My ■■■ (7)

Crunch!

Lilia’s reunion greeting started with a fierce kick.

As I retreated from her kick that thrust forward with all her might, I realized I could handle that power better than before.

“I believe the condition was that we’d talk if you survived?”

Isn’t this a bit unfair?

“That’s impossible. That, that’s nonsense… That’s impossible!!”

Despite my sarcasm, Lilia kept spewing words of denial as if delusional.

Seeing her eyes trembling and tearing up, her thoughts were obvious.

“What, worried something happened to Eremus?”

“You bastaaaaard!!”

It seemed she suspected something had happened to Eremus rather than believing I’d overcome the corruption.

Knowing Eremus would die soon, she must have been struck with fear.

Her complexion was deathly pale. She’s trembling with anxiety.

“Don’t worry. Nothing’s wrong with Eremus. The corruption disappearing means he forgave me and made a request.”

I have no interest in tormenting a child, nor do I plan to joke about matters of life and death. So I spoke honestly.

Of course…

“…Don’t make me laugh. There’s no way Dad would have anything to ask of a hypocrite like you!”

“I am rather untrustworthy.”

Whether she’d believe that is another matter.

I didn’t expect her to believe me straightforwardly anyway.

Clang!

Lilia’s fierce attacks rain down on me again.

Her kicks, born of overwhelming strength and agility, push back my sword and force me back. But it’s not as suffocating as before.

“Don’t you know by now? It’s time to go back.”

“Shut uuuup!!”

Thud!

Toxic energy began erupting from her body like an explosion. This is her full power that she hadn’t shown until now.

Seeing that form made me feel excited rather than threatened.

I had become an opponent worthy of her going all out.

I could feel that fact sink in.

“I’m not confident in handling a child… but I’ll give it a try.”

How do you persuade a child throwing a tantrum to give up their stubbornness?

Usually, the simplest way would be to grant the child’s request.

If that’s not possible, then calmly explain why it can’t be done.

But neither option seems possible right now.

Eremus’s decision is a conviction he will never reverse. And most importantly, she won’t even listen to what I’m saying.

Because I escaped from the corruption.

The source of hatred within her is shaking.

Her hatred doesn’t come from herself, but from Eremus.

She must realize what it means that Eremus himself removed the corruption from me.

“I’ll play along with that stubbornness until you calm down.”

So my job is to exhaust her burning emotions.

Nothing has changed from before.

I move based on gauging my strength while blocking her attacks.

I could tell that the fundamental power within me had changed greatly.

That this power is a kind of path connected to numerous gods.

But it wasn’t enough.

As expected, I still can’t exert power like the Saintess. I’ve only just reached the starting point.

Crunch!

I block her attack with my sword. This time I didn’t rely solely on the sword’s durability to block.

I let her power flow off to the side while brushing past her.

Something I couldn’t even attempt before due to the overwhelming difference in power.

Whoosh!

After entering inside her attack range like that, I swing my sword.

Unfortunately, I still can’t imbue holy power into the sword my master gave me.

So my sword that should have cut her flesh still only sliced through air.

Bang!

Right after our positions crossed once, I pull the trigger behind my back before turning to confirm.

“Ugh!”

Even without checking, I clearly dealt damage this time.

Not only has the quantity of holy power I possess changed, but its quality is different too.

So it wasn’t difficult to instantly create holy bullets that she couldn’t deflect.

Bang! Bang!

Has she realized she can’t deflect them anymore?

She who had been taking most attacks head-on finally started taking a defensive stance.

The toxic energy erupting from her entire body catches and corrodes the holy bullets in mid-air.

The surging energy transforms into a natural fortress that blocks approach by its very presence.

Quite an impressive authority. She was definitely holding back until now.

However…

“What?!”

To me who received resistance to ‘corruption’ from Eremus, it’s a meaningless power.

I sweep away the curtain of toxic energy with my bare hands. Though it seems to exert physical force like telekinesis, its essence lies in the toxic energy itself.

I brush aside and ignore that power trying to block my body as I swing my sword again.

“Huh?!”

It was the same attack as before.

She dodged my ordinary sword strike that had neither holy power nor even mana with a startled jump.

There are two possibilities.

Either she can’t use more than one authority at once, or she judged there must be something and dodged just in case.

Either way, it’s clear she’s being pushed back.

The back of her neck must have felt chilled.

So the heat in her head must have cooled somewhat too.

Of course, her hatred would remain. Her doubts would remain too. To prove myself, I need to subdue her.

Speaking while in a position where I could kill her immediately. That should add credibility to my words.

“Though I’m not amazing enough to be called a hero yet.”

Am I strong now?

Of course, I must be stronger than before. But compared to the scenery I was looking at, I still have a long way to go.

I’ve only just reached the starting point.

The reason I can gain the upper hand now isn’t anything special.

“I can at least beat someone like you.”

For someone who fights primarily with poison, I’m her natural enemy.

She’s essentially fighting me with her arms and legs cut off.

Even her vaunted superhuman strength and agility pale in comparison to the authority of ‘corruption’.

That’s why. When even corruption can no longer harm me, how could she face me with abilities that are merely inferior versions of corruption?

To think I still can’t completely overwhelm an opponent who only has physical attack methods.

I am a worthless person.

For now.

Crack!

What changed in me after deciding to act as her proxy?

I don’t feel particularly stronger in terms of body or technique. I probably haven’t gotten stronger at all, just freed from the old shackles of ‘corruption’.

What changed was how I would respond to what lies ahead.

That mindset and…

“How long do you plan to run away?”

“What…?”

The holy power that is my actual strength.

I start using that power in earnest.

I already knew the rough scope of my power from sending it through bullets.

Until now was just preliminary skirmishing to find a way to not kill her while also not being too weak.

“Even if you close your eyes because you don’t want to see, what’s already before you won’t disappear.”

“…”

The Saintess used to soar through the sky on pure white wings. That appearance felt like it symbolized her.

Then what about me?

She approached people with benevolence.

She empathized with and understood their wounds, sharing their burden.

But I won’t do that. I can’t become exactly like her.

Though I’ll strive to do what she could do, there isn’t just one path.

If she approached people with mercy and benevolence, I will physically correct those trying to walk wrong paths and guide them to the right one.

Even if my palms are scraped and bleeding from holding the collar of a lamb running full speed toward a cliff, I will stop them.

One action is better than a thousand words. Then I will prove my way through a thousand actions.

If words alone cannot move people’s hearts, I must willingly act.

Crackle!

Jupiter’s lightning. The holy magic I learned while admiring the Saintess.

I pour out that most familiar power.

The spear that flew like a single bolt now rains down like streams of rain to catch the one before my eyes.

She skillfully avoided each falling lightning bolt.

Not just agility, but looking at it now, her flexibility is also extraordinary.

“How long can you keep running away?”

Can you dodge all the falling lightning? Can you keep averting your eyes from the definitive future that will soon arrive?

She’s getting tired. I can see her breathing getting heavier as she struggles just to dodge, let alone attack.

“This is your last chance, Lilia.”

She must be suffocating. So I withdrew the lightning I had been pouring down.

The conditions are finally met.

She has no choice but to accept this lull even if just to catch her breath. I don’t know if she’ll talk. She could just keep ignoring my words. But just speaking to her is enough for me.

“Eremus is going to die. Are you still going to wander around in a place like this? Are you going to let him face the end alone?”

“Shut up!”

I just need to corner her with words she can’t help but react to.

“You ran away because you hated that, right? You threw a tantrum trying to deny reality while screaming it was a lie?”

“Dad won’t die…”

“No, Eremus will die soon. You actually know this too.”

“Soon? No, that can’t happen. Dad isn’t bound by things like time.”

“So you kept running away?”

“…”

I finally understood her.

The reason she decided to run away. She actually wanted to stay together.

But she deliberately distanced herself.

As she said, Eremus is already unbound by time.

That must be undoubtedly true seeing how he infected even my soul that had regressed.

But because of that, Lilia pinned her hopes.

Because she knows why Eremus is trying to face death.

“You thought if you kept running away, he would reverse his decision to die?”

“…”

It’s for her sake. For her who can no longer withstand Eremus’s increasingly powerful toxic energy.

So his daughter born from his hatred wouldn’t follow the same path.

But because of that, Lilia thought if she disappeared, Eremus would have no reason to die.

She must have been counting on that. If they’re separated this far, there would be no reason to accept death for Lilia’s sake.

Going round and round, it was all for her parent.

“Is that… wrong?”

“…”

Lilia starts tearing up at having her core struck. Even I couldn’t bring myself to say it was wrong seeing that appearance.

She knew.

She knew everything.

That she was being stubborn, what her parent’s feelings were.

She made this decision knowing all of that.

Yes, how could a child take their parent’s death lightly?

A child would do anything if there was a way to save them.

Parent and child had the same thought. That’s why their paths diverged.

Who will yield?

A kind of chicken game that won’t end until one side gives up.

A binary choice where they have to give their own life to save the other’s life.

“Eremus wouldn’t want to see you die.”

“What about me? I don’t want to see Dad die either! Why? Why does Dad have to die?!”

“To protect you.”

“I don’t care about that stuff. I don’t…”

This is a situation where neither side can be called right.

If Eremus doesn’t die now, his uncontrollable power will spread into the world and corrupt everything.

The worst choice for humanity. But that’s not something we can force upon the child before us.

How can we tell a child to accept their parent’s death for the world’s sake?

“You know, Eremus…”

He will die.

Even if he wanted to die from the start, he probably couldn’t do it right away. He must have spent countless time slowly killing himself.

All that vast time. Those happy moments spent with his daughter.

He gave up everything for his daughter.

But there was one thing even he absolutely couldn’t handle.

“He must be lonely.”

Yes, he couldn’t endure loneliness. Not before, not now, and not in the future to come.

“Ah, uh…”

Lilia finally starts sobbing heavily. She understands the feeling of loneliness well too.

The only family existing in this world.

Eremus gave up his life for that family.

Lilia ran away because she didn’t want that family to die.

“It might be fine for now. If you stay away, he might reverse his death and choose to live.”

Eventually Eremus might give up on death following Lilia’s stubbornness.

But would the two of them be happy if that happened?

“But you won’t be able to approach Eremus. By then, you too won’t be able to withstand Eremus’s corruption.”

If she returns now, Eremus will die. If she doesn’t return, they’ll forever lose their chance to be together.

The image of Lilia shouting at him and running away will be Eremus’s last memory.

“Are you going to let Eremus spend that long, painful, lonely time alone?”

Both of them will be lonely.

On the other hand, if Lilia returns now, at least Eremus won’t be lonely in his final moments.

This is forcing a sacrifice.

But at the same time, this was also salvation that only she could give.

“Uwaaaaaaaah!!”

Lilia who had been endlessly sobbing lets out a scream.

As if responding to her sorrow, toxic energy spreads widely.

A power born from loneliness and hatred. That’s why it reacts strongly to emotions.

“You’ll regret it if you continue like this.”

I reach out my hand.

I have to stop her. That’s what I decided to do.

Even if I get hit while restraining a child who doesn’t know how to stop rampaging, I have to stop them.

“Living a lifetime of regret is the same as living while dead. In the end, you can only overcome it or sink.”

I don’t need wings.

I don’t need to float in the sky connecting everyone like the Saintess.

So gods belonging to the Pantheon Temple, if you hear my prayer, please grant my small request.

What I need isn’t wings.

“So at least face it head on. Face each other and talk. If you’re going to throw a tantrum, do it where you can be seen.”

What I need are chains that can stop lost lambs.

Jingle!

Pure white chains spring forth from the air and coil around Lilia’s limbs.

Like a snake wrapping around her, they suppress her authority at its source.

“That’s the only way to understand each other.”

Blood flows from my palms.

This happened despite not directly grabbing the chains.

Sacred marks were carved into my palms. I didn’t mind.

This is blood I willingly chose to shed to stop lost lambs trying to run away.

*     *     *

I suppressed her for a while. She poured out all her emotions like she would exhaust everything.

All I did was provide a place and medium to receive that power.

I didn’t directly attack to incapacitate her.

“It hurts.”

“Yes.”

There are no physical wounds.

At most just some abrasions from the chains. So I had no way of knowing where she meant when she said it hurt.

Surely, it must be a pain I cannot understand.

“I miss Dad.”

“Yes…”

The words she blurted out.

And as she seemed to turn those words over in her mind several times.

“Dad… I miss Dad so much… I’m, I’m so lonely…”

She began to wail.

“Then you should go see him.”

“Yeah.”

“Surely, Eremus will welcome you with a smile.”

“Yeah…”

The tyrant who had been wreaking havoc in Rubia is gone now. What remains curled up here is just a kid throwing a tantrum at their parent.

“I’ll somehow take care of your wrongdoings. You just need to apologize and bow your head.”

“Than… Thank you.”

The kid is already reflecting.

I heard her confession.

Then I, as a priest, just need to bear those sins.

That is the responsibility and price I must bear to twist fate.