Reborn as a Useless Noble with my SSS-Class Innate Talent

Head priest Eluin's face twisted in fury, his voice rising with righteous indignation.

"You ungrateful fool! You do not understand what is good for you or your people. You bask in peace, in safety—and yet you turn your back on the very gods who make it possible?"

Kyle's expression remained calm. There was no anger in his voice, only quiet resolve.

"I've seen what gods do when left unchecked. If humanity's purpose is only to kneel and be protected, then we're nothing more than cattle."

Eluin's nostrils flared.

"Blasphemy!"

"Then prove me wrong. You pray to your goddess while I try to kill you. If your god is watching, surely she'll save you."

Kyle said, stepping forward. His words cut through the thick silence that had settled over the village square.

The crowd gasped. Even the priests behind Eluin looked unsure. But the head priest smiled coldly.

"You dare challenge the divine? Fine. I accept. Let all gathered here bear witness to the miracle that is the goddess Charrin's protection."

He moved to the center of the square and spread his arms. A faint golden sheen shimmered around his body—his divine barrier, invoked without incantation, purely through faith.

"Strike me down, young master. Strike, and let the gods show you your place"

Eluin declared.

Kyle didn't speak again. He simply stepped forward and unsheathed his sword.

The square held its breath.

With a calm breath, Kyle raised the blade. Then, without flourish or warning, he brought it down in a clean arc toward Eluin.

Steel met the glowing barrier with a thunderous crack. The divine shield rippled, holding firm.

Eluin laughed, triumphant.

"You see? Nothing you—"

His words cut off in an instant.

A sharp pain tore through his left shoulder.

The crowd stared in shock as Eluin staggered backward. The golden barrier around him had cracked—then shattered.

A deep gash now bloomed across his shoulder, red blood pouring down the front of his pristine white robes.

His eyes went wide as he stumbled, clutching the wound.

"Impossible…"

Kyle didn't move. He simply watched the man's expression twist from arrogance into disbelief.

"The divine shield… my goddess… she was supposed to protect me."

Eluin whispered.

Kyle finally spoke.

"She didn't. Or maybe she tried, and failed."

Gasps rippled through the square.

"You said you'd show them a miracle. So I gave them one."

Kyle said softly.

Eluin dropped to one knee, breathing hard. His priests rushed forward in panic, trying to support him, casting healing spells that seemed weak and ineffective in the face of his injury.

Kyle turned to the crowd, his voice steady.

"There's your god's protection. Now ask yourselves—do you want to entrust your lives to those who promise safety and deliver pain?"

No one answered. Many looked down, unsure. A few looked horrified. Racheal stood frozen, unable to speak, her face pale.

Eluin, still kneeling, gritted his teeth.

"You… you'll pay for this… The goddess will not forgive this heresy."

Kyle looked down at him.

"Then let her come."

Head priest Eluin stared in disbelief at the blood seeping between his fingers.

His divine barrier—one that no mortal weapon should have been able to pierce—lay in shattered pieces, broken like glass.

His breath came in short, uneven gasps as he looked up at Kyle, who calmly sheathed his sword as if nothing extraordinary had happened.

"How? How did you break it? That barrier was blessed by the goddess herself!"

Eluin croaked, fury and confusion mingling in his voice.

Kyle tilted his head and offered a half-shrug.

"Sounds like a you problem. Maybe your goddess isn't as reliable as you thought. Or maybe you were just weak."

He said blandly.

Eluin's face twisted in rage.

"You insolent—!"

With a snarl, he lunged forward, his hands glowing faintly with divine energy as he tried to strike Kyle down in a fit of rage.

Kyle didn't flinch. He sidestepped the wild charge and let Eluin's momentum carry him forward.

With a smooth motion, Kyle struck him in the gut with the hilt of his sword, knocking the wind from his lungs.

Before Eluin could recover, Kyle grabbed him by the collar and slammed him to the ground, hard enough to crack the stone beneath.

The gathered priests stared in stunned silence.

Eluin groaned, dazed and bleeding. Kyle looked down at him with a bored expression.

"You came to my village, tried to corrupt me, and then picked a fight you couldn't win. You brought this on yourself."

He turned to the other priests.

Their expressions were a mix of fear and disbelief. Kyle didn't miss the way some of them flinched as he met their gaze.

To them, he might as well have been a demon—no ordinary man could break a divine shield and then bring a priest of Charrin to his knees.

"Well? Who wants to follow next?"

Kyle asked, his voice calm but carrying.

None answered. They all stood frozen, watching him with wary eyes.

Kyle let out a tired sigh.

"No volunteers? That's fine. I'll find your little den myself. It won't be hard."

He stepped over Eluin's broken form and walked away, as if the entire confrontation had been a minor inconvenience.

Back in his office, Kyle found Bruce waiting with reports in hand. Kyle didn't sit. He simply gave him a nod.

"Take care of the intruders. All of them. I'll deal with the cleanup later."

He said.

Bruce's eyes flicked past Kyle, noting the trail of stunned priests outside. He gave a nod.

"Understood."

Before Kyle could head back to his desk, he heard hurried footsteps behind him. Racheal came running in, eyes wide with guilt and panic. She bowed deeply before him.

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I let them in. I thought… I thought it was the right thing. I let myself be fooled. I should have known better, but I—"

She said, her voice tight with emotion.

Kyle raised a hand to stop her.

"Racheal, stop blaming yourself."

He said softly,

She looked up at him, startled.

"It's not entirely your fault. Divine power has a way of influencing people when they're at their lowest. It's subtle, and most people never even realize it's happening."

Kyle continued.

Her voice trembled.

"Still… I let them in. I endangered the village."

"And you owned up to it. That's more than most people would do. Just make sure it doesn't happen again."

He said.

She nodded quickly.

"It won't. I promise."

Kyle studied her for a moment, then gave her a small nod before turning back to his desk.

"Good. Then get some rest. You've had a long day."

Racheal lingered for a second longer, guilt still evident in her posture. But she obeyed and quietly left the room.

Kyle sank into his chair with a heavy breath, his fingers lightly tapping the surface of his desk.

The attack, the divine influence, the hidden cult—it all added up to something deeper. Something brewing beyond the horizon.

And Kyle intended to tear it out at the roots.

Innocent people like Rachael were the divinity's prime target and as much as he wanted to blame her, he knew that it won't help him with his end goal here.