Chapter 495: The Power of Blessing

The day of the “Blessing Ceremony” in the capital city of Marquis Haragura’s domain had finally arrived.

Saint Matilda, dressed in luxurious clothing and her face veiled with lace, made her entrance. Two women followed, lightly holding the ends of her long trailing gown to keep it from dragging on the ground.

Those two women were none other than True Saint Maria and Aeris.

The two of them had their faces with veils and quietly followed behind Saint Matilda as servants, trying not to draw attention, but to some viewers this scene may have seemed extravagant.

After all, publicly, no saint had appeared in over a hundred years, and now, here were three.

One of them even being a ‘True Saint’.

Maria’s skill was such a legendary skill that only the Dragon people or a few like Tauro had even heard of it. If her identity were revealed, it would likely cause nation-wide upheaval.

Because of that, Tauro and his companions, who were attending as honored guests of the Kingdom of Luwan, were tense with anticipation.

The Blessing Ceremony began.

This time, they went all out. Everything was made as grand and ceremonial as possible — they made a show of offering flowers and items at the altar, solemn prayers of gratitude, and other elaborate rituals.

Marquis Haragura, seated among the attendees, wore a smirk throughout the whole thing, clearly amused by the pomp and pageantry.

Nearby, the Crown Prince, chatting in whispers with the Marquis and his aides, seemed thoroughly bored with the Blessing Ceremony.

Then, Saint Matilda gestured for the two women behind her to come forward.

Of course, she was calling True Saint Maria and Aeris.

As Saint Matilda made the motions to cast the ‘Blessing’, the other two mimicked her, joining her in prayer.

This deviation from the usual ceremony caused a slight stir among some of the Kingdom of Sart’s entourage, but the Crown Prince and his close attendants showed little reaction.

“Blessings and glory upon the domain of Marquis Haragura!”

Saint Matilda proclaimed, her voice trembling slightly with tension even through the veil.

There was a momentary pause before the three women chanted in unison:

“””……”blessing”!”””

　As Saint Matilda, Aeris, who had somehow acquired Saint Skills, and True Saint Maria chanted the 『Blessing』, a radiant light emanated from around the three of them.

It was truly a holy light that illuminated the entire hall as if purging all evil.

No—this light didn’t stop at the ceremony hall.

It expanded to envelop the entire castle, and then spread throughout the entire Haragura capital city.

Then there was a slight rumble.

The light faded quickly, but the tremors continued for several seconds.

The attendees were startled by this and looked around in confusion.

And then—multiple explosions echoed in the distance, one after another.

Even Marquis Haragura was caught off guard. He turned in alarm to his aide, Alexa, demanding an explanation.

The Crown Prince was also questioning his aides about the sudden commotion, but in the meantime the rumbling had subsided.

“W-What on earth was that…”

The Crown Prince muttered, clearly shaken by the unfamiliar experience.

Just then, the doors of the hall burst open, and a servant hurried in, rushing to Alexa’s side and whispering in his ear in a tense manner.

Alexa looked shocked and tried to confirms something with the servant.

Seeing this, Marquis Haragura, now suspecting something serious had happened, urged Alexa to tell him what had happened.

“B-but, my lord… this is not something we can discuss here. Please, let’s speak outside—”

Alexa tried to lead him out, but Marquis Haragura brushed it off.

“Just say it. What, did one of the vases break from the tremors?”

“…It seems the underground facility… it’s been destroyed.”

Alexa avoided using specific terms, but made the report clear.

“What is that?”

Of course, the Crown Prince had no idea what this was about, so he asked the Marquis for clarification.

Marquis Haragura’s face contorted in visible shock.

　And,

“! –What is the extent of the damage…?!”

He did not answer the Crown Prince’s question and turned sharply to Alexa,

“The rumbling that occurred earlier seems to have been caused by the destruction of the underground facility. We are currently checking to see if the workers are alive or dead…”

“I don’t care about the workers! I want you to investigate the damage to the facility—in detail!”

Alexa nodded and immediately gave orders to the servant.

Then, he turned his gaze toward Saint Matilda.

It was only natural for him to suspect a connection — the timing had matched precisely with the Blessing.

But Matilda stood there calmly, with a nonchalant look on her face.

The truth was that True Saint Maria, who was standing beside her, had casted a genuine “True Blessing” to offset everything. It had cancelled out all the curses, and rebounded the dark energy a thousand times over to the underground sorcery facility, purifying everything completely. This caused the enormous cursed mana stone at the facility’s core to explode, reducing the entire underground complex to rubble.

And the same thing happened to the facilities around the territorial capital, with those being blown away spectacularly, causing a great commotion outside.

“Is something the matter, Marquis Haragura? If something serious has happened, would it be okay for us to move Saint Matilda to a safer place? There seems to be a tense atmosphere outside.”

Marquis Donaisson quietly spoke to Marquis Haragura as a representative of the Kingdom of Luwan, expressing his concern.

“M-my apologies for the concern. It appears an unexpected incidence has occurred. But the Blessing Ceremony itself has concluded safely… may we wrap things up now?”

Marquis Haragura took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure as he responded.

“Of course. In that case, we’ll accompany the Saint to her quarters.”

“Please do. —Alexa, go assess the damage immediately!”

Marquis Haragura’s calm demeanor cracked as he barked orders and hurriedly exited the hall, his face pale.

The Crown Prince and his aides rushed to follow him.

“Then let’s go as well, for our own safety.”

With a slight smile on his lips, Marquis Donaisson said nothing more and led Saint Matilda and the others to the room prepared for them.