Chapter 496: The Horrific Scene and the Truth
Alexa, the ever-calm and composed right hand of Marquis Haragura, stood stunned at the scene of the complete destruction of the castle’s underground facility– her usual icy expression completely replaced by that of utter bewilderment
After all, this facility had been the culmination of over a hundred years of research by the Haragura family — knowledge and techniques passed down and refined over generations. It was Alexa herself who had completed the facility based on that legacy, And yet now, that very facility lay in ruins. It was precisely because of this that the devastation was beyond belief.
The defenses had been cutting-edge, with numerous contingency measures in place in case of an emergency.
Even against one of the sorcery’s few weaknesses — curse rebound — there had been specialized defensive wards designed to absorb or deflect it.
But all of that had been blown away.
The people who worked there day and night had been literally obliterated.
It was certain that a powerful curse rebound had occurred. So severe that there were no survivors.
But Alexa couldn’t bring herself to believe that this was the result of a mere Saint’s “Blessing”.
Since she was more knowledgeable than most when it came to saintly magic, she had already assessed the extent of the power of Saint Matilda’s Blessing from watching her in the capital.
Yes, she’d heard reports that their attempt to disrupt the “Blessing Ceremony” in Duke Barriera’s domain had failed.
But that had been within their expectations.
It’s just that his calculations had simply underestimated Matilda’s power by a small degree.
However — what had just happened here in the capital of Marquis Haragura’s domain was something on a completely different scale.
In fact, the original spell to obstruct “blessings” used to interfere with saintly magic had been developed from the research that went into building this very facility. There was no way a Blessing of Matilda’s level should have been able to overcome it.
It was why Alexa was confident that a simple Blessing couldn’t have caused this.
And yet… the fact remains — the facility and the culmination of all their research — had been completely destroyed.
They had even used ancient mana stones from magical beasts long since extinct. Now, those too were shattered beyond any hope of recovery.
Then came further reports, one after the other: the other tower facilities located throughout the capital were also being destroyed — causing extensive damage.
“The towers have been completely destroyed in many places due to the immense shockwaves! What should we do?”
Alexa’s subordinates awaited her decision.
They knew that asking Marquis Haragura directly would just get them shouted at. Asking Alexa, the favored aide, was the safer path.
Of course, dark rumors swirled around Alexa.
For example, It was a common occurrence that when a colleague failed to carry out an order from Marquis Haragura, he would suddenly disappear and this black-haired, silver-eyed aide — was often the last person seen with them.
Still, his subordinates believed Alexa was just loyally carrying out the Marquis’s orders, so they made sure all official reports usually went through her.
“…it’s completely destroyed, you say?”
Alexa asked the subordinate again.
“Yes. Everything was shattered, as if it had exploded from the inside. Very similar to what we’re seeing here underground.”
The subordinate replied as he finally calmed down and realized that the situation underground was just as dire.
“…I understand. I’ll inform our lord. For now, please quantify the damages. —And… everyone in the facility is dead, correct?”
“…Unfortunately, yes. It seems no one at the site survived.”
After hearing that, Alexa waved her subordinates away and stood there alone, deep in thought.
“…No matter how I look at it, I can’t believe that the Saint’s ‘Blessing’ caused this devastation. And there shouldn’t be anyone capable of unleashing a curse rebound of this magnitude… Then does that mean someone attacked all of the facilities simultaneously? If so, we’re talking about multiple high-level agents — that would be on a national scale. Was it the Empire? Or perhaps an unknown great power?”
Alexa was falling into a maze of questions with no clear answer.
She never even considered that the one responsible was the True Saint — posing as Saint Matilda’s attendant — and that what had occurred was a ”True Blessing.”
Meanwhile, in Saint Matilda’s room, gathered were several key figures from the Kingdom of Luwan, including Tauro, his friends, and True Saint Maria.
“Saint, thanks to you, we, the Kingdom of Luwan, and the Saint have been able to save face. Thank you very much.”
Marquis Donaisson bowed deeply on behalf of the Kingdom of Luwan.
“True Saint… Today, for the first time, I was able to feel what a real Blessing is…From now on, I will devote myself to becoming a Saint like you one day…”
Saint Matilda, as if she had become a completely different person, bowed her head sincerely before True Saint Maria.
Saint Matilda was worshipped for possessing the Sainthood Skill, and it may be that she had acted arrogantly in the past as a way to protect herself from the heavy burden that came with it—
But now, faced with the overwhelming power of the True Saint, she was forced to confront just how small and powerless she truly was.
And now knowing that there was someone overwhelmingly stronger than her, she may have felt a little more at ease about the heavy responsibility she had been carrying.
“I only agreed to help because my benefactor, Lord Tauro, and his precious friend, Aeris, asked me to. There’s no need to thank me.”
True Saint Maria replied humbly to the gratitude from the Kingdom of Luwan side, then glanced at Tauro.
It seemed to be a signal: I’m returning to the Van Dyne Marquisate now.
“Ragune.”
Tauro nodded at True Saint Maria’s look and moved to the next room with her and Ragune.
There, Ragune opened a Dimensional Corridor, and Tauro used Spatial Transfer to instantly send Maria back to the Van Dyne Marquisate.
Just before leaving, Maria turned and said:
“One last thing. I nearly forgot—at the Blessing Ceremony, there was someone present who possesses a Hero’s Skill. I believe her name was Alexa. Black hair, silver eyes. Unfortunately, she didn’t give off a very good vibe, so please be careful.”
“What!? He has a Hero’s Skill?!”
Tauro was shocked by the revelation.
“Yes. I understand it’s rare here, isn’t it? For a human, he seemed quite skilled. I suspect he might be the one who completed the Haragura’s facilities.”
Tauro was left speechless by True Saint Maria’s alarming report, but knowing he was keeping everyone waiting, he quickly offered his thanks and returned to the Haragura capital.