Chapter 3: The Fate of the Fallen Church

Episode 24: A Distorted Doctrine and the Faith of the Saint① -A Land Where People Kill People-

After leaving the Elven Kingdom, we walked along the road for several days and arrived at the land governed by the church.
　On the way here, we passed through several villages and cities that had been attacked by monsters, and they were all in a terrible state, and from the traces it was clear that they were being led by a powerful being with a clear intention. ……The fact that there were still other disasters on a par with Hroboros is not a laughing matter at all.

"Celestial Knight, there's a human settlement over there, too."

　When we visited the village at the devil's behest, it was an abandoned village with no survivors, just like the other villages we had seen. However, there was one crucial difference.

"……It's humans who have done this."

　Falty frowned, with me agreeing.
　Young and old, men and women, were being killed, ultimately being gathered together in one place and killed efficiently, and as far as I could see, there were also the corpses of young girls and children who had been stripped naked and killed after being tortured in various parts of the village, as well as the bodies of parents who had tried to protect them.
　The group of humans that attacked this village plundered it, and then gathered all the unnecessary people together in one place and killed them all at once with arrows and magic. What a disgusting situation.

"……Huh?”

　The embroidery on the clothes of many of the villagers looked familiar. The same floral pattern as the one on Irene's religious garb. Falty, who noticed my gaze, seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

"Raoul. This has the same pattern as Irene's clothes, doesn't it?"

　I nodded silently in response to Falty's words. If we compare this village to the story of the internal strife in the church that Falty was talking about, is this a village belonging to the Republican faction?
　……So, does that mean the Devout sect was responsible for this tragedy? What a horrible story.

"……Looks like we should hurry up. I'm worried about Irene."

　I feel sorry for the dead in this village, but there is no time to mourn for them, so there is nothing we can do for them now. After praying, we left the village.

"We've already pushed ourselves so far, but are you still in a hurry?”

"Don't say that when looking so refreshed and carefree."

　When the devil showed her complaining face and said something, I coldly replied, which made her look sad.
　From here, it is a half-day's walk to the autonomous region ruled by Irene, which could be seen in the distance. It was fortunate that we were able to move smoothly without encountering any devout believers.

"……Hey, I've never encountered anyone from the devout church before, but if I do and we have to fight, will it be okay? I've killed enough people already, so I'm ready to kill. But you――――"

"I'll fight. Even if it's a human, I can kill them."

　To Falty's words, which seemed to be concerned about me, I declared. At the very least, I don't think humans are that noble anymore, and as long as they threaten those I care about, I have no hesitation in cutting them down. ……Even if I didn't directly take part in it, I abandoned the people of the kingdom and let them die, so in a sense, I took their lives.

　As we got closer to the town where Irene was, we started to notice strange sights.
　There were several huge crystals on the plains. ……Why are they here? Crystal formations are found in caves.
　As we continued walking along the road, wondering what was going on, we came across a huge block of crystal blocking the road. I touched it to see what it was, and then I understood what it was.

　―――There was a soldier who was frozen in place, screaming inside the crystal.

　No, this isn't a crystal. It's a human being frozen in ice. These ridiculously large crystals are comprised of several people, and upon closer inspection, there was even a man in a robe.

"……Raoul, this is a human being."

"Yeah, looking at the people inside, they were instantly frozen. ……What's more, this ice shows no sign of melting. This isn't ordinary magic."

　Falty and I were frowning in front of the ice, but the devil was looking amused for some reason.

"Ohhh. Oh ho ho, ho ho, ho ho, ohhhhh? ……I see, ohh?"

　She tilted her head to the side and then nodded, but I don't understand this devil, so I'll leave her alone.
　After leaving the frozen soldiers behind, we approached the city of Irene. This city seemed to be about the size of a medium-sized one, with stone walls surrounding it, and the gates through which people could enter and exit were tightly closed. It's no surprise since the devout were invading.

"Stop right there! Who are you?!”

　Someone called out to us from the top of the castle wall, as you would expect, there would be guards there.

"We've come to see Irene. Tell her Raoul and Falty have arrived."

"……The Celestial Knight and the Divine Bow? All right, I'm sorry, but please wait there."

　As we waited, listening to the footsteps of the soldiers running in a fluster, the devil asked us a question curiously.

"Why don't you have the Divine Bow carry you up and you just fly in?”

"If we do that, they'll be wary of us……"

　As the bewildered Falty was about to butt in, the castle gate was opened.
　Without waiting for the castle gate to open fully, a beautiful woman with long, gently wavy hair and a feminine figure ―a figure that even a nun's habit couldn't hide― with drooping eyes ran towards us through the gap in the gate. Even though they both have droopy eyes, Luqur gave off a sense of gentleness and calmness, but this woman gives off a seductive air.

"Raoul, Falty! I'm so glad you're safe!”

　She then hugged me and Falty together. As usual, she's a very touchy person.

"Yeah. ……I'm glad you're all right, Irene."

"Yeah, that's great. ……To be honest, I thought you were in the most danger."

　Each of us spoke to Irene.

"Well, there was a lot that happened. Let's talk about it later, shall we? I can't keep the castle gate open forever…… By the way, who is that woman?”

　Irene asked about the devil who was watching the embrace behind us with interest. Of course, it's strange that she's a woman with horns on her head, and it would be strange if you didn't think it was weird. In the Elven Kingdom, no one cared if the devil was wandering around, but that's because the elves were too laid-back……

"Nice to meet you, Saint. My name is Devil. I am one of the calamities that has manifested in this world, it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance from now on."

"Oh, thank you very much for your courtesy. I'm Irene, as you know, and I was traveling with Raoul, Falty, Al, and one other person as a Saint. I look forward to a good relationship with you."

　Irene, you're amazing. You've accepted the devil so easily. Even if it's just an ordinary disaster, it's not something you can just accept so easily…… It's good that she's quick to accept it…… Well…… whatever.

　When Irene urged us to go into the city, we found soldiers and adults there, but most of them were nuns, and the majority of the people roaming around the city were children. In addition to humans, there was also a variety of other races, such as demi-humans and fish-people, and there were also some children who appeared to be of mixed race.
　In the midst of all this, my eyes met with those of a small girl with long light blue hair who was looking at us intently while holding a doll. She stood out because she had strangely white skin and blue eyes.

"Oh, oh, oh. Oh, ho ho, ho ho, hoo ho, ohhh!”

　The devil was about to approach the child with such a voice, looking interested, so I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and held her back. She let out a short cry as if her neck had been pinched, but in the meantime, the girl turned on her heel and ran away.

"What are you doing, Celestial Knight?!”

"You're scaring the children."

"No, that was―――― no, it's nothing."

　She started laughing as if she found something funny about my reaction, so I made a questioning face. ……I don't really understand the devil.

"――――Well, we're almost at the church where I live with the children. So let's take our time talking there."

　Irene, who was leading the way, turned around and spoke to us, so we nodded in reply.
Unlike the devastation of the outside world, here the children are running around energetically, and the adults are also lively and smiling. ……Recalling the world we have seen up to this point, this is amazing. Watching Irene's back as she walked in front of us, I felt a genuine sense of respect.

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