While My Mage Wife Grinds, I Power Up Idly-Chapter 64: No One Is More Right Than Ashu

Kakarim stared coldly at Ashu, rising slowly to his feet.

The oppressive aura he exuded, undisguised and overwhelming, felt as if it might devour Ashu whole.

"Parishioner, I don’t wish to escalate this beyond repair. While there’s still room to turn back, you’d best make the right choice."

His voice was laced with killing intent. Had it been anyone else, they wouldn’t have heard a word—Kakarim would have struck them down instantly.

It was only out of consideration for Ashu’s status as a Luminous Saint that Kakarim showed even a shred of courtesy.

A pity.

Even so, Ashu didn’t yield in the slightest.

That mutt Kakayather, who’d come around looking for trouble again and again—forget simply killing him. Even dragging his soul into the depths of hell afterward to be ravaged by demons would have been fully justified.

Facing Cardinal Kakarim, Ashu replied calmly, "My choice was the right one from the start. If you have doubts, take it up with the Divine Mother Goddess."

Hearing this—

A cold flash passed through Cardinal Kakarim’s eyes. His gaze turned sinister as he stared sideways at Ashu and said in a low voice, "If that’s how it is... then don’t blame me. A Luminous Saint is a nice addition to this world—but we’ll survive just fine without one."

As his words fell—

The powerful Kakarim launched his attack. With a leap, he swept down with a massive palm, cloaked in terrifying Magical Essence, aiming straight for Ashu’s crown.

Even without the talent of Spiritual Perception, Ashu could sense with his very instincts that if that palm touched even a hair on him, he would be instantly reduced to a mangled corpse.

He dared not show the slightest hesitation. Immediately, he raised his small Divine Mother Goddess figurine at a 45-degree angle, clutching the Sacred Codex tightly in his left hand.

The Divine Mother Goddess’s protection was the only defense he could truly rely on.

A golden shimmer of light blossomed around him, bathing Ashu in its glow. This holy radiance could incinerate any vile force.

However, in the presence of a Cardinal who wielded the same Holy Light, that glow seemed faint and feeble.

Had they been inside the Church, the Divine Light from the Divine Mother Goddess’s statue would have shielded Ashu completely.

But this was the outdoors—and all Ashu held was a small figurine of the Divine Mother Goddess.

That figurine represented a much narrower conduit for divine power, and the Holy Light it could channel was inevitably weaker.

And then—

As the Cardinal’s palm came crashing down, the faint golden glow around Ashu began to crack—visibly, to the naked eye!

The light... was fracturing!?

Ashu’s heart sank. This was bad—Holy Light’s protection was on the verge of breaking. Without hesitation, he cast another technique: Nature’s Absorption Technique, frantically drawing in the surrounding Magical Essence.

All cultivators relied on Magical Essence.

If he could absorb the Cardinal’s essence, he might be able to weaken his strength!

Ashu clenched his molars tight and gave it everything he had.

Unfortunately—

Even as he churned the Magical Essence into a vortex around him, it wasn’t enough to diminish the strength of the formidable Cardinal Kakarim.

The Holy Light that once protected Ashu, bestowed by the Divine Mother Goddess, shattered like fragments of glass.

And the small Divine Mother Goddess figurine in Ashu’s hand exploded in response!

"Crack—!!"

With that sharp sound, the figurine burst into white powder. Only the half still gripped tightly in Ashu’s hand remained intact.

Its upper half had completely disintegrated.

With the figurine shattered, Ashu instantly lost the protection of the Holy Light.

Cardinal Kakarim’s palm descended, aiming directly for the crown of Ashu’s head.

In that perilous instant—

Suddenly.

A figure, swift as lightning, appeared at Ashu’s right side. She raised one long, powerful leg and drove it fiercely into Cardinal Kakarim’s abdomen.

That single kick sent Cardinal Kakarim’s body hurtling backward.

"Boom—!"

Just the explosive contact of foot against abdomen rang out like a bomb going off.

Ashu, who stood closest, was shaken and staggered back over a dozen steps. He hadn’t even been the one struck, yet the sheer force of the blow still knocked him off balance—testament to its raw power.

Once Ashu managed to steady himself, he could finally see who had arrived.

Dressed head-to-toe in black, her outfit was simple, yet still clung tightly to her explosive figure.

The swaying masses on her chest—he knew them well.

"Vivita..."

It was her! The Demon Huntress Nun active in this region—it was indeed Vivita Taan.

Vivita gave Ashu a slight nod, then turned her cool gray eyes toward Kakarim, now in the distance.

"Kakarim," Vivita said, voice like steel, "you’ve gone too far—laying a hand on a Luminous Saint? I’ll report this to the Pope myself."

Far off—

Kakarim clutched his abdomen, slowly straightening. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Damn Demon Huntress Nun... heh." Kakarim gave a short laugh. "Vivita Nun, I believe you must be mistaken."

He showed no fear, no guilt. "It was His Eminence the Luminous Saint who committed an error. As his senior, I merely stepped in to correct it. God says—no one in this world is flawless. Who hasn’t made a mistake in their life? But to admit one’s wrongs and change—that is the greatest virtue."

Vivita said nothing.

Kakarim went on: "He... accidentally killed my son. And yet, even so, I didn’t seek vengeance. I offered him a chance to repent. If he’d only released my son’s soul, we could have put this behind us. I’ve already made such concessions—tell me, is that not enough? You could summon any citizen as witness and they’d testify how far I’ve bent to make peace."

Taken at face value, Kakarim’s words would win anyone to his side. His son was dead, and still he spoke of forgiveness—painting himself as noble, magnanimous.

However—

Vivita wasn’t buying it. A Demon Huntress Nun had her own way of seeing things.

Especially Vivita—she had her own unwavering convictions. And she firmly believed that even if Ashu had killed Kakarim’s son, then Kakarim’s son must have committed an unforgivable crime.

Because this—this was a Luminous Saint!

Because this was the man who, after sharing flesh with her, had been granted the Holy First Night divine certification from the Divine Mother Goddess Herself!

There was no one in this world more "right" than Ashu.

"Kakarim," Vivita said coldly, "stop twisting the truth and dodging the core of the issue. Do you think the Divine Mother Goddess didn’t grant me these eyes to see the truth?"

Upon hearing those words, Kakarim found himself short of breath.

He truly couldn’t understand—why would a Demon Huntress Nun so unwaveringly stand on Ashu’s side?

Wasn’t a Cardinal above lying?

Wasn’t a Cardinal authoritative enough?

Shouldn’t the Twelve Demon-Hunting Nuns submit to authority?

At this moment, he knew full well he wasn’t a match for the Demon Huntress Nun—those freaks had been screened from birth through countless trials, then raised with unwavering discipline by the Church. Ordinary people couldn’t compete with monsters like them.

"The truth is that my son is dead, and he’s alive," Kakarim said bitterly, lifting his son’s corpse into his arms. "Use those eyes of yours and look—what mistake could my son have possibly committed that warranted death as punishment? God said: all punishment has its measure. Excessive punishment—is that not a sin? Nun, answer me!"

His words struck Vivita momentarily silent.

Because to the Twelve Demon-Hunting Nuns, there had never been such a thing as "excessive punishment."

Mercy? Redemption? That was the work of the Holy Mother.

The job of a Demon Huntress Nun was to send sinners to meet Her.

In Vivita’s eyes, Kakarim had already admitted that his son had done wrong. And if that were the case—then killing him? What was the problem?

Ashu was completely in the right.

"No."

Vivita replied.

That brief but forceful word struck like a spear, piercing straight through Kakarim’s heart.

Dark.

It was too dark.

Even he—a Cardinal—could feel the suffocating darkness in this moment.

To him, Ashu seemed like the Pope’s spoiled heir. Vivita? Like the Pope’s personal enforcer. Was this some pair of imperial brats from the capital?

"Fine!"

Kakarim scooped up his son’s body. Though he was a Cardinal, there was nothing dignified about him now—only shame and frustration.

With Vivita here to protect Ashu, he couldn’t win through strength, nor reason. Staying here any longer was meaningless. Worse—it would attract attention. More townspeople might gather to watch.

And while the citizens of Kakase naturally trusted their Cardinal, they also knew full well what kind of man Kakayather was. Some even held hard evidence of his crimes.

Yes.

Kakarim knew what kind of person his son truly was.

All these years, it had been his identity as a Cardinal that cleaned up his son’s messes, again and again.

If the victims demanded money—he paid.

If they wanted power—he gave it.

Moreover—

With the temperament of a Demon Huntress Nun, even if every single citizen stood behind him, she wouldn’t back down.

Demon Huntress Nuns were unshakable. Once they believed in something, that belief became absolute. Just like their faith—unyielding, ingrained from birth.

One could even say... it was a warped personality, forged by design since childhood.

"Luminous Saint," Kakarim gave one final warning, "remember this—you will repent for your misguided actions."

After speaking,

he carried his son’s body, leapt into the air, and flew swiftly toward the branch’s grand Church.

Ashu watched the man and the corpse vanish into the distance, and couldn’t help but let out a breath of relief.

Thank the Goddess Vivita had arrived in time.

Otherwise, he really would’ve ended up joining Kakarim in the afterlife.

Thankfully, as a Cidi Bishop, he probably had some standing down in Hell.

Hopefully, he’d be living better down there than Kakayather.

"Ashu..."

Vivita only turned back to face him after making sure Cardinal Kakarim hadn’t left behind any delayed magical traps.

Those cold, gray eyes of hers—at this moment, they rippled like a pool of spring water.

"Thank you, Vivita," Ashu said. "Didn’t think we’d be seeing each other again so soon."

"Mm..."

As the saying goes—absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Though Ashu and Vivita didn’t have any sort of marriage contract between them, they had shared a night together.

And since that forbidden union had been openly sanctioned by the Divine Mother Goddess herself...

Why wouldn’t she feel pleased?