Apostle Bartholomew's Tale (2)
From now on, we're going to go catch the Necromancer.
Yes. Understood.
...Seoyeon. Wouldn't it be good to take some time to think about it?
Isn't it possible that you're not understanding the situation?
I understand that the resurrected Bartholomew Evaristo has become the puppet of the Necromancer.
Of course, I know what it means to face that.
Yes. For now, I think so.
Han Seoyeon nodded calmly.
Touch it and you die. Brush against it and you die. That's a divine punishment, so even with my power, I can't resist it. She's the hero of the Second Vatican Council who opened new horizons in the Aosding sword technique without miracles.
That was Bartholomew Evaristo. The reason she was called the greatest holy knight in her lifetime wasn't just because of her personality.
Knowing that, and saying she's going to jump into the fray without hesitation, how could Giacomo's expression not brighten?
She had been an extremely mature child since childhood. That fact itself was something to be happy about, but no matter how mature her mind was, she was still a minor.
As Seoye's teacher and an adult, Giacomo couldn't help but be pleased by her attitude. It was only natural.
But at the same time, he thought that excluding the excellent personnel like Han Seoyeon Margarita from the already extremely limited pool of those who could move immediately.
From a pragmatic standpoint, this was correct. Giacomo thought this while feeling a slight sense of self-loathing towards himself.
So, we have to go now. If that madman starts using Evaristo in earnest, who knows how many people will lose their lives.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is truly a good shepherd, and therefore those who follow His will must also practice good. This was the ritual shared by most who had crossed the Valley of Indifference and possessed unshakable faith.
Even Han Seoyeon was no exception. If anything, among the gravekeepers, there was a tendency to particularly value the realization of justice and good.
So, it wasn't strange that she spoke in this way.
There are still many unknowns about the Necromancer, but one thing is certain. Whether it's a means or an end, the Necromancer tends to move in a direction that maximizes the suffering and sacrifice of civilians.
It's like an embodiment of pure malice. What was scary about that madman was exactly that.
Its ideology is hostile to the Church, and if left alone, it will inevitably cause massive casualties.
Even though the expected casualties when it attempts mass murder are only the third after Professor and Black Rabbit, among the Seven Sisters, it's considered one of the highest risk factors due to its competence and, more importantly, its malice.
Moreover, the opponent is the Necromancer.
However, Seoye's decision to suppress it before casualties occur wasn't just for moral reasons.
It also included some pragmatic aspects. An increase in the number of dead means an increase in corpses, and for the Necromancer, that itself becomes a resource.
In other words, as more victims are created over time, its power grows. If possible, it was better to deal with it quickly.
Whether this is truly a 'possible situation' is honestly a bit questionable in many ways, but.
Even if it's just us, we have to try somehow.
...I don't know if this is really the right choice yet.
But that girl didn't seem likely to break her will. So, as Giacomo, he had no choice but to go along with them.
Two against one is better than three, right? The chance of survival is a little higher.
Then, while the Pope brings the strategy, let's prepare ourselves. We will use all available resources except humans. No objections?
Yes. We'll prepare immediately.
Not recruiting people as much as possible is because, with mediocre skills, it's not helpful anyway.
No, before that, it's fortunate if it doesn't trip you up. It's not worth mentioning that you can't properly execute the strategy, and thinking about the opponent being the Necromancer, even without being a torturer, it would replenish the enemy's power just by being killed during the operation.
Prepare as many holy oils as possible, Seoyeon.
In this situation, it probably doesn't mean actual holy relics, but rather special bullets with the same name.
A bullet that assumes a large-scale human sacrifice in a battlefield where an Apostle should be deployed, but no Apostle can be deployed, and instead a substitute is called in. That was the Holy Nail.
It's not something that would come out in a scene where one Apostle and two comparable personnel are deployed. Ordering 'many' is even less likely.
If countless lives are sacrificed as a price for defeating the wicked, then it would be meaningless.
Nevertheless, this mobilization is possible because it's Han Seoyeon here. She is the only person at this point who can freely use holy nails without cost.
I don't know how now, but in the upcoming Saul civil war, it was a weapon that would be used by her hand in several shots.
Understood. ...However, will it have any meaningful effect?
However, there was a problem on the other side. Seoyeon nodded at Giacomo's words and asked.
Of course, the Holy Nail is one of the extremely lethal weapons, but it's also a matter of the opponent's name. There's no such thing as an effect that says anyone who gets hit dies instantly, so in some cases it might be survivable.
...It's rather unfair that the opponent has such an effect, but what can you do.
No matter what, if Bartholomew Evaristo gets hit by the holy nail bullet, he won't die.
Then why is that?
Han can definitely kill him instantly.
......I'm sorry. I'm not sure if I heard it correctly.
I heard it correctly. Giacomo clenched his fist several times like loosening his fingers and answered.
It's not following the example of Kūkai, but... we will die, die, and die again. You will make it so, Seoyeon. This is the minimum condition to establish combat.
That's... ah, is that what you meant?
And only then did Seoyeon understand the meaning and sigh.
If he dies to Evaristo, he won't be able to rise from the grave again. That's because it's a death by miracle, a death by our God, and a death by divine punishment. Therefore, we must die before we die.
Since direct physical contact brings an irreversible death, we must die before that. Immediately after, I will resurrect you.
Giacomo Marchisio nodded.
Truly, it will be a bizarre battle.
In an absurd situation that defies common sense, Seoyeon just muttered.
Are you alive, Nino?
It seems I need to discuss the definition of 'alive' first...
The woman lying on the desk, Elif Yazıcı Nino, who is also Apostle John, muttered in a half-dead voice.
If it's about biological survival, it's affirmative, but if it's about asking if the condition is okay, it's negative...
It's been a tough time.
It wasn't proper etiquette to be lying down in front of someone you were supposed to meet and talk to.
If the person in front of you is someone who is the highest dignity of the Church, then especially so.
But the Pope, Dionysius, just sat in the opposite seat with a kind smile, as if not caring much about her condition.
He knew how bad Elif Yazıcı's state was.
In the realm of deduction, she was the holder of a brain that was superior to anyone else. That could be a simple description of her.
However, Yazıcı was proving by her own body that being too superior could be a problem.
Unless she was blocking her senses as usual, her brain would overload with information overload. Even a tiny bit of new information would cause various deductions to branch out and the information volume to explode.
But still, Pope Dionysius II said coldly. As if he had expected her to say so, Yazıcı slowly raised her gaze from the desk and looked at the Pope.
Can't you make the strategy alone? I'm tired.
But this much complaining was fine. She thought this and grumbled.
I'm not enough alone. It's just three humans going to stop a tsunami.
It had to be a thoroughly calculated and refined strategy. At that, Yazıcı let out a small sigh and slowly sat up.
Good. Then let's prepare somewhere.
Then she immediately recited the Bible verses pulled from her mind one after another.
Matthew, 17:2.
Their faces shone like the sun, and their clothes became white as light.
Exodus, 33:20.
Again he said, "You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."
2 Samuel, 6:7.
The Lord was angry with Uzzah because of his mistake. So the Lord struck him down there, and he died beside the ark of God. ...All of these are verses of evidence for Evaristo's miracle.
The power of the clergy comes from faith, of course, and miracles of Apostles and some holy knights are no exception.
This cannot exist outside of faith, or rather, miracles that are theologically inappropriate do not occur. Most miracles performed by Christians appear in the form of at least one line mentioned somewhere in the Bible.
In short, in a transformed state, you die if you touch it. That's the key. What's the current state of Evaristo?
It appears to be in a normal state.
The Pope said this and brought up one terminal. It was a video of a drone flying and shooting from above a huge glacier.
After manipulating the terminal a few times, about 30 seconds passed and it slowly began to enlarge. What was there was a skeleton wearing the clothes of a gravekeeper. Reading the faintly embroidered sentence at the bottom of the sleeve, Yazıcı frowned.
Ha, it's really Evaristo?
As you can see, it seems to be not performing miracles at the moment.
Here, 'as you can see' means 'since it didn't die even after seeing this'.
Of course, the Pope wasn't risking his life to verify that, and this was a video from about 30 seconds ago.
When Evaristo's miracle starts to take effect, the lens will burn immediately, so they were safe. If something happened and the camera or communication held, it was in a state of making real-time videos for death row inmates as a canary.
However, why is it in a form with only bones left.
The reason he had the intention was that he had decided to confirm it once with Apostle John, and it was also because of that question.
Among saints, there are cases where miracles leave the corpse not decaying after death. No matter what, Evaristo's corpse was almost intact.
But after resurrection, he shed all his skin, so it was understandable.
If it were anyone else, but with the Necromancer's ability, it could have been revived in a complete state.
That's... wait a minute... give me a little time. My head hurts...
Yazıcı rubbed her forehead and said this, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. Then, about ten seconds later, she blinked.
But since there was a lot of emotion in her gaze, Pope Dionysius's expression hardened.
Have you come to some realization?
Pope. Why is it that when you fillet a fish, you remove the bones?
That's... isn't it to take the meat?
Then, what about this.
Yazıcı pressed her eyelids tightly and continued.
Is there any verse of evidence that the 'removed' meat can still transform as part of Evaristo?
The skeleton in the video lifted the rifle it was carrying on its back slightly and pointed it at the camera.
Click. The drone camera that was penetrated by the bullet stopped sending the video.