Unfortunately, I'm an Evil Villainess

Chapter 90 - Demon Subjugation (II)

We began with Colonel Hart, a fierce but kind man in his fifties and covered in scars. He had been stationed here for decades, steadily rising through the ranks until he was at the top.

"Good to have you here, Your Holiness. It's high time we dealt with these monsters!"

"I look forward to working with you, Colonel."

Next, I was led to the group representing the temple, in the warehouses they were currently working at. It was composed of about fifty priests of normal rank and a few dozen apprentices, led by a few senior priests, one of whom was Priest Fernandez. They would be responsible for treating the wounded and blessing additional weaponry as needed.

"Nice to see you again, Your Holiness."

"Your Holiness! Do you remember me? I waited upon you when I was an apprentice! I'm a full priest now!"

"With you here, Your Holiness, we will surely carry out God's mission successfully."

Most of them I was acquainted with, for all the time I'd spent in the temple with my years as the saint, while some others had always been stationed here. They welcomed me warmly and I greeted them with a smile.

"Thank you for welcoming me. Together, let us fulfill our sacred duties!"

Priest Fernandez gestured for the priests to resume their work and pointed out to me bullets and weapons lying on a table nearby.

"These have all been blessed by our priests, and they're still working on more. Tests show they're capable of hurting and killing demons, and while they're not as effective as your holy dagger, they work."

They looked ordinary, but I'd spent enough time near divinity to feel the hum of energy. He pointed to another stack of boxes and a pile of bullets on the table.

"These are the ones your brother and his mages brought. Magic isn't as effective against demons as divinity, but they have special effects that could help the soldiers a lot. You'll probably see them in action tomorrow."

With that done, he showed me around the rest of the grounds, from the medical offices to the barracks, ending by dropping me off at a private training area, where the squadrons of knights House Avington was supplying were training. Dame Kennedy, my tutor, trained with me again as we had done for the past decade. It was exhausting, but I was certain that I would bring death to many demons tomorrow.

"After all these years, this is what you were preparing for. Make House Avington proud, my lady."

"I will, ma'am."

At dinner, Colonel Hart brought me in front of the dining soldiers. They consisted of the usual forces stationed here, made up of mostly soldiers and some squadrons of knights, and the knight temporarily supplied by noble families for this subjugation. The assembly was an impressive sight, almost as much as the Avington knights, because it represented union within our kingdom. Union I had brought.

"Everyone, this is Saint Valentina, whom you've no doubt heard of. She'll help us bring God's will upon those monsters!"

Colonel Hart briefly listed some of my achievements as the saint while I looked modest but capable. When he finished, there was a polite round of applause.

"Now, Her Holiness will lead us to pray for the meal."

I thanked the colonel. Meal prayer here was usually led by a priest and simple for the sake of efficiency. I didn't want to keep anyone from eating after a long day of training, so I added only a small touch. The show could come later, when they were well fed and ready to be awed.