Chapter 285 Goddess Aurelia ㉕
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I retrieved a vial of Soma¹ and moved to Alpha, helping him drink.
It lived up to its reputation as the ultimate healing draught; as long as the heart still beat, it could close any wound.
Within seconds, his jagged gashes began to knit together and vanish.
”I am… so deeply sorry. I was helpless against them…” Alpha rasped.
”Don’t worry about it,” I replied.
”Just focus on recovering.”
The injuries Alpha had sustained would have been an instant death sentence for a human.
He had only survived because he was a War-Ogre²-a Rakshasa³-a race literally built for the carnage of the front lines.
These people grew at a staggering rate, reaching physical and mental maturity just months after birth, and they could maintain their youthful peak for centuries.
Of course, because they were a martial race, most died in the heat of battle long before reaching their natural end.
In the past, that piece-of-work Goddess had designated them a “heinous race” simply to satisfy her own twisted amusement, leading a previous Hero to nearly hunt them to extinction.
Lil and the other demi-humans had suffered the exact same fate for the same “reason,” but that was a bitter story for another time.
”So,” I asked, “who did this to you?”
”A pair in white armor and two black-haired women,” Alpha said.
”I couldn’t be certain of their gender, but the ones in white armor had the builds of men. What’s more, one of them carried a katana… much like the one you use, Master.”
Specifically, it was the white-armored swordsman who had done the most damage.
A katana-user, huh? (Interesting…)
”The Madam fought with everything she had,” Alpha continued, “but they took Young Master Van and Little Miss Mana hostage. After that, she was forced to stand down…” I see.
They played dirty.
It was a cowardly move, but undeniably effective.
”Perhaps because of that, the Madam’s movements lacked her usual grace,” Alpha added.
I suspected there was more to her sluggishness than just the hostages, but there was no point in dwelling on that now.
”I get it,” I said.
”And where are Van and Maana now?”
”Papa! They’re both okay!” Leki shouted.
Leki came running toward us, cradling the two infants in her arms.
I’d heard them wailing earlier, so I’d known they were likely alive, but seeing them was a relief.
They were screaming at the top of their lungs-probably because Lil was gone.
(Though if they’re actually just crying because they’re hungry or have a wet diaper in the middle of a kidnapping, they’ve got some serious nerves of steel.)
”Alpha, can you give me a more detailed description of the black-haired woman?” I asked.
After listening to the specifics, I was certain.
It was almost definitely Nagase Emi.
Alpha mentioned she’d knocked Lil out and used some kind of teleportation to vanish, but Emi’s Unique Skills shouldn’t have included a warp ability.
Maybe the other armored knight did it? But considering they had snatched the infants right from under Lil’s nose while she was guarding them, it didn’t quite add up.
”Stolen” was a better word for it than “taken.” With this many clues, I had a pretty good idea who those white-armored figures actually were.
But more important than their identities was where they had taken Lil.
I checked the area for a ransom note, but there wasn’t so much as a scrap of paper left behind.
We were at a total loss.
I had absolutely no lead.
”The only place they could be,” a voice called out from behind me, “is the central headquarters of the Aurelia Church.” I turned to find Mashiro standing there.
”Mashiro? Since when… no, how did you even get here?” I asked.
I glanced at the person standing beside her and sighed.
”Actually, one look at you makes it obvious.”
”Yes, Master Natsumi,” Maya said.
”I brought her. Maya and I (boku) may have different forms and thoughts, but our souls are one. I know what happens the moment it happens. That is why I brought Mashiro-sama; she is the one with the most knowledge.” It made sense.
Mashiro’s Unique Skill was essentially a living dictionary.
To put it in more modern terms, she was a human Wiki.
”I was wondering what was going on when she suddenly dragged me here,” Mashiro said with a shrug.
Since Maya was an extension of me and could use the ‘Teleportation Gates,’ her appearing here wasn’t a surprise.
”So, you said the Aurelia Church headquarters,” I said.
”You mean the Holy City of Lustarika⁴, Gautrill?”
”No, that’s not it,” Mashiro replied.
I blinked.
I thought the Holy City of Gautrill, located in the Holy Concubine State of Lustarika, served as the Church’s seat of power.
Then again, Lustarika didn’t really have proper towns.
Gautrill was just a collection of the faithful-priestesses, initiates, priests, and bishops.
”Gautrill is just the public face,” Mashiro explained.
”It’s a place for baptisms and training. As a side note, do you know what those rituals actually involve? They have to explore the upper floors of the Great Labyrinth of Lustarika.” That really was a side note.
The Great Labyrinth was one of the Seven Great Labyrinths, basically an erotic trap dungeon.
During the Baptism Ritual, they have to stay there for an hour while their bodies and minds are lewdly “developed,” destroying any sense of modesty they once had.
I’d heard similar stories from Alisha.
Apparently, the “training” was just a way to sharpen their s*xual techniques.
”But I digress,” Mashiro said.
”There is another headquarters. It only appears when every last Hero has been struck down.” Mashiro pointed toward the heavens.
She wasn’t pointing at the mansion’s ceiling; she meant the sky itself.
I looked out the window and up.
”…What is that?” Leki whispered.
Even with her sharp eyes, Leki looked completely stunned.
”What do you see? Wait… what the hell is that thing?” I muttered.
I grabbed a telescope and peered in the direction Leki was staring.
Floating impossibly high in the atmosphere was something that looked like a massive, divine temple.
”That is the true heart of the faith,” Mashiro said.
”The Sky Temple, Suria⁵.” Suria.
It was a name I’d never heard.
I had spent my free time obsessively researching history and literature-it was how I’d discovered the truth about the extinction of the War-Ogres and demi-humans-but there had been no mention of a floating temple anywhere.
”According to the Philosopher’s Stone⁶,” Mashiro continued, “that temple only manifests if the Heroes are wiped out or incapacitated before the Demon King is defeated. It has only appeared twice before; this is the third time. They say it’s the Goddess’s personal fortress. When it appears, the Goddess’s Knights emerge to take the Heroes’ place and kill the Demon King. Incidentally, the Demon Kings they killed in the past were the King of the War-Ogres and the King of the Beastmen.” Everything clicked.
That was why those races had been wiped out.
The Goddess’s Knights-the ones in the white armor-had slaughtered every last one of them, regardless of age or gender.
”As for who the Knights actually are… that’s unknown,” Mashiro said.
”Even the Philosopher’s Stone had no record of their identities. However, it did say that the same number of Knights appeared as there were Heroes in that era.” She might as well have just given me the answer.
Mashiro was clearly convinced, and so was I.
This time, their target was the total destruction of Greedia.
Specifically, my death was their top priority.
That was why they had snatched Lil.
”If we’re going to help Lil-san, we have to go now,” Mashiro urged.
”Agreed,” I said.
”She’s a hostage, which means they only need her alive, but God knows what they’re doing to her.”
”There’s also the ritual, Master,” Mashiro added.
”Remember what I said about the Aurelia Church’s baptism? They intend to drown Lil-san in pleasure until they’ve brainwashed her into switching sides.”
I’d completely forgotten.
That was basically a one-way trip to being NTR’d.
I had to go immediately, but I had no way to reach it.
The ‘Teleportation Gate’ could only take me to places I had already visited.
”Actually,” a voice chirped, “I (oira) brought a way for you to get there!”
”Brought a way? That’s a weird way to put it,” I said.
”Hehe… is it my turn? Gale, at your service!”
It was Storm, the Wind Demon General.
”My spirit beast, Rukh, can fly us all the way up there. What do you (oira) say?” Storm asked with an innocent grin.
—
Summary:
Following the attack on the mansion, the protagonist heals Alpha using a Soma potion. He learns that Lil and the children were taken by a group including Nagase Emi and mysterious white-armored knights. Mashiro reveals that the true headquarters of the Aurelia Church is a floating temple called Suria, which only appears when Heroes fail. He prepares to mount a rescue mission using Gale’s spirit beast, Rukh, to reach the sky fortress before Lil is brainwashed.
—
Trivia:
- War-Ogres reach maturity in just a few months, explaining their rapid population replenishment despite short combat-filled lives.
- The Aurelia Church uses ‘Baptism’ as a euphemism for s*xual brainwashing inside an erotic trap dungeon.
- The Sky Temple Suria is a fail-safe that appears to ‘clean up’ when Heroes are defeated, implying the Goddess doesn’t actually trust the Heroes to win.
- The white-armored knights previously exterminated the War-Ogre and Beastmen races in past cycles.
- Maya is protagonist’s soul-double and can use his unique skills like Teleportation Gate autonomously
—
Character Insight:
The protag shows a cold, pragmatic anger; he focuses on healing his subordinates and gathering intel rather than panicking. Mashiro demonstrates her value as a lore-expert, while Gale (Storm) provides the necessary utility for the next arc.
—
Behind the Scenes:
The closing quote ‘My brain is trembling!’ is a direct reference to Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti from the series Re:Zero, often used in Japanese web novels to signal a character’s descent into madness or extreme frustration.
—
TL Notes:
Notes:
• Alpha – Handsome young butler with reddish‑brown skin, black hair and a single forehead horn, slender build; a twin child of Orcus and Keiko, he is a War‑Ogre (Rakshasa) who matures in months. Loyal to Sieben, he manages logistics, reports evacuations, and was found terminally wounded protecting the children.
• Lil – 166 cm tall, hourglass 90‑56‑90; long indigo waist‑length hair, sharp golden eyes, wolf ears, dog‑like tail, scarred abdomen, silver hair in human form. Fenrir‑kin queen, mother of Leki, Van and newborn Mana, wife of the protagonist, called “number one” by Mitsuba. Abducted to Sky Temple Suria for a baptism.
• Van – A baby (infant) belonging to the household. the protag and Lil’s infant son. Taken hostage by the Goddess’s Knights.
• Maana – the protag and Lil’s infant daughter. Taken hostage by the Goddess’s Knights.
• Leki – Lil’s eldest daughter, 140 cm tall with 70‑54‑69 measurements, dog/wolf ears and a husky‑puppy look, once a stuffed toy now human. She wields a great axe as a big‑sisterly combatant, smooth‑skinned, can split a King Basilisk’s skull, keen‑eyed, calls the protagonist ‘Papa’, is his subordinate/family and discovered the floating temple.
• Nagase Emi – Nagase Emi, 23, 159 cm, 85‑56‑83 figure, youthful look. A popular teacher who secretly bullied Natsuki Sasaki, she also served as a Hero whose buff skill empowered the Plaudix army — defeated before the scene. Black‑haired and involved in a kidnapping, she wields a unique, non‑teleportation skill.
• Nagase – Nagase Emi, 23, 159 cm tall, 85‑56‑83 figure, looks younger than her age. A teacher who appears nice and is popular with students but is actually a trash teacher who first bullied Natsuki Sasaki. Also a Hero whose skills were used to buff the Plaudix army, defeated before the scene begins.
• Emi – Nagase Emi, 23, 159 cm, youthful look, 85‑56‑83, former teacher of the protagonists, once admired for kindness but secretly bullied Natsumi Sasaki. Now a cautious Plaudix strategist, she feigns loyalty to King Maugo while safeguarding other Heroes, leading beside the Knight Commander. Manipulative, sociopathic, cold toward soldiers.
• Aurelia – An ethereal goddess, visible only through the school intercom, announces the students’ reincarnation. Described as useless and selfish by the protagonist and Administrator, she bestows Unique Skills, treats the world as a stage, and now inhabits a physical body retaining student memories. Managing the world, she views war as entertainment and is frustrated at not seeing into Greedia.
• Mashiro – A rank‑one student, strikingly beautiful yet cold and detached, wields immense mana; as an associate of the Master she supplies crucial ant‑biology data and, under the alias Apostle of Greed, betrays for knowledge, mastering barrier and reflection magic such as Mirror Shade. Her Unique Skill functions like a living dictionary, granting encyclopedic knowledge and enabling her to inform the protagonist about the Sky Temple Suria.
• Natsumi – Standing 168‑171 cm, 57‑59 kg, he has a baby‑faced look hidden by bangs and dark hair. Once bullied for a feminine name and nearly killed by the Sugita gang, he was resurrected with white wings and an unknown power, surpassing the Demon King. Now Commander‑in‑Chief of the Greedia Army (Sieben), the resurrected “God”, master of ant‑soldiers and priestesses, wields a veiny holy sword, builds a harem through biological and magical dominance, and rules as a silent, manipulative tyrant‑savior transcending godhood.
• Maya – Short‑haired girl with a cold gaze, Yamato’s attendant and maid in a maid outfit; she bears the skill Parting Body and is later predated by Sasaki Natsumi. She is also the protagonist’s soul‑double, sharing thoughts and likeness but possessing a distinct form and the ability to open Teleportation Gates.
• Alisha – Fluffy pink‑haired miko with a huge, triple‑digit chest who’s way more dangerous than she looks, kidnapped along with the merchant’s daughter and the rest, is a member of the Renegade clan, wields a spiked morning‑star mace like a fashion accessory, looks gorgeous and holy but when tortured flips into full psychotic mode—chaotic, unhinged, and survivability‑mode only. She is a servant of Sieben who, like Mariana, has shifted her loyalty from the Goddess Aurelia to him.
• Gale – Leki’s friend, secretly the Wind Demon General Storm. Hides his status from others except Sieben.
• Storm – Wind Demon General, known as Gale, is an undead immortal over 300 years old who halted growth at boyhood—short, with disheveled green hair, large golden eyes, and waxy pale skin. Playful and rumored to love Leki, he commands the spirit beast Ruh.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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