The Tyrant's Last Doll

She had said it as though he was a great king full of love.

He scoffed. That was the most ridiculous statement he had ever heard.

Iona continued, her voice strong and confident. “Theres was greatly impressed with His Majesty’s efforts to save our continent from damnation. In recognition of this, Theres assigned me to assist him in this monumental task.” Despite the gravity of the situation, Iona struggled to suppress a chuckle as she noticed the look of surprise on Ridrian’s face.

She paused for a moment, like a frog preparing for a greater leap, took a deep breath and continued towards the end.

“Sometimes, destruction is needed to fix something that cannot be repaired. So that the age of healing can come after.”

As soon as she uttered those words, there was an uproar from the crowd. A Saintess that was agreeing to a war that was killing people. It was such an unprecedented position that the majority of the people that were gathered were taken aback.

At that moment, Iona smiled widely and opened her arms. Her body promptly started to glow.

“Like this.”

People covered their eyes and slowly opened their mouth in awe as the whole area began to shine brightly.

“Oh my God!”

As the group watched, light particles resembling snow descended from the sky, illuminated by the rising sun. The sight was breathtaking and all present, both Ivant and Lucretian soldiers, stood in awe. “Is… is this…?” one of them muttered.

As the particles descended, they landed on the wounds of all the injured soldiers. To the amazement of all present, the wounds, both big and small, began to heal instantly. Even those who were merely exhausted from battle regained their energy.

Everyone present bore witness to this miraculous event, as whispers filled the air. “This is God’s blessing that exists in the Empire!” “It’s real. My wounds are healed. This is what she meant!”

It was a true miracle, a sign of God’s grace and favor upon the Empire. “To think that she would even heal her enemies.”

“Oh my, she really is the Saintess!”

“It’s a miracle. Glory to great Theres!”

Everyone was so excited to be a part of the miracle that they didn’t care that it was still early dawn.

“The Saintess who received the will of God is helping the Emperor.”

“The Emperor is a great, kind king that even God is supporting.”

They could hardly believe that they were living in a country were such a king existed.

The Ivant soldiers were so taken by the Saintess’s glorious testimony after witnessing the miracle. On the other hand, the Lucretian looked like they were in hell. They had just come to realize that they were going against the world’s savior.

“That’s enough, Iona,” Ravis whispered.

“Whew,” Iona sighed as she slowly reduced the divine power that she was spreading. She looked a little pale.

Is she collapsing?

Unlike the excited soldiers, Ridrian was quite uneasy as he was worried that Iona might faint again. Thankfully, she merely looked a little tired this time. It appeared that she was a little more used to using the divine power. Even so, Ridrian wanted to hold her in his arms to assure himself that she was really okay.

Iona put the amplifier close to her throat again.

“Dear citizens,” Iona continued, “under Theres’s mercy, Emperor Ridrian Ferid Lebrooks is here to save the Lucretians, who are suffering from corruption and damnation. I accept his noble will and will strive to finish this war with minimal casualties.”

As she finished her speech, the soldiers’ tempers seemed to have calmed. Some of them even looked as though they had been hypnotized. “It is hard, but please do your best in this war,” she concluded, bowing respectfully to them.

The noble Saintess had just asked for their help, and the soldiers could not help but respond with enthusiasm. “Leave it to us!” “Glory to the Saintess! Glory to His Majesty!” They shouted.

Iona smiled as she stepped down from the podium. It took some time for those who had witnessed the miracle to come to grips with what they had seen.

Her words and actions had an undeniable effect on the soldiers, who now felt more motivated and willing to fight for the greater good. The Saintess’s presence seemed to have brought calm and a sense of purpose to the battlefield, and the soldiers were ready to follow her lead to bring peace to the land.

***

“Uh.”

My legs were shaking.

The moment I rounded the back of the podium, my legs began to feel like jelly, causing me to sway on my feet.

“Iona!”

Suddenly, Lina was beside me, supporting my weight. I gave in and leaned against her and took a moment to breathe in as deeply as I could and let it all out slowly. To think I had just made a speech in front of tens of thousands of people. It was completely different from giving a presentation in front of a few coworkers.

“Iona.”

Ridrian and company all rushed towards me. I knew for sure that after all that I had just displayed they would have several questions.

But first, I needed to think of a way to calm Ridrian down, because he seemed to be approaching me at a speed that could only be fueled by annoyance. I was sure he was upset, because I’d done all this without consulting him.

I braced myself for the onslaught of angry questions, but his first words were completely different from what I’d had in mind.