[V9C18] The Execution of Salvation
Translated by Jodas 9: Battle for the TowerJust as the King of Monsters descended the staircase, a white light illuminated all parts of the underground passage.
Fiene, walking beside him, smiled. “Lovely, isn’t it?” She spoke with the carelessness of a little girl; with the mercy of the Daughter of God.
The King of Monsters, with white hair and a black robe, and a girl with black hair and a white dress. A Monster and a human, clothed in opposing colors, walked down a dark path under the flickering light of phosphorous.
Eventually, a wide-open door came into view before them.
That door, that had been placed under countless seals, required deep knowledge of Classical Magecraft to open. The seals were complex, yet the Hundred-Eyes Witch Anneliese Röhm dispelled them on her first try, speaking volumes of her genius.
Beyond the wide-open doorway was a short hallway leading to a living space. It was a modest and clean room, designed around the theme of ‘white.’ This gilded cage, designed specifically for the Daughter of God, was filled with a rich layer of mana. At this density, an ordinary person would suffer mana poisoning immediately upon entering.
And further inside that room were two human women.
One was an old woman covered in wrinkles wearing a nun’s habit. At the moment she was sitting down on the floor, gasping for air.
Attending to her was a woman with loosely tied blonde hair: Director Linke, of the Library Office.
The face of the woman in the nun’s habit was one Fiene knew well.
“Have you returned to us, Daughter of God…?”
The old, wrinkled woman spoke in a shaky voice.
Fiene drew her brows together sadly.
“Miriam, oh what’s happened to you? … Is this because you forcibly activated the Wedge Tower?”
“Welcome back, my beloved daughter.”
The voice of a mature woman emanated out from nowhere in particular. This was the voice of the Ancient Magical Artifact ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower.’
Fiene smiled faintly as she spoke to the Ancient Magical Artifact.
“I’m home, Mother. I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“Oh, oh, thank goodness you’re safe… Thank goodness…”
The Ancient Magical Artifact’s voice shook, as if she were crying.
Ancient Magical Artifacts were said to have once been humans who underwent a specialized procedure that turned them into magical devices. ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower’ must have once been a human who was obsessed with her daughter.
If they were once human, then as far as Fiene was concerned, they were eligible for salvation.
So of course, Fiene would save ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower’ as well.
“I love you, Mother Chariclea.”
She could tangibly feel just how those words satisfied Chariclea’s heart.
Since ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower’ had the personality of a woman who was obsessed with children, the requirements to be her contractor were extremely strict.
Should someone whom ‘Chariclea the Wedge Tower’ did not approve of try to forcibly activate her, they would end up like Miriam was now.
That old woman, with the life sucked out of her, still glared at the King of Monsters with a powerful gaze.
In her stead, Linke spoke up.
“Being of mana, I will not permit you to do as you please. Is your intent to dominate the Wedge Tower by capturing the Daughter of God?”
“Now, now, you’ve got it all wrong.”
Fiene shook her head gracefully.
Doubtlessly, both Miriam and Linke thought Fiene was being held hostage by the Monster.
That was a misunderstanding she simply had to correct.
“I have decided by my own free will — I will save both humans and Monsters.”
Miriam and Linke’s expressions darkened.
The King of Monsters looked at them both and spoke.
“So this is the faith humans hold? I see, it is an excellent thing. Your beliefs carry a certain persuasiveness to them.”
Miriam’s growled, moving her wrinkled lips.
“A Monster dares to speak of faith… What audacity…”
Miriam, who had been kneeling on the floor, slowly brought her body to a stand, looking like a rotted tree.
Linke supported her with a pained grimace.
Miriam made a series of painful breaths. Her life, her mana, everything she had was offered as sacrifice in the name of regenerating the Wall.
“Being of mana… get away… from the Daughter of God…”
Then, Linke moved with great speed. She pointed her left arm towards the wall. On her wrist was the Ancient Magical Artifact: ‘Despina, the Chain of Fools.’
“Target all permissions of Ancient Magical Artifact ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower’!”
“Impossible. ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower’ exceeds my powers.”
“Then seal any interference with the functionality of the Wall! For the maximum length of time! I’ll offer all of my life and mana!”
“Acknowledged.”
The chains on Linke’s left wrist stretched out like a snake, embedding themselves into the wall. Linke gazed towards Miriam with a pallid face and smiled.
“I’m sorry, but I must take my leave here, Assistant Headmaster Miriam.”
“…I pray the light of heaven illuminates your path, Director Linke.”
Linke collapsed on the ground right where she stood. All of the life force had been drained from her body.
In order to protect the Wall that Miriam had risked her life to create, Linke had used ‘Despina, the Chain of Fools’ to apply a powerful seal on it. In exchange for her own life.
To Library Office Director Linke, Assistant Headmaster Miriam was a person for whom she would lay her life on the line.
The King of Monsters looked down on Linke’s corpse and whispered with adoration.
“The faith of this one was truly impressive. I find it much regrettable that I could never compare.”
Miriam glared at the King of Monsters with contemptuous eyes. She probably wanted to say ‘What does an ignorant Monster know of faith?’
—Therein lied the uncrossable chasm between humans and Monsters.
Finding this exchange positively lovely, Fiene asked ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower’:
“Mother Chariclea, has anything changed?”
“My ability to interfere with the Wall has been sealed. However, the seal will only last for three days.”
Three days. A mere three days. That was all of the leeway that Director Linke’s life could buy.
“So we could just remove the Wall after three days pass.”
Fiene looked at the suffering Miriam and spoke to her in a voice filled with mercy.
“Miriam, you must have had it tough. But it’s all okay now. I’ll save you too.”
“…Fiene?”
Miriam had said it was the duty of the Daughter of God to save the children of man.
So Fiene would safe them. She would save Möbius, Miriam, and all those bound by the Wedge Tower.
“I’ve always wanted to save you. Will you be thankful?”
Miriam gasped.
She had always repeatedly told Fiene to act as the Daughter of God should, and Fiene answered her expectations perfectly.
Yet she hadn’t noticed the definitive twisting occurring within Fiene.
“I had always thought that the Daughter of God was a creature who saved humans; that I didn’t need to save Monsters… but I was wrong. I’m sure the Daughter of God is here to bring salvation to the Monsters as well.”
Fiene looked up at the King of Monsters who stood beside her.
The King of Monsters — with his starch-white hair, silver eyes, and ink-black robe. The first time Fiene laid eyes on this Monster that spreads fear, she had a certain thought.
“After all… those eyes are pleading for salvation.”
Fiene could peek deep into the hearts of humans or Monsters and see what they truly desired.
But there had been just one exception.
(Tia, you really are something special. I love you, my cute little friend.)
Tia wanted nothing from Fiene. She did not ask for salvation. What a cute little birdie she was.
Her mind occupied by thoughts of her beloved multicolored bird, Fiene declared to Miriam:
“Just as you wished, I will do my duty as the Daughter of God. So you don’t need to worry about a thing.”
Miriam’s eyes trembled in confusion.
Fiene stretched her arms out wide and made a request of the Ancient Magical Artifact. To fulfill her duty as the Daughter of God.
“Mother Chariclea, turn this place into a paradise for Monsters.”
As she spoke, Fiene tipped her hands forward.
In her tiny palms, Crystal Rivets sparkled in the soft glow.
As the humans and Monsters fought with their beliefs on the line, Sombart, a man with twisted beliefs of his own, paid the Monsters no heed as he rushed to attend to the pigeons.
Outside of the Wedge Tower’s walls, the bad man he adored — (the fake) Caspar Hütter — had hidden a small pigeon coop.
In essence, Sombart had abandoned his coworkers to escape outside the Wedge Tower’s walls.
“Ah, thank goodness. The pigeons are okay. So, what do we do from here? When will Mr. Hütter make it back, I wonder?”
“— I speak to all the children of men. From here on, the Wedge Tower will be filled with mana to become a stronghold for us, the people of the Abyss! If you don’t wish to die an early death, retreat at once!”
Sombart looked up to the top of the walls.
A Harpy with orange hair and wings flew around, projecting her voice.
“This land will soon become flush with mana, and the Wall will disappear in three days’ time. Then we will have true freedom.”
From the announcement Assistant Headmaster Miriam had made with voice projection magic and everything else that had happened, Sombart could get a general read on what was going on.
The Wedge Tower was an Ancient Magical Artifact. And the Wall disappeared just as the Monsters attacked.
That meant the Wedge Tower was the Ancient Magical Artifact making the Wall that sealed away the Monsters, and the Monsters had occupied it.
On top of that, from what that Harpy said, he could assume that the Monsters had some means by which to fill the Wedge Tower with mana. He wasn’t sure whether that was a power the Monsters themselves had or an ability of the Wedge Tower.
(At this rate, it’s doubtful that Assistant Headmaster Miriam is still alive.)
Even in this situation, Sombart had no thoughts of turning over to the Monsters’ side. While Sombart loved villains, he just couldn’t acquire a taste for Monsters.
Why? Because they had a fundamentally different way of valuing things. A Monster could never understand what it was that made villains so appealing to Sombart — the only thing that kept him going.
If Hütter were here, he would say something like ‘Humans can’t understand it either!’
(So, where do we go from here?)
He could pretend to lead the Apprentices and civilians to safety as he evacuated to a safe spot himself… Sombart considered the idea, when a bluish-white light shone in the night sky above.
Someone was using flight magic to fly in this direction from the Northern sky. In their hands was a large sword coated in mana that let off a faint light — the Ancient Magical Artifact ‘Ignatius, the Severer.’
— Headmaster Möbius had arrived.
It wasn’t clear whether he had made it in time or was already too late.
For the time being, Sombart would just stay out here with the pigeons and watch the fireworks.
The pigeons in the coop cooed peacefully.