The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 141

17. The Fake: The Detested Scoundrel

Before Repli met Merian.

I showed the magic tool to Johann.

“Repli has been exploiting divine power using this ring. And then she pretended to be the real Saintess.”

“I can’t believe it.”

“I thought you’d say that. I have no choice but to show you directly.”

The plan I explained was this.

“Every morning, I bring Repli a ring filled with divine power. Today, unlike usual, I’m going to bring it with only a very small amount of divine power.”

Johann understood immediately.

“You’re saying to see if she can manifest divine power without the ring?”

“That’s right. If she manifests divine power regardless of the magic tool, then I misunderstood Repli. I will gladly accept the punishment. But if she can’t manifest divine power, then please, Johann, admit it.”

“Hmm…”

He groaned and nodded heavily.

“I understand.”

“There’s one more thing I’d like to ask.”

“Speak.”

“If she’s revealed to be a fake, please open the basement and free the women. I beg you.”

* * *

Back to the present.

In front of the Holonium Grand Temple.

Repli and Merian are facing off.

The atmosphere has completely shifted to Merian’s side.

Repli must be flustered.

She has been acting as a Saintess with the divine power contained in the ring.

But for some reason, the divine power contained in the magic tool was insufficient today.

It’s only natural that she couldn’t heal the cripple because she didn’t have divine power.

On the other hand, Merian emitted dazzling divine power and instantly turned the cripple into a normal person.

The entire Holy State watched this starkly contrasting scene, and Repli was in a difficult situation in many ways.

But this wasn’t the end.

Merian’s subsequent remarks drove Repli’s situation to the worst.

“Step down from your position now. Twilight Great Executive, Lust.”

The crowd who heard Merian’s words doubted their ears.

Even if Repli was a fake Saintess, it was shocking enough, but her real identity is a Great Executive of the Twilight Church?

The initial reaction they showed to the words that blasphemed Bellanus’s incarnation and the symbol of the Holy State was strong denial and fierce anger.

“Blasphemy! It’s sacrilege!”

“Repli being a Twilight Great Executive is something even a dog passing by would laugh at.”

“The Shadow Saintess has crossed the line. Execute her immediately!”

In response, Merian’s supporters also raised their voices.

“Repli is a Twilight Church member.”

“If you knew the atrocities she committed, you would never protect her!”

“That bitch is worse than a demon.”

“Merian is the only Saintess.”

The Holy State was split into two groups and was on the verge of conflict.

This was all a situation I intended.

And the conclusion of this confrontation was obvious.

One side can use divine power, and the other cannot.

“Repli, I’m sick…”

“My son is suffering from a fever. Please heal him.”

“My wrist is broken. If you give me your blessing, I will praise Bellanus for the rest of my life.”

“I’ve been blind since birth. I want to see the light. Please help me.”

Repli couldn’t do anything.

She just sucked on her fingers.

But Merian was different.

She healed everyone with her immense divine power.

“Thank you!!”

“Long live Merian!”

“You are the true Saintess.”

As Merian scored points and Repli stood still, people’s doubts also deepened.

“Could it be… no way.”

“Could that be possible?”

“I was healed by Repli last time, why is she like this today?”

“She must not be feeling well.”

“Does divine power depend on your condition?”

Repli nervously bit her nails, then turned her head sharply and glared at me.

The ring doesn’t contain divine power.

I’m the one who manages the ring.

In short, the conclusion is that I stabbed her in the back.

“Khan, how dare you betray me?”

Her eyes bloodshot, she barely suppressed her anger and prepared to return to the Grand Temple.

Her intention is to avoid the unfavorable situation for now.

And to fill the magic tool ring with divine power.

Of course, all of Repli’s actions were within my expectations.

‘It’s about time Johann moved.’

Johann was watching what happened at the top of the Grand Temple.

Repli couldn’t manifest divine power.

He, as a Holy Knight, knows best what this means.

In the end, Johann made a decision.

As I asked, he opened the basement.

Thump!!

Before Repli even arrived at the Grand Temple, the door opened from the Grand Temple side first.

There stood numerous women who had suffered in the basement.

They stared blankly at the sunlight pouring down from the sky, then knelt down and kissed the ground.

Some wept and wailed, and some even fainted.

“Ah… sob…”

“I finally escaped.”

“I’m alive. I’m alive!”

The crowd surrounding the Holonium Grand Temple was bewildered.

The temple door opened and a group of women in beggar’s clothes came out.

Then, a scream-like cry erupted from one side.

“Lisa! Is that my daughter Lisa!”

A parent recognized one of the women.

The man, who appeared to be her father, was stunned to see his daughter’s emaciated body with prominent cheekbones.

“Dad! It’s me, Lisa. Sob…”

She was the beginning.

Acquaintances who recognized other victims also increased one by one.

Sometimes a friend, sometimes a sibling.

As the basement women found their places one by one, the area in front of the Grand Temple became a sea of tears.

The ugly truth of what happened, the atrocities Repli committed, was revealed without hesitation.

The witnesses are not just one or two people.

The starving, wounded bodies were the most definitive evidence.

It was only a matter of moments before surprise turned to joy, joy to elation, elation to sorrow, sorrow to grief, and grief to anger.

“The Saintess, who had always seemed so holy, was a con artist of the century!”

“She’s a witch! Burn the witch immediately!”

“The Holy State’s leaders must explain immediately!”

“Where is His Holiness the Pope? Come out now!!”

The seething anger spread like wildfire.

The madness of the crowd pierced the sky.

As the situation became uncontrollable, Repli tried to take refuge inside the temple for now.

But even that was blocked.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Johann, holding a thick mace and fully armed in white full plate armor, blocked Repli’s path. His expression was one of pure anguish.

“Repli, it’s over. I’ve confirmed that you are the Twilight Great Executive, Lust. You’ve got a lot of nerve. To act as a Saintess in the Holy State, of all places.”

The front is blocked by Johann and the Holy Knights.

The back is crowded with angry people.

One way or another, the escape route was completely blocked.

Everything was proceeding according to my plan.

Repli was in checkmate.

“Ha, haha… Ahahahahahaha!!!!!!”

A chilling laughter.

Repli clutched her stomach and giggled.

The approaching people flinched and stopped walking.

Johann also twitched his eyebrows.

Regardless.

Repli clutched her stomach and burst into laughter for a long time.

Her eyes rolled back and she cried tears as she laughed, she was a madwoman herself.

After laughing for a long time, she suddenly stopped laughing.

Then she stared at my face.

Madness was flowing from her eyes.

“Khan… from the beginning, I was your target? All those words about wanting to become Pope, wanting to have me, were all lies. Did you get rid of Crimson too?”

“That’s right.”

As I calmly affirmed, the corners of her lips twisted.

“To corner me to this extent. Not bad. I’ll admit it. I am the Twilight Great Executive, Lust! You stupid fools. You’ve all been deceived by me. Ahahahahah!!!”

Repli’s confession shattered even the last supporter who believed in her until the end.

Having confidently revealed her identity, she suddenly plunged her hand into the chest of a Twilight-affiliated bishop next to her.

Thwack! Crunch!!!

“Cough!”

Blood flowed on the floor.

She had torn out his heart while he was still alive.

The impulsive she crunched on the throbbing heart as if biting into an apple.

“This is the taste. I had a hard time holding back all this time.”

Repli, licking her lips with blood glistening, was a vixen herself.

Now it was clear that she was the Twilight Great Executive, Lust.

Johann, emitting streams of energy, blocked Repli’s path.

“Twilight Great Executive, Lust. Today, I will kill you in this place and restore the dignity of the Holy State.”

“Who is this? The sucker who used to like me? Why are you suddenly being disobedient?”

“How dare you! Stop spouting that filthy mouth. I will tear your limbs apart and then ask Bellanus for forgiveness.”

The aura of Master-level expert Johann filled the area in front of the Holonium Grand Temple.

Nevertheless, Lust was nonchalant.

To be so confident even when facing the animosity of so many people.

Does she have some kind of countermeasure?

“Actually, let me tell you one thing? If Johann was even half as smart as Khan, the Holy State wouldn’t be in this state. You stupid bastard. Ahahahah!”

“Shut that mouth!”

“You shut up!”

Gooooooo

A gloomy bloodlust exploded from Repli’s center.

It was such a sticky energy that it caused confusion and fear just by being near it.

Repli began to reveal her true colors.

Crack! Crack!

Repli’s bones twisted.

Her size gradually increased.

Her height, which was originally average, grew to nearly 3m [approximately 9 feet 10 inches].

Not only that.

Black feathered wings sprouted from her back and spread left and right.

She wore armor engraved with strange patterns and flew into the sky.

In both hands, she clutched twin swords emitting red aura.

A height of 3m.

The form of a woman.

Wings on her back.

I knew what race she was.

“You… you were a Valkyrie?”

I had seen it in the race dictionary.

The dictionary said it was a race that disappeared in ancient times, but there were still remaining individuals.

Originally, they were a race that served as bodyguards protecting the left and right of God, but judging by their bloodthirsty appearance, they had been corrupted for a long time.

“You know our race?”

“A little?”

“The more I know, the more amazing you are? To know about our race that went extinct a thousand years ago.”

Was the higher being that Crimson mentioned referring to a Valkyrie?

As expected, not just anyone can become a Twilight Great Executive.

“I’ll capture you and educate you slowly. First, I have to kill all the bugs here.”

“I won’t let you do as you please!”

Johann, furious, swung his hammer and rushed at Lust.

The aura contained in the mace was terrifying.

However, Lust made a bored expression and flicked her finger.

“Kneel.”

Kugung!!

Johann’s giant body collapsed.

He couldn’t even do anything and knelt down.

What on earth is going on?

“Everyone, worship me.”

The numerous people gathered in front of the Grand Temple knelt down one by one.

Judging by their distorted expressions, it doesn’t seem like they are kneeling willingly.

Even I, myself, involuntarily had my knees touch the ground due to an unknown force.

Sion and Campbell next to me were the same.

At the same time, a status window appeared.

[Bound by Special Ability – Word of Power]

[Self-purification activated]

[Not a curse type]

Word of Power, huh.

The ability to materialize power in words.

It’s a truly broken ability.

Even Seven Star Johann can’t use his power.

Was Lust this strong?

“This is quite a sight. After all, bugs look best in a prostrate position? Look forward to it. I’ll take my time and disassemble your limbs one by one.”

“Kuh-heuk!”

Johann twisted his body and resisted.

The ground cracked and spiderweb cracks formed around the area where he knelt.

But it was useless.

As if an anaconda had tightly bound his body, Johann couldn’t move an inch.

“Huhuho, it’s useless. My Word of Power becomes more effective as positive emotions towards me accumulate. Whether it’s affection, love, or respect. Even if you felt lust for me even for a moment, it’s already over.”

In the meantime, Johann had been admiring Repli as a true Saintess.

There probably wasn’t anyone who liked Repli as much as Johann did.

As such, he had no choice but to be bound by the Word of Power even more.

Not only Johann but also the other Holy State citizens were the same.

They had also been recognizing and loving Repli as a Saintess for years.

Those emotions repeatedly accumulated and maximized the effect of the Word of Power.

I think I know why Repli was so relaxed.

From the beginning, the compatibility itself was the worst.

In the Holy State, which praises Bellanus, she acts as a Saintess and concentrates positive emotions.

Even if something goes wrong, it doesn’t matter.

All the citizens of the Holy State are already her prisoners.

However, there was one person who did not kneel here.