The Cult of Vivian
Silence welcomed them as they set foot on the highlands.
A desolate wind swept across the ash-gray earth.
Wind-worn rocks and sparse patches of grass dotted the landscape.
Though there were occasional rolling hills, they were gentle slopes with nothing remarkable about them.
It was a silence that felt like emptiness itself given form.
Yet, in the very heart of the desolate Elderin Highlands, there it stood.
The Sanctuary of Vivian, topped with a pink roof.
Against the colorless surroundings, it stood out like a sore thumb.
"...It's really here."
"You said his name was Deiar Hon, right? Is he the leader of this cult?"
"I'm not entirely sure. He kept babbling about receiving a revelation or something."
"...I feel an unsettling energy."
Belgard spoke up, cutting into the conversation between the two.
Come to think of it, he mentioned feeling holy power.
Since the space was saturated with holy power rather than mana, Belgard had been the first to sense it.
"An unsettling energy? Can you tell what it is exactly?"
"I can't tell for sure. Holy power manifests differently depending on the wielder..."
While it was typically used for healing, its properties and characteristics varied according to the deity one worshiped.
The ability to materialize holy power was exclusive to the followers of Cheryl.
But Vivian was an obscure, hidden deity, making it impossible to predict how its power would manifest.
"There's no point overthinking it. We came here to get a job done, didn't we?"
Roan's words snapped the two out of their thoughts.
"...Right. If I was going to hesitate, I wouldn't have come in the first place."
"True. Besides, we need to show you the results of our training, so this might actually be a good opportunity."
The two steeled their resolve.
Seeing this, Roan didn't hesitate. He marched straight up to the pink building and threw the door open.
The scene inside was exactly as it had been before.
Behind Roan, who was already used to it, a disgusted voice slipped out.
"...Ugh, what is this?"
Even though she had seen plenty of bizarre things, she still seemed shocked by this new monstrosity.
Belgard, who usually kept his composure, was also frowning deeply.
However, they didn't have time to examine the interior any further.
"Ah! Lord Del Roan! You have come to find me yourself! How delightful!"
"...What? He's acting incredibly welcoming."
"...More importantly, he isn't even looking at us."
Deiar's eyes and focus were locked entirely on Roan.
His dramatic, open-armed welcome was meant solely for him.
"Seeing as you have come all the way to the secluded Elderin Highlands, you must have asked around to find me... Am I correct?"
"That's right. I asked around and investigated the rumors..."
"And since you have sought me out, you must have decided to accept my proposal."
"Proposal? What is he talking about?"
"Now, Mr. Del Roan. Take my hand. Let us receive the blessing together and cleanse this world!"
Jane and Belgard both looked bewildered.
The man's behavior was bizarre, to say the least.
Not only did he completely ignore their presence, but he also tuned out their voices.
No, it's not just that he's ignoring us.
It wasn't a conscious snub.
It was as if his ears were completely closed to them; he didn't even twitch in their direction.
"Yeah. I asked around. People said a suspicious building had popped up here."
"I knew it!"
Deiar beamed with joy.
"But I didn't come to accept your proposal. Quite the opposite, actually."
"The opposite? Then... have you come to stop me?"
"Quick on the uptake."
Roan nodded.
"You and I don't see eye to eye. I want as many people to survive as possible. Mixed-bloods or not, as many as we can save."
Although his primary goal was related to his comrades, saving lives was still one of Roan's core driving forces.
"So, I brought my comrades to stop you. I have a feeling something terrible will happen if we leave you be."
"Comrades, you say?"
Deiar only now finally looked at the two standing beside Roan.
"Ah! Comrades. My word, how unfitting. To think you would drag around such rotten blood as companions."
A bright smile stretched across his face, entirely at odds with his words.
Then, in an instant, the smile vanished.
"What a pity."
He took a deep breath.
Yet, for some reason, it felt as if no actual air was entering his lungs.
"It seems you have been influenced by them for quite some time, Mr. Del Roan."
Deiar stared coldly at the two before shaking his head.
"To think you were already this corrupted... Then I have no choice. I must dispose of these two who have defiled your noble mission."
"...Dispose of them? The two of them?"
Roan spoke.
His voice had dropped an octave.
It was only natural.
His comrades were his ultimate red line.
Hearing them threatened infuriated him far more than if Deiar had threatened his own life.
"Whew..."
But he held it in.
Anger only offered a momentary explosion before stripping away everything else.
Roan slowly exhaled, regaining his composure.
"Sure. Try it if you can."
He spoke to Deiar after a long breath.
Yet, the recipient of his words only seemed delighted.
"I knew it. Deep down, you desired this as well. Then, without further delay—"
He reached out, attempting to grab the two.
But—
—Slash!
Naturally, Roan had no intention of letting him.
In the blink of an eye, Deiar's wrist was severed.
Deiar stared at Roan, looking utterly bewildered.
"I told you to try. If you can."
"Ah, you were testing my abilities. Testing whether I am fit to carry out the journey of cleansing the continent... I understand. I accept your test."
"...He interprets everything however he damn well pleases."
"Still, we must be careful. The holy power radiating from him is stronger than I expected."
Just as Roan and Jane began to sense it too, Deiar flung his arms wide.
"Then I shall show you my true devotion! Once you feel it with your own body, you will realize! Joining me is infinitely more beneficial than consorting with such trashy mixed-bloods!"
Deiar was completely lost in his own delusional world.
Before anyone could speak, an anomaly occurred around them.
Thud, thud.
Naked humans walked toward Deiar with their hands pressed together in prayer.
Approaching reverently as if welcoming a god, they began to cling to Deiar's body.
Roan expected them to fuse onto him like the White Mage's creations, but this was different.
"What...? They're being absorbed?"
"This is bizarre... None of them are resisting. They're willingly sacrificing their lives..."
And Deiar was gulping them down, swallowing the victims one by one.
It was as if he himself had become the altar receiving the sacrifices.
Only then did Roan's eyes scan the rest of the building.
"...Wait. This is a place of worship, so why is there no altar?"
"You are slow to realize, Mr. Del Roan."
Deiar Hon spoke.
Or did he?
The voice didn't vibrate against their eardrums; it echoed directly inside their minds.
"...Holy shit."
And Roan knew.
"Jane, Belgard. Steel yourselves and get ready."
He had encountered beings that communicated like this before.
"He's an Ascended Human."
An Ascended Human who had received a divine revelation.
Those chosen by the gods who occasionally appeared on the continent.
Madmen who willingly offered their bodies as vessels to fulfill a deity's will.
He never expected to run into one here.
Since he had never heard of a deity named Vivian, he hadn't anticipated this.
"...An Ascended Human?"
"Yeah. Sounds dangerous just from the name, right?"
"Incredibly dangerous."
"But don't worry—"
"We'll do what we always do. You'll hold the front line, right?"
Jane and Belgard showed no fear whatsoever.
Seeing them steel their resolve as if this was the perfect opponent, Roan couldn't help but smile.
Since both of them were eager, Roan had no reason to hold back.
"Alright. Prepare for battle."
Roan gave the signal and looked ahead.
There stood a grotesque mass of flesh that had completely lost its human form, a twisted manifestation of 'love.'
"Mr. Del Roan. My pure human. I shall reduce the other two to nothingness, so please rest for a moment."
A wave of goodwill echoed in their minds.
The mass raised a stem-like appendage.
—Whoosh!
At that moment, the arms wrapping the stem unraveled all at once.
Countless hands bloomed outward like a flower in full bloom.
Every single hand was infused with holy power.
Even so, no one present panicked.
They had already been through too much.
They had trained relentlessly to stop feeling helpless and succumbing to fear.
—BOOM!
A torrential bouquet of holy power rained down in an instant.
The hands of judgment tore through the entire highlands, leaving nowhere to hide.
The filthy blood should have been crushed into a pulp without even a chance to resist—
In the center of the highlands, where pink handprints glowed brilliantly.
A single human had deflected the full might of a god.
All he held was a single sword.
A simple, well-forged blade, devoid of any magical trace.
And yet, that blade...
...ignited the greed of the Ascended Human once more.
A mountain of hands blotted out the sun.
Swelling with an even more intense energy than before, the mass coalesced and surged toward them.
—CRASH!
It struck the ground in a wild frenzy.
It was a strike so devastating that the highlands shattered, and the tremors reached all the way to the kingdom.
Yet, even so.
His opponent did not have a single scratch.
An ironclad defense that protected everything, including himself.
Unfortunately for Deiar, his ecstasy did not last long.
—Screeech!
An ear-splitting screech rang out as something pierced straight through his body.
A sudden wave of pain and burning heat washed over him.
His countless hands fumbled over his own body.
His heart.
Before he knew it, his core had been pierced.
His eyes darted toward a single spot.
The abominable mixed-blood.
The red-haired mage.
She was pointing her index finger directly at his heart.
Pain and fury surged within him.
How dare she pierce a divine vessel, impervious to all things, with such crude magic?
"I will ensure your soul can go to neither heaven nor hell."
The massive hands gathered holy power.
A colossal fist materialized in the sky.
Carrying enough force to shake the entire continent, it plummeted toward the earth without hesitation.
—Slash!
Yet, even his final, desperate attack failed to hit its mark.
A massive blade erupted from the ground.
Shrouded in a brilliant yellow light, it sliced Deiar's colossal fist clean in half.
His eyes shifted to the other side.
The silver-haired priest.
A mere insect he hadn't even deigned to notice had neutralized his ultimate strike.
Deiar seethed with rage, unleashing his fighting spirit, but his emotions failed to reach the two.
"You... you guys...! What was that?! That magic and holy power?!"
Because Roan's sheer awe and emotion drowned out everything else.
"What? Are you really that surprised? We haven't even shown you the real deal yet."
"W-What?!"
Roan was genuinely shocked.
"We only showed you our individual skills just now. Unlike when we fought the White Mage, we've prepared a proper cooperative technique this time."
"You guys!!"
Roan managed to choke out the words as tears streamed down his face.
Seeing him like this, the same thought crossed both of their minds.
Maybe we grit our teeth and trained this hard just to impress this man and make him cry.
And standing before the Ascended Human who threatened to end the world, Jane and Belgard exchanged a glance.
What followed was the resonance of holy power and mana.
A translucent blade wrapped in a blazing dragon of fire materialized above Deiar Hon's head.
The holy sword of flame slowly, incredibly slowly, sliced down through his body.
It was slow enough to see and dodge, yet he found himself unable to move.
Though he refused to believe it.
Though he loathed to acknowledge the power of such filthy mixed-bloods.
—CRACKLE!
...The life of the Ascended Human was extinguished.