Episode 32: A Distorted Doctrine and the Faith of the Saint ⑨~The End of the Church~
Inside the barrier, magic overflowing from the broken cannon filled the air. Every time it was about to be destroyed by the pressure from within, miasma repaired the cracks in the barrier, so it would have been impossible to defend against it with just the Heavenly Sword. ……What has the empire created?
While waiting for the magic inside the barrier to settle, I continued to sweep away the soldiers in the plains. About an hour had passed according to my internal clock. Finally, the fog of magic within the barrier dissipated, revealing what was inside.
"Wow, the ground is gouged out."
The ground was dug deeper below the semicircle blocked by the barrier, and its surface was deformed into a hard material. It eloquently illustrated the power and danger of a cannon that blew itself up. If something like this were fired at the ground level, it would probably deform the terrain. It would be as powerful as Falty's trump card.
"What a horrifying sight. If something like this were fired, the entire city of Irene would be wiped out."
I nodded in agreement with Falty, but Setsu-chan reacted to those words.
"That won't happen. The Queen of Ice and Snow is the older sister, so she protects the town, the saint, and everyone else."
"Ha ha ha, I see. That's reassuring, but it's okay because Irene will go all gori-macho and protect everyone. ……Ah, but if she uses that, she'll be bedridden for about ten days, won't she?”
I heard that the damage comes later in proportion to the time she uses it. She said it's like adult muscle soreness, but I don't really get it."
……Yeah, I guess Falty wouldn't understand. As you get older, muscle pain hits you two or three days later. What's more, the more you strain it, the longer it takes to recover……I remember this from my past life. As I was stroking Setsu-chan's head while thinking about this, Irene seemed to notice something and walked toward the barrier. There were no enemies left in the plains, but……? Noticing something in front of the barrier, she pointed her index finger inside. ……You want me to cancel it?
After removing the barrier according to her instructions, Irene proceeded toward the gouged-out ground. Every time she stepped on the slope, where stones and sand had turned hard due to excessive magical power, her footsteps made a creaking sound.
Closer to the center of the explosion, Irene broke the ground and drove her fist into it. Plunging her arm down to her elbow, she dragged something out of the ground―――It's the throne. Did Irene notice this?
The throne was surrounded by a circular defensive spell, but Irene pierced through it and grabbed the back of the throne with her hands. ……Muscle power is amazing. Maybe it's some kind of sacred magic from the church or something like that. Irene may be able to ignore it, but I don't really understand it.
"That's quite a powerful defensive spell. Is that part of the throne? ……Even if you block your magical power, suppress your presence, and try to hide and escape, you cannot hide your vile breathing and foul odor. Right now, not only are my muscles super-enhanced, but all five of my senses are too."
Upon closer inspection, the throne dragged out of the ground revealed the pope sitting on it, trembling violently. A completely frightened expression……You can tell at a glance that this man's spirit is broken, as he has the face of a defeated man. It looks like he saw a picture of hell inside the barrier. Looking closely, his hair is completely white. ……Having lost all of his forces and suffered complete defeat, all that remains is his own life.
Even that is about to disappear, though……I'll leave that man's punishment to Irene.
“Did you think you could hide and get away with it?”
"H-hyiiii! I didn't mean to……This is a coincidence, it must be divine intervention……"
"Such childish lies won't work on me. Are you planning to escape with a throne for one person?”
Saying that, Irene used her strength to deform and crush the throne with the pope still sitting on it.
"A-Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! Stop it, stop, please stop!! Please have mercy! God have mercy!!”
"Have you ever saved people who begged for their lives like that?”
"Yes! I have! I have done so!”
Irene interrupted the pope, who was shedding tears, folding his hands in prayer, and pleading with a runny nose and drooling.
"―――“Tell only the truth”. That was a sacred technique given to me by the goddess. As long as you are under the influence of this technique, you will not be able to tell any lies in front of me. ……Let me ask you again. Have you ever helped someone who begged you for their life and asked for your help?”
"Huh～? There's no way I would do that, you idiot! It's the most enjoyable thing in the world to torture, trample, and kill people who are kneeling and begging for their lives!”
Without saying a word, Irene increased the force with which she was crushing the throne. ……You could hear the pope's frightened voice screaming, “Hyiiiiii!”.
"……You said that you participated in the assassination of the hero at the behest of the empire. Did you not feel any remorse about killing a young boy just because he was no longer of use to you?”
"Huh～～～? ? What are you talking about, you slut!! I would rather the hero died early and we could move on. The less power and authority a person has, the better! Such things should be reserved for the Holy Church alone!!
In the first place, a mentally weak person who takes his own life just because his woman was stolen and the people turned against him is no hero!!”
Irene silently continued to squeeze the throne. Using more force than before.
"Now for the last question. The army that followed you was destroyed. It seems that almost all of the church's influential figures and military forces participated in the expeditionary army……This could be described as the destruction of the church itself.
If, by some miracle, you were to survive, would you be able to apologize for your actions, reflect on them, and spend the rest of your life atoning for them?”
"Of course, I'll live to atone for my sins, so please spare me………Ptfch………As if, don't say such ridiculous things, you stupid bitch!! I am the Pope, the head of the Church! Anyone who opposes me will be put to death! Death! Death! Death! Death! Only the death penalty will do!! I'll definitely get my revenge! I'll escape back to the empire and kill every last one of you!!! A-Ahh, no, wait, wait, wait, I didn't mean to, GYOOOUH?!”
He tried to lie in order to survive, however, he ended up exposing himself even more. Hearing those words, Irene crushed the throne and deformed it into a ball.
"S-Stop, I wil change……it hurts, I'm sorry, sorry, I'll atooooooooone! Please don't crush me! No, noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!”
However, the Pope's cries soon fell silent. Irene turned around as she threw the deformed throne, dripping with blood, far away like a cannonball.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. This time, they're all gone for sure."
"You're right. ……Hey, if the Pope had really repented, would you have spared his life?”
In response to my words, Irene stuck out her tongue and winked at me with a blank stare. Normally, Irene's gestures would make me blush, but in her current state, they were creepy and scary.
……Human corpses scattered across the plain and gouged earth. The church's expedition ended in failure, and they were all wiped out here. The end of a church that had become intoxicated with power and vested interests was truly hopeless.
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Sousaku - 創作 - We Create! 