I’m Going to Destroy this Country

“Joseph! Joseph! Wake up!”

Joseph opened his eyes to the familiar voice of his sister.

When he opened his eyes, Leia was in front of him. Joseph got up holding his head.

“Damn it… Where is this?”

“This is the Papacy’s summoning room! Why are you in the Saintess’s awakening room!”

“Why…”

Joseph cursed while trying to recall his memories.

“I’m sure Hirei Berit… the Gold Cardinal came to the mansion…”

-They say your sister has qualified as a Saintess. What’s needed for the Saintess’s awakening is either your life or your father’s. What do you want to do?

Right, that’s definitely what he said.

He already knew the conditions for the Saintess’s awakening.

Why?

Because he heard it together with Leia.

In their childhood, when they came home after sword training together, what did mother and father say?

-The condition for the Saintess’s awakening is a living sacrifice?

-It’s okay, Sylvia. Don’t make that face. It’s the only way I, an incompetent, can do something for Eshua. I’m really proud that I can do even this much for my daughter, son, and family.

He knew everything then.

That father would become the living sacrifice for Leia’s awakening.

Leia, who had said she really wanted to see the Skeleton King after becoming a Saintess, lost her enthusiasm after that. She never brought up the Skeleton King she had wanted to see so badly again.

Joseph also lost affection for Eshua. Well, he kept it a secret that he knew the secret of the Saintess’s awakening, but he was always dissatisfied with his father.

-Father, why are you so loyal to Eshua? What has Eshua ever done for you?

-Joseph. Isaac’s father… Eshua’s eldest son has gone missing. With my older brother gone, I as the second son must take on the role of the eldest.

-What does Uncle’s disappearance have to do with you, Father? Eshua will end up killing you anyway.

Aren’t they the ones trying to offer you as a living sacrifice for the Saintess’s awakening? Yet they call it a noble sacrifice or whatever.

Producing Saintesses is crazy enough, but what’s this about living sacrifices?

‘Eshua is insane.’

That’s why when the Gold Cardinal came, he said he would go as the living sacrifice instead of his father.

But then.

-So even you, who are incompetent like your father, have some useful value.

-!

He realized the Gold Cardinal’s true intentions when he left the mansion after leaving a final letter and following him.

“Damn it. That bastard suddenly knocked me out and seems to have confined me here… You say this is the Papacy’s ceremonial room?”

“Yes. I was dragged here for the Saintess’s awakening but I sensed your energy here and snuck out. You who are disillusioned with Eshua wouldn’t come to a place related to priests. Why did you come here?”

Why?

“I came to see what kind of face the god who eats living sacrifices has.”

“!”

Joseph bit his lip.

Originally he was going to leave Eshua as soon as his father died, but well. After meeting Isaac, he changed his mind.

“That little one… no, he’s not little anymore. Anyway, despite being the youngest, he faces everything head-on.”

So he also got the courage to try it once.

“I was going to land a blow on the god.”

“What? Are you crazy? How can you deal with a god!”

“The thing gods hate most is magic. And among magic, they’re especially afraid of the Skeleton King’s magic.”

“!”

“So I secretly stole and hid something of the Skeleton King’s from the forbidden place in the Papacy. If we put that in our stomachs along with me, it should cause indigestion.”

As Joseph patted his chest, Leia was shocked.

“How could you do such an Isaac-like thing!”

…Was it too trashy after all?

More than that, saying it’s like Isaac, that’s too harsh!

“Didn’t you like Isaac!”

“That and this are different!”

“Tsk, but this isn’t the awakening room, it’s like some kind of warehouse…”

As he said that while looking around, Joseph suddenly cried out as if realizing something.

“Leia, what about Father?”

“What? Isn’t Father at the mansion?”

“Damn it…”

He seemed to understand how the situation was.

Leia wearing the Saintess’s robe for the awakening.

And himself locked up in a warehouse.

“The Gold Cardinal never intended to use me as a sacrifice from the start. He used my letter to lure Father in.”

“What do you mean…!”

It was then.

“Yes, that’s right. Benjamin Eshua is already in the ceremonial room.”

“!!”

They turned pale at the familiar voice. The one who opened the warehouse door and appeared was none other than the Gold Cardinal.

“You couldn’t wait and ran away, Leia Eshua.”

“Hirei Berit!”

As Joseph tried to step forward, Leia immediately hit Joseph’s head and grabbed nearby objects.

As a Saintess, anything she holds becomes a weapon.

Holding a wooden stick, she stepped forward as if to protect Joseph. She looked like she was willing to kill the Gold Cardinal here and escape if necessary.

At that fierce hostility, the Gold Cardinal let out a hollow laugh.

“Now you’re even calling the head’s name casually. Are you daring to resist God? Has God’s messenger with the mission to catch the Skeleton King fallen into personal emotions?”

“Kuh…!”

At Leia’s crazed gaze, the Gold Cardinal smiled as if looking at a baby beast baring its claws.

“Don’t mistake us for villains.”

“!”

“The Five Great Faiths serve slightly different gods, but that’s just a division into factions. In the end, we’re family and allies with the same goal of dealing with the Skeleton King. No matter how much the Blue and Gold are enemies, we’re on the same side. Are you going to betray the holy faction?”

“…!”

“You must dispose of the Skeleton King. While you’re like this, countless people are dying at the Skeleton King’s hands even now.”

The Gold Cardinal held out his hand as if bestowing grace.

“You have excellent qualities so even God looks upon you favorably, I’ll specially give you a choice. Which will you devour, your father or your brother?”

“You…!”

“Especially for this generation’s Saintess, we’ll do as you wish.”

Hearing this, Leia poured powerful holy energy into the wooden stick as if she couldn’t bear it anymore.

Boom!

Killing intent filled Leia’s blue eyes.

She was also one of those who changed her mind after meeting Isaac. Rather than resignation to her given fate, she wanted to resist.

If she became the sacrifice instead of her family members this time, maybe there would be some change to this nonsensical awakening ceremony.

“How can you think you can protect people when you can’t even protect those in front of you?”

Then the Gold Cardinal sighed deeply as if tired.

“Such immature thinking.”

Along with those words, there was an illusion of the ground shaking. Leia staggered for a moment and collapsed like a marionette with cut strings.

“Leia!”

“Don’t worry, she’s conscious. I just took away her body’s will.”

“What?”

“I deliberately gave her a choice to prepare her mentally in case she awakened wrongly, but it was meaningless. As expected, weapons shouldn’t be given room for thought.”

The Gold Cardinal glanced at Leia.

“Humans are weak, so if given time to think, they quickly have other thoughts. Yes, like ‘I don’t want to deal with the Skeleton King’.”

“…!”

The smart Joseph immediately realized the meaning of those words.

“Don’t tell me that’s why you offer living sacrifices? To prevent other thoughts?!”

“Yes. If they sacrifice their family, it leaves an indelible karmic debt on the Saintess. Having gained power by devouring their own family, how can they not kill the Skeleton King?”

The Gold Cardinal sneered.

“They won’t be able to have other thoughts out of guilt towards the family members sacrificed for them and the remaining family, and will focus on killing the Skeleton King.”

“!!”

Moreover, if the sacrifices willingly became sacrifices for the Saintess’s mission of their own accord, they would be even less able to run away.

It would be even better if a will letter asking them to deal with the Skeleton King on their behalf was added. If they can’t kill the Skeleton King, that would become guilt as it is, making them even less able to have other thoughts.

And if they hear that Gold is comforting the souls of the devoured sacrifices, they would listen even better.

“So consider it an honor. Because of that mere flaw of the Saintess, the great God specially deigns to devour even lowly creatures like you directly.”

“You crazy…!!!”

“Didn’t you have other thoughts when left alone for a moment? Like hiding that you became 9th rank. Control and management is the answer.”

This…!

Just as Joseph was about to say something, light fell from the sky. It was the descent of a god.

The Gold Cardinal called his subordinate.

“Time’s up. As planned, awaken the Saintess with Benjamin Eshua as the living sacrifice, and send her to the Skeleton King.”

He took the Skeleton King’s item from Joseph’s chest.

“Pulling such tricks.”

The Gold Cardinal looked exasperated as he looked at the Skeleton King’s item.

“To think of using the enemy’s item to strike allies. Eshua is always overflowing with rebels.”

No, it wasn’t this bad before…

“Ah right, is this all because of Isaac Eshua.”

As he looked at Joseph with disgust, Joseph gritted his teeth.

Yes, honestly he knows it’s absurd too. They’re cursed because of the Skeleton King, so they don’t have the power to protect their father or Leia.

Yet using that power is contradictory.

He knows that, but…!

‘Please… save us!’

At that sight, the Gold Cardinal sneered.

“Rebel bastards not knowing their place…”

But it was then.

Flash!

“!!”

Light shone from the Skeleton King’s item the Cardinal had taken.

The Cardinal looked at the item perplexedly.

Huh?

Why is this…?

And at that moment.

Click!

“!”

The door to the awakening room opened.

And the one who opened the door and appeared was…

“Grandfather!”

At Joseph’s cry, Elai nodded.

“Yes, I’m glad you’re safe… Ack!”

Isaac stepped on Elai’s head and rushed out.

“Ah, Grandpa move aside and don’t block the way! My prey has appeared over there!”

This kid… really!