Soarina, the Saintess of Splendid Burial, was an unremarkable girl living in a bleak village in Quolia.
A Saintess is a special trait acquired after birth, with but a single known exception.
No one understands what criteria the Sacred God uses when selecting them.
But those who are chosen invariably receive combat ability surpassing that of an Exalted Holy Knight, and above all, a singular miracle found nowhere else.
The power granted to Soarina was Splendid Burial.
It was a fearsome ability to wield overwhelmingly destructive flame—a power that ranked among the most devastating even when compared to other Saintesses.
Soarina had lived happily.
The village and her home were impoverished, but they scraped by each day, never missing their prayers to God, and she passed her days as a model faithful—unremarkable, yet content.
The miracles God bestows. The recognition of a Saintess demands a price.
Whether this was due to the sheer magnitude of a Saintess's power, or the will of God itself, no one could say.
But every Saintess throughout history had paid something in exchange for their power, and as a result, even those who became the embodiment of the people's faith and devotion frequently met tragic ends.
Soarina's price was every person close to her.
Family, friends, acquaintances.
Everyone in her village.
No freak accident or catastrophic event had occurred. She herself had burned them all.
Under orders from the Central Authority.
...Her beloved people had been driven mad by the power of the Saintess.
Having gained a certain authority from producing a Saintess of their own village, they could no longer restrain their desires and began making unjust demands upon neighboring villages.
No matter how much Soarina tried to reason with them, they would nod along with pleasant faces for a time, only to revert to their old ways before long.
The people of Soarina's village had long since crossed a line they could not come back from on their own.
Of course Soarina had not been a mere bystander, nor had the central government been entirely without compassion.
But the time she had bought by traveling to the capital herself, tearfully begging the Saint who served as the vessel, had ended in failure after failure.
Once starvation and frostbite began claiming lives in the surrounding villages, she had no choice but to make a decision.
That they were not devout believers of God, but despicable demons led astray by evil.
Family, friends, acquaintances... after everything had been burned away, what remained were flowers in full bloom.
Like offerings to the dead, the flowers sent to the departed simply lay there, saying nothing at all to Soarina.
That was the story of the day the Flower Burial Saint, Soarina, was born.
It was the story of the day a young girl closed her heart amidst her sorrow.
"So... that's how it is~!"
A light, frivolous declaration was directed at Soarina.
The moment she heard those words, saw that figure,
Soarina cursed God, wondering if such despair could possibly exist in this world.
"It's time for fun, fun revenge! Soarina♪"
"...Erakino."
There stood the witch Erakino, who had just moments ago been laid to rest in her hands.
No... it was Takuto Ira, mimicking Erakino.
"That's right, it's Erakino♪ Soarina's one and only dear friend! The friend who thinks of you so strongly!... And the friend you killed again."
"N-no..." Soarina clutched her head, a sob escaping her.
The sins of the past were bearing down on her now, a chorus in her head demanding to know why she had done it.
"It hurt so much. It was so painful... Hey, Soarina? Why did you say something so reckless? Overthrowing the King of Ruin — Erakino opposed the very idea from the start, didn't she?"
She knew.
Who had been worst of all. Where the root of everything lay — every reason she had ended up like this.
She understood it all, had always understood, and yet she had kept looking away.
"You got greedy, Soarina. You got greedy, and with the Game Master's power you thought you were invincible, so you went and did something so reckless."
"No, that's not it... Please forgive me, Erakino, please..."
She must have been carried away.
For the first time in so long, she had been able to open her heart and talk with someone.
Erakino, who treated her not as a saint but simply as a girl, had been blinding.
And so she had gotten the wrong idea.
That she was special.
That if things kept going well, she could reclaim everything she had lost and return to those peaceful, happy days of the past.
Days with Erakino there, laughing together every day, talking about nothing and everything, sometimes fighting but always making up again...
She had deluded herself into believing she could live those days.
"There's no way I can forgive you. Because everyone is going to die. All the Holy Knights, Fenne, and every citizen of this country... all of them, every last one, dead. Just like Erakino."
"Ah — ahhh!!"
"In the end, you were nothing but that village girl after all. Arrogantly believing you had power, and in doing so losing everything..."
Erakino was right.
In the end, she was fundamentally the same as those villagers. Base, indulgent toward herself, lacking all self-restraint, never once considering the suffering of others.
That's why it backfired.
It backfired... and once again, I lost someone precious.
I knew all too well the price for the Saint's power.
"This is all your fault, Soarina."
Soarina no longer had the strength to retort.
She wanted to just end everything like this.
Then perhaps she could see Erakino again.
She no longer believed in heaven, but if she could meet those people once more...
If she could meet the people who had become sacrifices because of her existence.
When that time came, she would offer her apology.
She didn't know if they would forgive her... but she would seek forgiveness forever.
Forever, and ever.
At the edge of Soarina's vision, Erakino's claw glinted.
If that tore into her, not even a Saint's resilient body could escape death.
That was fine.
That was... fine.
Then the claw, sharper and harder than steel, swung down—
And a strange shattering sound rang out.
"...Mgh!"
Soarina was not dead.
She didn't understand why she was still wretchedly clinging to life, and for a moment, she simply stared blankly.
Into the space between her and the false Erakino, someone intruded.
"Run, Soarina! You still have things to do!"
"...Lady Fenne."
It was the veiled saint, Fenne Karmuel.
Her veil was already shredded from the shock of battle, and a dark stain of blood was visible through her abdomen.
Even so, Fenne had dragged her own life here to save her.
"I will hold this place. You... your friend told you, didn't she? To live! Then fulfill that mission! Don't stop here! Soarina!!"
The face beneath the veil was that of a deeply aged woman.
Soarina was startled by the difference from that beautiful voice, but then remembered that saints require a price.
Surely... she must have had her own reasons.
Teaming up with Erakino, and Takuto Ira's cutting remark about her being "a foolish woman who only wanted her own happiness."
It must all be the result of her clinging to some kind of hope.
Just as Soarina had something precious, Fenne must have had something precious too.
Could she really discard that and escape alone?
And besides...
"Run, Soarina! Quickly!"
Where exactly was she supposed to run to?
"No, I'm not letting you run normally. I should kill you here, otherwise it'll be a pain later."
Takuto Ira, having reverted to normal at some point, said with a look of exasperation.
Either way, breaking free from this evil force's encirclement made escape utterly impossible. The two holy maidens would never admit it, but that was simply inconceivable.
"Well, just give up and look forward to your next life. Maybe you two will get one someday—" Takuto Ira attempted to mimic something once more.
His outline blurred, and just as some form began to emerge from within—
"—!? Gghh!"
Suddenly, Takuto clutched his head and stumbled backward.
"Lord Takuto?! What is wrong?!"
Atou, who had been watching events unfold, rushed over in a panic, glaring at Soarina and the others with fury.
But they too were caught off guard by this outcome. They desperately wanted to know what had just happened.
"...Carrier. Mearia."
"Yesss?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Eventually, Takuto, still holding his head, called over the Elful sisters. Though slightly worried, they still responded, and Takuto posed a brief question.
"Success?"
"Without issue," said Nerim.
"Perfect!" Mearia added.
He nodded at their words, then turned his gaze to old Mortar.
"Are the troops assembled?"
"Yes, they are already gathered... But Your Majesty, what has happened? Did those saints do something to you!?"
"No... It's not that. But we are withdrawing. Everyone, gather around me immediately."
Further questions would be superfluous.
But even old Mortar immediately understood that something utterly unexpected had transpired within Takuto.
If that was the case, swift action was necessary.
"Right away!"
"Everyone, assemble around the King!"
Following Mortar's signal, Giah bellowed the order.
The Mynoghra subordinates, already on standby, quickly formed up around Takuto.
"Everyone's here... Good."
As he spoke, Takuto began to mimic the Ice Rock.
A few Dark Elves instinctively tensed, but quickly straightened up and maintained formation as ordered.
"I have some matters to attend to. I'll take my leave for today."
He addressed Soarina and Fenne.
There was a hint of urgency in his voice, yet also the composure of an absolute victor.
"Next time— I hope we can talk in a friendly manner."
Having returned to his original form for just that final sentence, Takuto then began to chant the flight transfer magic that anyone who had played Brave Questus would know. With his subordinates, he produced a strange sound and soared away.
……
……
All that remained were Soarina, who had lost a friend, and Fenne, wounded and unconscious.
And the shattered remnants of a dream called the Kingdom of Divine Light, Renea.
"Ugh... ughhh..."
It was all over.
Her dream, her friend's dream. Everything.
If she closed her eyes, she imagined she could still hear Erakino's boisterous, somehow endearing clamor.
Even now, if she were to suddenly look back, she imagined Erakino might pop into view with that teasing, mischievous look on her face.
But Erakino was no longer in this world...
"Ahhhhhhhh!"
There was nothing left for Soarina to do but collapse into tears.