was an existence that served as a medium connecting them.
In the past, when the Order of Berhazel flourished, one could find Saintesses without much difficulty in temples located throughout Truvenia. The authority of a Saintess was so immense that even the ruler of a kingdom or a high-ranking clergyman would not dare approach her lightly.
Saintesses inherited the very nature of Berhazel, who loved all things. Thus, all Saintesses shared the traits of exceedingly beautiful appearances and kind hearts. Also, perhaps due to Berhazel’s blessing, Saintesses possessed a mind’s eye that allowed them to see through the essence of all things without any prejudice.
For that reason, apart from the clergy, Saintesses had long been revered by all as beings who connected Berhazel and humanity. Their calling was to deliver the wishes of humans directly to Berhazel, the Chief God.
But now, after three crises had befallen the human world and the Order of Berhazel had lost its power miserably, the existence known as Saintesses had also long since vanished. Perhaps because their mind’s eye was especially developed, they could not endure the slaughter occurring all across the continent. With their exceptionally tender hearts, they could not bear the countless deaths of living beings and had no choice but to meet their end one by one.
Moreover, the decisive cause of their disappearance was the army of darkness led by the Demon King Nidelhark. Nidelhark’s undead army searched high and low with burning eyes for places where Saintesses might be. And every Saintess they discovered was brutally murdered without exception.
For Nidelhark, who sought to dye the world in darkness, the existence of Saintesses, who connected the Chief God Berhazel and humanity, was what he feared most. Because of that, many Saintesses had no choice but to die without passing on their lineage.
Most Saintesses passed on their succession through blood ties. In other words, they handed down their calling to the first daughter they bore. This stemmed from their desire to preserve the bloodline of the Saintess that they had received from Berhazel in the beginning. Saintesses never married under any circumstances. And yet, they were able to naturally bear children who would carry on the next generation. For a very long time, this had been passed down in Truvenia as an unsolved mystery. All anyone could do was make the religious conjecture that it was Berhazel’s care.
However, after humanity lost the Oath Stone they had received from Berhazel, Saintesses could no longer have descendants. They could no longer undergo the supernatural conception that had long been called a mystery. Unable to stand by and watch, the rulers of each kingdom even tried artificially pairing Saintesses with partners in order to continue the Saintess bloodline. But it was all in vain.
The daughters of Saintesses born artificially did not possess the mind’s eye from the very beginning. Even the Saintesses who took partners ended up losing the power of the mind’s eye they had possessed……
For such reasons, the existence known as Saintesses disappeared from Truvenia. And yet that exceedingly precious Saintess had been discovered by Shrekheimer by chance……
“Very well. Then I shall recall the knight order fighting on the battlefield in order to protect the final Saintess. If what the Grand Pontiff says is true, she will become our last hope.”
“That is so. If she is truly the last Saintess chosen by Lord Berhazel, then perhaps we may be able to fulfill our wish.”
Perhaps because he had found a thread of hope, Shrekheimer’s face seemed somewhat elated. Sergei immediately summoned Benitez.
“You are to contact the knight order at the front at once. You may gather every mage in the court if necessary. Bring them here swiftly through spatial transfer.”
“Understood.”
As he watched Benitez bow his head, someone suddenly came to Shrekheimer’s mind. The warrior he had brought with him through dimensional transfer along with Benitez. He thought of that foreigner, who had a terribly hideous appearance and to whom Shrekheimer had personally given a name. Curious about how he was doing, Shrekheimer looked at Sergei.
“By the way, what became of him?”
“Who do you mean?”
“Damon. The one we brought through dimensional transfer.”
There was a look in Shrekheimer’s eyes that suggested he did not expect much. Judging by Sergei’s nature, it was difficult to expect that Damon had preserved his life intact. Sergei, with his cold-hearted personality, would never keep alive anyone who had no use. Considering the precedent of Emperor Krosen, it was hard to imagine Sergei sparing him.
But Shrekheimer’s expectations missed the mark completely.
“H-he is alive?”
“That is so. By now, he should be fighting as the guard of a war mage.”
“O-of which war mage?”
“You likely know him as well, Grand Pontiff. A black mage named Doyle. The one called Damon is acting as that black mage’s guard.”
An expression of surprise appeared on Shrekheimer’s face. First, he was surprised that Sergei had kept the man alive, and second, he was surprised that the one called Damon was obediently carrying out the role of a soldier.
From what Shrekheimer had seen, Damon had been someone who had risen to the position of an absolute being in the dimension where he had lived, a man who could never be ignored. It was truly hard to imagine such a person casting aside his pride and serving as an ordinary soldier……
“A-astonishing indeed.”
Looking at the bewildered Shrekheimer, Sergei explained everything about the test Damon had undergone here and all the twists and turns that had followed. Shrekheimer, who listened while nodding, showed some surprise at the part where Damon had fought and defeated a Twin-Head Ogre, but soon regained his composure. Though his recent circumstances were somewhat strange, in any case, the relationship between him and Damon had already ended. Now that Damon had become nothing more than a soldier, there was no need to pay him any attention.
“Then, Grand Pontiff, please remain here until the knight order arrives. In the meantime, I will make all the preparations.”
“I shall leave it to you, then.”
As he watched Sergei turn and leave, Shrekheimer’s heart gradually swelled. If his plan succeeded, then humanity would likely be able to continue existing in Truvenia.
“Uaaaagh!”
It was a battlefield where blood sprayed and flesh was torn away. On one side was the army of humans, and on the other was the army of orcs, a race with green skin, small in stature but second to none in fighting spirit. Thus, the two races were tangled together in a bloody close battle.
The human army was none other than the 8th Corps dispatched from Icarot. And the orc tribe opposing them was the warriors of the Sakata tribe, who had fought against the 8th Corps for a long time.
The state of the battle could be called dead even in many respects. In terms of numbers, the orc army had the advantage, but the human army was barely holding on through the efficiency of its battle formations. However, the shape of the formations was somewhat unusual. Unlike usual, several formations composed of about five hundred soldiers each were scattered in all directions as they fought.
This was a formation created out of concern for a dragon’s intervention. Normally, they would have gathered together to maximize cooperation between troop types, but if they did so, a single attack spell from a dragon could inflict fatal damage. Because of that, the commanders were operating these small formations while accepting a certain amount of damage. Fortunately, it seemed the dragon had not come, but they could not afford to let down their guard.
Just then, a dazzling flash suddenly burst from one side of the battlefield.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
The surface of the earth shattered to pieces, and chunks of lifeless corpses scattered in every direction. The bodies falling limply here and there across the bloodstained battlefield mostly belonged to orc infantry. Judging by the situation, it seemed a fairly powerful attack spell had struck directly into the middle of a densely packed orc unit.
“Chwieeeek! Kill the mage!”
An orc unit commander, having gauged the direction from which the magical attack had come, roared at the top of his lungs. Since many of his subordinates had been annihilated by this attack, the unit commander was furious to the very tips of his hair. Of course, if they wished to avoid further damage, they had to hurry and kill the mage. Therefore, the orc unit commander kept pointing in that direction.
Kwaooooo!
With a roar, the medium-sized monsters such as ogres and trolls that had been fighting fiercely all turned in that direction at once. To deal with a mage, medium-sized monsters were the most suitable. Thanks to that, the human soldiers who had been holding on with difficulty were able to catch their breath. Two ogres and three trolls charged fiercely toward one side of the battlefield. That was the direction from which the magical attack had come.
“Stop them!”
The soldiers rushed in like swarming bees, but from the start, it was impossible for them to stop medium-sized monsters. The soldiers blocking the way were knocked down as if swept aside by a broom, and the ogres and trolls broke through them to attack their target.
“Uaaaagh!”
After sending two soldiers who blocked its path flying far away, the ogre’s eyes caught sight of a human holding a magic staff. He was wearing armor like the other soldiers, but from the fact that he held a magic staff, he was clearly a mage. Seeing the surrounding soldiers protect him, the situation seemed all too certain, so the ogre tried to pounce on him without delay.
At that moment, something attacked the ogre’s face one step faster. A being who seemed to be human had lightly stepped on the ogre’s knee and sprung up toward its chest. It was movement so swift that it was hard to see as human at all. At the same time, the ogre felt intense pain in its chest.
Kwaoo!
The ogre’s massive body suddenly staggered. It was not one to fall to an attack of this degree, so the ogre strained desperately to move its body. But its Juque acupoint, a vital point in the chest, had already been pierced through without mercy. After struggling for a moment, the ogre could no longer hold out and collapsed to the ground with a thud. Its eyes, as large as brass bells, were wide open as if it could not believe it had been taken down so helplessly.
“That’s one.”
The human who had felled the ogre was moving at a speed that could scarcely be seen properly. He landed lightly on the ground, then immediately lunged toward his next target. From the spiked gauntlets worn on his hands, dazzling sharp energy streamed out in strands.
The second ogre, having witnessed the death of its comrade, tried to block his approach by spinning the club in its hand like a windmill. Unfortunately, the human’s movement far surpassed that of an ogre, whose speed was already well known.
“Haat!”
The human lightly stepped off the ground and leaped, slipping between the whirling club.
Krrk.
With a stinging sensation in its elbow, the ogre ended up dropping the club it had been holding. Having suffered a severe blow to its Quchi acupoint, it could no longer keep holding the club. As if unwilling to go down like this, the ogre tried to grab the attacking human with its other uninjured arm. But everything was in vain. The human’s movement already far surpassed the ogre’s…… The moment the ogre bent its waist to grab the human, it suddenly felt heat at the crown of its head.
“Kroa?”
It hurriedly raised its hand to protect the crown of its head, but strength was already draining from its arm. The ogre’s massive body slowly sank to the ground, its Baihui acupoint at the very top of its head shattered.
“Waaaah! He got it!”
At that sight, the surrounding soldiers all burst into cheers at once. An existence that could be called an absolute object of terror to them had been neutralized far too easily. But the soldiers were not particularly surprised. This was something they had already witnessed many times before……