CHAPTER 162: SAINT BEATRIZ

"..." I’m sipping a cup of tea while observing an old painting of my mother, she has white eyes and white hair similar to mine, she was also the saint before dying while giving birth to me and now I follow the same path as her.

It’s a calm and peaceful day until a maid suddenly enters my room, she seems rushed.

"Saint Beatriz, an urgent matter has arisen," She speaks nervously as I look at her, keeping calm.

"I’m busy..." I hate when they interrupt this moment, it’s one of the few times I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not, one of the few times I can reminisce about my mother.

They know they shouldn’t come to my room during these 30 minutes I requested to rest, I’m 18 years old and have been acting as a saint for 8 years, and the only thing I asked for was 30 minutes of peace and quiet in my room without being disturbed.

"A high-class undead has appeared in front of the church and the paladins are having trouble while this undead demands to see you," She says nervously. I just sigh, placing the cup on the table.

"Alright, then tell me the situation in detail," I say, annoyed by the interruption, but understanding it’s an emergency.

"It’s a pale woman with black hair and equally black eyes, she uses ice magic and is obviously an undead, and she also shows consciousness and fights by holding her head off her body, showing she’s a headless knight," She speaks with urgency.

’A rather troublesome undead, and even attacking the main headquarters of the church, must be quite powerful.’

"How many casualties have there been?" This will cause trouble, I hope few have been injured.

"None..."

"...? How many injured?" I question, confused. It’s not that I don’t trust the paladins’ abilities, but we’re still human, so it’s hard to believe no one died.

"N-No injuries..." She says nervously, leaving me even more confused.

"Explain everything at once."

"We’re not sure, the undead just immobilizes the paladins or knocks them unconscious, but without harming them. She mainly uses ice magic to keep them still."

"...Alright, I’ll go see this commotion," I say, getting up from the table and going to the window. This is my room on the top floor of the church, I believe I can see the confusion from here.

As soon as I reach the window, I see a woman fighting against 5 paladins. I’m impressed with her fencing, as considering the magic, she’s a mage, not a standard knight.

If she focused only on magic, she would be much more powerful than now, as she’s only focusing on fencing. With the ice magic I see, she has almost half the talent I have for magic.

And that’s an impressive feat, since I’m the strongest mage among all humans. For her to have half that magical talent means she automatically ranks among the strongest mages in the world.

"Undead can automatically regenerate from standard injuries, but they need a mage or necromancer to heal major wounds..." I murmur, watching as that undead avoids large attacks that would cause damage, but doesn’t care about small attacks.

"What did that undead say?" I question the maid, still observing the fight.

"She said she wishes to talk to the saint, that she is not an enemy of the church, and that she currently has no necromancer controlling her body," the maid says quickly.

"Okay, you can leave," I say to her, while looking at the scene. She is undoubtedly very skilled, but other things catch my attention.

"She looks a lot like my mother..." Apart from the hair and eye colors, they are extremely similar, in fact, identical.

"No matter, I need to resolve this quickly," I prepare a sacred magic, generating a large golden and white bow that emanates a lot of sacred power. I aim an arrow straight at her heart.

No matter if it’s a high-class undead, if hit by this in the heart, it’s instant death.

"May the impure rest, may God’s grace reach the dead who were removed from their deserved rest, and may God punish the impure souls that force the limits of life and death," I murmur a mantra as I shoot the arrow.

The shot hits the undead’s heart dead-on, piercing it. Normally, purification rituals require many priests, but as a saint, I can do it alone and much faster than hundreds of priests together.

"...W-What?!" I’m alarmed by this scene. The undead removes the sacred arrow and continues to fight. This is absurd. I’ve purified high-class undead before, it shouldn’t resist.

"How is this possible!" I’m shocked. This arrow should cause instant death to the undead. This arrow has specific effects, it aims directly at the center of impurity, destroying that part.

That’s why the undead’s clothes and body don’t have any damage from the arrow, because this arrow doesn’t cause physical damage, it only destroys the source of necromancy, and this frees the undead.

However, she was not freed. She seems confused because she has no wounds on her body, but continues to fight.

"Undead shouldn’t be able to resist this..." I open the window and jump down from it, going to where the paladins are still fighting with difficulty. I see several knights trapped in ice, but without injuries.

There are even two paladins unconscious, but only with minor injuries that are not a threat and haven’t caused any problems after minimal care.

"Stop!" I say, catching everyone’s attention. Immediately, all the paladins stop and come to me, forming a protective barrier to ensure my safety. The undead also stops.

I’m shocked that she wasn’t purified, but if that didn’t purify her, I have other methods to try.

"I heard you wish to speak with me," I say to her, signaling the paladins to step out of my way.

"Yes," the undead says in a beautiful voice. The maid’s outfit with ice forming details is very beautiful and reminds of a powerful armor in terms of resistance. Up close, her magic is even more impressive.

"What do you want from me?" I question. This undead must want something, and I don’t believe she’s not being controlled by someone.

"I want you to give me freedom from the control of any necromancer, and in return, I will be your loyal knight to erase all the sins I have committed," She says, bowing to me.

"Be my knight, you say? What guarantees that you’re not lying? A powerful undead like you free from any control is like a calamity." Undead being controlled are limited to orders.

However, undead with freedom are free, and that makes them worse than when they’re with necromancers who hide like the filthy rats they are.

"As proof of my honesty, I don’t mind letting you purify my soul. If you succeed, I’ll leave satisfied, but if you fail, I want to be your maid and personal knight to pay for my mistakes by helping others," She speaks with conviction.

’...’ It doesn’t cost anything to do this. If I purify her and she disappears, I will have fulfilled my duty, and she seems confident that she won’t be purified.

"That’s not enough proof," I tell her.

"...I have no more presentable proof. All I can do is show it through my actions," She says, and obviously, no paladin trusts this story much.

"..." I think for a moment about what to say. No paladin seems to be trusting this story, but I believe everyone deserves a chance.

"You said you accept being purified and will be my servant if you remain here. You know my life is dangerous and full of acts to help others, are you sure you’ll spend the rest of your life serving me?" I ask, expecting hesitation.

"Yes," She replies without hesitation.

"Hmm... I am Saint Beatriz," I say as a large white circle covers the area. The paladins and knights bow to the sacred magic I’m using. I bow, joining my hands and closing my eyes.

"I, Saint Beatriz, pray to God to help me purify a lost soul seeking redemption. Give me a sign from the heavens and grace me with your power. I ask for your support to guide this lost soul back to its rest," As I say this, a white pillar of pure sacred power that goes from the ground to the sky appears.

We are both inside this powerful energy. It’s one of the most powerful purification sacred magics I have. I wait until the light dissipates.

"..." I can only try to hide the shock. She’s still here, an undead being hit by this should have died instantly and turned to dust, but she’s here, bowing to me.

"S-Saint, you shouldn’t..." I stop a paladin, raising my hand. I know he will say I shouldn’t have this undead near me.

"We didn’t make a formal oath, but I was arrogant. I believed you would be purified, but just as you said, I made my actions. God is the witness who saw it all."

"You can be my knight for now, but I don’t trust you. I forbid you from being away from me, and any evil act you commit will force me to make the decision to imprison you," I say to this undead.

"I understand. I am Shizune Accursed, and I will be your loyal servant," She says, raising her head with a gentle smile as she reattaches it to her neck.

"...I hope so," I say, as I start walking towards the church. Many seem dissatisfied as I take this undead with me, but they don’t realize her strength.

If she wanted to kill them, it wouldn’t be difficult. She fought them all and still minimized the damage as much as possible. Moreover, her voice carries a strange pain that I recognize well.

The pain of being guilty of something terrible that one didn’t want. I understand this and appreciate that she wishes to redeem herself. I believe God must have guided her here, or God protected her from being purified because she needs to redeem her sins in life.

’If God has guided her here and decided that she still needs to remain here for something, then I, his devoted saint, must help this woman reach what she needs to do.’ I think as I continue the path to my room for a calmer conversation.