While I was busy deliberating over what to do, the situation took on a life of its own.
A figure who looked like a general stepped forward from the Outz Kingdom's side.
He cut a dashing figure on his horse — wait, no. What the heck is that?
A qilin?
Well, something like that kind of Monster. He rode it out into the space where both sides of the battlefield locked eyes.
"I am the King of the Outz Kingdom, Gushisuku Emela Outz!"
Whoa.
Loud voice.
It's probably the effect of some Skill, but the Outz Kingdom's king announced himself with a volume that echoed across the entire battlefield.
It was like a scene from a movie, and I couldn't help getting a little excited.
"The abomination of treating the Monster that brought calamity upon my kingdom as a divine beast, and furthermore offering my country's own people as sacrifices to said Monster! Heretics! Your sins warrant ten thousand deaths!"
Huh?
Wait, what?
That old man is calling my presence here a sacrifice?
Look, I get that it's a stretch, but did you just completely ignore the part where *you* came after *me* first?
It was a short speech, but paired with that thunderous resonance that shook your very core, the effect was magnificent.
The Outz Kingdom's soldiers erupted in fervor.
They were shouting one after another, but unfortunately the distance was too great, and with such a massive crowd roaring in unison, I couldn't make out what any individual was saying.
Not that I wanted to.
Besides, I half suspect most of them weren't even shouting anything meaningful.
Honestly, I think the majority were just screaming.
Just then — as if slicing through the Outz Kingdom coalition's excitement — a single general burst out from the Sariera Kingdom's side.
This one was riding a different kind of Monster from the Outz king.
White coat, wings spread wide.
Wait, isn't that just a Pegasus?
Leave it to the D rank.
They know how to keep things on-brand.
"I am the King of the Sariera Kingdom, Gigis El Sariera!"
The king who announced himself — young!
Who is that white-haired noble prince where the white horse looks absolutely perfect on him?
The Outz king gave off the vibe of a stern and disciplined warrior, but the Sariera king looked like a prince straight out of a fairy tale.
Hmm.
If I had to pick, I'd say I prefer the Outz king, actually.
"Servants of the Divine Word! The arrogance of calling us heretics with your narrow-minded vision! The sin of harming the holy divine beast that heals our people and delivers judgment upon wicked sinners! Even if the merciful Goddess forgives you, we shall deliver the hammer of judgment in her stead!"
Yeah, yeah.
Spare me the speech.
I never wanted any of this.
"How laughable! Your reverence for Monsters is wickedness itself! Go face the divine spirit of the Divine Word's God and start over in the next life!"
Oh ho.
So that's how you want to play it.
Hmm.
"You don't even understand the Goddess's compassion, and you've lost yourselves to the farce of the Divine Word! *You* are the heretics, aren't you?!"
Whoa, whoa.
"Fools! The only God in this world is the God of the Divine Word! The Goddess is nothing but a figment of imagination! Have you ever heard the voice of the Goddess?!"
"No! But the Goddess's divine will has always watched over us! Responding to that will is the very mission of the Goddess's faith!"
"And that means standing shoulder to shoulder with Monsters?!"
"They are good neighbors! What is wrong with trusting your neighbors?!"
"Because they are Monsters!"
"Then what are you entrusting your body to right now?!"
"This is merely a tool!"
"That is the very nonsense we speak of! Mankind shall join hands with Monsters, and together with the Goddess who will one day descend, annihilate the Demon race! That is the promised Holy War! That is the Goddess's salvation!"
Huh?
"Both Monsters and the Demon race belong to demonic kind! They can never understand each other!"
"The Demon race and Monsters are different things!"
"They are the same! They all bring harm to mankind! Further debate is unnecessary! All troops — pass judgment upon these wretched heretics!"
"Attack! Show mercy from the Goddess to those deceived by a false god!"
Both armies began to advance with a tremendous roar.
Well.
There's nothing I can do about this.
Yeah.
I knew this was coming.
I knew it, but seeing it with my own eyes — my anger has given way to utter exasperation.
The Goddess faith — come on, there's no way the Goddess would ever want this.
Descend and annihilate the Demon race?
She couldn't do that even if she wanted to, and she never would.
The Goddess struggled to the very end trying to save even the Demon race — those whom everyone else had deemed beyond saving.
The Divine Word faith — utterly hopeless.
From the intel I gathered in town, I'd picked up on what kind of religion the Divine Word faith was.
Basically, it's a religion that worships the Voice of Heaven — provisionally — as the voice of God.
And its core teaching was that you should raise your Skills and Levels as much as possible in order to hear more of the Voice of Heaven — provisionally.
I can understand the origin.
Someone way back when figured out how to get people to raise their Skill Levels, and turned that into a religion.
That someone surely believed in God more than anyone else.
But from what I've seen now, that faith has been twisted beyond recognition.
The fact that they've completely rejected the Goddess faith is proof enough.
You can see right through the intentions of the person who started this war.
For the Divine Word faith, the Goddess faith was an obstacle.
So they decided to crush it.
Why?
It's obvious.
Because the Goddess faith is partially correct.
And the Divine Word faith doesn't want that correct part spreading.
Because it would be inconvenient for them.
Sigh.
Trash.
Knowing what's right and choosing yourself anyway.
If that's not trash, what do you call it?
The Goddess faith, which has forgotten the Goddess's true intent.
The Divine Word faith, which prioritizes self-preservation and commits to erasing the truth.
They're both trash.
Well, which one is trashier is pretty clear, I guess.
The Outz Kingdom got the short end of the stick too.
They're being used as a tool to crush the Goddess faith, and they don't even realize it — fighting a war they never needed to fight.
Though I suppose their own lack of critical thinking might have brought this upon themselves.
A nation really ought to steer its own ship properly.
Maybe smaller countries just can't manage that?
If so, I feel a little sorry for them.
I feel sorry for them, but I won't go easy on them.
The Divine Word faith might be a necessary evil for the world, but I can't stand their existence.
So I'm going to take them down.