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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 23
There were too many unanswered questions about Jeanne D' Arc.
Why did the French leadership entrust a young girl with command of the army simply because she claimed to hear the voice of God?
Why, if she was a warrior of God, was she unable to defy death through miracles?
Why was she constantly placed in inexplicable danger?
And why did her so-called ‘Saint’s Banner’ appear in my status window as [The Banners of the Saints]?
All these mysteries made sense under a single hypothesis.
That the saint was not just one person.
Jeanne D' Arc had not miraculously transcended death.
Every time she died, she was replaced, and the people who witnessed it called it a ‘miracle’.
The ‘Banners of Saints’ referred to the young girls who had perished before her.
Jeanne D' Arc was not a divine savior. She was a manufactured saint, created by France to secure victory in the war.
And that was why, after reclaiming Paris, France was now trying to dispose of her.
To completely erase the truth of the Saint Project from history.
Because the saint had to remain not as something fabricated, but as a noble sacrifice an eternal symbol to illuminate France.
That was my conclusion.
That was the true face of Jeanne D' Arc, the so-called ‘Saint of the Hundred Years’ War’.
And judging by the frozen expression on Bishop Cambrai’s face, I had struck upon the truth.
"How did you arrive at that idea?"
"It became obvious from the way you act."
"……."
"You keep forcing Jeanne into deadly situations, trying to get her killed. It’s as clear as day."
Countless saints had perished to sustain this so-called ‘miracle’.
If left alone, Jeanne D' Arc would have become yet another sacrificial lamb for that miracle.
Bishop Cambrai did not attempt to deny it.
"Impressive. You are correct, Brother. The saint was created by France. More precisely, by me."
"You gathered innocent girls and led them to their deaths. Do you really think your God is pleased with that?"
"Because France needs a saint."
He tried to justify himself.
"It was an unavoidable necessity to save many lives."
He tried to rationalize his sins.
"Jeanne’s death is necessary for France as well."
And he had turned that necessity into conviction.
"I will bear all the sins."
"……."
Looking at the unwavering sincerity on Bishop Cambrai’s face, I suddenly realized something.
"Now I understand."
"You mean… you understand my intentions?"
"No, I understand why my status window told me to protect Jeanne."
"……?"
"It was because of you."
My status window had given me a quest to protect Jeanne D' Arc.
Most likely, one of the previous saints had died prematurely, and Jeanne had been forced into her role earlier than expected.
She was meant to die at the stake.
And the reason the previous saint had died ahead of schedule was none other than this Bishop Cambrai.
Looking at his conviction-ridden, sickeningly righteous face, I could tell he wouldn’t hesitate to kill as many saints as necessary.
Of course, none of this was my concern.
Whether he was a true believer striving for the greater good, or a monster who slaughtered innocent girls, it didn’t matter.
Because that was history and Jeanne D' Arc’s fate was sealed to burn at the stake.
Just as Napoleon’s Siege of Toulon had to succeed, just as Yi Sunsin’s Battle of Myeongnyang had to end in victory.
The girl’s execution would proceed the same way.
"……."
Was I really supposed to just stand by and watch?
The image of Jeanne’s disappointed face as she left the shop lingered in my mind.
Beyond that, the words from my status window came into view.
[Protect the girl who became the sacrifice of the Hundred Years’ War.]
That message likely meant to protect her until the execution.
And once the execution was over, just like before, I would receive my reward and awaken once more in the General Store.
“…….”
Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.
‘Do I really need to protect her?’
The quest description only stated, ‘Protect the girl’ ; it didn't specify a deadline.
It wasn’t hard to infer that the protection was meant to last until the execution, but there was no rule against interpreting it differently.
After all, the wording was open to interpretation.
‘Then I’ll just interpret it my way.’
I was protecting her because I was told to.
BANG—!
"Brother, what are you…?!"
Bishop Cambrai’s eyes widened in shock at my actions.
A massive crucifix hung on the chapel wall, with Jesus nailed to it.
The target of Napoleon’s rifle was not Jesus himself.
But the ‘Branding Iron of the False Stigmata’ and ‘The Banners of Saints’ hanging from his outstretched hands.
BOOM—!
The branding iron, which had been hanging from Christ’s left hand, was struck by a bullet and fell to the ground.
BANG—!
A second shot. The banner in his right hand tumbled down.
"Stop him!"
As I stepped toward the fallen relics, Bishop Cambrai roared in fury.
***
The Inquisition courtroom.
Seventy inquisitors in immaculate white robes filled the chamber, seated in a semicircle.
All of them belonged to the Church of England.
At the center of the courtroom sat Jeanne D' Arc.
After more than a week in captivity, the young girl looked pale and frail.
She was utterly alone.
By rule, every accused heretic was entitled to a defense attorney at their trial.
But no one had been assigned to defend her.
Meanwhile, the seventy inquisitors questioning her were all elite theologians.
A rural girl who couldn’t even read was being accused of heresy, and a team of seventy theological scholars had been assembled to condemn her.
"I will now question the accused, Jeanne D' Arc."
Bishop Cauchon, both judge and inquisitor, spoke.
"If you are not a heretic, then recite the Lord’s Prayer to prove your faith."
Jeanne lifted her head.
Her face was pale, but her eyes shone with unwavering clarity.
"Bishop, are you a devout believer?"
"Of course. I am a man of God."
"Then, as a devout believer, you should first recite the prayer yourself to prove you are worthy of judging my faith."
She was telling him if you are a true believer, then say the prayer first.
However, the Lord’s Prayer was in Latin.
Even among theologians, few had committed it to memory.
Naturally, Bishop Cauchon could not recite it.
He had asked the question assuming, ‘I can’t do it, so neither can she.’
"I will call upon other clergy to recite it."
"You were the one who asked me the question, so you must be the one to recite it."
"……Let us move on."
Bishop Cauchon continued.
"I ask the accused."
"I am listening."
"Do you believe you have received God’s grace?"
This was a trap.
If Jeanne answered ‘yes’, she could be accused of arrogance claiming to know the will of God.
If she answered ‘no’, they could argue that she herself admitted to lacking divine favor.
No matter how she answered, she would be condemned as a heretic.
And then.
"If I have not received His grace, may He bestow it upon me. If I am already blessed, may He continue to grant it."
Jeanne D' Arc’s response was neither a confirmation nor a denial, leaving Bishop Cauchon momentarily speechless.
"……Let us move on."
Their exchange continued in this manner.
Every time Bishop Cauchon laid a cunning verbal trap, Jeanne skillfully evaded it.
In the end, unable to find any clear grounds to convict her, Cauchon resorted to his final measure.
"The accused was reported to have worn men’s clothing while imprisoned."
Jeanne had disguised herself as a man to protect her chastity in prison.
However, according to religious law, a woman wearing male attire was a sin against the scriptures.
Of course, wearing men’s clothing to protect oneself was considered ‘not guilty’ under normal circumstances.
But this was not a fair trial.
This courtroom existed solely to condemn Jeanne as a heretic.
Moreover, Bishop Cauchon had suffered the humiliation of being outmaneuvered by a mere girl in front of all the theologians.
"I sentence the sinner to death by burning."
Using her disguise as justification, Cauchon pronounced her execution by fire.
Jeanne objected, but her protest was ignored.
And so, she was dragged by soldiers to the grand cathedral square.
Before the gathered masses who had come to witness the execution, Jeanne was tied to the stake.
"……."
Her expression was one of resignation.
Despite the vast crowd, not a single soul spoke up for her or tried to intervene.
A trial under the church was sacred, and the punishments issued were believed to be decreed by God.
The executioner, holding a torch, approached Jeanne.
His face was twisted with guilt and fear at the thought of burning a saint.
"Please… do not resent me."
"I do not."
FWOOOSH—!
The flames ignited beneath the stake.
With her eyes closed, Jeanne clasped her hands in prayer.
And at that moment.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted at the edge of the square.
"STOP HIM!!!"
Bishop Cambrai’s panicked voice rang across the plaza.
"Don’t let him interfere with the execution!"
BANG—! CLANG!
Gunfire and the sharp clash of metal echoed through the square.
And then.
"Jeanne D' Arc!!!!!!!!!!!"
Hearing someone call her name, Jeanne opened her eyes.
She turned her head, her pupils widening in shock.
"…Sir Seojun?"
There, standing defiantly, was Choi Seojun holding the Saint’s Banner.
CRACK—!
Right before Jeanne’s eyes, he snapped the sacred banner in half.
"!"
***
[‘The Banners of Saints’ has been destroyed.]
[Reward artifact has been lost.]
I shattered the Saint’s Banner, the so-called reward for this quest with my own hands, but I didn’t care.
"I wouldn't take it even if you gave it to me."
I tossed aside the broken banner in my hand.
A banner of sacrifice, written in blood, who the hell needed something like that?
For Jeanne D' Arc, it was nothing but shackles, forcing her into martyrdom.
"Yooooouuuuu!"
A furious voice roared through the square.
"How dare you defile a holy relic?!"
Bishop Cambrai, face twisted in rage, lunged at me.
Before he could reach me, I sprinted toward the execution platform.
Thwack!
I struck down the executioner blocking my way with the butt of my rifle and swung the Twin Dragon Sword at the flames consuming the pyre.
Whoosh!
In an instant, the fire was extinguished.
"Impossible! The sacred flames?!"
Ignoring the bishop's shock, I slashed through the ropes binding Jeanne.
Her frail body staggered before collapsing into my arms.
"Seojun…?"
"Just hold on."
No sooner had I set Jeanne down than Bishop Cambrai rushed in again.
"You dare interfere with a holy trial?!"
His fist came flying at me.
Whoooosh!
Decades of devotion to the church had imbued Cambrai’s strike with immense holy magic.
Far greater and purer than the light wielded by the knights he had ordered to their deaths.
And yet, despite possessing such power, he never once lifted a finger in war.
All he did was demand sacrifices.
"You bastard."
I raised the Twin Dragon Sword.
At that moment.
──The Twin Dragon Sword’s true nature has been unlocked.
A familiar voice echoed in my ears.
"With a three-foot blade, I swear upon the heavens, and the land and rivers tremble."
The Twin Dragon Sword glowed pure white.
Just as it had in the moment Yi Sunsin cleaved through Bae Seo.
I swung the sword down at the charging bishop.
BOOOOM!
A deafening explosion shattered the air as Bishop Cambrai was sent flying backward.
"Guh…!"
He slammed into the wall of the square, coughing up blood as he collapsed.
When I turned back, Jeanne was staring at me, eyes wide in disbelief.
"You don’t have to be a sacrifice anymore."
"……"
Her violet eyes trembled.
Then, tears welled up, spilling down her cheeks.
Tears of joy.
Tears that had never existed in history.
Tears of a girl who had transcended the fate of a saint.
"Thank you… truly…"
The smile of a girl freed from sacrifice was dazzling beyond words.
[Warning]
[A distortion point has emerged in the flow of history.]
An unfamiliar warning message appeared in my status window.
Jeanne D' Arc who was supposed to perish at the stake had defied her destined moment of death.
The world deemed her an impurity.
[The 'Distorted One' will be expelled from this world.]
Darkness swallowed everything.
When I opened my eyes, I was back at the General Store .
And..
"Seojun… where is this place?"
Beside me stood a girl with golden hair and violet eyes.
[PR/N: There’s a character illustration of Jeanne in this chapter.]
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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