Chapter 9 – It's not revenge, it's justice!

The act of killing. Let's count! During this day I have already killed four people (four children). Now I can proudly call myself a battle hardened warrior. Under most adverse circumstances (I was completely immobilized) I was able to crush my foe and grasp victory in my hands. Let's not think too deeply into this. It was the first time for me. I'm not a virgin anymore. From now on I can also brag about my fights.

Four little children... How could I ever brag about such a thing? What excuses do I have? Legitimate self-defence? Or was it because I used a new-found power and am still unable to use it properly. Involuntary manslaughter? No... I stand to my actions and don't want to relativise them. At least this much should be done for my enemies. [Oh! Enemies... I understand.] Coming from a society that teaches to love thy enemy we developed a doctrine that there are no real enemies, only the lack of dialogue exists. The concept of an enemy has been lost due to an effective police and overwhelming military might. An enemy can only be someone who has the power to kill you and is also willing to use it.

Declaring someone an enemy seems much more honest than declaring them mere casualties of war. War is not the continuation of politics by other, more drastic, means. Calling someone a casualty of war is like saying, “I'm sorry. I didn't really want those soldiers dead. But your government made the mistake of putting them in front of me and I had no other choice.”

I did have a different choice. For example I could've adhered to absolute pacifism. Standing up for myself in a peaceful manner. However, I know this anime. Countries that follow absolute pacifism will inadvertently get invaded by Gundams. It's like an invitation for them.

Everyone who doesn't fight oppressors will lose something in the end. Mel Gibson also had to lose his wife in Braveheart before he was allowed to stand up for himself.

It's so weird. His case might've been just right from the beginning, but he himself wasn't a just character until he didn't experience personal loss. It seems modern society is not interested in a just cause, instead they only want to see a MC that has been brutally wronged. After that he is allowed to run wild.

Have I been personally wronged by an overwhelming opponent?

Checked!

Now my conscience is clear. Even the Sibyl-System would give me a clear HUE. The requirements for rightful anger have been completed. It's good that I can turn towards the entertainment industry for moral advice.

Sadly, I feel that this kind of route only serves to divert me from the real problem. People died by my hands. In the end the only thing I can come up with is an interpretation about the story of how Moses split the red sea and God let all Egyptians drown in there. How very brutal and not peaceful at all, is what I always thought. Nevertheless, if you disregard the part about the historicity you understand that it's a metaphor for the fight between two different systems of justice. The Egyptians represent Darwin's law of the jungle while the Israelites believed in the existence of a higher justice for everybody. In the face of the Pharaoh's might the weak Israelites came out unscathed, against all odds. A higher justice is a weak justice. That is why it even needed protection by divine intervention.

Funnily, they never considered this as another form of might is right. The Israelites didn't think that God was bullying the poor Egyptians with absolute power. Instead, they understood the story in a way that says God was smashing the law of the jungle symbolized by the Pharaoh and his minions and establishing a universal justice this way. A justice that isn't defined by the strong but rather defines those who are strong just as much as it defines the weak, too.

It's interesting to note that destroying the Pharaoh's army also served as a warning for the Israelites. It's not that they won some kind of war and are now winners...it was more like the message suggested that the same will happen to them too, if they ever go a similar way as the Egyptians.

Yes...this seems more right. Weak justice needs to be protected, for it protects those who are weak. I see...

There is no reason to act humble in front of oppressors, to let them roam until their actions become unbearable. There is a need to stand up to them.

Am I tarnishing my love for Aoi because I won't say that I simply wanted to protect her? No. I am arguing in such a manner out of love for her. I do not kill in her name, even if it is in legitimate self-defence. I would gladly throw myself in front of her and use my body as a shield, but I will not put any blood on her.

Although I can't possibly deny that my sense for what is just has only been born out of my love for her. I, myself, would have been only another bystander if not for her.

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Little demon girl Aretis' POV

[This is bad. This is really bad. If I don't do something soon I'll get beheaded.] The situation was dire. I had listened in on their talks. [Those humans can revive?] That meant it was not the power of the emperor. [Damn! Simply for knowing this I'll get silenced.] Those were state secrets and being the daughter of a noble wouldn't save me.

[What should I do?] The first problem lied in front of me. Right from the start this baroness pointed out the act of treason. Luckily she was critically wounded and her survival was not guaranteed. In that regard every other demon here was a liability for me, too. [He said to stop her crying...

This has to be done. That's the best chance I have, anyway.] The thought itself was rather impulsive and everybody would know about it. Still...I took one of her daggers out and was about to stab it right into her heart. Flames were immediately all around me. It was this man, Lucius, who did it. He said to me in his uncompromising tone:

“Drop the dagger and get slowly away from her.” I did as ordered. Everyone's eyes were now on me.

“Y-You told me to make her stop.”

“Do not even think about playing it out like this. I told you to tend to her wounds, not to kill her. You deliberately misinterpreted my order for your own sake. I heard what she said to you, Areti was it? If anyone of us gets captured again we'll make sure to tell the guards everything about you. There is no chance for you to cross us. Do not try something like this again.”

The other demons were looking at me in disdain for my attempted murder. [Idiots! I was also trying to save your skin there.] Lucius did not miss the looks we exchanged and asked,

“What are your names?”

“Jarimas.”

“Ghulen.”

Said both of them after a moment of silence. Then he turned towards me again.

“What are their names?” [This bastard...] Anxiety and scorn for me was reflected in their eyes. [I decided to get rid of them anyway.]

“This one is baron Vo 'Rin's son and that one belongs to the house of the Black Guardian Seb 'Onra. I do not know his name, only the crest on his jacket.”

Without any hint of anger he addressed the other two again.

“What is her full name?”

This time there was no delay in their answer and both said in one voice, “”Areti of the house Sa 'Wa.”” [Bastards.]

“Good. Did everyone remember their names?”

“””Yes.””” (humans)

“Now to make it clear Sa 'Wa, Seb 'Onra, Vo 'Rin,” He looked at everyone of us, “I do not want any more deaths because they will only slow us down. We also need to take more of you as... I don't think you are useful hostages, even though you are nobility. I know what happens to those that talk to us. You are going to carry us and if you don't want to be the only ones to fulfil this task you should not kill any more.”

He ordered us to free his companion who got killed by the baroness and they continued with their talks.

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Lucius' POV

[What a ruthless demon. She was also happy to see my suffering. This personality makes her hard to control but easier to predict. Such a character will only act for his own benefit.]

My actions should have been enough to keep the demons in line for now. Druent is also able to use this flame-aura and could handle them, if necessary.

“Randalph...before we talk about Godmother,” I went on in as low a tone as possible so that the demons wouldn't hear anything, “This flame-aura...can the other two also use it? We need more people to keep the demons in line.”

“No. It's a skill that needs rather high wisdom to be used. I am pretty amazed that you could pull it off without anybody showing you how it's done and without any prior training of the mind. It's name is 'Aura of the blazing Sun'. Your partner Aoi should be able to use it. The 'Sanctuary-Aura' needs much more training. The will to protect someone is not such an easy thing to obtain as the will to stop someone by force.”

“Would you show it to her?”

She had a determined look at my remark.

“No. One needs a lot of training before the aura manifests itself.”

“Today was the first time I tried it ,too, and it worked already. I also need to hear about it in detail from someone knowledgeable. It would not only help her.”

“Wha-? That is rather surprising again...Usually you are only able to unleash that particular aura to such a degree as yours after years of training. Even if I showed it to her it wouldn't account to much.”

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“So you and me are the only ones with any offensive power at the moment.” [Not to mention that I have no real understanding of my abilities.]

“Tell me...this 'wisdom'. What do you understand as wisdom? Before you ask... I come from a place that does not know the concept of stats. I just learned about it here.”

“Must be a pretty far away place. Are you a country bumpkin?”

“There is no need for profanities.”

“Very well, then. We translate the state of mind as wisdom. The easiest way to describe it would be to call it discipline.”

[It's not knowledge?]

“Why is it called wisdom if it doesn't have anything to do with knowledge?”

“It's wise to know the value of discipline.”

“But I don't have any discipline. I was lazy all my life. Why am I able to use auras then?”

“The way you just handled the demons showed some kind of wisdom to me. Wisdom refers to the way of how to deal with all living things in the world. Intelligent people know how to deal with inorganic problems. That's the difference”

[He's saying divide and conquer tactics are supposed to be wise?]

“I would argue that a wise person isn't just 'dealing' with other people, but I think I get the idea. Still, how is that connected to a disciplined mind?”

“That's what I'm talking about. An intelligent person wouldn't really qualm about my choice of words. Then how about this...dealing with yourself in a disciplined way, wouldn't you call that also a form of wise behaviour towards a living being?”

“I see...thanks for the information. Now please explain the 'Aura of the blazing sun' in detail and show it to Aoi.”

“Didn't you hear what I said? One needs a lot of practice before it's usable.”

“We have been concentrating on each other for the last five months while demons were killing us and a curse was attacking our minds. If a disciplined mind is needed, we both have it.”

“I get it...then listen up. The theory behind the 'Aura of the blazing sun' is simple. Auras can only affect living things since it's wisdom based. They won't have an affect on inanimate things such as rocks and so on. Generally speaking it's a particular way in dealing with people. Sometimes they need to be stopped with a beating. The flames are a manifestation of that.”

He stopped to think about his next words and took a deep breath.

“Don't try to use your own Mana reserves or you will just end up summoning a magical fire ball. Our innate ability transforms the surrounding Mana into an attacking force without your direct control. If you create an aura you manipulate Mana outside of your body to react with the Mana of a different person. That is what is technically happening there.”

“I have a question. Is Mana something animated? I thought we could only affect living things?”

Aoi was the one who answered this question of mine.

“It is not known. Some say it's some kind of universal life-force, others say it is not.”

[It can't be a universal life-force, since there is no magic on earth and there are still living people there.]

“She's right. But that is not really important for us, since no matter the answer, the effect we generate can only target the Mana of an animated object and react with it. Well... I hope you now understand why an abnormal ability to focus is necessary to use an aura.”

“No, I don't understand.” (Lucius)

“Yes, I understand.” (Aoi)

We looked at each other. Then I saw Randalph's annoyed face.

“You really are a country bumpkin...don't you get it?”

I looked at Aoi for help and she thankfully explained it to me.

“Lucius, not using Mana in any kind of action is incredibly hard. No, it is more or less impossible. I once read a quote from a famous sage who said that not using your own Mana willingly is akin to reversing the flow of blood inside your body by sheer willpower. I am pretty amazed about the fact that an innate ability is able to do such a thing. That sage tried his whole life to master the technique of reversing his blood flow only to die in the end because of a heart-attack.”

“Oh...” [So it wasn't because I practised to concentrate on my surroundings but rather because I never used any Mana to begin with, considering that I wasn't born here. I wonder if I even have such a thing as a personal Mana-pool?]

“Aoi, would you try it?” (Lucius)

“I have been trying to do it the whole time after I had already understood the concept.” she replied with a displeased tone.

“Who have you been aiming it at?” (Randalph)

“That blue Areti over there.”

“Aye, she's a worthy target. However, the important part is not the person you want to stop but you yourself. The reason why our skills manifest themselves as auras lies in the fact that the first person the Mana outside of your body reacts to is actually you. Try to not use up any of your own Mana while the outside Mana interacts with it. Your Mana-pool has to become a mirror that only reflects but won't react itself. The less you use up, the stronger the aura.”

[So I do have a Mana-pool, too. Otherwise I couldn't use auras.]

Aoi closed her eyes and was in deep concentration. We both waited for her to do something while looking at her in eagerness. To Randalph's and my surprise she actually manifested a visible aura after a couple of minutes. It was rather small compared to the flame aura and only stretched around five to ten cm from her body. What was unexpected, though, was it's form.

“Ice...”

“You really weren't lying when you told me that your ability to concentrate was abnormal. I didn't expect her to accomplish anything, not to mention an 'Aura of the silent moon'. Truly exceptional. Usually you need to start out with weaker auras and I was just trying to see if you could pull off some kind of weak resistance-aura and here you go and bring forth an offensive oriented aura,” further he addressed her, “You must have been proficient with fighting and water magic even before coming here, am I right?”

At that she opened her eyes again and stopped the aura. Randalph was really surprised. Aoi and I, on the other hand side, looked at each other and had the same thought.

“”It's useless for now.””

“Hey! Only I was supposed to say it out loud.” (Aoi)

“Sorry. It slipped my tongue...nevertheless, he says you are amazing. It's good that he finally understood it but it may become a pain if he falls for you. And why ice?” (Lucius)

“As he said...I'm good with water magic.”

Even though I said it's useless, it's only for now. I understood how good she must be. If I used the moment she gained her consciousness as a reference point it took me probably one year and seven months to bring out my 'Sanctuary-Aura' that freed her. Then it took me another five months to finally manifest this offensive ability. She did both in just five months, no matter if they weren't as powerful as my auras. [I'm proud of you.]

-------

Our talking took quite some time and Crence had nearly been freed from the chain again. It was time for a plan.

“Randalph, what kind of escape route does your Godmother know of?”

“She's also your Godmother, too.”

“I didn't vote for her.”

“Yet, she voted for you. Through her existence our blessed ground chooses the 'Children of the Dawn'.”

“She brought us here?”

“Not exactly. The ground itself will choose like-minded people to the reigning Godmother.”

[That's a good way to prevent distrust and dissent. But that sure is suspicious. If I was chosen based on my personality at the time of my death, I fear that all hope for the 'Children of the Dawn' is already lost.]

“Anyway...so what is this way out now?”

“Teleportation.”

[I could've guessed as much...]

End of Chapter 9

Afterwords:

The reason why I'm writing this FF is because in nearly every other Light Novel or story 'Holy Warriors' or Paladins get shit for their righteousness and are depicted as self-centered bigots. The main purpose of this FF is to let the readers fall in love with this character class to the point were they won't choose anything else than a Paladin in every other RPG in the future.

I had finals so it took me a bit longer to bring this Chapter out. I do need to finish an important paper until the 31st so expect a new Chapter in January. I might bring out a short side story, though, if my head is about to explode to distract me.

Initially i planned this Chapter to be longer (until they found Godmother) but I hope you understand...

I also noticed that some of you have voted. Thanks for that. I do appreciate it because then more people will notice this story...but it isn't really expected of you. What I do really care for are direct replies in the threads. I take them very serious and try to implement your suggestions as much as possible. Even if there's no reply from me I still take them to heart.