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Chapter 329: I Can\'t Do This Anymore

"But no matter how much I think about it, something still feels missing."

Turning his head with a disappointed expression, he continued.

"Really, there’s not a single statue here? This is supposed to be the main cathedral of the Church, yet there\'s not a single statue of the Sun God? Does that make any sense?"

"T-They’re not here! They were moved a few days ago for repairs!"

The Abbess bravely stepped forward and answered Frey’s question.

"Did all those statues need repair at the same time?"

"It was, uh, part of the periodic maintenance! But aside from that, what on earth is happening here?!"

The Abbess murmured while looking at the crumbling cathedral with trembling eyes.

"The sacred site... the sacred site that believers worldwide visited for thousands of years...!"

It wasn\'t as fortified as the Imperial Palace or the Academy, but the cathedral still had a formidable protection system.

It was simply unbelievable that such a cathedral, which had strong protection, was split into two and collapsed due to Frey\'s actions.

"This is... a good stress relief."

However, the perpetrator of the entire devastation just smiled casually and moved towards the now ruined cathedral.

"Huh?"

As Frey continued to approach the completely collapsed cathedral, he rolled his foot a few times and then smiled.

“There’s space underneath the ground.”

The next moment, Frey swung his table and struck the ground.

- Rumble! Rumble!

Then, a thunderous sound like a collapsing building was heard, and the ground began to sink.

"Huh, what?"

"Oh right, there\'s a huge secret chamber underground for the Church, isn\'t there?"

The Abbess widened her eyes at that sight. Frey just grinned.

"If they were moved for repairs, why are they all gathered here?"

"No! How dare you lay your dirty hands on the sacred body of the Sun God!! This must never..."

"Oh, you don’t know?"

The Abbess trembled and had a fit, and suddenly, Frey put on a serious expression and began to whisper to her.

"In fact, I\'m very close to the Sun God."

"What?"

"The Sun God once said that she would do anything while her head was being trampled under my feet, and she even loves to peep on me. And there was also a time when she was chained up, and I had to give her food, like a dog.

"You’re insane."

"Furthermore, I have the right to ask for anything from her, and her younger sister has become a dispenser that spits holy water when beaten. She’s in the palace right now, bound at her wrists. How about that? We\'re quite close, aren\'t we?"

"You\'re out of your mind."

Naturally, the Abbess looked at him like he was crazy.

"No, I\'m very rational and reasonable right now. Everything I just said is completely true, without any exaggeration. I even sent a letter to the Sun God and reached an agreement to do this beforehand. So what\'s the problem?"

As Frey scratched his head, the Abbess looked bewildered.

"If you don\'t like it, you should pray and reach a separate agreement with the Sun God."

"H-Hold on..."

"Why? Wasn\'t it that only those who pray and accept the Sun God could become the Abbess? In such a critical situation, she would naturally respond to your prayer, wouldn\'t she?"

After those words, the statues of the Sun God stored underground began to rise one by one.

"I already got permission, though? Are you trying to go against the will of the Sun God? Are you actually a heretic?"

"I-I knew it, you’re crazy..."

"That\'s odd. I\'m making rational judgments and actions, so why am I still being treated like a madman?"

Watching the Abbess retreat with diminished spirit, Frey murmured with a puzzled expression.

- Boommmmmm!

And the next moment, the largest statue floating in the air cracked and exploded into pieces.

It was a sacred relic that was thought to have been carved in the exact image of the Sun God, whom church members would always wake up early in the morning and kneel in front of to pray.

- Pitter… patter…

"Oh, oh... The Sun god..."

"W-What are we supposed to pray to now..."

In the face of the shattered relic, which was believed to have been carved by the legendary artisan from the Justiano family who created the Hero’s Armament, the Abbess, and the believers sank into their knees with devastated expressions on their faces.

- Boom! Boom!

However, that wasn\'t the end.

- Crash! Boom! Crash!

From small statues that were only about the size of a hand to huge statues that were half the size of a cathedral.

From crude statues made of wood to magnificent ones crafted with gold and various precious stones.

The various types of the goddess statues owned by the Church were exploding one by one alongside the stellar mana, coloring the sky of the imperial capital with beautiful light.

"Those who wish to pray, please do so now!"

Shouting cheerfully to the citizens of the empire, Frey tilted his head and muttered to himself.

"The goddess statues floating in the sky and shattering into pieces... Isn\'t this a miracle, everyone?"

Seeing him with a horrified expression, the Abbess finally shouted.

"Are you a heretic? Frey!!"

"Hmm?"

"You\'re destroying a cathedral that has stood for a thousand years, and smashing all the goddess statues! Do you think you\'ll get away with it!?"

As she said this, the Abbess stepped closer to Frey.

"His Holiness, the Pope won\'t stand idly by!"

“That’s right. We were playing together just a little while ago, but he really wasn’t sitting still.”

"Aren\'t you afraid of being excommunicated!?"

Frey, who had been talking to her calmly, raised the corner of his mouth and began to speak.

"To be honest, I\'m a little scared. The excommunication by the Pope is dire, even for me."

"Then right now...!"

“But isn’t that what I’m doing right now? Making it so that I no longer have to be afraid of the excommunication?”

"...What?"

"The Pope’s excommunication depends on how strong the Church is, how much authority it holds, and how much faith it gathers."

"..."

Frey approached her as he talked.

"So, let\'s think rationally."

"R-Rationally?"

"If I destroy the cathedral, which is a gathering place for believers\' faith, and all the goddess statues, it will naturally weaken the power of the excommunication, won\'t it? So, naturally, they all have to be destroyed."

"You...! How is that rational!!"

The Abbess finally lost her temper and rushed at Frey, yet he just watched her with a smirk.

- Slap!!

"Kyaaahh!?"

After fiercely slapping her face, Frey began to approach her slowly.

"Have you lost your mind? Why would someone so weak and powerless like you try to pick a fight? Did you think I wouldn\'t hit you just because you\'re old and have high standing?"

"Ugh..."

"I\'m an egalitarian. Whether it\'s an emperor, a pope, or a goddess, I treat them all equally. Did you really think I wouldn’t beat you?"

"Kuheokkk..."

Then, Frey stomped her leg, shattering her leg bone.

"You, do you think you can still call yourself a human after that!! Devil, you devil\'s spawn!!"

"That\'s odd, isn\'t it? As the head of the Church’s orphanage, you always did the same thing to the children, didn\'t you? As a professor at the Academy, I merely did the same to you, you look like you need extra education. Why do you complain?"

"..."

She, who was shaking while holding her leg, quietly closed her mouth after hearing Frey\'s words.

"And, I truly made a rational decision."

"What are you...?"

"Rather than directly reducing the number of believers, I chose to reduce the number of cathedrals and goddess statues."

"You... you madman..."

"The madman is you. Aren’t You the one who abused and smashed children\'s legs just because they nibbled at their food at the orphanage?"

"Ugh..."

After kicking her again, Frey muttered with a chilling expression.

"But something\'s strange. All the children from the orphanage must have been taken away already, so where did those children come from?"

Frey stared into the orphanage in the distance.

“Could it be... These are the children you were raising in secret?”

Frey continued with a cold expression.

“For experiment? Openly in the imperial capital? Have they really fallen that low?"

- Rumble...

"Hmm."

However, the Church\'s orphanage had already collapsed.

In the aftermath of the towering cathedral\'s collapse, the orphanage seemed to have been swept away as well.

"Everything\'s going well~ Everything\'s fine~"

"Hiiiiiiikkk!"

"...Ow."

Frey smiled in satisfaction at the sight, then quietly lowered his gaze when he felt a stinging pain.

"Ugh! Ugh..."

A girl with chubby cheeks who looked scruffy was standing on tiptoes and hitting his stomach.

"Why are you doing that?"

Of course, for Frey, it felt like being hit with feathers, so he just watched her blankly and then gently stroked her head, asking.

"T-the orphanage... Our orphanage... it collapsed because of you!!"

"I see. Then go to that orphanage over there. The Church just went down. Now there are only armed puppet organizations in this country.”

"I, I can\'t go there!"

As Frey pointed to the orphanage faintly visible in the distance, the girl\'s eyes widened, and she cried out.

"That place... it\'s where they eat children!"

"Oh, really?"

"Wha, what?"

Looking at her with a kind smile, Frey nodded his head, then started to bleed from his mouth.

"Why? Why are you bleeding?"

"...That aside, why are you so thin? Your belly\'s completely shriveled up."

"Ugh..."

As the girl asked with a slightly puzzled expression, Frey hurriedly wiped the blood from his mouth.

"What about these wounds?"

"T, that\'s..."

As he examined the whip marks on the girl\'s clothes, she began to glance nervously at the Church\'s nuns.

"...Did you... touch the children?"

Examining the unnaturally emaciated bodies of the children, who were covered in bruises and wounds, Frey muttered in disbelief.

"If you hurt a child, you deserve a beating, don’t you agree?"

Once again, Frey made a perfectly rational judgment.

.

.

.

.

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"Kyahakkk...!"

"Ugh..."

The nuns, with red handprints on their cheeks, writhed on the floor while clutching their faces.

"I guess that should do."

“Sob, sob…”

Frey looked at them with an utterly exhausted expression. Finally satisfied with his handiwork, he turned his gaze away.

"Uwaaah..."

The little girl who was nestled against him burst into tears.

"It\'s okay, it\'s okay. You\'re good, right?"

"I, I have nowhere to go if I leave here..."

"Just go to the orphanage run by the Hero of Money, okay?"

"B, but they said that place eats children..."

Looking at her, Frey chuckled and began to talk.

"Still, you have no choice but to go there. If you don\'t go now, you\'ll starve to death."

"Sob..."

"It\'s a place I frequent often. I wonder how tender your flesh would be? I\'m really looking forward to it."

After hearing those words, the girl stopped crying and stared blankly at Frey.

"Roarrrr~"

- Rumble...

"...?"

Frey stretched her soft, plump cheeks and tried to mimic a tiger roar. But soon, he suddenly shifts his gaze downward towards the tiny hands that surrounded him.

"Le, let her go!!"

"Don\'t hit the nuns!"

"Eek...!"

"Bad guy! Bad guy!"

The orphanage children surrounded Frey, hitting him incessantly.

...This feels refreshing.

Frey smiled happily for a moment at the adorable sight.

"Hey, don\'t worry."

"...Y, yes?"

As the scared child looked up at him, Frey whispered softly.

"I\'ll reserve you for later."

"..."

"No one will eat you until I come back, so you can relax until then."

After saying that, Frey\'s eyes suddenly narrowed as he stroked the child\'s chin with his finger.

"Do the children do this?"

"A-a few days ago, most of my friends left to the underground. T-they said they were going on a retreat..."

"Underground? Retreat?"

Frey murmured with a chilling smile.

“Just how many lives do they think they have? Do they really think they have nine lives? Is that it?”

“E-excuse me, can you just let me down now…”

"No matter how I look at it, this just means that I have to beat each of them nine times– Cough!"

But then he suddenly collapsed, vomiting blood from his mouth.

"Huh, Uwahh?"

"Huh?"

"...???"

The children took a step back with widened eyes at the sight.

"Waaaa..."

"W-Why is he vomiting blood?"

"E-Excuse me, what\'s happening?"

Approaching Frey, who continued to vomit blood, the children asked with concern.

"You\'re strong... kids."

Despite being drenched in cold sweat, Frey smiled brightly at them.

"I lost."

"...?"

"You guys might... cough…"

After glancing at the children with a mischievous expression, Frey turned his gaze away.

"...have the qualities of a hero."

The whole commotion attracted citizens, and they looked at him with fearful eyes.

- Sringg…

The citizens flinched and retreated when they saw Frey quietly raising his sword.

"Hahh…hahh..."

Despite the considerable injuries, Frey thought he would be fine.

"E-excuse me... A-Are you going to die?"

“I-is it because we hit you? We’re sorry.”

"Please open your eyes."

"...They dare to harm these kind kids..."

Frey turned his gaze again and smiled bitterly at the children who had been hitting him just moments ago, They were now looking down at him with tearful eyes.

- Brrr!! Brr!!

"Step back!! Everyone, step back!!!"

Accompanied by loud noises and the arrival of guards, someone was approaching, dispersing the crowd.

"Frey..."

Clanna, whose face turned pale in shock, was standing in front of him.

"...Your Highness."

As soon as he saw her, Frey gritted his teeth, rose to his feet and kneeled before her.

"D-Don\'t sit. Lie down! You\'re in no condition to...!"

"People are watching. They need to see that you control me now."

"Be quiet, you fool..."

Clana caressed his cheek and urgently hugged him. Then she asked in a trembling voice.

"Why did you do this?"

"It was a rational decision. Also, I did it at my own discretion. Your Highness, you shouldn\'t take any responsibility..."

"W-What was the reason, though?"

As Clana pressed her cheek against his head, Frey finally smiled broadly.

"The bald idiot pope tried to excommunicate you without understanding the situation."

"..."

"...It sucks."

Leaving those words behind, Frey finally lost his consciousness.

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Meanwhile, at the Academy.

"Hmm... Huh?"

As usual, Ferloche was heading towards the dormitories with an eerie, vacant smile when she suddenly tilted her head.

"Who\'s there~?"

Ferloche called out with her hands on her back. Then she lowered her head when she heard another sound from the bushes in front of her.

"Ahem, Hello, Saintess."

"Incredible... No, as expected of the Saintess. You found us."

Eventually, priests, knights, and the Vice Commander emerged from the bushes with cold expressions.

"What are you guys doing here???"

"It\'s like this, something happened to the Church."

"The Church?"

"Yes, so you should come with us to the Church right away."

"Is that so? But something seems strange?"

As they approached her with smiles, Ferloche asked with a cheerful expression.

“Vice Commander, didn’t you quit the paladin order a few weeks ago?”

"Huh?"

"And isn\'t there a new Vice Commander in the paladin order now?"

The expression of the Vice Commander became even colder upon hearing this.

"And aren\'t all the priests here the ones who went missing? When were they found?"

"..."

"And how did you break through the ancient magic? I don\'t quite understand...!"

- Sringg…

“What’s this, what an incredible deduction for someone so stupid…”

As Ferloche continued to speak without concern, the former Vice Commander drew her sword.

"Why, why are you doing this!"

"Just follow us."

"Ahhhh!, this is a crime–"

- Slap!!

After putting a sword to Ferloche\'s throat and dragging her along, the former Vice Commander, annoyed by her struggling, slapped her cheek.

"You damn brat. I didn\'t come here to listen to your nonsense..."

Then, she cursed and tried to drag Ferloche away again, but soon stopped her actions and made a blank expression.

"Ah, really."

Ferloche, known as the Pure White Saintess, who always had a foolish smile on her face, now looked completely serious as she gazed back at her.

"I can’t do this anymore."

The former Vice Commander’s eyes began to tremble at that inexplicable sense of disconnection between the Saintess she thought she knew and the Saintess in front of /genesisforsaken