Taming the Evil Saintess

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I looked around.

About thirty people in total. Each of them held weapons, but they were all rather shabby. There seemed to be hardly any weapon that could pierce through my unarmored body.

Perhaps the spear held by that young man, who appeared to be the leader.

The sharp tip of the spear flickered with blue flames.

“Is that a sword energy?”

Even a knight who has feasted on combat often struggles to unleash sword energy. He seemed to have talent and had trained to some extent.

Well, to maintain the order of such a group, one would need at least that level.

This world operates on the principle of strength.

“First of all—”

I raised my sword and unleashed sword energy.

Everyone flinched at the golden glow and lowered their stances.

“Are you the resistance army who took the Holy Relic of the Purification Church?”

I thought I asked as politely as possible, but the young man in front of me gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Hero! Why are you siding with the Purification Church?!”

“Thanks for recognizing me, but…”

“Do you hate possessors too?!”

Before I could explain, the young man pulled his arm back and shot his spear with lightning speed.

It was too fast to dodge, so I blocked it with my Holy Sword, positioning it in its path.

Crash! The spear shaft grazed the Holy Sword, producing a screeching metal sound, and the young man staggered for a moment, having lost his balance.

“Listen to my story. I just want to—”

“Shut up! You Church lackey!”

But he seemed unwilling to listen to me.

He leaped once more and swung his spear downward vertically.

“Hah…”

I sighed and raised my left hand to grab the spear shaft.

Certainly, the young man’s spear technique was quite remarkable. A clean strike. It was evident he had undergone rigorous training, but…

“Are you the type who needs to get hit to come to your senses?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle as a thought of the Saintess crossed my mind.

I yanked on the spear shaft, and the young man flew helplessly towards me.

I clenched my fist holding the Holy Sword, controlling my power as best as I could, and plunged my fist into the young man’s abdomen.

“Cough!”

A gasp of agony escaped him.

With that, the young man collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

“…How ironic that I’m being called violent when I’m in no position to judge others.”

Emily, who had been watching the situation from above, muttered.

At the same time, she waved her wand. Telekinetic magic manifested, and all the dangerous explosives nearby floated into the air.

The situation was now under Emily’s control. There was no means for them to resist any further.

“Hey, you. You seem like the only one who can communicate with reason.”

I addressed the woman who was tending to the fallen young man.

“What’s your name?”

“….”

“If you don’t respond, you’ll end up like him.”

“Yudiel.”

“Yudiel?”

“Yudiel Rulier.”

I widened my eyes at that name. I’d heard it before.

I raised my Holy Sword to illuminate the surroundings, and only then did I see her face, Yudiel’s.

It was just as I remembered.

“Is that little guy’s name… Gale?”

“You know us?”

Of course, I do.

The Rulier siblings.

NPC guides from the north featured in the game.

I was all too familiar with their advisor portraits.

“…What a coincidence.”

With this, the story would likely speed up considerably.

Rejoicing inwardly, I sheathed my Holy Sword. Then I climbed up to the pedestal where the young man had been standing, avoiding Emily’s floating explosives.

No one tried to stop me. They had clearly seen their leader, Gale, get incapacitated with a single punch.

“Now, attention.”

I cleared my throat and opened my mouth.

What should I say?

As I pondered, a line suddenly came to mind.

“You guys were kidnapped.”

Silence fell.

*

“Is it really okay to entrust a task to the Hero?”

In the dim dawn when even the gods seemed to be asleep, Priest Ulrich couldn’t hide his anxious expression.

A hero who might be a possessor and who had unknown intentions had set off to eliminate the reactionaries who were trying to protect possessors.

Isn’t it rather strange to think everything would resolve smoothly?

“Haha. Priest Ulrich, you seem very worried.”

While the Hero was sent off, Ian simply sat at the table, sipping wine with a grin on his face, his gaze leisurely directed towards the darkness outside.

“Aren’t you worried, Priest Ian?”

“Elliot, you mean? There’s no reason to worry.”

Ian leisurely tipped his glass.

Of course, he didn’t fully trust the Hero.

“Words hold power. And the Hero said he would retrieve the Holy Relic. As long as he fulfills that promise, it matters not what else he does.”

“But if the Hero colludes with them….”

“If he does, the Church can simply designate him as an enemy.”

Ulrich glared at Ian with a resentful look.

Designate him as an enemy, huh?

Easier said than done. Can a mere emerging cult truly confront a continent’s Hero? Furthermore, only Ian and Ulrich currently knew the secret regarding the Hero.

“At least we should inform the Head….”

“Priest Ulrich, what did I say?”

Thud.

As Ian set down his crystal glass, he opened his eyes wide.

It was the first time Ulrich had seen Ian, who usually kept his eyes half-lidded, open them fully. He gulped.

“Silence is a virtue. So do not act rashly. Priest Ulrich, I do not wish to have a colleague’s name entered into Malefikarum.”

“….”

“Do you understand?”

“Yes….”

Reluctantly nodding, Ulrich slowly sat back down.

How much time had passed like this?

Suddenly, there was a commotion from outside. It was rare for the Cathedral to be this noisy at such an hour.

Ian smiled brightly and stood up.

“Priest Ulrich, shall we go? It seems the Hero has returned.”

“Yes.”

However, before Ian could even don his coat, an apprentice priest knocked on the door.

“Priest Ian!”

“Yes. I was just about to go welcome the Hero.”

“…That’s not it!”

The priest, with a pale expression, looked around nervously before speaking.

“She has arrived.”

“The Hero?!”

“No. It’s the Saintess.”

“…The Saintess?”

The Saintess means only one person on the continent.

Ophelia Meredein.

And naturally, her relationship with the emerging Purification Church would inevitably be delicate.

Never did he imagine she would pay a visit to the Main Cathedral. Even Ian, who was generally calm, frowned in surprise.

“The Saintess came… why would she come to the Cathedral?”

“…”

“Answer me.”

“She said she would kill the Hero…”

“…Huh?”

Ian blurted out in disbelief.

*

Ophelia was preparing for war.

In her right hand was the Branch of the World Tree. In her left, the Elf’s Treasure Shield. She also wore the breastplate of the Elf Great Warrior. Concealed within her robes was a dagger.

Her armed state was so exceptional it bordered on excessive.

Even if a high-ranking member of the Demon King’s Army were to show up, Ophelia Meredein could not guarantee complete victory.

“Bring me Elliot.”

So armed, Ophelia headed to none other than the Main Cathedral of the Purification Church.

The soldiers guarding the entrance could only open the doors in a fluster when the continent’s Saintess barged in, dressed as if she were the enemy.

No matter how much the Purification Church denied the doctrines of the existing churches, they could not deny the continent’s Saintess.

Thus, Ophelia was able to enter the Main Cathedral without any bloodshed.

There was no particular reason for her visit.

“…I can smell that bastard.”

Ophelia had one fact she hadn’t told Elliot.

When she used Gears to save him in the Great Forest, she had gained a sensory ability.

Wherever Elliot was, whether he was dead or alive, she could detect even the faintest trace of Divine Power he emitted. And that sensation was pointing directly towards the Main Cathedral of the Purification Church.

“The escape of love, huh… Does that mean with that vixen?”

Of course, Emily didn’t seem to leave that note sincerely. It must have been out of jealousy, or some silly romantic logic unique to Emily.

But that fact didn’t matter.

What truly mattered was that Elliot had tolerated Emily’s antics, had left the lodging with another woman without telling Ophelia a word, and had yet to return even after half a day.

In other words, he was certainly out late.

This was more than enough of a reason to get upset.

Ophelia thought so sincerely.

“Dog bastard.”

Just days ago, she had declared that if he broke a promise, she would stab him with a dagger in the chest.

It was only natural that Ophelia’s temper flared.

“Oh, Ophelia Meredein. What brings you here?”

In the meantime, an elderly man clad in red holy robes, evidently a High Priest, approached her.

However, he made one crucial mistake.

“…Did you just call me Meredein?”

“….”

“What are you staring at? Want me to knock your dentures out?”

Ophelia’s overly flippant demeanor startled the old priest, who blurted out as she brushed past him and headed into the chapel.

“Wait! That place is only for the priests of the Purification Church…”

“Who gave you permission?”

Ophelia turned back and glared at him.

“Who gave you permission to say such things? Did the god you believe in give you permission?”

Ophelia pulled down her collar to reveal the divine mark etched upon her collarbone.

“That god speaks to me. He tells me to shut up and open the way.”

The most powerful declaration across the continent.

Seeing the crowd part like the Red Sea, Ophelia continued her speech.

“Oh, while we’re at it, let me make a request.”

Ophelia wore a sly smile.

“I want to meet the priest who had a meeting with that bastard Elliot. Right now.”

At that request, even the priests of the Purification Church couldn’t dare voice their objections.

Above all,

“Are you not moving quickly?”

“Yes, yes sir!”

The moment someone dared to obstruct her, the very foundation of their Church would feel like it was crumbling beneath them.