The sun shone through the intricate golden stained glass. Everything the brilliant sunlight touched was dyed the same color. It was the color of the holy god.
In a room bathed in gold, a woman with blonde hair and green eyes as bright as the setting sun was looking down from the top of the stairs with a faint smile on her face.
At the end of his gaze was a woman with bright blonde hair and green eyes. When their eyes met, a bright smile returned. The two women's hair and eye colors were exactly the same.
However, their appearances were not identical.
The woman looking down from the top of the stairs had blond hair that seemed to cover her entire body, but the woman looking up from below had short hair that reached down to her collarbone.
The woman looking down from the top of the stairs looked like a symbol of loving motherhood, but the woman looking up from below looked very innocent and playful.
The only things that are the same are the hair color and the eye color.
"Why have you called me, Your Holiness?"
The woman on the stairs was the Pope, and the woman below was the Inquisitor. The Inquisitor looked up at the stairs with his usual grinning face.
"The time of purification has come, O Inquisitor."
"Oh my. Is it that late already? I just received a report that they found traces of the devil and are going to investigate further."
The Inquisitor's eyes widened. His expression seemed genuinely surprised. The Pope nodded slowly in agreement.
What the phrase "time of purification" refers to was already set.
Traces of the devil have been discovered. So, no matter what method is used and no matter what sacrifice is made, those associated with the devil must be dealt with.
It was the so-called opening of the temple.
"Okay. How many combat nuns will you mobilize?"
"Do as the Inquisitor wills."
"Then I'll take them all. Is that okay?"
"Yes, you may do that."
After the Pope's permission was granted, the Inquisitor hummed a tune, bowed his head slightly in greeting, and picked up the weapon he had placed beside him.
It was a hammer with a weight much larger than his head. The weight of the hammer had a very vicious protrusion. It was a weapon that gave me goosebumps just by looking at it.
The Inquisitor picked up a hammer that was nearly twice as big as his head, lightly like a bag, and slung it over one shoulder.
"I have one more request to make, Your Excellency the Inquisitor."
"Huh? What is it this time?"
The woman who was about to step back with the hammer slung over her right shoulder stopped.
"It was revealed to me that the man I spoke of back then would also be found during this expedition."
"Wow! Really?"
The green eyes sparkled brightly. They were filled with the same curiosity as a child who found a toy he liked.
"Yes, that's right."
In response, another green eye smiled.
"Where can I find it? Is it the village you're currently in?"
"I don't know, though."
The Pope folded his hands in front of his chest.
"God will guide you."
A small village on the outskirts of the empire was living a peaceful life in its own way.
The occasional monsters that rolled in could only be repelled by the residents working together without causing casualties, and even when outsiders occasionally visited, they would just provide food and lodging and then leave.
As long as they paid their taxes to the empire on time, their ordinary, peaceful lives would continue without any problems. The villagers thought that such a routine would continue.
Until suddenly, an uncountable horde of monsters swarmed in.
"Ahhh! Save me!"
"Let's go together!"
The peaceful village turned into a battlefield in an instant.
Flames erupted all over the village, and the screams of people being eaten alive by monsters were everywhere. The pungent smell of blood stung my nose.
James, who had to flee in a panic with only his life to spare, without even having time to gather his wealth, was also one of the ordinary residents of this town who had been living a leisurely life.
"Eww!"
James ran and ran.
Advertisements
Even though he heard pleas for help from those around him, and even though he heard cries of sorrow at the disaster that had befallen the village, he ignored them all and ran away in a panic to protect himself.
It was a difficult situation to even save my own life. I had no time to care about other people.
The entire town was a pit of fire, teeming with monsters. James quickly looked around after spotting a monster devouring a human on the street in front of him, and then ran into the alley right next to it.
As soon as I did that, I froze without even being able to scream.
Inside the alley, there was a man whose insides were being eaten by a wolf-like creature that flapped its limbs. It seemed like he was still alive, but it was a futile effort.
The alley was covered in red blood, indicating that there were more victims than just that man. James, who noticed this, was grateful that he couldn't scream. Thanks to that, the monster didn't notice him.
Just turn around and get out. James slowly backed away, praying and praying that the monster would never raise its head again. His trembling legs made his speed extremely slow.
Just a little more. Just a few steps forward.
-Kwajik.
James froze in place as soon as his foot hit the charred wooden plank and it broke, knowing something was wrong.
At some point, the monster that had been digging into the corpse of a man whose life had ended and eating his internal organs raised its head. A growling sound was heard from its beak.
Thud, the strength left my legs. My whole body was shaking like an aspen tree. It was just a few steps away. If I had just walked a little further, I could have gotten out of here.
Whether it judged that fresh humans were better than corpses, or simply wanted to hunt living humans, the monster began to slowly walk towards James, trampling over the corpses.
James tried to back away, struggling. But his legs were weak and he was too scared to move his arms properly, so there was no way he could get any distance.
"Eek! Eek!"
The creature prepared to lunge at the human who was screaming strangely. James shut his eyes tightly as he watched the creature open its mouth wide and leap forward.
-Wow!
"...?"
Thump? It was a sound that shouldn't have been heard. James slowly opened his eyes. There was a large object right in front of him. He looked around a little more, dumbfounded.
Only then was he able to confirm the identity of the large object blocking his path. It was a shield. And it was so large that it could cover the entire body of an adult male.
Someone stepped forward, shoving James aside. It was a woman with long blond hair that reached her waist and green eyes, holding a mace in one hand and a shield larger than her body in the other.
The attire looked very holy.
There were more areas of her body exposed than covered, and she wore a garter belt around her thighs, while the area between her legs was covered with a wide piece of cloth that stretched long enough to just touch the floor.
The cloth covering her pubic area was covered with strange letters embroidered in gold. It was a letter she had never seen before.
The outfit was so revealing that it barely covered her sides and thighs, and it didn't even look like it covered her chest.
The only thing covering her chest were two triangular pieces of cloth hanging from her shoulders. Even those seemed likely to be exposed if the wind blew or if she moved her body violently.
That sacred attire that seemed to be full of God's blessings. James had heard of women who dressed like that.
Battle Nun of the Holy Land of Raphael.
She was also a combat nun directly under the Inquisitor.
Even though he had just been standing on the brink of death, James unconsciously lowered his head when he saw the nun. The clothes he saw before his eyes were so full of holy energy.
Of course, there was also the fact that the inquisitors and their direct combat nuns had a notorious reputation for various reasons.
The battle nun didn't even glance at James and taunted the monster by hitting the shield with her hammer. The monster let out a bloody "Kuaaak!" and lunged at the nun.
-Pfft!
The one-sided death sentence, which was almost embarrassing to call a battle, was carried out in a very short moment. The beak of the monster that pounced as if it would devour everything it touched could not even reach the nun's neck.
Because before that, my head was crushed by a hammer.
The combat nun, who had casually blown off the monster's head, raised her arm and struck it twice more. The corpse quickly turned into a slurry. Blood dripped from the hammer that had completed its mission.
James's pants became damp as he watched the entire horrific scene. A hiccup escaped his lips. The combat nun, who had finished off the kill cleanly, straightened her back.
Green eyes turned to James, who was lying on the floor. When those eyes met, he felt his mind light up.
"Thanks for helping me—huh?!"
Before James could even offer his thanks, the combat nun, with a blank expression on her face, slung her hammer around her waist, grabbed James by the back of his neck, and dragged him out of the alley.
It was a movement that was as if he was handling an animal, without any trace of mercy.
But James didn't dare to rebel, and he surrendered himself to those vicious hands without making a sound. Rebellion? Complaining? Was that even possible?
How far had he been dragged in that state? James was thrown to the floor and let out a horrible scream. He spat out the dust that had filled his mouth and looked around.
There were familiar faces around. They were the villagers who had survived this chaos.
They all had bewildered expressions. It was clear that they had no idea why they were gathered here or what they were trying to do.
Advertisements
"Is that the last one?"
A clear voice rang out.
The voice was so clear and beautiful that people who had been looking at each other with bewildered expressions simultaneously turned their heads toward the direction from which the voice was coming.
"Yes, Inquisitor Stella."
"Okay, let's get ready."
But the atmosphere was strange. The combat nuns were surrounding the survivors in a circle. Not just one or two, but all of them gathered here.
As the watertight siege was completed, a woman known as Inquisitor Stella stepped forward. Like all the other warrior nuns gathered here, she had blonde hair and green eyes.
"Well, everyone. You are the lucky ones who survived the monster attack. The rest of us either died or were eaten. Even though we lost all our possessions, isn't it a good thing that we survived?"
Stella clapped her hands. Her chest heaved to the beat. Her attire was even more revealing than that of the combat nuns.
It was a garment that was holy enough, worthy of being worn by a heretic judge. It seemed as if the demons would be purified and disappear just by looking at it.
Maybe it was because of the way he was dressed, but his impression was also very innocent and kind. His speech was also gentle, and there was a faint smile on his lips.
It was completely different from the battle nuns, who felt like golems, with no trace of emotion.
"I would like to go back like this, but before that, you all need to verify your own purity. Purity that you haven't been blinded by those things. Oh, don't worry too much. It'll be over soon."
Purity? The survivors tilted their heads. James was the same. Purity? What on earth do you have to prove?
"Iris."
"Yes, Your Excellency the Inquisitor."
The warrior nun who had brought James here, called Iris, stood quietly next to Stella.
"Go ahead."