Chapter 200 - Damn Reincarnation

Audience Chamber

Any nation powerful enough to be called a great power maintained at least one aerial unit, though their strength varied.

The Kiel Empire had its griffin corps, and each of the Lionheart family’s Black Lions had a wyvern of their own. Likewise, the Kingdom of Ruhar maintained a corps of ice wyverns, a wyvern subspecies.

Two of these aerial forces were particularly unusual. The magic corps of Aroth, the magical kingdom, preferred flying by means of summoned creatures or familiars rather than raising flying monsters separately. Meanwhile, the desert kingdom of Nahama deployed the enormous monsters known as sphinxes like aerial battleships.

The most traditional monster used by aerial units was the pegasus, a winged horse. Two nations raised pegasi for their aerial forces: the maritime kingdom of Shimuin and the Holy Empire of Yuras.

The enormous cross-shaped greatsword was not the only symbol of Raphael Martinez, commander of the Blood Cross Knights.

There was also the divine steed, the only one of its kind in the entire vast Holy Empire. The horse of the sun, said to have been blessed with the Light.

Apollo.

“It’s propaganda,” Raphael said, gesturing toward Apollo.

The enormous horse with the golden mane certainly looked worthy of being called a divine steed. Its bulk alone seemed more than twice that of an ordinary warhorse, and its platinum-colored barding made its already massive frame look even larger. On top of that, it had two pairs of wings, unlike an ordinary pegasus.

“... It’s huge.”

Apollo approached with heavy hoofbeats and spread all four wings wide. There was nothing of the sleek image normally associated with pegasi about it. Even sizable monsters like ogres and trolls would shrink back if they stood before Apollo.

“Of course it’s huge. The Holy See promotes Apollo as a pegasus that received the Descent of Light, but it’s a holy hybrid created through a combination of crossbreeding, magical biology, and divine magic.”

“... A holy... what?”

“A holy hybrid. Not just Apollo—all the pegasi in Yuras’s Holy Cavalry are holy hybrids. It is true that Apollo is the finest among them, though.”

Apollo snorted as it approached and pushed its head toward Raphael. Blinking his dull eyes, Raphael stroked its head.

“... Surely this sort of story is not unfamiliar to you, Sir Eugene. Isn’t that why you destroyed the spring and delivered divine punishment?”

“What do you know, Sir Raphael?”

“Nothing with any certainty. Nor do I wish to know. The ugly truth of the faith of Light, which has reigned as a great religion for hundreds of years... Such things are none of my concern. What matters to me is that, however ugly the Church may be, the Light exists. That is all.”

Before mounting Apollo, Raphael knelt on one knee and bowed his head to Kristina. After a moment’s hesitation, she stepped on his knee. Carefully supporting her back, Raphael stood and lifted her onto the saddle.

“You too, Sir Eugene.”

“I don’t need it.”

In truth, Kristina probably hadn’t needed that consideration either. Eugene had no idea how Raphael, whose growth had stopped in boyhood, would take it, but both Eugene and Kristina were taller than him...

“Then I shall sit at the front.”

Apollo’s back and saddle were as broad as its massive body. Even with three people mounted, there was plenty of room on the saddle, and its legs did not waver. Raphael sat at the front and took the reins.

“As I said before, once we begin descending toward the Holy See... please pretend to be unconscious, Sir Eugene. I trust that someone of your caliber will be an excellent actor when it comes to that.”

“Don’t you mean you want me to play dead?”

The important thing was to avoid being found out by the holy knights guarding the Holy See. If they were discovered from the outset, things would become terribly complicated. Eugene understood that, and he was fairly confident about playing dead. When he had first become a mercenary, he would wedge himself among corpses and suppress his presence and breathing to survive the brutal battlefields.

“How long will it take to get there? I don’t know exactly where we are, but aren’t we quite far from Trechia Cathedral?”

“By ordinary horse or carriage... Hmm. It would take a day just to reach Trechia’s railway station from this forest. From there, the train journey to the capital, Euresia, would take about six hours. But at Apollo’s speed, we can reach the cathedral in four or five hours at the latest.”

Raphael paused and looked back at Eugene.

“If you hadn’t destroyed the warp gate, Sir Eugene, reaching the Holy See would have been much quicker and simpler.”

“But wasn’t destroying it the reason you could only arrive after three days, Sir Raphael?”

“Yes, that’s true. And if the warp gate had remained, someone other than me might have come.”

“So in the end, it’s a good thing I was cautious.”

“Yes. You did very well.”

“But... Sir Raphael, are you really all right with this? I have no other choice, so there’s nothing I can do. But you have plenty of other options, and plenty to lose within the Holy Empire, don’t you?”

At the repeated question, Raphael shrugged.

“The only alternatives permitted to me are to drag you and the candidate for sainthood back by force, or kill you both. And I don’t want to do either. As you say, I have much to lose, but if preserving it means doing something I don’t want to do, I would rather lose it.”

“Oh...”

“Besides, as a believer in the Light, I want to see for myself. You, Sir Eugene, are the Hero, and the candidate for sainthood has gained four pairs of wings. If, even before the two of you, the Pope and cardinals refuse to bow their heads and insist that their own faith is unquestionably right and superior...”

Raphael’s lips twitched. For a fleeting moment, Eugene saw murderous intent writhing like a snake behind that boyish face.

“... That would be blasphemy itself, deserving of divine punishment. I am revered as the Church’s greatest holy knight. I, too, pride myself on being the Light’s sharpest sword in this age. If they blaspheme the unmistakable Light... before my very eyes, how could I let it pass?”

Apollo spread its wings. A soft light enveloped it, and it soared swiftly into the sky. Gripping Akasha inside his cloak, Eugene studied Apollo’s wings.

He could see why Raphael had called it a ‘holy hybrid.’ Various spells were inscribed upon Apollo’s wings, like an enchanted artifact. Rather than looking as though they had grown as part of its body, they resembled magical constructs like golems, or artifacts transplanted onto its torso.

[“How horrible...”]

Mer murmured. Aroth’s magic towers conducted experiments like this too. At least Aroth, however, did not promote the products of those experiments as the grace of the Light or proof of miracles, as Yuras did.

“...”

Kristina looked at Apollo’s wings with troubled eyes.

She had seen Apollo as a child, too. A divine steed with four wings. As a young girl, she had felt overwhelmed with emotion at the light Apollo emitted, certain that God existed. She had comforted herself with that certainty. The Light truly existed, so being chosen as this era’s saint was a blessing. That was how she had steeled herself.

But now Kristina knew the whole truth. Though the processes and the purposes of their existence differed, Apollo, created to serve as propaganda for the Light... and a candidate for sainthood who was an imitation incarnation were not fundamentally different, after all.

She looked at the feathers covering Apollo’s outstretched wings.

Each feather seemed to hold sunlight... but that radiance was artificially produced. Even Kristina, with her limited knowledge of magic, could sense it.

Just look at them now. Apollo was flying so fast that the scenery below rushed past, yet no wind struck them from the front. Despite that incredible speed, her body did not shake at all in the saddle...

[“Stop dwelling on pointless things and put your arms around his waist.”]

“Pardon?”

A scolding voice suddenly sounded inside her head.

[“Kristina Rogeris. How many times have I lectured you during your prayers these past few days? Just as it is true that you are unfortunate, it is also true that you are a miraculous being.”]

‘... Yes...’

[“And you are very lucky. You have gained good fortune so extraordinary that it, too, could be called a miracle. You will not wander terrible battlefields in a terrible age for over a decade, as I did. You need not suffer doubt and anxiety over proof of God’s existence. You, and I who dwell within you, are that proof.”]

Kristina could not possibly argue with the voice in her head. Though she had considerable confidence in her debating skills, the great saint from three hundred years ago was exceptionally skilled at pressing her without leaving any room for resistance.

[“In any event, you have found a salvation of your own. You will no longer need to undergo painful rituals, nor suffer the pain of stigmata as I did. I shall bear most of the pain you would otherwise feel.”]

‘I... I do not wish for that, Lady Anise.’

[“I will do it whether you wish it or not, so you can drink alcohol for me in return. And Kristina, didn’t I tell you to call me Sister?”]

‘How could I dare...’

[“Or would you rather call me your big sister? Personally, I find it rather silly to distinguish between a religious Sister and an older sister.”]

‘... May I not simply call you Lady Anise?’

[“No. You and I are spiritual counterparts. Though three hundred years separate us, we could be called sisters. I want to cherish our bond, but if you refuse to call me Sister... I shall be so saddened and distressed that I may cry.”]

‘...’

[“This is also one of my unfulfilled wishes from life. I was older than Senya, but that insolent girl never once called me her big sister. Instead, she disregarded me and treated me like a joke, conspiring with Hamel to steal and drink my precious holy water.”]

‘Is... that so?’

[“Yes. So I carry a lingering resentment at never having been called a big sister. But since you are too shy to call me that, I shall compromise and accept Sister. Kristina Rogeris, what exactly is the problem? Isn’t Sister an ordinary form of address among nuns?”]

‘I-I understand. Sister Anise.’

[“There is no need to add my name.”]

‘... Yes... Sister... But... in my inexperience, I failed to understand your initial rebuke. Sister, would you repeat it for me?’

[“Kristina! I have no idea whom you take after, but you have quite a sly streak. You heard me perfectly well, yet you pretend not to have heard because you want me to give you a push? How shameless!”]

‘N-no. I truly, truly did not hear you.’

[“Then listen carefully, Kristina. Do you know what I regretted most before I died?”]

It was an unexpected question. Rather than answering immediately, Kristina thought for a moment. The regret left behind by Anise the Faithful... In truth, it was a question that required no thought.

Kristina took a deep breath, then answered with a confident expression.

‘Failing to kill the Demon King of Incarceration and the Demon King of Destruction.’

[“No.”]

‘Then... Hamel... no, Sir Eugene and all the others... Ah! Failing to save the world?’

[“No. My greatest regret was failing to enjoy my life.”]

‘...’

At that firm answer, Kristina’s thoughts ground to a halt.

[“Listen carefully, Kristina Rogeris. We were unhappy from the moment we came into existence. Do you agree?”]

‘... Yes... Y-yes...’

[“After enduring that misery, we have finally gained a chance to be happy. Because we were born as we are and endured all those hardships, we deserve happiness more than anyone else in this world. Especially me! I wandered those dreadful demon lands for over a decade, trying to save countless people even as I suffered the pain of stigmata almost every day.”]

‘The stories of your good deeds are an example to every priest of the Light, Sister.’

[“And what of it? I tried to save countless people, and I did save them, but I failed to save my own life. How do you imagine I lived in the peace the Demon King of Incarceration so mercifully tossed us? For roughly seventy years, from my return from the demon lands until my death, I enjoyed neither that peace granted out of pity nor my own life.”]

‘...’

[“I shut myself away in a rural convent and taught ill-mannered little brats, hoping somehow to prepare for the distant future. Almost my only pleasure was smacking the Pope and cardinals across the face when they occasionally visited to ask for some blood. I trained the next generation like that and prayed over and over to make myself a flawless Incarnation of Light. Even that failed! I never became a perfect incarnation while alive. I tried to hide my body to screw over the Church, but I couldn’t even do that because of that goddamn Hamel.”]

Was that Hamel’s fault?

Kristina had no idea, but she quietly kept her mouth shut rather than answering.

[“In the end, my life as a saint was filled with nothing but regrets and failures. But the merciful Light did not forcibly guide my soul away, and instead embraced me as an angel. That allowed me to remain in the world and dwell within you.”]

‘Yes... Yes. It is truly a blessing.’

[“Yes, exactly. It is a blessing! But what are you doing? Despite receiving so much divine grace, you are pitying some damn horse and seeing yourself in its plight. Why should I, who lived such an unhappy life, have to be swayed by your melancholy rather than my own?”]

‘Th-that is...’

[“Listen well, Kristina Rogeris. We were unhappy, and we deserve to be happy. In the end, sainthood is an illusion, and purity of the flesh has no effect whatsoever on a saint’s miracles.”]

‘H-how scandalous...! How do you know that, Sister? Surely you haven’t...’

[“Do not misunderstand! I lived my entire life as befitted a saint. It is only after dying and becoming an angel that I realized how insignificant the body is, how little value it has where the Light and miracles are concerned.”]

‘But... But...’

[“Why are you playing coy now? Kristina, didn’t you fondle Hamel’s buttocks to your heart’s content while harboring filthy desires?”]

‘Ah, aaah! Sister, that is not true. I was only trying to care for the injured Sir Eugene...’

[“Yes, yes, I understand. I shall compromise again for your lecherous sake... Kristina! Your posture is terribly unstable right now, and it makes me, inside you, even more uneasy.”]

Kristina composed her expression and examined her posture. She sat at the very back of Apollo, gripping its body firmly with her legs. Both her hands were lowered to hold the saddle. ... It was hardly an unstable position.

Even if she did fall, there would be no problem. The miracles inscribed on Apollo completely prevented its riders from falling. Besides, Kristina could manifest Anise’s wings, so even if she fell, she only needed to spread them and fly...

[“No. My wings are merely ornamental. They cannot actually fly.”]

‘Pardon?’

[“That is hardly the point, is it? Kristina! Hurry up and put your arms around Hamel’s waist.”]

‘There is... there is really no need...’

[“If you refuse, I shall move your body by force. Do you understand what that means? I will seize control of your body, and you will be unable to do anything but watch from within.”]

‘Sister!’

[“I shall do far more than you imagine. Perhaps that is what your lecherous self would prefer? You could console yourself that you had no choice and indulge in some guilt-free voyeurism...”]

Kristina stopped listening to Anise and raised her hands abruptly. After a moment’s hesitation, she placed them on Eugene’s waist. His firm sides, without a trace of fat, fit beneath her hands.

“... Ahem... A-ahem!”

Embarrassed for no reason, Kristina cleared her throat. She imagined Eugene turning his head and making some mocking remark, but he did nothing of the sort.

“What have you been thinking about for so long?”

“Ahem... I was meditating and praying for a moment.”

With Raphael seated ahead of them, she could not mention Anise. Relieved that Eugene wasn’t teasing her, Kristina carefully extended her arms a little farther forward. She wrapped them firmly around his waist and was about to lean closer when...

SMACK!

A hand shot out of the cloak and delivered a stinging slap to the back of Kristina’s hand.

“Don’t cross the line.”

“... What line have I crossed? Lady Mer, please don’t get the wrong idea. I am only trying to avoid falling off...”

Mer poked her head out and silently glared at Kristina. Knowing how flimsy her excuse sounded, Kristina averted her gaze and began to loosen her hold on Eugene’s waist.

“Lower your eyes.”

Kristina’s mouth opened of its own accord.

“I might just teach you a lesson.”

Kristina made no effort to close her mouth as it moved on its own. Instead, Mer’s mouth dropped open. She stared at Kristina’s face, her lips moving soundlessly, then pulled herself out and threw herself into Eugene’s arms.

“S-S-Sir Eugene!”

“I know... I know, but... it’s a bit awkward for me to say anything...”

“Sir Eugene!”

“Look... um... don’t be too mean to her...”

“I shall do so if that young familiar shows me some consideration.”

In the end, Mer could no longer reprimand Kristina. Thanks to that, Kristina flew with her arms around Eugene’s waist, while Mer flew half nestled in his embrace.

“... Haa...”

Caught between them, Eugene let out a long sigh.

Lionheart.

He missed that peaceful estate.

* * *

Euresia, the capital of Yuras. At the heart of that immense city stood a magnificent, beautiful white palace.

The Holy See.

A pegasus circled above it with four wings outspread. It was Apollo, the beloved mount of Raphael Martinez, commander of the Blood Cross Knights, and the divine steed blessed by the Light.

The knights guarding the Holy See paid their respects to the ‘Light’ circling overhead. Of the hundreds of holy knights assigned to the Holy See, only the Crusader and his divine steed Apollo were privileged to descend directly from the sky into the central White Rotunda Palace.

“There are a lot of them. How many?”

“There are five hundred holy knights alone. About two hundred belong to the Blood Cross Knights, and the rest are holy knights from other units. Include the holy soldiers, and there are thousands. Yuras is enormous and has done all sorts of things over the years... so it has many enemies.”

“I’m sure it does.”

“Actually, rather than enemies... Hmm. You may find this amusing, Sir Eugene, but the reason the Holy See has so many guards is religious fanatics.”

“Pfft!”

“I thought you would laugh. The believers who live in Euresia are not like that... but sometimes believers from the countryside recklessly storm into the Holy See, desperate to meet the Pope or even touch the hem of his robes.”

As he spoke, Raphael lowered his gaze.

Eugene was now in front of Raphael, not even properly seated, but draped limply across the saddle. Their story was that Raphael had subdued him and brought him here under arrest.

Kristina sat demurely behind Raphael. According to their story, she had been caught up in the fallen Hero’s rampage and abducted, only to be rescued by Raphael.

“They cannot see you, Sir Eugene,” Raphael said.

“To their eyes, Apollo will look like nothing but an enormous light. That is why Apollo is called a divine steed.”

“Can’t you give him to me?”

Eugene’s sudden question left Raphael speechless.

“... The roof of the White Rotunda Palace is opening. Descending directly into it from the sky like this is another privilege granted only to Apollo and me.”

He had been ignored.

“If we descend straight through the roof, we will arrive before the Audience Chamber beneath the White Rotunda Palace. The Pope and cardinals should already be waiting inside.”

“Do they not even consider the possibility that you might betray them, Sir Raphael?”

“No. I have lived for decades as a loyal knight and worshipper of the Light. If they thought I might betray them, would they have sent me to you?”

Chuckling, Raphael pulled Apollo’s reins.

“That displeases me greatly as well. They... have no awareness that their actions are blasphemous. They are certain they are unconditionally right and carrying out the Light’s will. They are not entirely wrong, of course. The merciful Light has always illuminated them brilliantly.”

The circular roof of the White Rotunda Palace opened, revealing the entrance to a passage leading straight down. Apollo folded its four wings and slowly descended into it.

From that point onward, Eugene began playing dead. He stopped speaking with Raphael and suppressed his presence and breathing. Kristina, too, composed her expression and donned her familiar mask.

Eugene did not trust Raphael completely. Though they had come this far together, he allowed for the possibility that everything Raphael had said was a lie and an act. An ambush in the Audience Chamber. Raphael’s sword might turn toward Eugene’s neck rather than the Pope’s or the cardinals’.

That was why Eugene hid his right hand inside his cloak. Instead of the Holy Sword, it held the Moonlight Sword. He was certain that whatever happened, unleashing the Moonlight Sword’s light would at least give him a way out.

He trusted Kristina and Anise. Raphael might betray him, but those two never would.

‘... This feels good.’

Eugene felt a tickle of exhilaration deep in his chest. The tension of not knowing how things would unfold. And yet, he had companions beside him who would ‘never’ betray him. The presence of comrades, something he had taken for granted on the battlefields three hundred years ago, had been difficult to truly feel since his reincarnation.

Especially in a predicament like this.

Beneath the White Rotunda Palace lay the ‘Audience Chamber.’ This was not the Pope’s throne room. It was a place to receive an audience with the Light that existed high in the heavens. A place where revelations descended. A place where the Light chose the Pope from among the clergy who bore stigmata.

Originally, Kristina would have received transplants of other holy relics here, completing her transformation from a candidate for sainthood into a saint. Once all that was finished, Eugene, bearing the Holy Sword, would have been confirmed as the Hero before the Pope and cardinals.

In the end, all those ceremonies meant that the Hero ‘chosen’ by the Light had to prove himself once again to the Pope and cardinals.

[“Kristina Rogeris.”]

Anise spoke inside the tense Kristina’s head.

[“You are not someone who needs their recognition.”]

Kristina stood on the ground with both feet.

[“Rather, they should have to prove their faith to you.”]

Raphael supported the limp Eugene in both hands and strode toward the doors of the Audience Chamber.

There was no need to knock.

The doors opened.

The spacious room resembled a courtroom. At its head stood a long white table, with three middle-aged men seated beyond it.

The seat Sergio Rogeris should have occupied was empty. Beside it sat two cardinals in clerical robes with red cloth draped over their shoulders.

In the center sat a middle-aged man wearing a triple crown, his platinum-ringed hand gripping a staff.

He was Euryus, the Pope who had led the faith of Light for decades.

“You have done well, Sir Raphael.”

Euryus spoke, looking at Raphael standing below him and the unconscious Eugene.

“I would like to hear what you saw, and what you did.”

“Of course, I shall report without a single falsehood, Your Holiness,” Raphael said, bowing his head.

“But first, please instruct me what to do with this fallen one.”

“Bring him closer. Though he may have fallen, he is a man of standing, and the Hero chosen by the Light...”

Euryus raised his staff as he spoke. The platinum ring on his index finger glowed softly, and light spread as though resonating with the staff. Without lifting his bowed head, Raphael raised both hands supporting Eugene.

TAP.

Raphael said nothing. Instead, he tapped Eugene lightly on the waist with his fingertips, then slowly approached the raised dais. As Raphael approached, Euryus rose from his chair.

The other cardinals remained seated. Their eyes were on Kristina rather than Eugene. Eyes full of questions. They held no grief for the dead Sergio, only thoughts of the ‘ritual’s’ progress and how complete the saint was.

The distance narrowed.

Euryus slowly extended his staff.

Raphael lifted Eugene higher, as though presenting a sacrifice.

His fingers tapped Eugene’s waist once more. This time, harder than before. The impact lifted Eugene’s body slightly into the air.

CRACKLE!

Lightning moved. Eugene snapped his waist and shot through the air. Horrified, Euryus thrust his staff forward.

WHUMP!

The erupting light swallowed Eugene’s body.

The Moonlight Sword, drawn from his cloak, cleaved the light in two. With the way cleared, his left hand drew the Holy Sword. He slashed as he drew it, severing Euryus’s staff-bearing right arm and sending it flying into the air.

“Gasp!”

The cardinals tried to react, but they could not move from their seats. Raphael had rushed forward in an instant, stopping his greatsword before their throats. He pressed the blade close, making shallow cuts across their necks.

“... What are you trying to do?”

Though his right arm had been sliced clean through at the forearm, Euryus did not scream. Instead, he fixed Eugene with an icy glare as he asked the question.

Eugene crossed the Holy Sword and Moonlight Sword. Like scissors, the two blades closed around Euryus’s neck from either side.

“Kristina.”

At his call, Kristina nodded and stepped forward.

WHOOSH!

The light pouring from her eight wings overwhelmed every other light in the Audience Chamber.