After we defeated the Undead of the temple, the only Temple Knight who hadn’t become Undead, as if his spirit had been broken, began to speak little by little.
“…Everything is according to the will of Saintess-sama and Prince Amor-denka.”
According to him, Saint Alicia, who called herself “Licia,” lamented that demons had appeared in the kingdom because the kingdom was corrupt. She said that to dispel the kingdom’s darkness and spread God’s salvation, the “Hero” Elvan, who had repelled the demons, needed to unite the country as Crown Prince.
Although the intentions of the Fandora Theocracy, where the Holy Church’s main temple is located, were unclear, the Holy Church in the Kingdom of Claydale apparently intended to make Licia the “Saintess” and thereby establish it as the official “state religion recognized by the royal family.”
…If she truly is the “heroine” That Woman believes her to be, does that mean there’s a possibility she could become one of the queens through the Holy Church’s recommendation?
According to the Temple Knight, Saintess Licia had done nothing. He said she merely made statements lamenting the future of this country and did not incite them.
Whether the Holy Church’s true intention was to push for the Saintess to become queen for the sake of this country because they genuinely believed her to be a Saintess, or to push for her to become queen for the sake of the Holy Church itself… either way, due to her statements, some of the Temple Knights who had interacted with her began to act voluntarily.
However, they weren’t the only ones moved by those statements. To the Temple Knights who wanted to do something for the Saintess but couldn’t take practical action, “Prince Amor,” who was said to be close to the Saintess along with the Crown Prince, approached them.
“—Won’t you become warriors of God?—” …he had asked.
“…You believed that?”
At my murmur, the knight, who had been kneeling with his head down, quickly looked up.
“We believed in Saintess-sama! Her words held power. She acknowledged us and showed us the path we should take. …It’s true that we sometimes hear ‘rumors’ unbecoming of a Saintess. But we believed in Saintess-sama and accepted Prince Amor-denka’s ‘power.’ Even if it meant gradually losing our sanity, even if it meant conveying God’s righteousness to the people, we, we…”
The knight, who until then had been preaching the Saintess’s righteousness, confessed these feelings to me, an outsider, and his eyes suddenly wavered.
“…Was it truly right?”
“…………”
Had his faith in God and trust in the Saintess become one and the same? Even though his spirit was broken, the blind, faith-like light in his eyes began to fade.
Even with the power of “Immortality” that was unfitting for faith, it was precisely because he was intoxicated by the titles of the Saintess and the Prince, and above all, by the supernatural sense of invincibility that came with Immortality, that he was able to believe their actions were like a trial given by God.
But, by harboring the “suspicion” that this Immortality was not invincible, that they were not apostles fighting for God but merely Undead defying providence, it shook the “power” of the Saintess that had made them believe.
“See for yourself, ascertain it for yourself. Faith isn’t something taught by others, is it?”
“I see… You’re right.”
At my dismissive words, he murmured as if pondering something.
The Temple Knights’ objective was to believe the Saintess’s words, condone Prince Amor’s actions, and become his strength. However, they hadn’t been told what Prince Amor’s objective was—not even that it was to “support Elvan as Crown Prince”—or what he planned to do using the knights who had become Undead.
Dealing with a few might be manageable, but even I would find it difficult to face hundreds of Undead. But if their trust in the Saintess wavers like this, her Allure-like power will falter, and they might become capable of thinking for themselves.
Even if I were to report the situation to Roakwell’s father, the Knight Commander, it would likely only cause a bigger uproar. Since I don’t know if that would benefit Elena, I want to crush this secretly if possible.
If, by harboring doubts like him, they could regain the rationality to question the rightness or wrongness of it themselves… But then—
“…Gu, ga.”
In that instant, he suddenly began to suffer.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know… No, Chigau… This is!”
“—Hh!”
His eyes, which had regained their reason, began to change, not in a fanatical way this time, but as if he were fundamentally ceasing to be human. This is—
“…Turning Undead?”
I didn’t know why. But it seemed he too had undergone the procedure to become Undead, and he had been suppressing it through reason or some other cause, but now it had begun to consume him.
What was the reason for that?
“Is it because he was freed from the Saintess’s curse…?”
“Guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
The Temple Knight let out a beast-like scream, yet still utilized his honed swordsmanship, swinging his blade in a fluid, quick-draw motion.
GIN!!
“…Sleep now.”
I parried his sword with a hidden weapon I took out from my 【Shadow Storage】, then, with a reverse grip, swung the Black Knife and lopped off his head. But at that moment—
!
As his head flew through the air, the instant I was about to slash his heart to finish him off, something like an “insect” burst out from the wound, as if evading the Blade.
I quickly jumped back while slashing with my knife.
What is this? Could this be… the true nature of “Immortality”?
“…So this is your method.”
The nematode-like object that fell to the ground writhed as if searching for something, then eventually shriveled up and stopped moving. Once the insect was gone, the Temple Knight’s body vanished, leaving behind a Magic Stone.
The ability of an insect-user who controls corpses… If that’s Amor’s 【Divine Protection (Gift)】, then this isn’t Immortality; they’re merely dead bodies being controlled while their consciousness remains. The regenerative ability itself is likely just the insects repairing the damage.
Was he conscious because he had a natural resistance to the insects? It’s also possible that what he had been suppressing with willpower simply became uncontrollable when his spirit broke, but the timing was too abrupt.
For him to suddenly enter that state… It wouldn’t be strange if Saintess Licia, Prince Amor, or even a demon, who is thought to still exist, had orchestrated it.
The Saintess erodes their minds, the Prince grants them dubious power, and the demon doesn’t forgive betrayal, turning them into death-soldiers.
This isn’t a proper fight anymore. I don’t know how many people have received Amor’s power, but if a demon is also involved, then merely killing Amor probably won’t be enough to save them.
I offered a moment of silent prayer for the souls of those I had killed, then wrapped my cloak around myself and quietly left the town.
＊＊＊
“This battle will decide the future of this country! Those without heart may revile us as evil. But as those who truly grieve for the Kingdom of Claydale, true justice and God’s will are with us!”
“――OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!”
Several dozen knights from the Second Order of Knights raised their voices at Prince Amor’s speech. —However, nearly two hundred knights were present, and most of them stood there like dolls, their expressions unchanging today.
Even the knights who shouted were more terrified by the changes in their comrades, with whom they had shared meals and sleep, than they were elated by the prospect of changing the country. They thrust their fists into the air as if to deceive themselves, fearing they too would end up like that someday.
Their comrades who had become like dolls would still obey the orders of those who were conscious. This fact was terrifying enough to make them want to flee, but both they and those who had undergone the procedure had no choice but to believe Prince Amor’s words that he would return them to normal once things were settled.
The knights who desired power had something like a “seed” implanted in them by Amor’s own hand. From that day on, they gradually began to experience chills throughout their bodies. A drop in body temperature. A decrease in perspiration and bodily functions. However, contrary to this, their physical abilities improved, and only their appetite was abnormally stimulated, terrifying the knights.
Nevertheless, the reason they didn’t rebel against Amor was partly because he was a member of the royal family whom the knights were supposed to serve, but the biggest reason was that they had been “Allured” by Saintess Licia after hearing her “voice” and seeing her “figure” firsthand when she paid a comfort visit.
It was strictly “Allure”—not Charm.
If it had been magic or supernatural mental domination, they should have been able to repel it with willpower, or at least feel a sense of unease even if they couldn’t. But the simple and indiscriminate ability of “increasing favorability” made them “misinterpret” their feelings as common emotions like “friendship,” “familial love,” “protectiveness,” or “romantic love,” unless they had viewed her with hostility from the very beginning.
In the end, it was their own choice. That was why they believed in the Saintess.
The knights raised their fists while shouting.
Some, their honor as knights stirred. Some, believing in the Saintess due to their piety. Some, for the rewards Amor had promised. And still others, gripping their weapons, their fear suppressed by hatred for the other knightly orders that had scorned them.
They had no choice but to believe. With their comrades and themselves held hostage, no path remained for them but to press onward.
“From now on, we will divide our forces into two and conduct simultaneous raids on two locations. The target locations are—”
Upon hearing the words that followed, the members of the Second Order of Knights were astonished at the prospect of raiding such places, yet at the same time, they understood. They realized then that there was truly no turning back.
“We will raid the manors of the Dandole Family and the Melrose Family, located in the outskirts of the Royal Capital!”
Will Aria be able to prevent the simultaneous raids on the two families?
Probably, if Aria comes, it’s a win (lol). A loss would be…