#753 (Patreon)

God's Will (4)  

[Aaaahhhh...]  

[Unjust! Unjust! So unfair!]  

[Please don't hit me...]  

[Why me-?!]  

The wails of vengeful spirits, born of ash, echoed in the heart of the nation that boasted the world's vastest territory.  

The weight of their accumulated sins had grown into a tumor at its core.  

“Hah... Hah...”  

“Hic...”  

“I... I don’t know. I don’t know anything!”  

The people surrounded by these tumors succumbed to madness.  

Their faces turned pale, their breaths grew shallow, cold sweat dripped down their bodies, and they repeated incomprehensible words.  

They were being crushed by the weight of the sins they had directly or indirectly committed.  

Among them, the Paladins were the ones suffering the most.  

Just as Joanna had been suffocated by her own sins in the New Continent, they, too, collapsed one by one, unable to breathe, as if drowning.  

Amidst the chaos filled with resentment and groans, someone spoke.  

“I’m sorry.”  

The words were spoken with heartfelt sincerity.  

Then, as if by magic, the echoing cries of the vengeful spirits subsided, and silence fell.  

The sinners and the spirits born of ash instinctively turned their heads toward the direction of the voice.  

There, they saw Oliver.  

Kneeling on both knees, he was embracing the ash-formed children.  

“I’m sorry.”  

Oliver apologized again.  

The children, who had been crying out for help, could not respond.  

Oliver continued to apologize.  

“I am truly sorry for not being able to help you. And I don’t think I can help you right now, either.”  

[...Why?]  

One of the children in Oliver's arms asked, a being that had been blindly expressing resentment and pleading for help.  

Oliver released the children he was holding and looked into their eyes.  

“Because there is still something I must do.”  

[...]  

“So, I don’t think I can help you right now. I’m sorry. But I promise you this.”  

[...]  

“I promise I will come back to help every one of you. No matter how long it takes.”  

[...]  

“So, could you wait just a little longer?”  

[...Promise?]  

“Yes, it’s a promise.”  

Oliver used both thumbs to lift the corners of his lips into a smile.  

Then, he extended his pinky finger toward the child made of ash.  

The ash-formed beings remained silent, watching the scene unfold. The child intertwined their pinky finger with Oliver’s.  

Oliver gently clasped the child’s hand and pressed it against his own thumb.  

In that moment, the child, along with the other ash-formed spirits, began to dissolve back into ash one by one.  

It was a sight too incredible to believe, even when witnessed with one’s own eyes.  

Oliver stood up from his position, clenching his left hand in silence, and swung it toward the abdomen of Burnt One.  

“Fly away.”  

────────────────!  

With those words, Oliver’s fist connected with Burnt One’s abdomen, releasing a sound both colossal and subtle—barely perceptible to human ears—sending the demon flying.  

A demon who was one of the 72 lords of Hell and had sought to bring about the apocalypse alone.  

Known by many titles—King of Inequality, Destruction, Uselessness, Fire, and Darkness—the being was flung into the majestic smoke from which it had emerged.  

Meanwhile, Oliver turned back toward the people behind him.  

“This is a bit embarrassing now that I’m seeing you all again.”  

Oliver spoke to the gathered crowd.  

Standing before him were not only Joanna and the Paladins, but also Jane, Edith, Marie, Joe, Bartholomew, Willes of the Kel Liberation Army, Kingdom soldiers Philip and Terence, and even Prince Albert.  

All of them had a connection to Oliver.  

Burnt One had brought them back to the capital.  

In this seemingly hopeless situation, Oliver casually cracked a joke.  

“Still, it’s not so bad seeing familiar faces again.”  

Marie, Jane, Joanna, Joe, Willes, Albert, Edith, Philip, and Terence all remained silent.  

Not because they were annoyed by Oliver’s ill-timed humor, but because they couldn’t bring themselves to speak to someone trying so desperately.  

He was telling them, with his joke, that he still had enough composure to make light of the situation. To not be afraid. To not despair.  

Willes was the first to respond to that effort and courage.  

“What should we do now?”  

The commander of the Kel Liberation Army didn’t utter words like, ‘I’ll help you’.  

He already knew that this wasn’t a situation where someone like him could intervene. Instead, he resolved to do whatever he could.  

Oliver waved his hand through the air as he responded, testing the possibility of using spatial magic to evacuate people. It didn’t seem feasible.  

“I’ll have to trouble you to take the people and flee on foot. As far as possible.”  

“I hate to ask, but... will it even matter?”  

It was a reasonable question. Even if they fled, the enemy could return. The outskirts of the capital were surrounded by a towering wall of flames.  

“It matters. I will make it so.”  

The resolve in Oliver’s voice was unmistakable. Willes yelled out with an apologetic tone.  

“What are you all standing around for?! Move, now!”  

The Kel Liberation Army, initially frozen in shock and unable to move, snapped out of it at Willes's commanding voice and began to act.  

Thanks to their movement, the immobilized citizens also started to stir, albeit slowly. However, more people remained frozen in fear than those who moved.  

Amidst the commotion, a familiar voice called out.  

“Oliver...”  

Marie trailed off as she called his name.  

The woman who once cursed her helplessness and sought to become a Warlock.  

But she wasn’t alone. Behind Marie stood Joe, Bartholomew, and others.  

A gang from the worst slum in Landa, District X, and an ancient sinner from the even more wretched District Z.  

They silently gazed at Oliver amidst the inferno where a demon had descended.  

Oliver returned their gazes without a word, waiting for them to speak first.  

After a brief moment, Marie clenched her teeth and forced herself to speak.  

“We... we’ll move too.”  

She pledged to focus solely on evacuating the citizens of the capital, just as she had originally promised.  

Oliver felt a pang of regret. If only he knew how to smile, he would have done so at that moment.  

Joe and Bartholomew quickly joined forces with the Kel Liberation Army to assist in the evacuation, while Marie dragged her reluctant feet into motion.  

As Marie turned to leave, Oliver called out to her.  

“I’m proud of you.”  

“...!”  

Marie stopped momentarily.  

Oliver spoke to her back again.  

“I’m proud of you, Marie. Proud enough to be grateful that I learned to read from you.”  

Marie’s shoulders trembled slightly. Bowing her head briefly, she then broke into a run.  

Others began making their choices as well, joining forces with the Kel Liberation Army, the Fighters' Crew, and the Anti-Development Committee to help evacuate citizens.  

As the crowd started moving once more, Oliver shifted his gaze to Lieutenant General Philip and Terence, who were escorting the prince, as well as Edith and Jane.  

Though they pretended not to notice him, they occasionally glanced at Oliver.  

To ease their tension, Oliver waved at them, silently encouraging their efforts.  

At the same time, he addressed those who still hadn’t moved.  

“Aren’t you going to act?”  

His words were directed at Joanna, the Child of the Angel, and the Paladins.  

Though everyone had been shocked by the vengeful spirits born of ash, the Paladins seemed especially affected.  

Their eyes had lost their light and focus.  

Dark circles loomed under their eyes, their complexions pallid and haggard.  

Their hands trembled, and their legs were too weak to support them.  

They embodied the very picture of despair.  

Just as Joanna tried to speak on their behalf, Oliver raised a finger to his lips, signaling her to be silent for a moment.  

Unfortunately, the response Oliver wanted to hear wasn’t from Joanna but from the Paladins.  

These were the ones who had sworn to become the shields of humanity and the mortal realm.  

Soon, one of them managed to speak through trembling lips. The word “spoke” seemed almost inappropriate—their voice was utterly broken.  

“I-Is it true? Did... did God permit a demon to enter the mortal world?”  

The Paladins, who had always been confident and proud, now asked in such a pitiful state that their former selves seemed like a distant lie.  

“Does He truly wish for our end?”  

They asked if God desired the end of humanity.  

Oliver pondered how to answer.  

Should he say that it wasn’t true because he had come here to stop it?  

It wasn’t a bad answer, but Oliver chose different words instead—words not meant to comfort the knights but words he wanted to say to them.  

They were Paladins, after all.  

“Does it matter?”  

The knights stared at him, their faces vacant.  

Their reaction was only natural, as they had dedicated their lives to God. Yet Oliver was genuinely curious because—  

“Holy Father, I now raise the weapon and shield you have bestowed upon me and swear this moment before you.”  

Oliver recited the oath that every knight swears upon becoming a Paladin.  

“I shall become the shield that protects humanity and the sword that vanquishes evil. I will uphold order, protect the weak, and safeguard good while vanquishing chaos, demons, and wickedness. I will be the light that drives away darkness, the trumpet that heralds dawn, the armor that defends the world, and the shield that protects your children.”  

It was an oath to defend humanity and strike down evil.  

“No matter if I become as battered as an old shield, No matter if my sword loses its edge and breaks like a ruined blade, I will neither turn away, flee, nor give up—from this moment until the end of my life. I swear it eternally.”  

It was an oath to endure forever, no matter the trials and tribulations.  

As Oliver recited the oath they had sworn, the light began to return to the eyes of the Paladins.  

But it wasn’t enough.  

“But, but... what about God’s will...?”  

The knights, as servants of God and defenders of humanity, were tormented by the conflict between these two identities.  

This conflict arose because their two roles were now in dissonance.  

Instead of convincing them, Oliver asked a question.  

“Why did you choose to become Paladins?”  

“...”  

“Why did you dedicate your entire lives to becoming knights, wielding swords and shields? Was it to earn God’s praise? Or was it to protect people?”  

“We... we...”  

“If what you desire is God’s praise, I won’t force you. The only thing I can offer is an opportunity. The choice is yours. However, allow me to say one thing. There are still people who need your help, and you still have the opportunity to help them. Just as you chose to become Paladins, you still have the chance to make another choice now.”  

The Paladins, after hearing Oliver's question, hesitated, their eyes wavering. Slowly, they raised their heads from where they had been buried in the ground, clenched their teeth, and began to rise.  

One, three, six, ten—gradually, their numbers grew.  

Eventually, all the Paladins began to move.  

“Damn it! Damn it!!”  

“Oh, Lord, forgive me!”  

“Please, we... Damn it!”  

All but one.  

“Joanna.”  

Oliver called out to the still-standing Joanna.  

“Ah, is it all right if I just call you Joanna instead of Paladin? Calling you Paladin feels too stiff. I hope you don’t mind?”  

Oliver checked if his choice of words was the issue. Joanna responded.  

“I’ll stay here and fight by your side—”  

“—I’ve already restored Director Ameline to her original form.”  

Oliver interrupted her, stating that he had reversed the curse placed on the director of the Ark Orphanage, who had been turned into wood by Piper.  

Joanna froze mid-sentence.  

“Before I came here. She’s now in the Holy City with your siblings. Sorry for the delay—it was a bit hectic. Oh, and I met your siblings as well.”  

“...”  

“They all said they wanted to see you. That they missed you because you hadn’t visited. A little harsh of you, don’t you think?”  

Oliver raised his thumb and pulled up the corners of his lips to form another smile.  

Joanna looked at his smile with sorrowful eyes.  

“I...”  

“—I, too, want you to see your siblings.”  

Oliver cut her off firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument.  

Joanna swallowed the words she was about to say, bowed her head deeply, and ran forward as if her life depended on it.  

Desperately.  

Thus, everyone resumed the evacuation.  

If only this had been the end of their urgent matters. But one final obstacle remained.  

The wall of flames completely encircling the capital.  

Fortunately, it wasn’t a significant issue.  

When struck, paths could be opened.  

“Child!”  

Oliver called out as he approached the wall of flames.  

A horrifying scream echoed from the blackened sky, as if a hole had been torn through it, followed by a massive shadow descending rapidly.  

It was the Child, controlling Chef-turned-dragon. On the dragon’s back were First, controlling the Corpse doll Bathory; Second, controlling the Corpse doll Durans; and Third, controlling the Corpse doll Shamus.  

Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik━━━━━━!! 

The dragon, momentarily forgotten amidst the chaos of Burnt One’s descent, roared earth-shatteringly as it descended with its three Corpse dolls aboard.  

Oliver grasped the white sun he had conjured in his hand.  

In that moment, the power held by Chef-turned-dragon transferred not only to the Child but also to First, Second, and Third.  

“Bang! Bang!”  

Child-Second modified Durans’s arm into a massive gun, firing shots at the buildings along the evacuation route to clear the way.  

The countless bullets raining down from the sky not only destroyed the structures but erased only the obstacles they identified, as if wiped away with an eraser.  

No debris or collateral damage was left behind, leaving everything unnaturally clean.  

But that wasn’t all.  

Child, controlling the dragon, spread its massive wings wide and opened its jaws toward the fiery wall created by Burnt One.  

In response, First, controlling Bathory, extracted a large volume of blood from their body and fed it into the dragon’s mouth.  

Reacting to the small sun held by Chef-turned-dragon, the dragon unleashed a torrent of pure white flames.  

Pwooooooooosh━━━━━!!  

The white flames consumed the fiery wall created by Burnt One, opening a path.  

Seizing the moment, Third, inhabiting Shamus, leaped into the air and conjured two trees larger than anything in this world. The trees were planted firmly into the path carved by Chef-turned-dragon.  

Boom━━!  

Boom━━!  

The act prevented the fiery wall from re-forming.  

“The path is open!”  

People began streaming out through the secured passage.  

“Thank you for waiting.”  

As Oliver watched the people escaping through the path, he expressed his gratitude toward the majestic smoke.  

A response came.  

[Consider it a favor repaid—for showing me something so entertaining.]  

Simultaneously, the enormous smoke that had been rising into the sky suddenly began to move inward, as though being sucked into itself.  

Crack-! 

With the sound of a match striking, flames erupted from within, radiating an immense heat.  

Bubble bubble bubble bubble.  

The surrounding metal debris, concrete fragments, and even the earth itself began to bubble and melt.  

Amidst the chaos, black smoke and fire swirled together as if dancing, forming the shape of a lightning bolt that stretched to the heavens.  

The fiery lightning converged on Burnt One’s back, taking on the appearance of wings.  

With wings of flame reaching the perforated sky, Burnt One spoke.  

[You continue to astonish me.]  

As everything around him melted away, Oliver responded.  

“I’m merely returning what I’ve received.”  

[And now, what will you do? Will you attempt to stop me?]  

“No. I will defeat you.”  

A reply without hesitation.  

The fissured mouth of Burnt One seemed to open in what might have been a grin before he vanished.  

At the same time, Oliver’s form disappeared as well.  

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━!  

The two collided amidst the lava-like, blood-red, warped ground, creating a massive wave.  

“How audacious you are, noble one,” Burnt One said.