The Ruler of Divine Beasts

So now she's bringing out the white dragon, Ran?

Lethe caught the glint in Simon's eyes and smirked, as if she could read his mind perfectly.

"If I let Ran loose here, she'd burn the entire city to a crisp."

"Then what are you planning to do?"

"Just sit back and watch."

Lethe drew two divine beasts out of her divine subspace.

One was a turtle; ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the other resembled a songbird. Both gleamed snow-white from head to toe, divinity shimmering in their eyes — befitting true divine beasts.

"I'm counting on you, Mimi. Lara."

Lethe closed her eyes and placed her hands on the turtle divine beast's shell.

The beast drank in her divinity like a sponge soaking up water, and moments later it was swallowed in dazzling radiance.

Wait — don't tell me—!

Simon's eyes went round.

It looked just like the moment when he'd infused divinity into Whitey to turn her black. Granted, the kittens had snapped back to normal halfway through, but—

FWAAAAAAM!

This turtle divine beast carried its transformation all the way to the end.

Watching it split and recombine again and again within the light, Simon found himself recalling a story from Professor Farahan, the professor of Divine Defense at Kizen.

— Have you ever heard of Akan, the continent's strongest Arch Paladin? He transforms his Drake into the form of an airship and rides it wherever he goes.

Among those rare divine beasts, only a tiny handful were said to be capable of it — Sacred Beast ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Materialization.

Before he knew it, the turtle had burrowed into the ground and reshaped itself into something like a makeshift underground bunker.

"You seemed awfully interested in Divine Beast Studies, so enjoy the show."

Lethe said with a sly smile.

"Lara, get ready."

Chirrp!

The bird-shaped divine beast took to the sky. In the meantime, Lethe layered several amplification magic circles over the top of the turtle-turned-bunker.

"Mimi."

The bunker's ceiling — no, its shell — swung open with a heavy metallic groan, and from within it spewed an endless stream of flares into the air.

KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWA!

The flare salvos shot skyward, punching through layer after layer of amplification circles.

Simon cried out in alarm.

"Hold on, Lethe! What are you doing? At this rate—!"

Lethe simply pressed a finger to her lips and activated the white magic inscribed across her own body.

Eyes closed, she was surveying the entire battlefield from above, through the eyes of the bird-shaped divine beast hanging in the sky.

She adjusted the angles of the flying flares in an instant. Hundreds of lights streaking skyward changed direction at once.

For a heartbeat, the city lit up bright as noon.

Then the pillars of light came pouring down like rain.

THWACK!

One drove straight into the back of a goblin's skull as it moved to finish off a wounded militiaman.

THWACK! THUD!

Another cut down a goblin scaling the wall, and another severed the neck of one pawing at a corpse.

THWAWAWAWAWAWA!

Even the goblins that had forced their way indoors were slaughtered where they stood.

Every one of the hundred-plus goblins that had stormed the city was pinpointed — and then had its throat cut in the very same instant.

Crump! Crump!

More than a hundred monsters erased from existence in a matter of seconds.

The city's residents cried out in awe — and so did Simon, standing right beside her.

Incredible!

That was the skill befitting Efnel's Special Admission No. 1 — a Saintess in the making.

Of course, that Divine Beast Studies technique wasn't a Saintess's power at all. It was strength Lethe herself had studied and honed at Efnel, pure and simple.

"Whew."

Beads of sweat dotted her forehead as she shook out her snow-white hair and opened her eyes.

"Good work, both of you. Mimi, Lara."

Chirrup!

The bird floating in the sky returned and settled on her shoulder, and the turtle that had become a fortress base melted back into its original form in a swirl of light.

"That was amazing! That was Sacred Beast Materialization, right?"

"That's right. Though I should mention, I only use divine beasts that chose me themselves. Same goes for Ran."

Lethe replied offhandedly and sent the two beasts back into her divine subspace.

Then she drew out yet another divine beast.

GUWOONG!

It was quite large — a beast shaped like a walking tree.

Lethe cupped her palm upward and breathed divinity into it.

"Everyone, come out."

Hundreds of fireflies bursting with divinity spilled out from among its leaves.

"Hurry and treat the wounded first."

The fireflies scattered in every direction.

They flew toward the fences and into the city, alighting on the wounds of the injured. Then, aglow with the divinity Lethe had poured into them, they began knitting flesh back together.

A hundred monsters struck down at once, and now a hundred people healed at once!

Feeling Simon's stare, Lethe snorted a laugh.

"Getting the picture now? The power of divine beasts is on a whole different level from you necromancers' undead!"

Simon smiled sourly. Of course she had to turn even this into a necromancer-versus-priest showdown.

"A shame I can't show you a Lich here."

"What's a Lich?"

"Oh, they exist. An undead that'd make your hair stand on end if you ever saw one— ah, wait a second!"

Simon suddenly spotted someone and ran over.

A militiaman lay slumped against a tree, a massive gash torn across his abdomen.

"Pardon my hands."

Lethe brought her hand to the wound.

FWAAAAASH!

The wound began closing at a rapid pace. The color slowly crept back into the groaning man's ashen face.

"Can you hear me?"

"Ughh! M-My lord! The lord is—!"

"Do you know where the lord is?"

Lethe responded calmly.

"He went off leading the soldiers — a boss-class monster leading the goblins…" The militiaman strained to lift his arm and pointed out the direction. Simon shouted.

"Akalion!"

The two of them immediately mounted Akalion and galloped off in the direction the man had shown them.

"Looks like it wasn't just White Goblins that invaded."

Lethe said, gripping Simon's waist as she scanned their surroundings. The forest was nothing but a sprawl of dead monsters as far as the eye could see.

"No — these ones came in at a different time."

"And how would you know that?"

"From the state of a corpse, you can guess roughly when and how it died."

Typical necromancer, Lethe grumbled under her breath.

"Anyway, judging by these bodies, this city's been under attack for nearly a week straight. Today's battle just seems to have hit harder than usual."

"No food left, and monster attacks on top of it — the lord of this city must have plenty to worry about."

The deeper they went, the denser the monster corpses grew. Freshly killed White Goblins lay scattered everywhere, felled by the sword.

And clearly, the lord was extraordinarily strong too. Trees and monsters lay strewn in wild disarray wherever his blade had passed — every wound dealt by a single man.

"Found him!"

Lethe pointed with her fingertips. There stood a mustached man locked in combat with a huge monster covered in white fur, a deep wound across his chest pouring out blood.

KIKIKIKIKIK!

The White Goblins around them scrambled to block Simon's party. Akalion let out a thunderous roar, but the monsters refused to back down.

"Get out of the way!"

Simon thrust both arms forward and unleashed the white magic he'd prepared in advance.

A holy lance rose into the air, and a ribbon of divinity fluttered in and coiled around it — soon shaping itself into a drill.

A single streak of radiance tore forward with the roar of a cannon blast, blasting aside every monster blocking the path.

And then it slammed straight into the chest of the boss monster locked in battle with the middle-aged man.

CRANG!!

The holy lance dragged the boss monster tens of meters further before burying it into a boulder. The rock split with a jagged crack, and the monster vomited blood.

"Wh-Who—!"

The man, still clutching the wound on his chest, could no longer hold himself up and dropped to one knee.

Simon dismounted from Akalion and swung his greatsword to drive back the goblins.

"Lethe! Heal him, please!"

But Lethe was wearing a strangely dumbfounded expression. No — looking closer, both her cheeks had flushed scarlet.

"H-How…"

Her hands trembled.

"HOW ARE YOU USING THAT TECHNIQUE?!"

The battle ended, and dawn broke.

Only then did the two of them visit the lord's castle reception room.

"Laus! I owe you both an enormous apology for keeping you waiting."

The lord, a thick bandage wound around his upper body, bowed his head. The two of them returned the courtesy with a proper greeting.

I thought tonight would be the end of us without question, but thanks to you two priests, our casualties were cut down dramatically. Thank you."

"As long as you know."

Lethe crossed her legs and preened.

"Pray to the benevolent Goddess for her grace."

"Y-Yes, of course! I truly felt the Goddess has not yet abandoned us!"

After the ritual pleasantries unique to the Holy Federation, Simon eased into the real subject.

"How dire is the territory's situation right now?"

At that question, the lord's face hardened.

"To be honest — by tomorrow, every scrap of food in this territory will be gone."

"Tomorrow?"

"…Yes. The sea has yet to thaw. The bitter cold presses on, and it's impossible for the entire populace to cross the mountains, crawling with monsters as they are."

His fists trembled.

"And this is all because of that accursed village."

Simon leaned in quickly.

"The village, you say…?"

"There's a village in the northern mountains called Escail."

He knew it all right.

The destination of the mission he'd heard about all along — and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠soon the very village where the two of them would infiltrate as teachers.

"Escail has sorcerers who command the Snow Woman — masters ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of snow and ice."

"The Snow Woman…?"

"A being of legend. No — legend aside, all of this is the treachery of the Escail people, done to drag Kula into ruin!"

The root of this entire catastrophe was the deep freeze.

With the climate turned upside down, the city of Kula could no longer function — not as a resort, and not as farmland for Holy Water Leaf.

The frozen sea had sealed off their only route for trade and escape, and monsters from the snow-capped peaks, driven down by the merciless cold, had begun assaulting the city.

Simon suspected this unnatural cold was connected to the evil Israfil had spoken of — the one she'd sensed to the north.

"And their crimes go far, far beyond one or two!"

Like a bursting dam, the lord began pouring out his grievances and hatred toward Escail.

Kula had drawn pure valley water down from the snowy peaks to cultivate its Holy Water Leaf, but the Escail people had once released a dreadful poison into that very water, killing hundreds of tons of the crop in a single stroke.

Then monsters that had never before existed on the continent began multiplying across the mountains — all of them hostile to Kula, endlessly invading the city.

Worse still, young people had begun disappearing from Kula with alarming frequency.

According to witnesses, the vanished had last been seen near figures dressed in white fur garments — the traditional garb of Escail.

Well, you can't judge from one side of the story alone.

But hearing all this, they certainly did sound like terrible people.

"But we will not simply sit here and wait for death."

The lord's gaze, wavering with fury, turned toward the snow-covered mountains.

Simon and Lethe left the lord's castle and walked out into the street.

"The moment we get back to the inn, we prepare."

Lethe said abruptly.

"Prepare for what?"

"I intended to take it easy for about three days, like Lady Israfil said, gathering information first. But that won't do anymore. The situation is far worse than we expected."

She lifted her head and looked Simon dead in the eye.

"Today. No — right this instant, we're going to Escail."