## Chapter 448 – Those Devilish Bastards
In the fading darkness, I saw the Wright brothers waving. Next, Mersin waved, then Martellis. Even the two monsters below Bulverza waved with smiles.
“Goodbye, everyone!”
As I greeted them, my body jolted as if in a fit. Then, like a whirlpool, my consciousness resurfaced.
ㅡFwap, fwap, fwap!
“Saint! Are you awake?! Thank goodness! Thank goodness!!!”
“El… Elise?”
The first thing I saw upon opening my eyes was Elise’s face.
“Shit… I have no strength…”
I raised my upper body and surveyed the current situation. All the strength had drained from my body, and it was dark all around. It seemed to be night, but… not inside the city.
This was in front of Isvant’s castle walls.
“Elise… what happened?”
It seemed Elise had moved me.
I blinked to clear my blurred vision and asked.
“Saint! You defeated the succubus, a demon of Pandemonium! Although in the final moment, that wicked demon opened a gate and escaped, this is a clear victory! You repelled a powerful demon!”
As if she had been waiting for me to wake up, Elise grabbed both my hands and shouted loudly. Her eyes were shining so brightly they were practically visible in the dark.
“Yeah. That’s how it went.”
Anyway, hearing such a shout at close range jolted me awake.
“Ugh, that woke me up.”
I had won.
“Sob…! But more than anything, I’m glad you’re awake, Saint! Defeating a demon! It’s important, but not more important than your life!!! I’m so glad!!!”
“Oh dear.”
Tears were welling up in her bright eyes.
Elise grabbed my hands and trembled as she shouted in an excited tone.
“If you hadn’t woken up, Saint, I don’t know how I would have lived!!!”
“Hehe, I made you worry.”
I patted Elise’s back, who was already sobbing, to calm her down.
“Elise. Don’t cry. We won. And I, Kim Kat, am not the kind of person to die from something like that.”
Elise, practically overflowing with joy, shouted, repeatedly expressing her gratitude, emotion, and praise.
“Truly! It was an amazing feat! To repel a demon with your own power!”
“Did I win alone? You’re the one who gave me the enchantments, you dummy.”
“Sob…! How considerate you are…! You don’t have to give me the credit to comfort me!”
“It’s not comfort, it’s the truth. We couldn’t have defeated her without combining our strength. My attacks wouldn’t have worked without the enchantments.”
I wouldn’t have been able to cut down Hildegard without the Holy Enchantment.
“No! I was merely a burden to you, Saint! And you saved me…!?”
“Hehe, I told you it wasn’t like that.”
Immediately after defeating Hildegard, I had lost consciousness.
I could imagine how worried Elise must have been to see that.
That must be why she was acting like this now.
Elise had a strong sense of responsibility, so she must have been at a loss when I collapsed. Anyway, I patted Elise’s back for a long time. Seeing the tears welling up in her extremely moved eyes, I found it quite cute.
Like a girl receiving her first birthday present from Santa Claus and shedding tears of joy.
“Hoo… I’ve calmed down a bit. I’ll express my gratitude once again, Saint.”
After some time, Elise regained her composure.
“After you lost consciousness, Saint, the sun soon began to set. I immediately carried you towards the city, but unfortunately, I couldn’t make it in time. That’s why we were here.”
Elise, now calm, explained the course of events.
“Thanks, Elise. For carrying me.”
“It’s only natural.”
Until the fight with Hildegard, it was still late afternoon.
Fighting there took a lot of time, and eventually, the sun began to set right after I won. Elise immediately carried me towards the city, but it was already night, so we couldn’t cross the castle gates.
So she laid me down here and waited for me to wake up, pouring out divine recovery skills and praying at the same time, she said.
“When you rebuked the succubus, Saint, the body of that demon flying in the sky immediately fell. What was that…!”
“Ah.”
ㅡHeavenly Demon Descent.
The power of the true Heavenly Demon Divine Art that surged from within.
The enlightenment of Fusion Confucianism. Mana, the energy source of this world. And my beliefs, thoughts, and faith, became one within the depths of my heart and manifested in the real world.
Just like the Actual Cutting that cleaved Alaune in one blow, and like my inner self that I saw in the circlet.
ㅡMy clear potential.
But.
For now, the true essence of that Heavenly Demon Descent doesn’t come to mind.
“This too.”
It was the same as Actual Cutting.
At the time, my faith, combined with Alaune’s illusions, took shape within me and manifested its power.
And now, the power of friendship sent by the legendary Wright brothers and my murderous friends helped complete the Heavenly Demon Descent, allowing it to manifest.
“Heavenly Demon Descent.”
I will be able to realize this again.
Such a belief bloomed in my heart.
The manifestation of potential, it is the realization of the belief that it can always be done and the ability to support it.
That ‘power’ clearly exists within me.
The experiences in this world, the enlightenment, the power, the friendship, the love, the faith, the beliefs, the efforts, clearly exist in my heart, just like things that cannot be seen with the eyes.
“That was the true power of Fusion Confucianism.”
The power to overthrow imperialism.
The power to fuck up those damn bastards.
The power to judge the existence of heretical demons.
The power to make what is wrong, right.
The true truth of Fusion Confucianism cannot be seen with the eyes, but it clearly resides in my heart.
“I see… It’s a similar kind of power to when the faith and belief of the Holy Maidens of the Order reach their limit and they unleash transcendent divine power!”
Elise, after briefly hearing the explanation of Heavenly Demon Descent, shouted, once again moved.
“Certainly, the faith you demonstrated in the Holy Army was so devout and sacred that it was beyond comparison!”
“Yeah. This is… it might be called divine power.”
It was a reasonable deduction.
I am a seeker of Fusion Confucianism.
If God exists in this world, if divine power is manifested through belief in them, then I, as a seeker, can perform divinity.
“Ugh, damn it. I have no strength in my body…”
“Please rest. This place is in front of the castle walls, so it should be relatively safe.”
“Yeah, I guess so… Ah, Elise, but the investigation.”
“Now that a succubus has appeared, it seems certain that some kind of gate has appeared. However, it is not known whether the succubus opened it personally, but the purpose of the investigation has been completed. Thank you for your hard work.”
“That’s a relief.”
And so, I closed my eyes again.
If Elise was protecting me, there was nothing to worry about.
“Elise. Wake me up later. I’ll take over the night watch.”
“I can’t do that. You need to recover now, Saint. It’s best for you to get plenty of sleep.”
“No, that won’t do.”
“I absolutely won’t wake you up until morning.”
“Damn.”
And I fell asleep.
* * *
When I woke up again, it was morning. Elise had been watching over me all night. As soon as I woke up, I passed through the castle gates and entered the city.
“Ugh, I still have no strength in my body. Elise. Thank you. You worked hard.”
“You worked harder, Saint.”
“Hehe, we both worked hard. But are you going back now?”
“Hmm… I’m thinking of staying for a few more days to write a report. Personally, I’d like to investigate further, but…”
Elise trailed off before coming to a conclusion.
“Through the encounter with the succubus, I was able to realize that my power is still lacking. With you injured, Saint, if I recklessly investigate alone, I’ll be defeated by the demons. I’ll end the investigation here.”
“Yeah. This is enough. You thought well. Our power is still lacking. We need more training.”
“You’re right. I’m thinking of staying for a few more days to write a report and observe the trends. Other demons might appear.”
That would be a good idea.
We had already witnessed the Demon Gate.
Hildegard had escaped into it.
The imp could be considered to have come over with the succubus. This was the rough conclusion. Of course, there might be other hidden truths, but for now, it was impossible to investigate.
It was better to grasp the trends, write a report, and report to the church.
“Then Elise. Take care. I’ll come to see you when I recover a bit. The same inn we always go to, right?”
“Yes… If you can’t go back alone, I’ll help you.”
“I can do that much alone. You probably haven’t slept either, so go in and rest. See you later. Divine!”
“F, Friend! I understand. I’ll see you next time. Goodbye!”
And so, I parted ways with Elise and trudged home.
This… I ended up staying out all night.
First of all, that was my biggest worry. I didn’t know what I would hear. Winia was probably really pissed. Karin too. Claudia would understand, but Risha-nim would also be very worried.
Ah, damn it, I’m so sorry I can’t even lift my head.
ㅡCreak.
I opened the door of the house.
It was still early morning, so Karin and Risha-nim were at work… no, I think today is their day off?
“Is our blackie back?”
The first thing I saw upon opening the door was Winia’s smiling face.
“Wi, Winia? Hehe! I ended up working overtime! It’s so good to see your face! I love you! Why are you so pretty and lovely, Winia!”
I smiled exaggeratedly and spread my arms wide.
In times like this, you have to set the mood first.
I strode towards Winia.
Still, seeing her face and chest makes me so happy. I finally felt like I was back and relieved. My wives are the prettiest, not that damn succubus.
“Blackie’s excited?”
Ah.
Damn it.
“No… I’m not excited…”
“Didn’t I tell you to come early? Blackie… why don’t you listen… Aren’t you worried about your wives waiting at home?”
“Th, that’s because I was definitely trying to come early, but…”
ㅡThump, thump, thump.
As I knelt in front of Winia, the other three wives came down from the second floor. All of them were wearing fluttering lingerie, it looked like three succubuses were coming down.
“Oh, our husband is finally here? Your sister was looking forward to today off since last night, but you didn’t come even after midnight!”
“This one was waiting… How dare you stay out all night.”
“Katt… Mama doesn’t know.”
Huh.
“I’m sorry! I apologize! It was my fault! And thank you for waiting!”
I took off my coat and bowed my head at my wives’ feet. In that state, I was scolded by Winia and the other wives.
“Our husband… are you going to keep being late when we live together? Do you want to die?”
“This one couldn’t sleep because of worry.”
“I’m sorry!!!”
Karin got angry, saying she couldn’t sleep, and Risha-nim was similarly angry. Still, when I rubbed my face against their calves and apologized, they seemed to feel a little better.
“Sigh, Blackie. I really get anxious when I don’t see you in front of me. I told you I’d put a leash on you if you did this one more time, didn’t I?”
“Gasp!”
Of course, Winia, who was the most pissed, scolded me with such terrifying words.
“Don’t be like that. He might be late because of work.”
Thank you, Risha-nim!
“Risha-unni. Are you suddenly taking Blackie’s side?”
“Yeah! This bastard needs to be punished!”
When Winia spoke bluntly, Karin retorted.
“Karin-unni said it well. I’m so glad I have someone on my side.”
As I bowed my head, Claudia stroked my back and said.
“Katt, should we take a bath with Mama first? We can talk in the bathroom. Okay?”
“Mama…”
As expected of Claudia…!
“Ugh! That’s the problem with you, unni! You accept everything Blackie does, so he gets spoiled!”
“Still, shouldn’t we listen to what happened before we scold him?”
“That’s true, unni. But this isn’t the first time.”
I grabbed Claudia’s hand and stood up.
“Haa. Blackie, get up. Let’s wash up first. What did you do to get so dirty?”
“…Well, that’s…”
And so, I went into the bathroom with Claudia and Winia. Following behind, Karin and Risha-nim also took off their lingerie and followed.
