133. The Infighter Priest (1)

"Ah! It's been ages since I last threw some punches—stress gone in a flash!"

Releasing her mounted position over Bishop Harkan, Anies rolled her shoulders counterclockwise and cracked her neck side to side. A series of crunch sounds emanated from her body.

Elenoa, who had been staring blankly at the sight, finally asked her name.

"Um... are you really... Archbishop Anies?"

"Yeah? That's me. But who's this kid?"

Anies tilted her head at Elenoa's incredulous tone and expression, glancing sidelong at Riod as she asked.

Elenoa quickly gathered herself, politely lifting the hem of her dress in introduction.

"I am Elenoa Armitas, daughter of the Armitas ducal house and mid-rank priestess blessed by Goddess Vesta. It is truly... an honor to meet you, Archbishop."

The shock from Anies's unexpected display hadn't worn off yet, leaving Elenoa's face still filled with confusion.

"Elenoa Armitas... Ah! You're the one our goddess gave an oracle about recently, right?"

"...Pardon?"

Elenoa couldn't hide her bewilderment at Anies's muttering and knowing expression.

"An oracle?"

"Eh, we'll talk about that later."

Putting off the conversation with Elenoa for now, Anies walked over to the door she had kicked in.

Stepping out into the hallway, she took a deep breath.

"Huuuup!"

Riod, who had been watching Anies's actions quietly, grimaced and plugged his ears with both hands.

Eunhyeon raised his hands as well, but instead of covering his own ears, he gently blocked Elenoa's.

"What are you—"

"Anyone and everyone! Get your asses to the bishop's office NOW!"

Anies's voice boomed through the entire temple, sending priests and numerous others scrambling into the hallway. They stared blankly at the golden-haired young girl in luxurious priestess robes standing in the corridor before the bishop's office.

Anies scowled again at the temple folk standing around dumbly, trying to assess the situation.

BAM!

She stomped the stone floor hard, cratering it under her foot. The onlookers gasped in shock at the sight.

"Does it look like the archbishop is fucking around? All of you—five seconds."

The mention of "archbishop" drew fresh waves of astonishment from the crowd.

"Five, four, three..."

"We're here! We're coming! P-please, forgive our tardiness...!"

"You the king around here or what?"

"Pardon?"

The nearest priest, trembling in terror at Anies's countdown, rushed forward. He blinked in confusion at her sudden question.

"Are you the big boss in this temple?"

"N-no, I'm not..."

"Then is the big boss among all these idiots standing in this hallway?"

"Well..."

The priest's eyes naturally drifted to Bishop Harkan, the highest authority in the temple. Spotting the bloodied lump sprawled on the floor inside the office, he paled instantly.

"B-Bishop!"

"Hey. Eyes on me. I'm the one asking."

Thud.

Anies lightly kicked the floor again, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the impact reverberating through the temple. The priest flinched, staring down at her in terror.

"One more time you ignore my question and look elsewhere, and I'll yank your teeth out like corn kernels, just like that lump over there. Be smart about it."

"Y-yes, understood...!"

The priest shuddered, teeth chattering at the gruesome image of his own teeth being pulled.

"What's your rank in the temple?"

"Mid-rank priest. Not high in the hierarchy."

"Any of those idiots gawking behind you high-ranking in this temple?"

"N-none that I see..."

"'That you see'?"

"None!"

"Hmm, so even after all this racket, no one's shown up?"

Anies let out a hollow chuckle at the temple leaders failing to appear despite the chaos.

"What a shitshow. For real."

"What's all this commotion!"

"Oh? Finally."

Just then, a voice shouted from down the hall. Anies turned expectantly toward it.

A young man in resplendent silver armor strode forward, face twisted in fury.

"Who's that? Some big shot?"

"Th-that's one of our temple's ace holy knights. Fresh out of Aiter, he demonstrated exceptional swordsmanship and holy power, earning appointment as a Vesta holy knight. His father's a count in the Pernias Kingdom, so provoking him could cause major trouble. P-please, show mercy..."

"That's for him to decide based on his attitude."

"You little bitch causing this disturbance in the temple?"

The holy knight reached Anies, glaring down at her accusingly.

"And?"

"How dare you! This is the office of our administrator, Bishop—Bishop!"

Pointing into the office, he froze upon seeing the battered Harkan. Horror flashed across his face, swiftly turning to rage as he drew his sword.

"Drew your sword, huh?"

"Did you do this to the bishop?!"

"Yeah. So what're you gonna do about it?"

"I'll judge your blasphemy in the temple with my blade... Urk!"

Deeming his words worthless, Elenoa—no, Anies—drove her left fist into the holy knight's gut as he aimed his drawn sword at her. Seizing the opening from his staggered stance, she whipped her right fist in a brutal body blow to his left side using her waist's torque.

The tremendous impact hurled him into the wall, which cracked and crumbled, burying him under debris.

"Urp... bleeech!"

"Th-the holy knight's armor, said to be made of pure silver and mithril... it's..."

The mid-rank priest gaped as the knight retched from the agony in his gut and side, then blanched at the dented armor from Anies's punch.

"Hm? That's mithril and pure silver? Felt like punching air. Either bullshit, or you got scammed."

"Grrrh... I won't... let this... slide!"

The knight glared murderously at Anies's nonchalant mutter. She smirked, lifting her foot and stomping his shoulder.

"Hey."

"Gaaah!"

Her heeled boot pierced the joint of his shoulder plate with terrifying force, gouging into flesh. As she slowly twisted her leg, the heel ground deeper, amplifying his torment.

"You blind or what?"

"That's..."

While pinning his shoulder, Anies pointed to the badge on her priestess robes over her left breast. The knight's face slowly hardened.

A pair of silver-white wings adorned it, with hands clasped in prayer at the center—symbolizing devotion to Goddess Vesta.

Only three people on the Arkena continent bore that insignia: the pope and two archbishops of the Vesta temple.

In other words, the golden-haired girl ruthlessly stomping him was...

"A-Archbishop..."

"Yup. Ding ding. And you just pointed your sword at this archbishop."

"......"

Why was the archbishop here? How had no one known? What explained her childlike appearance unfit for her rank? Questions swirled in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knight's mind, but one overriding emotion made his body tremble: terror.

Confirming the fear on his face, Anies chuckled and withdrew her heel.

"What're you so scared for? Everyone makes mistakes. You didn't know, right? Won't happen twice, got it?"

"Y-yes... understood..."

Enraptured by the girl's charming smile, the knight nodded blankly, pain forgotten.

Anies knelt quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder and invoking a miracle with holy power—no incantation needed.

"Ah..."

The knight marveled as blood stopped flowing from his shoulder, pain vanished, and the puncture healed cleanly.

"Fwash the... fwash the bitch!"

"Huh?"

Anies turned at the lisping shout from the office, grinning ear to ear upon spotting the source.

"Fwash the bith!"

"What're you even saying, you moron."

Even through the deflated, mush-mouthed slur, his furious expression made it clear: he was screaming to seize Anies.

"Seize that bitch right... eh...? My... my teeth! My teeth!"

As Anies restored Bishop Harkan's body via prayer, he rejoiced at his returned teeth and face.

Elenoa inwardly reeled at the miracle.

'A blessing prayer with that little effort... and the miracle's caliber is on another level from mine...'

Regrowing lost teeth was a high-tier spell, akin to reattaching severed limbs—reserved for upper priests.

The glaring gap in priestly prowess between her and Anies left Elenoa in awe and complicated envy.

"Seize that bitch! She assaulted me in my temple and trashed the place! Arrest her now—"

"Hey."

"Wha—hiiik!"

Harkan quailed under Anies's chilling killing intent, flashbacks of his beating flooding back.

"No proof of your crimes, so you're ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trying to flip this on me? Useless."

"W-what are you talking about!"

"You can't use holy power anymore."

"...!"

The temple folk murmuring in the hallway erupted at Harkan's stricken expression.

"If you could, you'd have healed yourself. Why didn't you? God revoked your grace."

"Impossible! Never happened before...!"

"Judging your sins needs no trial or evidence. When God judges directly, nothing else is required."

The goddess stripping his holy power meant divine acknowledgment of his priest-unworthy crimes.

"You... you did this...? How?!"

"Got my ways. As I said: you're defrocked as of today. Worry about what's next."

"...What do you mean?"

"Why'd you think I bothered healing you?"

Crack, crack.

She rolled her neck and fingers, joints popping as she loosened up.

Realizing her intent, Harkan paled and backed away.

"St-stop..."

"If you'd stayed down quietly, I'd have let it slide. But you don't know your place, so you get more beatings."

"Stop! I surrender! Please... Urk!"

"Shut your trap and take it!"

The corrupt priest, who had exploited his divine authority to fleece parishioners and temple staff, met a brutal end.