Volume 2 – The World Sneered
The rings turning at high speed flew around without breaking the stone statues crowding the corridor.
In the meanwhile, Ami’s body gradually transformed into a disciple.
“Sis…… Go!”
“……I promise I’ll turn you back!”
The sensation of one’s body turning into stone – it was terrifying just to imagine it.
Ami’s mouth faintly trembled as she courageously smiled.
It was surely a worse end than to die fast and easy.
Further, even if Mary won, there was no proof she could turn the others back.
So it may have been a reckless action.
But there was probably no other way.
(But I’m not that smart, so.)
Ami could not come up with any other ideas to help Mary in such a short time.
Of course she was scared.
She did not want this.
And it definitely hurt.
But Ami still saw Mary off with a smile.
Mary tightly clenched her teeth, turned her back to Ami and ran towards the exit.
“It’s okay, I’m not afraid. Because I know sis will win.”
She muttered, trying to convince herself, before her body completely turned into stone.
She could not think anymore, and her body became nothing but a tool just like the other disciples.
Then, she started moving ahead with clumsy movements, and chased after Mary with murderous intent.
◇◇◇
Mary successfully went outside thanks to the path opened by Ami.
She used only her physical prowess and focused on escaping the disciples for now.
Most of the town’s residents, in other words, a few thousand people, had turned into stone statues.
There were disciples waiting ahead of Mary, and there was nowhere for her to hide.
She still had energy.
But, Mary’s focus was waning in this war of attrition where her foe could constantly rest.
If Mary made a critical mistake somewhere, it was sure to lead to her defeat.
She wanted to finish this as fast as possible.
So she calmed down and looked for a place where she could think.
She escaped her pursuers, entered an alley, and sneaked into a building from an open window.
She clung her back to a wall and breathed quietly.
She could hear a crowd of disciples walking around outside.
But there could also be enemies inside the building too.
She squinted her eyes and looked around the dark room.
She could not feel the ‘presence’ of life from the stone statues, so she could only sense them by sight and hearing.
(Looks like this room is safe for now. Now, I have to think about how I can win.)
The figures of Cutie and Ami came up in her mind
Calaria probably had the same idea as those two.
Mary got more and more angry.
Unlike physical wounds, these symptoms could not be healed by sorcery, which made the enemy’s craftiness stand out even more.
But, there was no point in getting angry and losing her calm over it.
To win, she had to calm down and think about the information she had.
(Let’s think about the precepts. The first precept is that attacking the practitioner is forbidden. The second is that attacking the disciples is forbidden. The third precept is that weapons are forbidden. And the fifth precept forbids going outside the town. Leaving aside powers like Miss. Cutie’s, in my case, I cannot attack the disciples. Basically, my only chance to win is to defeat the enemy arcana user.)
Was there a way to do it?
Mary asked herself.
Mary’s chances were not zero.
(An attack without discrimination in a wide range. This power probably has strict conditions for activation. I have some questions about the power of Hierophant.)
Mary had already seen the enemy take a few strange actions.
(First, why aren’t they attacking the church? There are a lot of people there who could become disciples, but the enemy is definitely letting them live on purpose. And why is it necessary to ‘transform’ them? Since the mother was unaware, the enemy seems to have a power to distort ‘perception’, but it seems to be completely unrelated to the precepts.)
Indeed, the power to switch someone with someone else was useful.
But, since he was wearing a wig, perhaps he was too different in appearance to be able to use that ability.
More importantly, the believers should have noticed something strange with the founder.
Most of all, someone using a power like Hierophant definitely wouldn’t want their main body to stand out.
Switching places with the founder instead of simply hiding was disadvantageous for the enemy.
(In other words, that is not a ‘power’ of Hierophant, but a ‘restriction’. ‘You have to switch places with the founder.’ ‘You have to let the believers live’. If these two things are the conditions to activate his powers……)
The enemy arcana user proudly introduced themselves with the name Hierophant.
That was also another hint.
(Devotion. A power that activates after being revered by a certain group…… How does that sound?)
That was all she could guess with the information she currently had.
Footsteps closed in again.
The crowd had broken a window and looked inside the building.
It was impossible to keep hiding here.
(Let’s go with that. If I can get rid of the believers’ devotion, in other words, expose the fact that he is not the founder, his powers should be deactivated.)
It was still only a possibility, but believing this theory was better than acting without any plan. It also helped her focus.
The believers broke in through the window.
Mary jumped out of the room before glass fragments rained down on her head.
When one of the stone statues noticed her, the others also started to gather around this house.
She went outside before being surrounded and the chase began again.
She dodged the stone statues leaping at her, jumped up, launched herself off a wall and twisted her body in the air as she aimed for a certain location.
(A way to get rid of devotion…… It’s only a suspicion, but I’ll just have to pray that I’m right. I hope there’s something helpful in the founder’s estate……)
She decided to search the entire estate first.
Mary did not know much about Feedam.
She searched all the wealthy looking houses one by one.
She started searching for ‘evidence’.
◇◇◇
It had been an hour since Mary escaped the church.
The user of Hierophant, who had become the founder, was hiding in an office inside the church.
He was sitting by the desk and tapping his foot.
“Get her already……!”
He was clearly annoyed.
He was sure of his victory after he transformed Mary’s three friends, but it had been an hour after that and he still had not caught Mary.
“I already knew this, but a lack of decisiveness is detrimental when it comes to fighting other arcana users. I’m all good on the defensive side, but I need to improve my attacking side.”
He touched an ornament hanging around his neck after saying that.
It was an item loaded with powerful mana.
His precepts did forbid attacks against him, but it was not absolute.
If the enemy attacked by putting their life on the line, and with a spell they could use even if their hands turned to stone, he would still receive the attack.
There was a protective spell in place to guard him against this.
This made him feel safe against all possibilities.
Yes, no matter how much Mary ran around, there was no way for her to win.
But, he held his head, and sighed.
He did not want this role in the first place.
The man’s name was Andre Iconia, and he was 28 years old.
He was born in the Theocracy of Feluse, but he was quickly sold into the Empire of Ganadia as a slave.
After around 15 years being raised as a slave, he was rescued by the Church Knights, and he escaped to Feluse.
Apparently, behind the scenes, there was a struggle over Andre between the Theocracy and the Empire after it was revealed that he was the arcana user of Hierophant.
As a result, Andre was saved by the Church.
It was enough motivation for him to pledge his devotion to Hierophant.
As long as the conditions were fulfilled, Andre could cover the entirety of Feluse with the powers of Hierophant.
As such, his presence was the cornerstone of national defense.
He was always close to Hierophant, the head of state, and lived his life as an exemplary follower so that he could activate the powers of Hierophant any time.
Conversely, if he was not next to Hierophant, Andre could not exercise his abilities to the fullest.
That was why he could not understand.
Why had Hierophant given him the duty of killing Mary?
Was he to leave his country defenseless for the sake of the Kingdom of Orvis, which they did not even have a close relationship with?
Further, when she entered the country, Mary was not treated like the villain he had heard her to be.
The people were even cooperating with her because of the king’s one-sided logic and his use of criminals.
Where was justice in this fight?
Where was faith in this duty?
He could not understand, but as he was the life force of Hierophant, he could not disobey either.
“When this fight ends, and when she’s dead, I can go back to my country. I have to crush her with numbers! God, please grant me strength……!”
Andre offered a prayer.
But God was not the one who answered it.
“Can you hear me, everyone? I’m Mary Pulsherima. The princess of this country.”
Mary’s voice echoed throughout the entire town.
“I’ve just found the cause of the strange occurrences in this town.I want to tell the truth to everyone who is still alive.”
Andre reflexively stood up and looked outside a window.
“This voice…… the broadcasting speakers? What the hell is Princess Mary trying to do!?”
◇◇◇
Mary was standing behind a microphone in the town hall.
Just like when she was gathering information, it took quite a bit of time to find this broadcasting equipment.
She was holding a notebook she found in the founder’s house.
She opened the pages, looked at the confession that was written on it, and declared:
“Mizelma’s Divine Punishment is what caused this situation. The sins that have remained hidden are what incurred his wrath!”