Taming the Evil Saintess

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Ophelia and I dashed through the plaza towards the Holy See.

In the process, the Cathedral Knights and some thugs blocked our way.

“Stop right there, immediately!”

“It’s the Pope’s command!”

But once they saw Ophelia’s pure white hair, her green eyes, and her raised middle finger, they froze in place.

In fact, they might have been more shocked that the Saint was flipping them off than encountering her at all.

“Fuck off, you idiots.”

With that, Ophelia unleashed a holy spell, producing a sound like a bomb exploding.

The shockwave she created sent them all flying.

The destructive power was so immense that all the windows shattered, and the dilapidated stone walls crumbled.

If a modern person saw this, they might think an earthquake had struck.

And then…

“Why aren’t you falling down?”

“…”

Among all those flying away, there was one who withstood the shockwave: a demon.

I felt the dark aura and drew my holy sword, cutting away his axe. Confusion was evident in the crimson eyes visible through his helmet.

No matter how much of a hero he was, as a human, he wouldn’t expect to block a high-ranking demon’s axe with just one hand.

That pathetic superiority complex eventually chokes him. It was a truth I had repeated many times while facing demons in the north.

“Gak!”

I swung the holy sword in a straight line, and one demon’s head fell to the ground.

A trivial death, not worth recording.

“Let’s go.”

“…Uh, okay.”

With a reluctant expression, Ophelia looked at me.

“What?”

“Just that you’re really merciless.”

“…Demons deserve to die.”

One of the few pieces of wisdom I’ve garnered in this game world.

Thus, we continued to run. When Cathedral Knights blocked our way, Ophelia unleashed another shockwave, and if I spotted a demon that hadn’t fallen, I would take its life.

The entire flow was fast and precise, reminiscent of a mechanical slaughtering process.

We broke through about three blocks and finally arrived at the plaza right in front of the Holy See. As expected, there were many soldiers gathered there.

“…How did so many gather here?”

Even now, black eagle mercenaries were likely causing disturbances all over the Cathedral, yet the forces facing us numbered dozens.

Among them were three knights donned in dull gray armor.

“Looks like there are Cathedral Knights too.”

Cathedral Knights.

The true embodiment of the Church’s military, comparable to the Empire’s Swordmaster.

Having also been a Cathedral Knight in the past, I remembered the faces of all three. Two of them I had even clashed with when rescuing Ophelia from the Punishment Room.

“Elliot, and Ophelia Meredein.”

One of the Cathedral Knights stepped forward.

He wielded a large shield and a massive hammer, which shimmered with silver mana. Sword energy. That was something I would have to face with my full strength.

“If you surrender immediately, the Pope has promised your lives will be spared.”

“So, if we don’t surrender, you’ll kill the Saint and the hero? How do you plan to deal with the aftermath?”

The Cathedral Knight did not respond to my question. He slammed his massive shield down to the ground.

Just that made the earth tremble, causing several of the soldiers around to stumble.

“Silence, traitor. Before you were a hero, you were a traitor and apostate, and we are the hammer to judge you.”

Most Cathedral Knights tend to be fanatical.

And they blindly follow the Pope’s words.

In short, there’s no room for negotiation.

Realizing this, Ophelia stepped forward and raised the branch of the World Tree.

“Hey, you bastard.”

Ophelia’s tirade, starting with an insult as usual, was vulgar and frivolous.

“Are you saying you’d lick the demon lord’s minions’ butts in exchange for gold and silver treasures?”

“…Ophelia Meredein, you….”

“Don’t put titles on me, baldy.”

“…What?”

“Shut up with your baldness. If your hair can’t grow back even with healing magic, isn’t it a curse from the Evil God? Isn’t it absurd for someone like you to be a Cathedral Knight? Hey, bring an Inquisition Officer from the Holy See. Have them purify that cursed scalp of yours.”

“…This whore!”

As I keep saying, Ophelia’s provocations are very effective.

So… perhaps even more than expected.

“Right now, I’ll tear your mouth apart!”

For some reason, he reacted more sensitively to the term “bald” than to the insults against his faith.

Perhaps deciding to ignore that Ophelia had once been a Saint, the leading Cathedral Knight charged forward.

He lunged with his overwhelmingly large hammer infused with sword energy. But with a holy spell, Ophelia created a barrier that deflected it, simultaneously driving the branch of the World Tree toward him.

The branch had grown further with the seed obtained from Vermina. Its destructive power could rival my holy sword. Bang! The Cathedral Knight’s chest plate caved in.

“Gak!”

Seeing the knight fall in a humiliating manner that didn’t suit his size, Ophelia smiled with victory.

Of course, Ophelia wasn’t entirely unscathed. Although she created a barrier to block the attack, the knight’s hammer strike rocked the internal space like ringing a bell.

Ophelia grimaced as if feeling dizzy and staggered.

“Ophelia, you need to let those bounce off. You can’t block straight on. Didn’t Azar teach you that during shield training?”

“Damn it. If you had told me earlier, would it have made a difference?”

“You know you’re the kind who only learns after getting hit once, right?”

“…You’re dead, you.”

She whipped her head around to glare at me, so I quickly averted my gaze.

Just then, I noticed the Cathedral Knight, who had fallen before, was getting back up.

Unbeknownst to him, he had no intentions of wiping the blood that was flowing from his mouth.

Seeing this, another knight came out and took charge of their forces.

“Spread out! They’re only two! Surround them and wait for support from the priests!”

Ultimately, realizing they couldn’t hold their ground with just their personal strength, the knights spread out their forces to encircle us. It seemed they were determined not to let us inside the Holy See no matter what.

A rational decision. It wouldn’t be easy to overpower those three knights and enter the Holy See. Moreover, there would be other knights stationed inside, and worst-case scenario, we might even face a possessor.

This is no different from poking a hornet’s nest.

It’s tantamount to suicide.

“I say again. Surrender. I will at least spare your lives.”

“…Hmph. Fuck off.”

Ophelia raised her middle finger, but the Cathedral Knight insisted.

“This is an open field.”

“And?”

“Are you planning to take all the priest’s attack spells head-on?”

Indeed, that statement was correct.

If the priests began to unleash attack spells in that manner, Ophelia would be too busy to maintain her barrier, and if the knights rushed in to engage in close combat, it would be extremely difficult for us to cope.

However, there’s something they are overlooking.

“Hey, isn’t it that you’re mistaken?”

At my words, the Cathedral Knight furrowed his brows.

“What do you mean, traitor?”

“Why do you think it’s advantageous just because this is an open field?”

“What?”

At the same time, a slicing sound split the air.

Wham!

“Gah!”

One of the knights let out a scream. An invisible arrow had lodged itself in his ankle, poking out through the other side.

In other words, it was a sniper shot.

“Damn it! It’s a sniper!”

As the Cathedral Knight shouted, arrows started raining down.

The arrows targeted only their ankles.

It was truly an astounding skill.

The large man who had fallen in front of Ophelia shouted while covering himself with his enormous shield.

“It’s coming from the west! The arrows are coming from the west, be careful!”

As expected of a Cathedral Knight, he had sharp observations. Following his shout, the knights raised their shields in unison.

“Argh!”

However, the arrows came in from unpredictable angles. They were flying from the east, north, and even from behind us. The knights were thrown into chaos as arrows poured in from all directions.

They’re called the Archery Master for a reason. If they’re the continent’s best archer, it means they can even manipulate the trajectory of their arrows.

Just then, the combat priests who had hurried over unleashed their attack spells at us, but…

“What!?”

That massive spell disappeared in an instant.

As if it had never existed.

Dispelling. If the gap in skill is overwhelming, then magical combat between mages ceases to be combat at all.

I gave a thumbs-up to Erwin and Emily, who were positioned nearby, ready to support us.

Of course, they probably couldn’t see it.

*

Golden Lion Azar de Elbrecht received the attack of a demon knight and sank his axe into the demon’s skull. The mark on his forearm shone brilliantly. Even though he was a high-ranking demon, he couldn’t even resist Azar’s blow. The skull shattered, and blood and brain matter splattered everywhere.

He hardened his face and swung his shield against another knight charging from a different direction. Shield bash. The knight, struck directly in the face, rolled on the ground, moaning in pain with a crushed nose.

He didn’t kill him. Since he didn’t have crimson eyes, he wasn’t a demon.

“Huh.”

How long has it been since I faced an actual battle?

With a bitter smile, Azar picked up his axe. He was now far away from Sword Saint Albrecht. Drawing attention by fighting one against many, the Golden Lion Azar was like a giant tree fallen on the battlefield. Even arrows shot from a distance could promptly be parried by his shield, so the knights did not dare charge in easily.

“Who’s next?”

Saying that, Azar raised his shield high.

But what approached him was not a knight.

“…Impressive, Golden Lion.”

A middle-aged man dressed in a frock coat. The tiny glasses perched on his nose were very small, and the handkerchief in his chest pocket bore embossed lyrics from a song praising Hell.

And Azar knew the man’s identity.

He frowned and glared at him.

“Hell Duke.”

Hell Duke, Derabilice.