The Holy Flame’s Return

Deep within the forest, two adventurers galloped on horseback. They had already spotted the signal smoke rising from the watchtower’s location, yet upon their arrival, they were met with nothing but a battlefield shrouded in gunpowder smoke and guards diligently clearing the aftermath.

“How fared the battle? We are adventurers dispatched for reinforcement.”

Tikka dismounted, and the guard, noticing the emblem of the Council on his person, promptly responded:

“Adventurers, the battle… it has already concluded.”

“Concluded?”

Tikka was momentarily stunned. He distinctly recalled Eric having told him this was to be the dark creatures’ strongest assault yet, a critical juncture with the witch’s barrier failing.

“Truthfully, it was rather… unexpected.”

The guard stammered, struggling for words, before gesturing towards another area. “For the full details, our captain can brief you.”

“Oh?”

On the other side, Mula was equally bewildered. The guard captain approached, his gaze sweeping over the scattered bodies and various severed limbs on the ground as he spoke:

“This… I have never witnessed so many ghouls, skeletons, and demonic beasts erupt from that direction. They came like a black tide. For a time, I truly believed the Demon Lord had returned. We exhausted every method to resist them, but… the casualties were still devastating.”

Surveying the devastation within the watchtower, and the extent of the damage to their equipment, no one could doubt the fiercely brutal struggle they had endured. Yet, Tikka’s concern was not the battle itself, but rather how they had managed to repel such creatures.

“We didn’t repel them,”

an old veteran interjected at that moment. “It was light. The light made those creatures retreat.”

“…Light?”

“Enough,”

the captain sharply told the veteran. “You were hallucinating.”

“If that was a hallucination… we should all be dead by now.”

Someone else spoke up at that instant. “I saw it… A burst of light erupted from the western woods, and then all those monsters chased after it…”

“The western forest… Alright, can you mark the direction for me?”

Mula asked, stepping forward. The captain immediately cautioned them, “Those monsters are still in that forest… Can you at least wait for the army? Go there only after our reinforcements arrive, otherwise, you’ll simply be torn to shreds by those ghouls.”

“If we are to be torn to shreds, then so too will the person who wielded Holy Light in those woods.”

Tikka said, remounting his horse. Mula followed suit:

“Are we going to find him?”

“We’ll go and see.”

Tikka said, riding towards the forest. He had recently received intelligence—more accurately, the Council had received intelligence—that the Bishop of the Rose Church had recently begun to consolidate the churches within his diocese. Furthermore, he had dispatched individuals to carry out a “secret mission” concerning the border village of Xinka.

This was clearly highly classified intelligence, yet it had been intercepted by the Council’s intelligence agency. The most crucial detail revealed was that Pope Marinanco I had once issued an assassination order against an expatriate nun. Concurrently, information gleaned from various channels suggested the woman might have been pregnant when she was hunted. Consequently, the intelligence operatives quickly realized the immense implications of such a possibility. After all, the Church’s power had fragmented due to factional strife, as no one had yet been confirmed to inherit the Pope’s legacy, the Holy Flame. If, at this moment, the Pope truly had a descendant who had inherited that power, symbolizing supreme authority, and were to be put forward, the previously fractured Church could very well reunify. This was the exact scenario the Transmigrators least desired. They had spent years attempting to eradicate the Holy See’s influence from this continent; for it to now make a comeback would be truly alarming.

“We must secure him before the faithful and the Church’s armed forces can find him,”

Tikka stated directly. “If such a person truly exists, his presence in the hands of the Church would be far too perilous. He must be in our hands, in the Council’s hands. Otherwise, the fragile continental order we’ve just established could be overturned by this individual, and another bloody Pope resurrected. For the Council, this would be a catastrophe.”

“Is that so… I see. But in such a situation, do we truly need to control him? For the descendant of a bloody Pope, couldn’t we use a more direct approach?”

Mula questioned. Tikka shook his head. “Listen to me, don’t always resort to such thinking… Killing is never the best option.”

“Furthermore, this matter lacks any concrete evidence or basis. We must investigate this thoroughly beforehand; that is the very purpose of our presence here.”

As Tikka spoke, Mula nodded.

“So, it’s also possible it’s not the Holy Flame, but simply an ordinary person who has awakened to Holy Light?”

“That’s a possibility. If that’s the case, he is in danger right now, and we need to save him even more urgently.”

“Save a native… and have two Otherworld Travelers risk being killed?”

“Mula, I will tell you this one more time, and only this one time,”

Tikka stated. “All lives are equal, whether they are Transmigrators or native inhabitants of this continent. We may have our differences, but we must learn to communicate, understand, and tolerate each other to coexist on this land. This is the fundamental purpose of the Council’s existence. If you harbor the belief that ‘Transmigrators are superior to natives,’ then you are no different in essence from those past perpetrators who ‘hanged and burned all the Transmigrator demons high upon crosses.'”

“…What they did was far more terrifying than that.”

“That doesn’t mean we should treat them in kind… The Council exists to allow people to live better lives, not to perpetuate hatred.”

As Tikka spoke, the two had already entered the woods. Here, the ground was littered with the remains of various zombies and skeletons, clear evidence that a battle, an intensely fierce one, had taken place.

“The technique… appears remarkably skilled.”

Observing the monster remains on the ground, Tikka and Mula dismounted to examine them:

“These remains bear no direct wounds, despite being utterly shredded,”

Mula noted at that moment. “And within the forest… there’s a peculiar scent.”

“A fragrant aroma… and a warmth…”

she murmured, but Tikka, ahead of her, had already halted, speaking after a moment of silence:

“Notify the Council. Have them gather our forces and dispatch them here.”

“Ah…”

“We’ve found him. Without a doubt.”

Gazes at the scene before him, Tikka took a deep breath and declared, “The Holy Flame… after vanishing for a full thirteen years, has reappeared in this world.”

Before him, the forest was enveloped in a brilliant white glow. The ground was strewn with the bodies of various demonic beasts, utterly suppressed and completely purified by the intense light. If it were merely this, it would not be uncommon, but such a massive quantity of undead purified, leaving behind such a potent residue of Holy Light, could only signify one thing…

“We have confirmed… the existence of the ‘Holy Child’.”