Assassination, Part 2
Ordinary people who had absolutely no connection to the church had no idea who "Seraphina" was.
And for good reason—she had never once obeyed an official order from the Holy See.
"Attend the upcoming social gathering at the duchy and spread the word of God's greatness."
[Translation: Go stand before the nobles, sell your looks like a clown, and squeeze some more donations out of them.]
“Yeah, fuck off.”
"Word has reached us that demons have appeared near the capital. Make haste and subjugate them."
[Translation: Leave the slum dwellers to die for all I care, and get your ass over here to save the nobles.]
“Oh dear. I'm just so fragile and weak, I don't think I have the strength to make it all the way there.”
Bullshit.
If Seraphina was fragile, humanity would have gone extinct a long time ago.
Because she utterly ignored all public-facing duties, the general public barely knew her. But for those within the church, it was a completely different story.
It happened not long after Seraphina had cursed out the Pope and been exiled to the fringes.
“Do you know Sir Evan?”
“Oh my gosh, isn't he that incredibly handsome knight with the killer body?”
“Right! There's even a rumor that he's going to be appointed as the Commander of the 1st Holy Knights!!”
“No, I heard he'll officially receive the commander title after he deals with a certain heretic.”
“A heretic in this day and age? Who on earth is it?”
“I don't know. Some nun who apparently hurled profanities at His Holiness the Pope. Seraphina, I think her name was.”
On a sunny afternoon, two apprentice nuns were chewing the fat, cheering for the handsome and kind Evan while tearing Seraphina—or whatever her name was—to shreds.
They had absolutely no doubt that he would slay the heretic like a prince on a white horse and make a triumphant return...
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“H-Healers! Anyone who knows even a shred of healing magic, assemble in the chapel immediately! Rank doesn't matter, just hurry!”
A few days after Evan's departure, the emergency bells began to toll—bells that had never once rung in the Pope's Palace, fitting for the peaceful capital of Solarium.
The two apprentice nuns, who could cast minor healing spells, hurried to the chapel in terror.
“W-What's going on?”
“Could demons have infiltrated the heart of the capital?!”
Pale with fear, they arrived at the chapel, only for their eyes to behold...
A man with all his teeth knocked out, his face swollen like a balloon, his arms grotesquely twisted, and his legs completely shattered.
No, he could hardly be called a man.
He was a half-corpse.
Yes, he was essentially a corpse-in-waiting.
Trembling at the sight of such a horrific state for the first time in their lives, the apprentice nuns approached to administer treatment.
But hanging tattered on the chest of this corpse-in-waiting was the 'Sun Medal'—the symbol of the next Commander of the 1st Holy Knights.
N-No way.
Looking closer, his tall, well-built frame was the spitting image of the beloved Sir Evan they had adored so much.
“Kyaaaaah! Has our Sir E-Evan been ambushed by a demon legion?!”
The apprentice nuns slyly slipped in the word "our."
“...”
But the squire serving Evan could say nothing, merely hanging his head in silence.
And with good reason.
Evan had boldly declared he would bring Seraphina to justice. Even the Pope, knowing no one could defeat that monster, had tried to stop him, but Evan had stubbornly set off anyway.
Upon confronting Seraphina in the slums, Evan—perhaps smitten by her striking looks—had confidently declared:
“If I win, throw yourself into my arms! Do that, and your sins shall be pardoned!!”
Only to have his arms, legs, and teeth thoroughly dismantled in a mere three seconds before barely escaping with his life.
Useless idiot. To think the prospective commander got beaten to a pulp without even swinging his sword once...
“Please tell us! What on earth happened to Sir Evan?!”
“...He single-handedly repelled a legion of hundreds of demons and protected a frontier village.”
Unable to bring himself to say, "He lost a one-on-one fight to a woman," in front of the weeping nuns, the squire did his absolute best to paint the situation in gold.
“Oh my goodness...”
“Sob... I knew Sir Evan would...!”
The nuns' faces flushed with deep emotion. Not only was he handsome and well-built, but he also possessed the noble chivalry to sacrifice himself alone for the people.
And so, 'Operation: Gold-Plate Evan's Face' seemed to be a flawless success.
That is, until a lion's roar shattered the peace of the Pope's Palace.
“Hey, fucker!! Where is that horny sexual harasser named Evan?!”
Whether she had amplified her voice with divine power or not, the shout reverberated through the entire capital.
Soon after, the thunderous crash of a heavy marble pillar collapsing echoed from outside.
Crash!
The massive chapel doors, famous for their grand scale, were blown clean off their hinges. Walking through the thick cloud of dust was a single nun.
“So this is where you were hiding~?”
It was Seraphina's breathtaking smile—a rare sight indeed. But upon seeing that beautiful smile, Evan's face turned completely pale.
“You motherfucker. You got your ass handed to you, and yet you ran away spreading rumors that you rejected me after I confessed to you before you left?”
Seraphina grabbed Evan by the collar and began shaking him violently.
“What? 'I came to bring her to justice, but I could not bring myself to strike down a woman whose heart I could not accept, so I departed'? Why don't you try bringing me to justice right now, then?!”
“Mmph! Mmmph!!”
With his jaw shattered and his mouth bandaged shut, Evan couldn't even offer an excuse as he thrashed about. Of course, he had no excuse to make anyway, since it was entirely true that he had ordered his squire to spread those lies out of sheer embarrassment from being defeated in three seconds.
Seraphina raised her fist and began hammering down on Evan.
“Just die!!”
Thud! Thud!
That day, rather than being terrified by Seraphina's overwhelming might, the people in the chapel were far more disgusted by the pathetic sight of Evan, wrapped head to toe in bandages, pissing and shitting himself as he begged for his life.
Evan packed his bags and went down to his hometown to become a farmer. The only silver lining was that his hometown no longer had to worry about demon attacks. After all, a (former) commander candidate who could easily handle run-of-the-mill demons was now working their fields.
In any case, after this incident, everyone in the church learned the absolute terror associated with Seraphina's name. This crazy bitch had proven that if she was crossed, she would literally march right into the Pope's Palace, Pope or no Pope. And knowing she possessed the raw power to back it up made it all the more terrifying.
So why on earth had the Pope ordered the assassination of the girl protected by none other than Seraphina?
The Eclipse assassins gathered near the Belnoa Slums.
“Shit... I don't mean to rain on our parade, but do you really think we can bypass that crazy monster bitch and pull off this assassination?”
“Heh. Our great Pope has a plan for everything. He isn't called the true representative of God for nothing.”
“Whoa! As expected of His Holiness!!”
Eclipse, the secret assassin group controlled by the Pope, was composed entirely of his fanatical devotees. Watching this display, Sua—the group's sole female member and its youngest—felt a deep, visceral wave of disgust well up from the bottom of her stomach.
To think these hulking brutes were worshiping a decrepit old man, blushing like schoolgirls. The Pope was no representative of God; he was nothing but a hideous, lecherous old pervert—
The Pope is no representative of God; he is nothing but a hideous, lecherous old pervert—
[ERROR: HERETICAL THOUGHT DETECTED]
*Throb!*
In an instant, a sharp, piercing pain like an awl boring into her skull shot through Sua's head. Her clear eyes instantly glazed over, turning dull and vacant.
“Huh, Boss. Looks like the kid's in pain.”
“Leave her be. She does that shit several times a day.”
A moment later, Sua approached the leader with a vacant expression, a creepy smile spreading across her lips.
“Boss. Let us make haste and purge the filthy heretics.”
“Good. Kid, you know you play the most crucial role in this mission, right?”
“Of course, Boss.”
There were only two reasons why young Sua, who had never killed a single person with her own hands, belonged to this horrific assassin group.
The first was the absolute, blind 'brainwashing' the Pope had forcibly implanted in her mind.
The second was her unique, specialized ability.
She could perfectly disguise herself as anyone without anyone noticing. Since her disguise did not rely on any magic or sorcery, it was completely undetectable.
Usually, Eclipse only moved after she had infiltrated first and gathered intel. But for this mission, she was the alpha and the omega.
The topmost chamber of the Pope's Palace.
“Listen closely. This is a secret known only to me, but in every church built with the Holy See's funds, there is a...”
Recalling the instructions she had received from the Pope beforehand, Sua clicked her tongue inwardly.
To think a man of the Pope's stature would do something so perverted. I suppose to rise to the position of Pope, one must be that—
[ERROR: HERETICAL THOUGHT DETECTED]
*Throb!*
...No. As expected, His Holiness the Pope is truly wise.
Disguised as a devout apprentice nun, Sua seamlessly slipped into the church in the slums.
At that very moment, a horrific massacre was unfolding in the pitch-black Belnoa Slums.
“Kyaaaah!”
“Spare us! Please, at least spare my child... *cough!*”
The masked assassins of Eclipse were merciless. They swung their blades at anyone in sight, completely indifferent to whether they were women or children.
The foul-smelling slums were quickly drenched in the scent of blood, and corpses began to pile up in every alleyway. Those forced into the slums simply because of their poverty died without being able to offer any resistance.
This dreadful news reached the church in no time.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Sister Seraphina!! Please, open the door, quickly!!!”
It was Alex's urgent cry.
Normally, Seraphina—who still viewed Alex as a greasy womanizer—would never have opened the door, but the sheer desperation in his voice forced her hand.
Though, of course, she only cracked it open just enough to show her face.
“What? What's all the fuss about?”
“A group of masked men in black is slaughtering people in the slums!!”
“What?!”
In that instant, a massive scale began to sway in Seraphina's mind. Ruby's safety versus the lives of the slum dwellers. Naturally, Ruby's safety was infinitely more important, but heading to the slums didn't necessarily mean Ruby would be in danger. As she hesitated—
Squeeze—
A small, warm presence wrapped around her waist from behind.
“Sister Seraphina... don't worry about me, please go. I have Camilla with me, after all.”
“R-Ruby...”
Truthfully, Seraphina was incredibly reluctant to leave because of that dream demon brat, who would collapse in embarrassment if someone so much as touched her earlobe. But she instinctively knew that if anything happened, Camilla would sacrifice her own life to protect Ruby.
So, Seraphina had no choice but to nod.
“Hey. Camilla. Even if it costs you your life, you must protect Ruby at all costs!”
“Hmph. Obviously. My Master is far more important than a mere servant like me.”
“...I can hear you, you know.”
Inwardly, Ruby wanted to go with Seraphina to save the people, but knowing she would only be a burden since she couldn't control her divine power properly, she could only pray for Seraphina's safety.
Not long after Seraphina left, an unfamiliar nun was suddenly seen offering prayers inside the church.
After pausing for a moment, she directed her steps toward the place where the densest, strongest divine power emanated. As expected, it was Seraphina's room.
The sturdy door, clearly reinforced with numerous barriers, looked utterly impenetrable no matter what one tried. But Sua possessed secret information provided by the Pope.
There was a microscopic gap in every single room of the churches. A gap that the lecherous old man had deliberately incorporated into every architectural blueprint for his own private, voyeuristic hobbies. There was a reason why the Pope made it a point to personally inspect any church that housed beautiful nuns.
This information was known only to the Pope himself. The laborers who had built the structures had likely all been silenced.
Sua began to move, preparing to pour a lethal poison—one capable of killing even a dragon within five seconds of inhalation—into the gap designed for the perverted old man's voyeurism.
