Pope Maria Queenpin (5)
In the pitch-black forest.
A bizarre procession emerged on the desolate dirt path.
Dozens of torches stretched out like a serpent along the narrow trail.
- Thud, thud…
A man strode confidently at the forefront through the flickering haze of the torches.
Behind him, who advanced silently forward in his resplendent attire, followed others of varying builds and gaits, maintaining steady intervals.
"Your Excellency, perhaps we should take a rest now…"
One of the trailing priests cautiously suggested, panting heavily.
But the leader, Archbishop Calvarion of the Holy Haven Papal State, did not break stride.
"It seems you've already forgotten what catastrophe has befallen the Papal State."
Calvarion's low, chilling words stabbed into the priest's ear like a dagger.
"Every minute, every second counts in this crisis. Rest? Are you in your right mind?"
At Calvarion's icy rebuke, the priest who had spoken shrank back as if struck by lightning, bowing his head hastily.
"I-I'm sorry, Your Excellency…"
"We must arrive before dawn, no matter what. Before our sacred sanctuary is ruthlessly defiled by that wicked demon."
Calvarion's eyes gleamed ominously in the torchlight's afterimage.
Like a noble executioner driving away filthy refuse.
Without a hint of hesitation, he pressed on through the suffocating darkness.
"According to the messenger's report, Joachim's holy power was absorbed by that wicked demon."
Calvarion's brow twisted grotesquely at the low report from his adjutant at his side.
The sacred power bestowed by the Goddess becoming prey for a vile demon was, to him, an unbearable humiliation and a profound blasphemy against divinity itself.
"His Holiness's judgment is ever inscrutable. To spare that impure being immediate execution and keep it close instead."
Calvarion murmured coldly, and the adjutant replied flatly in a lowered voice.
"A demon wielding holy power, and in such vast quantities that Beatrice Valoa's position is now extremely precarious."
"A saintess candidate to a mere demon? Has His Holiness lost his mind?"
"Moreover, His Holiness personally welcomed that impure one into the papal palace."
At the adjutant's addition, Calvarion let out a small, venomous sneer laced with blatant disgust.
"His mercy has gone too far, sowing the seeds of disaster within."
An unstable wave of holy power eerily emanated from the tip of the staff Calvarion gripped.
The overwhelming pressure silenced even the chirping insects around them in an instant, draining the color from the faces of the trailing priests.
"Protect Valoa at all costs, no matter what. The rest can come later."
"Understood, Your Excellency."
The adjutant murmured lowly and signaled to the priests behind.
The serpentine torch procession flickered menacingly and accelerated.
"Wh-what in the world is this, Lady Vivian?!!"
Lumina halted mid-step on the path, letting out a small scream laced with shock.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Sprinkling holy power on the commoners without warning?! And revealing your face on top of that!"
Lumina shouted loudly, her voice trembling as she clutched the holy sword to her chest.
I tilted my head slightly, staring blankly at her from right in front, and replied indifferently.
"Wasn't me. It just kinda went off on its own."
"That's the same thing! Holy power requires the Goddess's permission to obtain…"
"No, Lumina."
I cut off her excited words sharply and asked flatly.
Lumina swallowed the words she'd been about to say, her mouth gaping wide as her body froze stiff.
"The Goddess doesn't hand out holy power to people like that."
"…Huh?"
"The Goddess is fair. She gives everyone the same chance."
You could tell just from a demon like me getting holy power.
The Goddess is fair.
She doesn't discriminate by race.
Nor does she coldly turn away from shallow faith.
"People just build their own high walls and block themselves from reaching beyond."
At my indifferent reply, Lumina's face went blank as she staggered.
Like someone who'd been whacked hard in the back of the head with a giant hammer…
I'd just mumbled it casually, thinking it might be something like that.
But it seemed to hit Lumina like it yanked out the pillar of her lifelong beliefs.
"We humans… built the walls ourselves?"
"Not sure. Just maybe. So don't take it too seriously."
Lumina stood there dazed for a while, unable to speak.
Staring blankly down at the holy sword in her hands.
Her lips twitched several times.
A fierce whirlpool of countless emotions churned in her eyes.
"Well, anyway, it ended on a heartwarming note, so let's just…"
"W-wait…!! Hold on, just wait a second…!!"
As I tried to brush it off and start walking again.
A desperate cry from behind grabbed my ankle tight.
"Huff, huff…"
Turning back, there stood the strawberry-nosed uncle from the tavern earlier, gasping for breath.
He must've run like mad—his clothes were torn by branches, ragged and pitiful.
His dirt-smeared face dripped sweat like rain.
"V-Vivian…"
"Me?"
Even in his frenzy, he hadn't given up on beer.
His right hand still clutched a mug.
"I had to check if this was a dream somehow…"
"You ran all the way here just for that?"
"Just that?! A miracle like that happens right in front of me outta nowhere—how could I sit still?!"
The strawberry-nosed uncle gulped down some beer with an agitated shout.
"The guys back at the tavern don't even know what's changed in them yet. They're just sitting there stunned…"
"Yeah?"
"But I know. I know what this unfamiliar, warm energy rippling inside me is!"
To others, he looked like a drunken fool babbling nonsense.
But knowing the context, it struck me as pretty heroic.
Though the beer mug in his right hand kinda ruined the seriousness.
"The child born from the Goddess's tear…"
"…?"
"That child was you, Vivian."
What was this uncle suddenly on about?
Calling me a child born from the Goddess's tear outta nowhere.
The Goddess would freak out if she heard.
"No. I wasn't born from the Goddess's tear."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"It's not about believing—it's just true."
I denied it firmly enough.
But the uncle didn't waver, his eyes full of conviction.
"Haha! Fine, let's go with that for now!"
The uncle burst into hearty laughter, then chugged more beer.
"Your birth on this land must mean the impure energies have blackened the world that much, huh?"
"Dunno. I'm not the child born from the Goddess's tear, after all."
"Still, that's a relief. Your eyes are just black, so our efforts weren't in vain, it seems."
He said 'let's go with that' at first.
But his words and actions were way off.
"Wait a sec… Lady Vivian is not the child born from the Goddess's tear."
Unable to stand it, Lumina finally spoke up cautiously with a troubled look.
"Lady Vivian was chosen by the Goddess as a saintess ca—"
"No need to cover it up that much. I won't tell a soul about what happened today."
But the uncle seemed set in his conviction.
He nodded slightly, sipping his beer with a smug, satisfied expression.
"You think I, who once studied magic seeking the world's truths, lack that much insight?"
"…Pardon?"
"Sure, I peeked into the abyss and ended up like this, but back in my youth, I was a pretty hotshot mage."
The uncle declared proudly, taking a deep breath.
"Anyway, Vivian. I swear on my life, I won't breathe a word about today or you, even under torture."
"Thanks, but like I said, I'm not the child born from the Goddess's tear."
"Haha! Fine, let's go with that for now!"
Repeating the same line weirdly—he must really be drunk.
Where'd that prophetic, intense gaze from earlier go?
Watching him lick the bottom of his empty mug with unfocused eyes, I couldn't help sighing deeply.
"I overheard something about testing a sword earlier?"
"Yeah, that's right. Testing the power of the holy sword I made."
"…Holy sword?"
"Yep. The one Lumina's holding—that's the holy sword I made."
No sooner had I finished.
Than the uncle gently set his beer mug on the ground with his right hand.
"Ho, is that so?"
"Why do you ask?"
At my puzzled question, the uncle's hazy eyes suddenly sharpened brightly.
"Never heard of the Goddess's child forging a holy sword. If you're up for it, how about testing it on me?"
With that heroic line, the uncle straightened his drunken body unnaturally.
He spread his arms wide in an awkward stance and continued gravely.
"Don't hold back for an old man. Swing with all your might."
"N-no, even so… How could I dare point a sword at an elder…"
"Can you call a sword that can't fell one old man a true holy sword?"
Lumina flinched hard at the uncle's sudden provocation.
She looked pretty flustered.
But the uncle didn't budge an inch.
"If that sword you're holding is truly holy, it'll shatter my magic with ease."
"Don't blame me if you regret it. I warned you."
"Haha! Worried about a mage wrapped in holy power? Aren't you underestimating me?"
The uncle laughed heartily, waving his hands wildly in the air.
"Right now, I'm near invincible. Nothing scares me—so quit hesitating and swing that sword already!"
As if utterly fearless.
He flaunted bizarre qigong-like stretches with flashy moves, goading Lumina relentlessly.
Finally, the fired-up Lumina gripped her holy sword firm.
Aimed the tip at the jiggling uncle like a squid…
- KABOOOOOM────!!!!!
A razor-sharp, colossal sword beam shredded the surroundings mercilessly, crashing like a storm.