The Excommunicated Saint Wants to Lose

I yawn.
Sitting on a flat rock and staring blankly, drowsiness keeps washing over me.

Why isn’t he coming?
Without a clock, I can’t be sure, but it feels like at least 2 hours have passed.
Enough time to cool down my once-heated chest.

I suppose I have to admit my mistake.
It felt so sweet at the planning stage that I overlooked it.
The fact that waiting without a set time is excruciatingly boring.
It was a bitter lesson.
My patience was finally reaching its limit.
“Oh noble sun, please rescue me from this swamp of boredom.”
I offered a meaningless prayer out of habit.
In the past, She would have smiled kindly and kept me company.
Now, She was in a place far beyond my reach.
“…Do you dislike me that much?”
A thin voice that disappears after weakly hitting the wall.
Though it’s no different from usual, today it sounded particularly empty.
Should I just give up?
Suddenly, everything felt pointless.
It seemed better to forget this nonsense and just go to sleep.
Just as I was about to lie down, forgetting about the Holy Knight of Evil Destruction and everything else.
‘Huh?’
I sensed several presences coming from somewhere.
They were clearly approaching through the cave, the only passage in the mud goblin dungeon.
Finally.
My mood brightened as if I had never been gloomy.
I should greet them majestically, like a dungeon boss.
I sat up straight, crossing my legs.
According to Giff, I was known as a “deranged saint who has taken a liking to murder.”
Probably, the Holy Knight of Evil Destruction would likely know me as such too.
So I had to be careful not to break that image with my words or actions.
To ignite their fighting spirit, I needed to become as evil an existence as possible.
“I am the mad saint.”
It was a moment that required method acting.
“I want to see blood.”
Contrary to my intention, I keep smiling brightly.
I shook my head and recalled gloomy memories to forcibly maintain an expressionless face.
As I tried to immerse myself in the role, the presences grew closer and closer.
Roughly 30 people.
Fewer than I expected.
I had hoped for a large party of up to 100 people, led by the Holy Knight of Evil Destruction, coming to subjugate me.
It was a disappointingly small number.
Still, it shouldn’t be a big problem.
They must be confident in their skills, so they’ve come as an elite few to fight.
“Everyone, prepare for battle.”
A stern voice issuing commands.
Finally, the awaited opponent and his subordinates revealed themselves.
“A red nun’s habit… That orc’s words were true.”
The man at the center of the group took a step forward towards me.
“……”
My head started to throb.
“Bright light for the weak.”
I greeted them, hoping against hope.
Then, the cause of my headache, unable to suppress his anger, shouted loudly.
“How dare you! You dare speak of the sun’s grace with your excommunicated body!”
Judging by his manner of speech, he was indeed a holy knight from the order.
It was truly regrettable from my perspective, who had hoped otherwise.
“Are you really the famous Holy Knight of Evil Destruction, Derk?”
“Shut up! I have no words to exchange with the likes of you.”
The goddess always said that what’s important is not the appearance but the inner self.
So I didn’t judge people by their looks.
Appearance was merely an obstacle in human relationships.
No matter how one looked, being kind and polite was all that mattered.

But for a middle-aged, pot-bellied man with a bald head, maybe it’s okay to judge just by appearance.

I couldn’t help but sigh.
It was an appearance that had built a wall between itself and strength, to the point of being complicated.

“I swear by the radiant sunlight that I will judge you. Oh sun, grant me the burning flames of your brilliant light!”
Derk, oblivious to others’ feelings, raised his right hand holding a staff and shouted loudly.

“Oh sun, I shall be your flame!”

The other holy knights who came with him also shouted battle cries, each holding their swords.

White holy power filled the cave where only chilly air had been swirling.
A warm yet fierce energy.
My whole body tingled.
The reignited fighting spirit blazed up again.

“Hm… interesting.”

I uttered the lines I had prepared while drawing in the mana floating in the air.
“Since my body’s heated up, you’ll have to take responsibility.”

After being excommunicated, I could no longer use holy power.
So I had to learn other combat methods to survive.

“Form ranks! The Excommunicated Saint is trying to use aura!”

Aura.
A concept that appears as an essential element in many fantasy novels.

With repeated training, one can imbue mana into weapons, including swords, or their body.
It was the only option left for me, who had not a speck of talent in magic or spirit arts.

“You should feel what it’s like to be submerged in shadows too.”

That’s as far as my prepared lines went.
Now it was time to ad-lib with instinct and intuition.

Mana enveloping both arms.
Red aura was generated, and tremendous power surged.

“Here I come!”

I dashed forward quickly.
Towards a holy knight positioned at the edge.

There’s no need to use a big technique from the start.
A lightly advancing fist.
The holy knight struck in the abdomen crumpled to the ground helplessly.

The holy knights showed no panic even as their comrade fell.
Their swords rushed towards me.

I immediately retreated to dodge and smiled brightly.

I can feel it.
Their well-trained movements.

“Don’t lose heart!”

At Derk’s shout, the holy knights charged in unison.
Movements enhanced by holy power.
Various long and short swords approached from all directions.

Slashing, thrusting, throwing.
Despite numerous blades rushing in simultaneously, their movements don’t overlap.

It’s admirable.
To think the holy knights of our order are at this level.
They’re much weaker compared to Giff, but holy knights excel at this kind of coordinated combat.
If many can fight as one, numbers become an overwhelming advantage.
“Keep swinging your swords without rest!”

The threatening offensive continues without pause.
However, unless they’re holy knights who have reached a high level, they can’t pierce the Sun Catcher, which is harder than plate armor.

Most slashes are absorbed by the Sun Catcher, naturally giving me leeway.
Fists thrown whenever an opening appears.
Even with controlled strength, they fall one by one.

I kept moving and extending my aura-clad fist.
As their only advantage in numbers decreased, their weakened offensive became apparent.

Before I knew it, more than half of the holy knights were lying face down on the ground.
The battle situation tilting more and more.
The outcome was already decided.

I planted my fist in the face of the holy knight who resisted until the end.
Their tenacity in not giving up easily was admirable, but they faced the wrong opponent.

With all the charging holy knights now fallen.
I spoke leisurely as I walked.

“Boring.”

The breathing that communicated perfectly just through eye contact was satisfactory.
However, something was lacking to grant me defeat.

First, their absolute strength falls short.
No matter how many ants gather, they can’t defeat a tiger.

Moreover, they only used holy power to enhance their bodies, so it wasn’t very threatening.
More precisely, their holy power was too weak to be used for anything else.

“You all lack faith.”

For the holy knights brought as elites to have such weak faith.
No matter how many there are, it’s impossible to tackle a boss with just one skill.

“Is this the end?”

I approached Derk, who had been standing in place just shouting since the battle began.

“If this was all, you should have brought more.”

Inwardly, I hoped he would say this was all a trap.
Surely, they wouldn’t have come unprepared against someone as notorious as me.

“Are you really the Holy Knight of Evil Destruction? You’re so different from the rumors.”

His ugly appearance was a minor issue.
Holy power, attitude, character.
Overall, he greatly deviated from the characteristics I had heard from others.

“You’re no different from the rumors yourself.”

Derk gritted his teeth while wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“Why aren’t you killing these guys?”
“…What?”

I hadn’t misheard.

“Kill them all! Send them all to the goddess’s side! Commit the sin of being covered in blood, I say!”
“……”
Only then did I notice the shape of the staff in Derk’s right hand.

“…This crazy bastard.”

A tool to absorb the holy power that disperses into the air when a believer dies.
It was a kind of dark art to accumulate a massive amount of holy power in a short time.

“Did you bring them all here to kill them?”

I wasn’t the goal.
My desire for defeat had narrowed my vision, preventing me from noticing until now.

“Small sacrifices are necessary for the greater cause. It’s regrettable, but unavoidable.”

His sincerity came through.
That’s why it made me even more heated.

“Aren’t you ashamed before the goddess who’s watching you?”
“I am the Holy Knight of Evil Destruction! It is my duty to judge evil! How dare a woman who went mad just because she lost her companions understand my grand purpose…”

I threw a punch, striking his jaw.
With the sound of his jawbone crumbling, Derk’s body collapsed to the ground.

“You’re not worthy of serving the sun.”

The holy power Derk possessed was at a miserable level.
Not even a handful of sand.
He was practically close to a layman who didn’t even know the doctrine.

I could roughly guess how such a guy became the ‘Holy Knight of Evil Destruction’.

Fraud and politicking.
The long-standing ills of our order.
He must have manipulated public opinion and stolen his subordinates’ achievements to build his reputation.

And he must have periodically supplemented his lacking holy power using the staff.
The sin of daring to suck in the goddess’s grace through such a filthy means was heavy.

“You told me to commit a sin earlier, right?”

I don’t create innocent deaths.
As long as they don’t disturb my mood.

“I’ll grant your wish.”

I stomped on his neck with my right foot clad in aura.

The stone floor of the dungeon was dyed red.
The pungent smell of blood spread, as if emphasizing that this was an unpleasant victory.

“……”

In the end, I couldn’t even lose and just ruined my mood.
Not wanting to stay any longer, I headed straight out of the dungeon.

“Is it all over?”

As soon as I came out, Giff greeted me.
Somehow, I felt a bit annoyed at the sight of him lying in the shade of a tree near the entrance, casually waving his hand.
“Derk pressured other organizations. That’s why only holy knights from the Nusette Order came to subjugate you.”

My energy drained at his unnecessarily kind explanation.

“Take me to the inn… I have no strength.”
“Hmm, I have news that might restore your vigor.”
“What is it?”

Giff paused for a moment before grinning.

“The newly chosen hero is in Serda right now.”
“……”

It truly was news that brought back my vitality.