Apostle of Gentleness - 5
"Clear the mind…. Clarisma!!"
As Yuria's holy power spread, the crushing fear that had pinned down their entire bodies began to fade. Freed from the oppression that had made even breathing feel forbidden, the student council members prepared for battle without hesitation. Their opponent was the nun standing before them—Elishea, the Apostle of the heretics.
Shartia turned her head sharply, slapping her own cheek to snap out of the vertigo-like dread of staring into an endless abyss.
Slap!
"Get it together…!"
There was no time. They had to use the artifact to summon reinforcements as quickly as possible if they wanted to escape this situation. Her instincts screamed like needles pricking her skin that this chance wouldn't come again.
"The artifact…!"
Clang!!
"Mihail!"
"I'm fine. More importantly, Rohan…!"
Flashing blades danced before Shartia's eyes. Rohan swung his sword wildly, tears streaming down his face, while Mihail parried it right in front of her nose.
Shartia thought: Don't hesitate. Just shatter the ring.
Grip. She clenched her fist and began channeling mana into the ring's gem.
Please break.
And in that moment.
"Princess."
Crack.
With Elishea's voice came the sensation of her body freezing like ice. Something inside her shattered.
Riiiing.
Tinnitus rang in her ears, her mana flow cut off, her body refusing to move.
"Wha…?"
A small murmur escaped as her legs gave way. She collapsed in utter futility, with no excuse to offer. As her gaze fell, Elishea's smile passed by like a fleeting shadow. A gentle smile, as if witnessing something perfectly natural, crushed Shartia's heart as it descended.
I can't… fall…
Elishea approached the kneeling Shartia and spoke in a tender voice.
"Our princess carries so much pain in her heart."
Move… please, just move…!
"Her own blood dismisses her as a bastard. And her father only cares for her brother."
Snap out of it! Shartia… don't let this woman's words sway you!!!
"Her dream is to live happily with her mother? Oh my, isn't that a bit too modest for the noble princess of our great empire?"
Clap.
Elishea clapped her hands, gazing at Shartia with pitying eyes, as if lamenting the world's unfairness, and stroked her hair.
"How heartbreaking this must be."
As Elishea's hand touched her forehead, a strange peace settled in Shartia's mind. Even as swords clashed nearby and her name was called, her heart remained calm like a still lake.
Clang!
"President!!!!!"
Scraaaape!!!
"What the fuck!"
She didn't want to move. Through the open church doors, people emerged. Familiar faces in white heretic robes, weapons at their waists, marched out in perfect unison like valiant heroes, their footsteps echoing crisply.
Shartia smiled at the sight.
"Ah…"
She didn't know why, but it eased her mind. These were the missing students. The ones they were supposed to rescue. Yet seeing them charge forward with unfocused eyes, swords in hand, brought her relief.
Shartia looked up at Elishea with trembling eyes.
"What… what did you do to me…!"
"I merely redirected your anxiety elsewhere."
"…Huh?"
"Like this."
Elishea clenched her fist as if grasping the air, then mimed throwing it toward Yuria, who was channeling holy power.
And then.
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!!"
A scream tore from Yuria's lips. She clutched her head and dropped to her knees, her hands shaking in terror.
Aaah… aaack!!! I want to run…! I want to escape this place…!
"Yuria!!"
Haa… haa… Ricardo! I want Ricardo…!
Elishea watched the trembling Yuria with a faint smile.
"Fun, isn't it?"
"What… what is this…?"
"I simply transferred a portion of your anxiety onto that timid girl's shoulders."
"What did you do…!"
Elishea roughly seized Shartia's chin and said,
"How is it? Your heart feels at peace now, doesn't it?"
"Shut… up…!"
"Your worries melt away, and relief takes hold?"
"I said shut up, you crazy bitch!"
Elishea let out a soft sigh and surveyed the blood-splattered battlefield. She looked fondly at the executives battling students with glazed eyes.
"So many intriguing emotions here."
Glancing at Yuria with a beaming smile.
"That pink-haired friend harbors a massive grudge from a mistake she couldn't confess to her beloved."
Smiling at Ruin.
"The mage pierced by pride still believes he could change the world if he just willed it. Ah, I can see it—the unyielding arrogance even in ruin."
And at Mihail, with an intrigued smile.
"That one… looks terribly sad."
The brainwashed students were being pushed back. There were limits to drawing power from mental manipulation, and the executives were slowly gaining the upper hand.
Elishea smiled lightly and reached toward the sky.
"Now, shall we gaze into the mirror of the soul? For faith's core is self-reflection."
Before each of them stood a perfect likeness of themselves, shrouded in dark aura.
Before Yuria, writhing in splitting headache, stood a girl clutching a pink dagger, weeping.
Before Mihail, who had felled Rohan and was moving to regroup, stood a girl with long silver hair, glaring with a grim expression.
Everyone's nightmares stood manifest before them.
Elishea smiled and said,
"Love the Lord."
She began manipulating the emotional clones born from fervent zeal. Everyone froze. All who beheld their inner demons stood rigid, unable to move.
Yes.
"Aaaaaaah!!!"
Terrified, they all fled. The student council executives bolted into the forest at the sight of their inner selves. Instinctual dread. Fear of exposing hidden pasts, of facing them anew.
As they vanished one by one into the woods, Shartia cried out in panic.
"Everyone, stay together!!!"
"I can't!!"
"I can't do it!"
Elishea smiled sweetly and kindly explained their flight.
"Their hearts are so fragile. I merely amplified their fear a little, and look how terrified they are. Imagine the pain of succumbing to those emotions…!"
Elishea gazed skyward with ecstatic eyes, stroking her own face.
"How pleased the Lord must be!!!"
Chills ran down her spine. Her sweat glands screamed as every drop of moisture evaporated.
Elishea turned to Shartia with a smile.
"Now, just the two of us. I've so much I want to hear. How you'll lead the empire, what you'd do without the crown prince… I want to hear the evil in your heart."
Elishea's hand slowly extended to seize Shartia's hair, roughly dragging her toward the church.
Unable to move, Shartia stared at her unresponsive hands with trembling eyes. She'd tried everything. Biting her lips. Holding her breath. Nothing worked.
"No…"
And in that instant.
"You crazy bitch!!"
A flash of brown light streaked, sending Elishea flying into the forest without resistance, swept away by Hanna's thrust and vanishing from the battlefield.
Gasp… gasp…!
Exhaustion flooded her body. Free from Elishea's gaze, she could finally move. Shartia clung to her racing thoughts and exhaled raggedly in relief at having survived.
Gasp… gasp… heuk…!
"Senior! You okay?"
"No… not okay."
"For now…"
Hanna bit her lip, clicking her tongue at the dust cloud rising in the forest.
"Use the artifact first."
Nod.
Without a moment's hesitation, Shartia shattered it. This chance felt like it wouldn't come twice.
Crack. With the sound of breaking gem, a red orb shot high into the sky.
Shartia panted heavily and asked Hanna,
"How did you get here…? What about her clone!"
Hanna shrugged nonchalantly.
"Nothing special."
"The others…?"
"Fighting hard, of course. Some even beat theirs."
"How did you do it?"
"Me?"
Hanna gave a faint smile, thinking of the red-haired butler somewhere out there.
"I'm not afraid of anything but the butler. Unless it was him as my clone. Heh."
"You…"
Crackle…!
"Come on, senior."
"Yeah…"
"I'll cover you, so catch your breath."
"Got it."
No sooner had she spoken than a slender vine shot from the dust cloud like a spear. Too fast to track, it grazed Hanna's cheek and embedded in the ground, writhing like it breathed. Thorns sprouted.
Groooowl…!
Tiny thorns pulsed like veins along the extended vine, amplifying unease. Hanna swiftly scooped Shartia and dodged.
And then.
Craaaack.
New vines burst forth, spiderwebbing out like they meant to skewer them. Hanna clicked her tongue and raised her sword.
"Damn…!"
Slash…!
Hanna gritted her teeth and swung.