Awakening of the Saintess (1)

"Grandfather...?"

Isaac's expression darkened. Snatching up the Stigma, he wheeled around and hastily opened up his holy power.

Isaac shot forward like the wind. When even Whisper saw his master burning a divine art just to bolt out of the Pope's chambers, it was genuinely taken aback. Isaac almost never reacted this way unless something had gone catastrophically wrong.

No, it's not that.

It wasn't as if Isaac had thrown his grandfather into a fight against the Pope empty-handed. Cardinals were, after all, the heads and highest authorities of their respective faiths. And cardinals had always been the ones to exorcise Demon Kings — the Saintess had only come into being because the Skeleton Demon King was simply too strong. Each cardinal had their strengths and weaknesses, but among them, the Head of Blue boasted by far the most overwhelming offensive power.

And Gold, by contrast? If Blue was the strongest spear, Gold was the strongest shield. Because it never fell to any attack, it could protect the people until the very end — which was why Gold had always occupied the leader's seat among the Five Faiths.

In other words, a fight between Blue and Gold was the proverbial clash of spear and shield. Normally, it would end one of two ways: the spear shatters, or the shield breaks. But...

The Head of Blue is one of the strongest spears the Empire has ever produced, and the Pope's carrying his ancestor's Stigma too. This isn't going to be decided quickly.

And what did that mean, exactly?

Keheheheh. It means I'll have time to sneak the Stigma out.

Isaac had never intended to leave the Pope's disposal to his grandfather in the first place.

I swipe the Stigma first, then link up with him and we finish the Pope together.

His grandfather was strong, sure, but this was a coin-flip of a fight, so it wouldn't end right away. The timing worked out perfectly. He'd even get praise for lending a hand. Yes — that was the plan. So then...

What the hell?

It was already over?! Well, Shuri's side he'd expected. Kina took such absurd pride in being a member of the Gold Faith that she would have observed impeccable etiquette before the God of Gold itself. Punching through the power of a Holy Spirit in that state was never going to happen.

But this side?

What's going on? There's no way it should be over already.

Worse, the Pope's power was being suppressed.

Don't tell me Grandfather actually won?

Isaac couldn't help tilting his head in bafflement.

Tch, what gives? I haven't even shown up yet?

Instead of answering, Isaac sped away in a rush.

A little before Isaac went hunting for the Stigma—

BOOM! CRASH!

Two lights were colliding with savage ferocity. The knights nearby could do nothing but gape at the island where the lights clashed, utterly unable to approach it.

"What in the world is happening in there...?!"

They were beginning to doubt their own memories. Then, without warning, the temple exploded with a surge of power so intense it made their skin prickle. Two lights shot out of it at terrifying speed — a noble azure radiance and a pure golden one.

The blue light lured the gold toward a small island near the temple. Every time the two collided, the earth shook, the island crumbled, and the very phenomena of the atmosphere warped.

KRAKOOM!

Shockwaves whipped up raging storms, and the ground itself began to melt. No one could even tell how many catastrophes had struck at once.

They only learned what those lights truly were when a god manifested from the golden side.

KUGUGUNG!

"Th-that's a divine descent!"

Only a fragment of it, perhaps — but there was no mistaking it. That was the Pope's summoning divine art, the one that called down a god itself!

"Don't tell me... that was His Holiness the Pope!"

Indeed, when the summoned golden hand beckoned, golden light rained down from the heavens like a deluge — drenching the entire island, leaving nowhere to run.

But the blue light dodged every single volley with blistering speed. It was only then, far too late, that the knights realized what they were witnessing: a battle between the Pope and the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Cardinal of Blue. They were struck speechless.

"This is not a fight between humans...!"

"What kind of battle even is this...?!"

Meanwhile, Eli — facing down the Pope — was quietly seething.

I should have realized it long ago.

Since ascending to the papacy, the man had never once been given a reason to bare his full strength, so the truth had simply slipped past. But the more Eli clashed with him, the clearer it became.

This is not Yulio.

The divine arts he wielded were similar, but their form was unmistakably different. At that thought, the Head of Blue's eyes flashed as he pressed his palm to the ground. The truth was, as a boy Eli had often crossed training blades with the two Berith brothers, so he knew something the others didn't — the masked, sickly younger brother who used to trail at their heels had a single weakness.

And now, decades later, in this very moment—

The holy power the Head of Blue had secretly funneled into the earth erupted from beneath the Pope's feet like an arrow, striking without warning.

BANG!

The unleashed holy power shot straight for the Pope's right flank.

—!

The Pope jerked his body aside on pure reflex—

THWANG!

—but the blow landed squarely in his blind spot anyway.

The sight was identical to that day decades ago. The Head of Blue gritted his teeth, unwilling to believe it — and yet unable not to.

"So it is you, Brutio...!"

Rage boiled up from the pit of his stomach. The Pope wiped the blood from his side with a slow, deliberate swipe and let out a hollow laugh, regarding Eli with a look that said he'd underestimated him.

"To punch through a Pope's divine art and inflict a wound of this depth — I commend you."

Eli's eyes flashed dangerously.

"Don't you dare call yourself the Pope!"

Azure chains shot out and bound the Pope in an instant.

KRAK!

Eli glared at him murderously.

"You can't even use the true Pope's power. You're no match for me."

With that, the verification was complete. No lingering doubts remained. Now he would tear the Stigma from this impostor, delay the Saintess's awakening, and strip him of the papacy itself.

Then, unexpectedly, the bound Pope burst out laughing. Pwahahaha.

"You think you've bound my feet."

"...?"

"It's been that way since the old days. Don't flatter yourself into thinking you've caught me. Right now, it's your feet that are tied."

"What kind of nonsense—"

"You chose this route because you didn't want to hand your son over as the living sacrifice for the Saintess's awakening, yes? A waste of effort. The awakening will proceed as scheduled."

Eli's brow furrowed. As for Benyamin, he had ordered Rillai to keep watch over him, just in case — and had warned Benyamin himself as well. Offering yourself as the living sacrifice is exactly what the Pope wants right now. Do not, under any circumstances, let the Saintess's awakening proceed. The time wasn't right yet. Wait just a little longer, and they would find a way to awaken the Saintess without any sacrifice at all.

But the Pope merely laughed, as if to ask whether Eli truly believed the man would wait for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that.

"The only ones who can serve as the sacrifice for a Saintess's awakening are not limited to your son."

"...!"

"Rhea Eshua had an older brother, as I recall?"

Eli's eyebrows twitched. Don't tell me this bastard meant to use Joseph — Benyamin's son — as the sacrifice. And sure enough, the Pope let out a pwhahaha.

"Why do you think I came here alone? It was a great opportunity for you — but it was an opportunity for me as well. The Saintess's awakening is a loss for our side, you see. But for the sake of the greater cause, I was willing to pin you down here regardless."

"!"

Eli whipped around to leave at that unsettling thought—

"You think I'd let you go?"

The Pope reversed the flow and pumped his own golden holy power into the very chains binding him.

As if to say let's die together, the ruthless power swirled violently. That aura of Exclusion pressed down hard on the blue holy power. Isaac had revived the lost secret arts and channeled a measure of the God of Blue's strength, but the god himself was still captive. Without a god's full protection, Blue had no choice but to be pushed back by the Pope's power.

The Pope smiled at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Eli, whose movements had dulled — and in the same instant, a massive golden harpoon erupted from the ground and hurtled toward Eli's heart.

KRAK!

"Kgh!"

CRACK!

Eli evaded it — but in the same moment, the Head's necklace he wore shattered. Or rather, the blue gem set in the necklace had fractured.

The Pope's eyes gleamed with a laugh, as if to say the man had dodged by the skin of his teeth.

"Your son's bloodline must not be allowed to live. Die together."

The instant the Pope gathered his strength—

CRACK!

"!!"

Someone kicked the Pope square in the face and sent him flying.

Eli's eyes went round as saucers.

THUD!

The one who had so ruthlessly punted the Pope was none other than—

"Who do you think you're screwing with?!"

"Melissa!"

"So the summoning ritual suddenly fired, and this is what was happening."

At the sight of a thoroughly furious Melissa, Eli let out a small groan. When the Head's necklace shattered, the summoning ritual engraved on its gem had activated. Both the Head's pendant and Melissa's bore mirrored rituals — and if either of them faced danger grave enough to break their token, the other would be summoned to their side.

As Melissa strode toward the Pope, she seemed to grasp the situation at once.

"And here I didn't think you'd go so far as to touch Joseph, too."

The boy wasn't the type to offer himself up as a living sacrifice, so everyone had assumed he was safe.

"Well, no matter. I'll simply deal with the culprit here and now."

The moment Melissa stepped forward, fuming, Eli blocked her path.

"Melissa. A direct attack is too risky. Gold's defensive divine art can't be pierced even by Eshua's spear. Here, we should—"

"If a spear can't pierce it, then you smash it with a cannon."

...I'm sorry, what?

Before the words had even finished leaving her mouth, Melissa's fist came flying.

CRACKBOOM!!

That single punch shattered the Pope's defensive divine art completely, and the Pope went sailing off like an artillery shell.

BOOM!

Eli averted his gaze as though he'd been the one struck.

...As always, a strength so monstrous it renders any concern for her completely meaningless.

He strode straight up to the Pope and ripped the Stigma away.

SHRRIP!

And yet the Pope remained utterly composed. If anything, he rose slowly to his feet with the air of a man whose plan was proceeding exactly on schedule.

"Why do you think I broke your necklace in the first place?"

"!"

In the same moment, they both realized it — the entire island was engraved with a Gold ritual.

A Gold binding art that shackles all who set foot upon it.

So that's why he just stood there and let himself get beaten.

The Pope smiled.

"I already knew that breaking that necklace would summon Melissa. I also knew word would reach every last member of Blue. Soon enough, Isaac Eshua will come this way as well."

This had been his purpose from the very beginning.

"As long as I keep the three of you — the biggest headaches in all of Blue — pinned here, everything goes according to plan. There's no one else in House Eshua who poses any threat to me."

Understanding the Pope's aim, the two of them scanned their surroundings. Subduing the Pope and unraveling the ritual itself wouldn't be difficult — but it would take time.

Why the man was so obsessed with killing Benyamin in particular was suspicious, but if the sacrifice was his goal, then even at a loss to himself, merely tying down Blue's highest-priority figures here would be a win in his book.

Melissa asked,

"Eli, where's Isaac?"

What good would asking do, though? Within this monastery, even the divine beasts used for communication could not be summoned.

But he received the Head's danger signal while in that state...

He couldn't be far, so naturally, his grandfather assumed, the boy was on his way, having judged his grandfather to be in danger. And a boy of that caliber would certainly be fast. Yes — he was surely coming.

Surely coming...

When he must not.

"My lord!"

"Are you all right?!"

Seconds later, ashen-faced knights of Blue came pouring onto the island. The Pope smiled at the sight, and the Head, gripped by an uneasy foreboding, searched for Isaac.

"Where is Isaac? Don't tell me he came in with you."

"W-well, that is... he suddenly said he had to return to the Eshua estate..."

"!"

At the unexpected news, the Pope's face twisted for an instant — while the Head of Blue's face brightened.

Yes. That's the boy I know. He caught on to the Pope's scheme and moved immediately.

"So the boy noticed. Well don—"

"...To be precise, he said, 'Grandfather dying doesn't matter anyway — I just inherit. But Rhea and Joseph are the family's future, so they have to be saved.'"

"......"

The Head of Blue fell silent.

Is it... acceptable for me to feel hurt by this?