Chapter 292: Episode 292

My mother burned to death. A pillar of white flame shot toward the heavens. Inside, her arm clawed at the wall, her fingernails scraping away in agony. The young Figaro didn’t understand why. He asked the adults for a reason.

“Your mother was gloriously chosen by the ’Essence of a Saintess’,” one said.

“But her faith and piety were lacking, so her body couldn’t withstand it,” another explained.

“It’s a tragedy, but it couldn’t be helped.”

Their words were meaningless. He had to find an answer for himself. Figaro dedicated himself to his studies and was finally accepted into the Essence Research Institute, a clandestine organization overseen by Israphel, the Saintess of the Divine Sea. Israphel was secretly researching how to remove the Essence from a human body and how to prevent it from entering in the first place. He didn’t know her reasons, but since their goals aligned, he threw himself into his work.

As his research progressed, the anger and resentment within him melted away like spring snow, replaced by a new, blooming emotion: awe. He was captivated by the power of the ’Essence of a Saintess’, one of only seven in the world. He researched like a man possessed, determined to unravel its secrets. None of the other researchers at the institute could match his achievements. But…

“You have crossed the line, Figaro.”

He was fired. Israphel had discovered his indiscriminate live experiments. His new job was as a simple monastery administrator, but he remained fascinated by the Essence and continued his research in secret. He would administer small doses of experimental drugs to those who came to pray, calling it ’holy water’. In his spare time, he continued his live experiments on monsters.

“Brother Figaro! W-What is all this?” His secret, however, did not last long. He was discovered by his superior and received another harsh scolding. Efnel disdained science.

Its people were not curious about the principles of the Essence. To be chosen was a divine act of the great goddess, Deva. To die, unable to accept it, was merely a failure of faith. They closed their minds and accepted. One must not question. One must not doubt. One must simply accept. That was the iron rule of Efnel.

But Figaro could not understand this culture.

Why? Why wasn’t anyone else curious? Why were there only seven Essences? Why could only women become Saintesses? What were the criteria for choosing a human host? Could a man become a Saintess?

Figaro’s thirst and obsession grew until he lost his second job. A few months later, he found himself working in the Neutral Zone. It was a clear demotion, but it wasn’t all bad. Here, away from the prying eyes of the Federation, he could experiment freely.

Then one day, he met ’that child’.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

The entire house was engulfed in white flames. He heard the pained screams of a little girl. It was the exact scene of his mother’s death. Villagers were throwing buckets of water on the blaze, but there was no way that would extinguish the holy fire. Figaro ran into the house.

Inside the inferno, he saw a six-year-old girl burning. As he looked at the dying child, the emotion he felt was not pity, nor compassion, nor sadness.

He envied her.

He was jealous.

Figaro considered himself strong—stronger than anyone else in this village. They had spent the same night here, so why did the power of the Saintess go to a little brat like that, and not to him? The question was fleeting. He mobilized all his research and rescued Sasha, succeeding in sealing the Essence of Purification within a magic circle he drew on her body. He prided himself on being the only one on the continent capable of such a feat. But the seal would only last two months at most. Within that time, he planned to take the Essence and become a Saintess himself.

The method for a man to become a Saintess was simple. First, make Sasha’s body capable of accepting the Essence of Purification. Then, take her body. Her body would be a tool, a vessel to contain the Essence. And he, the one who controlled her, would be the Saintess.

She knew nothing. She followed Figaro, her savior, as her godfather. To strengthen her body, he created a drug to make her abilities run rampant. As his research progressed smoothly, he faced an unexpected crisis. The Holy Federation, anxious that the next Saintess of Purification had not appeared, dispatched agents to the Neutral Zone to retrieve their ’Saintess candidates’. He had to stop them before Sasha fell into Efnel’s hands.

Figaro used his connections to volunteer as a guide, planning to buy time. In the meantime, he bribed local gangs to take Sasha and flee. He would leave the students in some shabby inn and escape with his prize. But then Kizen intervened. They defeated the gangs and took Sasha, forcing him to change his plan again. He brought the Priests from Efnel for a head-on confrontation with Kizen, hoping they would annihilate each other. While the two sides fought fiercely, he snatched Sasha and fled.

There was no time. Both Efnel and Kizen now knew of Sasha’s potential. After the students failed, they would dispatch their true powerhouses. It was earlier than he had planned, but he had no choice.

He decided to become a Saintess.

—

’…What is that?’ Simon had to rub his eyes. He had been in this village with his team just yesterday, but he had never seen such a colossal tree.

[Boy,] Pier’s voice echoed. [Hold on. I’ll show you the top of that tree.]

The right eye socket of Pier’s skull, which Simon wore as a helmet, shimmered with Jet-Black and turned into a reflective lens. It was a kind of telescopic effect. Simon closed his left eye and focused his right on the treetop.

His expression turned to ice. At the very peak of the tree was Figaro, the man with orange hair said to be Sasha’s godfather. His lower body was fused with the wood, only his torso protruding. Patches of his skin had turned bark-like. And just below him, another face was visible.

’Sasha…!’

She was buried in the tree with only her face exposed, her eyes closed as if she were unconscious. A shudder of shock ran through Simon. ’Then this whole tree… is Sasha?’

[Who is it?]

Just then, a tremendous voice boomed across the entire barrier. It was Figaro.

[I feel the presence of an intruder. To have broken through the barrier with sheer force… who are you?]

Simon’s entire body trembled. He could feel an overwhelming power, the same suffocating pressure he had felt when facing Flema, the Saintess of Purification. ’Does he even know where I am?’

Through his magnified vision, Simon saw Figaro’s eyes widen as he stared directly at him. Since he was already discovered, Simon used Pier’s voice to answer.

[If you wish to know about others, is it not proper to reveal yourself first?]

[Fine. I have nothing to hide.] Figaro’s lips tore into a grin as he raised both arms. [I am the new Saintess of Purification, Figaro Mertens!]

Simon’s face hardened. ’A… A Saintess? A man?’

[Ah, yes,] Figaro continued, a twisted smile playing on his lips. [When a Saintess changes, a new title is bestowed! The Saintess of Purification is a relic of the past. What would be a good replacement? Hmm… yes, yes. This will do.]

Suddenly, the tree’s branches began to grow, swelling until they covered the entire ceiling of the vast barrier. From beneath the branches, countless fruits began to form.

[The Saintess of Sin.]

They were pure white fruits.

’Thwump.’

’Thump.’

The white apples dropped from the branches, descending upon the ground with the force of a meteor shower. The moment they made contact…

’Whoosh!’

A colossal pillar of divine energy erupted from where each apple landed, swallowing everything in its path. Pillars of light were rising all over the city. Simon grimaced and swung the Greatsword of Ruin at a white apple descending directly above him.

The apple, split in two, exploded instantly, creating twin pillars of light. Caught between them, Simon let out a grunt and lowered his stance.

’This definitely is…!’

He felt a divinity similar to the one he had faced from the Saintess of Purification. But its nature had changed. If the previous Saintess’s white flame had been a pure, raging inferno, this technique added widespread physical destruction to the mix. Even Simon, with his resistance to divinity, would take damage if he were caught in the blast.

[Isn’t it amazing!] Figaro’s voice boomed, filled with rapture. [The Fruit of White Flame! This is the power I have gained since becoming a Saintess!]

[Get your facts straight,] Simon’s voice shot back, cold as ice. [That’s not your power. It’s Sasha’s.]

[Sasha and I have become one. And,] Figaro’s lips curled into a sneer. [She is now no different from a vegetable. Her consciousness no longer exists. Only the being that is me remains!]

[Worship me!] An army of countless plant-like monsters, both large and small, formed from the roots of Figaro’s tree and began to advance on Simon. And that wasn’t all.

’Even people!’

Humans with veins like gnarled branches sprouting all over their bodies were approaching, their eyes vacant. They were like zombies.

[Boy! They’re no different from the dead!] Pier warned.

’I know.’

Amidst the chaos, the vines and roots continued to spread, crushing buildings as white apples rained from the sky.

[Now, it’s your turn! Reveal your identity, nameless necromancer!]

Simon gripped the Greatsword of Ruin and swung it in a great, sweeping arc. The approaching plant monsters were cleaved in two, buildings crumbled, and the falling white apples exploded harmlessly in the air.

[Oh-ho…!]

[I am—]

The village was annihilated. Inside this barrier, there was no longer any need to hide his identity. Simon reached a hand behind his back and tore open a Subspace.

Legionized skeletons wreathed in blue-black flames and swarms of Corpse Spiders began to pour out. Simon threw back his hood.

[—a Legion Commander of the Dark Alliance.]

The dead roared, forming a massive legion behind him.

The countless branches on the ceiling rustled as if stirred by a great wind.

[What a twist of fate!] Figaro sounded delighted. [For my first opponent as a Saintess to be a Legion Commander! How very impressive!]

The honor of defeating a Legion Commander on top of having surpassed the strongest Saintess. As far as Figaro was concerned, it was the most perfect debut imaginable.

[Stay right there,] Simon commanded, raising the Greatsword of Ruin and aiming its tip at Figaro. [I’m coming up now to take your head.]

[How amusing! Try it, if you can!]

Simon strode forward, greatsword in hand. [Follow me.]

The dead screamed and surged after him.

[I will show you the overwhelming difference in our power! I am a being who has surpassed even a Saintess!]

The plant-like monsters and infected humans that emerged from the tree roots charged. Inside a barrier no one could enter, a great war that would never be recorded in history had begun.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep