I Can’t Run Away From the Girl Who Saved Me

57 – Burning Machine (1)

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The Holy See was a mysterious building full of very special structural designs and magical devices.

The sound of footsteps or whispering voices echoing in a large space disappears without being able to echo everywhere as they hit the unique ceiling structure.

Due to the mysterious magic in the hallways, a sacred silence was placed in the hallways and lobby of the building, enough to make an ordinary person feel uneasy.

As I walked slowly along the widest hallway among the four directions from the lobby to the north, south, east, and west, there was a large door at the end.

An angel figure carved from marble was decorated between the ceiling and the door, and the wooden door, which had been treated with anti-corruption chemicals and painted in luxurious colors, had a splendid tree branch-shaped decoration made of gold.

It seemed clear that it was probably one of the most ornate entrances in the Vatican.

The nameplate next to the door was made of platinum, and the golden fog flowing with divine power was trapped inside the words ‘Great Conference Room’ engraved in the center, shining softly.

The white armored guard guarding the door asked as he blocked the visitor.

“Who are you?”

“Alice Goldfield, member of the Heresy Inquisition.”

Alice spoke in a short answer.

It wasn’t like the guard didn’t know her face anyway.

You probably heard in advance that she would be here today.

Her blocking her was only a formality.

The guard responded by stepping aside.

“Let’s go in, they’re waiting inside.”

Alice nodded her head without answering and opened the door.

The large door opened smoothly without any noise.

But unlike her door, Alice’s heart was shaking noisily and could not settle down smoothly.

Five priests who died during her mission.

The reason Alice visited the Vatican today was to punish and deal with their deaths.

The first thing I saw was the vibrant colors created by the colorful stained glass.

Rather than the large statue depicting the goddess and the beautiful round table carved entirely out of large marble, the enchanting rays of light that softly illuminated the room caught my eye first.

When I looked around a bit, I saw three men wearing purple clothes sitting at a large oval table.

And at the far end sat a woman dressed in white wearing a high crown.

Pope Elipha, the highest person in the Goddess Church, and three of the heads of the Pope’s six institutions were waiting for Alice.

The men all turned their heads towards Alice.

Alice knelt down on one knee toward them and bowed her head.

“Advanced Paladin Alice. “I see you, Pope.”

One of the men in purple clothes, an old man with a flowing white beard, cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

“… Take a seat.”

The old man was the head of the Supreme Court, which could be said to be a court within the Holy See.

He probably came here to decide on the punishment to be meted out to Alice for causing the deaths of five priests.

Alice slowly got up from her seat and sat down at the very end of the table, the seat that was furthest from the Pope and had no choice but to face him.

The chief judge looked at Alice and slowly opened his mouth.

“Paladin Alice.”

“Yes.”

The old man’s voice was filled with a firmness and deep anger that did not suit his age.

Everyone except the old man and the Pope were glaring at Alice with stinging eyes.

It wasn’t a strange thing.

We only got so far because we attracted the support of citizens with our spectacular actions and performances.

There were not many people in the Vatican who looked favorably on her radical actions, including severely punishing members of her own religious order for committing injustice.

In particular, the head of the Supreme Court, who was in charge of trials within the Vatican, had no reason to look favorably on Alice, who arbitrarily punished religious leaders while ignoring him.

The old man strongly questioned Alice.

“Two days ago, the priests who went on an expedition to the Lying Tree Forest under your orders reported that they had died.”

“Yes.”

“It’s only been 10 days since they left, and it’s not already time for them to return, so how did you know?”

“…”

“Don’t even think about telling lies in front of the Pope.”

When Alice stopped answering, the head of the Supreme Court severely reprimanded her.

Alice pulled her head slightly.

I made up my mind.

She opened her mouth in a firm voice.

“I implanted my divine power into those five people.”

I could hear the men taking a breath.

It is unclear whether they were surprised by the denial or by Alice’s shameless attitude in revealing the truth, but it seemed clear that her actions were outside their common sense.

“Are you saying that the consecration was made without permission from the Pope?”

“I just shared my divine power.”

“That is what a fortification is. “Don’t you know that it is a serious violation to recklessly transfer the divine power bestowed by the Goddess to another person?”

“…”

What the Chief Justice said was right.

Divine power was a power that could be transferred by its nature.

However, if it is not returned, the sacred power will be permanently lost, and side effects may occur if mixed with another person’s divine power, so it had to be done with the permission of the Pope only in very special cases.

Of course, in addition to that reason, there was also a religious reason that the divine power bestowed by the goddess should not be passed on to others.

The old man stared at Alice closely and spoke in a voice full of her puzzlement.

“However, your divine power does not seem to have diminished at all…”

“Stop.”

Someone interrupted the chief judge.

The old man turned his face towards the direction from which the voice was heard.

“…Pope?”

“There is no time. “Please move on, Chief Justice.”

“Ah… Yes, I understand.”

The Supreme Judge bowed his head to the Pope, then looked at Alice again and opened his mouth.

“Alice. Did you know that the forest is a dangerous place located near the Demon King’s Castle?”

“…Yes, I knew.”

“But why did you send them? “What kind of mission was it?”

“…It was a search mission. “I sent you to find someone.”

“People?”

“…There was information that her fiancé and his sister had run away into that forest.”

Lament and sighs flowed from the mouth of the chief judge.

His wrinkled face turned bright red with anger.

“… I’ll just check it once.”

“Yes.”

“Now… I have put the priests in that limbo… Due to a personal matter. “Is that what you said?”

“That’s right.”

“You bastard! Alice!”

The chief judge shouted, slamming his fist on his desk.

The others sitting across from the old man stood up and stopped him.

“Chief of the Supreme Court! “It’s in front of the Pope!”

“Please calm down.”

“Alice Goldfield, no matter how much the Pope cares for you, this matter will never be overlooked!”

“…”

“Please calm down and sit down, Chief Judge. “We have a lot to ask her, too.”

The chief judge glared at Alice with such force that it was hard to believe she was an old man.

Alice just silently accepted that angry gaze.

Director Daesim clicked his tongue once, sat down and exhaled slowly.

Then this time, the middle-aged man sitting across from me opened his mouth.

The man with gray hair here and there, wearing a monocle, and wearing the simplest clothes in the room was the chairman of the Finance Council, which manages the funds of the Goddess Church.

Unlike the old man, his voice was calm and subdued, but his attitude was also cold enough that it was clear that he did not view Alice favorably.

“The families of the priests who passed away came to the Vatican this morning. The sorrowful cries of an old woman who lost her son echoed through the Vatican since morning, and it was extremely heartbreaking.”

“…”

“Originally, it would have been right for the Vatican to pay a reasonable price for their martyrdom, but unfortunately, there are no funds to operate it at the moment. Do you know the reason? “Paladin Alice.”

“Is it because of former Cardinal Elliot?”

Former Cardinal Eliard.

He was a priest in charge of the capital’s largest cathedral and a priest who was respected by many people.

As he was in charge of the largest cathedral and the entire diocese of the capital, he was also an important figure in the economic sector of the Vatican.

He was recently appointed as a cardinal in recognition of his achievements, but soon after, his shameless evil deed of raping numerous children, regardless of gender, was discovered and he was executed by Alice.

He, who defiled the bodies of countless children behind the mask of a priest, was currently desecrating his hideous body in excrement at Alice’s pig farm.

Of course, Alice committed terrible evil deeds, but she tortured the highly respected man without any hesitation and became an object of fear among the priests.

“…That had some impact, but that’s not all.”

“Then…”

“It’s because you hunt down unclean nobles.”

Religion does not respect worldly power.

Based on this fact alone, many nobles began to distance themselves from the goddess religion.

Of course, no one blasphemed the goddess in public, but the number of nobles who paid donations or donations, as well as the number of nobles who visited the cathedral, decreased significantly.

Of course, the empty seats were filled by citizens praising Alice and the cathedral was always crowded with people, but the donations they raised on a regular basis were an absurdly small amount compared to the support money from the nobles.

“Your activities… Dissatisfaction with that is not limited to the Goddess Church.”

“…”

“The border is at war right now. “Thanks to the monsters who didn’t stop attacking even after the Demon King died, there are people taking advantage of the chaotic times to target this kingdom.”

“I know.”

“Huh, was that still the case? But since you arrested nobles one after another out of your weak sense of justice, the number of nobles who will take the lead in the war has decreased. They say that thanks to this, the war was defeated.”

“…”

“There are even rumors that you, or rather our entire denomination, are attacking this kingdom at the instigation of the neighboring country. We have many believers in the neighboring country as well, so we cannot avoid the eyes of suspicion.”

Alice glared slightly at the middle-aged man.

The expression, “A pitiful sense of justice,” Irritated her ears.

Why is it wrong to punish nobles who were indifferent to the suffering of the people?

What is politics, what is power?

The misfortune that happened to him and the staff family right now is no different from the conspiracy of the nobles full of desire, and the country and the church that were indifferent to it.

“Alice, stop that profane gaze immediately. “We are also putting up with a lot.”

“Are you telling us to leave alone those who do not care for the country, the lords, or the goddess? “Are you going to eat that bean paste?”

“Alice!”

Alice pursed her lips as she looked straight at the men glaring at her.

“Yeah, I don’t know anything about that. I don’t know anything like politics or diplomacy. “Shall we be more honest?”

“It’s in front of the Pope. “Stop speaking!”

“I don’t know the teachings of the goddess that you can’t live or die like that.”

“How dare this b*tch!”

“But did the goddess say that? “Are you telling us to get subsidies from the nobles with money made through the hard work of the poor?”

As soon as Alice finished speaking, the man sitting inside the table slowly stood up.

The man was wearing only thin purple clothing, but he had a large body that made you think he was wearing thick armor underneath, and he had a large scar running from his right chin to the center between his eyes.

He was a man with facial features as ferocious as that large scar, and his hair was shaved so tightly that he had a menacing look that would make the average person intimidated just by looking at him.

His name is the head of the Heresy Inquisition. Ovid.

In fact, he was Alice’s direct superior.

He, who had been quiet until now, slowly approached Alice and muttered in an incredibly low voice.

“Quietly,”

“…”

“Be polite.”

“… Leader.”

“Don’t you know who you are in front of now?”

Ovid clenched his fists like big rocks and walked trotting towards Alice.

It was a harsh atmosphere, as if it would strike her down at any moment.

Even though it was in front of the Pope, the President of the Supreme Jury and the Chairman of the Financial Council did not exert any restraint.

The statement that came out of Alice’s mouth a little while ago was an outrageous remark that required clear sanctions.

Alice was sitting in her seat, looking straight at him.

“Stop.”

At that time, a woman’s voice rang out in the conference room.

It was definitely a small voice, but it was a voice that seemed to echo throughout this large conference room.

The Chief Justice looked at the Pope as if protesting.

The Pope touched his forehead and sighed.

But Ovid paid no heed and walked towards Alice and opened her mouth.

“His Holiness the Pope. “Not this time.”

“Chief. Please take a seat.”

“I know that His Holiness cherishes this cheeky child. “But I can no longer ignore this rudeness.”

The Pope shook his head and said.

“…There are circumstances for that. “I’m sure you don’t want to use violence in front of me.”

“Your Holiness!”

The Chief Justice flapped his beard and protested to the Pope.

“Why on earth are you doing this? How can you say that the Holy Father favors just one church member? That’s also a mockery of the goddess’s teachings…!”

“…”

The Chairman of the Finance Council also said, taking off his monocle and putting it in his pocket.

“I also think the same way. His Holiness. “The damage we have to endure is too great to cover it up like this.”

The Pope held his head and sighed.

Before we knew it, Ovid’s steps had reached right in front of Alice.

That moment when it feels like something big is going to happen at any moment.

The Pope slightly bit his lip as if he had made up his mind and said:

“Alice Goldfield.”

“…Yes.”

“Could you please take off your top?”

Everyone except Alice looked at the Pope.

It was because the words that came out of her mouth at this moment felt so unexpected.

But Alice did not react in any way.

He just looked at her quietly, as if asking if she was sincere.

The Pope slowly nodded his head under Alice’s gaze.

“…After,”

Alice lifted her right arm and undid the leather straps under her armpits.

The leather strap on her other arm was undone, and the breastplate covering Alice’s chest fell with a thud.

Alice slowly lifted the underwear she was wearing under her armor.

“What on earth are you doing now… Ah?”

“What is that…”

The skin on Alice’s upper body was full of holes, as if her thread had been cut loose.

Looking closely, the hole was a trace of the skin melting like butter.

The tattered skin was constantly melting and healing again, as if breathing.

The three men were speechless at the terrible sight.

The countless holes in her skin that opened and closed again.

At the location where the heart should be, visible through the hole inside, an unidentifiable mechanical device was moving ceaselessly.

White light continued to pour out from the center of the mechanism.

Ovid was able to see it more clearly from up close.

White light emanating from her heart.

It was clearly a trace of divine power.

“Alice… What on earth is this?”

Alice pursed her lips.

Instead, the Pope slowly opened his mouth.

“It is a mechanical device that artificially generates divine power.”

“Oh my God… this is blasphemous… blasphemy… His Holiness the Pope.”

“Alice Goldfield. “She is the only success story and the only survivor of the human experiments conducted in secret by our Goddess Church.”

“Secret…? In the Goddess Church, we have authority just below the Pope. “It’s a secret we don’t know!”

“The people who know this are the people who participated in the research and the volunteers who applied for the experiment. And it’s just me. Now it will include you three.”

“What exactly was that experiment that you conducted so carefully? “What on earth is such an ugly thing?”

In response to the Supreme Jury President’s question, the Pope remained silent for a moment.

His face looked like he was worried for a moment, but since there was no way back since he had already shown that look, the Pope moved his lips very slowly.

“It was an experiment to artificially create a hero.”

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