The Hero Party Couldn’t Kill Me

Chapter 11: Third Revenge (2)

As soon as she heard the story, the saintess came out of the prayer room.

The priests were already discussing the fact that a new saint had appeared in the hallway.

“I calmed the angry crowd at once with my splendid speech.”

“Not only that. She is said to have delivered a new revelation.”

“But where is the proof that she was chosen by the Goddess? Isn’t there a possibility that she’s just an impostor?”

“Well, the goddess will prove it soon. Even from a historical point of view, she did not last long to call herself a saint.”

The priests who were talking suddenly looked at the saintess walking beside them. The saintess also felt their gaze.

Before her, when she served her as her saintess, she was not clingy and showed all her generosity. Their gaze was full of doubt and disbelief.

The saintess’ anger boiled over at such a gaze, but at the same time she was overcome with anxiety.

She also intuited that it was a battle where her victory or defeat had already been decided.

‘No. She must be someone who calls herself a saint. She couldn’t have listened to the goddess’ revelation.’

Even so, Saint Lucy held her heart and walked forward steadfastly. She was still the goddess unanswered, but she still went on like her goddess was with her.

The priests inside the Great Sanctuary quietly followed behind the saintess. Paladins also followed to protect them.

When I went outside, the eyes of the crowd outside the Great Temple were focused on Saint Lucy.

Until yesterday, they looked like they would plunder the Great Sanctuary at any moment like wolves, but today they were just watching the situation from the outside like calm sheep.

And Saint Lucy saw the one who put them to sleep.

A woman was walking into the temple from far away.

Saint Lucy was stunned for nothing at the majestic appearance of her walking with her long, flowing blonde hair.

But the closer I got to her, the more I realized that she was oddly familiar.

‘No way… ….’

Eventually, the saintess recognized the identity of her new saintess.

It was her paladin, Joan, whom she had cast out.

“It’s been a while, saintess.”

When Joan saw her saintess, she bowed her head in greeting, as was her custom before. The confidence of her saintess, Lucy, rose.

Was that b*tch called a saint? Then it got easier for her.

“After all, it was your fault. Was it so resentful to be kicked out of the Great Crusade? Is that why she was attached to Edmund?”

“This is a misunderstanding. Didn’t the saintess take care of me until the end even when I was kicked out? I have always been grateful for the grace of her saintess.”

“Then why are you here now? So do you really think you are a saint?”

“… I still haven’t fully accepted it. But surely, I was chosen by the Goddess.”

“Sounds like blasphemy. Can you prove it?”

“How do you think I was able to find Edmund? How do you think I, a low-end paladin, knew about the revelation of the goddess?”

“It’s the goddess’s revelation. You could have overheard it while you were in the Great Sanctuary, and you found Edmund because of his ability. Could it be that it was your strength?”

“… And how did I know that the Goddess had given a new revelation?”

Saint Lucy’s heart sank at the word that her new revelation had been given.

No longer did the goddess throw her revelations at her.

“The new revelation from the Goddess was subtly different from before. It was the same until the lightning struck before the Great Temple, but only the newly built tower was destroyed. And I saw the saintess despair, and her crowd cheered.”

“… What about Edmund?”

Saint Lucy casually asked, but belatedly realized her mistake. If she was still her saint, she would have seen this revelation too. So you must have already known whether Edmund appeared or not.

“You are still obsessed with Edmund.”

Joan looked at such a saint with pity. After a moment of silence, Joan continued his speech.

“There is still a chance.”

“…What?”

“Revelations may still change. As Edmund said, if you change the fundamental purpose, you will be able to change the goddess’ heart.”

“What do you want to change?”

“Repent sincerely, even now.”

In effect, it was a call to admit defeat and resign. Her whole body, Saint Lucy, trembled.

So you’re going to admit you were wrong for trying to kill Edmund? Admit that I’m no longer a saint?

I couldn’t do that.

“Do you remember the first time you met the saintess?”

Before Saint Lucy opened her mouth, Joan quietly asked.

The saintess looked at her questioning expression.

“At that time, I thought that the saintess was wiser than anyone else. She sincerely sympathized with the pain of others, and she treated me without any discrimination even though I was just an apprentice knight. He went to the slums where other priests were reluctant to serve, and he willingly joined the warrior party to defeat the demon king.”

Upon hearing her words, her saintess, Lucy, looked back on her own past. Back then she was still able to hear the revelations of the Goddess.

What has changed between then and now?

… After all, it was Edmund. Everything changed after he appeared in Revelation of the Goddess.

“I still believe. The image of the saintess I saw then will still remain somewhere.”

“… ….”

“So, please. Repent even now. Please show me that my revelation is wrong.”

Joan sincerely begged the saintess. The saintess could also feel Joan’s sincerity.

But… Was what she did really wrong? Wasn’t she desperate to protect Etoile?

“What I did was… It was to protect Etoile.”

“I understand. You would have been anxious But has it already been revealed as a result? It’s wrong. Even if you did it with good intentions, that doesn’t justify the action.”

Joan sternly draws the line. When her actions were denied, Saint Lucy’s anger rose again.

“… I don’t want to admit it. Edmund is wrong. He tried to destroy Etoile! And Joan, you too are bewitched by his words.”

“Saint… ….”

Joan bit his lip with a pitiful look on his face. At the same time, dark clouds suddenly gathered in the clear sky.

Saint Lucy was unaware of the fact and continued to speak.

“If you saw the trial, you would know, right? Edmund, how devilishly skillful he was and how he lied about the truth! Does he really think he said those things to change this empire? After all, he also had a grudge against the Etoiles and did it for personal revenge!”

“I know. But that doesn’t justify the saintess’ actions.”

“I hate to hear it! How could my actions be wrong? I did it only for the future of Etoile! I didn’t do it for personal gain! But why…. Why the hell am I becoming a sinner?”

“Because the method the saintess chose was wrong.”

Saint Lucy could not hold back her anger any longer. She turned her head to look at the priests and paladins behind her.

But they no longer showed support for her saintess.

“Go ahead and arrest this man! I was possessed by Edmund and blasphemed the goddess! She deserves to be burned at the stake!”

Nevertheless, he pointed at Joan and shouted. The Paladins behind her hesitated and couldn’t get out easily.

“This is the order of the saintess! Arrest this man!”

Saint Lucy shouted once more, but no one came forward.

Saint Lucy, who felt frustrated at that appearance, drew her own sword from the belt of her paladin and tried to attack Joan.

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“Uh uh… !”

Because it happened in an instant, her priests and paladins couldn’t stop her saintess.

It was then.

Kwakbang!!!

A huge bolt of lightning fell on the tallest tower of the Great Crusade.

A roar that cut through the heavens and earth drew everyone’s attention to the tower.

Lucy too was startled and dropped her sword and looked up at her instead.

The red lightning has already disappeared, but its aftermath is beginning to emerge.

The tallest tower of the Great Temple of Etoile. When the Great Temple was plundered by the Demon King three years ago and then rebuilt, the newly built tower began to collapse.

The lightning rod and various protective magic and devices were of no use.

“Avoid!”

As the remains of the tower were about to fall to the ground, belatedly people moved around to avoid it. Some fragments of the tower flew to where Lucy and Joan were.

Lucy watched the rubble fall with her blank expression on her face.

In the end, her goddess abandoned her. Even as debris fell on her head, she stood still and accepted her punishment.

At that moment, someone snatched her arm and saved her.

It was Saint Joan. When her Lucy looked up at her, she was looking down at her Lucy with a pitiful expression.

After a while, the dust created by the falling fragments settled, and the entire damage of the Great Crusade could be seen at a glance.

The newly built tower completely collapsed.

But surprisingly, everything else was fine. It must have been crushed by the remains of the tower and collapsed, but like a miracle, the Great War survived without a scratch.

“… This was a new revelation from the Goddess. You haven’t abandoned Etoile yet.”

Saint Joan said quietly to Lucy.

“But instead, the goddess left a message. Need a change To punish the people who built that tower.”

Shortly after the saintess had finished her words, cheers erupted from behind.

“The goddess’s revelation has come true!”

“The new saint has been chosen!!”

Lucy looked at it with the expression of her loss of everything. It was already clear that she was defeated.

“No… no!!”

Even so, I couldn’t admit it. In response, Lucy tried to find her sword, which she had dropped. But the sword was nowhere to be seen.

I couldn’t find the sword, so I picked up the fragments of the tower scattered on the floor and threw them at Saint Joan. Saint Joan avoided the fragments Lucy threw with a nonchalant expression.

“Everything is a scam! He must have cheated! Okay! Edmund, because he’s still alive….”

“Please stop now.”

From behind Lucy, the paladin aimed his sword and said.

“You are no longer a saint.”

At the paladin’s cold words, Lucy’s mentality completely collapsed.

Sitting down, she looked up at the sky.

It was broad daylight, but a star seemed to twinkle in the sky.

Looking at that star, Lucy passed out.

***

When Lucy woke up, she was already locked up in Solaum’s prison.

I was confined to the dampest and dirtiest solitary cell.

After it was proven that she was no longer a saint, Joan, who became a new saint on the spot, excommunicated Lucy.

Upon hearing her excommunication, the princess sent someone to arrest Lucy.

The trial was not officially held. But Lucy knew what the princess would decide.

Perhaps he will be executed. Normally, he would be hanged, but this time there is a possibility that he would choose to be burned at the stake.

It must mean that you get back what you did to Edmund.

“… You, the princess, are also accomplices in killing Edmund. Why are you not taking responsibility?”

Lucy bit her lip and blamed her princess. Then she looked at the night sky through the narrow window.

For a moment, I thought of the past. The night sky I saw when I first woke up after receiving a revelation from the goddess. There was a crescent moon at that time.

But on the contrary, the old moon was up now. It was so thin, as if it would soon be swallowed up by the darkness.

Looking at the moon, the saintess thought.

‘Goddess Etoir, you are fickle like the moon.’

Lamenting her fate, the saintess leaned against her wall. This cramped solitary room made it impossible for her to even sleep on her feet.

She quietly closed her eyes and let go of her anger.

A faint moonlight shone through the narrow window, creating a shadow.

For a very short time, the shadow shook subtly, and a small orb appeared in its place.

Since it happened in a split second, Lucy couldn’t detect the subtle change at all.

She gnawed at her own spirit with her anger and resentment until the end, and soon fell asleep exhausted.

And Edmund appeared in her dream.