Chapter 214: The Saint (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 214: The Saint (3)
People sometimes describe divine power as the hand of God.
I'm no poet, but I'd always thought it was a fitting description. The first time I was healed at a church, it felt like a gentle hand caressing my wounds.
But I don't think I can agree with that sentiment anymore.
Thump—
“Khk...?!”
The grace bestowed by an absolute being beyond human comprehension is anything but gentle.
There's a reason demon worshippers are hunted down by holy knights who wield divine power.
An unidentifiable pressure bore down on my entire body.
Even when I tried to summon my magic, I could barely resist it. In fact, it felt like my own energy was being pushed back.
So this is the divine power of the Saint, the one chosen by God.
“I will ask you again. Mr. Hyun-woo, are you a demon worshipper?”
As he spoke in a cold, low voice, the crosses in his pupils radiated a brilliant light.
I remained silent.
Eyes like that couldn't be mere decoration.
'Don't tell me he can detect lies...?'
He might even have the ability to read minds.
Various hypotheses branched out in my mind like the limbs of a tree.
The question itself might just be a pretext. He might be trying to frame me to shut me up, all because I found out he's actually a woman.
'...This is a problem.'
And outside, there's that holy knight whose personality is inversely proportional to his skill.
Even if I managed to shake off this divine power and attack the Saint, it would be nothing more than a hostage situation.
Taking the Saint hostage... I had to avoid that at all costs. It would mean making an enemy of the entire Church, not to mention several major world powers. It would be a catastrophe on a completely different level from arguing with a rude holy knight.
The most important thing right now was to figure out why the Saint was suddenly acting this way.
If it really was to silence me about his gender, there were plenty of ways I could persuade him.
“...Do you have any proof that I'm a demon worshipper?”
The Saint shook his head.
“For now, it is only suspicion.”
He was persecuting me without any proof?
This is the Saint? He's acting like some cult leader.
Of course, in Europe, it wasn't unheard of for innocent people to be imprisoned on mere suspicion of being a demon worshipper. Considering that, the Saint's reaction was relatively moderate.
But that didn't excuse him for threatening an innocent person.
“Will you believe me if I drink holy water right now?”
“Unless they have a contract with a demon, even a demon worshipper can drink holy water.”
That was news to me.
I thought it was like in the movies, where you just force the suspect to drink some holy water.
“I didn't want to confirm it this way, but... please excuse me for a moment.”
Something golden shimmered at the tip of the Saint's finger. It seemed to be divine power.
A moment later, his finger touched mine. The light was quietly absorbed into my skin, but nothing else happened.
'What the?'
But then, something strange occurred.
Vitality began to surge through my body.
Just moments ago, I could barely breathe under the weight of his divine power, but now I felt like I could easily defeat that minotaur if we fought again.
Wondering what was happening, I turned my head and saw the Saint bowing respectfully to me.
No, on second look, his head was nearly touching the floor.
“I'm so sorry!”
The highest-ranking cleric in the world was prostrating before me.
*
“...So you're saying that was a blessing?”
The Saint gave a quiet nod.
Seeing him sip his tea as if nothing had happened made my blood boil.
I had to deal with him lying face down on the floor, refusing to get up, for nearly ten minutes. If anyone had walked in and seen that, I would never have been able to set foot in a church again for the rest of my life.
One wrong move and I could have been socially ostracized for life.
It was only after I managed to coax him up that I could finally get him to sit on the sofa.
“...The reason I suspected you of being a demon worshipper was because of your written statement.”
“My statement?”
I didn't think I'd written anything particularly strange.
“You were offered an Apostle Contract by a demon, correct?”
“Yes, though I refused.”
It was still unpleasant to think about.
That stinking deer-headed bastard made an offer like that to me?
Becoming a demon worshipper meant living life as a fugitive. Forget about seeing Choi Hyena; my engagement would be broken for sure.
“Is that a problem?”
The atmosphere around the veiled Saint felt ominous.
I swallowed dryly without realizing it, waiting for his next words.
“A problem... Mr. Hyun-woo, how much do you know about Apostles?”
“Hmm, I know that they make a contract with a demon and gain the ability to wield the demon's power.”
The demon had told me that much. That day was the first time I'd ever heard of Apostles.
“Is that what the demon told you?”
“Yes.”
The Saint seemed to ponder for a moment before continuing his explanation.
“For a demon to descend upon the mortal plane, they must follow numerous procedures and are bound by many restrictions. However, there is a loophole that allows them to bypass some of those steps and constraints.”
“A loophole... Don't tell me.”
A sudden, unsettling thought flashed through my mind.
The Saint nodded slightly, as if confirming my suspicion.
“Yes. The Apostles.”
“...”
If I'd known this would happen, I never would have written it in my statement.
“A demon shares its power with a human with whom it has a high affinity, forming an Apostle Contract. At first, they seem to maintain a good relationship, but as time passes, the human's body is slowly taken over by the demon, and eventually, the demon descends upon the earth.”
So if I had made a contract with that thing, it would have eventually stolen my body?
I now had one more reason to kill that deer-headed bastard someday.
“Of course, the demon would be weaker than if it had descended in its true form, but the overall threat is far greater... That is why the Church has designated not only those who have made an Apostle Contract, but even those who have merely been offered one, as targets for elimination...”
“?”
For a second, I couldn't believe my ears.
What did he just say?
“Targets for protection?”
“No, for... elimination...”
Bang.
I shot up from my seat and ran straight for the window.
These barbaric religious fanatics! Instead of protecting a victim who was almost tricked into a fraudulent contract, they want to do what? Kill me?
Without hesitation, I threw myself at the window.
“W-Wait a moment!”
Thud!
But I was blocked by an opaque, golden wall that appeared before my eyes.
It was similar to the barriers I used, yet different somehow.
“Please, just listen to me for a moment!”
“And why should I trust you? You're with the Church, aren't you? A high-ranking cleric from the Vatican, no less.”
“Th-That's...”
If I drew out my magic power here, the holy knight waiting outside would notice.
I had two options.
Either break the barrier with my internal energy and escape, or temporarily flee to another world.
“I-If I intended to kill you, I wouldn't have sent Sir Felix out!”
“I don't know. Considering his personality, the fact that he left so obediently without a word of protest makes me think he went to call for reinforcements, don't you?”
The Church may be large, but as long as I had the dating app, there was no way I would die.
Besides, killing someone just for being offered an Apostle Contract was by no means normal. This was probably a policy known only to a select few within the Vatican.
If this turned into a battle for public opinion, I would be the one to win.
Most importantly, I was a member of the Magic Tower.
Mages might be a bunch of eccentrics, but they had just as much pride. If they found out that a bunch of religious fanatics were trying to kill one of their own for such a ridiculous reason, they would be the first to rise up in my defense.
'If things go south, I'll just have to travel the world and raise some hell.'
They were the ones who provoked me first.
“That's not true! I just...!”
“Enough.”
I had no intention of continuing this pointless conversation.
I hadn't expected things to turn out this way, but it was more productive to think about what to do next rather than regret what had already happened.
“If you have no intention of releasing the barrier, then I have no choice but to use force.”
This was a barrier cast by the Saint himself. It wouldn't break from any ordinary attack.
'I'll go with a full-power punch.'
I focused the internal energy that was circulating through my meridians into a single point.
It might be a little loud, but as long as it could break the barrier, that was all that mattered.
“I'm going to count. You'd better release the barrier before I'm done.”
“Mr. Hyun-woo!”
“Three.”
“Please, calm down...!”
“Two.”
I wasn't naive enough to count all the way to three.
The moment I drew back my fist to shatter the barrier—
“I-I'm a woman!”
The Saint's voice echoed through the room.
*
Skyscrapers that seemed to pierce the clouds, streets bustling with crowds, and roads choked with traffic. Someone was gazing out at a typical New York scene.
Tap.
The woman set down a file.
Her gaze, devoid of any warmth, fell upon the man across from her.
“I trust there isn't a single lie in this report?”
“No, ma'am. The information has been verified by our agents planted in the Hunter Association and the Church.”
“Can you take responsibility for that statement?”
“I'll stake my life and my family's on it.”
The prostrating man seemed to be doing his utmost to avoid getting on her nerves with even a single word.
The woman watched him for a moment, then pressed the heel of her shoe onto the back of his hand.
Crack—
A sound like breaking bone was heard, but the man's expression didn't change.
Losing interest, the woman removed her foot.
Her attention shifted back to the photograph in the file.
“So this is the human that picky deer bastard chose...”
A peculiar glint appeared in the woman's eyes as she tapped the photograph with her fingertip, a chilling smile on her lips.
They were beautiful red eyes, but they held an ominous quality, as if filled not with jewels, but with blood.
“I'd like to meet him at least once. And if I like what I see, I might just take him for myself.”
*
“Ahem...”
After the Saint's bombshell declaration, a lull fell over the reception room.
I sat on the sofa, looking at the Saint.
I couldn't see her face through the veil, but for some reason, I felt like I knew what kind of expression she was making.
“So, Your Holiness?”
“...Yes.”
Not only had she revealed that she was the Saint, but also that she was a woman.
I had no idea how she planned to deal with the consequences.
“Well... I saw your face earlier, so I believe you're the Saint, but you're saying you're a woman, not a man?”
“...Yes.”
“And you expect me to believe that?”
I decided to feign disbelief. It would have been stranger to believe her right away.
“I admit I was agitated too, but if you just start spouting nonsense...”
Thump!
Before I could even finish, the Saint shot up from her seat.
“...Will you believe me if I show you proof?”
“Pardon?”
Her voice was raised, tinged with what sounded like indignation. It was as if she were saying, "I've gone this far, why won't you believe me?”
A moment later, a change occurred.
As she slid a ring from her finger, her once-flat chest began to swell, her narrow hips widened, and her shoulders grew slimmer.
Her height shrank as well.
“...”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
“N-Now will you believe me?”