Chapter 80.1

The Northern Divine Power (3)

The Clay Witch, Lulu, focused her mind.

Not only her but also the other witches around her maintained high levels of concentration.

Young witches, elderly witches, middle-aged witches, and even child witches.

Twenty-one witches stood in a wide circle, operating a glowing violet magic circle.

Hummm—

The violet magic circle blazed intensely.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Massive bursts of magical fire erupted all around them.

[Screeeech!]

[Hahaha!]

The spirits shrieked or burst into laughter.

Puff—

A short pipe containing mana-infused tobacco was clenched between Lulu’s lips as she smoked without pause.

Puff~

Fwoosh—

The other witches were no different, puffing pipes regardless of age.

Shudder, shudder

When some of the witches began to tremble intermittently,

“They’re on the verge of collapse. Administer the injection.”

Priests from the Renslet Order, who were observing the ritual, approached and injected the witches with syringes.

“Haa…!”

When the witches received mana potions—a blue liquid said to be more valuable than gold—the trembling stopped as if it had never occurred. They resumed smoking their mana-infused tobacco, refocusing on the ritual.

Right now, they were neutralizing the black magic fueling the plague.

This wasn’t limited to this location.

In Haven, Shuen, Remm, Kadia, Narvik, and other plague-stricken major cities of the North, similar rituals were taking place, led by witches.

“Maintain strict security! Protect the witches and the priests!”

“Prevent any enraged residents from reaching this place!”

Fully armed knights and soldiers stood guard, prepared for any contingency.

‘Why aren’t the Bell Witch and the dark magicians showing up?’

While focusing on the ritual, Lulu and the other witches occasionally glanced around.

One of their greatest concerns was the possibility of an unexpected appearance by the dark magicians or the Bell Witch.

‘Even the witches in other cities are reporting nothing.’

Yet as time passed, it felt increasingly strange.

Neither the dark magicians from the Devil’s Nest, nor the Bell Witch—the root of all this chaos—had shown themselves.

The High Tower’s senior knights scoured the entire Northern region, and the Winter Falcons conducted more reconnaissance missions than ever, but there was no sign of them.

“Everyone, keep going! The city’s symptoms are starting to subside!”

A priest from the Renslet Order, who had been checking the city’s condition, came running and shouted.

The male priest’s gray robes were smeared with countless stains from fighting against the disease.

“Witches, just a little longer! You’re almost there!”

The witches responded with faint smiles and concentrated even harder on the ritual.

How much time had passed?

‘What…?’

While focusing on the magic, Lulu suddenly sensed an alien yet holy energy that disrupted her concentration.

‘Holy power?! Why is holy power here?!’

She looked around in surprise and quickly understood the source.

‘Goodness! The Renslet Order’s priests have already manifested holy power?!’

The witches neutralizing the black magic and the priests tending to them—

Those priests, who had always been dismissed as fake clergymen, now radiated a faint yet undeniable holy aura.

“This… can’t be!”

“Holy power actually manifests this way!”

“The notion that Northerners are god-forsaken monsters will vanish completely now.”

The other witches, like Lulu, stared at the phenomenon with astonished eyes.

“We’re no longer needed…”

“Indeed. We might finally get some rest.”

“Unless we end up resting forever?”

“What?”

“N-Never mind…”

The witches, including Lulu, regarded the priests of the Renslet Order with complex emotions.

“It feels like just yesterday that we helped establish that Order…”

One of the witches murmured while gazing at the holy aura.

The witches possessed extensive knowledge—not only about magic but also herbalism, healing, and agriculture, subjects unrelated to magic.

Thus, when the Renslet Order was first established, the witches had provided significant direct and indirect assistance.

“If not for Haran’s Curse, we could have expanded our numbers and strengthened our power like this…”

Another witch lamented quietly.

“Things have completely reversed now.”

“One more of our purposes has vanished, just like that.”

The witches’ gazes collectively turned toward the priests.

“Witches…? Is something wrong?”

“Why are you all looking so energetic?”

It seemed the priests themselves were still unaware of what was happening.

Even though the witches’ concentration had faltered, causing the barely suppressed black magic to surge again, the ritual continued unaffected.

The most effective cure for the plague of black magic was, undeniably, holy power.

***

The Renslet Order was a fledgling religious institution, created artificially by the government with deliberate intent.

Most of the Order’s priests were, essentially, civil servants.

The retainers who served the Renslet Ducal House had their own families and obligations, of course.

Noble families adhered strictly to principles of inheritance—firstborn succession, or even eldest-daughter succession in some cases.

Thus, the second, third, and fourth children of noble families, upon reaching adulthood, had to find their own means of livelihood.

They often worked as attendants, knights, healers, bureaucrats, or merchants under the High Tower’s purview.

Many of the Renslet Order’s priests came from these professions, transitioning to clergy roles influenced by the viral appeal of Mary’s Blessing.

At the time, the Northern nobles, reeling from successive treacheries and purges, were desperate for ways to demonstrate loyalty and avoid being targeted.

The newly founded Renslet Order, promoted by the High Tower, served as a form of indulgence—a symbolic redemption.

Serving in the Order dedicated to the worship of Renslet’s lineage offered abundant honor and legitimacy.

Families strongly “encouraged” their independent children to join.

Even if they had separated from their parents, few could ignore such a directive from their bloodline.

Thus, many suddenly became priests of a newly established Order that had neither genuine holy power nor a cohesive doctrine.

Over time, thanks to generous benefits and investments from the High Tower, the Order flourished.

Mary’s Blessing won over the hearts of the farmers, and its affiliation with the High Tower granted it privileged treatment, allowing its finances and influence to grow exponentially.

And now—

The Renslet Order was on the verge of yet another transformation.

“My hands! My hands are glowing!”

“When I do this… oh my goodness! The wounds are healing!”

At last, holy power had manifested in the North.

“So it actually works?”

I watched the priests of the Order display holy power, my eyes wide with astonishment.

Not all of the Renslet Order’s priests could wield holy power.

However, a significant number—over 40%—had successfully manifested it.

“So holy power isn’t related to faith, after all?”

After all, these priests started out as mere civil servants.