Chapter 58

Last time, I received a lot of feedback, which made me very happy. Thank you.

The man is rolling his eyes.

The obstacles have been eliminated.

All that's left is to escape through that window.

"Alright, Elise, we're getting out of here."

He removed the gag from Elise's mouth and began to untie her restraints.

"Hey, hey, are you, are you okay?"

When he removed the gag, Elise, with tears in her eyes, said:

"I don't often see Elise like this. It's quite refreshing."

"That guy wasn't my match. He was just a nobody. Let's go."

"But... you were all torn up..."

Then, Elise clung to him, crying and speaking.

"Usually, I would enjoy the feel of Elise's soft chest, but unfortunately, the danger hasn't passed yet. Now, I'll calmly untie Elise's restraints."

"I'm fine. ...Alright, the ropes are off. We're leaving now."

He untied the ropes binding Elise's arms and legs and stood up. The door seemed to be holding up. All that was left was to escape through the window.

"No... They're already waiting outside."

Elise's words made him look at the window. As Elise said, there were multiple shadows of priests outside the window. ...Was it too late? He should have defeated that man named Balder before they surrounded him from the outside.

One of the priests was seen raising a mace to break the window. Probably, many priests would soon enter the room. Among them might be a man like Balder, who was experienced in combat. Unlike Balder, who was just lying on the bed, they would surely be armed from the start.

It was already tough one-on-one, but with multiple opponents...

...Is it over?

No, not yet.

If I give up, it means the end for Elise. I raised my mace. In this situation, I will defeat all the priests by myself.

---At the moment I resolved myself, a loud shattering sound was heard.

It wasn't the window in front of me. It was a much louder, thunderous sound that echoed throughout the building.

"!"

And a roar.

"Uwaaaaaah!"

"Ah, ah, aaaaaah!"

"Dragon!? Why is there a dragon here!? Ah, don't come near me!!"

Voices of people fleeing. These were probably the voices of the archbishop and the priests.

But a dragon?

What's happening...?

Just as I was about to think, a huge sound and impact blew away the wall of the room. Instinctively, I shielded Elise.

Looking at the wall, there was a dragon's face. A familiar dragon's face was breaking through the stone wall.

"Is this okay!? Is it really okay!?"

From behind the dragon's face, a familiar voice was heard. It was Ruruka. Ruruka's voice.

"Yes, Ruruka. You did well. I finally got to see the archbishop's panicked escape, and it was satisfying."

"Did you send me and Dragon just for that!?"

"Yes. I decided to retaliate for what was done to me."

The voice talking to Ruruka was also familiar. But, it can't be. Aria said she returned to the capital.

---The dragon slowly pulled its face out of the wall.

On the other side of the wall were Ruruka and... indeed, the Holy Maiden.

"Drop your weapons and surrender!"

When I stepped out of the room through the hole, I saw several knights storming into the church. Looking at the window, the priests who were outside were now restrained by the knights.

What... is happening here?

Why is the Holy Maiden in this town?

Why are the knights here at the church?

As I wondered, one of the knights who entered the church rushed over, his face pale.

...It's Aria.

Aria, who said she would return to the capital with the Holy Maiden.

"Big sister!? Why are you here!? Did... did the archbishop kidnap you!?"

"Aria..."

Aria helped Elise, who had collapsed, to stand up. But why are the knights, the Holy Maiden, Ruruka, and Aria all here at this moment?

"Aria, what's going on? Explain it to me."

"Big brother!? You're badly injured, are you okay!?"

When I asked, she responded with a question. I remembered that I was covered in blood from that man named Balder. Blood was dripping from the hem of my clothes.

"What, Shiki!? Ah, blood! Is all of that blood!?"

Hearing my voice, Ruruka looked over and ran towards me. She examined my body as if inspecting it and then called out to the Holy Maiden.

"Hey, Holy Maiden. What's going on here!? Why is Shiki here!?"

"Oh, right, you know each other. I'm sorry, I forgot."

The Holy Maiden, without looking at Ruruka, answered coldly. She was now staring at the archbishop, who was sitting on the floor, with a cold gaze.

Ruruka and the Holy Maiden.

This combination reminded me of one thing.

---Purge.

I remember Ruruka saying the reason the Holy Maiden came to this town was for a "purge." Could it be...?

The Holy Maiden, looking at the purple gem in the archbishop's hand, said:

"That's the Succubus Gem, which was stolen during the attack by the heretic cult. As I suspected, it was your doing. It's dangerous... I will take it back."

...The Holy Maiden had figured it out.

That this man was trying to revive a heretic. That's why the purge.

The Holy Maiden's goal from the beginning was to purge this archbishop.

"Why! Why! You were supposed to have fled back to the capital!"

The archbishop, still sitting on the floor, shouted at the Holy Maiden.

"You are truly foolish. I was waiting for you to do something worthy of a purge. I secretly returned to the town, disguised as part of the investigation team."

...I remember Aria mentioning that the lord sent a large investigation team to the town a few days ago. It seems there was an information war between the Holy Maiden and the archbishop that I was unaware of.

"The Succubus Gem amplifies the owner's desires just by possessing it. Given your questionable reputation, I was sure you would eventually commit a crime if I kept watching you... though the result was a bit different from what I expected."

The Holy Maiden was watching the archbishop?

So, this situation is because the archbishop committed the crime of kidnapping Elise, giving the Holy Maiden a reason to purge him and storm the church. It's like a police officer arresting a criminal for a different crime.

"The Holy Maiden suspected the archbishop was a heretic based on the unusual flow of donations. However, it wasn't enough to mobilize the knights... so she staged this. I learned this after leaving the town."

Aria explained.

"So that's how it was."

It seems this entire situation was under the Holy Maiden's control. She and the lord must have discussed how to expose the archbishop's misdeeds.

"I didn't expect you to be involved. To reduce the risk of the archbishop suspecting your existence, I didn't assign any surveillance to you... but when I heard Astel's report, I was worried we might not make it in time."

The Holy Maiden, still looking at the archbishop, joined the conversation with me and Aria. Next to the Holy Maiden was a girl with dog-like ears, about the same age as Yuel. That must be Astel. She looked happy as the Holy Maiden patted her head.

No, this isn't the time to be looking at that.

...You didn't expect me to be involved?

That means the Holy Maiden was fully aware of my existence.

"Ah, I'm terribly sorry. I should have thanked you first. Thank you for healing the petrified people in my place, and even one of my subordinates who I couldn't heal."

The Holy Maiden turned to me and smiled. ...The word "found" wasn't a misunderstanding. It seems my healing magic skills were already known.

...But, why did she not want the archbishop to suspect my existence?

As I was thinking, I noticed Ruruka looking at me. When our eyes met, she said, "Yeah, I thought so..." and looked down at her feet, smiling happily. Then, she nudged me with her elbow, saying, "Oh, oh...!"

"Archbishop... no, heretic cultist Darneau."

The Holy Maiden turned to the archbishop. Then, she said to the archbishop, who was already restrained by the knights and couldn't move:

"For the crime of attacking the capital's church and stealing the Succubus Gem, and for kidnapping women to be sacrifices for its revival... even if we dig deeper, there will be more sins to uncover. But this is more than enough to send you to prison. As the Holy Maiden of the Medine faith, I will purge you."

"Grr... Grr..."

The archbishop, lying on the floor, glared at the Holy Maiden, groaning. It was the opposite of what he did to Elise earlier. ...I looked at Elise, and she was also looking at me. When our eyes met, she quickly looked down.

"Return the gem."

The Holy Maiden coldly ordered the knights.

"No! I won't! This gem is the result of countless attacks on the capital's churches! I will create an ideal world with succubi!"

However, the archbishop, still restrained, writhed and resisted with all his might, trying to break free from the knights' grip while glaring at the Holy Maiden.

"That is not an ideal world. After a brief period of pleasure, it will lead to a desperate reality filled with poverty and conflict."

...An ideal world with succubi.

A world where all women are promiscuous.

It was somewhat... no, quite appealing to me,

"...But, a man like you, who sees women only as objects of desire, wouldn't understand. That world is a hell for women."

Yes, it is. ...Yes, it is a hell for women. I was just enjoying the fantasy, so please forgive me.

As we were talking, a knight grabbed the archbishop's arm, trying to take the gem. The knight tried to pry the archbishop's fingers open, which were tightly gripping the gem. At that moment,

"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!"

Smoke started rising from where the archbishop was.

"!"

It was a smoke bomb. The church was filled with smoke. ...Did he have a smoke bomb hidden somewhere?

"You! Stop struggling!"

A knight's voice, trying to stop something.

"Such a poor end... Salina, take care of it."

"Yes... Wind."

Salina, one of the Holy Maiden's guards, used magic. The wind blew, and the smoke quickly cleared.

When the smoke cleared, the archbishop was still restrained, but he was laughing.

"Haha, hahaha!"

But it was a different, sinister laugh from before. The archbishop, with a mad look, said:

"I will never... I will never give you the gem..."

...The Holy Maiden, noticing something from the archbishop's behavior, called out:

"The gem! Check it immediately!"

The knight checked the archbishop's body but shook his head. The Holy Maiden's calm expression twisted.

"Could it be... he swallowed it? If he did... it would be..."

"Grr, grr, grr..."

The laughing archbishop started groaning, clutching his chest. He writhed, breaking free from the knights' restraints, and let out a pained cry.

It was an unusual sight. Moreover, the Holy Maiden's panic was evident. Did he swallow the gem? Could it be that the gem, when ingested, ...

"Uwaaah!"

The knight restraining the archbishop jumped back, sensing something was wrong.

...A black mist.

A black mist was emanating from the archbishop's entire body. The mist covered him completely, forming a cocoon-like structure around him.

"We've been had... Mages, start your incantations! Everyone, prepare for battle! The heretic is about to be revived!"

---The heretic is about to be revived.

The tension in the room was palpable at those words.

At the same time, the shape of the black cocoon started to change. It contracted and expanded as if digesting something inside, gradually taking on a human form.

Then, it became a woman. That was the heretic, the succubus.

...Is that a succubus?

"What is this!?"

The tension in the church increased, and a high-pitched voice of a girl echoed. ...Is that really a succubus?

"What's going on! The base body is a man!? And the magic power is mostly fake!"

The succubus, touching her body, shouted.

Long pink hair.

Soft, brown skin.

Large, demonic wings.

Glowing red eyes.

Up to this point, it did look like a succubus.

But... she was small.

She was only slightly taller than Yuel, and most importantly...

"My chest, my chest is gone! Where is my chest!?"

...No chest.

The succubus, touching her flat chest, was in a frenzy.

...I remember the archbishop saying that a woman with enough magic power to use Exheal was needed for a complete revival. The archbishop wasn't a woman, and the magic power was just amplified by the magical artifacts he wore. The archbishop's true magic power was probably not much.

"I was so proud of it... my beautiful chest..."

It was probably the result of an incomplete revival. The succubus in the Bible had a much more voluptuous figure, about the same as Elise. The current succubus... could be described as a child's body.

"Why... why..."

It seemed to be a significant issue for the succubus, who was in a panic, repeatedly checking her body. Her face was tearful.

"Cast attack spells."

The Holy Maiden's voice sounded merciless.

While I was observing, the knights and the Holy Maiden's guards had finished their incantations. They mercilessly launched fireballs, lightning, and ice chunks at the newly revived succubus.

"Ah! Hot, cold, stop, stop it!"

The succubus, crying and screaming, used her wings to dodge the concentrated magical attacks. ...She doesn't seem very strong. Despite being called a heretic, it was a bit disappointing. Her ability to dodge the spells, moving freely, was impressive, though.

"Show no mercy! We must finish this here!"

The Holy Maiden's command rang out. More spells were cast at the succubus, who was flying around the church.

"Ah!"

The succubus was hit by the dragon's tail and slammed into the wall. But, despite being battered, she quickly resumed her escape. I could see tears streaming down her eyes.

"Humans! ...And this is a church! The hated church that sealed away the Dark God!"

The child-bodied succubus, with a high-pitched voice, sounded unimpressive. She was just crying and complaining about the heat and cold, flying around like an insect. ...Is this really the same succubus described in the Bible?

"But, don't be deceived by appearances. It seems to be an incomplete revival, but it is undoubtedly the heretic, the succubus. According to the records in the church, she sometimes infiltrates human society to cause chaos, and at other times, commands armies of tens of thousands of monsters to destroy many countries."

The Holy Maiden said, sounding regretful.

"Tens of thousands!?"

Tens of thousands.

Did she just say tens of thousands of monsters? I remember reading in the Bible about controlling the desires of monsters to command them like an army. But, are there really that many?

"The succubus is not a combatant type of heretic. What we should be wary of is her special ability to manipulate desires. It would have been best to finish her here... but she has also announced an attack on this city. We need to take immediate action."

The number of knights in the city is probably less than a thousand. Yet, the number of monsters attacking will be tens of thousands. Despite being fooled by the child's body, it seems this is indeed a heretic. It's starting to feel dangerous.

"Hey, Shiki. Maybe this isn't the time to ask, but... I remember Aria called you 'big brother' earlier... what does that mean...?"

Ruruka, completely caught in Aria's trap, asked me hesitantly. But, this isn't the time to talk about that. If a horde of monsters is coming, we need to escape immediately.

---Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass was heard.

"Ah!"

With that sound, something flew into the church at incredible speed. It was too fast. Too fast. Could it be that the succubus has already returned with monsters...?

But it wasn't.

Something broke through the window and landed on the ground with a thud. A small body. Silver hair. It was Yuel. Yuel had flown in through the window. She quickly looked around, found me, and ran over.

"Master!"

"Yuel, why are you here!?"

Yuel came straight to me. Then, with teary eyes, she looked up at me.

"When I woke up, Master was gone, and the front door was open. I was worried something had happened! I heard a loud noise from the church, so I thought you must be here!"

She said, her voice trembling. It seems she was really searching for me in a panic. I must have worried her. Speaking of which...

"I'm fine, Yuel. Don't worry! I'm not hurt!"

I'm covered in blood. Telling her not to worry won't stop her from worrying, but I'll let her know I'm unharmed.

"Master, I'm sorry... I'm sorry for not being by your side..."

Then, Yuel, without minding the blood, hugged me and started crying.

...If Elise had been kidnapped and disappeared without a trace, I would have been drenched in cold sweat. Yuel might have been wandering the town in a similar state of mind.

I patted Yuel's head. At the same time, a voice came from where the Holy Maiden was.

"Ah, that's her! That's the one, Filene-sama! She suddenly chased me when I tried to monitor the archbishop at the