Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Downfall
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Joanna Ark, with the blue sea at her back, let out a voice as beautiful as a clear soprano.
It couldn't be interpreted in human language, but those with even a modicum of holy power might be able to grasp its meaning.
Cynthia, who had been lying on her lap gazing up at the sky, blinked her round eyes and asked,
"Lady Joanna Ark, I love this song so much. It's about how those who bring light to the land and those who dispel the darkness all moved with one heart, right?"
"That's right. In the end, it means that light and darkness were one."
"Who made this song?"
"The spirits did. That's why it's called the 'Song of the Spirits.' It's the stories the god, once called the master of this land long ago, told the spirits before ascending to the heights."
"Song of the Spirits... I want to learn it too! I want to make lots of people happy with the Song of the Spirits, just like you, Lady Joanna Ark!"
"The Song of the Spirits?"
"Yes!"
Joanna Ark gazed briefly at the horizon over the sea, then shook her head and spoke to Cynthia.
"...I'm afraid that won't be possible."
"Why not?!"
"This song contains both good and evil. It's still too early for you to sing it."
"Good and evil?"
"Yes. That's why the Papal Court calls the book containing this song the 'Tome of Sin.'"
Tome of Sin.
One of the magic tomes that recorded the sins of those who once opposed the gods in the past.
No one but the chosen could read it, and if the unauthorized tried to force it open, the curse of the gods would descend. Even the rumors circulating about the Tome of Sin were like this, so to the common folk, its existence must have seemed more shadow than light.
"Then just teach me the good parts!"
"It's not that simple. The same song can be light in one moment and darkness in another."
"Uh... What does that mean?"
"It's still too hard for you to understand."
Cynthia placed both hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks.
"I still want to learn it!"
"......"
"Please, Lady Joanna Ark. Just a little. Even a tiny bit!"
"...Hmm."
Joanna Ark gently pressed Cynthia's cheeks with her palms and shook her head.
"Then can you make one promise?"
"Of course!"
"I haven't even told you what the promise is yet."
"I can keep any promise!"
"You really are something. Fine, then. I'll teach you one of the seven songs."
"Seven songs?"
"Yes, there are seven songs written in the Tome of Sin. I'll teach you one of them."
"Ah..."
Joanna Ark took the Tome of Sin she possessed from her bosom and showed it to Cynthia.
Though she couldn't read the spirit language written inside, through holy power, she could understand its meaning and know why they created such songs.
Cynthia practiced the Song of the Spirits through the Tome of Sin, and as time passed, she developed a voice so beautiful it evoked the choir's hymns resounding through the grand cathedral.
"Aaaaaaah—"
⟨ Bragi's Blessing ⟩
Joanna Ark clapped her hands with a bright smile.
"Well done. That's the song called 'Bragi's Blessing,' which raises allies' morale. It's one of the divine blessings that can turn the tide of battle even when you're evenly matched with the enemy."
"Morale boost! It means it gives everyone strength, right?"
"Exactly."
"Great... Great! Then teach me the other songs too!"
"Later. First, experience the battlefield with me, and we'll figure out which song you need."
"Can't you just teach me all of them now?"
"No. If you learn all the songs in the Tome of Sin, you'll incur the gods' curse."
"The gods' curse? For singing songs made by the gods?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"...I'll explain that later."
"Okay. For now, Bragi's Blessing is more than enough!"
The young Cynthia wore a happy expression.
In contrast, Joanna Ark had a bitter look on her face.
Having taught the Tome of Sin, called good and evil, to someone else, she was probably worried that Cynthia might walk the same path she did.
Whew—
Rox, who had been watching the two, asked the adult Cynthia,
"Why didn't you sing a song like that for us?"
"There was no need. Or rather, there was no time to sing on the battlefield."
"Just belt it out quick. It'd give us a boost too."
"You idiot. Bragi's Blessing isn't some easy tune like an orchestra caught up in the excitement. Every sound from your mouth is a prayer offered to the spirits."
I pressed my index finger to my lips, signaling them to be quiet.
The two nodded briefly, and the time Timeless was showing began to flow again.
Swoosh—
Suddenly, space swirled, and the scene shifted.
—Rooooaaar!
Roars like battle cries echoed from all directions.
A quick scan of the surroundings confirmed we were in the middle of a battlefield.
Monsters were flooding into the castle like a tidal wave, so it seemed to be during the Anti-Demon War. A knight wearing a helmet adorned with red feathers approached Joanna Ark, supporting a wounded soldier.
"Lady Joanna Ark, it looks like we have to abandon this place. We'll buy you time, so please escape to the north!"
Joanna Ark surveyed the battlefield from atop the walls, then shook her head side to side and replied to the knight.
"Sir Carius, the war isn't over yet. If we abandon this place and flee now, countless people will die."
"B-but... The Papal Court has issued a retreat order. If we continue like this, the knight order will be annihilated—"
"So you're saying we should abandon them?"
"......"
"Return to the battlefield. Fight the enemy with the resolve to die here. You are the master of this land. Never hand it over to the monsters."
"Lady Joanna Ark."
"Hurry."
The knight swallowed hard, then saluted with his sword.
"I shall obey your command."
Joanna Ark lifted the tattered flag standing beside her and waved it vigorously.
Flutter, flutter!
"I beg you, Cynthia."
"Yes, Lady Joanna Ark."
Cynthia began to sing the morale-boosting song called 'Bragi's Blessing.'
And a holy knight who had approached Joanna Ark clasped his hands together and looked up at her.
"Lady Joanna Ark."
Maria, a bit older than Cynthia but still a girl.
"...Maria?! What are you doing here?"
"Archbishop Juda sent me."
"You? Here?"
"Yes. He said it seemed like I'd be needed..."
"No, you're not needed here. I'll assign a knight to escort you back."
"No! Lord Juda said this is the moment I must sing that song."
"That song?"
"Yes, the one from long ago. The first song you taught me, Lady Joanna Ark—the one that brings peace."
Joanna Ark startled and grabbed her shoulders.
"?! N-no, Maria. Didn't I tell you? That song brings the gods' curse not only on the enemy but on you too."
"It doesn't matter. We're the ones who heed the gods' call, aren't we?"
"Maria."
"Lady Joanna Ark, even if singing it curses me, isn't that also a path given by the gods?"
Maria Theresa smiled brightly at Joanna Ark.
"Enduring pain is one of the blessings the gods bestowed upon humanity."
"...Maria."
Joanna Ark looked at her with pitying eyes, but Maria Theresa began singing from atop the walls with an unperturbed expression.
Though her spirit language was incomprehensible, it was a song with an urgent, majestic tempo, as if she were fighting on the battlefield herself.
Cynthia and Maria's songs resounded across the battlefield.
The allies' morale, which had been on the verge of collapse, soared to the heavens, while the enemies were blinded and couldn't see ahead.
In an instant, the tide turned.
The war against monsters, which had seemed unwinnable in both numbers and quality, ended in victory for the knights.
"Maria."
But victory didn't always bring sweet results.
While everyone else raised toasts to triumph, one had drunk from a poisoned chalice.
"Hic—"
Maria Theresa clutched her eyes and crawled on the ground. She swallowed her groans to not let others know her pain.
A powerful curse that befell the singer. That was why Joanna Ark hadn't taught it to others—one of the spirits' legacies.
⟨ Hod's Song ⟩
Joanna Ark discovered her collapsed on the walls.
But her inescapable curse had already begun, and the Papal Court honored Maria's sacrifice by bestowing upon her the title of 'Saintess.'
'And.'
Joanna Ark and Cynthia, who had shone brightest in this war, faced an unexpected crisis.
"You're saying we disobeyed the Pope's orders and put the people in danger?"
Joanna Ark was imprisoned for defying the divine oracle to abandon the people and flee. Of course, this fact was kept from others.
"Imprison Saintess Joanna Ark in the underground dungeon."
The Pope commanded the guards in a stern voice. Knights filling the audience chamber surrounded her, shackled her hands and feet, and dragged her away.
Only the person who met the Pope directly, heard the truth, and the five archbishops who decided on sin and punishment knew of this scene.
"Well done, Your Holiness. With everything neatly wrapped up, we shall report to the Rothschild family."
Archbishop Juda, the most influential in the Papal Court, watched with a subtle smile.
"Do so, Archbishop Juda."
From that day, the young Cynthia searched far and wide for Joanna Ark.
But even after graduating from the knight academy and becoming captain of the holy knights, her whereabouts remained unknown.
Not until years later, when she received a new mission from the Papal Court.
"Miss Cynthia."
"...Yes, Archbishop Juda."
"For this mission, please conceal your identity and carry it out as quietly as possible."
"Conceal my identity?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Archbishop Juda quickly glanced around his room to ensure all doors were closed, then pulled a necklace from his bosom and continued.
"Miss Cynthia, do you remember Saintess Joanna Ark, who vanished several years ago?"
"...Of course."
"I've found a way to locate her."
Cynthia's eyes widened, and she jumped to her feet.
"R-really?!"
"Yes. But to find her, we need one item..."
"What is it?"
Archbishop Juda lowered his gaze to the floor and continued.
"The book Lady Joanna Ark possessed."
"A book?"
"Yes, the one called the 'Tome of Sin.' It seems we'll have to head to the tower to retrieve it."
This was as far as it went.
Suddenly, space swirled, and the scenes created by Timeless began to distort.
Shhh—
"This should be enough. Do you wish to see more of Lady Cynthia's past, Lord Berddin?"
I looked at Cynthia, who had collapsed to the floor and was sobbing.
Even as Alfredo tried to comfort her, she didn't respond, so the events we'd just witnessed must have been too shocking.
"...We'll stop here."
"Hahaha! Then now, give me those ten years—"
"No, it's not over yet."
"What isn't?"
"I said I wanted to see the times of two people who lived in the same space as Cynthia. You've shown one, so show me the other."
Timeless sighed long with an uncomfortable expression.
Hmm—
"I went to the trouble of compressing time to show you the best scenes, and you want more! You really are greedy."
"A promise is a promise."
"...Damn it. Fine, fine! Who do you want to see this time?"
I closed my eyes, gathered my thoughts, and pictured the last person from Cynthia's past.
"Archbishop Juda."
"Archbishop Juda?"
"...Yes, Archbishop Juda. Find out why that bastard is after the Tome of Sin. Show me that time."