Chapter 85: The Holy Sword and the Oath (1)
Chapter 85: The Holy Sword and the Oath (1)
Chapter 85: The Holy Sword and the Oath (1)
Dominic stared coldly at the corpse before him.
A blasphemous demon.
A sinner who dared insult the Holy Saint with vile words.
His punishment had just been concluded.
With the help of the Brotherhood of the Righteous, that wicked demon had been vanquished.
Through cycles of healing and torment, the demon’s mind was utterly shattered, ensuring he could never appear in this world again.
However, one problem remained…
“What should I even do with ‘that’?”
The man before him was far more prominent than he had anticipated.A figure of great renown, counted among the top five wealthiest individuals.
Not only that, but he was also an accomplished 8th-circle mage.
The room had held eight cardinals and twelve archbishops—practically the Holy Church’s greatest forces gathered in one place.
Yet, despite such power, he had committed the foolish act of blasphemy in their presence, and now, he was reduced to this pitiful state.
In truth, this was not a man who should have met such an unremarkable end.
Sian’s death would inevitably draw attention. No matter how hard one tried, it would never remain hidden.
Not that Dominic had any intention of hiding it in the first place.
Of course not.
This was no mere murder.
It was an exorcism.
That thing was no longer human.
Why should defeating a demon be treated as something shameful to hide?
“The question is how to present this to the world.”
If he were to reveal this incident, it had to be done in a way that benefitted the Saint.
The Holy Church’s misdeeds had already caused faith in God to plummet to rock bottom.
By their own failures, they had tarnished the name of God, and now they needed to reclaim it.
The question was, how best to use this incident to achieve that?
After much deliberation, Dominic came up with an idea—a way to restore God’s name to its former glory.
“A grand judgment.”
That was the answer.
A display so awe-inspiring that no one could help but marvel at God’s magnificence.
The sight of God punishing evil would be etched into everyone’s mind, compelling them to praise the Holy Saint.
With his decision made, Dominic no longer hesitated.
He marked the corpse with the symbol of the Brotherhood and left a message only the Saint could recognize. Then, he moved it to prepare for the grand spectacle.
*****
Sian Ludbeth was dead.
And it had to happen right after I told Miss Rubia that the problem with him would be resolved “soon.”
Miss Rubia’s face turned pale.
Her lips moved as though to form words, but nothing coherent came out.
The only sounds she managed were strange fragments: “Oh? Ah? Eh?” She repeated these nonsensical utterances over and over.
She had practically lost her ability to speak.
In hindsight, it wasn’t surprising.
After all, with the timing of this event, it was only natural for anyone to suspect me.
To make matters worse, I had just been seen dismantling the training arena barehanded.
It was obvious what would happen next.
I’d dealt with situations like this before, so I was preparing to calm the panicked Miss Rubia when…
“…Ah! So that’s how it is!”
What in the world is going on?
Miss Rubia regained her composure, her pale complexion giving way to color again. Her ability to speak had suddenly returned.
“You were planning to take care of him from the beginning, weren’t you? Well, I suppose it makes sense. That guy was scum. Did you send Siel or Lien to handle it?”
She laughed, marveling at the timing, as if it was all part of a calculated plan.
The message left on the corpse.
Written in the name of the Brotherhood of the Righteous, it was an ancient script so cryptic it defied interpretation.
Miss Rubia mused that it was probably meant to throw the investigation off course.
“Well, killing an 8th-circle mage without lifting a finger is kind of absurd. Only a god could pull that off!”
She smiled brightly and added that, for the sake of her heart’s health, I should let her know in advance before pulling something like this again.
I couldn’t make sense of any of it.
Here I was, calmly piecing the situation together, while Miss Rubia concocted her own version of events and seemed completely satisfied with it.
This bizarre back-and-forth went on for a while until a familiar sound echoed through the room.
Another communication was coming in.
It appeared to be from an informant I had asked to investigate further.
The informant’s face soon appeared on the screen, and she spoke.
“...Sian was killed by a massive sword of light that descended from the sky. All eyewitness accounts confirm this, so it must be true.”
This was no ordinary assassination.
A colossal, mountain-like sword of light had fallen from the heavens and struck Sian down.
As though divine judgment had been delivered.
Miss Rubia’s face turned deathly pale again.
“Only a god could…”
Miss Rubia’s earlier words trailed off as she stared at me with a vacant expression, her gaze fixed on one thing: my wings.
The subtle glow they still emitted seemed to seal the misunderstanding.
It was obvious what conclusion she had drawn.
I quickly tried to think of a plausible explanation.
Of course, I had to.
The kind of power that could eliminate an 8th-circle mage without so much as lifting a finger, a force capable of raining divine punishment from above—it was no surprise that Miss Rubia’s imagination was running wild.
If I didn’t act, she would undoubtedly elevate me in her mind to something far beyond human.
But no reasonable excuse came to mind.
Honestly, it would’ve been strange if one had.
The information in the dossier Miss Rubia handed me confirmed it all.
Sian was a piece of trash who had operated hundreds of facilities similar to the mining site where I was first imprisoned.
On top of that, he had repeatedly obstructed the ventures I had set in motion.
I had every motive.
It was only natural for her to connect the glowing wings with the sword of light that descended from the heavens.
Finding a convincing way to clear my name in this situation? Impossible.
The best idea I could come up with was to laugh it off with something like, “Ta-da! Surprise!”
And so, a long, awkward silence stretched between us.
As the situation dragged on, Miss Rubia’s face grew more and more filled with shock.
“Y-you’re…”
She looked at me, her gaze as if fixed on something otherworldly.
I was unmistakably being misunderstood. The moment I realized that, the transmission resumed.
- “And next to the body was a statement left by the leader of the Black Fangs. It claimed that the demon who committed such heinous acts was judged in the name of God.”
The perfectly timed message brought a smile to my face.
In a situation where I had been on the verge of being wrongly accused, the revelation that the Black Fangs leader was the true culprit was a relief.
- “If we uncover anything else, I’ll report it immediately.”
With that, the transmission ended.
The conclusion was clear: everything that had happened was the work of the Black Fangs’ leader, with no connection to me whatsoever.
Surely, Miss Rubia’s misunderstanding had also been cleared up.
…Or so I thought.
“...?”
But for some reason, the fear never left Miss Rubia’s face.
She stared at me, mouth agape, with the same horrified expression as before.
The misunderstanding should have been resolved, so why was she still like this?
After a moment of thought, it dawned on me.
“Well… it makes sense when you think about it.”
The Black Fangs.
Their reputation alone was enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine.
While everything so far suggested they weren’t outright villains, the sheer magnitude of their power was terrifying in its own right.
Dropping a colossal sword of light from the heavens to execute someone? It was a feat so godlike it was unnerving even to me.
If I felt this way, how much more terrified must Miss Rubia be, given her timid nature?
She must have been utterly shaken by witnessing such an overwhelming display of power.
Watching her trembling like that, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
In this moment, there was only one thing I could do.
“Please don’t worry so much, Miss Rubia.”
I spoke gently, taking her hand in mine to reassure her.
“When you think about it, there’s no need to be concerned about this anymore, right?”
Though the Black Fangs leader’s power was unsettling, the situation itself wasn’t as dire as it seemed.
At the very least, Sian would no longer be interfering with our ventures.
“This problem has been resolved simply and cleanly. That’s something to be glad about, isn’t it?”
Miss Rubia nodded at my words.
But I could tell her agreement wasn’t genuine.
Her nod was far too intense, and her face looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.
Her fear clearly hadn’t subsided.
So, I held her hand a little tighter.
To ensure she wouldn’t feel so alone in her anxiety.
To remind her that I was always by her side.
“If you ever have any worries, please come to me right away. I’ll gladly lend you my hand, no matter what.”
With the warmest smile I could muster, I said those words to Miss Rubia.
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