Saint Ceres, who had been the one to summon Arata, was being backed up against the wall.
“A Church-recognized saint, summoning a demon?! What’s the meaning of this?! No, you’re no longer a saint! You’ve been possessed by a demon... You sinful witch!”
“N-No way?!”
The Holy Church was the most influential organization on the continent. Their religion worshipped a single god, though it recognized the existence of others.
Ceres had originally been just an ordinary village girl, but after receiving a divine revelation, she was designated a saint by the Church. She was a much more devout believer than others, so for her, the title carried great weight and responsibility. But she had Ark the Hero, who was her childhood friend. She also had Ellie the Witch of Destruction, who was famous for her magical ability, rumored to rival the Seven Celestial Archmages, a group that was dominant in a faraway land. Together, the three of them had fought to protect people from the threat of great magic beasts called Calamities.
However, what awaited them after the fight with Walpurgis, the Dragon of the Apocalypse, was not praise, but relentless denunciation. This was a result of a certain rumor having circulated throughout the Church: The saint sold her soul to a demon. It was a totally baseless accusation, but it had spread as if it were the truth. Now, the three of them had come to the Church headquarters and were receiving words of condemnation.
“You think Ceres would sell her soul to a demon?!” Ark said. “You know she’d never do anything like that! She believes in God more than anyone, and she’s spent her life protecting others!”
“Silence, silence, silence! You, chosen by that sinful witch, are no Hero! And the Witch of Destruction is just as guilty! Understand that your lives are over!”
“Wha?!”
And then, Paladins surrounded them. They were the Church’s strongest executioners, each said to be as powerful as a legion of soldiers. If this had been an even fight, Ark, Ellie, and Ceres might have had the upper hand. But Paladins were experts at group combat, and professionals at fighting against humans.
“Aha ha ha ha! You have nowhere to run!”
“Ngh, ahhhh... O God... Lord Arata...” Shaken, Saint Ceres had broken down in tears.
“Dammit...” Ark the Hero was confused by this sudden turn of events and had no idea what to do.
Both of them held total conviction in their actions. That was why, although the journey had been a harsh one, they’d been able to save others with a smile on their face. They never thought that this was how everything would end.
“Tch... They set us up.” In the midst of all this, the only one who had an accurate grasp of the situation was Ellie, the Witch of Destruction.
To the Church, Saint Ceres was a paragon of virtue. But when the light of goodness becomes too bright, the shadow it casts grows deeper and denser. A light as brilliant as Ceres was just a nuisance to the factions struggling for power within the Church.
“And here I was, glad that we made it out of there alive. What awful luck,” Ellie continued. The rumors had spread unnaturally quickly. She understood that someone had planned this. And she also understood that, for that reason, there was nothing they could do. “But that doesn’t mean I’m planning on giving up and making it easy for them.”
Hated by all because of her power, the Witch of Destruction had lived in the depths of the Forest of Destruction. Her all-too-kind companions had extended a hand to someone like her, and brought her along with them into the outside world. For that, she had always believed it was her duty to protect them.
“Ark... Take Ceres and run,” she said.
Ark widened his eyes in shock. “Ellie?! What about you?!”
“I’ll take as many of these villains down with me as I can,” Ellie said, Then, she stepped forward, protectively standing in front of the sobbing Ceres. “Go. Unlike me, you two are loved by God, so I’m sure you’ll be saved.”
“Ellie!” Ceres shouted. “You can’t! If you’re going to fight, then let me fight with—”
“Just hurry up and go already!”
The Paladins closed in as if to prevent them from escaping. They were intimidating enough to even make a battle-hardened witch like her feel threatened. But oddly enough, she also realized that she believed everything would be all right.
“I’ll show you the true power of Destruction.”
Though it was said that her power could destroy the world, she would use it to protect others. Because that was surely something great.
“Ellie! You won’t survive if you use that power!” Ceres said.
“It’s all right. I mean, I’m using it to protect my friends. I’m sure mother will forgive me.”
The entire area was enveloped in an ominous mana. This was the Spell of Destruction, which Ellie could cast just once—at the cost of her own life.
“...that,” came Ceres’s voice as she looked up at Ellie with tears in her eyes.
“Ceres?” Ellie asked.
“I absolutely won’t let you do thaaaaat!”
A great volume of white mana instantly swelled, covering up the black mana that had poured out of Ellie.
“No way! My Destruction mana?!”
“I won’t let anyone get huuuuurt!”
White and black mixed together, producing an abnormal vortex of mana inside the cathedral. This overwhelming mana was like the power of the divine—and Ellie and Ark recognized it.
“C-Ceres! This is just like back then!” Ark said.
“God! I don’t care what happens to me, so please, stop this fighting! I’m begging you!”
It was the same phenomenon that had occurred during the battle with Walpurgis, the Dragon of the Apocalypse, when Ceres had summoned the demigod Arata. Every time Ceres shouted to the heavens, the intense mana drove the Paladins back.
“Ngh, what are you all doing?! Kill that damnable witch immediately!” shouted one of the cardinals in a panic. He couldn’t hide his terror at this unexplainable event.
“Please! Please! Please!!! I don’t care what happens to me! So... So please!”
I shall grant your wish.
“Huh?” Ceres exclaimed.
At that moment, time stopped. Or rather, there was such an abrupt silence that it seemed like it had.
“Heh heh heh! I thought I was sensing the power of the divine for the first time in a long while. Now, isn’t this awfully entertaining?”
Standing in the middle of everything was a girl like the personification of the night, whose mere presence gave off an overpowering aura. She had golden hair and deep crimson eyes like blood. Though she appeared to be about ten years old, everyone there could tell that she was not as she seemed.
“Uh... Ah...”
“I never thought I’d leave that island, but... Ah, I see. It’s because you formed a connection with Arata, isn’t it?” the girl said.
“Arata...” Ceres paused. “You mean Lord Arata? Was it he who sent you here?”
“Huh? Well, you could say that.” As the girl spoke, she glanced around her.
“Wh-What are you?!” the cardinal said. He looked at the girl, his face tense with fear. He knew as well as anyone else there that she was a terribly extraordinary being.
“Me? If you’re asking, I guess I might as well introduce myself. I am Wilhelmina Vermilion Vauheim!”
“W-Wilhelmina?! That name appears in myths from more than ten thousand years ago... But this mana... No, you’re really her?!”
“Oh, that’s right. In your terms, I suppose I should introduce myself like this: the Godslayer Demon Lord.”
And then, the desecration began.