[No title provided]

The atmosphere turned icy in an instant. The vast square grew so deathly quiet that only the fake saintess's agonized groans echoed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through it.

"But she is the saintess—!"

"She's not."

I had clearly directed my power toward the one who cast the curse. And as a result, right before their eyes, this fake was bleeding and writhing in pain.

The others tried to argue back, but after seeing me draw up my aura and the fake clutching in agony, they couldn't bring themselves to step forward. They just mumbled awkwardly.

"Kuh!! You!!"

Then, the fake saintess—who'd collapsed on the ground, writhing—suddenly screamed at me.

Wondering what was happening, I turned toward her, and our eyes met—

"Confess your sins right now and kneel before me!!"

Her eyes flashed pink, and an inexplicable wave crashed over my mind. Suddenly, sparkling lights shimmered around the fake saintess weeping before me, a sweet, cloying scent tickled my nose, and a mind-numbing sensation washed over me.

"Kill that fake right now!! If you do, I'll overlook your rudeness just this once—!"

"So it was a mental attack."

"—What?! You... are you sane?! How? That was my maximum output, using every last bit of yin energy I had—!"

Enchantment. A type of mental magic that forces the target to feel compelled affection toward the caster, clouding their reason and judgment. But since it tampers with someone else's mind, it requires immense magical aptitude from the caster—or for the target's mentality to already be on the brink of collapse. Otherwise, it's impossible to pull off.

"A swordsman's duty is to prepare for any attack, anytime, anywhere. My brain's protected by aura, so regular mental attacks can't pierce it."

"Th-that's ridiculous...."

My master had drilled this into me time and again. Those strong in body and external defenses often neglect their inner training, which is why swordsmen are especially vulnerable to mental attacks. He'd bring in mental magic specialists to bombard me with every spell in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the book, forcing me to erect a mental barrier in my brain with aura. It was brutal training, every which way.

"People don't favor mental attack magic not just because it's hard—it doesn't give good returns on investment. If it were really that strong, everyone and their dog would be using Enchantment nonstop."

This kind of magic doesn't replace memories or emotions; it just overlays a thin veneer on top of the original. Even if amplified by the caster's power, a tiny distortion can nullify it entirely. That's the drawback, so hardly anyone bothers.

"Like this."

I immediately gathered aura in my palm. The fake saintess sensed it and lunged at me—but

Snap—!!!

A wave of aura poured toward the entire crowd. The spectators stirred at the sensation sweeping over them, but when nothing happened, they began murmuring.

Of course. This wasn't a direct attack technique.

And the true nature of this skill began to reveal itself not among the spectators, but among the church executives who'd followed the fake saintess.

"Kill... the saintess...? Why would I agree to that...?"

"Why did I say that there...? Ugh, my head!"

"Wha... what...?"

Several priests and cardinals clutched their heads, groaning and collapsing. The knights guarding them panicked, not knowing what to do.

"Those collapsing now are the ones who fell for her Enchantment. No idea why, but it wasn't ordinary—strong enough to snag even church cardinals."

"Pardon? Then the ones who didn't collapse..."

"What else? They were already screwing around with her, so no need to waste Enchantment on them."

The fake had just admitted she was using her remaining yin energy at max output. If it were an unlimited powerhouse ability, she wouldn't have said that. It probably had restrictions on use.

She'd seduced about a third of the executives into her camp through relations, then used Enchantment on the rest for whatever reason, bending their reason ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to her will.

"So, knights. Memorize every one of those standing there all smug. They weren't content with just preying on believers—they agreed to execute the real saintess."

I pushed past the flustered knights and approached the fake saintess, sprawled and trembling on the ground.

"Name."

"Y-yes...?"

"Name."

"E-Eris..."

"Right, Fake."

She shot me a look like why even ask then?, but when I stared her down stone-faced, she couldn't even protest and averted her eyes.

"That power. Where'd you get it?"

"Ugh... uuuugh..."

"Think carefully. Would you rather spill after being tortured to a pulp, or confess right here?"

"I-I got it!! He just appeared before me and said he'd make me the saintess!!"

"Who."

"Jelros!"

"!!!"

A name I'd heard before. The Heaven God Cult executive who'd ruined the imperial family on a whim.

"I don't know why he came to me! I-I was just jealous of Hertia... We're both orphans, but she became the saintess and lived this glamorous life! I had to scrape by with nothing!!"

The tantrum of someone eaten by jealousy. Her rotten, festering soul—reeking of decay despite her pretty facade—was too nauseating to face.

"How'd you get that power?"

"H-he just gave it to me. Said it looked fun, a gift for me... If I followed one command, he'd grant eternal life and beauty..."

From what she said, Eris got her power from this Jelros guy. He told her it was yin energy, gained through sex with men. As a devout believer at first, she resisted, but her jealousy toward Hertia grew, so she slept with some corrupt higher-ups. With the yin energy from that, she gradually enchanted others, pulling them to her side.

But the amount of yin she could gather and the strength of her Enchantment were weak, so it took ages. Only now could she move to oust Hertia.

As I listened, that pig of a cardinal—who'd feared his own crimes coming to light—tried to slip away in the chaos.

"Jeez."

Thud—!

"Guhk!"

"Think a fat pig who's never exercised ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a day in his life can outrun an aura user?"

Pathetic. I'd clocked him already; he tripped over my foot and rolled comically across the ground.

"You think you can get away with this tyranny in the church?!"

"Yeah."

Crunch!!

"Gaaaaahhh!!!"

"What're you waiting for? Pray to your god. If you're innocent, he'll smite me and save you, right?"

I pinned the cardinal's ankle with my foot and crushed it to keep him from running. A guy who'd spent his life on bribes and women? No way he could endure this. His ankle crumbled easily, and he squealed like a stuck pig.

"A Lord tormenting the innocent like this—how dare you?!"

"Innocent? Ha, give me a break—!"

His nonsense was so absurd, I couldn't help but snort.

"What, thought having God as your backer means you get a free pass? I don't know if God really exists, but if I were him, I'd fry scum like you with lightning."

"Kuh...!"

"And hey, I've got a backer too. Way sturdier than some invisible god."

Right then, the clatter of hooves rang out, and figures in resplendent golden armor poured in from the execution ground's entrance.

The crowd stirred at their earth-shaking presence, but they ignored it and charged straight to me.

Click-click— They surrounded us with precise steps, and a woman stepped forward.

"...Well done."

"No trouble at all, Princess."

Before coming here, I'd briefed Astraia von Kailum on the situation and requested imperial elite knights. My hunch about Heaven God Cult ties? The emperor sent top troops without hesitation.

Leading them boldly into the church grounds, the princess—with her radiant golden hair—glared at the flustered church members and barked an order.

"Imperial knights, bind them and drag them to the palace at once. Anyone connected to Heaven God Cult—take them in, no questions asked."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The executives resisted the knights grabbing them, but lifelong prayer-pushers couldn't beat burly soldiers. The holy knights, seeing their leaders' crimes exposed, couldn't bring themselves to fight back and could only watch as they were hauled away.

"His Majesty sent elites since it's serious. There's a treaty between the palace and church, but... we can ignore it here."

"Yes. Just secure them—"

"—Aww~ Things were getting fun~ Too bad~"

A childish voice echoed from above.

What the...? No presence at all till now?

Sensing this wasn't some pushover, I looked up—and saw a boy floating in the air.

"That's..."

The princess stared at the airborne kid in disbelief.

"A child? How'd a kid end up here...?"

"That's the guy."

"Hm?"

"The one who manipulated the Empress... and the mastermind behind this. All of it."

"...What?"

Her eyes turned to pure venom, like glaring at her mortal enemy.

"Ooh. Princess miss~ Don't glare like that, it's scary~ It was all just a prank, no need to get so serious, right?"

"A prank? A prank—!!"

I grabbed the princess's shoulder as she surged with rage, calming her. She huffed, furious, but realizing we didn't know his identity or power depth—antagonizing him now would be bad—she watched my reaction quietly.

"You're Jelros?"

"Hm? Yup! I'm Jelros! Oh, I know you too! Mars Noctus! This era's second Aura Lord! That's you, right?!"

"...Yeah."

"Hmm... I was gonna kill you for ruining my fun little play's finale, but you showed something even better, so I'll forgive you! Oh, but gotta give some punishment!"

Snap!

The sound of his fingers clicking rang out—

"Wha...? M-my body! No, nooooo...!"

Eris, the fake saintess bound and dragged by a knight, rapidly withered as if all moisture drained from her. She shriveled into a mummy-like husk and died.

"Gotta punish failure~ Ah, she had such nice jealousy, but her skills sucked... Gotta be more careful next time, hehe!"

Clang.

"Whoa?!"

Realizing the gravity, I unleashed aura at the floating figure—but it sliced his illusion in half, the image rippling and vanishing.

His voice boomed across the square. Guess that was just an illusion he'd conjured.