.
"Guh... You... Who... Sp-spare..."
"All energy and circulation sustaining your life were granted by the goddess. Having denied the goddess herself, all such authority is revoked from you."
The head priest collapsed as a fully desiccated mummy.
I muttered while watching Luna deliver her verdict.
"Thought you'd lost all your divinity."
"That is true. However, this is a vow etched into every follower alike, irrespective of my divinity. All devotees swear to serve the goddess and live for others, receiving her holy brand in exchange—a power distinct from ordinary folk."
Luna glanced at the mummified priest.
"Conversely, those who gravely violate that oath face judgment: stripped of all divine powers, blessings, and even the right to vital functions. Through this Punishing Brand. It seems the present age has entirely forgotten it exists—whether due to traitors' schemes or simply the long absence of the divine, I cannot say."
"Ha, see? Humans won't shape up without tricks like this."
Linian spat on the fallen mummy and ground her heel into it.
"That was pretty godlike just now."
Luna narrowed her eyes at me.
"Though I have lost my divinity, that was authentic."
"Didn't say it wasn't."
"Every time you treat me this way, I feel... strange. My heart won't settle, my head aches faintly, my breath quickens, my temperature rises."
"Ah, that's a sign you're healthy."
"Is it?"
"Yep."
Thrilled that Luna was starting to feel anger, I brushed it off and headed to Benjamin.
The lower priests, focused on treating him, missed Luna's judgment entirely.
They poured everything into healing Benjamin, but he'd long passed the point of no return—no improvement.
"The wounds... they won't heal!"
"Damn it... Do something! If he dies like this, how do we atone?!"
"Let me take a look."
As we approached, the lower priests startled and backed away.
"H-Holy Warrior!"
"We'll check Benjamin's condition. You handle that real heretic over there. Your faith and conscience will tell you what to do."
"Y-Yes...!"
"We're truly sorry, Holy Warrior!"
Once they'd moved to the mummy, we gathered around Benjamin.
Lenis and I tried healing, but what dozens of priests couldn't fix was beyond us.
He'd already taken a fatal blow from Robert earlier—barely clinging to life then. The subsequent barrage might've already sent him across the river.
"Sorry, Benjamin. If I'd come sooner..."
"Huff... Huff... No. I was dead long ago... You've given me a miracle just keeping me this long."
"Linian, any way?"
If the priests, Lenis, and I couldn't... Linian was our last hope.
But she shook her head flatly.
"No. Too late. Way past recovery. Even... a goddess couldn't."
Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis sighed. Benjamin nodded, as if expecting it.
"Huff... I know my body. No need... for futile efforts. Let me go... to the goddess's embrace..."
Once more, Luna knelt before him, finger to his forehead.
"...Benjamin Dayen."
"Cough... Huff... H-how do you know my family name..."
"Your 71st-generation ancestor, Whitlow Dayen, was a notorious thief. One day, infiltrating to smash and steal a golden goddess statue, he was entranced by her form and unwittingly spoke to her. By chance, she answered. He repented, quit crime, turned himself in, paid for his sins, and spread word of his divine conversation."
"'The Pure White Goddess embraced even a wretch like me, believed I could be redeemed, shone light upon my shameful life'... Whitlow spent his days helping fellow criminals repent and walk the righteous path."
⟨ Blessing of the Faithful Soul ⟩
The near-dead Benjamin's eyes widened, riveted to her tale.
Luna met his gaze.
Her face blank as ever, but somehow, I felt the faintest hint of a smile.
"Seeing you reminds me of that distant ancestor. A noble, exemplary life. A soul as pure as yours will be recognized for its labors; generations will praise your name, your spirit find peaceful rest, then tread the righteous cycle anew."
"How... my family name... No one knows... And my ancestor's story..."
Benjamin trailed off in shock, then stared at Luna in realization.
Tears streamed down his face.
"Pure White... Goddess... Ahh... Impossible... Cough! How can this be..."
No one had named her identity, but this devout Lunia priest sensed it instinctively.
His tear-filled eyes brimmed with ecstasy and awe.
"The Holy Warrior alone was honor enough... But this... such glory... Hack! Huff... I... I have no regrets in death... Such honor..."
"Rest easy, faithful one. All will be set right in the end."
"So... overwhelming... Huff... Words fail... Thank you... Thank you... Thank... you..."
Clutching Luna's hand, pouring out gratitude in joy, Benjamin quietly closed his eyes. His hand fell limp.
Ravi, Elfin, Lenis, and I wiped our tears. Linian just watched, expression unchanged.
And the Pure White Goddess, now in human form, gently stroked his cheek with closed eyes.