I'll Smash Everything with Passive Skills-Chapter 72: 0. Faith (2)

"Veris von Vitelbach."

"Do you know me?"

Veris raised an eyebrow at the girl who had accurately named him.

She was a girl he had no memory of.

Yet, he didn't even feel the need to rummage through his memories.

A priestess operating with her eyes closed. If he had seen her even once, she wouldn't feel so unfamiliar.

"I came to the academy because of you."

"What?"

As Veris's curiosity piqued, the girl clasped her hands together.

It was a posture of prayer, something any priest would do as casually as eating.

"I will eradicate the enemies of faith."

"What do you mean? Yunafint!"

Cecilia, with a blank expression, shouted.

It seemed the girl didn't hear Cecilia's voice, as she was now looking at Veris with her eyes wide open.

"Removing the enemies of the order. That is the driving force behind my decision to give up my position as a Saintess."

The priestess, Yunafint, with her golden waves, had a surprisingly benevolent expression.

The problem was that what she was aiming for was Veris's life.

Veris, who was quite perceptive, knew very well what Yunafint wanted right now.

"You came to eliminate me."

Swish!

Veris's old iron sword revealed itself.

As the ominous atmosphere suddenly erupted and the people around quickly vacated the area, Veris, still holding the sword, asked.

"Why?"

"...I cannot say."

Yunafint, with her shimmering golden eyes, replied.

At that, Veris felt like bursting into laughter.

He knew well that whether they were from the Demon Cult or the holy kingdom, most of those deeply entrenched in faith displayed such behavior.

But still.

"Do you know why I let that heretic inquisitor go?"

"...?"

At Veris's murmuring, which seemed to have no target, Yunafint's golden eyes flickered again.

Regardless of her reaction, Veris continued speaking.

"Because he didn't show his teeth to me."

──Whoooom!

And then began the feast of mana.

For the first time, Yunafint felt an overwhelming mana, and emotions clouded her eyes.

The name of that emotion was....

Confusion.

"Grant me the courage to defeat my enemies, though I am weak."

Veris, who had raised hostility alongside her.

Yunafint, silently gazing at the sword in Veris's hand, began to unleash her power.

A miracle.

According to Cecilia's brief explanation, high priests of the holy kingdom performed miracles bestowed upon them by their gods.

Thus, the people of the continent believed without a doubt in the existence of gods.

With sacred beings wielding divine power living alongside them, who would dare to doubt the existence of gods?

─Swoosh....

Indeed, the power of the priestess Yunafint, as Cecilia had described, was extraordinary.

The atmosphere shifted in an instant, proving that.

Of course, Veris had no intention of passively accepting this with a foolish expression.

"This is your last warning. Step back."

"That won't be possible. Everything is done according to the will of the gods."

The golden waves began to stir once more.

There was no need to confirm with his eyes what that meant.

"Are you serious? Yunafint, Veris is actually the one protecting me...!"

"O great master of light, blind the eyes of the enemy."

Ignoring Cecilia's words, the girl's clear prayer echoed through the dark alley of the commercial district.

*

Flap.

A girl sitting in her room in the mansion was silently turning the pages of a book.

The girl's name was Arwen Enixray. She hailed from the great forest of the East and was an elf.

Recently, she had come to a realization.

Even if a person living in this world possessed immense power, if the essence was insignificant, it was no different from a shell.

Let's recall a recent event.

Arwen couldn't argue when Veris said he would descend into that dangerous dungeon again.

The reason was simple. She was someone Veris had to pay attention to.

However, even if his power was even more formidable, there was still a possibility that Veris wouldn't take her with him.

Knowledge, wisdom.

That intangible power was more potent than she had thought.

Just look at how Beatrice, Veris's awkward former fiancée, ended up going to the underground dungeon with him!

Flap.

"...."

Thus, Arwen did not neglect the task of accumulating knowledge.

[ Holy mana, the miracles of high priests ]

The book Arwen was currently engrossed in contained more information than she had expected, piquing her interest.

After all, Arwen lived under the same roof as Cecilia.

The girl, who was a symbol of the high priestess mentioned ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) in the book, was both Arwen's friend and rival.

[ High priests who handle holy mana can all perform 'miracles.' The targets can range from objects to people and monsters, and there are priests with the power to reshape the world according to their innate miracles. ]

"This is...."

As Arwen read on, her interest only grew.

Miracles, that almost unknown power, was written about so kindly.

[ However, they also have limitations. ]

With eyes full of excitement, Arwen hurriedly continued reading.

[ The power does not apply to those chosen by the gods, or to the apostles who bear sacred and noble intentions. ]

"...That's amazing."

In a near-trance state while reading, Arwen muttered.

It was a reaction that could be considered natural.

Cecilia was a Saintess who performed the miracle of protection.

The cardinal of the eastern empire, Rilol, was said to perform the miracle of speed.

And.

[ The now-forgotten power, the miracle of truth, has the ability to turn one's desires into reality. ]

Arwen's small mouth fell open.

The power to turn truth into reality? This was too much.

Bang bang bang!

"...?"

As Arwen was organizing her solitary thoughts, a rough noise reached her ears.

She had no idea who had come to visit.

Veris and Cecilia had left the mansion before lunch, and Maria had said she had matters to attend to as a princess.

Beatrice and Gunther, the siblings, were engaged in some unknown plotting, so it didn't seem likely they would suddenly show up and cause such a ruckus.

"Could it be a salesperson?"

Gently opening the door and stepping into the living room, Arwen slightly frowned.

It was a small difference that no one would notice, but Veris would have easily caught that change.

Anyway, Arwen quietly opened the mansion's door. If it was a wandering merchant, she intended to protest.

"Who are you? No, there's no time for that! Veris. Is he home right now?"

The guardian of Gallia, Grand Duchess Wallenstein.

The woman was knocking on the mansion's door with a face that didn't suit her surprise.

Naturally, Arwen could only tilt her head in confusion.

The Evangeline she had in mind was someone who was confident in everything, with an air of arrogance.

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Yet, for some reason, there was not a hint of composure in her demeanor now.

"Veris is not in the mansion right now. More importantly, I need an explanation."

At Arwen's logical voice, the grand duchess shook her head.

Seemingly in a hurry, she was about to leave immediately.

Clenching her fists!

Feeling a sense of unease at the grand duchess's behavior, which was distinctly different from usual, Arwen hurriedly grabbed the grand duchess's collar.

It was an action based on the unease she felt.

"I will accompany you."

"What? I'm not going out for leisure."

"I anticipated that. You will naturally feel that way upon seeing the current grand duchess."

"Is that so? Did I seem rushed?"

Finally coming to her senses at Arwen's composed voice, the grand duchess stared blankly at her before slowly nodding.

After all, even the great Grand Duchess Evangeline couldn't help but react this way given the weight of the information she had received.

The Church of Light and the Demon Cult.

The ominous feeling that the two massive factions were conspiring in the darkness pierced through the grand duchess's thoughts.

"Let's hurry and prepare."

"...Yes."

Arwen entered the mansion at the slightly calmer voice of the grand duchess.

By her side, spirits had begun to follow her like a tide, their numbers increasing.

*

"I'm going crazy!"

The sudden urgent news that reached the sanctuary left the old man with no choice but to be quite surprised.

The hunting dogs of the holy kingdom, or rather, the hunters.

He was astonished once at how quickly the great apostle handled matters.

And again, he was surprised that the location was an alley in the commercial district not far from this party venue.

"Is everyone gathered?"

"Yes."

A hastily assembled force.

Whether it was unfortunate or fortunate, the commercial district was relatively open to outsiders, and coincidentally, a summons had been issued to the Twelve Seats of the order, making it a stronger force than ever.

"We must hurry."

If it was that insane apostle, it was certainly time for them to make a move.

The best scenario would be the mutual destruction of Veris and the apostle who had ties with the holy kingdom....

"We just need to do our job."

"Yes!"

The old man cruelly smiled in the darkness.

An apostle wielding the power of high priests' miracles was right here.

Even if he had stood out in the mid-term evaluation, it was a plain fact that an ordinary academy student would not be able to resist that power.