Episode 168

7.

The princess was smart.

Even though they hadn't agreed on it beforehand, the moment she heard the words "Black Magic Cult" and saw the outrageous things Kim Buja was doing, she realized he had returned and sent word of her location.

"Have you been well?"

"Yes, I've been waiting for you."

It had only been a few months, but in that time, the twenty-year-old woman's beauty had blossomed even further. She had been living in hiding, so it must have been hard enough just to stay reasonably clean, let alone take proper care of herself, yet her beauty still shone through, drawing a natural sense of admiration.

'I was right to risk my life for her.'

He felt a quiet satisfaction as she threw herself into his arms without hesitation, no longer worrying about who might be watching. This was the kind of relationship he needed on a continent where he had no real ties—someone he could truly open up to.

Someone who would trust and follow him no matter what he said or what decisions he made.

Of course, from the princess's perspective, Kim Buja might not be such a good person. Blind trust was, by nature, a relationship where one side inevitably lost out. If he ever made unfair or unreasonable demands, it could become a wound she would never forget.

Even someone like the saintess, who believed in God and in the one she thought was God's representative, still had her own convictions that made her hesitate and refuse at times. The princess would be no different. If he didn't just pretend to be a black mage but actually started harming innocent people, that might be something she could never accept.

Even so, she had acted.

While he was gone, she had traveled the continent with the Imperial knights, stirring up chaos, punishing vulnerable nobles, and digging into the temple's corruption and their dealings with black magic.

"Impressive."

'I'd told her to do this before I left, but I hadn't expected her to carry it out so perfectly.'

Even if it was only a small, subtle resistance from the ruins of a fallen Empire, too minor to draw much attention, efforts like that would pile up and eventually bring about real change.

"Are you all prepared?"

"Yes. We spread the word, and a lot of believers are planning to attend."

Above all, thanks to the foundation the princess had built, his plan no longer had to start from the very bottom, which saved him a great deal of time.

'I can't afford to waste the opportunity she's created.'

With the thought that he might be able to complete the quest sooner than expected, the operation began.

* * *

Silence hung in the air.

There was the group in black robes inside the village, the people outside the village, and the large army surrounding them all.

It was a strange standoff, a delicate balance that no one dared to break.

The Paladins in pure white armor formed a ring that could easily encircle the entire village. No one doubted that their actual combat strength far exceeded their numbers. On top of that, everyone knew they became even stronger when facing the forces of darkness, which meant this gathering was doomed.

Because everyone understood that, the standoff held.

Rats in a trap.

There would be no escape.

An old man stepped out from between the ranks of the Paladins.

"You foolish children."

He wasn't the Pope. The old man in ceremonial robes, who had come in the Pope's stead, swept his gaze over the roughly thirty people in black robes with a look of regretful admonishment.

"How did you come to walk the forbidden path and head toward ruin?"

The subtle divinity in his lofty voice overwhelmed the crowd. His presence filled the space where thousands had gathered, showing them why the name of God was so heavy, making them wonder if God truly existed.

It made everyone present feel like a sinner.

Even the ordinary onlookers instinctively took a step back from the village. They couldn't help it. They had come here worn down and exhausted by life, but most of them were people who had worked harder than anyone just to keep living, and who still wanted to live.

The elder's words were gentle and soothing, but the Paladins surrounding them were known to be more ruthless and uncompromising against evil than anyone.

"Do not give in to sweet temptation. Your life may be weary and painful, but if you believe in God and follow His word, light will come to you."

At the elder's words, a few people began to quietly retreat.

They understood. Even those who didn't truly believe in God knew this was the final warning: a pardon for having been here at all, and a chance for those who had stepped onto the wrong path.

Many people from all over the continent had gathered, but the number of Paladins surrounding them was even greater. The way the crowd began to disperse seemed to perfectly illustrate that evil could never triumph.

It was a scene meant to show the temple's power to purify evil without even resorting to force.

At that moment, one of the people in black robes stepped forward.

"Is darkness, or evil, truly a forbidden path?"

Her voice was clear and refreshing. That pure tone, which seemed to cleanse the air, halted the steps of those who had been backing away in fear.

All eyes turned toward the village.

The woman who had stepped forward pushed back her hood.

"Huh?"

"Isn't that…?"

"It's the saintess!"

Murmurs spread in an instant.

Not everyone on the continent knew the saintess's face. However, while in the Temple, the saintess had traveled across the continent, healing many patients and spreading God's word. Most of the people gathered here had seen her at least once.

Naturally, the confusion only grew.

Even those who had half-believed this was some shady cult had risked their lives to come here because they needed something to cling to, a ray of hope in their harsh, grinding lives.

And now, the very Saintess who had spread God's will and shared His power was standing here.

A thought came to them, unbidden.

"Are they really heretics who've strayed onto a forbidden path?"

"What is going on?"

Maybe their own thoughts weren't wrong after all. In a continent where everything seemed to be turning upside down, perhaps the things they had believed to be the absolute truth were not actually true.

Doubt was the enemy religion feared most.

When you were asked to believe in something you could neither see nor touch, once doubt crept in, it could no longer be called faith. For an order that survived on the strength of that faith, such doubt could never be allowed.

"Heh. Foolish lamb who betrayed God's will and joined hands with darkness. Do you still think you are the saintess?"

The elder's expression had twitched for a moment when he saw her face, but he didn't let it show. The meaning in his words was clear and unmistakable.

His confident tone had a solid basis.

"Do you think you are anything now that you have abandoned God, child? When He bestowed His grace upon you, you should have spent your life spreading His will."

The Pope and the elders knew very well that the saintess had endured more than just torture when she was captured by the Temple.

That was why he could speak like this in front of thousands of people.

Denying the saintess's very existence to her face.

It was confidence. He had seen it with his own eyes: the frail girl's body, broken to pieces. A body so ruined she could no longer use divine power at all.

What the elder failed to consider was this:

He lived in a world where God actually existed. He had spent his life preaching about God's miracles, yet he himself thought and acted only within the bounds of common sense.

Vwwm—

The saintess didn't answer. Instead, she brought her hands together over her chest.

A pure white mass of light formed between her palms.

The light blooming from within the dark, shadowy robe shone like a seed of hope sprouting in the darkness. The sun was slowly sinking, and the approaching night only made the light stand out more brightly.

"Th-that…!"

For the first time, a crack appeared in the elder's expression. There was no way a Temple elder could fail to recognize what the saintess was doing. At the very least, he knew exactly what that small seed of light meant.

"Stop her!"

Whatever it was, if it manifested here, it would become undeniable proof that everything he had just said was a lie.

His urgent shout rang out, but it was too late.

Vwoooom—!

Flash!

The small light gathered at the saintess's chest burst outward, flooding the world.

['Sanctuary' is being created.]

[Within 'Sanctuary,' all magic use is restricted according to the caster's will.]

A massive, pure white dome spread out, covering not only the village but the entire surrounding area.

"Ahhh…"

Sighs of awe and wonder spilled from the crowd. Kneeling under the divine rain they were experiencing for the first time, people clasped their hands and began to pray.

For commoners and slaves, religion was not some grand thing. It was not about vague spiritual satisfaction from praying to an abstract sky.

In their bleak, grinding lives, religion was the one thin thread of hope they clung to. They didn't need much—just a small comfort to lean on, a power to soothe their exhausted lives. To have that was heaven; it was their religion.

And in that moment, the saintess had satisfied their need for both a miracle and hope in one fell swoop.

An elder who only offered words versus a Saintess who performed miracles before their very eyes.

The people gathered here had already seen a glimmer of hope in the path of the so-called "Black Magic Cult." They had traveled all this way because they had found at least a small measure of comfort in its message.

"God has spoken," the saintess declared. "Darkness and light, good and evil—they are never truly different. The ones who matter are those who divide the world into good and evil, only to lean to one side and selfishly line their own pockets."

In a situation like this, her words were nothing short of the truth.

Heads began to nod throughout the crowd. What she said made sense. From their perspective, it rang truer than any sermon.

What had truly improved since the Empire fell and the Allied Forces rose to power, claiming to be the forces of good?

If anything, the lives of commoners had grown even harsher. The faith forced upon them in God's name had only become more oppressive.

If they didn't believe in God, if they didn't obey the Temple, they were branded heretics and executed. If they resisted the authorities, they were labeled remnants of the Empire or black mages and killed without a chance to plead their innocence.

All of this had swept across the continent in less than a year.

It had always been a world where the powerless were trampled underfoot. To raise one's voice was to stake one's life—an arrogant act of rebellion that was a plea for death. The fact that so many had gathered here, knowing the risks, meant they had been pushed past their breaking point.

"Do not fear death," the saintess urged. "Change does not come on its own. Nothing changes if you only pray to God. Stand up. Fight for change."

To them, her words were a catalyst.

"Woooooaaahhh!"

A fierce roar erupted from within the Sanctuary.

Though surrounded by Holy Knights with weapons drawn, the people showed no fear. Instead, they unleashed their pent-up rage.

'Fight. Struggle and seize what you desire.'

For those who had nothing, there were no sweeter words.

Of course, no one actually charged the Holy Knights. They were merely reaching for hope. They were cheering because they had finally found something to believe in.

Unfortunately, such a display was a freedom the powerful could never permit.

"Slaughter the forces of evil!"

Within the Sanctuary, no one could use any form of magic. That applied to divine power and black magic alike.

Because of this, the Holy Knights' strength was cut by more than half.

But it didn't matter.

They were called Holy Knights for a reason—at their core, they were still knights.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of swords being drawn sliced through the Sanctuary.

Their expressions were grim, their eyes branding the crowd as demons. In that moment, it was impossible to tell who was good and who was evil.

Slowly, step by step, the distance between them closed.

* * *

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