[No title provided]
“What? You’re joking, right?”
“……”
“What kind of bullshit is this……”
It had been two days since the church headquarters dragged away the Saintess, claiming some urgent matter had arisen. I’d heard from my master that she’d been imprisoned on charges of impersonating the Saintess.
“This is info only shared with a select few. She’ll probably be released soon, but I figured it’s best to tell you first, since you’ve got a connection to her.”
With no word from the Saintess, I’d headed back to the count’s territory just in case—and that’s where I got this bombshell from my master.
“No way. I know her well. She’s not impersonating anyone—she’s the real deal! You can tell just from her divine power—!”
“They’re not idiots. They’ve got evidence for their suspicions, which is why they’re acting so bold. Plus, plenty of them have been wary of a commoner-born Saintess from the start.”
“Ugh……”
I’d seen her wield divine power with my own eyes, so I couldn’t easily swallow this. And the way things were moving so fast? This wasn’t some spur-of-the-moment plot. Or maybe some darker, bigger force was pushing her toward death……
“You going?”
“……”
“Even if you do, there’s nothing in it for you. You’re lucky if you don’t get branded a heretic and dragged through the mud. Still going?”
“……Yeah.”
This world’s religion was straight out of the medieval era. Anyone branded a heretic for betraying the faith? Their fate was obvious.
To me, the Saintess was just a noisy girl chasing after her god. But that didn’t mean I wanted to see her end up like this.
“Tch. My one and only disciple’s a total pushover.”
“Hey, come on—”
“If you’re doing it, do it right. I’ve been itching to stick it to those church pigs anyway.”
With that, he turned and left.
Why couldn’t he just cheer me on normally…… What a tsundere master.
After some quick prep, I headed straight for church HQ. I arrived just as her execution was underway.
Hiding my presence, I watched from a corner of the execution grounds. Right as the axe was about to drop on her neck—
BOOM—!!!!!!!!
I blocked the axe with my sword, stopping her death.
* * *
“Wh-what?! What the—?! Where’d you come fr……?!”
A massive man in the high seat stared at me in shock. His bloated, flabby body screamed anything but purity and integrity.
His face, utterly unfit for a man spreading God’s word, brimmed with greed and lust.
“You bastard! Barging into a sacred execution?! You claiming to be a heretic too?!”
He was startled by my sudden appearance but didn’t recognize me, treating me like some random intruder mid-execution.
Then his aide whispered in his ear, and his face drained of color in real time.
“Executioner! What’re you waiting for?! Kill the sinner now!”
Too scared to yell at an Aura Lord who’d stepped into transcendent territory, he turned to the executioner, demanding he hurry.
“Uh…… Your Eminence. The thing is……”
“Hey.”
Chill—!
I subtly unleashed my killing intent to shoo away the fidgety executioner between me and the cardinal. Pouring it onto the burly headsman, I watched his face go deathly pale as fear overtook him, eyes glazing over.
“Scram.”
“Hiiik—!”
He dropped the axe, pissed himself, and bolted from the grounds. Even a guy who killed for a living feared his own death just as much—tail between his legs.
“D-defending a heretic……! Holy Knights! Seize him n—!”
Slash—!
“—ow?! Gaaahhh!!!”
A man in the crowd pointing at me and the Saintess, calling us heretics, screamed as a flying slash severed his wrist.
“Anyone who opens their mouth gets cut.”
How’d I slice his hand from that far? No one could figure it out. But the choking fear gripped their hearts, silencing the crowd like mice.
No one wanted to stir my wrath or scream and run. Better this way, I thought, as I approached the dazed Saintess staring at me.
Shing—clank! Clunk!
A casual up-and-down swing of my sword snapped the chains on her wrists and ankles, sending them clattering to the ground.
Free from the oppressive weight in an instant, she stared at her liberated limbs, then up at her savior—me.
“……Why.”
“Huh?”
“Why…… did you come to save me?”
She looked worse than I’d imagined. Her beautiful silver hair was matted with blood and grime. Sleep-deprived and tortured, her eyes were hollow, skin blistered red, torn in places. A few days of hell, plain to see.
“Why’d I save you?”
Hmm. Pity? Because she was an acquaintance and it felt wrong? Or seeing someone utterly devoted to her god get abandoned?
“……Just did.”
I felt like it. Couldn’t say why. When I heard she was in danger, my head just filled with I have to save her.
Shocked by my answer, her half-lidded eyes flew wide, blinking rapidly.
But more than that—her chest. A pattern on her collarbone peeked through torn clothes, sending an unpleasant twinge through me.
Faint, almost imperceptible unless I focused. As my hand moved to the sword hilt—
“Step away from the sinner at once!”
Just as I tried purging the ominous aura clinging to her, the cardinal from before stormed over with Holy Knights and a woman, all riled up.
Surrounded by escorts, she must be the new “Saintess” replacing Hertia.
She glared at me venomously from behind, while the cardinal blocked her path, stomping forward. His bulk made the ground feel like it shook with each step.
“Why.”
“Urgh—! Even if you’re an Aura Lord, I can’t forgive such insolence!! You dare defy God’s will?!”
“Eh.”
“Wh-what?!”
“I don’t believe in God to begin with. And I’m doing just fine, so probably no issue if I keep not believing.”
“What nonsense—!”
I ignored the bellowing cardinal and looked at the Saintess—no, Hertia.
“Hertia.”
“!? H-how do you know my true name!?”
“Still wanna believe in God?”
That argument back in Noctus territory before we parted. Similar question, but this time, Hertia couldn’t answer easily.
“Or…… wanna try believing in me?”
“!!”
Believing in a human over God. For someone who’d devoted her life to faith, it was earth-shattering.
If she chose God here, I’d respect it. But if she chose me……
“……”
Her eyes trembled fiercely. Faith clashing with newfound will to live, no doubt.
“Truth is…… I don’t know what’s real anymore. Was everything I believed a lie? Was my life devoted to God fake? But as Hertia, not the Saintess…… I want to decide.”
“……”
“I’ll…… try believing…… in you……”
“……Okay.”
I plunged my sword straight into Hertia’s chest.
“Gasp!”
“In the end……”
The crowd gasped or shook their heads, thinking I’d killed her after all.
“Ha, haha! I knew it’d come to this! You wanted to end that insolent sinner with your own hands!”
“What’re you yapping about, you pig.”
“P-pig?! How dare you—!”
“You’re all misunderstanding.”
Hertia was shocked at first by the blade in her chest, but soon realized no pain—just comfort.
“Everyone thinks curses are some terrifying horror, but they’re basically parasites.”
Unlike magic, curses born of grudges, rage, desire linger in their host. Magic manifests imagination; curses eternally feed on suffering.
Once cast, the curse becomes a parasite. Feed it mana, and it torments till death.
Hard to see or detect, breaking one is high difficulty. If strengthened by someone?
A curse no one detects, not even Saintess power?
“Breaking it is surprisingly simple.”
As I said, it’s a parasite. Water flows one way through a hose.
So…… blast immense pressure from the outlet, reversing the flow. What happens to the caster?
Noctus Style 7: Reverse Flow
Splurt—!
“Kyaaah!! Guh—! Cough!”
“S-Saintess?!”
I erupted aura through the pattern on Hertia’s chest. The woman beside the cardinal collapsed, screaming and vomiting blood.
Mana overload—agony, reversed blood flow. Blood spewed from eyes, mouth, nose as she fell.
Forcing aura into the curse’s “hose” reversed it completely. The fake Saintess crumpled in pain.
Meaning—
“Yup. You’re the culprit.”