“…Hmm… Ehem…” Kristina backed away with an awkward cough. Her eyes were swollen, and her voice was a little off. Kristina stole glances at Eugene’s chest, which was damp while collecting herself. “…Uh… How did you manage to get here?”
Although the question was quite overdue, it wasn’t something that she could hold back from. Kristina still wasn’t sure how everything had happened.
The Fount of Light was a place known only to a select few priests of the Holy Empire. In fact, even Kristina did not know exactly where the Fount of Light was located. She only knew that a warp-gate was used to travel to and from the fount and that the warp-gate was guarded by the henchmen of Cardinal Rogeris.
“Miracle,” answered Eugene while dusting off his chest. Kristina’s face turned a brighter shade of red with every stroke of Eugene’s hand, and only then did she realize how much and for how long she had been crying on his chest.
“…M-miracle,” stuttered Kristina. But… miracle? She could not help but wonder.
Kristina did not hate the word ‘miracle.’ What she had experienced as the Saintess Candidate was terrible, but she believed in the existence of God. In fact, her faith in God was the only thing that had allowed her to endure until now. For Kristina, a miracle was the work of God.
“But…. I thought, Sir Eugene, you didn’t believe in things like miracles, right?” she asked. She knew well that Eugene didn’t believe in God, and after what he had just experienced, she knew that he would probably never believe for the rest of his life. As such, she felt somewhat puzzled and surprised when Eugene called it a miracle.
“I might believe in small miracles,” muttered Eugene before turning around. He attempted to take a step forward, but… as soon as he shifted one foot, he felt his legs give out under him. The rebound from Ignition was here.
Kristina hurried forward and helped Eugene. “A-are you all right?” she asked.
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“I don’t know if I would call myself all right. More than anything else, my left arm hurts,” said Eugene. His left arm had been swept away by Sergio’s light. The bones were twisted, and his flesh crushed. Eugene had no choice but to think it fortunate that his arm had not been completely ripped off.
“Ah…. L-let me treat it for you,” said Kristina before getting ready to pray. However, Eugene shook his head and wobbled forward.
“Where are you going?” asked Kristina.
“The Fount,” answered Eugene. His answer caused Kristina’s expression to stiffen. She hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, then opened her mouth.
“The Fount…. What are you going to do about it?” she asked.
“I’m going to destroy it,” answered Eugene.
He wasn’t thinking about anything else. Whatever value the Fount had for the Holy Empire of Yuras, it was none of Eugene’s business. In the first place, he had killed hundreds of Paladins and Inquisitors after forcing his way in. He had killed Cardinal Sergio Rogeris, who was second only to the Pope. It would have been strange if only now he started to care about his relationship with Yuras, and above all else, Eugene wanted to rid this world of that terrible Fount.
No, in fact, getting rid of the Fount was not enough. He would destroy what lay beneath the Fount, the pipes, and everything regarding it. Then he would hold the Pope accountable for everything.
‘…I don’t know what it is,’ thought Eugene while glancing at the sword resting in his hand. It felt as if he wasn’t the only one who wanted to destroy the Fount. Even now, the Holy Sword Altair pulled Eugene closer to the Fount.
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It had been like that from the beginning. The Holy Sword had guided him to the source of the Fount of Light, and when he took Sergio’s head at the end, Eugene had not willed the sword to exude light. It had illuminated of its own accord, cut Sergio’s head, then devoured and detonated his body with light.
It was almost like… divine retribution.
‘Is it the God of Light? Or…’ mulled Eugene as he arrived in front of the Fount. He could feel minute trembling from the body that supported him. He glanced back at Kristina’s rigid face. “If it’s too difficult for you, why don’t you wait in the back?”
“No matter how hard it is for me, I can move better than you in your condition, Sir Eugene,” answered Kristina. She took a short breath, then looked up at Eugene. “And… there’s no reason for me to back down now of all times, is there? Sir Eugene…. How much do you think I’ve longed to destroy and eliminate this Fount? How long do you think I desired this?”
It wasn’t just that, either. Kristina felt a particular desire rising from deep inside her heart, but it wasn’t a desire to destroy the Fount — instead, it was something else. It was hard to explain exactly what she felt and why she felt this way, but Kristina knew that she could not back down now.
Eugene slowly pushed the Holy Sword forward. There were many ways to destroy the Fount. There was no need for him to use the Empty Sword; he was sure that he could destroy it by simply bashing it with sword-force.
However, Eugene did not act upon it. Instead, he focused on the Holy Sword, which was vibrating subtly. The sword led Eugene forward as it had led him while he was wandering through the fog. He stared at it for a brief moment, then strode forward under its guidance.
Plop.
He walked into the Fount of Light, and the quivering of the Holy Sword grew more intense. On the other hand, Kristina had never imagined that she would walk back into the Fount, so she froze on the spot when she saw Eugene enter. However, Eugene continued to wade forward to the center of the Fount without glancing back.
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“…Ugh!” Kristina clutched her trembling chest and let out a few deep breaths. Then, she carefully stretched out her leg to follow Eugene. The moment her bare foot made contact with the Fount, all the pain she had felt in the Fount until now seemed to return.
There were no wounds on her body, she had not cut herself with a knife, and there was no blood either. However, the Fount’s mere existence was a huge trauma for Kristina. The one responsible for forcing her to walk the path of the Saintess was dead, but much of her trauma still remained.
Kristina knew her weakness and fear well. But instead of continuing to hesitate, she took one step after another. She wasn’t weak by any means. She knew that if she crumbled or became bound by her terrible memories, everything would stay just as before. She had to face everything directly.
She raised her head and looked straight ahead.
Eugene was already at the center of the Fount, but instead of going any further, he was glancing backward at Kristina. The moment Kristina met his calm golden eyes, she clasped the hem of her clothes.
She didn’t want him to see her embarrassing self, even though she knew it didn’t matter whether they were the Hero, the Saintess, or whoever else. However, even without the title of the Hero, Eugene Lionheart was a brilliant man.
Finally, her heart stopped shaking, and she approached Eugene with a placid face.
Eugene felt the light of the Holy Sword grow stronger. Letting the light guide his actions, Eugene turned the Holy Sword upside down, then struck down at the center of the Fount. The surface of the water stirred greatly, and the Fount started to boil. The divine power dissolved in the water swelled as if attracted to the light of the Holy Sword.
Kristina squeezed her eyes shut to avoid the sudden, blinding light, and when she opened her eyes, a little girl stood in front of Eugene and Kristina. Kristina jumped back when she saw the girl’s appearance.
“Me?” she said with astonishment. Kristina was all too familiar with the face of the little girl. She looked exactly like herself when she was young.
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“Anise,” called out Eugene. He wasn’t very surprised. Instead, a bitter smile adorned his face as he called her name.
Kristina flinched when she heard the name and looked back at Eugene.
“Ah….”
Then, she turned back to the little girl. After hearing the name ‘Anise,’ she did feel that the little girl’s face was slightly different from her own past self. However, it really was just slight — the only difference she could see lay in the atmosphere surrounding the girl and her eyes.
There were countless statues and portraits of Anise the Faithful in Yuras. Naturally, Kristina had seen portraits of Anise since she was a child. Like everyone else, she was well aware that she looked like Anise. However, there was a massive difference between feeling a similarity by comparing herself to a painting or a statue and seeing a live, exact replica of herself right in front of her.
“Hmm….” The girl’s lips parted. She patted her cheeks with an expressionless face, then looked around her surroundings. There was a glimmering fountain, which she observed, then she looked up at Eugene and Kristina.
She immediately noticed that they stood at different eye levels. She continued to caress her cheeks with an expressionless face, then smiled. But when Kristina saw the little girl smile, she felt goosebumps running down her back. It was because the little girl’s smile was exactly like the smile Kristina practiced while looking in the mirror when she was young.
The ideal smile of the Saintess.
However, Eugene couldn’t respond in kind with a smile.
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“…You are one nasty woman,” said Eugene.
The little girl was still smiling.
Plop!
When the girl took a step, the light surrounding the Fount wove around her body. Her appearance changed, or rather, she matured. The result was an appearance that Eugene was quite familiar with.
“Ah…” Kristina was speechless. The mature appearance of Anise made her feel as if she were looking in a mirror. As she continued gawking at Anise, Kristina’s face quickly turned pale. They looked similar, too similar… and there was no way it was a simple coincidence. Kristina felt her legs give out, and she covered her mouth, feeling nauseous. Unwanted imaginations forced their way into her mind and disturbed her thoughts.
“…Please don’t,” said Anise. She approached Kristina while spreading her eight wings, then continued. “Please don’t hate yourself.”
Anise lowered herself and peered into Kristina’s eyes. Although Kristina didn’t think she could cry anymore after pouring out so much before, her eyes were once again filled with tears. The thoughts that pervaded her mind were truly terrible and disgusting.
“You are not weak,” whispered Anise while taking Kristina into her embrace. Kristina could not find words to say and instead sobbed once again. The eight wings slowly descended and wrapped around Kristina’s body. Then, Anise closed her eyes, putting her forehead against Kristina’s.
“Ah…” Kristina’s ocean-blue eyes quivered. She attempted to understand the clear images she saw, but it was simply impossible to accept. Her eyes dimmed as she felt her consciousness drifting away.
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Anise slowly parted her forehead from Kristina’s, then closed the girl’s eyes. After carefully laying Kristina down in the Fount, she straightened herself.
“Hamel,” she called out with the same smile. “I didn’t think such an expression would suit you, but it looks quite decent on you, perhaps because you have a different face than before.”
Eugene raised his hands and touched his face. He could feel creases and grooves, as well as his cheeks twitching. He had a warped expression.
Eugene forced a smile and shook his head. “What did you do?” he asked.
“I made her understand,” she answered while looking down at Kristina. “This… poor child is the same as me,” she continued.
“What is it?” asked Eugene before giving a long sigh. Then he looked alternatingly at Anise and Kristina before continuing. “I… saw the source of this damned Fount. You must have led me there.”
“Actually, I didn’t want to show you,” said Anise, her smile faltering slightly. “Hamel, you must know, since you’ve seen it, but… that… is not something ordinary people can easily understand.”
“…But we’ve seen countless terrible things since the past,” responded Eugene.
Such had been the world three hundred years back. Black wizards ran rampant after selling their souls to demons, conducting all kinds of terrible experiments that completely threw any idea of morals right out the window. There had been several laboratories belonging to black wizards near Helmuth, and most of them were conducting human experiments performed on captured slaves.
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Eugene had seen many such places in his past life. Naturally, he had wiped them out so thoroughly that they would never be seen again in this world. It was only a matter of course, and Anise had done the same. She had liberated the slaves and healed their wounds. She had burned the black wizards with divine magic and smashed their heads with her mace.
But there were always those who could not be saved, those who had been taken too far into experiments. Black wizards were always preoccupied with creating magical creatures or weapons to be used in war, and such experiments robbed humans of their human selves. Some subjects were made into chimeras by combining them with monsters, demons, and other creatures. Some were used as sacrifices to enhance the power of the black wizards. Some were used to create and test new magic.
Anise always took it upon herself to embellish their passing. She wrapped with light those who were broken and dying, as well as those no longer human, and euthanized them. Each time, she recited the same prayer with a somber expression: I pray that you see heaven after leaving this world of suffering.
“…The source of the Fount,” said Eugene with a long sigh, “was much more terrible than even the workshops of the black wizards. It wasn’t something… that the priests of the God of Light should have been doing.”
The filter connected to the pipes contained countless relics. But although they were pompously called ‘holy relics,’ they were simply bones of the past Saintesses. The water of the Fount was filtered through the remains and forcibly imbued with divine power, then traveled through the central pipe into the actual Fount.
“It was a necessity,” answered Anise in a somber voice. “That is how the being called Saintess is created, after all. Just like this child, and every candidate before her, and… even me. It was the same with the many Saintesses before me.”
“But you and Kristina seemed special,” commented Eugene. He recalled the vision he saw at the source of the Fount. There were countless girls, girls with… indistinguishable faces. Their presence had been faint in his vision, but he had seen Anise and Kristina with clarity.
The same was true even now. Anise definitely existed within this miracle. She stood in front of his eyes as if she had descended from the World Tree, and her eight wings truly were spread wide.
“Yes.” Anise nodded. “This child and I are special. We were born with aptitude, harmony, and completeness that could be considered overwhelmingly superior to any of the previous candidates.”
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Aptitude, harmony, and completeness. Eugene did not want to accept such words.
“You are kind, Hamel,” said Anise with a faint smile while gazing at him. “And I know that you are not stupid. I’m sure you already have a vague idea of what the two of us really are. Nevertheless, you are staying silent because you want to be considerate, not wanting to offend me in case you guessed wrong.”
“I just don’t want to get smacked,” replied Eugene while avoiding her gaze. “To be honest…. I don’t really want to know, either. I don’t want to confirm anything. Whatever the Saintess truly is, it doesn’t matter to me. You are simply Anise, and she is simply Kristina. What else is important?”
“…Hamel,” called out Anise while approaching Eugene. “You don’t have to turn a blind eye. I know you understand both of us without having to hear the whole truth, but I don’t want that kind of sympathy from you. I want you to be yourself, to understand me for what I am. I’m sure that the child thinks the same way.”
Sympathy? Eugene smiled bitterly. It was an undeniable remark.
“…What are you?” So he asked. Just as Anise wanted, he asked directly. “You and Kristina. No, the Saintess… what is it exactly? Why were there such things taking place in this Fount?”
Anise stood in front of Eugene with a faint smile. She explained, “A long time ago, the God of Light first descended on this land. He created the Holy Sword Altair out of his own blood and flesh and illuminated the world. Then he created a religion and founded Yuras.”
It was the founding myth of Yuras, the story of the Holy Emperor responsible for the empire’s creation.
Anise continued, “The ancient Incarnation reigned in Yuras for a long time and worked as a beacon in the chaotic era. With him at the forefront, faith was passed on to the world, and various gods were born and disappeared…. The Holy Emperor ruled for a long time and protected Yuras and her subjects, but he did not live forever. Since he had descended to the world as an incarnation, he had to return to the sky one day.” Anise looked into Eugene’s trembling eyes. “Once the Holy Emperor was gone, many members of the church felt fear. They feared that the world would once again sink into darkness in the light’s absence. They hoped the light would send forth another incarnation, but such a thing never came true.”
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They had desired light.
“They desired a new object of worship. Although light is always present… it was too abstract to serve. They needed a more definite, tangible object of worship. They needed an Incarnation of Light.”
“…..”
“Ancient Yuras needed many objects and symbols of worship, not just the Pope. Symbols to feed fanaticism. The stigma on the bodies of the Pope and the Cardinals portrays how the light was taking care of the world. It shows that the light is directly choosing its surrogates. So many members have come to worship the Pope and the Cardinals like gods.”
“…And the Saintess?”
“A symbol of worship, just like the Pope and the Cardinals,” said Anise with a twisted smile. She continued, “The first Saintess was an artificial imitation of the Incarnation of Light created using the remains of the Holy Emperor.”
“…..”
“A sacred weapon capable of bringing down miracles, created by embedding the remains of the Holy Emperor in the body of a young girl, an idol made for worship.”
And thus, the ancient fanatics had come to make a new Light in their own image.