Confession (3)
Confession (3)
- Lady Rebekah.
There were times when she wavered.
No matter how much of a saintess she was, she was human before she was a saintess.
- Lady Rebekah. The Empire's movements are unusual. It has already been two days since contact with the First Parish was lost. You must dispatch holy knights at once...
- Saintess. Contact with the holy knights has been lost. Communication with the Second Parish ceased as of yesterday.
- Refugees are pouring in. The holy knights are managing them, but their numbers are overwhelming. You must drive them out. At this rate, our food supplies will run out first. At the very least, we should petition the Eastern Union...
That mighty Empire fell in a single day. When she first heard the news, Rebekah was so stunned she could not open her mouth.
The Empire had the strongest knight, and it had an Archmage who had safeguarded the Empire's peace for centuries.
And it had Olivia.
The person who had supported her steadfastly from behind until the day Rebekah, once a girl, reached adulthood.
The person who had never been sparing with advice.
The person who had shown her through action what a saintess ought to do.
The person who was, perhaps more than herself, suited to be a saintess.
- ...What became of Lady Olivia?
For once, the priests, who never hesitated to add their opinions, fell silent. They looked at one another, then nodded as if they had reached a decision.
- You had best...see for yourself.
And Rebekah saw.
A world frozen pure white.
*****
Olivia stared at Rebekah through the gaps in the wooden screen of the confessional.
Rebekah's Favorability was as pitiful as expected. But Olivia was not alarmed.
'With Rebekah, it's more than possible.'
That was the conclusion she had reached after observing her for several minutes before addressing her.
Among the people of the Church of Light, how many would consider hating an enemy a sin?
A thought that an ordinary person would never dare to entertain was something Rebekah held in her heart as if it were only natural.
A character truly befitting a former Saintess.
'...It's different from the game.'
If Favorability really worked in absolute terms, Melina would never have overcome her killing intent with something like 'affection for her disciple.'
Favorability appeared absolute, but gaps clearly existed.
It was a thought Olivia had held ever since meeting Calliope. In Calliope, who had suppressed her killing intent for the sake of a 'greater cause,' Olivia had sensed possibility.
And by the time she reached the stage with Melina, she had been certain.
Olivia steadied her heart. From the moment she had entered the Repentance Cave, notifications had been ringing madly.
[You have currently entered a 'Sanctuary'!]
- Mana regeneration is massively reduced!
- Ancient magic cannot be used!
- Mana consumption increases significantly!
- Casting time increases significantly!
It was a debuff nearly rivaling Kiel's 'Severance.' No, considering it was constantly maintained, this was far more formidable.
To say she was not afraid while under this level of debuff would be a lie. Olivia considered wrapping her whole body in a Shield for a moment, but soon abandoned the idea.
If she was going to do it, it was better to commit fully rather than go halfway.
'...This is the only way.'
Neither Kiel, nor Melina, nor Ashe Baltar, nor even dragons could exert their full strength inside this 'Sanctuary.'
But there was exactly one exception: Rebekah alone. That was because as the Saintess, she was effectively the avatar personally chosen by the Goddess of Light.
And an avatar.
Tssssssssst!
Within the Sanctuary, an avatar could wield utterly overwhelming power.
"You dare...do you know where you are?!"
An immense quantity of Divine Power erupted outward, centered on Rebekah. For an instant, it was enough to make one mistake the world for having turned pure white.
['Saintess Rebekah' has proclaimed a Sanctuary!]
- Rebekah has recognized you as an 'enemy'!
- Four of your five senses are being sealed at random.
First, the world became odorless. She could no longer smell the musty dust.
She could no longer hear the sound of air vibrating.
She could no longer taste the blood trickling from her mouth.
Up to that point, it was bearable.
But the moment she lost her sense of touch as well, her thoughts changed.
She could no longer feel the sensation of sitting in the chair.
She could no longer feel the air against her fingertips.
She could no longer feel her lungs rising and falling. She could no longer feel her eyelids blinking.
It felt as though her very existence was being denied.
"..."
All that remained possible was thought alone.
If she did not endlessly repeat to herself that she was alive, she felt she would lose her existence entirely.
Rebekah approached at a pace that was neither fast nor slow. Olivia could dimly guess why Rebekah had deliberately left her sense of sight intact among the five senses.
Watch.
Watch with those two eyes exactly how your sins will be judged.
Tssssssssst!
An overwhelming pressure revealed itself behind Rebekah's back. It was Divine Power so immense that its limits could scarcely be imagined.
"------."
Rebekah slowly opened her mouth. Though Olivia could not hear because her hearing was sealed, she could infer to some degree from the shape of her lips.
She was telling her to pay for her sins.
Olivia did not answer. She merely sat in place and quietly waited for the moment.
Pure-white Divine Power had gathered around Rebekah. It climbed along her hand and gradually assumed the shape of a spear.
It was the Holy Spear that punishes evil.
Rebekah grasped the shaft of the Holy Spear. Even at a glance, its weight was far from ordinary, but Rebekah's face showed no sign that it troubled her in the slightest.
Then, six wings manifested behind Rebekah's back.
Even Angelification, the ultimate technique of a priest.
Originally, the point at which Rebekah mastered Angelification was several years later. Olivia was newly struck by just how absurdly broken Regression was.
'...How is that a priest.'
Rebekah's appearance evoked a holy knight rather than a priest. Were it not for the priestly robes fluttering in the wind, anyone would have mistaken her for a holy knight without a second thought.
Rebekah drew her right foot one step back and planted it firmly on the ground.
Gooooooo!
Immense power gathered at the tip of the spear she had drawn back.
And then.
It shot forward.
Kwaaaaaaang!
The pure-white spearhead closed in right before her eyes.
Death drew just as close.
But Olivia's expression did not change in the slightest.
A face full of certainty.
[Title 'The Bold One Before the Dragon' activated.]
Having shaken off even the last of her fear thanks to the Title, Olivia closed her eyes without hesitation.
When she surrendered her final sense of her own accord, the world fell silent. An instant felt like an Eternity.
'One, two, three...'
Olivia counted the seconds inside her heart. And when that number reached ten, she slowly raised her eyelids.
'...As I thought.'
The Holy Spear, which had not been driven through to the end, had stopped just before her nose. Rebekah's hand, holding the Holy Spear, was trembling violently.
It was not because the Goddess of Light had intervened.
What stopped the Holy Spear was unmistakably Rebekah's own will.
"..."
Rebekah bit her lip hard. Then, after producing an expression that Olivia could not comprehend, she withdrew the Holy Spear.
- Pak!
First, the six wings dissolved into feathers and vanished. Next came the Holy Spear she had held in her right hand. The crushing pressure that had weighed down the atmosphere vanished as well.
Her senses, too, returned.
It was just as she had expected.
Hadn't she said it last time?
'Responsibility and duty.'
Aether, the Goddess of Light, grants divinity in proportion to the duty one bears.
In Rebekah's eyes, Olivia was a sinner. A horrific sinner who had slaughtered and deceived hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands.
Rebekah had the duty to punish evil.
But before that, she had a greater duty.
"...What did you just say?"
"I said I wish to make a Confession."
"..."
Perhaps Rebekah had been waiting for Olivia to retaliate. No, she certainly had been.
But instead of retaliating, Olivia had closed her eyes.
In that instant, Olivia became not a sinner, but a penitent.
And Rebekah had the duty to hear the sinner's Confession.
That was why Rebekah had withdrawn the Holy Spear of judgment.
"Do you understand the meaning of that?"
Her voice held a chill fury. It was a tone so cold one could scarcely believe Rebekah was the one who had uttered it.
The sacrament of Confession did not end with simply reciting one's sins.
"I am prepared to accept any Penance whatsoever."
"..."
Penance.
The punishment imposed by the priest who hears the Confession after the sacrament is completed.
And the authority to impose Penance rested entirely with the priest.
In other words, once the Confession ended, no matter what Penance Rebekah imposed, Olivia would have to accept it willingly.
'...But there's nothing for me to lose.'
She had phrased it as being able to impose any Penance, but strict limits existed.
If a Penance gave rise to another sin—such as being commanded to take one's own life—the meaning of the Confession would be lost.
Of course, if she were told to perform penance until the day she died as her Penance, there would be nothing she could do...
But Rebekah would never impose such a Penance.
'Because I'll make sure she can't.'
Rebekah's expression shifted.
She too had realized it.
The fact that, having come this far, she had no choice but to hear Olivia's Confession, whether she liked it or not.
"...Sit down."
Rebekah made the sign of the cross and recited a prayer.
A Notification Window appeared.
[The sacrament of Confession has begun.]
- The confessor priest, 'Saintess Rebekah,' can never, under any circumstances, disclose the contents of this Confession to anyone.
- The penitent, 'Olivia,' cannot make a false Confession, and must absolutely carry out the Penance imposed by the confessor priest.
- Penalties will be incurred if the above terms are violated!
It was all information she already knew.
"...You may now confess your sins."
Rebekah's voice was steeped in fury.
['Saintess Rebekah' is using 'Lie Detection'.]
Her tone said: go on, let's see you try to spew something.
Olivia slowly opened her mouth.
"I..."
When the Confession ended, a heavy silence fell.
Rebekah's eyes slowly, very slowly, widened.
Until they could widen no further.
"...!"
Olivia's dispassionate confession.
Every word of it was a lie.