6. Proof of Existence (72)
A duel between a saint and a swordsman.
On that day, a part of the mountain range that the Holy Kingdom is proud of did not collapse.
can’t survive
It was a natural conclusion. No matter how hard he tried to restore his body, if his body disappeared without a trace, it would be impossible to revive him.
It was a blow that shattered a mountain.
There was no jaw that a mere human body could endure.
It was a fact everyone knew. Even so, the man, why?
He stood in place with his sword on the ground.
His chest swelled and subsided, and the man’s breathing stabilized. I closed my eyes, and before long, the swordplay moved forward.
The screams that echoed everywhere died down.
I was scared and wanted to run away.
Oddly enough, all of the tens of thousands of people were paying attention to the man.
A storm is coming.
*
The saintess watched the confrontation between the two men with trembling eyes.
When Ian was resurrected from death and stood by her side, the saintess cried and intended to stop Ian.
Stop now, it’s no use.
The end of the saintess had already been decided. Ian’s desperate struggle only added to his pain. How could she watch the man she loved die hundreds of times?
Moreover, Ian was already at his limit.
Not the body, but the mind. No matter how strong a person is, there are limits.
I would like to cry
I would have wanted to quit long ago, I would have wanted to give up.
Why are you still insisting?
The saintess couldn’t figure it out, so she cried and asked.
Why are you doing this for me?
Deep down, I wanted to ask again.
How much do I have to love you to be satisfied?
How much more do I have to fall for you, already seeing you makes my heart swell like it’s about to explode.
There were many times when I was ashamed of the sound of my beating heart, so I put my hands behind my back and wiggled my fingers. Although it was her first love, the saintess could confidently declare that she was longing for her with all her heart.
How could I love you more than this?
As if to make fun of this, the man seized the saintess’ spirit completely. That’s why the saintess was tormented by the feeling that she was about to go crazy.
Ian dies.
It was a tragedy I didn’t want to imagine. However, the momentum generated by the saint was unusual even at first glance.
I couldn’t expect to survive even after being hit directly by that blow.
Should I cry and hang on?
It was dismissal. He had already tried countless times, but the saint was an iron man. I didn’t bend my will because of a personal request.
if so how the hell
What can I do to save Ian?
The saintess’ jaw muscles, driven to the limit, trembled and her teeth clashed. The saintess wanted to bite at least her nails, but her hands were still restrained.
think, think
Every time the saintess repeated that, her mind accelerated to the limit. Numerous images passed by the saintess before her eyes.
Then, suddenly, a calm voice brushes my ears.
“Prove it yourself.”
What, the saintess wanted to ask.
“Who are you… The road is always there. It’s just that no one has ever walked that road, so I don’t call it ‘the road’. Begging and begging won’t create a path that didn’t exist.”
Are there already roads?
Where the hell are you? If you teach me by hand, where will it be added?
I want to save Ian.
please, please tell me the answer
It was good even if I died a thousand times and ten thousand times.
If only I could save the man I love!
“Then, you must obey.”
Another voice running through the white-hot brain.
Are you pure?
Is this no-win battle his destiny? Does it mean ‘obedience’ only when meaningless blood is shed and sacrificed in vain for the saintess?
“That’s ridiculous… … !”
Screams, outbursts, screams.
There was no time to pay for anything. The jumbled threads of thought passed through a single memory in an instant.
One day, I spoke in front of the man I love.
“First, the ‘Doctrine Trial’. You can see that most of them are going through this trial.”
Yes, it was.
Ian had not forgotten the saintess’ words.
“Second, ‘honour trial’! This is a trial to commemorate Arius, the great saint who took the lead in the long ago, during the War of Gods and Demons, and took the lead in beating the army of Omeros.”
The saintess bit her lip tightly. The blood that flowed out gave off a fishy smell, but I didn’t care.
I felt like I wanted to strangle my past self that I had talked about proudly.
Ian wouldn’t have been so reckless if he hadn’t told me about the trial.
It would have ended with me quietly dying!
It was resentful and regretful. Then, in an instant, a word passed through the saintess’ mind again.
“And the final trial… … .”
With a thud, the saintess’ hair turned white as if everyone went down.
All stories are intertwined. Memories and memories, advice and warnings were harmonizing, suggesting a path.
like firecrackers going off.
The saintess, who had managed to find an answer, hurriedly cried out.
“… … stop!”
It was a voice squeezed to the limit. The two men were already on the verge of colliding.
I don’t know if this feeble howl will reach, but I’ll do my best nonetheless.
The saintess squeezed her lungs and shouted.
“Everybody tell me to stop… You do!”
It was a high castle that seemed to be torn apart.
For a moment, the saint’s eyes glanced at the saintess. The same was true of tens of thousands of people and judges standing on high cliffs.
It was only a fleeting interest.
They had no intention of investing much attention in this helpless poor sinner. Because it was the two men standing facing each other that decided the fate of those standing here.
The saintess didn’t like that very much.
it’s my trial
It’s my destiny, and it’s a sin I have to bear.
Other than that, it doesn’t matter!
The saintess raised her voice to the limit, holding back the feeling she wanted to shout.
“… … ‘Purification trial’!”
It was an unexpected call.
However, the effect of that one word was greater than any other words. Soon, the son-in-law fell silent.
Even the saint flinched and lost his temper.
It’s a ‘purification trial’.
It was a rule that was abandoned so long ago that even those who remembered the tradition were rare. Most of them were only vaguely aware of its existence.
Because no one asked for it.
At the top of the precipitous cliff, the pope’s forehead narrowed slightly.
“… … what?”
“As a sinner in the Court on the Mount… By right, I ask for a ‘purification trial’!”
And again silence.
The crowd looked at each other and started whispering. It seemed that they were sharing what they knew about the ‘purification trial’.
But it didn’t have to be.
The content of the Purification Trial was simpler than any other trial.
Burn the pyre on which the sinner kneels, and if he survives, he is innocent.
And if you burn to death, you are guilty.
It was a way to ask God, not man, whether or not he was guilty.
Neither the ‘Doctrine Trial’ nor the ‘Honour Trial’ are trials by human hands.
However, the ‘purification trial’ is the only one where guilt and innocence are decided by God. That is why it is the most respected trial method, and the highest priority among the three inquisitions.
More than an ‘honor trial’, of course.
Of course, this ‘purification trial’ had a fatal flaw.
“… … You’re a sinner, do you know? There is no one who has ever requested a ‘purification trial’ and survived! For your will is like the sun, which shines everywhere, but does not tolerate even the slightest sin.”
“Nevertheless, I want to ask!”
Gritting her teeth, the saintess staggered to her feet.
Those pale pink eyes were burning.
“Otherwise, whoever is rejected by the Lord cannot even ask the will of the Lord?!”
The pope groaned and glanced at the saint.
The saint, who was in the midst of excitement, was gaining momentum with an indifferent expression. On the other hand, the man standing on the other side was on his knees, coughing up blood.
After hearing the saintess’s words, the man’s expression was terribly broken. He couldn’t bring himself to scream, but the man spoke with all his heart.
‘do not do that.’
However, the saintess only glanced at the man with a light smile on her eyes.
That there are no survivors?
If only I could die alone, that was what I wished for.
The saintess moistened her parched lips with saliva.
“… … Alright, poor doomed sinner. As creatures who dare not fathom the will of the Lord, it is the natural right of all believers to ask the will of the Lord. But who are you to ask the will of the Lord before preparing for a sacred ceremony?”
“The one without a name!”
With a thump, the Pope rolled on the ground, and the Court of the Mount hummed again.
The pope, with a falsely majestic face, reproduced the solemn tradition again.
“All right, nameless one! Then what do you want to ask the Lord?”
“Lord, Lord, why have you forsaken me! (Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani!)”
There was a thump, and the earth’s axis shook again.
at the end of every question and answer.
Silence fell with the moonlight. Tens of thousands of pairs of eyes stared at the pope’s mouth in silence.
And right after someone gulps and swallows dry saliva.
“…According to the ancient law of the Court on the Mount, the opening of the ‘Purification Trial’ is declared here!”
The purification trial in hundreds of years has begun.
For the abandoned lamb to ask the will of the Lord.