51
Chapter 51
How can I describe the feeling of power filling me up?
Right... it feels like when a priest heals me and my depleted Holy Power is replenished.
However, there is one clear difference from Holy Power.
'It's coarse.'
Ssssss-.
A dark, coarse, damp, and fierce energy. There is a distinct difference compared to Holy Power.
But one thing is certain.
I feel like I can do anything.
And actually.
Kwaaaaa-!
"Wh-what is that!"
I can do anything.
The Warriors of the Nation of War are startled as they see the razor-sharp energy gathered on my Greatsword. They must feel it too. That the energy I am emitting now is entirely different from before.
What kind of energy did the Fallen Angel, Lucifer, give me? Because the situation was so urgent, I made the contract in a blur and don't know exactly what power he bestowed upon me.
Regardless, Lucifer kept his promise. He gave me the power I wanted, the power to save everyone. I can feel it throughout my entire body.
"Hryaaaaap-!"
The Greatsword vibrates. The sword is crying out powerfully. I swing the wailing blade.
The aftereffect was immense.
Kwakwakwakwa-!
The Greatsword, brimming with Demonic Energy, unleashes the Demonic Power. An aura curved like a crescent moon extends for hundreds of meters, slicing through everything in its path.
Armor, spear shafts, shields, and flesh. Nothing dares to resist the aura. This can no longer be seen as mere sword aura.
Energy piles up and overlaps infinitely. A strike that would have been impossible with a single strand of energy becomes possible as hundreds of strands overlap.
A new realm. I intuitively sensed it. This is the realm of the [Absolute] that bards talk about every single day.
"Aaaaagh! My arm, my arm!"
"Lordvis! Get up! Open your eyes!"
"Everyone, watch out! It's coming again!"
I swing the Greatsword again, now completely transformed. My limbs, which had lost their strength just a moment ago, were now filled with a colorful, explosive strength.
The sword feels light as a feather. It feels as though I don't even need to gather strength for a single swing. Relying on this overflowing power, I unleashed attacks I would never have dared before.
Shuaaaaak-!
My Greatsword swings wildly in every direction. There is nothing in my way. Spears touched by my aura snap like bundles of straw, whether they are made of iron or wood. An unknown sense of euphoria occupies my mind.
Bone, flesh, and blood scatter chaotically. The term "a massacre of kin" would be fitting. With every single strike of my sword, countless lives vanish fleetingly.
Thump, thump-.
Chwachwachwachwak-!
"Waaaaagh! Everyone, get back!"
"The shields can't block it! We have to dodge it somehow!"
"Damn it! How are we supposed to dodge attacks flying in all directions... Gaaaah!"
Thump, thump-!
Every time I swing my sword, hundreds of lives collapse. It's as if I've become some kind of incredible human. A transcendent being where a single wave of the hand kills dozens and a single step sends hundreds fleeing in terror.
...Am I not an incredible human?
"R-run! Forget fighting, resistance is impossible!"
"Agh! If you're going to kill me, just do it quickly! You monster!"
"Where did she suddenly get that kind of power...! But can Holy Power actually be that black?"
The Warriors of the Nation of War are fleeing with faces full of terror. They are simply no match for me.
This is not a battle. It is a slaughter. Like a single hungry lion entering a flock of sheep.
The scent of blood blooms. My mind is consumed by a metallic tang. Red blood fills every direction.
My power, my sword.
I am truly this powerful.
Kwakwakwakwa-!
Everyone looks at me with eyes full of fear. I trample over the weak and step forward as a glorified victor.
Countless enemies are torn apart at the tip of my blade. No one even attempts to stop me. Overwhelmed by my sheer power, they have lost all will to fight.
Standing in the position of the strong, I cut down the flesh of the weak. The frail have no right to stand on this battlefield. Just as I was until recently, and just as the Warriors of the Nation of War are now.
I should be ashamed. This is the power of Devil Lucifer. Since it is not a strength I painstakingly cultivated through training, I must not take pride in it.
I abandoned the Lord. As an Apostle walking the path of faith, I should not have, yet I turned away from the Lord and accepted Lucifer's power. Therefore, feeling shame is the only correct response.
Shuaaaaak-!
The Lord did not answer my pleas.
But the devil reached out a hand of salvation at the moment I needed it most.
Who is truly on my side?
The Lord, whom I believed in my entire life, but who ignored me?
Or the devil, who may have had some hidden motive, but watched over me and provided help?
Though it was an impulsive decision, now that I have contracted with the devil, I can say it.
The devil is my true savior.
"The formation is collapsing! Hurry and reorganize!"
"The General should do it! It's impossible to stop that thing!"
"Damn it...! The main force is practically winning!"
"...Ah, right."
The main force.
Caught up in a power that naturally evokes a sense of superiority, I had forgotten something important. I almost made a catastrophic mistake.
Without hesitation, I kicked off the ground. It was to help the main force. Since the flank of the Nation of War was already on the verge of annihilation because of me, there was no need to worry about them.
Pa-ang!
Just by pushing off, the ground rippled like the surface of water. This was due to my overwhelming leg strength.
With a single leap, I covered hundreds of meters. I feel as if I've become a god. Now that I think about it, the evil that Devil Lucifer symbolizes is Pride; I finally understand why. Anyone possessing this power would inevitably become arrogant.
Sprinting toward the main force as if flying through the sky, I saw the Warriors of the Nation of War and the 1st Holy Knights Corps fighting in a chaotic mess. In the center, my father and Agesiliad, the leader of the Nation of War, were engaged in a sparking, bloody battle.
Streams of red blood and waves of Holy Power clashed, swirling together like a tornado. The impact of the countless sparks flying within prevented anyone from approaching the gap between my father and Agesiliad.
However, the moment I saw their duel, I realized.
Now was the chance.
While the monster Agesiliad is distracted by his fight with my father, a surprise attack is the only way to take that monster down.
Agesiliad, the undisputed greatest warrior on the continent. Born lame, he ascended to the throne of the Nation of War through endless effort and combat, a powerhouse who invaded the dragons' lair alone and returned safely.
If this were a private setting, I would show him courtesy and avoid such a sneak attack.
But this is a battlefield. A place of savagery where victory and defeat are decided instead of etiquette.
I simply fight and kill.
Kwaaaaa-!
"Hm? When did—!?"
I swing the black aura. A massive aura, incomparably larger than when I used Holy Power, becomes a blade of insane proportions—dozens of times the size of my Greatsword—and falls toward Agesiliad.
My father and Agesiliad, noticing my intervention, snap their eyes open. For a moment, their surprised expressions are visible, and then horror spreads across their faces.
"B-Beatrice! What is that energy! Why is your sword black!"
"Holy Knight Beatrice? You ran to the left a moment ago, so what happened to the left... they've all been wiped out?"
I give Agesiliad no time to prepare for my attack. Using the energy and acceleration I gathered while charging, I drove the strike directly into him.
A blow that means death if not blocked. Agesiliad immediately tried to swing his spear toward me, but.
"Your Holiness!"
At my cry, my father quickly regained his focus and poured even more strength into the Greatsword that was locked in a struggle with Agesiliad.
Kududeudeuk-!
"Kh...! These people...!"
A coarse groan escaped the lips of Agesiliad, whose spear was now pinned by my father. It was the groan of someone who realized a crisis had arrived. However, it was already too late. My blade had already been launched.
"Hah-ap!"
Black aura rains down. A blade as huge as a mountain fell upon Agesiliad's head. In the next moment, Agesiliad was split in half and dead. I had just cut through the hardest thing I had ever sliced.
"T-the High King!"
"The High King has fallen!"
Losing their center, the Warriors of the Nation of War fell into chaos. Then, they began to retreat and flee all at once. The absence of their strongest asset, who had never once backed down, must have brought an indescribable terror upon them.
They rolled, tripped, were chased, and became entangled. Casualties mounted as they trampled one another in their panic. It was a scene of absolute hell; for some reason, it felt good.
I chased them. I had no desire to leave alive these insolent heretics who dared attack the Church. I could hear my father calling me from behind, but for some reason, it didn't reach my ears.
All I could hear were the screams of the heretics losing their lives.
"Aaaaagh!"
"Damn it! Kill me! I will hate you in Hell!"
"Gaaaah! H-help me!"
"Don't come closer! Stay away... Aaagh!"
Death chases from behind.
Death pursues life.
I am death, and they are life.
I sentence them to a rightful judgment and a blood revenge.
Chwaaaaak-!
Normally, throwing oneself alone into the enemy camp would be considered madness by any standard.
But not for me now. The power that continues to grow proves it. The countless Warriors of the Nation of War, ground down by my blade without even a chance to struggle, prove it.
And so, I sliced, and sliced, and sliced again.
I cut through them blindly until nothing but red blood remained in my sight.
Before me, a mountain had piled up that didn't exist on any map.
It was a mountain made of corpses and weaponry.
"...Dame Beatrice."
My father's voice reached me. I lowered the Greatsword, which had done such great work, and turned my head.
My mind was blank. I had killed too many people. Cold sweat ran down my neck. The dominant pleasure I felt while committing slaughter and violence had not yet cooled. Tension crawled and writhed throughout my entire body.
There was an aftereffect. A foul aftereffect. It was an immoral emotion a devout Holy Knight should never feel. Confusion, guilt, stress. Emotions that gnaw at the human spirit surged up one after another.
The Nation of War is an enemy state that invaded the Church. If I hadn't killed them, the people of the Church would have died. My killing was justified.
-While I was experiencing such internal conflict.
A forgotten reality approached me.
"Can you explain that energy?"
My father asked.
"Blasphemy! This is blasphemy! No matter how you look at it, that cannot be the Holy Power given by the Lord!"
"It's dark, ominous, and damp... isn't that Demonic Energy?"
"Demonic Energy! How could that be possible! Dame Beatrice, the pride of our Church, using Demonic Energy!"
"But then, how could that power possibly be explained...."
The Elders began to murmur.
"It's scary... that Noona's clothes are bright red...."
"She's covered in blood, but even so... the color of the energy on that sword is completely...."
"Is it not blasphemy? Can a Holy Knight blessed by the Lord use an energy other than Holy Power?"
"...But because of that power, everyone survived."
"Should we hold an Inquisition...? It doesn't look like a natural force like spirit arts, no matter how you look at it...?"
The believers were in an uproar.
Why are you looking at me like that?
I saved you.
If I hadn't contracted with the devil, you would all be dead by now.
The more I slowly realized what I had done.
The more anxious my heart became.
*****
Ultimately, having used the power of a devil in full view of everyone, I was referred to an Inquisition.
Public opinion was surprisingly positive toward me. I testified that I had to contract with Lucifer to save Your Holiness and the other Holy Knights, and since my past conduct had been impeccable, most people believed me.
And the verdict delivered was... remarkably favorable.
"Normally, a demon who contracts with a devil should be purified through death. However, considering the motive for the contract was for the sake of others, the nobility of that sentiment, the achievements Dame Beatrice has built in the past, and her heart in being unwittingly drawn into a contract with a devil."
"Mercy shall be shown to Dame Beatrice, who was inevitably swept up in this terrible contract, and she is sentenced to hanging."
Yes, truly, it was far too favorable.
If there is life and death.
Most people consider life better than death, but there are lives worse than death.
For instance, a life bound by a contract with a devil. The Church sentenced me to hanging, genuinely believing they were granting me 'mercy.'
It was a form of martyrdom. They provided death as an escape to ensure I wouldn't be manipulated by a wicked devil or lose my faith in the Lord.
However, there was one problem.
My heart had already turned away from the Lord.
And whether it was a contract with a devil or anything else, I wanted to live.
The only consolation was that what awaited me was not a shameful death. Usually, those declared apostates at an Inquisition are sentenced to be burned at the stake, but by the 'mercy' of the Church, hanging was decided.
And so, while I was locked in a cell, waiting only for the date of my execution.
"C-Commander!"
"Lucio?"
Clank-!
Lucio, who was once one of the Holy Knights under my command, hurriedly entered, opening the cell door. How did he get the key? And why was he so frantic?
"I've prepared an escape route! Please, let's go!"
"...! Lucio! You...!"
"Damn it, people have to live first! What did you even do wrong that you should have to die!"
The reason was clear in Lucio's subsequent shout.
"I heard you contracted with a devil! But in the end, you did it to save me and the other knights! Faith is important, of course, but how can it be more important than a life! Faith exists because of people, not people for the sake of faith!"
"Lucio...! If you get caught doing this...!"
"Then we just won't get caught! I didn't want to do this either! But I owe you my life, so I have no choice! Damn it! You're too rigid, Commander! You've always been this way, but in times like this, you have to break a few decrees or orders!"
"...!"
Lucio unlocked the iron bars with a key he had obtained from somewhere and pulled me out. I was confused by the sudden turn of events, but I knew exactly what I had to do.
I must survive.
I must flee.
Lucio was right.
Faith exists because of people, not people for the sake of faith.
Perhaps it was a petty self-justification for survival, but having abandoned the Lord, I agreed with Lucio's words and escaped the prison.
After that, I ran without looking back. Solely for the sake of survival.
I had to leave the Holy Emperor's Palace and go somewhere entirely different. Even if I had to live alone, I could not accept death. It was strange.
When I charged at the Nation of War with only Holy Power, I felt it wouldn't matter if I died for my comrades.
But now that I had accepted Demonic Energy, an instinctive urge to live surged within me infinitely.
Quickly grabbing my Greatsword, I mounted the horse Lucio had brought and began racing toward the city gate.
Some tried to block me along the way, but I simply ignored them and pushed past. I had the strength and agility to do so.
How long did I run like that?
It was toward evening as the sun began to set, and I reached the eastern gate of the Holy Emperor's Palace.
There, instead of a gatekeeper, a giant of a man stood blocking the way. With a stern expression, he looked toward me in the setting sun.
It was my father, His Holiness Pope Constantine.