The Next Day Morning
I was standing at the edge of their domain with Lilith and Ignis.
“Even if you go down to the ground, don’t do anything dangerous,” Lilith said, adjusting my collar.
“I get it already. How many times do you have to say that? I’m not a kid.”
“Think about what you’ve been through. You’ve been annihilated twice already. If you come back hurt again, I swear I’ll half-kill you.”
“Hmph. Does she think she’s Luke’s mother? I’m the one who’s his mother. Well, since you said you were close in Luke’s past life, I’ll let it slide.”
Deus puffed his cheeks next to me.
Is he jealous of Lilith?
“Exactly. If anything happens to Luke, I might wipe that nation off the map?” Ignis said, laughing.
That doesn’t sound like something to joke about.
Currently, Ignis is revered as the Holy Spirit on the ground.
She claims to have taken care of my disciples after I collapsed.
Apparently, she bestowed the Holy Fire of the Spirit upon the disciples praying at Paulah’s house after my ascension.
This led them to have confidence in my ascension and create the present Katorikus.
God cannot freely intervene in earthly matters, but Ignis, accepted as the Holy Spirit, is nothing short of omnipotent.
And she’s talking about wiping out a nation.
Her words were utterly unfunny.
“Raising a daughter seems worthless. The ravenous succubus aiming for Luke.”
Deus shot a discontented glance at Ignis.
Seeing Deus made me remember what happened yesterday, my face burned red.
A uniquely awkward experience that I’ve never had throughout my past and present lives.
…Although Deus didn’t have a physical body to finish it completely, the feeling of being connected to her soul was…
I should find a way to restore Deus’s body quickly.
“Paulah. You know that under no circumstances should anything happen to Lily.”
Lilith directed a remark toward Paulah, who was standing a bit away, waiting.
“Of course. I will give my life to ensure not a single hair on the Lord is harmed.”
Paulah responded like a rookie soldier under strict discipline.
“Then, we’ll be heading down to the ground.”
Lilith turned back to me.
“I really don’t want to send you, but I can’t keep Lily locked up forever. Once I’m down there, I can always look for Lily. So, just call me whenever you need me? I’ll rush right over.”
“Got it.”
“Are you ready? Let’s go.”
Woosh
As Paulah gathered divinity, a dimensional gate appeared before us.
With Lilith and Ignis seeing us off, Paulah and I stepped through the gate.
*
Katorikus Holy Kingdom.
A small village on the outskirts, far away from the holy city of Orias, named Arwen.
In the central plaza of the village, many people had gathered.
“Is this all you’ve got?”
Holy Knights surrounded the village inhabitants.
In the center sat a plump bishop on an ornate chair, looking down with disdain at the offerings brought by the villagers.
“This? Is this all? Village Chief, speak up.”
The chief trembled and replied.
“Th-that’s because, due to the war’s aftermath this year… you’re aware, right? With the onslaught of the Islamites escalating, neighboring territories have become battlegrounds and we’ve been flooded with refugees. We haven’t had enough food because we provided relief supplies for them.”
“Indeed, I heard of this. Those Islamites…”
Seeing the bishop nod along to the chief’s words, the chief’s face brightened.
“But.”
Thud
The bishop rose from his chair.
“That’s another matter. The circumstances of neighboring territories are irrelevant to us. Does it mean that the Lord Deus’s representative is saying they will not provide a proper amount of offerings?”
“Ah, no, that’s not it! We simply have… nothing to give unlike usual…”
“Out!”
The villagers jumped at the bishop’s booming command.
“Do you not understand that losing faith means death? Not providing the appropriate offerings to me, the Lord Deus’s representative, is tantamount to abandoning faith in Lord Deus! Are you heretics?”
As the bishop rained down accusations, the atmosphere among the holy knights turned ominous.
“N-no! We are not heretics! We are just poor farmers living by the will of our Lord, Bishop!”
The chief shouted desperately as the situation grew tense.
“Hmm. Then why do you not offer up the piled grains? They are goods for the Lord’s kingdom.”
“Th-that is… that is our last food supply! If you take that, we will starve to death before the next harvest!”
“You dare place such trivial food above the Lord? You would forsake your faith for mere material gain? You’re possessed by demons! Guards!”
At the bishop’s gesture, a holy knight stepped forward, drawing his sword.
“Eek! N-no! I’m not possessed! P-please spare me, Bishop!”
“Not possessed? What demon would admit to being a demon? Guards!”
As the knight approached with his sword drawn, the chief shut his eyes and shouted.
“I will do all I can! I’ll give everything! How can I prove my sincerity to you!?”
Finally, the response he desired brought a sly smile to the bishop’s face.
“In the New Testament, Luke said you must be like a child if you are to be a member of the Lord’s kingdom.”
The bishop gestured for the knight to stop.
“If you are truly pure and not possessed, would you bring forth your daughter?”
“…What?”
“Bring your daughter here. I will judge through her.”
A moment later, the chief returned with his daughter, wearing a troubled expression.
With the knight watching him closely, making sure he couldn’t escape with his daughter.
The chief looked grim, anticipating what the bishop would demand from his child.
Meanwhile, the little girl, not understanding the situation, seemed delighted to have come with her father.
“Daddy! Are we going to see the bishop now?”
“Um… the bishop wants to see you.”
“Wow! The bishop must be an amazing person, right?”
“Indeed. He holds power even over the lord who governs this territory.”
“How cool! So he’s like one of Luke’s disciples in the books?”
“…I suppose so?”
As the chief and his daughter arrived at the village square, the bishop rose from his chair and approached them.
“Hmm… Is this the one?”
“Yes… my daughter. W-what do you think? She doesn’t look possessed at all, does she?”
“That’s for me to judge.”
“Eek!”
As the bishop neared the little girl, she instinctively shrank back.
He was a terrifying giant, completely different from the impressive apostles she saw in fairy tales.
“It seems she is different from an ordinary child.”
“Yes? W-what do you mean?”
“To be afraid of me, the Holy Representative of Lord Deus… It appears there may be a possibility of the spirit of Satan Judah residing within her.”
Though it was a naturally frightening situation for a child, the bishop was grasping at straws.
“Th-that’s…!”
“Hmm? You refuse to acknowledge it?”
The chief noticed the bishop’s forced words to make a case but couldn’t voice his thoughts.
“N-no. The bishop’s… words are correct.”
The knights beside the bishop wielded swords that felt far too intimidating.
“So, I’ll need to take this child to perform a purification ritual. Understand?”
“…Yes. The bishop’s words are indeed correct.”
“Very well. Typically, when a demon arises in a village, others are likely to be infected as well. I should look at some of the other children too.”
The bishop licked his lips with a greedy expression.
The chief closed his eyes tightly, hoping his daughter would not face a horrific fate.
Lord Deus grant me protection. May Lord Luke save us.
“Uhh… Where is this? Wasn’t I supposed to go to Orias?”
“Uh… I intended to, but it seems an issue arose in the dimensional rift. I apologize, my Lord!”
At that moment, two men and women appeared between me and the bishop.
That’s how salvation was delivered.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.