Even If I Look Like This, I'm a Saintess? (3)
Demons are fundamentally weak to divine power. A cathedral, which could be called the very source of that power, was obviously the most agonizing place imaginable for them. So why had these demons made the insane choice to target a cathedral? Were they simply so terrified of the Saintess or the Pope stepping in that they were charging forward with a death wish?
'Who cares about that...'
If a crazy bastard does something crazy on purpose, he's still just a crazy bastard.
"Who the hell is it?! Just which son of a bitch—!!"
A red lightning bolt that fierce meant someone who was a real big shot even in the Demon Realm had shown up. No matter how well the Pope and the other nuns could fight, trying to protect the children at the same time would inevitably create openings. And if the absolute worst trash had come, he might even try to take the kids hostage.
"Damn it... The main gate is way too far!"
'Another way. There has to be another way...!'
Even though I was pushing beyond human limits thanks to the blessings, I didn't have the luxury of heading for the main entrance. I scanned the stone wall built from stacked rocks, searching desperately for any method. Then I spotted a gap so clear it looked like someone had marked it just for me. I grabbed the slightly recessed part in between and vaulted over the wall like I was performing some acrobatic stunt.
Normally I would have been shocked that I could even move like this, but right now that would have been a luxury. I tumbled through the air and landed inside the cathedral grounds, trusting in my divine power to handle the rough landing, then immediately broke into another mad sprint.
"Mother! Grant me the strength to punish that thing!"
'The Head Nun?'
It was definitely the Head Nun's voice. The same voice that had nagged me until my ears nearly bled, telling me to speak more elegantly. To think that voice was now crying out a desperate prayer.
I started running blindly toward the sound, growing more anxious with every step.
'Please... Please, I hope I'm not too late...!'
Of all the nuns I'd seen, the Head Nun was the one who most closely matched the image of a nun from the old books. If she had to pray this loudly, the leader had to be right around there.
"Kekeke! That tickles! It tickles, I say!"
A phlegmy, guttural voice came from the direction where the Head Nun had been. It was a voice I could never forget—the voice of the trash demon the Hero had called the Overlord Fiend.
'The kids were the target after all!'
Why did my ominous premonitions always have to be so damn accurate—?!
As is widely known, it is true that demons are weak to divine power. However, that only applies to the divine power of humans on the level of the Pope or the Saintess. Against ordinary nuns, even a slight difference in power wasn't enough to pierce a demon's hide.
"Children! Hurry to the Pope! Quickly!"
"Y-yes!"
The Head Nun, who already knew this fact, had no choice but to grit her teeth and charge in.
'I have to buy time. At the very least, the Pope should be able to stop him... If only the Saintess were here... No. She has so much she needs to do...'
The Pope and the Head Nun had watched the Saintess quietly leave the cathedral after finishing her meal. Seeing her waddle out for a walk with a full belly, neither of them had stopped her. To their eyes, the Saintess had looked like she was leaving the cathedral quickly out of fear of growing too attached—yet at the same time, like she already loved this place too much to truly want to leave.
"Do you really think someone like you can stop me?"
"We'll find out once I try, you worthless worm."
Among the demons who had recoiled in disgust at the Demon King's order to break through this place, the first to step forward was the one with the rather heartbreaking nickname of Overlord Fiend. He'd thought this would be nothing but a bothersome chore and had been planning to make excuses to retreat from the front lines. To him, this place was a painless paradise.
He had set aside his worries that the Demon King might be trying to kill him without dirtying his own hands by sending him to a place with both the Pope and the Saintess.
'Hm. I'll clean up these annoying flies quickly and then go enjoy the main course.'
Homeless little ones. Children with tragic stories. The cathedral, which functioned fully as an orphanage, was packed with them. To the Overlord Fiend, they looked like a splendidly set banquet table. Each one wrapped in divine power that practically sparkled with flavor. And they were all still too young to even put up a fight.
"Ha. I was right to come! I wonder what divine power-bearing brats taste like?! Kihihi!"
"You bastard!!"
"Keh! That pathetic divine power can't even scratch my skin, you bitch!"
The news that the Hero had been summoned was already a common rumor that had spread throughout the Demon Realm. Only someone with the divine power of the Saintess or the Pope could stop demons like him. That meant that if even one of the two left their post, this invasion was an absolutely foolproof plan that could not fail.
It had been quite a while since the Saintess had left the cathedral. No matter how much she had surpassed human limits, if she still hadn't returned after waiting this long, she must have truly left the area.
'Even if she comes back, this place will already be a sea of blood. The Saintess has already left—'
"Kuku. If I can just pin down that Pope bastard, this whole place becomes my world! Kehehehet!"
"...In the end you'll die to the Pope anyway, so why don't you play with me until then?"
The Head Nun casually said something that would have made the other nuns faint in horror, then gathered even more divine power to wrap around her body. Seeing her pathetic display, the Overlord Fiend laughed so hard it seemed the world might collapse.
"You call that divine power? Kuku. So that's the extent of your faith!"
After hurling the greatest insult possible at a priest and laughing for a long while, the Head Nun thought, 'I need to land at least one good hit so I have something to tell the Earth Mother.' She practically abandoned her defense and charged straight at the demon.
"This son of a bitch has no filter?!"
BOOM!
The moment she made contact with the demon's body, she managed to inflict a small wound. But the price was being sent flying through the air for quite a distance.
"Kuh?!"
'It's still not enough...'
No matter how much training she had done across various places, perhaps it was because of the World Tree sapling. She keenly felt how little divine power protected her body, but she still couldn't stop. She had no energy left to spare on divine power while her body trembled violently. The Head Nun knew the exact limits of her strength, so she instinctively understood that the moment she wasted divine power to heal herself, she would lose the strength to attack and wouldn't be able to buy any more time.
"Oh. You're surprisingly sturdy!"
"That's right, you demon bastard. Get ready to get beaten over and over!"
The World Tree sapling greedily stole nutrients from its surroundings in order to grow as quickly as possible. It was only natural that it favored divine power, which was the source of life itself. Thanks to that, even the Pope—who possessed one of the highest levels of divine power in the entire order—couldn't exert his full original strength in this area.
The arrival of the demon leader along with more than twenty other demons was more than enough to keep the weakened Pope occupied. The Pope and the head nuns were fighting desperately, but to take down just two demons, several head nuns had already been sent to the Earth Mother's embrace.
The demon watched silently as the Head Nun poured divine power into her trembling legs to heal them, feeling completely confident. No matter how much she healed, if she reached a level that couldn't be healed, humans were still just humans even if they had divine power.
He snorted and once again sent flying the Head Nun who had charged at him with all her might, fist raised. He considered chasing after the little brats who had run far away. What was the point of fighting this tasteless old nun who was just trying to buy time?
Though the air still filled with the Earth Mother's energy rejected him, the demon twisted his lips as he gathered mana with overwhelming force. It was the perfect smile of a victor.
Strategy. Deception. Evasion. The three tactics with which he had made his name famous throughout the Demon Realm. Just as he was about to achieve his goal once again—
A shadow dropped from the air and shot straight toward the Overlord Coward.
"You bastard!"
Like a cat in heat yowling all night long. Hearing the sharp voice calling his name, the demon clicked his tongue.
'So there was still one left.'
Who knows. She might become a nice appetizer for him.
"H-how...?"
At the same time, a bright hope resembling divine power bloomed across the Head Nun's face.
The unpleasant energy she felt from behind. It was divine power, but weaker than that of the Head Nun who had just been sent flying in front of her. The demon, thinking he'd watch whatever reckless nun was charging at him this time, slowly turned his head.
A voice that was furious yet still quite beautiful. The demon, hoping it would be a nun to his taste, smiled brightly while indulging in pink—no, blood-red fantasies.
'Tsk.'
His gaze naturally drifted to the sweat-drenched flesh—whether it was her face or her chest, he couldn't tell—and the demon grumbled without a hint of fear.
"Aww... It's ruined..."
High-ranking demons are strong against divine power.
"Mother. Grant me strength."
The beautiful voice called out to the silent goddess. At that earnestness, a small smile formed on the demon's lips. Thinking that blocking her with a single palm would be more than enough, the demon had been planning to hunt down the little brats who had run away according to the original plan. He had no idea.
He didn't know that the Saintess, who normally possessed divine power only slightly above the other nuns, had perfectly conveyed her will to the goddess.
"Ah...?!"
KWAAAANG!
The moment the demon's palm met the Saintess's fist, a bright yellow lightning bolt fell from the sky. The demon, who had arrogantly blocked what he thought was a force too weak for even one hand to handle, was sent flying backward quite a distance.
"S-Saintess?!"
"You bastard! How dare you come here?!"
The furious Saintess proved that the Demon King hadn't been throwing a tantrum for nothing when he called her a top priority elimination target.
"Guh?!"
CRACK!
With the sound of flesh tearing, the demon was sent flying spectacularly and realized that things had gone very, very wrong.
'The Saintess?! She was still nearby?!'
"...Don't even think about dying nicely. I need to test out some things I couldn't do with magic. Look forward to it... I'll torture you as much as possible with divine power before I kill you!"
Grind.
The sound of teeth grinding that no one would have expected from such a slender body represented her rage. The Archmage who had even mastered the demons' own magic couldn't possibly have been unaware of what this demon had been trying to do. Ignoring the Head Nun's desperate will to protect him, he had tried to harm the children who had smiled at her like sunshine. The Saintess who had once thought it inconvenient that she couldn't use magic was gone. Instead, she was calculating exactly how to use the divine power that was far more excellent for torturing demons.