Chapter 62
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Holy Kingdom (6)
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"..."
Sena gazed down at the chimeras, their breaths now stilled, with a complex look in her eyes and a serene expression on her face.
Guilt gnawed at her for nearly prolonging their suffering out of clumsy compassion, and her heart ached from the frustration of her own half-baked abilities that had failed to save anyone properly.
Right here, right now, she realized that not every act of kindness could be justified as good.
Someone's goodwill could easily become malice in the eyes of another.
She had only just come to understand that.
Thanks to this, though the person involved hadn't noticed yet, her ability was evolving further at this very moment.
The desire to help people, the intense wish to be of use to Yujin—they were positively fueling her growth.
Her thoughts about Yujin were shifting too, gradually moving from someone she needed to apologize to and beg forgiveness from... into someone she could absolutely trust and follow.
'Yujin...'
In the meantime, Yujin searched the interior of the laboratory.
He had spared one nun to extract information, but she might not yield enough on her own.
So he looked for any experiment reports or letters they might have written.
And then.
"Found it."
He discovered a stack of documents piled up.
[Research Log #63]
[On the Vessel's Durability]
[Internal Holy Kingdom Report]
[Research Log #92]
[Pope's Seal Weakening (Suspected)]
"Hmm..."
From research logs detailing experiment results to the political landscape within the Holy Kingdom... and finally, the Pope's seal weakening...?
[Research Log #63]
- Day 63 of Research.
The experiments are beginning to yield highly significant results. Survival times for chimeras combining various magical beasts and human bodies are steadily increasing, and among them, more perfect 'vessels' have been born.
The subject, originally an ordinary person, exhibited physical strength and capabilities comparable to an upper-level Sword Expert, and we confirmed that the subject's original ego had completely vanished.
However, because the base was an ordinary human, the limits were clear, and it ultimately failed to withstand the power and disintegrated...
[Research Log #92]
- Day 92 of Research.
There was no progress for a while. Relatively complete vessels were produced several times, but all were based on ordinary humans, so their limits were clear and they didn't last long.
We even tried using holy power, but it had little meaning. Initially, it seemed to stabilize the collapsing body, but afterward, the injected demonic energy clashed with the holy power, leading to even faster disintegration.
...
We concluded that subjects with higher ranks are needed—such as high priests or even cardinals. But due to practical difficulties in procurement, we abandon this.
"This is..."
Isn't it a bit contradictory?
What these research logs clearly indicated was that the Pandemonium researchers who had been alive until moments ago were creating some kind of 'vessel' and had achieved more significant results than expected.
However, the base humans were ordinary people, so the limits were clear, and as a last resort, they even tried using holy power...
'In the end, the holy power accelerated the subject's collapse—in other words, their death.'
Yet they wanted high priests or cardinals as subjects?
To Yujin, it seemed contradictory. Those people would possess far more holy power than ordinary folk—wouldn't that just amplify the clash with demonic energy?
In that case, knights or mages would make more sense as subjects.
But...
'There's no way they didn't know that.'
What the 'vessel' they were trying to create even was remained unclear. So all he could do was assume there was something he didn't know...
"...Yujin, look at this."
At that moment, Sena called Yujin over while looking at a piece of paper.
The paper she held out was a letter—of all things, from a cardinal of the Holy Kingdom.
'...Cardinal Rozan?'
The letter contained updates on the experiment's progress to Cardinal Rozan and requests for more subjects.
'Cardinal Rozan... that must be the cardinal who guided us on our first day in the Holy Kingdom.'
"...Shouldn't we inform the Holy Kingdom right away?"
"No. We can't reveal this now."
The Holy Kingdom was currently split between Cardinal Rozan's faction and Cardinal Heinkel's faction. Rashly exposing this in such a situation would likely spiral out of control.
'There's nothing more dangerous than starting something and losing control of it.'
"Th-then what about informing His Holiness the Pope?"
"The Pope..."
Yujin recalled Lua's appearance.
Her eyes sightless, she had seemed somehow unstable. More precisely, she resembled a patient pretending to be normal.
The very fact that Pandemonium's demon worshippers were conducting experiments in the holy city was proof that Lua's condition and governance were far from whole.
Moreover, she had said some meaningful things at their first meeting.
Above all...
[Pope's Seal Weakening (Suspected)]
- We judge that the seal on the Key of Dominion is steadily weakening. Furthermore, as the seal weakens, the strain on the Pope's body increases, and it is certainly not in a normal state.
Evidence: Almost no participation in external activities or internal politics...
...
Thus, the seal has weakened, the burden on the Pope has grown, and she is no longer able to move freely.
'Key of Dominion, and a seal...'
He had no idea what that meant.
His knowledge and information on it were lacking. Even digging through the other documents here yielded no deeper details.
...In the end, the firm conclusion was that Pope Lua was currently unable to act for some reason.
'...No choice but to find someone reliable untouched by Cardinal Rozan's influence.'
If the other side had a cardinal, he'd counter with one of his own.
"...What brings you here in the dead of night?"
Cardinal Heinkel looked at his uninvited guests.
Sena, who had just officially become the Saintess, and Yujin Banus, the delegation leader and the Empire's famed Sword Master.
The two had slipped into Heinkel's office in the middle of the night.
"And what's that nun on the floor?"
Had the Duke finally lost his mind and kidnapped her or something?
At least the nun on the floor didn't appear to have any external injuries...
"It's not like that."
"It's not like that, Your Eminence."
...
"...I see. Then please explain."
He nodded.
"Of course we'll explain."
But first, there was one thing to confirm.
"Cardinal Heinkel."
"Yes, Duke?"
"Are you a faithful servant of the faith?"
It was an extremely rude question.
In Empire terms, it was like asking if he was a proper noble.
"Duke, what do you mean by—"
Rumble rumble rumble———!!!!!
An immense pressure bore down on Heinkel in an instant.
"...!!!"
A chilling sensation, as if his head would roll at the slightest mistake. His body was frozen, unable to move, and he couldn't even open his mouth carelessly.
That's when Heinkel understood why Yujin was regarded with both reverence and fear.
"Answer. Do you uphold your faith under oath to the Goddess's name?"
Believing there must be a reason for the grave question, Heinkel swore upon his heart.
"Of course, Duke. I always follow the Goddess and the Church's teachings."
For a moment, vast holy power dwelled in Heinkel's heart.
It was a pact. His heart would burst the instant he lied or wavered.
"...I see."
Yujin immediately withdrew the pressure and bowed his head to Heinkel.
"My apologies. It was something I had to confirm before explaining why we're here."
"...It must be that important, then."
"Indeed. The future of the Holy Kingdom may hang in the balance."
Whether it would split in half and sink into civil war... or cut out the rot and march toward glory once more.
"...That serious?"
"Yes."
Sena nodded in agreement with Yujin's words.
"It's true, Your Eminence."
With even the Saintess affirming it, Heinkel's heart grew heavier. Whatever it was, these two wouldn't come like this for nothing.
He handed over the stack of documents he'd brought from the basement.
As Heinkel read through them one by one, his hands began to tremble.
Slide—
"This... what is this..."
...
Heinkel read each word with trembling eyes.
The horrific experiments conducted beneath the holy city.
The fusion of demonic energy and holy power.
Innocent slum dwellers sacrificed to create some unknown 'vessel'.
And... the Pope sealing something away, her body now in dire straits.
Every bit of it was unbelievable.
"For reference, that nun collapsed on the floor is a Pandemonium collaborator—a traitor. Probably one of Cardinal Rozan's people."
"...Cardinal Rozan, truly..."
"What kind of person was Cardinal Rozan originally?"
Heinkel squeezed his eyes shut. Then, in a trembling voice, he said,
"...A woman who truly loved the Holy Kingdom and humanity, even if her methods were radical."
"I see."
So she had been a good person once.
But sadly, human betrayal was a tale as old as time.
Damn it all.
"...What will you do now, Cardinal Heinkel?"
"...For now, may I take custody of that nun on the floor...? No, that 'heretic'?"
"Go ahead."
As long as she didn't fall back into enemy hands, he didn't care.
"In exchange, share any information you extract with us."
"Of course."
After a moment's thought, Cardinal Heinkel made one more request.
"And could you show me the site? Given the gravity of this, I need to see it with my own eyes."
"What then?"
"...I'll cut out the rot."
...
At that hour, in Cardinal Rozan's office.
"...Contact has been lost."
She had noticed the anomaly in the laboratory.