Chapter 4: The True Saint? No! I’m a Fluff-Oriented Beast Tamer!

Kanata returned to the Holy City, still hoping to visit the High Cathedral. As she walked, she saw people glancing her way, whispering to each other and bowing their heads. Word of the True Saint had already spread throughout the city.

“Kanata,” Zag’giel said. “This is late in the asking, but are you not fatigued from such frequent teleportation?” Teleportation was a great feat of magic, requiring multiple complicated magic circles, a grand ritual, or else a tremendous expenditure of magic power. It wasn’t the sort of thing one ordinarily did with Kanata’s habitual air of going off for a little walk.

“Not one bit!” Kanata said. “I could do a thousand more of those before I started getting tired!”

“How foolish of us...” Zag’giel muttered. “Of course Kanata defies all logic.”

“Lady Kanata! You’re amazing!” Fenrir cheered, running up ahead and trying desperately to block them from going toward the High Cathedral. “But, you know, perhaps we had better not go to the High Cathedral. It’s really boring. Nothing to see at all. We’ve helped the poor of this city, and we have money we can use for traveling expenses! We can—”

“Left, right, left, right,” Kanata said, her eyes tracking Fenrir’s paws as he paced about restlessly. “Fen-fen’s doing little circles! Wow! Cuuute!” Bizarrely, she didn’t appear to take note of his suspicious behavior at all. Instead it was Zag’giel, looking down from Kanata’s shoulders, who finally said something.

“All right. We’ve kept from prying until now, but you are plainly hiding something.”

“Wh-Wh-What?! H-How dare you! I have hidden nothing!”

“Your eyes are darting all over the place, you imbecile. Did you really think you had us fooled?”

“N-No! I was no match for the perceptive powers of the Demon King!”

“Fwa ha ha! Do not take us lightly!”

In fact, Fenrir was one of the worst liars in the world. Just about anyone could have seen through his deception. But at least Zag’giel had finally called him out.

“Well,” said Kanata, “if you really really don’t wanna go, Fen-fen, we don’t gotta.” Kanata could still sense the presence of the fluff, but if her precious Fenrir insisted, she would just have to give up on it. In fact, she would do so gladly.

“Thank you, Lady Kanata!” Fenrir said. “Now, come! Come! Let us depart at once!” Fenrir pushed his body against Kanata’s thighs, urging her to move, when they heard a man’s loud voice.

“There she is!”

The people of the city turned to look at what was happening. What they saw was a man clad head to toe in plate armor pointing in Kanata’s direction. Suddenly, a great cry went up as a force of knights fell into rank. Wielding their halberds, they pushed the passersby away from the scene and moved to surround Kanata.

“It does not seem the Holy Church is of a mood to give us a friendly greeting,” Zag’giel scoffed.

“One of those furballs might be the Spirit Wolf that Saint Marianne spoke of!” said one of the knights. “Capture them alive. Kill the woman! Those are our orders!”

“Witch!” shouted another. “Give us the Spirit Wolf and die!”

It seemed like they were going to have her executed as a blasphemer and a witch.

“Witch?” Kanata responded, seemingly unperturbed by the host of knights surrounding her. “No, I’m a Beast Tamer. Yay fluff!”

“Fluff?” the knight said. “What is that supposed to mean...?” Suddenly it hit him. “Isn’t that the holy word that heretic cult uses?! You’re invoking a heretical word in front of the Temple Knights! You insult the Church itself!” Enraged, the knights pressed their halberds in closer. One more step and Kanata would be skewered.

“G-Good Temple Knights!” someone shouted. “Please, stop this! That girl is the True Saint!”

“Absurd!” a knight shot back. “The only Saint in the Holy City is Saint Marianne! Interfere, and perhaps we’ll start to wonder if you’re a heretic too.”

“E-Eee!”

“This isn’t a show! Disperse! Disperse!” The knight swung his halberd around, chasing the crowd away.

“It can’t be...” The blood was draining from Fenrir’s face. Everything he had feared was coming to pass. Even if they defeated these Temple Knights, the Holy Church itself now considered them spiritual rivals. Now no matter where they went, they would be branded as heretics.

“I am so sorry, Lady Kanata,” Fenrir said. “This is all my fault! If only I had explained things to you sooner!”

“Fen-fen...”

“At least allow me to buy you time to flee!” Fenrir bolted forward and dug his heels in to pounce—only to be immediately caught by Kanata.

“Fen-fen, no!”

“Lady Kanata...”

Kanata looked into Fenrir’s eyes, her face deadly serious. “Fen-fen,” she said, “you and I are friends! You don’t have to try to solve things by yourself! There must be something I can do!”

Fenrir burst into tears. At last, he was ready to tell them the truth he had been hiding. “The truth is...my real body is inside that cathedral.”

“You said something like that before,” Zag’giel observed. “Then that was true?”

“Yes. This is just a small piece of my body that I split off and moved my consciousness into.”

“We see! Then Spirit Wolves are something similar to actual spirits. A magic beast could not perform such a feat.”

“But it cost me most of my power...” Fenrir glanced at his enfeebled body, sighing in self-derision. “Lady Kanata,” he said, “the Holy Church is a terrible organization ruled by a false Saint and her blind faith in the gods. If we have angered them, it means that from here on, all of their millions of faithful around the world are now our enemies. They are cunning. They led me into a cowardly trap and held me prisoner for a long time. If only I had endured the crushing loneliness and waited for you quietly... None of this would have happened...”

“Uh-uh!” Kanata disagreed. “You didn’t do anything wrong! You broke out to come meet me! Thank you, Fen-fen!”

“Lady Kanata...” Fenrir sniffled.

“So if we go to the High Cathedral, we can get your body back?” Kanata asked.

“Yes...but I didn’t want to expose you to danger, Lady Kanata.” Fenrir hung his head. “It was a mistake to deceive you. I am so, so, so sorry.”

“Fen-fen...” Kanata whispered, holding the puppy in her arms and smiling down at him with motherly love. “No more apologies.”

“L-Lady Kanataaaaaaaa!” Fenrir’s ears were ringing from pure emotion. His eyes were so full of tears that he couldn’t see anything at all. From this point on, he could no longer hear what she was saying, nor see what expression was on her face.

“Wowww,” Kanata marveled, her eyes going heart shaped as her desires overpowered her mind. “There’s a...giant Fen-fen...in there...” She took a step forward. “Fluff fluff...fluff fluff...aha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...”

“D-Don’t move!”

“Enough! Kill her! Don’t hit the furballs!”

The knights thrust at her with their halberds as one. The sharp heads of their weapons came down in a hail of metal, with nowhere to dodge. The Temple Knights of the Holy Church were the elite among the elite. They were powerful fighters, trained from a young age to protect the Church. In the Adventurers’ Guild’s ranking system, the weakest of them would still easily qualify for B-Rank. They wore armor and carried halberds that had both been granted a blessing of strength through a ritual ceremony, and they had been drilled until they could fight as a seamless unit. They were far more dangerous than a random encounter with magic beasts. Anything short of the calamitous magic beasts that lived in the Dark Continent would be no challenge for them at all.

“Futile resistance,” Zag’giel said. “Have you any idea who it is you face?”

Indeed—the girl before the Temple Knights had once defeated an army of the Dark Continent’s magic beasts entirely on her own. When the heads of the knights’ halberds made contact with her soft, feminine skin, their weapons twisted up, or splintered, or shattered into pieces.

“I-Impossible!”

Kanata’s defensive magic had not only prevented all damage from the attack—it had destroyed the knights’ weapons.

“Excuse me!” Kanata said. “Coming through!” A magic barrier appeared around her as she walked, pushing the Temple Knights aside and allowing her to pass.

The knights were helpless. “Gh—! I can’t stop her! What are these barriers?!”

“Backup! We need backup! It’ll take every knight in the city to stop this woman!”

“Can your entire army stop our master, we wonder?” Zag’giel laughed haughtily. As per usual, of course, he hadn’t done anything in particular to earn that pride. He had been sitting on Kanata’s head the whole time.

A great force of Temple Knights gathered to try to prevent Kanata from advancing, but they were all pushed aside by her barrier. It looked to an observer like they were parting in two of their own accord.

“What’s happening?!” an onlooker said. “It’s like the First Saint parting the sea!”

“A miracle!”

“I knew it. That girl is the True Saint!”

The people of the Holy City trailed after Kanata, as if they had been invited. They had a feeling that Kanata was about to work a few more miracles, and they didn’t want to look away for a second.

† † †

“Forward, men! Charge! Push her back!”

“We can’t! She just won’t stop!”

“Don’t be a crybaby! You’re a knight!”

“I want to cry! What is happening?!”

The Temple Knights were completely helpless. Kanata’s barrier shoved them off to either side of her, completely killing any momentum their charge may have had. Not only that, but the people of the Holy City followed after her and offered prayers as they walked. It was like something the First Saint would do in a story. She had brought succor to the oppressed, and now she was leading them to confront the source of their woes. Even some of the Temple Knights were beginning to wonder if what they were witnessing was a genuine miracle.

The girl herself, though, had eyes only for the fluff within the High Cathedral, and she had no particular interest in leading the people to salvation at all. “Fluff fluff...fluff fluff...” she repeated. “Eheh heh heh heh...” But everyone watching, ignorant of Kanata’s character and circumstances, could only perceive what was happening as a divine miracle.

At last, Kanata reached the bridge that connected the city to the High Cathedral. The guard on duty was overcome with fear.

“E-Eeeeee!” he shouted, falling flat on his butt.

“Here you go!” Kanata said. “One hundred gold coins!” She handed the guard a bag filled with the requisite alms, and made her way across the bridge.

The people of the city who had followed Kanata this far halted.

“We shouldn’t go any closer,” one of them said. “We must watch, and see what the True Saint shall do.”

“I agree. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I can only imagine that she will perform some incredible miracle!”

“Today will mark the rebirth of the Holy City,” another said. “Something big is about to happen.”

They prayed devoutly as they watched Kanata cross over to the Cathedral.

The Church’s holiness was a farce. They did nothing but enrich themselves. They gave no aid to the weak. In fact, they were behind many of the evil deeds happening in the shadows. And deep down, the people of the Holy City were well aware of that fact. They felt a faint sense of the corruption lurking in their city—the other side of the Holy Church. And yet, if they spoke out, they would be labeled apostates. Nobody was willing to take the risk. They were afraid—of making an enemy of the whole world. Of the wrath of the gods.

But as the people watched Kanata cross the bridge, they knew. It would end today. Today, everything would change.

† † †

“What?!” Marianne balked at the Temple Knights’ hurried report. Even they, the strongest fighting force in the Holy City, had been unable to lay a single finger on that absurd little girl. “Of all the ridiculous—”

“Hi hi!” Kanata called out, cheerfully shutting the grand doors of the High Cathedral behind her like they were the swinging doors of a pub.

“Eeek!” The Temple Knights, who by now had had a taste of what Kanata could do, fell over themselves in their haste to get away.

“Pitiful.” Marianne herself had been seized with fear for a second, but she was determined not to let it show. “When this is over, you cowards are relieved of your duty!” She laughed imperiously. “So, witch,” she said. “You have made it this far. Well done. However, this is the High Cathedral of the Holy Church! This place is under the divine protection of the Goddess Herself. Do not think things will go as you plan.”

Marianne uttered a prayer—a catalyst to activate the awesome magic of the High Cathedral. The lights of the chandelier high above them began to flicker.

“Now you will taste divine retribution!” Marianne reached out her hand, pointing toward Kanata, and lightning began to strike from the chandelier itself, bolt after bolt after bolt. It was enough power to blast the tiles clean off the floor, enough that even the Temple Knights, who were not its target, could feel its force. And it was all aimed toward Kanata.

There was a burning smell. The knights who had been struck in the cross fire were twitching on the floor, their armor charred black and foam coming from their mouths. And as for Kanata, who took the brunt of the attack—

“Wow! That was incredible!”

“Hmph,” Zag’giel complained. “Our whole body is tingling.”

“Look!” said Fenrir. “The electricity made our hair stand on end!”

“Oh my gosh! Pointy fluff!” Kanata marveled at her two pets. Their fur standing on end from the electricity made them even more ball-shaped. Kanata, of course, was completely unharmed. Not a single thread of her clothing had been singed.

Marianne recoiled in shock. “I-Impossible! It didn’t even injure you—?!”

That had not been ordinary lightning. It was a high-level spell that struck with the power of the gods themselves. All living things were powerless before it.

“The gods will not harm her!” One of the Temple Knights fell to his knees, struck by awe. “It’s true! This girl is the True Saint!”

It took some guts to say that in front of the woman who spoke for the Holy Church itself. Saint Marianne shot him a look that seemed to say, how dare you, and turned to leave. Relieving that knight of duty would not be punishment enough.

“Defend this point with your lives,” she said.

“S-Saint Marianne?!”

“Where are you going?!”

Marianne left the bewildered Temple Knights behind and went to prepare the High Cathedral’s next line of defenses. The Cathedral had several traps, each more deadly than the last, to use against invaders. Marianne didn’t know how the girl had avoided the lightning, but could she perform a second miracle? Or a third?!

“The next one will get her for sure!” she boasted. “She won’t do as she likes with my Cathedral!”

In fact, Kanata had the run of the place. Marianne’s traps not only failed to stop her, they didn’t even slow her down. The Temple Knights, meanwhile, whom Marianne had been depending on to protect the High Cathedral, threw down their weapons and surrendered. In the end, fire, a blizzard, poison, curses, and hypnosis all proved ineffective against Kanata. Her barrier protected her from all harm.

“This can’t be happening!” Panicked and overcome with despair, Marianne fled desperately from Kanata. “This can’t be happening! This can’t be happening!”

“I wonder where she’s going!” Kanata said, giggling as she walked through the Cathedral.

Marianne gasped for breath as she staggered and fell up the stairs. “Haaah... Haaah... That... That girl is a monster! But if I can only reach the top floor...”

The top floor of the High Cathedral housed Marianne’s own quarters, where she kept her last resort. A weapon given to her by the Goddess. A weapon strong enough to rip that girl apart. “I’ll show her! I’ll make her pay!”

“Are you looking for something?” Kanata asked.

“E-Eee!”

Kanata suddenly appeared on the stairs, having finally decided to come after her. Marianne tried to run, to even stand up, but her body wouldn’t obey.

“No! No! Stay away!”

“Oh, okay,” Kanata agreed.

“Come again?”

“I was wondering if you could give me directions, but you seem to be looking for something yourself,” the girl said, jogging up the stairs away from Marianne.

“What is she...?” Marianne shook her head, baffled by Kanata’s inexplicable behavior. “No, now’s not the time. I must reach the top floor! She will be sorry she let me go!”

She crawled up the stairs, still unable to stand. At last, she came to her chambers unharmed. All she had to do now was retrieve the weapon.

“Awaken, my angels!” she cried, and the two reliefs decorating the wall of her room creaked and began to move. They emerged from the wall as fierce-looking stone statues, and sprouted wings from their backs. There were two of them—her angels from heaven. These two had been given to her as guardians. They would not fall, not even to that girl. A human cannot contend with the power of the gods.

“Now, come,” Marianne said, settling in to wait for Kanata. “I’ll be waiting!”

She waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Eventually she felt well enough to stand, and she made herself a cup of tea.

“Wh-Where did she go?”

† † †

Why had Kanata not gone after Saint Marianne? That should be obvious enough. She hadn’t come here to defeat her in the first place.

“Fluff, fluff, fluff, fluff~♪” Kanata sang. She hummed to herself all the way to the prison where Fenrir had been held.

“Lady Kanata, this is the door! We must head down!”

“Okay!”

Fenrir led Kanata through the prison to his cell. There, still bound, they found a great white wolf.

“Fluff fluff!” Kanata cried. “A big fluff fluff!” All she had eyes for was the Spirit Wolf’s fur.

“Lady Kanata!” Fenrir said. “Wait! There’s a powerful barrier here!”

Kanata had snapped the prison bars apart like they were candy canes. The binding Fenrir warned of suppressed a creature more intensely the more powerful they were.

“What was that?” Kanata asked as she stepped inside. The barrier immediately went over capacity and ripped itself apart.

“Nothing,” said Fenrir. “Never mind.” The cell bars and the barrier had both proven to be no more of an obstacle to Kanata than anything else in the Cathedral.

“Lady Kanata, excuse me.” Fenrir jumped down from Kanata’s shoulder and nuzzled up close to the great white wolf slumped on the floor. The parts of him that touched his cast-off body glowed brightly. That light soon spread to the rest of the wolf, until the whole prison was enveloped in blinding white light.

Kanata opened her eyes to see the Spirit Wolf Fenrir, once again fully complete. He moved unsteadily at first, but he took to his feet and then sat down in front of Kanata, with proper form. “I am the Spirit Wolf Fenrir,” he said, “Lady Kanata’s follower, Fen-fen. Now that I have regained my former power, I will do my utmost to be of use to you, Lady Kanata!”

“Damn it all!” Zag’giel cursed. “He is cool!” He seethed with envy as Kanata dove headlong into the fluff.

“Big huge fluff fluuuuff!”

“Lady Kanata?!”

“Fluff fluff! Ha ha! Fluff fluff! Ha ha!” She rubbed her face against Fenrir’s body, taking her time refilling her body’s fluff reserves.

But after a while, she seemed less excited. “It’s stiff,” she pouted.

“What?”

“It’s not fluffy, it’s stiff!” Kanata huffed. “And it kinda stinks a bit...”

Fenrir had been cruelly imprisoned for a long time. His hygiene had reached a truly miserable state. “I-I apologize?” Fenrir bowed his head sadly as Kanata administered emergency purification magic. (To her, this counted as an emergency.)

“Hah,” said Zag’giel. “Our master is saying that in your present state you are still far from true fluff.”

“I-I see...” Fenrir nodded. “In that case, I must keep improving. And I shall!”

“Yeah!” Kanata cheered. “Fluffier and fluffier and fluffier! First, you should take a bath.”

“What does a bath have to do with this...?” Fenrir wondered. “No, I mustn’t think such things. Lady Kanata must have her reasons!”

“Indeed. A servant must be able to perceive their master’s desire without needing to be told. You have taken this lesson to heart, we see.”

Fenrir and Zag’giel nodded to each other, confused as always. It didn’t seem like this was going to be cleared up any time soon.

† † †

“Well, we did what we came for, I guess! Ready to leave?” Kanata was starting to get excited as she imagined finding an inn with a large bath and getting Fenrir nice and properly clean.

“Wait, Lady Kanata,” said Fenrir. “We shouldn’t leave that false Saint to her devices! That woman is a wicked evildoer who uses faith as a means for world domination!”

“But we got Fen-fen’s big fluff-fluff back,” Kanata said. “I wouldn’t mind going back home. That Saint wasn’t very fluffy or anything.”

“No, Kanata,” interjected Zag’giel. “If we leave her be, we will only find ourselves hunted by the Holy Church. We may even have a bounty put on our heads. We should take care to wrap up loose ends, lest we regret it in the future. So let us teach that wretch a proper lesson.”

“Really?” Kanata said. “It doesn’t seem like such a big deal to me...”

“It does not seem a big deal to you to make an enemy of the Holy Church itself? You are truly brave, our master.”

“You have a gentle heart, Lady Kanata,” Fenrir said. “You would forgive even an evil temptress like her? Very well. If she tries something, I will protect you!”

“Okay! Then let’s get going!” Kanata was eager to get on the road.

“Very well.”

“Then let’s be off!”

Having reached an accord, the three left the underground prison. They were making their way out of the front door of the High Cathedral when someone smashed through the ceiling to appear in front of them.

“Don’t leave!” It was Marianne and her two angel statues. It seemed she was fed up with waiting. Her chest was heaving with barely suppressed rage. Her twisted face could not possibly have looked more unsaintly. “I was waiting for you to show up forever! You were just going to leave me there and go home?! Are you so determined to humiliate me?! That’s it! I’m not holding back anymore. You made me angry!”

The angel statues stepped forward from behind Marianne, as if on cue. It was like they were the Saint’s anger made solid. They spread their wings wide, preparing to attack.

“Lady Kanata! Allow me!” Fenrir stepped in front of Kanata.

Zag’giel followed, transforming from a furball to the King of Demons as he walked.

“You are as good as your word, we see,” he said. “Very well. We shall accompany you. If you intend to do battle in that body, then it only seems fair that we should unleash our true form as well!”

“Ridiculous,” Marianne spat. “Fenrir, have you already forgotten your defeat to my angel statues? What difference do you think one more companion will make?”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Fenrir answered. “And I won’t shame myself by making excuses. That was a fair defeat. But it will not happen again. That, I promise you.”

He crouched low, power welling up in his body. Zag’giel cracked his neck and strolled forward.

“Tch!” said Marianne. “Go, my angels! Deliver swift judgment unto these fools!”

“You take the angel to the right,” Zag’giel said. “The one to the left is ours.”

“Got it!”

Zag’giel and Fenrir moved so skillfully in concert with each other that one would hardly think this was their first time fighting side by side. In a flash, an attack from Zag’giel’s sharp claws shattered one of the angel’s arms, while Fenrir crushed the other angel’s leg to pieces with his powerful jaw.

“You broke them in a single blow?!” Marianne couldn’t believe it.

“Who the hell do you think we are?” Zag’giel growled.

“We are the servants of Lady Kanata!” said Fenrir.

The angels had taken more damage than they had anticipated. They beat their powerful wings, flying backward to put distance between themselves and their opponents, as they launched a swarm of angel feathers that fell from the sky like arrows. It was a fearsome barrage, certainly deadly to anyone it hit. But Zag’giel stepped forward fearlessly, and Fenrir opened his mouth to roar, breathing out a torrent of cold air that froze the feathers solid.

“It’s over!” the two said in unison. They leapt crosswise past each other, Zag’giel striking with his claws and Fenrir with his fangs, smashing the statues to smithereens.

“N-Noooo!” Marianne rent at her hair. “How can they be that strong?! That was the power of heaven! The world of the gods! Their world is above ours! Mortals aren’t supposed to be able to beat them!”

“Hmph,” Zag’giel scoffed. “Stone has no will. It cannot defeat us. We are sworn to our master!”

“I’m not like I was last time!” Fenrir declared. “I am no longer a lost pup, alone in the world!”

“Gwaaaaaaaaah!” Marianne bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. She threw the veil she had been wearing to the floor and took off running at full speed.

“She’s running away again!” Zag’giel observed.

“We can’t let her go,” said Fenrir. “We need to make her atone for her sins!”

Marianne ran until she reached the deepest part of the High Cathedral, where there stood a beautiful statue of the Goddess. Even her last resort had failed.

“M-My Goddess!” She prayed for all she was worth. “My Goddess! Please! Hear my prayers!” A light shone down upon the stone statue. “Aah! Goddess!” She breathed a sigh of relief, letting herself relax just a little.

But when the Goddess spoke, it was with harsh invective.

“Useless idiot!” she screamed. “This is what happens when you don’t listen to me! Thanks to your rashness, we have now lost the stone angels on top of everything else! Do you have any idea how much faith it costs to make even one of those things?!”

“F-Forgive me! My Goddess! Please! Please, save me!”

The statue seemed to regard Marianne begging for her life with scornful eyes. As far as she was concerned, Marianne was now worthless to her. “If you had come to ask me for aid during the fight, I might have granted you strength, but begging for your life? Is not a Saint meant to defy the enemies of the gods until the very last? If you are too shameless to do at least that much, I will have to punish you appropriately. At least try to land one solid blow on that heavy-soul girl.”

“G-Goddess?” As Marianne groveled on the floor, her body was bathed in brilliant divine light.

“O Marianne Ishfalke! My Saint!” the Goddess proclaimed in a loud, songlike voice. “Such splendid devotion, to give over your very body in the battle to destroy the enemies of the gods! It pains my heart to inflict such cruel trials on my faithful little lamb, but if you will not hear otherwise, so be it. Now, Saint! Have your miracle!”

“Goddess? What...? What are you...?” Marianne was stupefied. The first thing she noticed was that she was unsteady on her feet. The culprit turned out to be the Goddess statue itself, which had begun to shake as it turned to liquid, pulling Marianne in.

“N-Noooooooo!” she cried. “Goddess! Forgive me! Goooooddeeeeeess! Someone! Anyone! Heeeeeeeelp!”

“Wh-What in the world?! The statue ate her...?!” Fenrir said, arriving on the scene.

“That wretch of a Goddess,” added Zag’giel. “This is just like when she inflicted her curse upon us! She does what she wills and calls it a miracle or trial or what have you. Meddling coward!”

The statue, having now consumed the Saint entirely, suddenly began to move. It seemed alive. It even had a heartbeat. The fragments of the angel statues Zag’giel and Fenrir had broken began to crawl on the floor, making their way toward it.

“Should we destroy it while we have the chance?” Fenrir asked.

“Patience,” Zag’giel counseled. “If we attack now, it will absorb us as well.”

It was just as Zag’giel said. The living statue seemed to consume everything around it. Something was about to be born. Something that required a colossal amount of energy. It didn’t take long. The hard stone split open like a cocoon, releasing this new creature upon the world. It wailed, the high-pitched cry of a newborn.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

It was a terrible monster. Its musculature was ludicrously overdeveloped. It had curved horns on its head, wings like a bat, and six eyes like an insect. It was unnervingly pale. It looked like a devil, but pure white.

“This... This is far stronger than the angel statues,” Zag’giel said. “Damn that Goddess! She’s created something truly absurd!”

“It has ten times the latent power! No, a hundred! Ridiculous!”

Zag’giel was the strongest of all magic beasts, but even he despaired of his chances against the thing.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” it wailed, its voice full of enough hate for the entire world. Marianne was gone. She had fused with the Goddess and the angel statues. She and her body had both vanished from existence. There was no saving her from that thing.

The white demon glared at Zag’giel and Fenrir. They began to sweat. This was a monster created by sacrificing a Saint. It moved forward, and...ignored the two entirely?

“What...”

“...In the hells?!”

The white devil went straight to where Kanata was waiting, her arms folded as she watched.

“K-Kanata!” Zag’giel shouted. “Run! We underestimated them! Beings of this world have no hope against that abomination!”

“Please, Lady Kanata!” Fenrir pitched in. “We’ll block its way. You escape!”

Kanata seemed completely unperturbed by her pets’ frantic disposition. Calmly, she opened her eyes and glanced over the white devil.

“Hmm...” she said. “Fluff score, zero.”

† † †

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The monster gathered its power. It was enough to distort and detonate space itself, causing a huge explosion that blasted out of the domed roof of the High Cathedral.

The people of the city, gathered outside, screamed in fear. And then they saw a strange, winged creature rising from the ruins of the High Cathedral.

“Wh-What’s that?!”

“A monster!”

“Why was there a monster in the High Cathedral?!”

The sudden appearance of the white devil had thrown the townsfolk into chaos. After all, it had just burst out from the roof of the building towering directly above the Holy City. Everyone could see it, not just the people who had followed after Kanata.

“What power!” Zag’giel marveled. “It destroyed the building just by releasing its magic!”

“I don’t know if we could have gotten out of that if Kanata hadn’t protected us with her barrier!”

Kanata had created another barrier and jumped high into the air, avoiding the explosion, and landed deftly on the roof of the ruined Cathedral. The city watched restlessly.

“If we do not end this, those humans may be in danger,” Zag’giel said.

“If we run now, it’s the people who will pay the price...” Fenrir agreed.

“Why are its feathers so hard?!” Kanata demanded. “That’s terrible! It’s the opposite of fluff!” As usual, she was on a somewhat different tack from her pets.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!” The devil spread its wings, launching a lightning-fast strike with its enormous body. Its target was Kanata. Perhaps there was some vestige of Marianne’s anger in it, or perhaps these were its orders from the Goddess, but the white devil seemed to be attacking none but her.

The devil’s fist struck Kanata’s barrier, shattering her shield like glass. It had stopped an ogre’s attacks, pushed away the Temple Knights, and saved her from an explosion, but the white devil’s power was too much for it.

“Kanata!” cried Zag’giel.

“Lady Kanata!” cried Fenrir.

It was the first time either of them had seen her defenses breached.

“Kyaaaaaah!” the devil wailed, not letting up its attack for a second. It swung its fist at the now-defenseless Kanata. But though it had penetrated her first barrier, it was stopped by a second barrier inches away from Kanata’s body.

“I’m okay!” she said, smiling cheerfully to reassure Zag’giel and Fenrir. Every time the devil struck at her, it would break through her first barrier only to be stopped by a new barrier she would create in its place. It still couldn’t hit her.

“Kyaaaaaaaaah!” It screeched in anger, laying into her with clear fury. It was striking her hundreds of times in the blink of an eye, but Kanata matched its speed easily, stopping attack after attack.

It swung and swung and swung, only to be blocked and blocked and blocked. Each attack sent a shock wave of energy that shook the roof, sending the once-beautiful Cathedral ever further into ruin. But it wasn’t able to touch a single hair on Kanata’s head.

“Kyaaaaaaa...aaa...” The devil, which had seemed to have infinite power, was starting to weaken. It couldn’t get past Kanata’s defenses. Finally, defeated in their battle of attrition, it fell to its knees.

But Kanata wasn’t finished. Her barrier expanded, sending the devil flying. It landed among the half-broken ruins of the roof, too overcome by fatigue to rise.

“Now it’s my turn!” she said.

The devil trembled with fear, but it was out of magic. Its exhausted body couldn’t even move.

“Hmm...” Kanata glanced around at the devil’s body like she was watching something. “I see, I see,” she said. “Maybe...here?” She thrust both hands inside the devil’s torso.

“Gyaah?!” the devil screamed. But even though Kanata had thrust her hands into its body, it didn’t seem to have taken any damage.

“Here we go!” Kanata said, grabbing on to something inside of the devil. She used her magic carefully, taking pains not to damage whatever it was. “There!” she said. She focused her energy, and fissures formed all over the devil’s body, bright light shining out from within. There was a flash of light.

And then everyone watching saw Kanata standing over the devil’s empty husk, holding the unconscious and naked body of Saint Marianne in her arms.

“Wh-What?!” Fenrir balked.

“That was a perfect fusion!” Zag’giel said. “She must have recreated only the woman from inside the thing!”

“Easy does it!” Kanata said, hefting Marianne. “Oh, good,” she said as she looked her over. “She’s just unconscious.”

It was like a miracle. The onlookers, who had seen the whole battle, couldn’t believe their eyes.

“Th-The monster is gone...and Lady Marianne was inside?!”

“Was Lady Marianne the monster?!”

“It can’t be! The monster must have been controlling her!”

“I see! Then the True Saint saved her from the monster’s control!”

“Incredible! She defeated the monster and rescued Lady Marianne from its clutches! She really is the True Saint!”

“The Saint! The Saint! The True Saint!”

Kanata was too far away to hear any of that. She sat, stroking Marianne’s hair. “Oh!” she said. “Her hair’s pretty soft. I suppose I’d give her a fluff score of ten.”

“Kanata never changes, we suppose,” said Zag’giel.

“She doesn’t seek the approval of others, but follows what her own heart tells her is right. Lady Kanata is fantastic!”

And the city kept on praising Kanata all the way until sunset.

† † †

A few days later, Marianne was clinging tight to Kanata, effusive love pouring out from every one of her pores.

“Lady Kanata!” she cried. “O Your Holiness! Please! Make me one of your followers!”

Cast aside by her Goddess, fused with the stone statue to such a degree that her very soul itself had vanished into the amalgam, Marianne had been reborn by Kanata’s hands. The event had triggered in her a religious awakening. She had truly repented of her wicked deeds, and now sought the true faith.

“I will do anything you ask of me! Please! How may I be of use?!” Marianne begged.

“Hmm...” Kanata thought about it. “I don’t really need anything right now...”

“You don’t?! Well...I can polish your shoes! I’ll do it with my tongue if you like!”

“I think I’ll pass.”

“Awwww...”

While the woman clinging to her was certainly as affectionate as a dog, her fluff score wasn’t particularly high, and Kanata didn’t have much attention to spare for her.

Zag’giel and Fenrir couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

“She’s changed a little too much,” Zag’giel quipped.

“Who is this woman?!” Fenrir added.

Marianne hadn’t just changed her ways; this was a full-on religious conversion. She issued a proclamation to the whole Church: “Henceforth, the Holy Church will no longer worship that wretched Goddess, but instead our Holy Lady Kanata! This is the birth of Kanataism!”

It wasn’t without its issues, but this development would mean a dramatic loss of faith in the Goddess, severely limiting her ability to interfere in affairs of the world. However, Kanata had an objection.

“Not that!” she said. “Ixnay on Kanataism!”

“But why not?” Marianne was stunned. “Please! Guide us, Your Holiness! We are your lost flock! You are the True Saint! Nobody but you is worthy of our worship!”

“No,” said Kanata. “You’ve got it all wrong! It isn’t me you should worship...”

“Then...” Marianne asked attentively, “what is?”

“The fluff!”

“The...fluff?”

“Yes, the fluff!”

Marianne was stumped, but Kanata launched right into a confident sermon. “Thou shalt love the fluff. Whosoever shall fluff thee on thy right cheek, turn to them the other also. Twice the fluff is twice as good.”

“What...?” It was simply impossible for Marianne to understand what Kanata was saying. Their values and sensibilities were simply too different.

“If you want to thank me,” Kanata said, “I don’t need tributes or worship. I seek but one thing—the fluff! Find fluff for me! I’ll happily take every last bit of it!”

“I...I see!” Marianne couldn’t understand Kanata’s words at all, but she thought she could understand her meaning. Don’t think. Feel. That was what Kanata was saying. “Fluff! The holy word that binds us all together!” Fluff must be a many-faceted word indeed. It no doubt had such meanings as ‘the happiness of small things’ and ‘kindness to one’s neighbors.’ From now on, she would not give prayers, but chant the holy word and live her fullest life.

“Thank you! I understand!” Marianne said. Of course, she didn’t in the slightest. However, mistaken as it was, her faith in Kanata was what saved her from despair. Right now it was completely unstoppable. Anything Kanata said must be correct. “The fluff! It’s the fluff!”

“Yes!” Kanata said. “Fluff! Please tell me if you find some!”

“I will!” Marianne said. “I will find it! My own splendid fluff!”

That day marked the true birth of Fluffism. But because of the seminal misunderstanding of the meaning of fluff, Kanata saw absolutely no benefit from it.

† † †

“Wow! Amazing, Fen-fen! You got the wagon moving!”

“Aha ha!” Fenrir laughed as he pulled the wagon along with his tremendous strength. “This is light work! See? I told you I could move it in my original body! Far better than some furball, eh?”

“Hmph,” replied Zag’giel. “It would be no great difficulty for us in our original body either. But who would have the King of Demons himself pull a wagon? It is work that suits a mongrel like you. Now walk briskly.”

“You dare?!” Fenrir said. A piece of his tail split off, turning into a white furball—the Fenrir they had grown to know and love. He leapt at Zag’giel. “Who are you calling a mongrel?! You take that back!” the large and small Fenrirs both said at once.

“You can spread your consciousness between multiple bodies?!” Zag’giel was stunned. “What are Spirit Wolves made of—?!”

“Take it back! Take it back!”

“Stop talking with both bodies at once! It’s disconcerting!”

“W-Wow!” Kanata said. “It is double the fluff, for real! I can hug Fen-fen tight in my arms while I rest my head against Fen-fen to sleep! And Zaggy can be my pillow! Oh, it’s perfect!”

The furballs had gotten to fighting again like they always did, while Kanata imagined herself in a black-and-white fluff sandwich. She couldn’t wait.

A great crowd gathered to see them off as they departed the Holy City.

“Fluff fluff! Fluff fluff!” they cried.

Kanata had left an enormous mark on the city. The Church stopped manipulating the people’s faith for its own profit and stopped discriminating on the basis of how many alms a family could afford to give. They abandoned their practice of keeping the area around the High Cathedral manically pristine while neglecting the rest of the city. Those who had plenty gave food and medicine to those who had none. Saint Marianne confessed her sins and pledged to live as a cloistered sister, devoting her life to faith. The city had converted to Fluffism.

“Everyone,” Marianne said, “let us all pray for Her Holiness’s safe travels. Let us invoke the holy words! Fluff fluff!”

“Fluff fluff!” the people repeated.

“Eheh heh,” Kanata giggled. “Everyone’s into fluff now! I’m so glad I could teach them how wonderful the fluff is!”

“Indeed,” Zag’giel intoned. “We, too, must not delay in our quest for ever-greater fluff!”

“Bring it, furball!” Fenrir shot back. “I will be the one to achieve fluff worthy of Lady Kanata!”

“Oh my gosh!” Kanata said. “Zaggy, Fen-fen, I love you!”

And so, as confused as ever, the three set out again on their quest to seek out new fluff.