This Wasn’t an Erotic Game?

Chapter 44 - The Compassionate One

『 Translator – Divinity 』

{The people gathered around the prophet and asked,

O Prophet, how shall we know that the Saint has come?

And the prophet answered them, saying,

You shall see many miracles and incomprehensible things, but above all, by this you shall know he is the Saint:

He shall stand with those who bear the world's pain and weep,

And stand with those weary and burdened.

Therefore, draw tears and make it your symbol,

For the Saint shall grieve with the world's pain and sorrow, and shed tears for the weak and broken.

You shall call him the Compassionate One,

Eleos (ἔλεος).}

– Scripture of Grace, Chapter 19, Verses 19, 20 –

─ 𓆩♱𓆪 ─

When the curse erupted...

The Emperor immediately summoned the Captain of the Royal Guard.

"Activate the magic and miracles installed in the detached palace!! Now!!"

The moment the curse within Iomene's body erupted, the entire Empire would be destroyed.

No.

It would be the same anywhere on the continent.

It was only a matter of time before everyone was infected by the curse, their souls destroyed, and they became beings that could neither live nor die.

Therefore, the detached palace was equipped with various measures to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

And this was precisely that worst-case scenario.

If the miracles and magic of the detached palace were activated, Iomene would die.

But there was no other choice.

If the curse could be felt so strongly through their skin, it meant that everything was already too late.

There was no way to save Iomene anymore.

The Captain of the Royal Guard hurriedly took out the artifact he always carried and activated it, following the Emperor's order.

But the feeling of the curse on their skin remained.

There was no sound of miracles and magic being activated on a large scale.

Something was wrong.

"Did it activate properly?"

"It did, Your Majesty! There is no problem with the artifact! The miracles and magic inscribed in the detached palace are not functioning!"

"Damn it! At a time like this!! What are the priests and mages on duty doing?!"

As he was venting his frustration, the Captain of the Royal Guard flinched.

A black aura, like a snake, slithered into his body and disappeared.

But he was a skilled knight, so he managed to endure the pain of his soul being eaten away by manipulating the mana within his body.

"Your Majesty, we must hurry. We don't know when you might be affected by the curse. You must leave me and escape."

At his words, the Emperor couldn't delay any longer.

He and the Empress, who had also been awakened by the curse, rushed to Almene's room.

And there, the couple witnessed a horrifying scene.

Almene was convulsing, foaming at the mouth.

The magic circle on her left eye was glowing intensely, as if trying to prevent the curse from the corrupted Iomene from transferring to her.

But it was only a temporary measure. It was only a matter of time before she succumbed.

"Almene!!"

The Emperor lifted her into his arms, and the three family members started to flee. They were closely guarded by the Royal Guards and court mages who hadn't yet been affected by the curse.

The Emperor shed tears as they fled.

The worst possible outcome had come to pass.

He had tried everything he could to prevent this worst-case scenario, but he had ultimately failed.

He would forever be recorded in history as the Emperor who ruined the Empire.

No.

That was assuming humanity even survived.

After all, no one could escape this curse.

"Oh God."

The Emperor squeezed his eyes shut.

Why had this happened?

What great sins had he committed?

He wasn't a tyrant.

Rather, he was the ruler who had led the Empire to prosperity.

Like any ruler, his hands were stained with blood, but that blood was shed only in the fight against those who sought to overthrow the Empire - the devil worshipers and heretics.

He was the one who had brought about the industrial revolution and spearheaded countless technological advancements.

But it was also true that countless citizens of the Empire had starved, suffered, and died as factory workers and the poor.

And it was also him who had made the devil worshipers and heretics even more active in their attempts to avenge their fallen comrades.

Was that his sin?

Was that why the gods of the Pantheon had abandoned him?

He was in agony.

The fact that the Empire, which had lasted for so long, was crumbling because of his mistake...

The fact that his daughter, whom he had desperately tried to save, had only suffered and ultimately vanished forever...

But no matter how angry and self-blaming he was, there was nothing he could do but run.

As he boarded the limousine that had been prepared in advance at the end of the secret passage and sped away from the Imperial Palace...

He saw Iomene in the distance, her black wings spread wide as she soared in the morning sky, now bright with sunlight.

The Emperor and Empress gazed at their daughter, floating in the air, through the car window, despair filling their eyes.

In the end, they couldn't save anyone.

Not the Empire.

Not Iomene.

Not even Almene.

As intense guilt and frustration weighed down on his heart, making it hard to even breathe...

He saw someone suddenly appear beside Iomene.

The familiar white clothes.

It was Saint Amael.

"Stop!!"

The Emperor ordered.

The driver hesitated at his words.

"Your Majesty! We can't stop here!! We must head to the shelter!"

"Whether we're in the shelter or the Imperial Palace, it won't make a difference once that curse spreads. Stop the car."

The car finally stopped as ordered.

The Emperor stepped out of the car, carrying Princess Almene.

The Empress also stepped outside, as if in a trance.

The driver too.

The Royal Guards and court mages who were in the limousine to protect the Emperor and Empress...

And the citizens who were trying to flee from the curse...

Everyone was looking up at the Saint and Iomene, who were fighting in the sky, now filled with the bright morning sunlight.

As if possessed, everyone quietly...

Watched the Saint and the fragment of the Evil God.

"Saint, save us."

Someone murmured softly, their voice filled with grief.

But in the silence, everyone could hear it.

And as one started speaking, others followed.

"Saint! Chosen one of Grace!"

"Healing Saint!"

"Saint Amael!"

"Save us! Save us!"

And before long, everyone was calling out the Saint's name.

The Emperor and Empress were no different.

Everyone was cheering for the Saint.

"Please."

The Emperor was also praying.

Praying with tears in his eyes.

Holding Almene, who was convulsing and trembling with foam at her mouth, the Emperor prayed with an intensity that couldn't be surpassed.

"Please, grant us a miracle. A miracle."

And then, as everyone prayed with one heart and one mind...

A light, more radiant than the rising sun, burst from the Saint's body.

Everyone closed their eyes against the blinding light.

And when they opened their eyes again...

They saw beautiful lights falling from the sky to the ground.

The lights landed on people one by one.

Those who had been suffering from the curse stopped screaming and rose from the ground, and those who had collapsed in fear looked up at the sky in amazement and ecstasy.

"A miracle!! A miracle has been granted!!"

"Long live Saint Amael!"

"Long live Lilia of Grace!"

As the citizens' cheers filled the air...

The Emperor and Empress were running frantically.

How was Iomene?

Anxiety and hope.

Yearning and desperation mixed within them as the rulers of the Empire ran and ran, returning to the Imperial Palace.

"I-I'm healed!"

"My body is healed!"

"Good heavens, how..."

Passing by countless servants and knights of the Royal Guard who were expressing their surprise, the Emperor reached the detached palace where Iomene had been.

And he witnessed it.

The Saint, who had been in the sky, descending to the ground, walking on air with the black-winged princess.

The Saint landed on the ground, tears streaming down his face, then placed his hand on the princess's head and performed a healing miracle.

The hideous black wings that had sprouted on her back slowly began to disappear.

The bruises all over her body...

The wounds...

All of them vanished.

Beautiful lights were still slowly descending from the sky to the ground.

And two of those lights gently landed on Almene and Iomene.

And at that moment, as if on cue, the twin princesses opened their eyes simultaneously.

"Father?"

Almene murmured softly, rising from the Emperor's embrace.

The Emperor hugged his daughter tightly.

"I can't feel the pain from Iomene anymore. How... how did this happen?"

The Emperor and Empress didn't answer.

Almene didn't press for an answer either.

She looked in the direction her parents were gazing at.

Princess Iomene, who had been in the Saint's arms, slowly got up.

Shabby clothes.

Clothes that exposed her back where the wings had been.

But no one blamed the princess for her attire.

The priests and paladins guarding the detached palace...

The Royal Guards...

The mages and witches, and the various maids and butlers...

Everyone was staring at Princess Iomene, holding their breath.

Iomene carefully stepped away from the Saint and placed her feet on the ground.

She stumbled slightly, then regained her balance.

And she looked at her father and mother...

And Almene.

"D-Daddy?"

Iomene said in a faint voice.

It was a clear and pure voice, albeit a bit slurred, but everyone could understand her.

"Mommy? Almene?"

It wasn't the scream of a wild animal.

Still a bit slurred and hesitant, but it was undoubtedly...

A human voice.

Iomene spoke in the very voice that the Emperor and Empress had longed for.

The Empress reached out her arms towards Iomene.

Iomene slowly walked towards her and embraced her mother.

The Empress, who had been staring blankly at the sky, suddenly burst into tears.

"My daughter. My daughter, Iomene."

"M-Mommy."

"Oh God, thank you. Thank you."

The Empress hugged Iomene tightly, as if to crush her.

Princess Almene and the Emperor also cautiously approached and embraced Iomene.

Sobs…

The family of four, overwhelmed with emotions they couldn't express in words, embraced each other and wept.

They wept, mourning the nineteen years they had lost, grieving for the pain Iomene had endured, and apologizing for being the parents who had tortured their daughter.

Everyone around them watched.

The priests, the court mages, the knights of the Royal Guard, and the servants, all watched.

It was a side of the Emperor they had never seen before, but no one was surprised.

Because they too had been saved.

The brilliant morning sunlight bathed the garden of the detached palace in a holy light.

The Emperor and Empress, and everyone gathered in the garden, turned their gaze towards the sunlight.

A halo.

A magnificent and divine halo, so bright that it was hard to look at directly, enveloped the Saint.

One of the priests, watching the scene, unconsciously fell to his knees and murmured,

"The Compassionate One, Eleos."

And soon, everyone started repeating those words.

"Eleos."

"The one who sheds tears for the weak and the broken."

The Emperor, with tears in his eyes, murmured the same words.

"Savior, Eleos."

As if possessed, everyone started chanting,

"Savior! Eleos!"

"Savior! Eleos!"

Savior Eleos.

At their fervent cries, the Saint closed his eyes.

Tears flowed even more freely from his eyes.

In that magnificent and beautiful scene, which no painter could ever replicate, he wept silently.

As if comforting the world...

He wept.

Everyone saw hope and salvation in that sight.

"Savior! Eleos!"

"Eleos!!"

"Eleos!!"

There was no one weeping in sorrow anymore.

Everyone was smiling.

Tears of joy and laughter filled the garden of the detached palace.

The only one crying...

Was Amael, the Healing Saint.