Chapter 175
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: Purging the Heretics
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"Sir Rehelon, I'm fine. Please stand up."
In truth, Saintess Nadia was more preoccupied with the fact that she herself had performed a mad ritual of miracles under Leon's influence than with understanding the current situation.
The moment the suggestion lifted, shameful memories flooded back in.
I must have lost my mind.
She was probably thinking something like that.
"Now that you've realized it, that's enough. The Lord said to embrace those who repent."
"Saintess!!"
"Holy Knight Captain."
At that moment, High Priest Diablo interjected.
"You are indeed a sinner."
Saintess Nadia jumped in surprise at his words.
"Priest Diablo!"
"Even if it was under orders, the fact that you tried to harm the Saintess remains unchanged. However, Holy Knight Captain, you have duties to fulfill now, don't you?"
"That is..."
"You are a holy knight who protects the Holy Kingdom. In fact, the captain of the holy knights. Right now, there are heretics in this Holy Kingdom who slander the Saintess to seize power. That's also true, isn't it?"
At Diablo's urging, Rehelon slowly lowered his sword and nodded.
"Yes. I still have work to do."
His eyes gleamed fiercely.
"Even as a sinner who will gladly accept my punishment, I swore to fulfill the duties given to me."
Rehelon rose to his feet. Around him, the other Sword Master-level holy knights who had just been attacking in concert were now prostrated in silence.
What stiff-necked bunch.
Unlike the high priests, he wasn't someone who actively tried to oust the Saintess; he was just following orders.
At the very least, it seemed certain that a massive purge would sweep through the Holy Kingdom.
"I shall issue a command."
"We obey!!"
Even the Sword Master-level knights, the holy knights pressuring the Saintess, and the heresy inquisitors all responded in unison to Rehelon's stern voice.
"There are those who dare defy the will of the gods, succumb to lust for power, and seek to harm the Saintess. They are heretics. Does anyone object?"
The holy knights responded to his quiet question in perfect unison.
"No objections!!"
"From now on, we subjugate the true heretics who issued us those orders. Leave not a single one alive. Round up everyone connected to them."
At his words, the holy knights and heresy inquisitors sprang into action simultaneously.
The first thing they did was turn their swords on some of the bewildered holy knights and inquisitors amid the chaos.
"W-Wait! Holy Knight Captain! We... No, I didn't know! I mean it!"
"We'll find out after the investigation. Take him away."
"L-Let go! Please! Saintess! Mercy!"
Rehelon glared coldly at those being dragged away, his fury promising to chew them to the bone if they were guilty.
A man that rigid would probably step down the moment this was over.
Of course, whether they accepted his resignation would be up to Diablo or the Saintess.
Not my concern.
What occupied my mind now was the newly acquired fusion ability and Luna's condition.
"Leon... My stomach feels bad."
"I'll give you a massage back at the inn. You did well."
Luna silently approached my back and let me piggyback her.
I wonder if anyone realized she was the great archangel who had stunned everyone just moments ago.
Only Diablo, who knew the truth, gazed at Luna with a bitter expression.
"Luna Vasilin, my apologies."
"It was my choice anyway. My stomach hurts, but I don't regret it."
Diablo gave a faint smile at her words.
"When you've received something, you must repay it properly. Don't worry. Since we've been tasked with aiding the Saintess, we'll handle it thoroughly."
It was amusing how that tiny ornament had moved a man who never intended to step to the forefront.
After leaving word that he'd send information if anything came up about Varil, Diablo escorted the Saintess into the Holy Kingdom's royal castle.
I informed Melissa of what had transpired here afterward.
-This is... weird. I know I shouldn't feel this way,
Melissa muttered in a strangely ambiguous tone.
-But for some reason, it feels good. Like when your siblings excel and you feel proud by association? I'm about to feel a superiority complex here.
I understood what she meant.
At some point, Luna had naturally become part of the family.
"Right. I'm useful."
Those words subtly boosted her self-esteem.
-So, let the Holy Kingdom handle their internal affairs, and the Hael Tribe? This shouldn't cause us any backlash, right?
"Not on the surface. We didn't reveal ourselves. As for the Hael Tribe... It'll work out fine. They've been blocking harmony with the Hael Tribe all this time; now that they've been purged, no one will stand in the way of the Saintess."
Now that I thought about it, she wasn't wrong. In this situation, Saintess Nadia wouldn't need our help anyway.
The teleport gate was prepared as a plan to achieve harmony with them somehow; its absence didn't mean inevitable discord.
In resolving the Holy Kingdom's issues, the Hael Tribe problem had naturally been settled too.
-Good work. At least tonight I can stretch out and sleep easy.
"Yeah, rest up. We'll head back soon."
The moment I cut contact with Melissa, Luna climbed onto the bed and patted it invitingly.
"Leon, hurry."
"Bossy, aren't you."
As if she'd been waiting, she buried her face in my arm and lay prone. I pressed my hands into her back, infusing it with aura.
"Hng... This feels good."
I'd occasionally pushed aura into her body to loosen knots, but today they were especially tight.
"It's knotted worse than I thought. Because of that divinity or whatever?"
"As a fallen angel, using my original divinity is quite burdensome."
"For something burdensome, don't you recover just fine?"
"It's a bit different."
She let out a short, groaning sigh.
"After being sealed for so long, my body isn't what it used to be."
In other words, she'd pushed herself pretty hard too.
"Side effects?"
"Leon's massage fixes it."
"Don't do it next time."
"If Leon needs it, I will."
No point arguing further.
"Here?"
"There."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Hee hee..."
Luna wiggled her toes and smiled faintly, clearly pleased.
While doing so, I pondered the new fusion ability that had emerged.
It had never activated before, but when I layered the high-circle necromantic magic Suggestion and the word of command [Bind] on top, something anomalous happened for the first time.
The method was simple.
Like causing aura to react explosively inside elemental magic such as Fireball to create a change.
Of course, I wasn't sure if those two would work that way, but this felt close to an authority in some sense.
The Machine God's Heart was a borrowed authority.
Thanatos was the authority of death dwelling within me.
Now fusion too.
It felt less like Labyrinthos had coincidentally drifted into these places and more like it was tempering me.
It even sparked enthusiasm, like having a crafting table and wondering what to try first.
A certain combination popped into mind around then.
"Hmm..."
"Your hands stopped."
"Ah. Sorry, customer."
I resumed pushing in aura for the massage, and Luna contentedly drifted off to sleep with her eyes closed.
Leaving her slumbering behind, I stepped out to the terrace and reclined in the rocking chair.
The Holy Kingdom's night sky was more beautiful than anywhere else.
The stars, planets, and moon floating in it shimmered in iridescent hues, refracted by the kingdom's unique energy.
Feeling the night breeze in silence with my eyes closed, I slowly extended my hand.
Blue streams of energy gathered above it, soon forming red flames.
The basic elemental magic, Fireball.
I then invoked a word of command on it.
"[Ignite]"
The red flames began accelerating, burning fiercely like a gas torch.
And its temperature rose at an astonishing rate.
Yes, up to here, this was the familiar magic I knew.
The fusion ability kicked in when powers from different halls were used in tandem, creating differences in efficiency.
I activated the status window and tapped the fusion ability. Unlike before, strange characters flickered and shifted every fraction of a second into bizarre forms.
"Librarian, what's going on with this?"
[Synchronizing current information.]
I glared at the text. It changed rapidly, but my dynamic vision was beyond normal.
Strengthening my eyesight, I tracked the fleeting characters.
They were bizarre shapes, but honestly, I couldn't make sense of them.
As I stared pointlessly, the Librarian's message appeared.
[Synchronization complete.]
Text began appearing simultaneously.
[Fusion Ability unlocked.]
[Applying a specific word of command to powers from different halls can transform them into a single, more powerful unique ability distinct from the originals.]
[Once transformed, the ability is saved to a slot.]
[Current available slots: 1/2]
One of the two slots was already used.
Probably the grotesquely powerful Suggestion magic from fusing the necromantic Suggestion spell and the word [Bind].
For testing, I conjured Black Flame, a suitable necromantic spell.
Then I imprinted a word of command into the flames.
"[Ignite]"
[Fusion Ability slot is empty. Register fusion ability?]
To satisfy my curiosity, I dispersed it first.
Then it simply burned as Black Flame enhanced by the word of command.
Ah, so that's how it works?
I can't use a fusion ability until I register it.
When a slot is empty, I can fuse something new. Adding a word of command to a power from a hall other than elemental mana creates a new combination.
In other words, this unique ability was incredibly versatile.
With one slot already taken by the Suggestion fusion, I needed to be cautious with the remaining one.
"Librarian, any conditions to increase slots?"
[It is judged possible to expand based on ability usage or the passage of time.]
[Also, based on your prior use of Suggestion magic, it seems the form changes according to your will.]