The Stirring (2)
The sacred light that repels all evil! Destroy the demons! Shining Lightning—
Shining Lightning
"First Heresy Inquisitor Allen has exterminated the demon and the heretics."
I’m in direct contact with the other inquisitors, reporting the current situation.
"There are also signs that someone arrived here beforehand and eliminated the demons and heretics in advance."
"It appears to be the work of a demon hunter."
[Return at once. Reports of demon appearances are coming in from other locations as well.]
"...Understood."
Lady Raphael… I’ve missed you for so long.
The fact that you fell in battle still doesn’t feel real. Someone as strong as you… how could you have died? Sigh… With demons and demonkin running wild these days, I miss you even more.
This is one of those nights where I can’t stop thinking about the first time I met you when I was fifteen…
The moment Allen fell into reminiscing about Raphael, the sound of footsteps approaching the area reached his ears.
"Who goes there? This is a den of heretics who worship demons."
"If you take one more step closer, I will immediately classify you as a heretic."
"Therefore, do not approach."
Tap. Tap.
"Haa…"
"...I will execute you immediately."
"Sacred light that repels all evil! Destroy the demons! Shining Lightning—"
Whoosh…
...Huh?
The holy attack isn’t activating…? What is this? What’s going on?
A woman wearing a mask approaches and casts a holy spell.
"...Grand Purification."
Grand Purification
All demonic energy in the area is instantly purified.
In the blink of an eye, every trace of demonic energy in the space is completely cleansed.
Allen had seen this sight somewhere before. It was exactly the same miracle he had witnessed long ago, when he had been gravely wounded by a demon.
"Great Heal."
Great Heal
"...You’re still getting hurt, Allen."
Plop.
"...Lady Raphael…?"
Her face was hidden behind the mask, but her figure and voice were unmistakably hers. And those clothes…
"You’re still such a crybaby. Not a single thing has changed."
"Is it… is it really you, Lady Raphael?"
You were supposed to be in eternal rest… How can you be standing before my eyes? Is this a miracle…?
"Well… who knows? Who am I, really…"
Raphael looked at Allen for a moment before speaking again.
"Allen, you’ve become quite the impressive young man while I was gone. All that’s left is for you to get married, huh?"
"Pfft… Lady Raphael… I’m already married… But is this really not a dream?"
Could this truly be a dream? I thought tonight was just another night of missing you… and yet here you are.
"Who knows? It might be a dream, for all we know."
"There’s no way this is a dream. Besides, the clothes you’re wearing right now are the ones I made for you myself…"
You’re still wearing the clothes I made for you. Even after all this time…
"...Was that so?"
So these were the clothes Allen had made. No wonder they felt so comfortable. After all, he used to be a designer in his past life…
"...Lady Raphael, you seem very different now."
"You’re wearing a mask you never used to wear… and more than that, you feel… empty somehow."
It’s like you’re a hollow doll. There’s something off. I’ll have to go back and look up more information about you, Lady Raphael.
"Empty, huh… You’re not wrong about that…"
"...Allen, it was good to see you. Let’s meet again sometime."
"...Lady Raphael…?"
By the time he spoke, Raphael had already vanished, leaving only her lingering presence in the space.
".......You still do whatever you want, don’t you…"
[This is Allen. I have just discovered traces of Lady Raphael.]
[Requesting immediate reinforcement from other heresy inquisitors to this location.]
[...! Traces of Lady Raphael…?]
[...Chief Heresy Inquisitor Torres has received the report. I will head there personally.]
—
Chief Heresy Inquisitor Torres was, in truth, a child of heretics rescued by Raphael.
To the heresy inquisitors who once sought to eradicate everything related to heresy, a heretic’s child was no different from a thorn in their side. The faction that insisted the child must die and the faction that argued the child was innocent had split and fought bitterly over the matter.
Watching the conflict, the Chief Heresy Inquisitor at the time—Raphael—had sided with the belief that the child bore no sin, and so the boy was spared.
Torres, reborn under the Goddess’s blessing of light.
He believed he had been saved by Raphael and thus became a heresy inquisitor, but exactly one year after taking his vows, he received word that Raphael had fallen in battle against the Demon King.
The Torres of that time had burned with rage toward the Hero. And once he learned that Raphael had died protecting that very Hero, his hatred for the Hero grew into something extreme.
To Torres, who had been like a son to Raphael, any trace of her was enough to send him into a frenzy. He had grown into an exemplary Raphael fanatic.
How overjoyed he had been when he finally located Ian, Raphael’s successor. While devoting himself to raising Ian well, he now received news of yet another trace of Raphael.
Arriving at the heretics’ lair accompanied by other inquisitors, Torres found the space that should have been overflowing with demonic energy instead filled with pure holy power. It felt like standing in a holy sanctuary.
"...Allen. You’re saying these traces belong to Lady Raphael?"
"It is indeed an incredibly powerful holy energy, but it is not a direct trace of Lady Raphael."
Allen spoke with his head bowed.
"This is merely a miracle left behind by Lady Raphael. It would be faster if you read the land’s memories."
"...Understood."
"Show us the memories of this land."
"Show us—"
The inquisitors were examining the land’s memories and making their judgments.
"Hmm… A clean job on the heretics and the demon."
"But something feels off. The number of heretics is far too low compared to the number of demons."
"It seems someone dealt with the heretics beforehand."
"I see…"
"......!!!"
"Silence—"
"That person is…"
"Allen… Didn’t you say you found traces of Lady Raphael earlier?"
"...That is correct."
"In my view, there is only one person capable of casting large-scale holy magic without any incantation."
"Lady Raphael. Only she could do such a thing. …And yet this woman is using holy magic without an incantation, just like her?"
"Not only that, she’s wearing the old uniform of a heresy inquisitor? Exactly like ‘Lady Raphael’?"
Torres pointed his blade at Allen and demanded,
"Tell me everything you’re hiding, Allen."
"...If you view the land’s memories in full, you will understand."
The inquisitors finished reviewing the land’s memories as Allen suggested and fell into silence. The reason was simple—the person they had only ever seen in their dreams had appeared within those memories.
The inquisitors answered only with silence.
Then, in a low voice, Torres murmured,
"...She has returned. Our Lady has returned."
"However… something feels suspicious. No, something is definitely wrong."
"She was supposed to be in eternal rest… How can she be moving about, alive?"
"...Could it be some demonic sorcery? No, that can’t be… Something is very wrong here…"
"I will go see the Saintess for a moment."
The moment Torres returned, he immediately contacted the Saintess. She accepted the Chief Heresy Inquisitor’s request for an audience without delay.
—
"It’s been a while, Torres. What matter brings you to summon me today?"
"The investigation into the disappearance of Raphael’s remains is still ongoing."
"So if this is about that matter…"
"It is not. Compared to that incident, today’s news is barely a drop in the bucket."
"...? Sigh… What happened this time?"
"Lady Raphael has overcome death."
"Pardon…?"
"You’re saying Raphael has appeared again?"
"...Yes. That is why I ask for your help. Lady Raphael’s condition did not appear normal. It was as if she were possessed by something."
"Can you determine who resurrected Lady Raphael? And I wish to know their purpose for doing so."
"...I will pray to the Goddess. I shall begin immediately."
Upon hearing Torres’s words, Saintess Audrey immediately began praying to the Goddess on the spot. Torres prayed alongside her, desperately hoping that no harm had come to Raphael.
—
The Demon King’s resurrection… The Hero’s resurrection… The Demon King and the Hero shall share the same fate… $%^%$$# It shall come to pass.
"Haa… Haa…"
Saintess Audrey gasped for breath as she spoke.
"The Goddess… has answered…"
The Demon King’s resurrection. The Hero’s resurrection. And that the Demon King and the Hero shall share the same fate. There was one more thing she said, but it was too faint to make out.
"...So that means…"
"Yes. It seems that along with the Demon King’s resurrection, the hero who will aid the Hero—Raphael—has also been resurrected. As for that final sentence… that they shall share the same fate as the Demon King…"
"There is much room for interpretation in that last line…"
"It sounds almost as if… Raphael is fated to die alongside the Demon King…"
Raphael… Did you already know this fate of yours when you came to see me beforehand? Are you planning to sacrifice yourself again? What… what am I supposed to do…?
"Saintess… Please, do not speak such words…"
Please… O Goddess… Let Lady Raphael rest in peace… She has already made far too many sacrifices. Why must you burden her once more with such a heavy fate?
"...I’m sorry, Torres. Let us interpret the final sentence together."
"Still… I can hardly believe the Demon King has truly been resurrected."
"The demons and demonkin running rampant lately must be because of the Demon King’s return."
"...I must go to the Academy to find a successor to take my place as Saintess."