Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Fall of the Ebony Shadow Mercenaries
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The priests of Reverndale confirmed the High Priest's mummified corpse, his breath long gone, before returning to us.
"Holy Warrior, that filthy heretic is already dead. How is Mr. Benjamin... M-Mr. Benjamin?"
The priests froze in their tracks upon seeing Benjamin with the most serene, blissful smile on his face, eyes gently closed.
Some of them already sensed it and began shedding tears.
"Mr. Benjamin..."
"It was too late for us to do anything. In his final moments, Mr. Benjamin heard the Goddess's voice and passed into eternal rest with immense joy."
Not all the priests here had attacked Benjamin.
In fact, it was the High Priest who had dealt him the fatal blow, and most of the others had been busy fighting Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis, leaving scarcely anyone who had gone after him.
Yet the priests blamed themselves for his death, dropping to their knees and unleashing sighs and sobs.
"Ah... to bring such shame upon ourselves..."
"W-We... we followed that vile heretic's words without question, simply because he was the High Priest. And because of that, Mr. Benjamin..."
"What have we done to the man who rushed in to save us all...?"
"W-We should die! Useless idiots like us don't deserve to live...!"
I straightened out their distraught minds as their self-recriminations poured out.
"You've already made one irredeemable mistake. Are you planning to make another? Mr. Benjamin didn't utter a single word of resentment toward you, nor did he harbor any. The true sinner has been branded with punishment and cast into hell, while Mr. Benjamin has received the Goddess's guidance and entered eternal rest with the highest honor a faithful can attain."
I pointed at the priests kneeling in anguish.
"But if you, having already erred, now take your own lives to atone, is that true repentance? Do you think that'll get you straight to where Mr. Benjamin went? If you truly want to atone for the sin you committed against him, don't you already know what you must do?"
A few priests wiped their tears and lifted their heads at my words.
"We must spread what Mr. Benjamin tried to reveal..."
"Robert, Vice Captain of the Goddess's Sword, was a heretic who massacred followers on Transen Mountain. And the one before us is the true Holy Warrior."
"We'll carry on Mr. Benjamin's will! That filthy heretic just said the other High Priests are all cut from the same cloth. Then we'll publicize it all to ensure they can't cover up the truth and prevent any more tragedies!"
As the priests wiped their tears, steeled their resolve, and rose, I made one final check on their determination.
It was, after all, a task that put their lives in very real danger.
"Not everyone will accept the truth. The Church or people like Robert might even brand you heretics and come for your lives. Are you truly prepared?"
"Of course we are!"
"This isn't about possibility—it's our duty!"
"We can't bring shame to Mr. Benjamin, who's ascended to the highest place! Even if they call us heretics and execute us, the truth we've seen won't be buried!"
Fortunately, Reverndale's low-ranking priests, unlike their High Priest, were genuine, devout believers.
Having felt my power firsthand, they no longer cared whether I was some wanted criminal or not.
The priests, amid their grief, repeatedly offered penitence as they carefully prepared Benjamin's body for burial. After a moment of silent prayer for him, we left the place first.
After all, lingering too long as a band of fugitives wouldn't do us any good.
With the help of the Lunia Church priests, we rented a decent-sized carriage and set off toward the Ebony Shadow Mercenaries' hidden headquarters within the Empire.
Linian knew the location, so deciding the direction was no trouble.
As we traveled by carriage with two more people than before, Lenis—the only one among us who hadn't met Linian—pinched my cheek and grumbled.
"Al~vis~? So glad you're safe and back, but... doesn't it feel like our group's just keep adding more girls~?"
"Uh... y-yeah? It wasn't on purpose, but things just kinda turned out that way... Ha... haha..."
Even if it was partly swept up in the moment, since she was the first woman to give herself to me, she seemed to be feeling needless jealousy about all the women piling up.
Unlike Lenis, who pinched my cheeks or squeezed my nose in anger, Ravi and Elfin—who had met Linian before—shrank back, heads bowed, desperately avoiding eye contact.
Noticing this, Linian smirked.
"All tiptoeing around me? Especially you there, elf girl—you're way less feisty than last time."
"E-Even last time... I said sorry... already..."
Thinking she'd been marked by Linian, Elfin's voice was feeble and weak, while Ravi desperately averted her gaze beside her, fearing any splashback.
Is she really that scary?
Hating the suffocating tension in the carriage, I reined Linian in.
"Linian, don't scare them. They didn't mean any harm back then either."
"Got it~♥"
At my words, Linian's voice brightened instantly, her face lighting up with a radiant smile.
Ever since I'd restored part of her body to its original form, she'd shown me nothing but utmost affection.
As Ravi and Lenis shot me looks asking, 'Did you cheat?!', I shook my head vigorously.
Once Linian's posturing ended, the three women's gazes naturally turned to one person.
The woman with hair, eyes, skin, and even clothes all pure white.
Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis cautiously questioned the emotionless Luna.
"Um, if you don't mind..."
"Luna... Luna."
"It's fine to tell them the truth."
"I am Lunia. I know full well how you struggled to save me from the darkness of the Grand Cathedral. Thank you truly. Though I had to abandon my divinity, thanks to you, I've escaped thousands of years of oppression, gained my freedom, and can walk this world once more."
All three seemed to have guessed from what Luna had said to Reverndale's priests and Benjamin.
But hearing it confirmed from her own mouth hit differently, leaving them stunned as they bowed to this world's former Creator.
"G-Goddess...! We meet the Goddess!"
"We greet the Creator! T-To speak with you like this is the greatest honor..."
"We're so relieved you're safe, O Divine One! We'll serve you with all our hearts!"
As the three knelt and bowed, Luna smiled faintly and took each of their hands in turn.
"I've forsaken my divinity and become an ordinary human now. I'm no longer a goddess. But... it's heartwarming that you honor me so."
She shot me a light glare.
"I figured I'd spend the rest of my days constantly looked down on and ignored."
...She really holds a grudge.
Thinking I'd have to soothe Luna's anger someday, I recounted our recent events while they shared what happened during their brief time with Benjamin.
Putting our stories together, even after about ten days since our escape from the Grand Cathedral, there were no signs of the Underground Vermin making any overt moves.
"Why haven't the Underground Vermin stirred yet? I figured that Robert guy would at least track us down to silence us."
Luna provided the answer to Ravi's question.
"That day, as my flesh fused with the power within Alvis's body, I suppressed the betrayers' lingering thoughts and wills as much as possible. With their malice restrained, my innate power and divine influence grew stronger, filling the cathedral with light. The betrayers, having long committed blasphemy, exploited and corrupted my power, become extremely vulnerable to my pure essence."
"That's why they propped up fake Holy Warriors to defile the Goddess's power."
"Exactly. It was fine until now, but when my purified divinity shone in the cathedral that day, they must have taken a serious hit. Flesh burning, wracked with pain that hindered movement. They're likely recovering now. It won't take long, but it buys us some time."
I clapped lightly at her words.
"So now's the perfect time to wipe out the Ebony Shadow Mercenaries pulling strings from the shadows? Linian can narrow down their location roughly, and once we're in the general area, I can pinpoint them exactly. Until we know where the other Underground Vermin are or how many, we do what we can."
Reunited, we clasped hands firmly, our resolve burning bright.
After a few more days of travel, we reached the spot Linian indicated, where the filthy mana of the Ebony Shadow Mercenaries lingered. The moment we arrived, my eyes caught countless red silhouettes scurrying underground.
"Found them."