Chapter: 85
86. Holy Sword and Oath (1)
Dominic stared coldly at the corpse in front of him.
An irreverent demon.
The sinner who dared to insult the Black Saint with vile words.
The punishment for him had just wrapped up.
Thanks to the assistance of the Brethren, that wicked demon was vanquished.
After alternating between healing and torture, his mind was utterly shattered, so there was no need to worry about that demon reappearing in this world.
However, one problem remained…
‘How on earth am I going to handle this?’
The man before him was far more renowned than expected.
A big shot among the top five wealthy tycoons.
Not to mention, he was a formidable 8th circle mage in his own right.
With eight Cardinals and twelve Archbishops present, it was downright foolish to commit an act of blasphemy and end up like this.
He was not someone who would die so easily, that was for sure.
Sian’s death was bound to attract a lot of attention. It wouldn’t be easy to hide, not that he intended to.
‘I’m not even thinking about hiding it. That’s fine, though.’
Of course.
Dominic wasn’t ruminating on how to cover up the event right now.
It was common sense.
This wasn’t just a simple murder.
It was something akin to exorcism.
That wasn’t a human he dealt with.
So why should he feel ashamed or try to hide the fact that he slew a demon?
‘The question is how to reveal this to the world in a way that benefits the Black Saint.’
Given that faith in the divine had plummeted due to the Holy Church’s misdeeds, they had to find a way to redeem themselves.
How could he utilize this incident to make the divine name shine once again?
After much contemplation, Dominic finally had a lightbulb moment…
A grand judgment.
That was how he would present it.
Everyone would be left with no choice but to marvel at the might of the divine.
He would engrave the image of a deity punishing evil into everyone’s minds and make them glorify the Black Saint.
Once that decision was made, there was no room for hesitation.
Dominic left the emblem of the Brethren and a message only the saint could understand next to the corpse before moving it for further preparations.
*
Sian Rudebeth was dead.
And it just had to be the moment I declared to Rubia that it was “a minor issue” to deal with.
Rubia’s face turned pale.
Although she seemed to want to say something, her words didn’t form into coherent sentences.
All that came out were strange utterances like “Uh? Ah? Eh?” repeated several times.
She had lost her linguistic abilities.
Thinking about it, it wasn’t so surprising.
With something like this happening at such a crucial time, who wouldn’t think I was involved?
Especially since I had just demonstrated my power by demolishing a training yard with my bare hands.
What would happen next was painfully obvious.
Having gathered some experiences, I was just about to calm the panicking Rubia when, at that moment…
“…Ah! So that’s how it was!”
Suddenly, for some reason, Rubia regained her color. Her ability to speak was restored.
“You were planning to handle that person all along, weren’t you? I mean, he was a villain. Did you send Siel or Lien after him?”
Rubia laughed while noting the impeccable timing of the whole situation.
The message left next to the corpse.
It was written in ancient characters under the name of the Brethren—meaningless letters that couldn’t even be deciphered.
Was that meant to confuse the investigation?
“Well, no matter how I look at it, taking out an 8th circle mage without lifting a finger seems a bit farfetched. It’s only doable by a god!”
Her heart racing, she smiled brightly and added that I should give her a heads-up next time before I pull any stunts like this.
What a bizarre situation. Here I was, trying to grasp the situation, while Rubia rambled on, completely making her own deductions.
That absurd atmosphere lingered until, suddenly, a familiar sound broke through.
A communication signal came through again.
A source claiming they’d investigate the details of the incident had contacted us.
Soon enough, the informant’s face appeared on the screen. And… she said:
“-According to witnesses, Sian was killed by a massive shining sword that fell from the heavens. Since all testimonies are consistent, it’s likely true.”
This wasn’t your typical assassination.
A giant sword of light, resembling a mountain, plummeted from the sky and delivered death to Sian.
It was almost as if someone had cast divine retribution upon him.
Rubia’s face drained of color once again.
Could it be anything but that?
Rubia mouthed what she had just said earlier in shock, her gaze directed at my wings, which were still glowing gently.
What sort of misunderstanding was brewing here?
It was painfully clear.
I needed to think up a believable excuse quickly.
Of course.
Given the will to act, I had the power to take out an 8th circle mage with a snap of my fingers.
An entity that could bestow divine punishment and cause death on a whim.
If I just let this sit, Rubia would undoubtedly see me as something far beyond a human.
Yet, no feasible excuse came to mind.
In fact, thinking of one would be even weirder.
The information provided by Rubia depicted Sian as nothing but a scoundrel operating hundreds of these mining camps like the one I got trapped in.
On top of that, he had disrupted several of the businesses I was pushing forward.
That gave me plenty of motive.
Naturally, it made sense to connect a massive shining sword from the sky to my glowing wings.
In this situation, finding a way to clear my name seemed impossible.
The only thought I could come up with was, “Ta-da! Surprise!” to try and sweep the situation under the rug—what a ridiculous idea!
As silence dragged on, Rubia’s face kept painting itself with horror.
“Y-You…”
Rubia looked at me as if staring at an otherworldly being.
Just like that, I realized how easily I had gotten into a whole pool of misunderstandings.
-Next to the corpse, it was reported that the leader of the Black Fangs left his signature. He judged the demon who committed horrendous evil in the name of the god.
What impeccable timing for that news to come through.
Naturally, a bright smile crept onto my lips.
In a situation where I was blindsided as the culprit, fortunately, it was revealed that the Black Fangs’ leader was the true mastermind behind all this.
-If I find out anything else, I’ll report it immediately.
With that, the communication cut off.
All this was a deed orchestrated by the Black Fangs.
It was concluded that this had nothing to do with me.
I was sure Rubia’s misunderstandings would be cleared up too.
“……?”
But for some reason, despite the time that passed, the fear didn’t leave Rubia’s face.
Staring at my smiling face, she opened her mouth in shock.
Even though her misconception was surely cleared up, why was she still reacting like this?
After contemplating for a moment, I finally understood.
‘Well, thinking about it, it does make sense.’
The Black Fangs.
How terrifying of an organization they were.
Based on everything that had happened, I concluded that I was not the villain here, so it was safe to breathe easy.
But even so, the sheer scale of power was still quite alarming.
To think they could rain down a colossal sword of light from the sky to slay someone… Doesn’t that sound divine?
If I felt this way, then Rubia must be shaking in her boots. She probably experienced a massive shock just by witnessing the power of the Black Fangs’ leader.
Seeing her tremble like that almost made me feel sorry for her.
In this situation, there was only one thing I could do.
“Please try not to tremble so much, Rubia.”
Speaking gently, I carefully took her hand, reassuring her.
“If you really think about it, this means you no longer have to worry about that problem, right?”
While the power of the Black Fangs’ leader was admittedly intimidating, aside from that, the situation wasn’t as bad as it seemed.
All things considered, it was highly unlikely that Sian would bother our business anymore.
“It’s all been resolved quite simply. We should be happy about this.”
At my words, Rubia nodded.
However, I could tell that wasn’t a genuine response.
Her vigorous nodding.
Her face looked like it was about to burst into tears.
Rubia’s fear hadn’t subsided yet. So I held her hand even tighter.
I wouldn’t let her feel insecure all alone.
So she could always know I was there beside her.
“If you have any worries, just come to me like this. I’ll always be happy to lend you a hand.”
I beamed warmly at Rubia as I said this.
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