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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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Chapter 20: Stigmata
Stigmata.
In other words, Stigma.
This wound, called God's miracle, manifests only in saints who are called God's representatives.
Or more precisely, one could say that only after the stigmata appears is someone recognized as a saint.
"Is it really... a stigmata?"
"Yes. Father Moro said so. The frequent emergence of sacred blood from the wound is evidence of stigmata."
"Unbelievable..."
Stigmata.
Stigma.
He’d only heard ‘rumors’ that such things existed.
From his mentor, Father Johan, who said there were saints chosen by God in the Solar Theocracy.
"So they really do exist... these stigmata."
"Of course, our Saintess had the stigmata too."
"Elizabeth of the Twin Axes?"
Jenny belongs to the Axe Sisterhood, which produced Saintess Elizabeth.
As a nun of the Axe Sisterhood, Jenny might know something about stigmata.
"What power does stigmata specifically grant?"
"Hmm~ I've only heard about it so I don't know the details, but I heard she could summon axes from thin air. Whether that's the power of stigmata, I'm not sure."
A summoning type, is it?
I'm not sure how it differs from divine powers.
"So, if you have stigmata, you're recognized as a saint, right?"
"That's right. You've moved up in the world. When you become a saint, don't forget me, okay? I'm the one who healed Brother Ray's injury, remember?"
Jenny flashes a mischievous smile. She knows she's beautiful and acts without restraint.
"If you fight less with Aaron, I'll consider it after I move up."
"Tsk! That annoying young master is still the same, even after nearly dying."
Ray got up from his sickbed with Jenny's support.
Everyone seems to have broken or injured something from this incident, so they're all confined to beds.
It seems everyone was given good facilities and private rooms, so the Margrave must have come to his senses.
"Well... now that Brother Ray is up, let's meet the Margrave."
Father Moro didn't ask anything about what happened that day.
He simply quietly congratulated Ray on his recovery and sought out the group members and the Margrave.
"I am Ralph Violet, Margrave of the Kingdom of Albion."
'He's completely different from before.'
Margrave Ralph Violet had a distinctly different atmosphere compared to before.
He still possessed the strong demeanor befitting the northern leader, but the wild ferocity that had once filled his eyes was gone.
However, he appeared weaker than before, evidenced by the fact that the Margrave received them from his sickbed.
Was it from injuries sustained fighting the Solar Theocracy's armed members?
"Didn't you heal the Margrave?"
"My healing power only works on external wounds. I can't fix internal damage."
The Margrave's illness seems unrelated to combat.
'Well, even though he's a sword expert, he was near a lady possessed by a demon for half a year.'
Capricorn must have considered him, a sword expert and Margrave, an important piece.
Capricorn slowly corrupted the fatherly love of a father who nursed his daughter by her side.
"Deacon Ray."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"Thank you for saving my daughter."
"...!"
The Margrave bowed his head.
The Iron-Blooded Margrave.
The King of the Borderlands with his own army.
That proud dignity bowed toward a commoner deacon.
"I've incurred a debt I cannot repay. I will reward this kindness."
"It's fine, Your Excellency. I didn't do it expecting a reward."
"No, as Margrave Violet, I cannot let this pass. The North never forgets a favor."
Hearing his resolute determination to repay the debt somehow, Ray secretly looked forward to it.
A reward promised in a nobleman's name.
What could he be planning to give?
"I'll send it after sufficient deliberation."
"Uh... yes."
Deliberation? Send? Couldn't he just give it now?
That's what Ray wanted to say, but it didn't seem right to appear demanding to a nobleman.
He'll keep his word since he said it himself.
"Then, we'll be returning to the Solar Theocracy. Regarding what we discussed..."
"I am fully aware. I am deeply indebted to the Solar Theocracy."
The Margrave prepared the fastest and sturdiest carriage for the returning priest.
Having already been delayed for quite some time, they appeared ready to depart immediately.
"Father!"
Just as they were about to leave, Lawrence, the Margrave's son, approached the carriage.
"Young Lord. You should be resting inside with your condition."
Father Moro responded to Lawrence who had come to see them.
"How could I not say farewell to our family's benefactors? Please understand that my sister has not yet awakened and cannot join me in expressing gratitude."
"Not at all. The Lady deserves credit for binding the demon for half a year with her strong spirit. She has done a great deed for humanity."
Father Moro's words weren't mere consolation.
The Archdemon Capricorn was an extremely powerful demon. She had resisted such a demon for half a year.
This was truly a great achievement.
"Young Lord Aaron, Miss Jenny, and Brother Ray. You are all benefactors to our family. I express my gratitude once again on behalf of our family."
Lawrence bowed deeply. Aaron raised him up saying it was nothing, while Jenny seemed surprised to see a nobleman bowing.
"Well then, we must be on our way. We will pray that the light of Sol Invictus, the Savior, remains with you."
And so they departed.
The three people couldn't hide their excitement as they discussed how amazing this incident had been, and how miraculous their success was.
"By the way... what will happen to that noble lady?"
Jenny suddenly asked. Aaron, understanding the nature of nobility, grimly speculated.
"It will be difficult for her to be active in social circles. Rumors can't be stopped."
"Hmm... so she's unmarriageable now."
Jenny couldn't dismiss this as merely the nature of nobility.
Rather, commoners tend to react more sensitively to such issues.
Spontaneous witch hunts or heretic hunts usually occur due to mob psychology among commoners.
"There's no need to worry too much. Lady Ophelia has many other paths available to her."
Other paths.
The three people quickly understood what that meant.
'What a cunning man.'
Ray guessed that many conversations must have taken place between the Margrave and Father Moro while he was asleep.
***
The mission reports of the Armed Organisation are usually concluded by submitting them to direct superiors.
From support requests coming from various regions, to the execution and process of missions, to their conclusions.
Reviewing all of this takes considerable time.
But for this witch trial mission in the northern border of the Albion Kingdom, a grand council was convened as soon as the report arrived.
This was due to Archbishop Dunwell, head of the Inquisition, using his emergency convening authority.
The high priest of the Armed Organisation postponed their ongoing work to attend the meeting called by Archbishop Dunwell's unusual emergency summons.
"What matter requires an emergency convocation in the middle of the night?"
The knight with long blonde hair... The Holy Knight Commander of the Holy Knight Order seemed displeased at being called away from busy work.
The Holy Knight Commander wasn't the only one summoned.
Ivella, head of the Solaryon Choir.
Amelia, Commander of the Healing Order.
All the heads of the Armed Organisation were gathered.
Yet Archbishop Dunwell did not get to the point.
"Not yet. I've also issued summons to the saints, so we'll wait until all the saints remaining in the Solar Theocracy arrive."
"Even the saints? Archbishop Dunwell. Are you serious?"
Saints.
Those who manifest stigmata and possess miracles are considered extraordinary beings in the Solar Theocracy.
They are symbols of Sol Invictus's miracles whom even the high priest present here, not to mention the Pope, cannot treat carelessly.
He summoned even such individuals?
Of course, the head of the Eclipse Inquisition, one pillar of the Armed Organisation, has such authority, but authority and implementation are different matters.
Has this old man lost his mind? As the Holy Knight Commander was muttering such doubts.
The doors of the grand council chamber opened, and beings with extraordinary holy power entered.
All the agency heads rose at once.
They showed reverence to the miracles of Sol Invictus before them.
"We greet the Saints."
The high priest of the Solar Theocracy paid their respects, but those receiving the greetings showed no particular reaction.
Because this was a common occurrence.
Among the saints who received their greetings, a holy man with brilliant golden hair spoke.
"Enough. Let's start quickly. If it's not a worthwhile matter, it'll be boring."
The holy man with brilliant gold. Erdio the Golden Saint, counted among the foremost saints of the Solar Theocracy.
He slumped down in a council seat and put his feet up on the round table.
"Erdio. You're being rude."
"Oh my, Saintess of Radiance. Let's just move on. Do you know where I've just been struggling?"
"..."
At the Golden Saint Erdio's words, the woman called the Saintess of Radiance sat down demurely.
Her gaze turned to Archbishop Dunwell.
"Archbishop, please start quickly. I was in the middle of a mission."
"I apologize, Lady Iris. I've troubled you during your busy schedule."
Archbishop Dunwell noticed the blood scabs on the hands of Iris, the Saintess of Radiance.
Old ones and fresh ones. The bloodstains stuck here and there on her black vestments also revealed what she had been doing.
"It was a matter that absolutely needed to be reported. Also, everyone's opinion was necessary."
Archbishop Dunwell carefully observed everyone's expressions and began to speak.
"The Ninety-Nine Demons have become Ninety-Eight."
"...!!"
The bomb dropped by Archbishop Dunwell elicited the same reaction from everyone without exception.
***
The Ninety-Nine Demons.
They refer to the ninety-nine evils that have existed on this land since ancient times.
Evil beings who create warlocks and witches through contracts and accumulate their evil deeds through the tributes offered by them.
People have fought against these evils since before the founding of the Solar Theocracy.
But even after more than three thousand years of Solar Theocracy’s history, the number of demons neither decreased nor increased, which was in some sense evidence of their immortality.
"What do you mean...!"
"Is this true, Archbishop Dunwell!"
Not only the agency heads but also the saint and saintesses sent disbelieving looks.
The Archbishop took out a book and showed it to them.
"That's..."
"Is that 'The Book of Evil, Arcano'?"
The Book of Evil, Arcano.
A book for sealing evils, it was a means to imprison demons sealed from across the continent.
When a demon sealed in a piglet is brought to this book, it is absorbed into the book and its record remains.
Its name and weaknesses.
This was also the reason why the Theocracy has been able to fight against the powerful beings known as demons until now.
"Fifteen demons are sealed here. It will soon be fourteen."
The Book of Evil is not an all-powerful sealing book. Demons trapped in this sealing book are imprisoned for the maximum lifespan a pig can enjoy, then released through death.
This has been the Theocracy's method of countering demons until now.
And the existence of this sealing book was evidence that demons are ‘immortal beings.’
"The Book of Evil, which our Savior Sol Invictus bestowed upon this land through the first saint, contained ninety-nine blank spaces to seal all evil."
That was evidence that there were ninety-nine demons.
But.
"The blanks have decreased. Now there are only ninety-eight spaces left."
"That alone cannot definitively prove that a demon has died, can it?"
"Of course, this is merely evidence to support the claim. Father Moro."
At that moment, Father Moro, who had been waiting in the grand council chamber, stepped forward.
He bowed his head to the high priest and saints of the Theocracy and introduced himself.
"I am Moro, an armed priest of the Eclipse Inquisition."
"Brother Moro. Explain everything you experienced during this mission."
At Archbishop Dunwell's words, Father Moro cautiously began to speak.
How he headed north with apprentice members for a witch trial.
How they dealt with heretics blocking their way and revealed the identity of the witch.
The suspicious movements of Margrave Violet's household and their encounter with the Archdemon Capricorn on the verge of descending.
"The Archdemon Capricorn?"
"One of the twelve fallen stars...?"
Saint Erdio and Saintess Iris responded gravely.
The fallen stars, classified as Archdemons among demons, are each considered major threats that the Solar Theocracy must respond to.
Their descent was different from that of ordinary demons.
They are legion commanders who possess infernal armies.
Their descent is for the purpose of implementing hell in the human world, and great calamities have unfolded each time a fallen star descended.
"Under Sol Invictus's care, we succeeded in exorcising the demon from Lady Violet's body. The problem came afterward."
Father Moro testified that Ray killed the piglet inhabited by Capricorn.
And that Capricorn's clear soul was torn apart by Ray's hand.
"Tore... a demon?"
"What does that..."
Everyone seemed not to understand. That was reasonable.
The soul is an incorporeal entity that does not possess material form.
He grabbed and tore it with his hands?
"Did the demon truly cease to exist because of that?"
"I... couldn't be certain either. It was my first time seeing a demon perish. However..."
A space had disappeared from the Book of Evil, Arcano.
Because of this, Archbishop Dunwell had no choice but to conclude that the demon had ceased to exist.
"Impossible..."
"So demons could also perish."
The agency heads and saints. None of them seemed to believe it, sighing in disbelief.
This was unprecedented in the three-thousand-year history of the Theocracy.
"What is the name of the deacon who killed the demon?"
"Ray Anderson. A deacon who recently joined as a apprentice."
"...Ray."
"Deacon Ray Anderson."
"That's the brother who called forth the Holy Spirit and received divine ability in the entrance exam."
"I thought there was something extraordinary about him from the prayer meeting."
All the agency heads knew Ray Anderson.
There was no one who had generated more buzz in the recent entrance exam.
Only the saints who were active outside due to missions couldn't know of Ray's existence.
"Hey, who is this Ray guy that you're all making such a fuss about?"
To Erdio's question, the agency heads each offered their answers.
"He is an excellent brother. Even before coming here, he has a record of eradicating a warlock."
"A genius composer and a devout brother. Hehe, if I had known this, I would have definitely recruited him to the choir."
"A brother with resolute will and noble character."
The Holy Knight Commander, the Choir Head, and even the Inquisition Head.
Amidst their unanimous praise, Father Moro was caught in conflict.
【You... believe in a different god, don't you?】
The words Capricorn threw at Ray.
It seemed that Jenny and Aaron, who were restraining the Margrave, didn't hear it, but Moro heard it clearly.
Though he didn't know how the conversation continued afterward, Ray didn't seem to deny it.
Should he report this?
But Ray had achieved the feat of annihilating a demon.
And above all... with Ray...
'At least in front of this person, I cannot speak.'
Father Moro looked at the saint who was staring at the agency heads' praise.
The Saintess of Radiance, Iris.
Sol Invictus's most cruel light.
Father Moro reported additionally on Ray's actual accomplishments and real evidence rather than the demon's malicious words.
"Also, Brother Ray Anderson has been marked with stigmata."
"...!!"
This once again plunged the council chamber into shock.
"Stigmata?"
Stigmata is evidence of sainthood.
Beings who perform God's miracles, existing in extremely small numbers throughout the countless history of the Theocracy.
How many evil schemes have the Golden Saint and the Saintess of Radiance present here foiled?
Saints are God's representatives and humanity's guardians.
"It is an achievement of destroying a demon for the first time on earth. It must be a miracle arranged by Lord Sol Invictus."
"Though he hasn't awakened his stigmata yet, given the high possibility that he will become a saint in the future, I have summoned you all to make a proposal."
Everyone's attention focused on Archbishop Dunwell's words.
"We will control information about Brother Ray Anderson and gradually expand support until he awakens his stigmata. We are not the only ones who know the news that a demon has been annihilated."
The Ninety-Nine Demons have become Ninety-Eight.
The demons themselves would be most keenly aware of this fact.
They will try to find the one who annihilated the Archdemon through their contractors, warlocks and witches.
Grasping this core issue, the Golden Saint Erdio asked.
"How do you plan to control the information? There must be many who witnessed Ray Anderson in the north."
"The Eclipse Inquisition will control that information. Lady Iris... I ask for your assistance."
"Lady Iris will..."
"Oh my..."
At Archbishop Dunwell's proposal, the agency heads sighed but quickly composed themselves.
If that Saintess of Radiance, the saint of the Eclipse Inquisition, takes action, the information will certainly be controlled for the time being.
"Then I'll have to prepare 'that'."
At the Golden Saint Erdio's words, Archbishop Dunwell did not deny but nodded.
"Please prepare the 'Golden Star' to protect Brother Ray Anderson."
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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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