140 – Void (6)
“But there is a slight problem.”
“what?”
“The archdiocese of the system was completely destroyed when Faust-sama took me out.”
“…Ah, that’s right.”
I was full of thoughts of going to the Archdiocese, but I was a little dazed when I heard Celestine’s next words.
That’s right.
When Serapia possessed Celestine’s body, kidnapped Lucia and took her to the basement of a church in the Islands, the church was completely destroyed while rescuing her.
Of course, I didn’t destroy it, but the disgraced Serafia just smashed it to bury the entire basement… Anyway, the fact that the church and the archdiocese that make up the church were destroyed doesn’t change.
“Excuse me for interrupting the conversation, but for now I think it will be fine.”
“Aigokeros?”
At that moment, Aigokeros intrudes between me and Celestine.
As much as Aigo, who always had the attitude of a follower and did not interfere when talking to someone, did this, let alone annoyed, a question arises as to why he is doing this.
“Elias said that he had spoken with an envoy from the Empire of Aquileia before, and that the appearance of the islands had been completely changed.”
“Is it reversed?”
“Yes, exposed to Serafia’s divine power, they lost their free will and only acted to serve Serafia, so they abandoned the imperial palace and the ruined system and built or repaired only churches that served Seraphia.”
“…Then it doesn’t matter. No, it could have turned into a bigger church than Celestine knew.”
Aigo’s answer that followed was enough to completely wash away my worries.
I was a bit shocked that the imperials had changed so strangely, but anyway, I found the largest church that worships the Goddess of Light, so…
Anyway, looking at that, I can understand why Serapia hasn’t appeared in the underworld.
Those who were exposed to Serapia’s divine power and forcibly served Seraphia, no matter how much they believed in Seraphia, did not give Serapia the price of their faith, the power.
As it is a structure in which divine power gains power only when one worships and serves God deeply in one’s heart, the more Serapia is active in the underworld, the more she cuts off her own flesh and eats it.
[Irene, how is Katara these days?]
[It’s always peaceful, as always. All demons here voluntarily serve Faust-sama and me.]
If you look at the spirit of the demons, that point is even more prominent.
Irene focused on the goal of making Katara prosperous even though we were in a lot of trouble far away, and as a result, all the demons in Katara planted faith in me.
And those beliefs, of course, are giving me strength.
As much as I whisper to my instincts that these powers cannot be obtained through forced brainwashing, I know that I have not tested whether I can gain faith through brainwashing.
**********
“Certainly, the scenery has changed a lot.”
The threat of Serapia, who could arbitrarily interfere with the portal, must have disappeared. There was no reason not to use the portal, so the party of warriors arrived at the island directly through the portal, and as Aigokeros said, a greatly changed system greeted us.
A church so grand that it surpassed the imperial palace, an entertainment facility that was completely destroyed, and countless churches standing on the ruins, it gave the illusion that you were looking at the Vatican rather than the capital of the empire.
“Dad, are the ruined cities still intact?”
“…not really.”
However, as Lucia said, the parts that had previously been shattered by the skeleton demons Cranion and Serapia’s intervention in the underworld are still intact. Even though the walls are demolished, the road is dug up, and the roof is collapsed.
Looking at this, it certainly fits exactly as Aigo said. I just clung to God with my eyes averted from my present life.
Of course, all of these things were not the will of the imperials themselves, so they couldn’t point fingers at them.
“But it looks like everyone’s come to their senses now, look.”
“…Yes, I’m cleaning.”
After Cerapia was eliminated, Serapia’s divine power that dominated the minds of the imperials must have faded. It’s just normal, like a human being, committing small evil deeds.
Officials desperately call in people to repair the damaged downtown areas, house owners clean up debris in front of their houses as much as possible, and markets that were certain to be empty due to economic activity as a sin are reopened one by one. Merchants are returning.
Of course, even in the midst of this, there are many people who still offer prayers to see if their faith in Seraphia has not disappeared, but I don’t feel any fanaticism in that prayer. It is a sound faith.
…they prayed to didn’t care what happened to the lower ones and was long dead, but I don’t need to point that out.
“Let’s hurry up, let’s hurry up and bring Flora and Nero.”
“Yes. That church seems to be the largest. Can I go over there?”
“Yes, if my prediction is correct, the spirit of light is alive and well… what is it?”
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Kurreung
At the moment when you stop looking at the city being repaired and hurriedly go to the church for the purpose of coming to the island, a sudden change occurs in the world.
The sky rattles and vibrates, and the sunbeam, which should have been shining straight down, twists and sways as if it never did.
And that’s not all.
This aura of divine power and light that wraps around the whole body.
It is quite similar to the attack and descent of Serapia, which I have felt countless times so far.
“what…?!”
“Unbelievable…”
Lucia, Iris, Lena, and Celestine also tremble and are surprised to recall the sensations they have felt so many times on their journey so far.
Looking at the fact that the body moved itself unconsciously and reflexively and even took a posture to receive the attack, it seems that cerafia is quite traumatic in everyone’s head.
“what…?”
“This…”
The imperials too, with this aura that is surprisingly similar to the divine power of Serapia that once dominated their entire body, stopped everything they were doing and looked up at the sky as they were, desperately examining what was about to happen.
And all of them have the same fear in their eyes.
That their god would punish them again, that they would lose their will and serve Seraphia again.
No matter how harshly I was treated, I couldn’t give up my faith in Seraphia.
No, well… Everything is not even a handful of sand compared to the power of Serapia, and since there are things I’ve learned from society so far, I feel like there’s nothing I can do about it… But it’s a bit of a hit.
It makes me want to tell the truth about what Cerapia did—
[Stupid things.]
At that moment, a voice resounded from the sky as if shouting fiercely.
It was as if he was trying to awaken the serfs who had acted foolishly up until now, as if he were trying to convert the unbelievers, full of the idea that the chosen people would go to hell because they did not believe in the true faith.
And this voice… very familiar. Even though it was obviously the first time I heard it, I knew who the owner of the voice was.
“Flora…?”
Flora’s name flows from Lucia’s mouth.
If it was usual for Flora to pop out of nowhere, I would have wondered why, but since I also had similar thoughts to Lucia, I can’t.
[Do you really not know what Serafia has done to you all this time? If you don’t know… let me know.]
flash
The sky, which had been blue just a moment ago, is instantly filled with huge flashes of yellow light.
The imperials who saw it were shocked and tried to hide inside the building, but the light was so brilliant that it penetrated not only glass, but also objects such as trees and stones, so it was of no use.
What else is this?! No way brainwashing… it’s not.
‘It’s a memory.’
Thoughts of what Serafia has been doing up until now, and what thoughts Serapia has had toward people until now, are flowing into my head.
It wasn’t brainwashing, it was just normal information transmission like verbal communication, so Faust’s magic-resistant body received the transmission of thoughts without any resistance.
“This…?”
“uh…?”
“Oh My God…!”
The imperials each tilted their heads, and before long their faces were stained with astonishment.
Realizing in an instant that they had been tricked by Serapia so far, everyone was confused and waited for what Flora would say next with their heads raised to the sky.
[Faust-sama killed that evil Seraphia and set all of you free. Now… you don’t have to suffer an engineered death. I will pass through my descendants’ descendants and enjoy eternal prosperity. Everyone repent of serving Faust and Serapia.]
And Flora continues to speak according to the expectations of the imperial people.
If you do such a thing, there is a life limit, and the world will be destroyed someday, and Flora must have heard about it from Stella, but Flora doesn’t bother to say such a thing.
Flora thinks Faust, her great master, is a great man who can solve such trivial matters at any time.