novelxo
Chapter 154: Under the Name of the Spirit King (2)
The next place Mira visited was the warehouse that once belonged to Melville. It was now owned by the Roseline state, so Eabates was the one managing it. But given the many items related to Chimera Clauzen that were found inside, the church was still keeping it closed and under investigation. There were many people from the church busily going from one building to another inside the premises.
「Oh, you must be Mira. We’ve been waiting for you, please come here.」
「Mm, let’s get this over with.」
A woman was waiting for Mira in the entrance of the overturned warehouses. She was Louise, the minister that had worked together with Sasori and Hebi to investigate Melville.
They were meeting there because Mira was going to help them with some of their investigation. The two of them walked inside, heading straight towards one specific warehouse, the one hiding the entrance to the Graveyard of War Memorials.
「Thank you very much for agreeing to come with us on such short notice.」 contemporary romance
「That’s perfectly alright, I don’t mind. I’m rather curious about that place myself.」
Louise seemed to command a great authority there, as the investigators that moved busily from one side to another made sure to stop and greet her respectfully. Mira watched that as she walked alongside Louise, eventually entering the warehouse building.
While they investigated the ruins buried below it, the Graveyard of War Memorials, they had run into a small problem. They did not know how to deal with the black mist stones inside.
The church’s opinion was currently divided, some of them saying that any material that could be used to potentially harm spirits should be disposed of with no questions, while the other half believed that there were still so many questions surrounding the black mist stones that it warranted more exhaustive research to really understand what it was, and how to properly deal with it.
That slowly developed into a divisive position in the church, dividing it into factions with different ideas, and the conflict only showed signs of getting worse with each passing day.
Louise was starting to get desperate seeing the church’s foundations shake like that, so she decided to swallow her pride and ask Sasori and Hebi for advice. They relayed it to Kagura, who then passed it on to Mira.
That resulted with her being invited to the Graveyard of War Memorials to help them figure out what to do with the black mist stones, though she had promised the Spirit King she would do that in the first place too.
Louise had been on the side that just wanted to get rid of everything, so she happily decided to follow Mira’s advice and was going down there with her now. Other investigators that worked with her followed them too, as witnesses.
They only had one role following Mira. They would stand as witnesses for the church that Mira had cleansed all the black mist stones with the power of the Spirit King.
The church was already aware of the Spirit King’s apparition during the announcement in Sentopolly. They had heard that a summoner by the name of Mira had summoned the Spirit King, though that was not exactly accurate.
「Let’s get started then, shall we? Truth be told, I’m not completely sure it’ll work, but we’ll just have to try.」
Mira’s connection with the Spirit King was real. The Three Gods revered by the church were sworn brothers of the Spirit King. So if the Spirit King ordered something, the church had no option but to obey. Not to mention that this was something the Spirit King had wished himself, so fulfilling his desires was a great honor for them.
They were in the center of the Graveyard of War Memorials. They stood in the middle of the tower which housed countless black mist stones, and Mira summoned Sanctia, the Holy Sword.
「What a… divine sight…」
One of the spellcasters there muttered at the sight of the blade. At first glance, the sword seemed to emit a gentle white light, like the moon. But the spellcaster also took notice of the immense spiritual power surrounding it. The Spirit King’s blessing on Mira was channeling his power into the blade.
「I can feel so much power too…」
Louise was of the Warrior class, so she could not see the spiritual power. But she could feel its invisible presence, understanding that the Spirit King’s power truly resided in the Holy Sword. The other investigators remained silent, but all felt similarly.
This would be the second time Mira was cleansing the demons’ curse. The first time was when getting rid of the crystal left by the Demon Princess, though the scale was completely different back then. Now it was not just a single crystal, but the entire Graveyard of War Memorials.
「Alright, let’s hope this works.」
『Don’t fret, simply thrust the sword into the floor. I’ll handle everything after that.』
As Mira reaffirmed her grip on the sword and muttered to herself, the Spirit King’s Divine Protection’s marks on her body began to glow, and she heard a voice in her head. The Spirit King was speaking to her. But only Mira could hear that, Louise and her men showed no reaction.
「You really show up only when it’s convenient… but well, no matter.」
Mira had a forced smile as she said that, but she also felt like she had to take advantage of that situation, so she removed her coat to let everyone else see the marks of the Divine Protection.
「Do you know what this is? It’s the Divine Protection granted to me by the Spirit King.」
When Mira said that, Louise looked even more shocked, quickly joining her palms together in adoration.
「The… Spirit King… That’s such a wonderful mark too.」
That was even more proof that the Spirit King wished for the destruction of the black mist stones, and would help give their story more credence. Louise and her men quickly realized that, and bowed in reverence.
『Well, may I use your name for this then, Spirit King?』
『Go ahead, announce it far and wide.』
Mira asked that in her mind, and the Spirit King consented readily. She had no reason to hold back anymore.
「Under the name of the Spirit King, and his power granted to me to fulfill his wishes, I cleanse these ruins!」
After announcing that with a loud and prideful voice, she thrust the sword into the ground. Multiple streaks of light shot out of the blade, which only got brighter until everything was washed out in white.
No shadows could escape that light. As everything was bathed in the blinding whiteness, any specks of black or shadow were overtaken and vanished without trace.
The light eventually escaped from inside the tower where Mira stood, spreading outside. At first the structures cast black shadows, but the white light quickly erased them.
The light was bright like the sun’s, but it felt gentle on the eyes, not causing any pain to anyone who saw it. Louise’s group understood that they had just witnessed something that would never repeat in history.
「Well, that should’ve gotten rid of everything that was left in here.」
Once the Spirit King told her he was done, Mira pulled out the sword and turned back to the witnesses. Watching everything take place had been more impactful than they had expected, everyone’s mouths left agape.
「Louise, it’s done. The Spirit King told me there shouldn’t be any remains of the curse left in here anymore.」
Sending the Holy Sword away, Mira gently shook Louise’s shoulder while once again name dropping the Spirit King with pride. She seemed to finally regain her senses after that, and she nodded at Mira.
「Thank you so much, Mira! That was incredible! I could feel the Spirit King’s power through my entire body!」
She sounded extremely excited as she said that. The other investigators also began to talk with each other with enthusiasm. They had all felt the Spirit King’s power in the Holy Sword’s light. That power was almost on par with that of the Three Gods, so it had left a strong impression on them.
「Look how well they received you.」
『Seeing them so happy makes using so much power worth it.』
Mira muttered seeing their reaction, and the Spirit King answered with an entertained voice. This was the first time the Spirit King had cleansed such a large curse, so he had to spend more energy than he expected at first.
Now that everything was said and done, the black mist stones had been cleansed under the name of the Spirit King.
「I’ll take care of the rest now, and write a report of everything that happened.」
Once they were out of the ruins, Louise said while bowing in gratitude, and left with a happy gait. The other witnesses were also in a very good mood, almost dancing as they left.
Mira learned afterwards that for members in the church, feeling the power of a friend of the Three Gods like the Spirit King, was considered a great honor and carried a lot of importance. On top of that, anyone who came in contact with the Spirit King was granted a high honorary position. That was another reason why Louise and her men were so happy.
Louise presented her report the next day. Those who were for the destruction of everything were happy hearing the news, thanking the Spirit King. The side that wanted to research the black mist stones dropped the matter, there was nothing to discuss if that was the Spirit King’s will.
Even when there were different factions within the church, their beliefs were still rooted in the same place.
That only served to sweep such internal divisions under the rug though, and Sasori and Hebi warned Louise that they would probably spring out again if they ever got a chance.
On the other hand, Roseline’s current ruler, the Eabates Trading Corporation, had designated the black mist stones as a prohibited material and left the church to deal with the rest, trying to not get unnecessarily involved.
Ulysses, the chairman, was still relieved hearing about the cleansing though, glad that most of the issue had been dealt with.