WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 540: Descent of the Saintess

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A lighthouse monastery stood on the peninsula extending into the Mediterranean in the west of the continent. It served as a beacon for sailors, lighting the Mediterranean coast, the continent's only sea route. The monks who lived there had sun-darkened skin and battled the harsh sea.

Gylo, a monk of the Lighthouse Monastery, was inspecting the Great White Wall when he noticed red writing spreading across it. Monks were obligated to immediately copy down any writing that appeared on the Great White Wall and preserve it as an official document. He hurriedly grabbed paper and a pen, then frowned at the red stains.

"Red? Is it the Blood Monastery?"

The Blood Monastery had no information worth sending through the Great White Wall. What could heretics in that distant barbaric land possibly have to announce?

"They're probably pulling the same trick about the Lamb's Envoy appearing again."

That was the only news the Blood Monastery could have. Without much enthusiasm, he dipped his pen in red ink.

Then the Great White Wall turned red.

It looked as though someone had committed murder in front of the wall. Bloodstains splattered across it, forming letters written in fresh blood. Was the victim leaving behind a message in blood? Startled by the gruesome sight, the monk slammed his knee into the desk.

"Argh!"

It was clearly an abnormal phenomenon, but the monk was obligated to record even that.

Remembering his duty, he hurried to write down what was on the Great White Wall, only to realize the effort was pointless once he read it.

The Blood Monastery was requesting an audience with the Holy Maiden.

Similar events took place all over the world. On small Great White Walls buried in the sand of the Lesser States, and on Great White Walls as enormous as the walls around the Empire's main headquarters. A revelation so crude and barbaric it could only be called an aberration rang out.

Everyone knew who could commit such an atrocity against the Great White Walls that carried God's words. Yet they could only watch helplessly.

Because it was happening in the Blood Monastery, which ruled over the barbaric lands beyond the Enger Plain on the other side of the continent.

Having caused the disturbance in spectacular fashion, Yegcheriya placed both hands on the white wall that had become red.

"The Holy Maidens won't be able to ignore this. Ah, it has been so long since I last received a Holy Maiden's revelation!"

"Even if you want a definite answer, isn't this a little extreme?"

"The Sanctum guards stale order and regulations. They are dullards who only react when shown something extreme. To reach the Holy Maiden, we must throw them a problem they cannot possibly solve on their own!"

True enough. Even the proud Sanctum could not allow the Great White Wall to remain stained with blood. Sure enough, a response soon came.

[How dare a vampire defile the Rakion Great White Wall with blood! Would you desecrate the sacred bricks that record the teachings bestowed by the First Holy Maiden!]

White letters appeared on the bloodstained Great White Wall. At the same time, fierce light burst forth and drove away the bloody energy defiling the wall.

[Stains shall be purified by light! Fallen nun, vanish into the shadows of history!]

Long ago, when the teachings of the Celestial God were dismissed as heresy and persecuted, the First Holy Maiden wrote passages on fired bricks, secretly teaching people letters and faith. Whenever soldiers came searching, her followers assembled the bricks they possessed and hid the teachings.

Then one day, suspicious soldiers tore down the wall. A miracle occurred just before the Holy Maiden's teachings could be exposed to the world. The Celestial God's teachings had changed into a stern rebuke aimed at the oppressors. The oppressors' soldiers realized that the Holy Maiden was a true prophet and repented.

The miracle born from that old tale was the Rakion Great White Wall. It was named after the brickmaker who had fired the bricks for them.

Though every Great White Wall stood in a different place, they were all one and the same. The Celestial God's teachings passed through the Great White Walls.

Conversely, that meant miracles performed at other monasteries could also affect the Blood Monastery.

Words appeared all across the Great White Wall.

[We condemn you!]

[We shall punish you!]

[Repent!]

Clusters of light rose throughout the Great White Wall. Holy light that purified all things opened holes in the blood energy filling the space. The growing clusters of light tore through the curtain of blood, trying to restore the Great White Wall to white.

"To seek teachings is to reach one's destination, and to extend one's hand is to draw near. To hear my voice and feel my touch is the path to drawing near to the Celestial God. Therefore, those who block that path are demons."

Bloodcraft, Exorcistic Blood Sacrament.

A blood sacrament to drive out demons was performed. The vampire nun recited scripture and released blood energy.

The clusters of light still flashed. Yet the curtain of blood only gave way briefly before flowing back to fill the gaps. Dozens of holy lights flickered intermittently, unable to overpower the blood sacrament.

"You cannot erase my words simply by telling me not to defile the wall. You cannot condemn and erase them simply because I wrote them with blood energy. The scriptures do not say that, after all."

"That's because vampires didn't exist back then."

"But it isn't written there, is it?"

To mad fanatics, anything not written in scripture was not truth. Extreme fundamentalists had something in common with extreme progressives. They were tolerant of things not covered by their principles.

The light on the Great White Wall flickered as if flustered. At least dozens of monks were exerting their power, yet they could not withstand Yegcheriya alone. At minimum, clerics of abbot or bishop rank would have to exert their power together to have even a chance of matching her.

There was, of course, an easier way to resolve the situation. It meant giving in to a terrorist's demands, but it was the surer method. Yegcheriya suddenly looked up, her face lighting up.

"Ah, our Holy Maiden blessed by the First Holy Maiden. Thank you for bestowing grace upon this monastery!"

And causality twisted.

Something pulled taut snapped. At the same time, the blood energy that had filled the Great White Wall vanished in an instant.

It was not swept away or driven out. The Great White Wall simply returned to its original state. This was a higher miracle, fundamentally different from a simple miracle or contest of strength.

The Great White Wall had been restored by the Holy Maiden's power.

On the Great White Wall, which had regained its purity as if it had never been defiled with blood, a single person's words appeared softly.

[I stopped you, Yegcheriya. Because I came to find you myself.]

What? What was that supposed to mean?

Despite the strangely twisted causality of those words, Yegcheriya clasped her hands in awe and welcomed the Holy Maiden's revelation.

"Oh, Lord... This humble servant of the Celestial God welcomes the light that has come to this remote monastery."

Writing could appear on the Great White Wall, but voices could not be conveyed. Yegcheriya manipulated blood energy to write on it, but it vanished the moment it touched the Great White Wall, which maintained its form through some kind of power.

The Holy Maiden's authority was a power of a higher order than divine power. With vision that transcended time and space, Holy Maidens could create miracles beyond imagination. The Holy Maiden who had simply erased Yegcheriya's blood energy, with no relation to Yegcheriya's power or authority, calmly wrote more words.

[Whatever answer I give, I cannot restore the twisted causality that is you. Such is providence. But as one Holy Maiden, I ask you, who were once devout. Stop wandering and return to God's embrace. Your body may be cursed, but I will preserve your mind so that it may regain the light.]

She was telling her to die. An adherent of the Sanctum might not think much of dying for faith, though. Yegcheriya smiled faintly and waved her bloodstained finger.

"Ah, Holy Maiden. Your joke goes too far. Fear not death. If one possesses a clear and pure mind, the Celestial God will gladly make room at His side. If my mind is clear, why should this wretched body keep me from doing good and virtuous deeds?"

Again, her words vanished before reaching the Great White Wall. Though they clearly had not carried beyond it, the Holy Maiden sent a reply as if she had understood.

[It is a Holy Maiden's fate to be unable to avoid even a predetermined outcome. Though I knew you would not accept, I had to ask. Therefore, I will remain silent regarding the question you intend to ask.]

"Holy Maiden. What I wish to tell you is..."

[Those words were not for you, Yegcheriya. They were for the King of Humanity who incited you.]

Huh? She should not be able to see me.

The Great White Wall was only a wall where the same words appeared in every location. It did not convey scenes or circumstances. Yet for some reason, the Holy Maiden beyond the wall was looking directly at me.

[There is no need to labor over repeating answers you already know. Nor can I provide answers you do not know. The causality that could continue this conversation has ended, so I can tie off this loop.]

Those words were true.

No matter what we said or what blood sacrament Yegcheriya performed, that Holy Maiden could close and reject this conversation at will. That must have been the Holy Maiden of Causality, Tichiel's power.

I could not even begin to guess what kind of ability it was. It would probably be the same even if I read her thoughts and understood her nature. Like Peruel, the Steel Maiden, it was likely the sort of power that was difficult to understand and impossible to overcome even if understood.

Still, a Holy Maiden was not omnipotent. The fact that this conversation, one the Holy Maiden of Causality could not reach through causality, had taken place meant there was room to work with.

"Then that means I can think whatever I want, right?"

Before Yegcheriya could write anything, the Great White Wall answered on its own.

[Yes. This is already a concluded conversation.]

So most of my guesses were right, and she was saying she could not tell me anything that was still only a hypothesis? It was a good attitude, but unfortunately, that was not enough right now.

Because there was a protagonist here who would not understand without an explanation.

"That's what she says, Shei. What do you think?"

The regressor, who had been standing there with a sullen expression, replied irritably.

"What does that even mean? Explain it so I can understand."

'Tichiel's way of speaking is confusing. Sigh, the commander of the Holy Sword Corps would translate for me if they were here. I can't tell anything through the Great White Wall.'

Then the Great White Wall briefly turned pure white. The Holy Maiden's message came through in handwriting that was clearly flustered.

[Yegcheriya. What are you harboring? Causality is twist...]

That was when it happened.

The letters collapsed weakly.

The words written in the air trembled, then broke apart into consonants and vowels before falling away. The letters that dropped beneath the Great White Wall recombined into a single sentence.

Light descended from the heavens.

At that moment, with no sign or warning, a girl with her eyes peacefully closed appeared in the chapel.

No, could I even call it appearing?

If presence was existence, she radiated an overwhelming existence. Even when I was looking elsewhere, I could recognize that she was there. My consciousness was focused on her more clearly than anything else.

Yet she was not here. That phantom possessed neither warm body heat, slight weight, nor an elegant voice.

No one was here. Yet she certainly existed. If asked to draw her appearance, I could. But if I looked in a mirror, her figure would vanish like an illusion.

Rather than her being here, it felt as though the fact that she was here had been conveyed directly to my mind. I could not read her thoughts, and she did not feel real, but she was undeniably present.

"It has been tiresomely long, King of Humanity and Yegcheriya."

A voice that seemed to arrive across time and space echoed out, gentle and clear, yet holding unchanging truth. The Holy Maiden, her eyes quietly closed, looked precisely toward the regressor and greeted her sadly.

"And my final hope, my first despair."

I could not read her thoughts, so I had no idea who she was or what power she possessed. But the regressor knew exactly who stood before her. Even before such an enormous miracle, she greeted the other person calmly, as though she were used to it. Her expression said she was happy to meet her.

"Nice to see you, Maiél."

Footnotes:

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