Chapter 180: True Faith (3)
JNcFPope Sicarii sensed a change in the atmosphere around the sacred chapel. It all began from the time Saintess Estelle returned with the Holy Grail.o2k
LTnHoly Grail.bsJfJH
nmRThe true identity of that divine artifact was the King of God’s; Dagda Mor’s Magic Cauldron, Undry, which appeared in the indigenous religions and myths.ddb3u84
475ENuada Airgetlam, the God of the Sun, and his Claiomh Solais.Rmz0k1s
rnn23God of Light, Lugh Lamhfada, and his Areadbhair.DUNN16
Rgu3f2iAnd Lia Fail, the Stone of Destiny which proved the legitimacy of the King of Gods.WbHmup
qWtaUyLast but not least was Dagda’s Undry, but Undry wasn’t widely known because of its overwhelming ability or anything. Despite that, it had with itself a tremendous symbolic presence. Because they called it the Holy Grail, the Order treated Undry as the greatest divine artifact of them all.yic
zyj6What they did not expect was that the Saintess would bring that divine artifact and claim to have been chosen by God.YNackPK
4p4VAivBut how? Although she was the oldest child of the royal family, who inherited the blood of both the gods and the Titans the most, who could have expected her to get acknowledged by Undry?VuFd
1xDnSHow could a Saintess, who did not even know of the true faith, be chosen by one of the Danann treasures?gMu6
DhYn-The Saintess will guide us all!QtryoBf
7nUoPJz-I knew it. She is chosen by God!s2k7GWa
PsxM-There are dirty traitors who sold the Saintess to the filthy heretics of the Tower!kO3hy3
mntNImmediately after her return, the Saintess grouped up the priests and believers of the New Faith underneath her without even attempting to hide it. Claiming that she had been selected by God, she incited the crowd, saying that there were traitors within the Order.6uM
bACUM‘Traitors’? It sounded like nonsense to the ‘Pursuers of Paradise’, who wished for the Advent of Paradise and were aware of the true gods… However, what was troubling was that it wasn’t time for them to reveal themselves just yet.QQg
5Ohj‘This won’t do. We must seek aid from Xeruem…”jLJWQT
mHyPC9nUnlike the Zeon Order, where only half the cardinals and the pope were on the side of Tates Valtazar, all the executives in the Xeruem Order had already become one with the Pursuers of Paradise.sRj2xo
X3RdtDtIt was all because of the Saintess. Because the Saintess had a significant amount of authority and symbolic presence in the New Faith, the Zeon Order had trouble forcing things through unlike Xeruem, the Old Faith.jeeAh
YyWzPlus, the presence of the Saintess also meant that they could not avoid the eyes of the royal court.ypcK
ZZjHowever, there was less than 1 year left until the plan. The Frost Giant would bring a severe winter in its wake. Wolves would rise up, blocking the light and bringing darkness into the world.4fL
Y9BSGmAt last, the future foretold by the Titans, who lived alongside the Danann was about to be realized, and a great catastrophe was about to strike them.qqIU726
8fT7EGwWhen the time came, worldly status, honor, and fame – everything would become useless. The only discerning factor would be the amount of contribution they made to the new world.sK5f6
zRI‘I’ll become a god and stand on the right-hand side of the King of Gods.’fcP
SHZpHe could not give up on this. Despite being 80 years of age, Pope Sicarii Iscariot had a fiery blaze in his eyes.9fg
vMF-Kwang!uDvytlc
qwdyIt was then.bAHXU
6voSSomeone suddenly intruded into the pope’s office. Raising his old and feeble body up from his seat, the pope tried to rebuke the insolent intruder.AbKZg
WR9F“Who in the…!?”D2fX4b
wOleFY1“Hello, Your Holiness.”PrWAM
AExShe, who had a familiar appearance, well-ornamented sacred outfit, and pink hair, was none other than the troublemaker of the decade.Nsm6m
chZR“Saintess…! What do you think you are doing!?”cDHIO
jLGadCEstelle barged into the room with countless Holy Knights, priests, and sisters behind her. All of them looked slightly uncertain with their actions except for the Saintess herself but…fiVT
QSI7“I have received a revelation, and the Lord told me to verify it.”ahG9eLu
lS28Y6LMany people referred to the 2nd Princess Miruam as a venomous serpent. Anyone who witnessed the torrent of blood she brought around, ruthlessly killing beastmen ever since the incident 10 years ago would agree with that statement.GBPX6Hu
0ynU7jHowever, the pope now realized that Saintess Estelle was no different from her. It was only that her true personality had been under a veil because she had only been protecting the well-being and rights of demi-humans until now.fvQSup
6CfogmUpon returning to the Order, the Saintess looked more like a veteran politician than a saintess, as she instigated believers and ordered priests around like her limbs.epPM
vDWR1“Everything will be done in his will.”vSRXh
QktecZThe Saintess, who had been concealing the face of a snake all along, seized control over the New Faith in a breeze.mEC
8EHH1DN***joNrU
rwOOne of the eighteen cardinals and pillars of the New Faith, Akeldama, was dragged out of his sleep.GVARC
uFHoStone walls were all around him, with cold iron bars in front. This interrogation room even had sacred sealing circles which made escapes absolutely impossible.lLI5A
MHHThis room, which had belonged to the Inquisition before the Zeon Order came into existence, was evidently insistent that they would not let out a single noise let alone the prisoner.qU6swqp
PGdLIBkIt was a historical site where heretics, witches, and the like had been imprisoned and tortured for centuries until their execution. Akeldama was trying to fathom why he had been brought into this place… when people started to walk in from the only way in and out of this room.zVsatU
ib8sdZDTheir outfits were unsuitably bright in this gloomy and dark interrogation room. A Holy Knight in blessed sacred armor was led by the Saintess of the Order, who was decorating herself with white silk and brilliant golden ornaments.1tbT
IXDx1fq“Greetings, Cardinal Akeldama.”l411i0
jppO“S, Saintess…!”r7noHa
wdaICardinal Akeldama was delighted yet horrified by her appearance.PLQSmf
pCRIt was because her white clothes and her golden ornaments were drenched in blood. Everyone knew how the Saintess was invincible. She could not be wounded and was so blessed by God that any prayer she made would be fulfilled.OhB4tv
7W7vGBHSo how can she be so drenched in blood…?Tzg
YtLrkS“Ah~, is it this? Apologies. I was going through the traitors and… there were too many of them that I didn’t have the time to get changed.”AVoL
ubAjwE“T, traitors…?”lbKcZO
AdGS“Before we begin. Sir? Please step outside for a bit. I would like to have a personal chat with the cardinal.”40h1
rgf“…Understood.”5pGC
jvh01QdThe Holy Knight, who was tasked with bodyguarding the Saintess despite her invincibility, hesitated with a complicated look on his face before following her command. Although Estelle was a rather free and unbound soul, she was well-known for her benevolence and kindness.SXliNlG
ZMeDEven so, the knight couldn’t help but wonder if the things she had been doing ‘all night long’ were indeed for the sake of the Lord…6oa
kGwFsHuHowever, he immediately dismissed that outrageous line of thought. The Saintess was a being chosen by God, and the very proof of that was the Holy Grail.Idnv
fIG9RAs the person closest to God, she was claiming that she had received a heavenly revelation so that had to be the truth. If not, it did not make sense that she would be holding such radiant sacred energy.Sm0GRgi
q7E9oALike that, Estelle and Akeldama were left alone inside the interrogation room. Placing her blood-soaked mace on the desk, she calmly took her seat.96lah
6bXBlp“S, Saintess…”SNnkIy
zCXUFTGFor some reason, Akeldama sensed sharpness from her tranquil expression rather than her usual gentle demeanor. But his line of thought did not last long, because Estelle gave a loud clap before opening her mouth.W8deF
NAngvf“Now now. Don’t be too nervous. Nothing will happen if you are innocent, Cardinal Akeldama.”cxm
v8BSb4a“I, innocent? What do you-”yEXG2
m21fzV“By the way, I’m not good with interrogations. Harassing and torturing people intentionally to obtain a testimony is something the Old Faith would do. I do admit it is necessary at times, though.”gmGVY
rkG9She still spoke benevolently like the saintess she was, but the drops of blood on her cheeks, clothes, and her mace were in complete contrast.xPiuWV5
cHi1S“S, Saintess… I have no idea what it is about, but I am innocent! Why was I brought into this heretic interrogation room? My sacred energy is the same! If you give me one chance to prove myself then-!”toMBeSE
yTbGWJ5“Do you serve the Danann?”tV1c
plw“…Sorry? Umm… Do you mean those beings that come up in the mythologies of the heretics?”aGZc00
AZpSfgHe desperately tried to conceal his astonishment and somehow managed to stop himself from looking stupefied.8U59rE1
cWwUS8Akeldama then told himself that he had to make her believe that he only knew of the Danann as a piece of knowledge. He could not reveal how he knew they were the true gods, and how the God King of Light was attempting to bring about a new world.Ok1ewyK
8eW4yAs well as how his sacred energy was based on his belief of the Danann.E84
49glAPh“Don’t be like that. I know it too, that the ‘Lord’ we know about is a fabrication made by humans.”LJ2T8
I42u“W, what? Saintess! How could you possibly say such a thing…!”9DK
KFAPEIt was then. A tremendous amount of sacred energy flooded out of Estelle’s body and filled the gloomy room with radiant light. It was a pure and white light – a brilliant radiance that was only allowed to the one who had the most amount of sacred energy and divinity.vOdiX
PnsKRHAkeldama, despite being the one who sold her to the Tower of Mages to extract her blood for the resurrection of the Titans, was baffled by the complete brilliance of light before his eyes.f2BKG
Dgi6AShe truly was a representative of God. It did not matter whether one was a believer of the Lord or the Danann to acknowledge Estelle. In fact, due to being a believer of the Danann, Akeldama knew very well how her power was coming from a divine bloodline of the gods.Ll7fC
IHUmx“Do you serve the Lord? Or the Danann?”BErzZr
Hkpif6He could not tell anything from her indifferent set of eyes, but Akeldama was not fooled by it. The Saintess was one whom the Pursuers of Paradise including the pope, along with ten of the eighteen cardinals had decided to purge.fhab
4uGEShe was evidently someone who would be an interference to the God King of Light, and one who would not side with them ever.17x7JT
AaK“I have no idea! I really have no idea what you are saying, Saintess!”8eKxR
qVBDEstelle’s senses as the saintess and the proof of his connection with the Old Faith and the Tower of Mages that her Holy Knights found during their search of his residence, gave her the certainty that he was not telling the truth.1cWbZO
bEP“Don’t lie.”VqL
h0rSH4Absorbing the brilliant light of sacred energy back into herself, Estelle reached out for the bloodstained mace.YB5
SwIZew***xW2JwgC
jAXPope Sicarii was the son of the first pope of the New Faith, Sorter Iscariot who fought against the unreasonable doctrine and the Witch Hunt of the Old Faith.DSTvz
2VuAHis father was a historical figure who contested against the Xeruem Chapel of the Old Faith and against the Tower of Mages of the Steel Archipelago. As his son, Sicarii fought for his faith and prayed to be a follower of the lord forever.WDx
TSyOne day, after succeeding his father’s post as the next pope, he came across a being who infiltrated into his bedroom.I9y82nl
DpDb『My name’s Tates Valtazar. One whom you refer to as a god.』OMyhaAO
gS9uIt was such a ridiculous blasphemy, but Sicarii had no choice but to believe it before long.0VT3
mPNs8BHe realized the fact that the ‘Lord’ was a fake existence and that the true god was right in front of him.g6M
Ud9DAs such, he betrayed his ‘Lord’, turned away from the false faith, and served the real god, waiting for the new genesis to arrive.AQKrL
oYlUnlike the ‘Lord’ who gave vague descriptions of paradise and hell, the Danann of Light promised tangible and visible rewards. Plus, he even promised that he would bestow them with divinity within the new world, after punishing those of the fake world.H5buB
jHUOJ3a“Why… did you turn out like this?”3lhBV
KIWrbclAnd now,WnL
IMMAfter having everything revealed by the Saintess and being brought down from his previous status, Pope Sicarii met a lady whom he had met 80 years ago.KT3
goyE『You must be Sorter’s son.』lbQu
ydUIShe was brighter than anything else in existence and was a living creature of divinity. The lady had hair that was fine like silver, and her eyes were as beautiful as the blue oceans… She appeared like a goddess straight out of a fairy tale.fPsI
L4N7efF“Erin… Danua.”zQMR
oCd“Do you still remember me? Son of Sorter.”fr0
nkpflL“Huhuhu… Who wouldn’t after seeing you?”KoV
B249zAlthough he met her back when he was only 5 years old, Pope Sicarii still vividly remembered that day. Compared to the past…hC4T4
dGVY5Ur“You’re still young. You haven’t aged in the slightest. I had no idea back then, that you were a goddess.”pibj
Bz0“Your father didn’t know either.”sb8mqd
Gss“Yes! You yourself concealed the fact that you were a god! And you watched us, and my father, believe in a false god. How pitiful and stupid must have we appeared?!”89jecL
kiOHe remembered the first time he had doubts about his lifelong devotion and faith. At first, he refused to believe in and sought the Lord. However, he got no responses and his sacred energy remained the same.l6ILQw8
kayIn the end, when his doubts grew bigger, he thought that his sacred energy would disappear for good. It was an obvious consequence in his mind.YCkd
2KWHowever, despite his doubts and disbelief, his sacred energy remained the same.Tdhb4
IJvWhen he realized that the sacred energy that he and his fellow believers used… was simply because somehow the blood of the gods and the Titans became thicker in their generation…JrRx
GswThe deep sense of despair he felt…gSq7
hOJn4…Upon realizing that it was but a coincidence.miXPy
TOY2C“If the god was fake… then isn’t it natural to seek a new god? And out there, he’s promising me that I could become a god myself; and that your youth – that eternal life could be mine!”XIc5k
DasJX“Did you forsake justice just because of that?”1Vk74Cf
GVvRROZErin Danua – the goddess of the Divinity of Justice, gave a rare frown as she listened to the pope speak.IrcsCs
ZPpDespite the betrayal of the Goidels, and despite the departure of her family of Danann, Erin had remained behind in this land.KJOBs
r6DCNAAs the teacher and master of countless heroes, the Danann of Justice always tried to teach martial arts and guide students down the right path in the process. She found the weak and greedy human in front of her to be very pitiful.MANaY
NY9Zc3S“You should have followed the conscience and justice of your heart, instead of a god.”dUv
VUW8vNl“Kuhak!?”U2kq1
UByUnfortunately, the punishment of justice had to be firm.1DwCrS
Kzsnd5nAfter being stabbed in the heart in the blink of an eye, Former Pope Sicarii fell down with a look of disbelief. Blood oozed out of the hole, creating a puddle beneath his corpse.TVAoOOY
qKMVIt was a cold scene of execution, but someone walked through the rusty scent of blood without even a frown. It was none other than Saintess Estelle.qIiaQqU
nuf“Are you done, Goddess?”AZddRpp
pmvFAXp“…Yes. I have personally blessed this child, so I must retrieve it with my own hands.”25jZUO
aKa“I think we ought to have revealed the proof of his betrayal and publicly executed him though.”wUZt
T0e4xLooking at Estelle, Erin could not suppress the myriad of complex emotions budding up inside her.oT0xmm
KLIoF8Just a few days ago, she had been such an active and bright girl, but now, Estelle looked rather ominous and fanatic.JBB0
DtfmwhdThis internal purge was an example. Using the Holy Grail as her justification, she spoke of a revelation from a god she didn’t believe in and instigated the believers of the New Faith.qHsKuL
qBO8After quickly forming a public consensus, she decisively led the combatants of the Order who had absolute trust in her, to land the first strike quickly on the cardinals and the pope.8EPO
0e8A7fPWithout bothering about all the procedures and trials, she jumped straight on and removed every Pursuer of Paradise from cardinals to bishops.Tim
0vCsITwAlthough there would still be some remaining within the Order, it was hard to believe that the underlings would be able to do anything, now that all the cardinals and the pope had been purged.K15E8
NBXJ6pThe reason such an aggressive internal purge was able to go through, was thanks to the synergy of the Saintess and the Holy Grail… as well as Estelle’s relentless and unhesitant set of actions.E3NPSsQ
jwQiAs a result of having her lifelong belief denied, she was going on a rampage in a direction that differed from Pope Sicarii.BAqw8U
wLl“Don’t overdose yourself with blood. No matter how correct it may be, too much blood will end up changing people.”1UfJF
qrXLike how ink on a white canvas couldn’t be removed, the same was the case for people.cA3q
FyLyM“I am aware, Goddess. Even though I may look like this, I’m still a princess and I’m used to seeing blood all the time.”XNsJH
sMPxAPAfter purging the pope, Erin left the rest to her and withdrew from the Order. While seeing her leave, Estelle had an ever-so-refreshing smile on her face as she pondered about the future.C4eI
L5XWyThe rats had lost their heads and their bodies. The few leftover tails should be easily removable upon viewing the documents of the dead cardinals and bishops for reference.pUC
TSS0cIt would lead to the true renewal of the Order very soon.c0azgke
jFm26qaPlus… she had another goal in mind.iOh
Ylq‘I would have to review the doctrines one by one. While maintaining the current scripture, we have to slowly merge it with the Danann religion.’4Ms5TW
FbfgEstelle knew that a sudden religious revolution would do more harm than good. Therefore, she planned to change over a long period of time, the faith of the ‘Lord’ into the faith of the Danann.jTP0RkB
O67vmuFor example, the ‘Lord’ into the ‘King of Gods’ and ‘Angels’ into ‘Danann’. It shouldn’t be too difficult, as long as she could make slight modifications by adding renewed interpretations of the scripture and discoveries of new scriptures.t9n5g
U9wvLAfter all, she was a child of the gods, one who received a divine revelation, and the master of the Holy Grail.5Pvq
oiU“Korin~. Oh, Korin. Korin, Korin, Korin… My new Sun that will guide our future. The new faith of humanity.”EajtLzC
zJsThe Keeper of the Sun, who would protect humanity against the Evil God of Light and save the world. The Saintess, inheriting the legacy of the Divinity of the Earth, was heavily attracted to him.rLlo
CCeiAAnd besides, a king can’t go without a queen, right?1M3Er
R0dnThe harmony of the God of the Sun and the Goddess of the Earth.UN8CB
Sz0okiWhat a perfect delight to the ears that was.IyhQXtx
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