Chapter 399: Oh! My Goddess (3)

Undead filled the horizon. Skeletons, corpses, and monsters trampled the land, reeking of rot. Then holy radiance descended upon them. The undead touched by the light staggered as smoke rose from their bodies.

The undead slowed noticeably. Alius raised his sword once more and aimed it forward. "In the name of Hatoba, I command! O darkness, fade away!"

A streak of light struck the leading ghoul. The radiance pierced through its rotting torso, shattering it to pieces. Dazzling light once again covered the battlefield.

It wasn't the act of Alius alone. The priests had released holy light in unison at Alius's signal. After all, Alius wasn't some archmage. How could he possibly blanket the battlefield in holy radiance by himself?

The other priests unleashed their sacred attacks together wherever Alius pointed, making it appear as though the light itself swept away darkness at the single motion of his hand.

The priests called out the names of their goddesses while pouring out light upon the undead before them.

"Alium!"

"Latiel!"

"Let them return to ash!"

A sacred tide swept across the sea of death, expanding the domain of purification. The kingdom soldiers were saved, and they burst into cheers. Hearing the crowd chanting his name, Alius's expression stiffened. He still found it difficult to get accustomed to these situations.

Honestly, how did things end up like this?

He was certainly an outstanding priest. After all, he had accomplished many things for the church.

Thanks to that, he was no longer just a first-class inquisitor. He had attained the status of a high inquisitor and rose to a considerable position within the Order of Hatoba.

However, he wasn't someone suited to become the leader of the allied forces of the seven goddesses church, an army formed by survivors from the Hatoba, Alium and other orders. Such a meteoric rise was unheard of for someone not even thirty years old.

But there was no helping it. At present, there was no priest remaining within the allied forces with greater influence than Alius. Normally, inquisitors had clearly defined areas of operation. In principle, Alius's assigned territory was the northern region of the Eustil Kingdom.

But there was something that set him apart from the other inquisitors. Whenever Karnak came looking for him, he had repeatedly wandered outside his territory to involve himself in other matters.

When Karnak suggested going to the empire, he eagerly followed. He had followed enthusiastically when Karnak dealt with the Strauss family. There had been countless smaller incidents aside from those as well.

As a result, Alius had come to know many different people across many different places. He had ended up building an extensive network of connections without meaning to.

The Hatoba Order had taken note of that. There were certainly priests with greater divine power than Alius. However, they lacked his experience in dealing with cultists.

There were also inquisitors who possessed more experience than Alius. Yet none of them had built connections as widely as he had. What about priests who possessed connections equal to his?

There were some, but they were so busy playing political games that their divine power was not particularly strong.

There were certainly individuals who excelled in specific fields, but when it came to overall capability, there was no one who matched Alius. Moreover, Alius was rather well-known for a priest.

Ordinarily, priests did not flaunt fame. Reputation was considered a product of the secular world, and being attached to such things was regarded as vulgar. Yet Alius had gained a quiet but notable reputation as a companion of Karnak Zestrad, the Evil-Slaying Mage.

Alius had naturally benefited from that association as Karnak's influence grew. The Order of Hatoba had pushed Alius forward as a kind of public figure. In this era of rampant cultists, the faithful needed someone who could give them hope and courage.

Alius had willingly accepted the sacred duty. He faithfully followed the church's orders. He hunted cultists, saved the faithful, and lived diligently. Then, the Order of Hatoba fell.

***

The Great Temple of Idris, the central sanctuary of Hatoba, was located in the Felmayer Kingdom.

Around one month ago, a mysterious man appeared there. Strictly speaking, he had not been mysterious at all. He had once been a talented young first-class inquisitor, highly regarded within the church.

He was also someone who had gone missing several months earlier during a battle against the Black God's Cult. It was common for cultists to target priests, so people thought little more of his disappearance, though they felt angry.

But when he returned, he was no longer the same person. The young man proclaimed himself to be Beneville, the Pope of Hatoba. He led armies of darkness and launched an assault on the Great Temple of Idris.

Absurdly enough, Beneville truly possessed power befitting one who called himself the Pope of Earth, along with authority over darkness that no common necromancer could hope to rival. Before Beneville and the army of death he commanded, the Great Temple of Idris burned in ruin. ℯ

Talost, the Pope of Earth of this era, returned to the embrace of the goddess at Beneville's hands. Likewise, most high-ranking clergy of the order were unable to escape death.

The priests of Hatoba who barely survived scattered in all directions to preserve what remained. In time, they gathered under the most widely known among them: Alius of Eustil.

The other orders of the Seven Goddesses also acknowledged Alius. With the Pope of Earth and numerous high-ranking cardinals lost, there was no one else left to lead the Order of Hatoba.

Alius had been anointed to his position only as a figurehead, but he ended up becoming the true leader of the order. The only reason he hadn't ascended to the rank of pope was because the church had been unable to convene an election council.

Alius gave a bitter smile. I only wanted to diligently purge cultists...

Still, once entrusted with responsibility, he would carry it out faithfully. Alius and the allied forces continued to press the undead army.

The Black God's army that had been pursuing the remnants of the Eustil Kingdom's forces was only a detachment drawn from their main army. It was not an especially powerful force, and as time passed, their momentum steadily waned.

Eventually, the army of the dead acknowledged defeat and began to retreat. Strictly speaking, it was the necromancers who withdrew, while the undead soldiers simply continued fighting until they were smashed to pieces.

The battle ended only as the sun was setting. While the priests hurried to tend to the wounded, Alius searched for the commander of the kingdom forces. There was something he needed to confirm at once.

The one leading the battered remnants was a middle-aged knight from southern Eustil.

"Thanks to you, we survived." He bowed his head deeply toward Alius, his face filled with emotion. "I didn't think I would run into you here, Alius. This can only be the merciful guidance of Hatoba herself"

Alius cut him off. "There is something I must ask."

He appreciated the man's devotion to Hatoba, but there were more urgent matters at hand. "What became of the Great Temple of Sellas?"

The middle-aged knight let out a deep sigh. "It fell."

The other temple knights standing nearby demanded answers in shock.

"Already?"

"How could that be possible?"

The Great Temple of Sellas was the central sanctuary of Alium, the Goddess of the Moon and Justice. It was the frontline and command center in the war against darkness, equipped with powerful anti-necromancy domains and numerous countermeasures against undead.

The allied forces led by Alius had originally been heading toward Great Temple of Sellas. They had intended to join forces there and continue resisting the darkness together.

Thus, it was a shock to hear that a central stronghold of the church within the Seven Kingdoms, one most thoroughly prepared against the power of darkness, had already fallen.

The middle-aged knight nodded weakly. "Yes. It held out well for quite some time."

Then he suddenly began to tremble. It seemed that merely recalling what had happened filled him with fear. "Until that dreadful, demon-like woman appeared."

Frowning in confusion, Alius asked, "A demon-like woman?"

***

Three days before Alius's allied forces rescued the remnants of the kingdom's army, the Great Temple of Sellas had been surrounded by the armies of hell. They had been struggling to hold its ground in a desperate battle.

At first, they had held out fairly well. The Great Temple of Sellas and the six temples of the goddesses built around it were linked together. Together, they formed a powerful grand anti-necromancy domain.

That holy power turned lower undead such as zombies and skeletons to ash the moment they approached, and it allowed them to continue fighting without being pushed back, even though they were outnumbered.

"The goddesses are protecting us!"

"Stand your ground and fight!"

However, trouble arose when the Black God's army changed tactics. A loud flapping sound echoed from the distant sky. Soon, countless golden figures came flying in with their wings spread wide.

The soldiers' faces turned pale.

"Wh-what's that...?"

"Angels?"

Hundreds of radiant-winged angels seized control of the skies above the great temple. Once again, holy power surged from the temple's domains and engulfed the angels. However, they were unaffected. The golden armor they wore deflected the holy radiance instead.

One by one, the angels began to descend, and a beautiful singing voice echoed across the skies above the temple. One temple knight snapped back to his senses and shouted. "Arrows! Prepare the arrows!"

Soon, hundreds of arrows flew toward the angels, but they were of little use. The armor worn by the angels deflected most of the arrows. A few arrows lodged into their wings of light, but the creatures paid no heed and charged straight toward the soldiers. Countless spears of light pierced through the soldiers.

Chaos broke out everywhere. Screams and groans filled the air. The temple knights shouted in desperation while fighting frantically against the radiant-winged angels. "Damn it! Those devils are masquerading as angels!"

A faint smile hung on the lips of a brown-haired girl as she observed the battle from afar. It was Valeria Verily, the Pope of Death.

"A remarkably perceptive description," she commented.

The Angels of Radiant Wings were originally the necromantic construct known as the Demon King of Chaos. They were merely wrapped in the shell of an angelic form. They were, in truth, demons disguised as angels.

One of her subordinate necromancers asked with puzzlement, "Was it really necessary to go this far?"

The creatures would be used to kill the enemy anyway. Why were they expending additional effort wrapping them in angelic shells? In terms of raw performance, the Demon King of Chaos should have been stronger.

Valeria shook her head. "The angelic form is useful in many ways."

The Angels of Radiant Wings were clad in golden armor from head to toe, and they had wings of light. Regardless of their core, their outward attribute was that of light. In other words, holy radiance, holy water, and divine magic—normally deadly to undead—were significantly less effective against the Angels of Radiant Wings.

Even if their offensive capabilities weren't as great, they possessed overwhelming advantage when it came to defense.

The necromancer let out an impressed murmur while nodding in understanding. "Truly, the Black God's wisdom knows no end."

Valeria's expression turned subtly strange. No... I heard this technique originally belonged to that man.

Still, as long as it was useful now, that was all that mattered. She continued to survey the battlefield. The legion of angels had torn holes throughout the defensive lines of the Great Temple of Sellas. Even so, the defenders continued to hold on stubbornly.

Like a mouse driven into a corner, the defenders were making their last stand with nowhere left to retreat.

"It seems it's time to finish this." Valeria turned to look behind her. "I leave it to you."

A woman in her forties answered quietly. "I have been waiting."

She wore the simple clothing of an ordinary farm woman, with an apron tied around her waist. The only unusual thing about her was the crude longsword she held in her left hand.

The woman looked down at the little girl clutching her right hand. The child appeared to be about five or six years old.

"Wait here just a little longer, Lapicel." Gazing at the child with affectionate eyes, she gently withdrew her right hand.

Then she drew her sword. Golden aura blossomed along the length of the blade. "Mom will be back in just a moment."