Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: To Get What I Want, I Push and Pull. (1)
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It was already a miracle that he'd survived wielding Requiem all this time, but to grab and suppress it even as it rampaged like that?
I couldn't believe how he resisted Requiem's whispers without being some centuries-old monster like me.
'Is this something human willpower can even achieve?'
I really wanted to see what kind of guy he was. Even if I died for it, I wouldn't die satisfied until I saw his face.
Rachel gritted her teeth and endured as time dragged on. Fortunately, she still had something to rely on.
The moment she'd been waiting for was almost here.
"Rise, Saintess."
At the knight's words, Rachel followed without protest. The waiting knights lifted the tent flap.
Rustle—
Bright sunlight poured through the opening. It felt like a blessing for today, for her on this day.
Rachel stepped out into the light.
Theodore the Emperor and the Archbishop were already on stage. The Emperor's gaze brushed over her veil.
Step, step.
Rachel moved lightly to her position.
Having participated in the Harvest Festival for years now, she knew the proceedings inside out.
"Ooooh!"
"It's the Saintess……."
"The real Saintess!"
Excited murmurs swept through the crowd.
Unable to approach, the people sent fervent gazes instead. They were so intense it felt like they pierced right through her veil.
Rachel swallowed a sigh and took her place.
'Haah, here we go again.'
She felt Serenade's energy stirring vigorously.
It got excited in crowds like Requiem did, but for entirely different reasons.
While Requiem craved to devour lives, Serenade wanted to share its life force with everyone.
The nature that sought to fill an infinite void and the nature that sought to give away infinite life stood at opposite extremes.
'No, stop it.'
Rachel squeezed her eyes shut and suppressed Serenade's power.
An omnipotent force that revealed others' physical conditions. Some had blackened hearts, others tangled messes in their guts.
Unwanted information that flooded in whether she wanted to see or know it or not. Because of it, the world Rachel saw was always different from everyone else's.
'I don't need it.'
That's why she preferred solitude and avoided crowds.
It was one reason she hated attending Mass. A single visit overloaded her body, leaving her bedridden.
'Damn stubborn thing.'
That's what Rachel called Serenade. Today, with a crowd several times larger than at Mass, suppressing it was even harder.
"We now begin the Harvest Festival."
Following the Archbishop's lead, Emperor Theodore stepped forward.
"My beloved imperial subjects."
He raised one hand after speaking in a powerful voice.
"Long live His Majesty the Emperor!"
"May he enjoy eternal health!"
Hot cheers erupted from the gathered masses. The people looked upon the Emperor with eyes full of respect and admiration.
The Black Lion of the battlefield, who had led every conquest to victory: Theodore Magiore Impero.
He had built an unprecedentedly strong imperial authority and maintained stable rule. Moreover, his striking appearance impressed men and women, young and old alike.
"……We have safely welcomed the Harvest Festival."
With every word from Emperor Theodore, Rachel felt an urge to claw out her own ears.
'Bastard.'
What sounded like heavenly tones to the imperial subjects was nothing but repulsive bug chatter to her. And hearing it from so close made it worse.
She saw the Empress, the Consorts, and the Princesses standing demurely beside him.
All stunningly beautiful, but to Rachel, they were just revolting. Anyone touched by Theodore's blood felt utterly repulsive to her.
Every minute, every second felt like torture.
'Ah, I feel like I'm suffocating.'
Rachel endured by thinking of what would happen after this.
"Before the blessing, we will begin the prayer to purify our hearts."
At the Archbishop's words, the people clasped their hands and bowed their heads.
"Dio Benedica."
"Dio Benedica."
The imperial family and nobles clasped hands and bowed. Even the knights forming a human wall bowed their heads.
Everyone had to during this sacred prayer time.
"……."
Rachel bowed her head with a secret smile. Only one person, the Archbishop, gazed at his holy book and began reciting the prayer.
"-deliver us from evil……."
In the reverent atmosphere, only his low voice echoed. It was so quiet even breathing would count as noise.
Swoosh.
Rachel slightly lifted her face.
Thanks to the long veil covering her from the top of her head, even if someone looked, they wouldn't easily tell what she was doing.
'Let's see…….'
With everyone bowing, she saw only the tops of heads. Anyone lifting theirs would stand out immediately.
Rachel planned to use that to her advantage.
'Serenade.'
Rachel slowly stirred Serenade's power. Focusing intensely, she called to her brother sword, Requiem.
'Requiem, Requiem. Come on, wake up.'
She intended to check if Requiem's master was here. If so, pinpoint their location and identity.
Rachel scanned her surroundings with sharp eyes. The shoulder blade marked with Serenade's pattern grew hotter.
"-!"
At one point, it felt like every cell in her body was drawn toward something like a magnet.
'There!'
She quickly turned her head toward the sensation's source. Astonishingly, it was the noble-only viewing area, quite close to the stage.
'No way…….'
Amid the nobles, one man stood with his head raised alone.
Even from afar, his blue hair caught the eye, and his amethyst-like eyes gleamed.
His youthful face was strikingly handsome, with slightly upturned eyes hinting at a prickly personality.
The man clutched just below his shoulder, staring at it. Hidden by his clothes, but Rachel guessed Requiem's pattern was there.
His expressionless face revealed nothing of his thoughts.
'Diego…… Kindriel?'
She'd seen him long ago, but his sturdy build and distinctive features were hard to forget.
'……No, not Diego.'
Rachel quickly calmed her racing heart. Diego wouldn't look like that unless he was using Serenade's power.
'Then, Diego's son?'
That was shocking too. She'd thought no one in the western Empire could wield Requiem except Diego.
Yet this kid, who couldn't be more than twenty, had claimed Requiem and wielded full control over it.
'This is too unexpected.'
Hiding her dismay, Rachel withdrew Serenade's power.
The man paused, then lowered his arm and resumed praying. He showed no sign of leaving.
'Yeah, of course.'
He wouldn't know about Requiem's brother sword Serenade, or that it was nearby.
He'd probably chalk the hot shoulder to some occasional oddity.
'What mere mortal knows about the Four Seasons Swords?'
He'd gotten lucky with Requiem and made it this far, but that luck was ending. If Rachel's plan succeeded, he was as good as dead.
'You did well to last this long, but it's time to go.'
A dry smile formed on Rachel's lips. A parched, barren smile devoid of moisture or warmth, like a wasteland.
"-so we pray."
The Archbishop finished the long prayer and made the sign of the cross.
"Dio Benedica."
"Dio Benedica."
The people followed with the sign of the cross and raised their heads. They had no idea what had just happened or what was coming.
Not even that Rachel had just confirmed the seed of disaster and was preparing the water to make it sprout.
"Next, the Saintess will bless this year's final harvest."
At the Archbishop's words, priests brought crops and placed them on the podium.
'Finally.'
Rachel walked forward, shivering with excitement.
'Finally!'
The moment she'd longed for was here.
Blessing crops normally took minimal power. But today, she planned to unleash Serenade's full might.
Feeling the massive pulse of life force, Requiem would go berserk, and its unable-to-suppress master would turn into a slaughtering demon.
That was Rachel's plan.
Unprecedented carnage. On the first day of the year's largest gathering, the Harvest Festival, make Requiem rampage.
Once started, it wouldn't stop. Requiem would crave more lives the more it devoured.
So it would kill everyone gathered here, kill and kill until the Emperor, and finally her.
'Finally, I can die…….'
She hadn't expected the end she craved to be this close. The thought of ending this cursed life brought ecstasy.
Perhaps luck comes unexpectedly, like a gift when least anticipated.
'Still, I won't thank God.'
No, if they met, she'd punch God in the face.
Rachel extended her hand over the crops. She took a deep breath.
Flash!
Light burst from her palm, revealing the sword's pale, shimmering form beneath.
Serenade.
Delicate vine patterns coiled around the hilt, and the dagger-length blade gleamed blindingly white.
Pure white perfection without flaw or blemish. It symbolized Serenade's endless life force.
Serenade wasn't meant for cutting others, hence its small, delicate form.
Until now, Rachel had made it emit strong light to hide the sword. That's why people firmly believed she wielded holy power from her fingertips.
Swoosh.
Serenade's tip touched the crops.
"……."
Rachel slowly closed her eyes. She felt white light envelop her palms.
Gradually, the white light flowed down over the crops.
"Ooooh!"
"The Saintess bestows her blessing!"
"To witness this glorious moment!"
The people whispered excitedly.
As Serenade's power seeped in, the slightly wilted harvested crops began reviving.
"Ooh, the power of blessing!"
"Ahh, it's so bright……."
The commoners were desperate to get closer, even a little. The knights' ironclad defense made it impossible.
The nobles sat politely, observing decorum, but couldn't tear their eyes from the light.
"The Barnes Family this time……."
"Lady Sophia Barnes was completely cured of Cruelle disease……."
Sophia Barnes's name, who had received a blessing, rippled through their murmurs.
Rachel glanced at Requiem's master. He still stared at the stage with an inscrutable face.
The only other human in this world possessing one of the Four Seasons Swords.
She felt a slight pang that she couldn't even talk to him, sharing that fundamental loneliness.
'Farewell, Requiem's master.'
After a silent goodbye he wouldn't hear, Rachel focused.
Flaaash!
The light from her hand intensified. No longer confined to her palm, it overflowed the crops and poured down from the stage.
"What is this?"
"I've never seen the light this strong before?"
"What's going on?"
The murmurs grew louder. Even nobles and imperial family whispered furtively.
"S-Saintess!"
"What is happening?!"
The Archbishop and priests were in an uproar.