The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

EP7. At the End of Darkness

As soon as Ainzel retreated, he asked the soldier who had informed him of the situation in the capital.

“What on earth are you talking about? Purge the followers of the saint? The Pope? No matter how powerful the Pope is, he can’t do that!”

“…The Pope, while in power, made excuses to get rid of those who were thorns in his side. If he had already taken power, all he had to do was make excuses.”

“How is that possible? How can the Pope gain such great power while the saint is still alive? And the Paladins just stood by and watched?”

When Ainzel spoke, the soldier hesitated and then opened his mouth.

“The Saint… may be a living person to us, but not to the capital.”

“yes?”

Ainzel opened his mouth wide at those words.

“What… does that mean?”

“After spreading the news of the saint’s death, they defeated her followers one by one, since the saint had lost her central focus. Unlike the Pope’s forces, there aren’t many people who stand out among her followers, and since they’ve gathered around her, their unity is weaker when she’s not around.”

“What is that… Well, then the Paladins… .”

“They are the biggest problem. The Paladins are not affiliated with the church, and they are not even affiliated with the Holy Land. They are a unit directly under the Saintess. In a situation where the Saintess is dead, and the truth of it cannot even be properly determined, they are just useless barley sacks.”

“…Would it be better to return to the capital even now?”

“I can’t be sure. The Saintess’s support base, which had been following her, has long since been destroyed. Even if I were to return to the capital now, I don’t think I would be able to do anything in a situation where my support base has been destroyed and I have lost the initiative.”

Ainzel bit his lip.

“…Okay, I understand. I’ll talk to Beatrice myself.”

“yes.”

The soldier who told Ainzel the news from the capital bowed his head and retreated.

Ainzel clutched his forehead.

Somehow, I felt it was strange that there was no particular commotion at the mention of saving the saint. What the Pope was aiming for was not to kill the saint, but to make it look like she had died.

Grandis. Malecidus. The worst battlefield with two transcendent beings of overwhelming power. Even if she is the world’s greatest saint, it is a situation where it becomes convincing when you say she is dead.

In order to justify the death of a saint who had not died in any other battlefield, the Pope wanted to send the saint to all of Calecion.

I opened my eyes completely and my nose was cut off. Certainly, considering that the Saint’s forces were an organization centered around the Saint, unlike ordinary forces, and because of that, if the Saint was not there, the group would instantly transform into an individual, the Pope’s strategy was convincing.

Ainzel was in a situation where he didn’t know what to say. He had to tell Beatrice the news, but it was also difficult to tell her that most of her followers had been executed.

“…Should I start over?”

Ainzel blurted it out without thinking.

This was not simply a situation where you won a fight and then had to worry about what would happen after you won.

Ainzel rubbed his head for a moment and then saw Beatrice come in.

“What did you just say?”

Beatrice said as she entered the tent where Ainzel was. They were retreating breathlessly with the goal of preserving their power. In such an urgent situation, Ainzel, who had been complaining about retreating quickly, suddenly found himself locked in the tent and talking, which made her feel suspicious.

Ainzel looked at her and closed his mouth and rolled his eyes. The situation was so dire that he found it difficult to say anything.

Beatrice saw his expression and instinctively knew something was wrong.

“…Something big happened? Something big enough to warrant such concern in this urgent situation.”

Ainzel looked at her like that and thought for a moment, but couldn’t think of a way to get around it.

“…the Pope is said to have taken control of the religious organization within the capital.”

Beatrice frowned at those words. Ainzel gritted his teeth as he saw the wrinkles forming on her beautiful forehead.

“…Well, that could be the case. Since I’m here, in the meantime…”

“No, I heard that you have taken control of the entire religious order and are executing those who followed you.”

“yes?”

Beatrice simply opened her eyes wide and questioned. Ainzel lowered his eyes and continued speaking.

“The situation on this front is hopeless. As you know, our troops are retreating over and over again, hoping to somehow reduce the number of casualties. This means that the capital is not receiving proper information about the front.”

“What the heck is that…”

“The Pope faked your death, and those who had rallied around you lost their power in an instant. The Paladins were left to fumble around. As soon as the Pope took control, he began making excuses and executing those who had supported you.”

Beatrice collapsed to the ground.

“I should have known from the beginning when I prioritized sending it throughout Calethion. I thought it was too shallow a task to kill you, and a meaningless measure to reduce your influence, but I deceived the people after giving them a justification for your death. I lied to them with a lie that made sense to anyone.”

“That… that, is that possible?”

“What is impossible? Perhaps those who sent you here are in cahoots with the Pope. Their intention from the beginning was to throw you into this abyss.”

“That… that.”

Beatrice stared at Ainzel with a shocked expression, as if she wanted him to quickly tell her that it was a lie.

But the harsh reality did not change, and instead of comforting her, Ainzel asked her.

“…Now, what do you plan to do?”

Beatrice didn’t answer.

Ainzel continued speaking.

“Will you continue to roam the battlefield and help the people? Or will you return to the capital and confront the Pope?”

“I, I… what should I do… .”

“If you don’t know, no one will. What are you planning to do?”

“…I didn’t know something like this would happen.”

“I didn’t know that either. But that doesn’t change anything.”

“Why, the people who followed me… If I had known this would happen… .”

“That assumption is meaningless. The entire Calethion campaign is over now. It was the worst outcome we could have ever imagined.”

The soldiers of all of Calethion were utterly defeated by the endless swarm of ash soldiers, not just Grandis and Malekidus. All that remained was a retreat that was no different from a rout, nothing.

Ainzel scratched his head and asked her.

“Who or who first suggested that you come here?”

Beatrice looked at Ainzel and said.

“…Why are you asking that?”

Ainzel answered.

“Shouldn’t we know who is behind this?”

Beatrice bit her lip, scrunched her face, then opened her mouth.

“…the Senate asked me first.”

“The Senate?”

“Yes. I thought there would be no problem since they were all faithful people…”

“Weren’t those people bribed by the Pope?”

“No, they’re not that kind of people…”

Beatrice’s eyes became bloodshot and tears began to flow slowly.

Ainzel looked at her and said.

“…just because you are faithful, there is no guarantee that your faith will lead in the right direction.”

“yes?”

Beatrice looked at him and questioned.

“…Why would you say something like that in front of a priest?”

At Beatrice’s words, Ainzel looked at her.

“Yes, I know. It was my foolish decision that caused those who followed me to see this. However, I cannot bear to hear words that blaspheme others’ faith.”

“I almost died because of that belief.”

Beatrice stared at Ainzel and said.

“…yes?”

“In the Holy Land, a priest said that when there is a warrior, people do not seek God but only the warrior they see in front of them. He said that only by killing the warrior and uniting mankind under God can we win this war.”

“What is that…?”

“Faith and all that is no longer important. What is important is the very fact that the Senate may have joined hands with the Pope to bring you down.”

The cruel truth has dawned on us.