The Kingdom of Olivinis, known as the “Land Beloved by the Spirits.”
In the central plaza of its royal capital, thousands of citizens suffering from a plague had gathered.
At the center of their gaze stood a princess clad in a splendid, beautiful dress, adorned with a radiant tiara—a saintly figure revered by all.
“In the name of God, heed my call! Spirits, manifest the miracle of God here and now!”
The saintly princess commanded the spirits in God’s name and cast healing magic, curing thousands of citizens simultaneously.
Such large-scale magic was beyond anything considered possible—a testament to her being an extraordinary existence.
“Oh, my body feels lighter…”
“Thank you, thank you…”
“God, the Saint…!”
In an instant, thousands of ailments were healed.
“May the blessings of God be upon you all.”
With a smile full of compassion, the princess’s beautiful silver hair, a symbol of the royal family, fluttered in the wind. It was a scene so breathtaking, like a religious painting, that it further solidified her divinity in the eyes of the people.
…But no one paid attention to the second carriage parked beside the one the princess had arrived in.
◇◇◇
Inside the other carriage were a man and a girl.
The girl wore a “slave collar” around her neck. A magic tool that renders the wearer incapable of disobeying orders, typically used on slaves or criminals.
At the very moment the saintly princess was praying to God—
“Hey, scum. Heal all the sick citizens now. That’s an order.”
The man struck the girl across the face with a whip as he spoke.
“…Yes.”
The girl obediently cast wide-area healing magic, aligning her timing with the saintly princess’s declaration, healing thousands.
“Well done.”
The man struck the girl with the whip again. This time, it was not for any purpose—just to torment her.
The supposed reason for whipping her was to keep the “true saint” from becoming arrogant.
The girl’s name was Luria .
The former princess of the realm, daughter of the late king and niece to the current one, she was once known as Luria Olivinis.
Ten years ago, when Luria was just five years old, her father, the wise and beloved king, and her kind mother were killed by her uncle, the current king. Luria was declared dead as well.
The current king had intended to kill her, but her saintly powers were too convenient to discard.
She alone could repel an invasion of thousands of monsters, cure widespread plagues, and summon downpours during droughts.
So, the king faked her death, enslaved her with a collar, and controlled her.
The “One True God Church,” which had conspired in the assassination of the former king and rose to prominence as the state religion, forced Luria to perform miracles in place of the saintly princess.
Her dwelling was a livestock shed.
To ensure no one recognized her even if they saw her face, she was frequently beaten there, and her meals were limited to once every three days to crush her spirit.
An ordinary person would have long since perished in such conditions.
But Luria was a true saint.
“Luria … don’t give up…”
Spirits invisible to anyone but Luria comforted her with voices only she could hear.
They became her companions, offering her solace when she was scorned by humans and supplying her with magical energy to sustain her frail body.
“Thank you, Loa.”
Loa was the name of the Spirit King—a being of immense magical power, overseeing all spirits of nature, appearing as a small, crimson dragon.
“If only we could directly influence this world, we could break that slave collar…”
“It’s okay,” Luria said gently.
Spirits, being incorporeal, could not physically act on the mortal world without a living intermediary.
While most mages could only borrow minute amounts of magic from young, weak spirits, Luria could harness the full power of the Spirit King.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“Shut up! Stop mumbling to yourself!”
The man in the carriage whipped Luria again.
The spirits’ voices were hers alone to hear.
Luria endured the abuse silently.
From the tender age of five, she had been subjected to relentless torment, stripped of any will to resist.
Even so, she resigned herself to her suffering, thinking that if it meant saving the citizens—whom her parents had cherished deeply—it was worth it.
◇◇◇
A few days after she healed the plague-stricken citizens, Luria was brought to a chamber within the headquarters of the “One True God Church.”
The room was vast, its high ceiling and stone walls looming ominously.
At its center stood an enormous magical device of unknown purpose, with cylindrical metallic containers connected to it along the walls.
The chamber was filled with numerous clergy in pristine garments.
“Luria , I have a bad feeling about this,” murmured the Spirit King Loa anxiously.
Unaware of Loa’s presence, one of the clergy spoke to her.
“Place your hand here and channel your magic.”
“…Understood.”
Without knowing why, Luria obeyed and began to channel her magic. Then—
『『『Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!』』』
A piercing scream from the spirits, audible only to Luria , tore through the air.
It seemed the metallic boxes contained trapped spirits.
“Huh?”
Panicking, Luria immediately stopped channeling her magic.
“Why are you stopping? I command you—channel your magic into this immediately.”
She couldn’t disobey. Clenching her teeth, nearly choking on the effort, Luria endured the overwhelming pressure.
『This is unthinkable… They’re killing the spirits… to turn them into crystals…』
Loa spoke in shock and despair.
“What do you mean?”
Though Luria asked Loa, the clergyman—who could neither see nor hear the Spirit King—mistakenly thought the question was directed at him.
Grinning gleefully, he began to explain.
“You’ve seen how monsters leave behind magic stones when they’re killed, right? It’s the same concept. We kill spirits and extract spirit stones. Revolutionary, isn’t it?”
The clergyman seemed eager to share his pride in this “groundbreaking” new technique, exuding joy and self-satisfaction.
“How… could you do something so cruel?”
“How? What a foolish question. Isn’t it better for humans to have control over miracles at will?”
“All for such a selfish reason…”
“Spirits exist to be controlled by humans in the name of God,” he declared.
This was a core doctrine of the One True God Church. The clergy firmly believed it to be the ultimate truth, without a shred of doubt.
Normally, capturing or killing spirits was impossible. Although Luria didn’t understand the specifics, it was clear that the church had developed a method to capture them.
“Even with them captured, ordinary humans don’t have enough magical power to kill them. I command you—channel your magic now and kill the spirits.”
“I refuse!”
For the first time in ten years, Luria defied a command, despite wearing the slave collar.
For ten long years, only the spirits had called her name. Only they had been kind to her. She couldn’t bear to cause them pain or take their lives.
Defying the collar’s compulsion brought excruciating agony—piercing headaches, searing pain that felt like knives stabbing through her insides, and the sensation of her bones shattering every second.
But beyond the pain, her body began to act against her will, moving to channel magic as commanded.
『Luria ! If you keep resisting the collar’s compulsion, you’ll die!』
Loa cried out in desperation.
The slave collar was a curse that bound the soul. Continuous defiance wouldn’t only bring pain but would ultimately destroy her soul.
“Even… so…”
『It’s okay… Luria … thank you…』
The spirits inside the metallic box, who had earlier screamed in agony, spoke to Luria .
Using the very words Luria had often said to reassure herself, the spirits tried to comfort her.
『Luria , please live. It’s going to be okay.』
“I command you! Place your hand here and channel your magic!”
The clergyman, frustrated by Luria ’s refusal to obey, repeated the command.
Each time he did, the pain intensified, and Luria teetered on the brink of unconsciousness.
But if she lost consciousness, her body would automatically carry out the command.
As time passed, she felt her spirit weakening. She knew that if this continued, she would inevitably end up killing the spirits herself.
Rather than let that happen…
“Everyone, it’s going to be okay,” Luria said with a faint smile.
『No! Stop! Don’t do this!』
Loa screamed, sobbing, desperately trying to stop her, but it was too late.
Luria cast a spell on herself, piercing her own heart with magic.
“Now it’ll be okay… Thank you, everyone…”
Without Luria , the spirits could no longer be killed, even if captured.
That was why she chose to end her own life.
The clergymen panicked and tried to heal her with their low-level healing magic.
But it was far too weak to save her.
“Being trapped like that must have been unbearable…”
With her last breaths, Luria uttered an incantation. But nothing happened.
And then, Luria died.
“Tch. She’s dead. Useless trash.”
Confirming her death, one of the clergymen angrily kicked her lifeless body.
“We were so close to fulfilling our greatest ambition, and now this.”
“What should we do with her body?”
“Feed it to the pigs.”
At that, everyone burst into laughter.
The next moment, Luria ’s body ignited.
The spell she had cast in her final moments activated, unleashing a power far stronger in death than in life.
The clergymen had no time to escape.
Luria ’s body expanded with explosive heat, burning like the sun itself.
The inferno consumed the entire facility, melting stone walls and metal alike.
The metallic cages holding the spirits melted, allowing them to escape unharmed, as spirits were unaffected by physical heat.
At the same time, all research on spirit-capturing technology, along with the researchers themselves, was obliterated.
『How dare you… How dare you harm our beloved Luria … We will never forgive you. Never!』
The Spirit King Loa and the freed spirits burned with righteous fury.
After Luria ’s Death
For three years, unrelenting rain fell on the kingdom’s cities, while the farmlands received no rain at all.
Earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions devastated the land.
One-third of the population perished, and the people, both nobles and commoners, came to believe that the One True God Church had invoked divine wrath.
Eventually, the people and nobility launched a coup against the oppressive monarchy.
Stripped of their support, the royal family, including the so-called saintly princess, was overthrown with ease.
The royal family was publicly executed by an enraged mob through relentless stoning.
“It’s all Luria ’s fault! She’s the one who cursed us!”
The princess, once hailed as a saint, screamed accusations.
“Silence, you demon!”
The mob continued to pelt her with stones.
“Ahhh, Luria ! This is all Luria ’s doing!”
The princess’s silver hair, once praised for its beauty, became soaked with blood as stones battered her.
“Lui…ra…”
Even in her final moments, the princess blamed Luria .
To prolong her suffering, healing magicians healed her mortal wounds, only for the mob to break every bone in her body.
Three days later, toothless and swollen beyond recognition, the princess was fed alive to pigs.
Legacy
The name of Saint Luria became enshrined in legend and the scriptures of the One True God Church—not as a saint but as the “Calamity Witch” Luria .
