"Yes. Michael-sama has already informed the Church that you, Akuto-sama, were recognized by the God of the Bible and have become the Holy Son who inherits His will," Griselda replied respectfully.
After finishing the salute, Griselda placed a holy sword wrapped in white cloth into Akuto's hands.
"Holy Son-sama, this is the Blessed Holy Sword. With this, if we obtain the last shard—Excalibur Ruler—the original blade can once more see the light of day."
"Mm. I know."
Akuto nodded.
In the next instant, five radiances flared to life behind him.
Excalibur Destruction, Excalibur Mimic, Excalibur Rapidly, Excalibur Nightmare, Excalibur Transparency—five holy swords hovered at Akuto's back, naturally exuding a sense of kinship.
"Combine—"
The calm command seemed to stir the laws of heaven and earth. The six swords slowly drew together.
Bathed in pure golden holy power and the searing blaze of the Dragon Emperor's Inferno, the six holy swords were reforged into a single blade!
[Ding~]
[Fusion complete. Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Excalibur — King's Sword, Half-Complete (Gold).]
"Even half-complete and it rates Gold. Fuse in Ruler and, even if it doesn't reach Red, it will at least become the pinnacle of Gold."
"But… a mere Gold still has plenty of room to grow."
An ordinary person would have to wait until they had Ruler before attempting to reforge the original Excalibur.
But for Akuto, never mind pieces that once formed a single sword—even holy blades of differing systems and standards could be fused into one!
[Ding!]
[Mergeable rewards detected.]
[Mergeable items: Holy Sword Prototype, Maou-Slaying Holy Sword, Durandal, etc.]
[Proceed with fusion?]
"Fuse."
[Ding!]
[Fusion module initializing…]
[Fusion core: Holy Sword Prototype (Purple)]
[Fusion materials: Maou-Slaying Holy Sword (Gold), Excalibur (Gold), Durandal (Gold), numerous heavenly holy swords (Blue–Purple)…]
[Ding!]
[Fusion complete!]
[Reward obtained: Savior Holy Sword (Red).]
[Savior Holy Sword (Red): The Holy Sword Prototype's finished form after absorbing numerous holy swords; guided by Est's consciousness, it bears power terrifying enough to save a planet. When wielded, in addition to using and amplifying the powers of integrated holy swords, it can also draw strength from the planet and all sapient beings upon it. The more they acknowledge the wielder, the stronger the amplification.]
In Akuto's hands, a platinum-white holy sword took final shape—resplendent and sacred to the extreme.
"Vnnn—"
He gripped the sword, and it answered him, bursting with an unprecedented holy radiance!
Bathed in that sacred glow, every Church member present once more entered a posture of prayer.
"Ah—Lord—"
Only after a full half-minute did the radiance subside.
Akuto glanced over the Church personnel—whose loyalty had clearly surged again—and nodded in satisfaction.
He had reforged the blades in front of them precisely to deepen their faith in him.
If you want to be treated as "God," as "Holy Son," you must show a touch of the miraculous.
He could see it: though these Church members addressed him as Holy Son and showed ample respect, their eyes lacked the "fervor" true believers possess.
Unacceptable. The faithful should look upon their god with zeal.
Respect is one thing—but what Akuto wanted from the Church was not mere respect or a trickle of belief.
What he wanted… was total, fervent devotion.
To turn their attitude from polite respect to fanatical faith, he needed to display qualities beyond the ordinary.
…
In the Akame ga Kill world, Akuto had studied "dragon qi" and "national fortune," learning that in essence both are similar to the power of faith in the DxD world—a fusion of human hearts and environment.
The difference is that dragon qi and national fortune accrue to an emperor and empire—while the DxD world's faith accrues to a god.
In purity and potency, faith outstrips both dragon qi and national fortune.
After all, in the Akame ga Kill world, people "believed in the emperor" largely to secure better lives under doctrine.
But the Church faithful are different.
Among them are multitudes willing to lay down their lives for their God!
Akuto's task was to redirect that devotion—to himself.
…
Having witnessed Akuto meld holy swords in an instant, the eyes of the faithful changed.
A girl in violet stockings couldn't help but step forward and praise him.
"Holy Son-sama truly is the Holy Son—fusing holy swords perfectly without alchemy! I believe such a Holy Son can surely inherit the Almighty's will!"
Her name was Lint Sellzen. With stark black-and-white gradient hair, a gallant face, and those violet stockings, she stood out even among the casually dressed personnel.
More importantly—Akuto knew her. This black-and-white-haired girl had a role in the original plot.
[That one is… Lint Sellzen, future wielder of the Longinus "Purple Flame Hierarch's Altar (Holy Cross)." I specifically requested Michael-sama ensure she attended.]
Before arranging this meeting, Akuto had given Michael a list, adding every female Church member he remembered from the original story.
[By this point in the timeline, though, Lint shouldn't have obtained her Longinus yet.]
For now, the "Purple Flame Hierarch's Altar" belonged to a certain Fallen villain under Gogmagog's camp.
"Saint Lint, mind your manners," Griselda said calmly after a brief glance at her.
Griselda's voice wasn't loud, but its effect was immediate.
Lint stuck out her pink tongue sheepishly and stood properly to the side.
To most in the Church, Griselda was a stern, parental figure.
Many of the younger generation—including Xenovia—had received her care to some extent and felt a foster-mother's affection toward her.
Of course, her influence was largely limited to the young. Those of her own generation or older stood far beyond what Griselda could steer—another reason she, not someone else, was chosen to lead this delegation.
As for the rest of the Church's upper echelon—they were still watching.
…
In the original story, while it's not spelled out line by line, Heaven's early control over the Church was clearly weak.
Only after the Tri-Faction Summit did Heaven's authority over the Church markedly grow.
And the reason was practical—the high angels received the Devils' Evil Piece technology.
With that tech, the angels developed their own cards. By reincarnating those Church members who lacked firm institutional anchors, they gathered them as retainers and greatly tightened Heaven's hold.
Normally, Akuto would forbid subordinates from building their own factions.
But angels are different. Their loyalty to God and the Holy Son is absolute, and a top-down hierarchy actually knots the Church's power into a single rope.
Even so, in the original tale, despite many leaders being reincarnated by angels, the Church still launched an armed coup.
…
Within the Church, the Pope sits highest, rank one.
Second are the Cardinals (Teodoro Legrenzi).
Third are the Cardinal Priests (Vasco Strada).
Fourth are the Cardinal Deacons (Ewald Cristaldi).
Of them, second-rank Teodoro is the "most brilliant child of miracles," the youngest Cardinal.
Third-rank Vasco is Durandal's previous wielder, once above Kokabiel in strength—he famously thrashed the Fallen Cadre.
Precisely because he couldn't beat Vasco, Kokabiel sought power in the holy swords. Even though Vasco later handed Durandal over, he still holds a papally granted replica.
Fourth-rank Ewald is the teacher of all Church warriors, Excalibur's former bearer, and currently carries a replica Excalibur.
There's no denying—their caliber is exceptional.
Yet in the late arc, barring the Pope, the second, third, and fourth seats colluded—mustering the Church's warriors to launch an armed coup.
Their motive was simple—discontent with Heaven's policies.
Making peace with Devils and Angels was one thing; later, Heaven pushed reconciliation with Vampires as well!
Such radical detente stripped meaning from the warriors' calling, leaving them adrift and angry—and so they chose the worst path: armed revolt.
From Akuto's view, if blame is to be laid, the Seraphim must shoulder a share.
They are, after all, the Almighty's creations. For them, merely maintaining the system God left behind is already difficult; "feeling the hearts of men" is asking rather a lot.
…
Akuto now stood at a point roughly analogous to that canon timeline.
Originally, the Church had branded him a "blasphemous devil," an absolute heretic.
But Heaven's Seraphim told them this "blasphemous devil" had become Heaven's Holy Son?
It was precisely because he knew the Church's trajectory that Akuto chose to tolerate—and adopt—methods that, in the original, had been set in motion by his own hand.
Those present today were the Church leaders willing to accept Akuto.
The remainder were either unsteady—or opposed from the start—and thus, in Akuto's stern view, in need of correction.
"All right, Griselda. Don't be too harsh. It's normal for the young to have spirit."
"These here should be all the Church personnel who recognize Heaven's decision, yes?"
Akuto swept his gaze around. As expected, most were leaders and saints.
Makes sense—the ones who staged the coup were the Church's warriors, and the warriors are mostly male.
"Yes, Holy Son-sama."
"As you instructed, Michael-sama has gathered the less compliant Church members at headquarters," Griselda replied with due deference.
(End of Chapter)
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