I had a thought as I swung God’s whip.
I’d set several traps.
I’d been sure not to dirty my own hands, and I made it look like I had even saved lives.
If someone had exposed me, it must have been the Royal Watchdog. Precisely why I had her removed from the trial.
I had even succeeded in breaking the judge’s spirit…or so I thought.
The goblin boy and his mother were but a small fray in my plan. What I hadn’t properly accounted for was the court assistant, Akuto Satou.
That he would come so close to the truth…
That child was who I really should have been watching out for. That average kid from otherworld Japan turned out to be able to wield the power of the Judgment Spell and even reverse the effects of my Cleansing Prayer…
How unpleasant.
Generations of high priests have claimed that beings from other worlds receive a special quirk. This boy must have been given some kind of magical resistance, or the ability to wield the Judgment Spell.
It’s unfair.
I felt my old wounds ache. How much training did I have to go through before I was able to wield the Holy Scourge?
How much pain and suffering did I have to endure under my father’s tutelage and under the beatings of the lash?
My hair had faded from the burden of controlling the body’s mana, and every single strand had become white.
That otherworld Japanese boy… He didn’t know the first thing about suffering, or a sense of one’s mission.
The God we worshipped would not allow this boy to possess special God-given powers.
No—I would not allow it.
I am God’s proxy. My words are the sole law of absolute justice…
I am the only one in this world who has been chosen by God.
As the heir of the storied Trinity line of high priests, this was my birthright.
We are the ones who have judged and guided the people. This truth must govern our reality.
“Pulverize.”
The whip did not strike any humans. It lashed the church building, now turned to rubble, and the chunks of concrete.
“Eek!”
“Tsukasa!”
“Miss Judge!”
“Get down!”
I heard screaming.
How unfortunate that I cannot finish it here.
I was overcome with the desire to wipe all those who did not believe in our creed off the face of the planet, but it was too dangerous to directly antagonize the Shard of Judgment’s wielder.
Now that my plans had been exposed, I was left with just one choice.
I whispered to myself in the thick cloud of dust, my vision obscured:
“Expand and Contract.”
I set my sights on a faraway building and extended the Holy Scourge. I wrapped the whip around the building and then retracted it.
Vwoom. The whip pulled me forward through the air.
I had rid myself of this place faster than any sentencing or Rust of Doubt could reach me.
Just as I had calculated from the start.
Looking back from the wall of the building, I saw in the distance people wandering in confusion in the dust.
And I saw the Scales of Judgment, now controlled by that damn Japanese boy, floating aimlessly in the air, having lost me from its sight.
None of them were worthy opponents.
I calmly repeated the extension and retraction of the Holy Scourge, moving from building to building.
…Oh?
Suddenly, I noticed the shadow of something following me at high speed.
“Graaagh!” She came close enough to bite me.
“The damned Royal Watchdog!”
I used Counter with my other whip against the head maid and sent her flying. The beast took the fall and rushed at me once again.
I should expect as much from an Inugami. Their physical abilities are the strongest in the kingdom.
Deep down, I was impressed. There weren’t many who could take an attack from the Holy Scourge without also being in possession of a sacred artifact themselves.
I watched the Royal Watchdog from atop a building. I needed to neutralize her.
“Strike Down… Strike Down… Strike Down… Strike Down…”
I knocked her down over and over as she attacked me. Then came the sound of something splitting. Her maid uniform was tearing.
She is awfully persistent even when there’s no immediate danger to Princess Ecstasia.
Strange—this wasn’t the movement pattern I would have predicted from the Royal Watchdog.
“You’re beginning to irritate me,” I said.
After a dozen or so attacks, I started to feel lethargic. Then…
“Karmic Flare.”
I sensed a high-powered spell being cast.
“Counter.”
The incoming fireball made an earsplitting explosion before dissipating.
My legendary robe, reserved only for high priests, was marred with burn marks.
How very unpleasant.
I saw Laman, the Hero of the Holy Flame, below me.
That faithless, feebleminded old man. The fool who refused to pledge allegiance to my father.
Everything had been lined up for him to be found guilty and sent to his death, but…
Why was he here in the kingdom? And why was he helping the otherworlders?
His pattern was also different from what I predicted.
I was irritated beyond measure. The face of that court assistant came to mind.
I have to put an end to that Japanese boy. That indeed will be the highest accomplishment to offer the Black Scales.
But enough thinking.
I brought down my whip.
The Royal Watchdog’s momentum began to wane. The power of the old man’s flames was tapering off after that first attack.
Ah… How beautiful.
The Holy Scourge, the oldest of the sacred artifacts, was truly the strongest of them all.
This was God’s power to exorcize evil.
And its holder, the pinnacle of humanity.
A beautiful power to maintain beautiful order.
This foreign culture and these otherworldly things were simply deceptions, an attempt to destroy our world’s order.
The people have lived under this order for thousands of years. As they shall for thousands more. And that brings about absolute peace of mind.
My heart grew calm.
I was right.
At the same time, I felt the mana within my body running dry.
Time to return to headquarters.
My beloved church. There, my cup would be refilled by the power of my disciples.
In preparation for this day, I’d been earning trust and using the Power of Words in secret. And now I would face it along with over ten thousand devout disciples.
By the power of God, I shall judge the outsiders: the court assistant and the judge.
It will be remembered as the day we drove out otherworld Japan.
Let us sing hymns of praise to God. Sing to the beat of the divine whip.
Headquarters—where my devout disciples gathered.
Here, there was no way God’s chosen could lose.
No way in Hell.