Chapter 11 — Interlude: I Don’t Remember It Being This Large

The Axis Church was the largest, most powerful religious organization in the world. As the name suggested, its faith revolved around the Axis, or to be more precise, what appeared from there. Also known as the Celestial Pole, it was an enormous pillar that ran through the center of the world. But it is said that ordinary humans cannot see this pillar.

Since only a few can see it, its existence is often doubted, and in a world full of magic and monsters, it would be impossible to gather followers around such a vague concept. But the group had two absolutely confirmed benefits in the real world: healing and exorcism.

As far as healing, they were said to have methods of curing illness that normal doctors couldn't touch, through miracles handed down to them by the Axis. The reliability of healing magic was rather limited, and therefore it wasn't especially common.

"Exorcism" referred to their ability to exterminate both monsters and the spawn of the Dark Gods. Using the churches set up in each territory as bases from which to operate, they regularly expelled the monsters present in the regions under their control. They also served to watch over those villages and settlements that the nation itself was unable to protect.

The headquarters of the church existed in the capital of the Kingdom of Manii, where they assisted with the suppression of the Underworld beneath the city. The rank of clergy in the church correlated with the breadth of their responsibility, and their head was the Divine King.

◇ ◇ ◇

The Divine King and her retinue reached the capital without incident after parting ways with Yogiri and Tomochika. Journeying through the canyon by carriage, they crossed the Crystal Plains by steam engine. Rick and his followers disembarked near the palace, while the remainder of their party continued north.

The Seat of the Divine King was a religious institution based in the capital, which served as the main headquarters of the Axis Church and was the second largest building in the city.

Having reserved the front car of the train for themselves, there were three of them remaining. The Divine King sat at the window seat. A beautiful woman wearing white, dress-like armor, she had a somber air about her. She seemed to always have her guard up, as if she were still on the battlefield.

Sitting across from the Divine King was Lynel. He was somewhat notorious for having bad luck, but thanks to the events at the tower, he had set a new standard for what "bad luck" meant in this world.

Beside Lynel was the girl, Frederica. She had lost everything from her right elbow down as a result of an attack by one of the Dark God's spawn. As the staff resting at her side indicated, she was particularly skilled in magic.

Having passed the trials in the tower, both Lynel and Frederica were now Knights of the Divine King.

"Uhh, are you sure you don't want to go home first?" Lynel asked his companion. "I think your father will be worried..."

Frederica had effectively run away from home in order to join the trial at the tower. One would assume that her family was concerned, but she didn't seem to care.

"Come on, if I showed up at home like this, my father would faint. I can't go back until I get this fixed."

They were heading to the Seat of the Divine King for the purpose of healing her arm. Lynel had no particular need to go there himself, but she had dragged him along with her. Since her arm had been lost through some sort of curse, normal healing had proven insufficient.

"I apologize," the Divine King interjected. "It would have been best if I had learned healing magic myself. But if the curse can be removed, regenerating the limb should be possible."

While one might assume the Divine King could wield the entire power of the Axis Church, in reality, her abilities were heavily geared towards combat.

"No, no, please don't worry about it," Lynel replied. "The fact you allow us to travel with you is more than enough."

"It's nothing. You are Knights now. We are already equals," she said, likely for Lynel's sake, as he seemed to cower whenever he looked at her.

"By the way, whatever happened to those Apology Stones?" Frederica asked, changing the subject.

"I used them all."

Lynel had lost all of the powers the goddess Vahanato had given to him. He had no more star crystals, and he wouldn't be getting any more of them. His ability to return from death was also likely gone, but he had no way of testing it out.

"Will you be okay? You won't die?"

"Hmm, I don't know. It feels like my bad luck has improved somewhat..." At least, Lynel had a vague sense that that was the case. Since leaving the tower, he hadn't met any particularly horrid fate yet.

"Doesn't that mean you won't be able to go to the Underworld? Aren't you basically worse than an ordinary, powerless person?"

"Huh? Why would I be going there in the first place?!"

As long as they were in the capital, there was nothing for Knights to do but go down to the Underworld. That was why Frederica had wanted to become a Knight. Her father hadn't permitted her to go there. The entrance to the Underworld was heavily restricted, and with her father being an aristocrat wielding some control over distributing entry rights, forcing her way in was impossible. But as a Knight, she could go in and out as she pleased, and that would be true regardless of the nobles in charge.

"Uhh...is it too late for me to give up being a Knight?"

"No matter the circumstances, the fact of the matter is you did pass the trial," the Divine King said. "What the trial serves to test most is the strength of your Fate. It is meant to pick out special, extraordinary individuals. Therefore, that means there is something special about you. The fact that you are powerless now is of no concern. Why don't I bestow the Gift upon you myself?"

"What?! How come he gets special treatment?!" Frederica sulked.

Lynel couldn't blame her for thinking it was unfair, but he also felt it was rude of her to say. It made it seem like she was criticizing the Divine King.

"No, that is originally what it meant to be a Knight. Perhaps things have changed in the past thousand years, but now that I have returned, it shouldn't be a problem."

Originally, a Knight of the Divine King was someone who had received the Gift directly from the previous Divine King. While, under certain circumstances, the Gift could be passed on to others, it weakened with each successive generation, so it was better to receive it from someone as close to the source as possible. Given how close the Divine King was to the original source of the Gift, no one would object to receiving it from her.

"Do you already possess the Gift, Miss Frederica?"

"Yes. My class is Pyromancer++."

A Pyromancer was a mage who specialized in fire magic. It wasn't a particularly rare class, but the double plus added a special value to it. It meant that she had two fundamental advantages that normal Pyromancers didn't have. Even in cases where the class name wasn't immediately recognizable, the addition of a plus was a sign of incredible power. It generally indicated the ability to do something that ordinary classes couldn't accomplish.

"That seems suitable for you, but a second Gift should be no problem."

"So, I can get it too?"

"I intend to give it to all Knights who ask, but of course that decision is up to you." There was a possibility of demerits arising in the case of some classes. For someone who already had a Gift that functioned well, adding a second version was as likely to be a curse as a blessing. "Steam engines, though. These are truly an impressive invention," she mused. A thousand years ago there were no such machines, nor had the city been developed to such a degree.

The train began to slow as it approached the Seat of the Divine King.

◇ ◇ ◇

The Divine King was overwhelmed by the sight of the church's headquarters. It was constructed from numerous black and white cylinders, connecting, intersecting, and overlapping in complicated patterns. Even she herself didn't know the meaning behind that geometrical construction, but it was no doubt an awe-inspiring sight to all who beheld it.

"I don't remember it being so large," she said, standing in front of the mysterious structure her former shrine and home had become. The fact that it was called the Seat of the Divine King bothered her somewhat. "I had thought I was merely returning home, but now I'm glad you two came with me." She couldn't even tell where the entrance was. She would have been totally lost without a guide.

"Umm, it has been a thousand years. Do you think they'll recognize you?" Lynel asked.

"Why wouldn't they? Wait...will they?"

It was hard to believe that any follower would fail to recognize her, but now that she considered it, she had indeed been missing for a millennium. It was hard to imagine that anyone would know it was her by her presence alone.

"I'm sorry, but even I didn't realize who you were at first," Lynel admitted, honestly apologetic. It was likely the ordinary followers of the church would have the same lack of recognition.

"Hm, that is understandable. But there is nothing to do but proceed and find out. Where should we go from here?"

"Maybe that way?" he suggested, pointing upwards. "I've heard that's the oldest part of the building, which should be an important place to the church."

"That is indeed my old home. But how can we get there?"

A small, familiar building rested atop the head of the tallest cylinder that made up the church. While its design was inspired by the Axis, comparing it to the rest of the newly built structures made it look fairly sad. In her usual condition, the Divine King could have easily jumped that high, but at this point she had lost most of her power. In order to recover, she would need to rest, and for that she would need to return home, so it seemed there was nothing for it but to walk there.

"There are plenty of entrances, but we might as well use the one for nobility," Frederica suggested before guiding them forward, the others following quietly behind her.

Walking through a well-maintained garden, they arrived at one of the smaller cylinders that likely served as a connector to the other buildings. Seeing monks armed with spears guarding the entrance made the Divine King feel a little more at ease. Their "uniform" of wrapped cloth with small pieces of leather armor to guard their vitals was quite familiar to her.

"If we just said, 'The Divine King is back,' they'd probably think we were idiots, right?" Lynel asked.

"It is the truth, so what else can we say?" she replied, approaching the door confidently.

The warrior monks guarding it eyed her with concern at first, but their attention soon turned to the interior of the building. Passing by the two guards, a man in his thirties wearing a monocolored priest's outfit appeared from inside. Judging from his solemn demeanor, he was likely a high-ranking member of the church.

"Welcome home, our Divine King."

"See? I told you someone would recognize me," she stated, satisfied.

"I am Holaris, currently serving as archbishop. I found it hard to believe, but there is no way I could mistake your brilliance. As such, I have come to greet you."

"I see. These two are Knights. The girl has lost her arm in battle, so I would like for her to be healed."

"Very well, then. If you two would please proceed to the healing chamber..." Another staff member appeared from behind Holaris to guide them inside.

"I thought to start by returning home, but it appears things have changed somewhat. I'm having a bit of trouble getting there."

"Of course. Certainly, this must have been quite different in the era during which you were last active. We will visit your home first. Allow me to guide you to the heart of the Seat of the Divine King."

The ancient warrior entered the building with Holaris. The inside seemed to have been put together with great care, and had a pronounced solemn and religious atmosphere. Just as it looked from the outside, the interior was absolutely enormous, but moving pathways and elevators helped to compensate for the huge distance they needed to travel. While it took a considerable amount of time, at least it wasn't an exhausting amount of walking.

After a while, they reached the highest building at the center of the headquarters. Though it looked just as shabby as from the outside, being so close finally gave her a true feeling of having come home.

Upon entering, she noted that, while the passage of time was very clear, it was essentially as she remembered it.

Passing through the chapel, she reached her personal room. It contained nothing but a bed and table, but it looked like it had been kept quite clean.

"Now, then," she said, taking a seat. "Can we talk here?" She had been gone for over a thousand years. There were plenty of things she would need to ask about.

"Of course," Holaris replied, sitting down across from her. "The only ones with the authority to come to this place are the ten archbishops, of which I am the only one currently in the capital."

"So, the ones keeping this room clean were the archbishops?"

"Yes, the ten of us take turns."

"Despite being in such a high-ranking position, you still take the time to do the cleaning?"

"Even archbishops must lead by example. Cleaning is part of our duty."

It seemed they had added it to their duties themselves, but that was hardly a bad thing. The Divine King was honestly impressed.

"Now," Holaris continued, "while we are most pleased by your return, it was thought that you were to continue keeping the Dark God sealed in the Garula Canyon. What has happened there?"

"The Dark God in the canyon has met its end. For now, that is all there is to say about it." If she were to tell him that some young stranger had simply killed it, she doubted he would understand. He would have to be satisfied with a summary for now.

"I see. What about the key to the seal?"

"What do you mean?" There was no key to the seal in the canyon. It was possible he was referring to a key for the tower itself, but she didn't know why that was important anymore.

"Hm, it seems you aren't playing dumb."

Something was wrong. And as she thought to question him about it, she realized that it was not just in her head — she couldn't move her arms or legs at all.

"We thought there was no chance you would ever return here, but even so, we made some preparations," Holaris said, his attitude now very different. There was no longer any respect in his voice.

"Political backstabbing, is it? How careless of me. I should have known there would be some rot after a thousand years."

According to what she had heard, the will of the church was now decided by a conference of archbishops. But that was only meant to act as a stand-in for the Divine King. Now that the Axis Church's highest-ranking member had returned, all of their authority would theoretically revert to her.

"No, the church itself hasn't changed at all. Just as before, it teaches sacrifice of the self for the sake of the world, for the people. The archbishops are indeed pure, and act only as representatives of the Divine King. They would be overjoyed by your return, and would gladly hand over their authority to you. Even I have no objection to that."

"Then what is this?!" she asked with the last of her strength. The paralysis had already taken over her entire body. She wouldn't be able to keep speaking for much longer.

"There is no need to worry. We only wish for you to continue to serve as a symbolic figurehead for the people. Nothing will change." Holaris intended to seal her away without killing her, likely because he knew that if she died, she could simply reincarnate.

The Divine King could no longer move or speak. I suppose I grew too soft over the past thousand years...

She should have waited until she'd fully recovered before coming home. She should have known that the church would have changed over a thousand years.

As regret after regret swirled inside her head, the Divine King was once again sealed away within her own body.