#750 (Patreon)

God's Will (1)

"Ahhh...!! Aaaahhh!!!"

When the Swan Princess placed the thistle crown on the head of the Red man, flames erupted from beneath her body.  

The unbearable pain of being burned alive forced her lips, sewn together with thread, to part. Torn fragments of her lips fell to the ground.  

Her lips, now nothing but tattered rags, dripped even more blood and screams than before, filling the underground space.  

However, the screams soon subsided.  

The flames rising beneath the Swan Princess had engulfed her, burning her lungs and vocal cords, silencing her cries.  

"......!"  

The only sounds were the voiceless screams and the crackling of flames consuming the woman.  

Seeing this, memories from the past flashed through Joanna's mind one after another.  

A new continent, an abandoned mine, the sound of drums, a massive bonfire, the Red People dancing around it, a girl with a swollen belly, and a deathly birth.  

The scene unfolding before Joanna's eyes was eerily similar to that time.  

He was descending once again.  

'Burnt One.'

The being that sought to judge the city built on the blood of the Red People was now descending to burn the land burdened with the most sin.  

A single thought arose in Joanna's mind.  

It wasn't about the overwhelming power shown by Burnt One or the burned ruins of the cities on the new continent.  

What filled her mind was Oliver.  

The one who stood against Burnt One.  

The one who fought desperately against him.  

The one who had begged for time when Burnt One asked about sins that could never be erased.  

'He's here for an answer. The one he didn't get then... I must stop this.' 

Joanna, foreseeing what was to come, reached a conclusion.  

She had to stop the ritual, no matter what.  

'But how?'

As Joanna observed the burning corpses one by one, she pondered how to stop the ritual.  

She began assessing the situation.  

From the moment she approached the palace, the temperature had been abnormally high.  

Proof of this was the dried-up remains of the palace guards, rebels, and anyone else nearby—all turned into shriveled logs.  

This place had already become uninhabitable for humans.  

Then, as the corpses began burning one by one, starting with the Swan Princess, intense heat waves swept through, exponentially raising the internal temperature.  

Even the protective barrier created by the sacred blood wavered and burned at its edges under the intense heat.  

The light itself was burning.  

Grit. 

Joanna gritted her teeth silently.  

Even with the power of the sacred blood, this was the best she could manage.  

[That power isn't meant for you.]  

Fwoooosh!!! 

Amidst the roaring flames consuming the corpses, an otherworldly voice emerged.  

It was an eerie sensation, as though someone was speaking directly into her mind rather than her ears.  

Because of this, the voice was clearly audible even amidst the deafening flames.  

[No matter how sharp a blade is, it's meaningless to an ant. Because it can't wield it.]  

Burnt One's voice resonated, as if speaking through the flames to Joanna.  

[In that sense, you shouldn't feel ashamed. You're like an ant wielding a great sword. That in itself is a miracle.] 

Fwoooosh!!!  

In sync with Burnt One's words, the flames devouring the corpses surged violently, almost as if exploding.  

The roaring flames swept across the space like a typhoon, consuming the walls, ceiling, and floor, filling every corner with fire.  

It resembled an eternal hell meant to burn sinners forever.  

Within this inferno, Joanna activated the power of the sacred blood coursing through her body. She spread massive wings of light to protect the surrounding Paladins and confronted the raging flames head-on.  

"........!!"  

At that moment, Joanna let out a voiceless scream, feeling an excruciating pain as if her soul itself were being scorched.  

The pain was so overwhelming that no sound escaped her lips. Yet, she couldn't afford to be shocked by the agony.  

What stunned her more was a realization—these flames bore no malice.  

The fiery tempest raging through and consuming everything harbored no intention of harming Joanna or even the Paladins.  

It was merely the aftermath of a necessary process.  

Just as natural disasters have no intention of harming people, and a human's step doesn't intend to crush ants, so too did this fiery storm lack malice.  

As if affirming Joanna's thoughts, the searing, radiant flames, hot as the sun, began to contract. They coalesced into streams, converging into a single point.  

With a sound that seemed to melt the very fabric of space, the flames gathered at the thistle crown resting atop the Red man's head.  

The thistle crown absorbed the wild, scorching flames, forming a glowing ring.  

The ring, red and yellow like molten steel from a furnace, began to melt the Red man beneath it as if he were a wax doll.  

Drip. Drip. 

Her skin peeled off as if it were evaporating, revealing the muscles beneath that melted like summer ice cream. Slowly, her organs and bones became visible.  

The sight of her burning and melting like a sinner in hell left the Paladins pale-faced, clutching their hands in prayer.  

"God, oh God…"  

Burnt One's voice, silent until now, suddenly roared through the space.  

[Blasphemous.]  

The fiery, wrathful voice pierced through the wings and shield of light Joanna had spread, searing the tongue of the knight who called out to God.  

The knight, whose tongue burned alive, let out beast-like cries as he writhed on the ground. Yet even this was not enough—an overwhelming heat wave pressed down even harder on Joanna.  

Fwooooooosh!!! 

The wings of light began to burn, and the protective barrier melted, shrinking the safe zone where the Paladins stood.  

This alone was enough to reveal how much Burnt One's mood had soured.  

Though he had not yet fully descended, he could have incinerated everything in this space.  

The only reason he hadn't done so was the paradoxical fact that he could do it at any moment.  

Though Joanna had anticipated such a thing, it was still overwhelming. She had not expected this level of power.  

[Didn't you realize that the Woman on the Camel was holding back for your sake?]  

Burnt One spoke, his melting face turning toward her.  

His eyes had already burst, leaving hollow sockets.  

[She has a fondness for humans. She is, after all, quite soft-hearted.]  

The demon who had descended by sacrificing 56 nuns alive, stripping the world of Holy law, and cursing the Holy Empire as a damned land, was soft-hearted.  

Joanna wanted to refute this outright, but she couldn't.  

Fwooooooooosh!!!  

Amidst the whirlwind of blazing flames, Joanna was living proof of the truth in his words.  

Burnt One had no intention of inflicting pain upon her.  

On the other hand, he had no intention of showing her mercy either.  

If Joanna lacked the strength to endure here, she would simply be reduced to ashes.  

Considering the circumstances, it was true that the Woman on the Camel had shown her mercy back then.  

Although 56 nuns were sacrificed, the monastery collapsed, and many lives were lost, Joanna and Kevin had survived only because the Woman on the Camel had protected them.  

[You seem to be in pain. Well, of course, you never truly felt my flames thanks to her protection.]  

As Burnt One re-emerged into the human world, he spoke, watching Joanna as she bore the full brunt of his power.  

Yet his words were not out of concern. If anything, they leaned more toward mockery.  

[Do you think enduring this will solve anything?]

"……"  

[Didn't you come here to stop me? Are you afraid I'll meet him again?]  

"……"  

[Yet all you do is endure. Do you truly intend to stop me?]  

"……"  

[Your only chance is now, isn't it?]  

Burnt One, his face melted to reveal his skeletal grin, sneered.  

It was clear mockery, but he wasn't wrong.  

His words were entirely accurate.  

Even the Woman on the Camel, who had shown mercy, couldn't hold him back alone.  

Joanna, unable to wield the sacred blood properly, had no hope of stopping him.  

For now, merely enduring the descent was all she could manage.  

Which was why this moment was the only opportunity.  

While Burnt One had not yet fully descended, she had to destroy the Red man, who would become his vessel.  

If she missed this chance, there would truly be no way to resist.  

The problem was how to break through the storm of flames.  

Just taking a single step earlier had caused her shield to waver and burn.  

To move now, amidst the intensified inferno, was certain to burn her wings and melt her shield.  

"……"  

Of course, there was a way.  

If Joanna retracted the wings and shield protecting the other knights and concentrated solely on herself, she might endure.  

She might be able to approach the vessel and destroy it before her wings and shield completely burned away.  

No, she could do it.  

The Red man's melted body, with flesh and organs fully exposed, was as fragile as could be.  

Perhaps the fiery storm itself was a protective measure for this weakened vessel.  

This was her only chance.  

[So, what will you do? False Paladin. Will you abandon the Paladins you brought and try to stop me, or protect them and watch my descent?]

Amid the flames that could consume her to ashes in an instant, Burnt One posed his question.  

A Paladin shouted, "Child of the Angel! Do not concern yourself with us! Go forth and stop this demon's descent for the sake of God!"  

The knight, who had always addressed her as simply "Commander Joanna" out of respect, now uttered the term "Child of the Angel." It was a testament to the resolve they had mustered in this hellish inferno.  

Even a knight who had lost the divine law screamed with every ounce of their life, faith, and will.  

Yet, that desperate cry failed to evoke even a smirk from Burnt One.  

[Seeking God? You truly don't understand what my appearance signifies.]  

The voice, a mixture of genuine disappointment, disdain, and loathing, reverberated.  

The knights tried to respond, but Burnt One cut them off.  

[Do you honestly believe He would oppose my descent?]  

The knights were horrified by the demon referring to God as ‘He’.  

Strangely, Burnt One's voice carried no malice or rage; instead, it resonated with respect, reverence, and even a divine sanctity.  

A demon worshiping God—it was unthinkable.  

[You’ve claimed countless times that God is omniscient and omnipotent. Yet, have you never found it strange? How could an omniscient and omnipotent being have enemies? If that were the case, wouldn’t it mean He isn’t truly omnipotent?]  

The demon’s question sounded almost genuinely curious.  

And it was a valid point.  

Could a truly omnipotent being have enemies?  

Omnipotence implies knowing and doing all. Could such a being even have adversaries?  

If they existed, it would only be because the omnipotent one allowed them.  

Such adversaries would not be true enemies but rather—  

"A demon… is God’s servant?"  

A shocked knight muttered in a half-dazed voice. That statement was the correct answer.  

[Indeed. We, too, are His servants.]  

"……"  

[And that means He desires your end… or at the very least, He doesn’t care.]  

—Thunk!!  

Burnt One, speaking through the Red man vessel whose flesh had melted away to expose only organs and bones, abruptly stopped mid-sentence.  

The corpses, which had served as logs for the sin-fueled flames, suddenly moved. One thrust its hand deep into the exposed organs of the Red man.  

Burnt One didn’t stop this; instead, it happened as though he allowed it. The hand pierced through her liver, lungs, spleen, kidneys, intestines, and even her heart.  

A chilling silence fell over the scene.  

[A clever move for a soulless puppet. To strike during this moment, when I and the vessel are bound.]

Even as the Red man’s organs boiled and churned, Burnt One seemed impressed.  

Puppet had timed its strike perfectly, aiming for the moment when the vessel was weakened as a medium for summoning Burnt One.  

[Was it the Horse-Headed One who aided you?]  

"I… don’t… owe… you…"  

Puppet replied through the burning corpse. Its voice, laden with pain, made Joanna realize that Puppet, too, was enduring the inferno.  

She knew because she was experiencing the same agony.  

Puppet, standing almost bare against hellfire, clung on with shocking determination.  

What could possibly drive such tenacity?  

[Do you long so desperately to become human?] 

Burnt One questioned Puppet, still enduring amidst the flames.  

Puppet offered no answer and instead plunged its hand even deeper into the Red man’s body.  

At that moment, another corpse began to move.  

It was the Swan Princess, the one who had placed the thistle crown upon the Red man’s head.  

Having burned to ash and remained still since then, she now moved for the first time, reaching her hand toward the rotating ring of flames above the Red man’s head.  

That ring—it looked eerily like an angel’s halo.  

Joanna realized what Puppet was after.  

Puppet sought the ring—the very power granted by God.  

It intended to steal divine authority to achieve its goal of becoming human.  

[You are foolish. The Horse-Headed One is also a demon. Did you think it helped you out of kindness? It, too, is His servant.]  

Puppet faltered for a brief moment at the ominous question, but it was too late.  

The Swan Princess, using her borrowed body, had already touched the fiery halo.  

The princess, who had once sought to create a prince of hell out of her hatred for the world, grasped the halo.  

Immediately, the corpses of the victims surrounding the Red man ignited into a massive bonfire.  

The ritual for the demon’s descent had reached its final stage.  

In the Red man’s hollow eye sockets, lightning-like flames began to take root.