If It Weren't for You
If It Weren't for You
{These are the tenets of your faith, laid down by the One Who Eradicates Evil. Carve them into your bodies and remember them.
First. You are beings who exist to eradicate evil. If even the smallest evil is near you, never forgive it.
Second. You are those who walk through darkness for the sake of light. Your bodies are in darkness, but your souls must shine.
Third. If there is anyone you suspect, interrogate them, whoever they may be, and tear them apart until the very end. For the followers of the Evil Gods and demons are wicked and cunning and hide themselves.
Fourth. Even if you err and spill the blood of the innocent, never hesitate. Spilling the blood of one innocent to kill ten who are evil is the greater good for the world.
Fifth. My Chosen is simple and straightforward. The one who endures a vicious and painful curse for a long time and overcomes it in the end—such a one I love, and upon them I shall bestow my Stigmata. When you behold My Chosen, be loyal and obey.
Sixth. The one whose body is covered in many eyes is a Calamity Bearer. Execute them the moment you see them. I say again, do not fear spilling the blood of the innocent.
Seventh. Those whose minds, as well as their bodies, have been devoured by darkness are the most abominable of all. Never forget your grudge against them.
Offer up the blood and entrails of the wicked as sacrifices to me. I shall eat them with pleasure, for I am one who delights in eradicating evil.}
-The scripture of the White Order. The full text of the Seven Commandments from the Codex Proelium.-
The Chosen of the Evil God couldn't believe it.
The Fragment of the Evil God was broken.
But he had no idea why it had broken.
It came out of Iomene's body, burrowed into the Saint's body, and... just disappeared.
And in doing so, it vomited up every single soul and mind it had just devoured and hadn't even finished digesting yet.
That alone was a tremendously shocking event, but what was worse was where the Chosen One was right now.
Naturally, the Chosen One, who had never expected the Fragment to be shattered less than five minutes after its birth, had been waiting right nearby to assist it.
And so now.
"O Savior! Eleos!"
"Eleos!"
The Chosen One was watching people shout from a spot not far from the Saint, getting a front-row seat.
Cold sweat trickled down his body.
The Chosen One had already consumed a large amount of the impure thoughts meant to fuel the Miracle of Concealment, all to break through the various defenses set up in the Detached Palace.
The Miracle of Concealment was drastically weakened.
The moment any of the surrounding clergy, mages, or knights discovered him, everything would be over.
The Chosen One began to carefully slip backward, taking care not to be noticed by the shouting people.
"Kyaaaak!!"
Just then, Princess Iomene, held in the Emperor's arms, suddenly turned her gaze toward the Chosen One and let out a sharp hiss.
"You!! You!! Bad! Bad!! I hate you!!"
It seemed her soul itself had returned to its original state when the Fragment of the Evil God burst, but because she had lived alone, tortured for over 19 years, Iomene's speech was still slurred.
But while her speech was just slurred.
The look in her eyes was unprecedentedly ferocious.
Seeing that look, the Chosen One felt as if his heart had dropped.
There were rare humans who, even after carrying a powerful and painful curse within their bodies for a long time, managed to overcome it through a combination of their desperate human will to live and a miracle.
And such a resilient soul became resistant to all existing demons, the black magic of Hell, and the miracles and curses of the Evil Gods.
And this being before his eyes.
Iomene was a survivor who had held an unprecedentedly powerful source of curses within her body for 19 years and had finally come back to life.
Probably, in all of human history, there had never been a human with a stronger resistance to curses, black magic, and the miracles of the Evil Gods than her.
Naturally, since her resistance was so strong, she had simply seen straight through the Miracle of Concealment draped over the Chosen One's body.
'You son of a bitch!'
Cold sweat dripped from the Chosen One's body.
But the Chosen One desperately feigned calm.
Because Iomene had been tortured for so many years, her speech and expression were still extremely clumsy.
Surely people wouldn't properly listen to what a mentally broken person said.
If he just brushed it off gently, there was a chance he could avoid this situation.
"Your Highness, the Princess. What is wrong?"
A flustered look.
A surprised face.
A face that said she had no idea what was going on.
Emily, a maid who had worked in the Imperial Palace for 11 years, answered with a perfect performance of those expressions.
***
When the Fragment of the Evil God was shattered, Iomene, who had been floating in the air, fell, so I hurriedly caught her and came back down to the ground.
It was all well and good up to the point where I even healed the wounds on her body and the wings that had sprouted.
When I saw people shouting things like Eleos and shedding tears, the reality of my situation finally hit me.
My skip cheat key to Hell had vanished.
No, wait, it was supposed to be a Fragment of the Evil God!!
Wasn't it supposed to be something amazing?
Why the hell did it break?!
Why were you doing this to me, seriously?
No, I had to admit my abilities were ugly and low, but I had only ever used them for good!!
I made the Order people wealthy, treated the slum people for free, huh?!
I never used my abilities with evil intent, not even once!!
Then why was I going to Hell! Why!!
Despair.
Frustration.
Sorrow.
Tears leaked out without stopping.
At my tears, people cried out the word "Eleos" even more fervently.
Were they messing with me?
I had caused all kinds of trouble thinking I could go back to Korea, but how was I supposed to clean this up now?
No!!
Logically speaking, just moments earlier, an intensely black curse-like thing had been concentrated on me in huge amounts, so how did it make sense that my soul hadn't been obliterated?
Even if the positive impure thoughts surrounding my body were strong, did it make sense that my soul was perfectly fine after that pitch-black stuff swarmed in, huh? Swarmed in?
Did it make sense that you dug under an abandoned factory and found an Elixir Spring?
Am I...
Did it make sense that I was a saint?
Just get lost, all of you.
I wanted to be alone.
As I was weeping with my eyes closed, I suddenly heard Iomene's sharp voice.
She was pointing a finger at a dignified maid who looked to be in her thirties.
"You! Bad!! Bad!!"
Iomene growled and shouted, flailing her arms and legs.
The Emperor hastily stepped in front of her.
"It seems the aftereffects still remain."
"Clerics! Clerics, come here! We must treat Iomene!"
At that, Iomene screamed with an expression that looked utterly frustrated.
"That!! Bad!! Bad!! No! No!"
Iomene screamed, shaking off the arms of the Emperor and Empress who were trying to calm her down, but the Emperor seemed only to pity her.
"My daughter... Yes. I understand. You may resent me as much as you want, again and again. I am sorry, so very sorry."
The Emperor embraced Iomene.
The maid looked at the Princess with pity, then turned away, and Iomene swung her arms at the departing maid.
"No!! No!! Bad! Bad!! Don't go! Bad!!"
Seeing Iomene scream at the maid with an expression of utter frustration, it suddenly hit me.
A thought popped into my head.
Bad. Don't go.
Plus, there were bloodstains on the maid's clothes.
Had that maid been injured?
Given all the chaos, it was possible she had been hurt.
Seeing Iomene yelling and making such a fuss, it seemed like she was seriously injured.
"Hold on, you there!"
The method to receive forgiveness from the Goddess, as passed on by Old Man Yodel.
He said to turn away from wrongdoing, don't repeat your wrongs, and move forward by accumulating good deeds.
My cheat key had been destroyed, ruining my plan to escape to Korea, so I had no choice but to go the orthodox route, even if the success rate was low.
I had to rack up as many good deeds as possible while I could still heal people with the eroge skills.
Because if I went into hiding and vanished completely sometime soon, I wouldn't be able to use them anymore.
That was the only way to stop my trip to Hell.
Thinking about it made me angry again.
No!!
Why the hell was I really!!
Why did I have to go to Hell! Why!!
What had I even done wrong! Why!!
Inwardly fuming, I began to stride over to the maid.
Maybe because my heart was burning with anger and fury, a slightly angry expression must have shown on my face.
The maid's face was pale.
Ah.
Was I putting on too harsh a face for an injured person?
I needed to soften my expression.
Maybe even give her a little smile...
"You, you Grace-loving dog!!"
Suddenly, the maid snapped.
Her hand swung out in a fit, and a jet-black mist-like thing obscured my vision.
What? Why was this suddenly happening?!
"Kyaaaak!!"
And almost at the same time my vision was blocked.
Along with Iomene's hiss, a brilliant Pillar of Light slammed down in front of me.
It wasn't just any Pillar of Light.
It was a Pillar of Light engraved with the symbol of the White Order.
And that Pillar of Light was descending precisely above the maid who had snapped.
Startled, I stepped back and looked at Iomene. She was in the Emperor's arms, raising her hand to point at the sky.
And on the back of her hand...
Wait a minute.
Wasn't that the Emblem of Dulanear?
Why was the White Order's symbol shining on the back of Iomene's hand?
"Aaaargh!! Aagh!! You, you fucking retarded bitch!!"
The condition of the maid, who was being scorched in real-time by the Pillar of Light, was strange.
Her appearance was changing.
From woman to man.
From youth to elder.
Not only her face, but her physique was continuously shifting as well.
Putting on a bizarre transformation show as if she were becoming an entirely different person in real-time, she was convulsing like an ant under a magnifying glass.
The maid's uniform, unable to withstand that endless transformation show, tore and fell away.
And as her naked body was revealed to the world, everyone held their breath.
Because it was beautiful?
No.
Because it was grotesque.
"E-eyes!! Eyes upon her!"
"Good heavens!! What is that?!"
Hundreds of eyes were densely grown all over the maid's body, blinking repulsively.
It was 100 times more disgusting than the left side of Erpa's face before she was healed.
Fuck, this was an abominable image even I, a monster-girl enthusiast, couldn't endure.
The maids and butlers working in the Imperial Palace recoiled in horror, and the Imperial Guard Knights swarmed in to protect the Imperial family.
And the clerics and Holy Knights alike wrapped themselves in miracles and drew their swords.
"A Calamity Bearer!! A Calamity Bearer exactly as recorded!!"
"The One with a Thousand Faces!"
Amidst the trembling voices, a shout from a cleric of the White Order pierced everyone's ears.
"It is the Chosen of the Evil God!!"
"Hurry!! Focus your Holy Power on the Pillar of Light!! We must burn it to death!!"
The people of the White Order immediately saw it and began to concentrate their Holy Power into the Pillar of Light descending from the sky.
At that action, the maid finally could not hold out.
No.
The body of the Chosen of the Evil God began to burn.
"K-g-g-g-guhk!!"
A scream of agony burst from the Chosen One's mouth.
And at last, her body gave way, melting into a puddle of blood without leaving a single bone fragment behind.
Just before melting into blood, she pointed a hand, now almost a crushed lump of flesh, at me and left behind a single resentful remark.
"Chosen One of the Grace Whore!!......If it hadn't been......for you......"
That was the end.
The Pillar of Light vanished, and the Chosen One was no more.
Me?
I was just staring blankly at the entire spectacle.
What the hell was this situation?
"O Dulanear!!"
"O Evil Eradicator!!"
"O you who have overcome the curse!!"
"The God of Evil Eradication has bestowed a Saintess upon the Order!!"
The clerics and Holy Knights of the White Order rushed over to Iomene, prostrating and bowing down before her.
Whether she cared or not, Iomene pulled free from the Emperor's arms and began to run toward me.
"Saint!"
And at the same time, I could see Erpa also running toward me from afar.
Looking at her, I suddenly felt depressed.
A woman who loved me.
But a woman I had to push away because of my tragic fate.
I even kissed her because I thought I was going to Korea!!
What was I supposed to do about this now?!
I couldn't smile comfortably.
Nor could I cry. Just as I was looking at Erpa with an awkward smile,
"Good!!"
Iomene pounced on me.
"Good!! Good!!"
She pressed her face against mine and began to rub it vigorously, her face filled with a bright smile.
"The Healing Saint and the Saintess of Evil Eradication are granted to humankind!! Pay homage!!"
The clerics and Holy Knights of the White Order came rushing over and prostrated themselves around us.
Everyone was looking at the scene with warm satisfaction.
All except one person.
Except for Erpa, who had stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Iomene nestled in my arms.