Chapter 4: The Woman of Conviction

This was the reason they summoned her.

Had the inevitable moment finally arrived?

That was how the woman surrendered to despair, giving up on everything.

She had been revered as a saint in a certain church until a few years ago, but was suddenly expelled and caught by a devil while on the run. It was immediately after her capture that she learned it was all the devil's scheme. The devil told her directly. The devil watched the look of despair on her face with unconcealed delight.

What followed were days of repeated abuse. She was violated, stolen from, defiled, tormented, toyed with, hurt, broken, and then violated again. It was a vicious cycle.

She pretended to be obedient to the devil and complied quietly with his desires. It was less painful that way. She felt regret. She felt pain. She felt pathetic. But more than anything, she felt resentment. Why did the God she prayed to so intensely not save her?

Worst of all, she was the first, but not the last. Like her, many girls—saints and holy knights—were captured and violated by the devil. There was nothing she could do. All she could manage was to shoulder a small part of the pain of those suffering the same torment as her, and gently embrace them, if only for a moment. Stripped even of the freedom to pray to God, all she could do was weep. Yet, she did not want to die. She wanted to live—even if she could not go to the side of God.

Those days were now coming to an end. In a bad way.

The devil, their 'Master,' had located the target he had been searching for. It was a girl who was treated as a healing saint in the church, but had been exiled due to the devil's machinations. Her whereabouts were unknown after she was picked up by a Fallen Angel. It was sad that the number of victims would increase, but there was nothing she could do. Fear of this devil did not allow her body or mind to resist.

She accompanied the devil and found the girl, but—there was a woman in a red military uniform beside the girl.

It was probably not a trap. It looked less like the girl was with the woman in uniform, and more like the girl was being dragged around by her.

They made contact in the outskirts of town when the two were alone, and as soon as the woman in the military uniform saw the devil, she shouted:

"Sterilization!"

The devil was already battered. It was terrifying that a high-ranking devil had been cornered this far with only bare hands and a pistol, without the use of light swords or light guns used by the church's warriors. She must be a famous warrior.

The devil, crawling on the ground, denied the current reality.

"L-Lies! I can't be defeated by a mere human! A human who isn't even an Exorcist shouldn't be a match for me! I am Diodora of the Astaroth family!"

"I see. I will remember that name for future prevention. Disinfection!"

A gunshot rang out. The devil who had violated them had finally died. However, for the former saint, who was a victim of the devil, this was no salvation. As proof, the woman in the military uniform aimed her gun at her. Then, with a voice devoid of mercy and an attitude allowing no compromise, she delivered a notification:

"You are ill."

Seeing her refer to the devil as a germ suggests she is probably an Exorcist. Such intense hatred for a devil makes it inevitable. She might be a rogue Exorcist, but the result would be the same. She would be killed as a devil and that would be the end of it. At least it was fortunate that her opponent was not a man.

However, the woman in the military uniform spoke words completely different from her expectation.

"Treatment will begin now. However, this place is unsanitary. There is a hospital nearby, so we will perform the procedure in its operating room."

"...Huh?"

While she stood stunned, the woman in the military uniform kept her gun aimed. However, she did not seem about to fire yet. Though she did not take her finger off the trigger either.

"Didn't you hear me? We will now extract the foreign object, the 'Evil Piece,' inside your body. You will undergo treatment quietly. Resistance from the patient will impede the treatment."

"Uh, umm?"

"Please, listen to what the doctor says. Once the doctor decides to do something, she does it."

The girl, who was the devil's target, warned her.

She had seen her appearance in a photo, but her impression was quite different. She was told she was a sheltered girl cherished as a saint in the church, but she sensed a strength of spirit in her that was unsuited to that image—a strength bordering on madness. This was undoubtedly the influence of the woman in the military uniform.

"With the cooperation of certain individuals, we have established a method to exterminate the germs carried by pests like the one earlier and cure the illness you are suffering from. There is no problem. Rehabilitation will be needed, but this treatment has no side effects."

She tried to deny those words. The 'Evil Piece' should not be something that could be taken out of the body. She had never heard of it being extracted. With very few exceptions, the piece should vanish from the body even upon death. There was no such convenient story as them being able to return to humans. She tried to shake off the woman in the military uniform with that thought.

"You are ill."

The woman in the military uniform repeated calmly.

"Humans are diurnal creatures. It is unnatural for one to feel better at night. It is impossible for one to suffer from headaches when praying. Humans do not have such physiological functions. I repeat, you are ill. You may not be aware of it. The root of the illness is that foreign object in the shape of a chess piece in your body. The means to extract it has already been established. If an illness can be cured, it must be treated."

The woman in the military uniform concluded that the 'Evil Piece' was a germ to be feared.

"The pest we exterminated earlier claimed it was a miracle to resurrect the dead... I admit that it is a life-extending act, even if forced. However, it is not a cure if it causes an illness in exchange. Furthermore, it results in excessive labor being imposed on the sick. It is nothing short of a disease that defiles the bodies of the dead."

Again, there was no compromise and no mercy, but there was a strong conviction there. A conviction to save people, to show that she will save them—a conviction even stronger than her own when she was a saint.

"That illness must be treated promptly."

If, as the woman in the military uniform said, the 'Evil Piece' could be extracted. If reincarnated devils could return to being human. There were children she wanted to see saved before herself.

"I, I don't matter..."

She prayed. She prayed like she used to. She prayed even with a headache. She prayed not to God, but to the woman before her. She could only put her hands together and pray.

"S-So, if you can save them, please, save those children! T-Those children are not at fault! Please! Please, save those children!"

To the sobbing former saint, the woman in the military uniform said calmly:

"What I dislike are incurable diseases and patients who refuse to be cured. If there is a will to be cured, we doctors will never abandon the patient. I cannot accept you feigning a lack of will to be cured. I will treat you, so speak your true feelings."

She looked into the eyes of the woman in the military uniform. Their eyes inevitably met. There was no lie there. There was no weakness there. The dazzlingly determined eyes pierced her. Yet, there was a shred of anxiety. Would she be betrayed again? Was she being deceived?

"Will you save us?"

"Rest assured. I will save you."

This woman in the military uniform was the ancestor of all nurses. The woman who cut off all things poisonous and harmful. The army doctor feared even by the military, the "Little War Office." The Iron Nurse. The Angel of Crimea. The Mother of Modern Nursing Education. It is even said that the soldiers on that battlefield kissed the shadow of the woman who was called the Lady with the Lamp.

Florence Nightingale. A woman who continued to save people to the point of fanaticism.

"I will certainly do so, even if it means killing you."

Saving people is not easy enough to be achieved by kindness alone. What is truly needed is strength.

Bizarre things keep happening in my—Hyoudou Issei's—daily life. It's been nothing but strange things ever since I was reincarnated as a devil.

First, there's Asia. That sister who was lost. In the end, I still don't know anything about that church. I wonder if she's doing well. That guy, Lev Lainur, seems suspicious now. Maybe he was even lying when he said he was affiliated with the church. I got scolded by the President for letting someone who seemed like an enemy get away. It's frustrating.

Next, about the President's fiancé. They say he's a pure-blood high-ranking devil, but a seed-sowing jerk like that grilled chicken is unworthy of our noble President! He's built a harem of his own servants, and I envy him... no, he's definitely going to neglect the President even if they get married! I also don't understand why the President's parents are trying to make her marry him when she clearly doesn't want to. I guess high-ranking devils have their own rules, but they could at least consider the President's feelings.

However, there's a chance the engagement with that grilled chicken jerk can be broken. The rating game was postponed due to a slight disturbance, but the President and the grilled chicken jerk are going to play a Rating Game. If she wins, the President won't have to marry that jerk. While attending school, all of us servants are training.

Also, I found out that my Sacred Gear is an incredible thing called the Longinus, the Divine Killing Tool. If I can master it, I can even kill God! Its name is the Boosted Gear, the Gauntlet of the Red Dragon Emperor. I can't master it now, but I'll make sure I can by the time of the game. We seem to be at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, but I won't lose to a grilled chicken like him!

But among the servants, I'm the weakest. The President and Akeno-san are simply strong. I don't have power like Koneko-chan or speed like Kiba. Even if the Boosted Gear is strong, I'm weak. That's why I think the postponement of the game is actually an opportunity. I'll use this time to get stronger!

I came to the clubroom after school for training, but the President was in a bad mood. I asked Kiba, who is also a servant, for the reason, and he also seemed tense.

"You know about the church base attack incident the other day, right?"

"Yeah."

That was the cause of the President and the grilled chicken's Rating Game postponement.

Apparently, important bases of the major factions on the God side—Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Churches—were attacked. Moreover, the culprit is unknown. That's because the attackers were all monsters temporarily summoned by some kind of magic. They reportedly vanished like mist immediately after being defeated.

The monsters included common ones like beastmen, skeletons, and ghosts, as well as rare ones like Wyverns and Golems. There were even rumors of giant starfish and hermit crabs. Each one wasn't much of a threat, but the sheer numbers caused a huge blow to the Church side. The commotion even resulted in angels being deployed.

The Church is desperate to find the culprit, and they seem to think it's a devil or a fallen angel. Well, if it's an enemy of God, it's naturally one of the two. But I don't think it was a devil. If it were the work of a devil, the current Devil King Sirzechs Lucifer, who is the President's brother, wouldn't allow it. Besides, I don't think devils, whose numbers are dwindling, have any reason to start a war. If so, it must be a fallen angel, but their Governor-General is reportedly denying involvement. Still, Raynare, who killed me, was a fallen angel. I can't trust them. Maybe that's just my personal impression.

The President said there was a possibility that the Church side staged the incident themselves, but I wonder if there has been any progress.

"The successor of one of the Seventy-Two Pillars was killed. Probably as retaliation for that incident."

"What! W-What are you talking about!"

I heard the culprit was still unknown. Or has some evidence surfaced that it was a devil?

"The culprit is still unknown. But it's certain that a part of the Church side has decided it was the work of a devil. The one killed was Diodora Astaroth, from the Astaroth family, which produced the current Devil King Ajuka Beelzebub. All his servants are also reportedly missing."

The successor to one of the Seventy-Two Pillars means he's a devil as strong as the President or Riser. And he's related to the Devil King! His murder is certainly a big deal. But why is the President in a bad mood? From Kiba's tone, it doesn't sound like they were close.

"The Church side is reportedly denying involvement, but this is likely a retaliation for the recent incident. Because of this, the Devil King-sama might order the President's forced return."

"D-Does that mean the President will go back to the Underworld?"

"Yes. It's difficult to assign escorts in the human world. In that case, we will all likely go to the Underworld too. In some cases, we might have to quit school and attend one in the Underworld."

"N-No way!"

I don't understand the complicated matters, but I understood this much: someone's malice is trying to destroy our everyday lives.

"Report from Orias. Florence Nightingale is producing results beyond expectation. However, she is too conspicuous. She has already disposed of even the blood relatives of a Devil King. At this rate, our existence may be exposed to the forces of the Bible. What was the Control Tower doing? Controlling her was supposed to be the Control Tower's responsibility."

"Protest from Purson. Do you know how much trouble we are having erasing her traces?"

"Rebuttal from Leraje. Her actions as a Berserker were unexpected for us as well."

"Proposal from Crocell. We should not have borrowed the power of the Heroic Spirits after all."

"Rebuttal from Gusoin. We only gained insight into human motivation. We did not become human. Given the possibility of unforeseen defects in our plan, the perspective of a Heroic Spirit is necessary."

"Proposal from Vassago. Then the next summoning should use a catalyst and call a Heroic Spirit with whom we can definitely establish cooperation."

"Amon reports on the interim progress on behalf of the Nine Observation Stars. As a result of repeated consideration based on information from the Intelligence Room and the Observatory, the possibility of an event with a significant impact on our plan has emerged. We need more definitive evidence to gain certainty."

"Proposal from Focalor. We should contact the upper echelons of the Three Factions after all."

"Rebuttal from Bifrons. It is not the time yet. We should wait until at least the proof of the Observation Stars is complete."

"Decision from Goetia. Depending on the conclusion of the Observation Stars, we will transition the plan to the next phase."

"Report from Vapula. The presence of our world's Kingu has been confirmed in the Far East, Japan, in Kyoto."

"Question from Stolas. Should this be interpreted as the arrival of visitors from that world other than ourselves?"

"Answer from Ose. That possibility is high. Since the cause of our resurrection is unknown, it is reasonable to think so."

"Request from Bael. Considering the worst-case scenario, I cannot endure any more humiliation and fear. Governing Bureau, grant combat permission."