Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Saint, You’re So Vulgar! – Chapter 51
There were several things to consider.
How on earth had that man ended up looking like a grotesque half-human, half-fish hybrid?
And how had a ship flying the northern pirates' flag drifted all the way here?
The one who held all the answers was currently collapsed in a pitiful state, teetering on the brink of death.
They moved him immediately, and Judith attempted treatment herself.
"It's not the kind of curse that kills. More like a mutation... closer to domination, really."
Tap, tap.
Judith flicked the syringe. Then she plunged it into the man's vein and injected some unknown liquid.
The man, who had been gasping desperately, went limp in that instant.
"It's a stabilizer. Doubles as an anesthetic. Looks like he'll need surgery, so Versia, you stay."
"Pardon?"
"Someone needs to handle the prayers of healing and purification. I'll focus on the surgery."
Cold sweat trickled down Asher's back.
Not that he minded anything else, but using prayers through Versia's body required careful consideration of the repercussions.
At that moment, Versia stepped forward.
"I'll do it."
"Huh?"
"We're slicing him open to peek inside, right? Seems like something I'd be perfect for."
Right after, Versia openly gazed at Asher with affectionate eyes.
In other words, it was an expression meant for Judith to see.
"We can't make the Saintess witness something so gruesome."
"Hah..."
Judith shook her head in utter disgust and turned away sharply.
"Do whatever. I don't care who."
"Then, Saintess, would you mind stepping out for a bit?"
Asher glanced at Versia with evident discomfort.
But all he could do was nod.
In the end, Asher retreated and waited outside the surgery room.
Several hours passed like that.
"Roughly patched him up."
Judith succeeded in the surgery as if it were no big deal.
"Drove out the curse with purification prayers and ripped out the fish organs that had formed. Sealed it up and finished with healing prayers, so he won't suffer from the curse anymore. Pirating might be off the table, though."
As she said, the man no longer looked like a monstrous creature.
There were scaly remnants like hives all over his body, but unless you looked closely, they passed for burn scars.
What surprised them around then was that the man was an old-timer.
And,
"Haka? This guy... it's Haka! The Haka from Captain Kyle's crew!"
He was Haka, a crewman of the Pirate King who ruled the northern archipelago and had supposedly retired long ago.
Ferrick let out a deep sigh of regret as he repeatedly checked the man's condition.
Then, with a groan, he hardened his expression into something grave.
"What in the world..."
He had already dispersed his forces to defend the island.
In this rapidly unfolding crisis with no real leads, his sighs only grew deeper.
How much time passed like that? Haka slowly opened his eyes.
"Ugh..."
"H-Haka! Are you awake? Do you know who I am?!"
"...Ferrick? Is that you, Ferrick?"
"Yeah! Ship mage Ferrick! Your old pal Ferrick!"
"Ahh... you made it here..."
The old man called Haka smiled in relief at that moment.
Then, coughing harshly, he forced himself upright and spoke.
"Ferrick, we have to find Lycus. We need to pool our strength to stop Gon...!"
"What the hell happened?!"
"He got captured by heretics. They're grabbing archipelago folk and turning them into monsters! He's gathering forces to strike the mainland!"
Haka, panting as he spoke, suddenly staggered and passed out.
"His body's not fully healed yet. He'll improve with some rest."
Judith reassured Ferrick like that.
Afterward, they discussed their strategy.
The situation was turning more urgent than expected.
Fortunately, they hadn't noticed this side's mobilization, but it also meant they were ready to execute whatever they had planned.
Ferrick was frantic.
But his frenzy wasn't helping the current situation much.
"Let's head out right now! I've already sent word to Lycus! If we combine forces like this, we can"
"C-Captain! Ships! Ships coming from the west!"
"What...!"
It implied one thing.
The western archipelago was launching a simultaneous assault on the remaining three.
At this rate, protecting Lycus in the south had to come first.
Ferrick was grinding his teeth as a chill ran down his spine.
"What if we just break through and invade?"
"Pardon?"
"Send Melburn south. We'll go straight west ourselves. At my knight's speed, we can reach them before the fight even ends."
"That's..."
Asher's brow furrowed.
Splitting forces felt like a last resort, but as Judith said, it was the most plausible solution in this mess.
"I-It'S not that simple! They've tamed serpents! No idea how, but..."
At that moment, Judith laughed.
"Oh, perfect."
Confusion clouded the face of the sailor who brought the news.
Asher and Ferrick were the same.
But Judith remained nonchalant.
"Now we've got something useful. Was worried about lacking firepower."
She strode out, her heels clicking sharply.
Asher tried to grab her.
"W-Wait! Going like that is dangerous"
"Dangerous? You think I'm Lubena or something?"
"Pardon?"
"Went out with that useless one and got your standards all messed up. I'm different. You know that, right? Just follow quietly."
Asher was left utterly dumbfounded.
Versia whispered to him.
"It's fine."
"But..."
"She's got skills. That one."
She seemed to know something.
* * *
Judith headed straight to the pier and boarded Ferrick's waiting brigantine.
She passed through the deck to the prow, where the sea breeze whipped her black hair.
Her pale face and the decadent features with shadowed eyes gained a gloomy edge from her smile.
But don't misunderstandshe was in quite a good mood right now.
'Tamed, huh.'
Whoosh, cigarette smoke trailed into the air.
The brigantine set off, and soon the problematic western ship came into view.
The crew on deck were merfolk.
Probably the western pirates transformed into merfolk.
And as reported, a swarm of serpents was escorting their ship.
Enormous sea serpents with gleaming blue scales.
They looked plenty vicious.
"Judith!"
A worried voice called out.
Judith ignored it like background noise, taking a long drag from her pipe.
It wasn't an ordinary cigarette.
A kind of mana awakener.
As the herbs seeped into her lungs, fireworks exploded in her brain, cheeks flushing with euphoria.
Her eyelids relaxed, lashes trembling.
She shuddered lightly, then licked her lips with her red tongue.
Not a bad feeling.
Facing the results of her research like this.
Time to get started.
She activated her spell.
"Hoo"
The smoke billowed softly, gradually tinting purple as it took form.
A long spear of mist.
Crackling crimson lightning was trapped within.
Judith whispered.
"Devour them."
Phewing!
The spear shot like an arrow, embedding precisely between the serpents' eyes.
They halted abruptly.
"I-Is it working...?"
Versia muttered, flustered.
At that instant, the serpents gaped their jaws wide, gathering mana in their mouths.
Versia jumped.
"Eek?!"
"Can you stay still for a sec?"
She'd just scowled and spoken when
Crunch!
Their heads swung toward the merfolk.
The mist spear in their foreheads flashed brighter.
Magical beast mind control.
It had activated perfectly, right on target.
On the enemy ship, the merfolk were scrambling in chaos.
But they couldn't stop it.
Kwaaaaang!
The serpents' breath engulfed the merfolk.
Boom! Kwang! Kwaaaang!!!
Judith turned her gaze back to the deck amid the overwhelming spectacle.
The crew looked up at herframed against the serpent breathwith eyes full of awe.
Versia's mouth hung open.
Asher was beaming.
Judith snorted and said to them,
"What are you waiting for? Let's go."
Her smile brimmed with utter confidence.
Utter composure, too.
Naturally so. None of this was remotely special to her.
Just as 1st Class Knights had their epithets, so did saintesses.
Like Versia's "God's Favorite," Judith had her own moniker.
Born the prized daughter of the magecraft dynasty, she had perfected the integration and breakdown of spells from a novel perspective even as a child, thanks to her brilliant intellect.
Later, receiving divine calling and joining the church, she elevated prayers to the realm of authority as a genius.
Judith Haraway, God's Wisdom.
Known to the world as the church's witch, she was a fervent researcher and a sorceress versed in heavenly spells.
"Hey~ Are you listening to me?"
Whoosh, cigarette smoke trailed into the air.