Chapter 693: Holy Power

Oliver answered in a low voice.

“…No.” he replied.

To the Devil, who sought to take away the Holy Power from this world.

No, perhaps ‘retrieve’ was a more accurate term than ‘take away.’

It wasn’t that the Devil was wrongfully stealing it, but rather reclaiming what had been given.

Nevertheless, Oliver told the Woman on the Camel that he had no intention of stopping her actions.

Even though he knew the role and influence the Holy Power had, not only on the Pater Church but also on the world.

The Holy Power, believed to be a gift from God, was the very authority of the Pater Church, which used that authority to maintain the world’s order.

The legitimacy of kings, the justification for securing colonies, and the right to rule—all forms of worldly order were upheld by the Pater Church.

The Holy Power, therefore, was not merely a force to train Holy Knights but was the cornerstone of all legitimacy maintaining the world’s order.

But what would happen if that Holy Power disappeared? The impact would be catastrophic, beyond words.

Oliver was well aware of this—perhaps too well.

And yet, Oliver answered as if it didn’t concern him.

After all, it no longer mattered to him. He simply didn’t want to be involved in any of it.

Squeeze…

At that moment, he felt a familiar grip on the hem of his pants.

It was Merlin.

Dragging his broken body, Merlin crawled over and weakly grasped Oliver’s pant leg with his only remaining left hand, lifting his head.

Then, with a bloodied face, he silently pleaded with Oliver.

Just as he had begged Oliver back in the Underground prison.

‘Yet, shamelessly I plead to you once more. Please… Please, do not abandon us.’

Whether it was due to his injuries or the weight of his sins, Merlin couldn’t bring himself to speak, but once again, he asked Oliver.

Please, do not abandon us.

However, the vacant eyes of Oliver, who stared at Merlin, did not return, nor did his answer change.

“…I cannot.”

Oliver spoke. He had no intention to kill anyone with his own hands, but neither did he have any intention to help.

Oliver affirmed this harsh and cold reality to Merlin’s face once again.

This was the best he could do.

He couldn’t bring himself to kill, but he also couldn’t bring himself to help because of the sins before his eyes.

At that, Merlin, who had not despaired even when facing opened gates of Hell or when confronting Oliver and the Woman on the Camel, finally broke.

It was the worst outcome Merlin had tried to avoid. Yet, despite his despair and fear, there was no trace of resentment.

Because Merlin knew—Oliver too—

[You seem very tired, noble one.]

The Woman on the Camel, instead of completing her mission to reclaim the Holy Power from the pond, remained standing in front of Oliver and spoke.

For someone sent to retrieve the Holy Power, she seemed rather composed.

Oliver pointed this out.

“Didn’t you say you came to reclaim the Holy Power?”

[Yes, that’s correct.]

“Then why are you still standing in front of me?”

[Why hurry when it can be taken anytime? Once the mission is complete, I’ll have to return, so I might as well enjoy myself a little. It’s a very important principle—enjoying oneself. If there were no pleasure, the long years would be unbearably tedious, even to the point of wishing for death. And more importantly…]

The Woman on the Camel trailed off.

[While officially I’m here for the mission, personally, I came to see you.]

She smiled at Oliver.

A smile filled with affection.

The kind of affection one might show a cherished child.

Though Oliver, the object of her attention, only responded with indifference.

“It seems that everyone is interested in me.”

[We are all very interested in you. We’ve watched you since your birth, as you grew up, lived your life.]

“You’ve watched for a long time, I see.”

[Not necessarily. Time is relative, you know. However, I can’t deny that it was an important time. It was a period where all of us, myself included, focused intensely on you. Even though opinions varied.]

The Woman on the Camel confessed that the 72 Lords, who rule over Hell, had been watching Oliver, and that their judgments about him had differed.

[Some admired you, others pitied you, some were enamored by you, and yet some still haven’t accepted you. For what it’s worth, I’m one of those who like you.]

It seemed like an essential proclamation, but Oliver showed no reaction.

He just hoped the Woman on the Camel would finish her speech and leave.

But that hope was shattered by her next words.

[So, let me ask you, do you want to find peace?]

“…”

“…?!!”

With just those words, light returned to Oliver’s dim eyes and Merlin, who had collapsed like a corpse before him, flinched as if struck by a convulsion.

They instinctively knew what those words implied.

It was Oliver who reacted first.

“…Are you serious?”

[Though it may be beyond my authority, I believe even He would understand. After all, He knows how unjust and grievous the burden you carry truly is. And if permission wasn’t granted, I wouldn’t even be able to suggest it.]

“That sounds a bit contradictory.”

[Didn’t I tell you? I like contradictions. Contradiction is the fundamental principle that governs this world… So what will you do? I’ll grant you whatever peace you desire. You deserve it.]

The Woman on the Camel extended her enormous hand as she promised.

If Oliver just nodded his head, she would give him the rest he sought. It was a sweet, irresistible offer.

“Arrrrgh… Arrrgh!”

The only one who opposed the offer was Merlin, who screamed in a manner unbelievable for someone on the verge of death, trying to stop Oliver.

But Oliver did not hear this, as he was too engrossed in the sweet temptation under serious consideration.

The Woman on the Camel’s hand moved closer and closer, and just as Oliver was about to nod and make his decision—

The high, dark night sky was suddenly filled with light.

Light so beautiful that even Oliver and the Woman on the Camel looked up.

And amidst that light, a beam descended, landing between Oliver and the Woman on the Camel.

Swoosh!

It was Joanna, wings spread wide.

“Oliver…”

***

The pitch-black night sky, as dark as condensed darkness itself.

In the middle of that night sky, light filled the atmosphere, and a beam of light descended between Oliver and the Woman on the Camel.

The beam of light that reached the ground exploded harmlessly, dispersing the darkness for a moment, and Oliver closed his eyes, opening them again.

And he saw it.

Joanna, with wings on her back.

She, burdened with wings made of light, blocked the Woman on the Camel and at the same time turned her head back to look at Oliver.

“Oliver…”

As if to make sure he was okay.

Oliver, too, looked at Joanna.

At the Joanna who had become a winged person.

At the Joanna who resembled a raven with colorful feathers stuck to her body.

At the Joanna who became the offspring of an angel, as the hardliners within the Pater Church had long wished to create. Or was it a daughter in this case?

Anyway, Oliver gazed at Joanna, who was burdened with some great power.

[Interesting.]

The Woman on the Camel extended her hand again while speaking to Joanna.

Her hand, entwined with the arms of the nuns, reached out to grasp Joanna.

At that moment, Joanna turned her gaze forward and spread her wings made of light, emitting a brilliant radiance.

A light more radiant, perhaps, than what Boniface had once possessed.

[Oh…?]

The voice from the Woman on the Camel spread around, as if surprised.

And for a good reason—Joanna’s wings of light were burning the arms of the Woman on the Camel.

The Devil’s arms, to be precise. But it didn’t end there.

Joanna, who burned the Woman on the Camel’s arms with her intense light, grabbed the light to form a mace of light and then swung it down, attacking the Woman on the Camel.

BOOM!!

A sound like that of a massive bell ringing exploded unnaturally over the Hill, and the Woman on the Camel was sent flying far back.

Ooooooh…

The camel carrying the woman produced a bizarre cry through the nuns’ larynx, and everyone around was left staring in stunned amazement.

The Priest burdened by his sins and the Holy Knights, too, were all captivated by Joanna who fought against the Devil.

By that miraculous sight.

Amid the uncomfortable silence that made their throats tingle. The Woman on the Camel swung her arm in the air, extinguishing the flames and then looked at her arm.

Her arm, burned and blackened by the light, and broken from blocking the Holy Power-made mace.

The Woman on the Camel, with a surprised look, stared at her arm, then threw a peculiar smile at Joanna.

[Impressive. It seems you absorbed His blood. I didn’t expect anyone to be able to digest that.]

She said that Joanna had absorbed the Holy Blood and made it her own.

That a former Holy Knight, who had lost the Holy Power, absorbed an even more sacred power, becoming a shield against the Devil.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

[Or is it not as strange? Seeing as even I don’t know everything about Him. In any case, it’s remarkable. Astounding, even. It wasn’t about the strength of the power… Do you wish to protect Him that much?]

The Woman on the Camel gazed at Oliver, who was behind Joanna, as if seeing through everything and asked.

[Ah, so lovely… Really, so lovely. To care so deeply. With ordinary emotions, that’s difficult. What kind of feeling—]

“—Leave.”

Joanna, spreading her enormous wings of light, said.

Thanks to that, a curtain came down between Oliver and the Woman on the Camel.

“Leave as you came. If you do, I will not attack further.”

[Are you threatening me right now?]

“Take it as a warning.”

[Whether it’s a warning or a threat, it’s typically the stronger side that does the talking.]

“Holy Knights do not act based on power hierarchy. We act through right and wrong.”

[That’s admirable. But out of curiosity, have you always acted in that way? Based only on right and wrong, never allowing circumstances or power to dictate your actions? Have you never turned a blind eye to injustice?]

The Woman on the Camel posed the question that had incapacitated the Holy Capital.

She exerted her power to force the dark truths hidden in one’s heart to be confessed, regardless of their will.

At that moment, a slight tremor ran through Joanna’s body.

Swoosh!

Joanna’s light wings flapped, and her figure disappeared only to instantly materialize before the Woman on the Camel.

Moving at a speed that was impossible even to follow with the eyes, thanks to the wings of light, as if she had been born with them.

Joanna swung her light mace once more, attacking the Woman on the Camel.

The Woman on the Camel tried to bend space to deflect Joanna’s attack.

Crack…

But surprisingly, despite distorting space itself, Joanna’s mace did not just slash through the air; it stopped right in front of the Woman on the Camel’s face as if blocked by a shield.

She had attacked past the distorted space and struck at the essence itself.

A crack appeared between the light-made mace and the distorted space, and through that crack, Joanna confessed her sin to the Woman on the Camel.

“Yes, there have been times I turned away…!”

That there were times when she, under the pretext of protecting her siblings, had forgotten her duties as a Holy Knight and turned a blind eye to injustice.

She confessed the dark truth just like others. The difference was that Joanna spoke of it not due to the power compelling her to but of her own free will.

The Woman on the Camel was fully aware of this.

[Oh… Is there a need to confess?]

“Because staying silent won’t make it go away… And committing a sin in the past doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do the right thing today!”

Joanna shouted, gripping her mace tighter.

In response, the Woman on the Camel smiled differently from before and answered as she created a staff made of vertebrae in her hand.

[That’s why I can’t hate humans.]

When the Woman on the Camel swung her staff, Joanna was thrown back, and cracks appeared in the air.

The cracks in the air broke and tried to swallow Joanna, but Joanna emitted light from her wings and mended the broken air as she swung her mace.

Everyone had their eyes fixed on the battle, and Oliver was no exception.

Just then, someone approached Oliver from behind and spoke.

“Hey.”

A familiar voice. Oliver turned his head to see Kevin, the mage with red skin and black hair, standing.

Covered in dust, he looked at Oliver and the fallen Merlin before him and said.

“If you have no business here, could you step aside?”