“Father Fernando!”

“Y-yes, I know!”

The almost spherical priest ducked behind her and took a deep breath. He held onto the crucifix tightly, and began to shout.

“Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together.”

It was the same words I had heard countless times during sermons. Undoubtedly, there was an extraordinary amount of “power” carried in what the priest said.

“None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him, for the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth forever.”
A spell was called forth with his voice.

It was a surge of mystery, inseparable from this land.

The Clock Tower called it [the greatest magecraft base of mankind].

“Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless man, though he be in honor, abideth not...”

A transformation happened as he spoke his sacred words.

The bone soldiers who had been preparing to attack around the priest suddenly stopped. Not only that, some of them fell to the ground and immediately turned to dust.

“...he is like the beasts that perish.”

The priest carved a cross in the air and ended his prayer. As he did so, all the bone soldiers around him collapsed, as if they were groveling at the glorious light of God.

“A Baptism Rite…!” My mentor moaned.

It was the only type of magecraft that the Holy Church allowed. My mentor had said that once during a lesson. Though it was the only one, perhaps that was why it was all-powerful.

“It’s a process of using the greatest magecraft base of mankind with the basis of the faith of the Holy church to forcibly purify the surroundings. Though the physical damage is rather low, it becomes incredibly effectual when dealing with spirits or curses. That is how the faith, which they force onto everything, acts as a key to the divine principles.”

“Really…!”

I see, perhaps it could be called all-powerful.

Though they were not many ways of doing it, it wasn’t a problem because everything could be suppressed by the immense power of a single force. Though my mentor had said that the Holy Church did utilize other types of mystery, such as what they called Sacraments, and though Illumia’s unnatural physical capabilities were also a sign of that, I was still shocked by it.

“It looks as if it’s not enough to influence the Spiritual Cores of the masked one over there or the knight, but those nine soldiers probably won’t try to approach them again. We might even also experience some problems…”

Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files: The Atlas Contract (Upper); Chapter 2, Part 4