Imprisonment

The group gathered in the hall leading from the entrance of the guesthouse.

And Yona entering through that entrance.

A humming sound could be heard, as if she was in a particularly good mood.

Perhaps because of the arched corridor in the form of a cavern, Yona’s humming echoed more eerily, and the group couldn’t hide their bewildered looks as Yona, who hadn’t been seen for a while, appeared humming.

“Oh, what are you all doing here?”

Yona revealed herself as she turned into the hall after passing through the corridor.

Yona looking particularly in a good mood—

However, at the sight that followed, the group was dumbfounded.

“El-Elder…?!”

Secti opened her mouth wide, unable to continue speaking.

Bigrand and the Hero, who knew Ceres’s true identity well, tried to maintain calm expressions, but even so, the sight of Ceres in such a miserable state was difficult to look at.

Arms and legs— more precisely, wrists and ankles.

Especially the ankles, blood was gushing out from the ligament area at the back, and it seemed to show the path Ceres had been dragged along like a long tail.

“Wh-what have you done—!”

Secti drew her morning star.

Unable to hide the angry look on her face, Secti drew her morning star and was about to rush towards Yona.

“Stay still, Lady Scarlet.”

But at Bigrand’s restraint, Secti’s arrow of anger turned towards Bigrand.

Her eyes, widened as if they might pop out at any moment, seemed to be asking why she was stopping her, and Bigrand looked at Secti like that and closed her mouth.

“What, what on earth is this situation…!”

It was right at that moment when that anger was about to explode.

There was a hand firmly pressing down on Secti’s shoulder, and Secti looked up at the owner of that hand.

Rudvik was there, trying hard to maintain a calm smile.

He pressed down on Secti and Serad’s shoulders while still wearing that smile and slowly shook his head.

“There must have been a reason for this. Saint Yona has rather saved the Celestine Church, so just stay put.”

“She has made the Elder of the Celestine Church so miserable, what are you saying—!”

“I’m saying there must have been a reason. The Saint already knows about this. I will explain gradually, so please calm down, Lady Scarlet.”

The smile disappeared from Rudvik’s face.

It was like looking in a mirror.

Looking at Secti— also known as Scarlet, it was like seeing Rudvik himself from not too long ago.

The sight of someone raging, unable to distinguish between serving the Celestine Church and the Celestial Deity when it should be so clear which to serve.

It was even painful because it was like seeing Rudvik’s former self.

Probably he too had been like that.

The gazes of those around him looking at him must have been like that too.

If on that day, the Saintess Bigrand hadn’t given him a scathing criticism.

If on that day, the Celestial Deity hadn’t given him a severe reprimand.

Rudvik would probably still be buried in the Celestine Church rather than the Celestial Deity.

“There is a purpose to this. When the time comes, I will explain everything to Lady Scarlet as well, so for now, just leave it be.”

Only then did Secti calm her anger.

But she was still gripping the morning star tightly in her hand, and her readiness to rush at Yona at any moment had not subsided.

Meanwhile, Yona was approaching the center of the hall, dragging Ceres along while humming.

Alec too was following behind her with dignified steps.

“Where is it?”

“Back there. Go down the stairs. The Emperor… His Majesty the Emperor came earlier and personally showed me.”

“Okay, got it.”

At Bigrand’s answer, Yona looked past Bigrand with a face full of smiles.

Stairs curving up on both sides around the center of the hall.

In the middle of those stairs was a staircase leading down.

From where Yona was standing now, the bottom wasn’t visible, but as she approached the descending stairs, she could finally see the deep abyss leading down.

It was long.

A place that required going down for quite a while.

It’s a place that’s not even opened normally, and although they said it was opened now, isn’t it too deep for that?

But it didn’t matter anyway.

Stairs winding down and around.

She wondered why there was such a place in a guesthouse, but she didn’t particularly want to know the reason.

A place as sealed off as possible, and close to the guesthouse.

This was the place Amira had provided that met those requirements, so for Yona, it was just a matter of using it well.

Every time they went down the stairs, there was a thudding sound as the unconscious Ceres’s body hit the landings.

But Yona had no reason to be considerate of her condition, so without paying any attention, Yona came down the winding stairs for quite a while and finally stood in front of an iron door.

In front of the iron door, four imperial guards were standing in pairs on either side.

They, with no particular expression, looked at Yona with awkward expressions before bowing their heads, and Yona, ignoring them, approached them while dragging Ceres.

“We will open it.”

Yona didn’t answer the guards’ words.

But as if they hadn’t been waiting for an answer in the first place, the guards forcefully opened the iron door, and the extremely thick iron door opened with a heavy sound, spreading to both sides.

It wasn’t dark.

The room, with only two torches hanging, was quite bright as it wasn’t very large.

A room with nothing particularly strange about it.

But the single chair placed in the center of the room dominated the entire atmosphere.

A chair with iron pieces firmly fixed to restrain arms and legs.

Yona grinned when she saw that chair.

In fact, even this might not be enough.

She had been used that much by Ceres—

Although she doesn’t regret becoming the Saintess of the demon realm, Ceres had driven her to this situation.

‘If only you hadn’t had such a dog-like thought in the first place, things wouldn’t have come to this.’

Yona let go of Ceres’s hair.

After glancing at Ceres, who had become a sight one could hardly bear to look at after being dragged along, Yona looked at Alec once.

“Please, Alec.”

“Okay.”

Alec nodded at Yona’s gesture.

This time, Alec grabbed and lifted Ceres’s head, which had just been released from Yona’s hand.

The limp Ceres couldn’t resist at all— in fact, with all the ligaments and tendons in her wrists and ankles cut, Ceres wouldn’t be able to resist even if she wanted to.

Alec, who had lifted Ceres like that, sat her in the chair placed in the room.

Then he fastened the restraints on her wrists and ankles, and properly attached the magic sealing device that flowed through the entire chair.

“This should prevent her from escaping.”

“Most likely.”

With the ligaments and tendons in her wrists and ankles cut, and having been beaten repeatedly by Alec’s morning star, Ceres wouldn’t be able to do anything even if she tried. As for her recovery, while Yona could do it instantly if she wanted to— at least that wouldn’t happen. Yona had no intention of fully healing Ceres, and even now, she had only kept Ceres alive to the extent that she wouldn’t die.

“…I’m tired, let’s go up now.”

Ceres had not yet regained consciousness, and Yona intended to wait quietly for that.

Her hell should start from now on.

If one has thrown others into hell, one should be prepared to fall into hell oneself.

And when that hell finally appears before you with its jaws wide open, you should willingly fall.

That was Yona’s intention.

From now on, Yona intended to become Ceres’s hell.

*

“Why.”

“Please, explain.”

Yona frowned as she looked at Secti, who was blocking her way after walking up the stairs.

Who knew there were so many stairs, she didn’t realize when going down but coming up was breathtaking. She was forcibly holding back her panting breath, and just as she was about to take a deep breath, Secti appeared in front of her, preventing her from doing so.

“What explanation.”

“Elder Ceres is an elder of the Celestine Church. A person close to the Pope, I need an explanation as to how you could make such a person so miserable.”

“Ha…”

Yona let out a long sigh.

She was already tired enough.

This kind of explanation could have been heard from Bigrand, but Secti appearing in front of her like this asking for an explanation was quite displeasing.

She had become much better than her first impression. She had helped her, and hadn’t she saved Yona when dealing with Damian? But seeing her like this, the thought that cathedral knights were indeed hopeless crossed her mind.

“Go ask your Saintess for an explanation.”

“But you’re the one who laid hands on her, aren’t you? Please explain. I need to hear an explanation as to why you did this, why Elder Ceres had to be in such a miserable state.”

“…Move aside.”

It was extremely annoying.

Her patience was reaching its limit, and with the ominous feeling that it would explode if pushed a little more, Alec stepped forward.

“Baldy, what are you doing?”

Yona’s chilling voice stopped Alec in his tracks.

Alec, who had intended to persuade Secti nicely and send her away, stopped abruptly at Yona’s voice, and Yona came in front of Alec, blocking him and glaring at Secti.

“Hey. I’m extremely tired right now. I’m going through all this trouble because of you rotten people in the Celestine Church, so go ask your Saintess for an explanation. I need to rest now. Baldy, let’s go.”

At Yona’s words, Alec looked at Secti with sympathetic eyes.

Yona, who was already walking past Secti, turned around sharply when she didn’t hear Alec’s footsteps, and only relaxed her face when she saw Alec just passing by Secti.

“Come quickly.”

“I’m coming.”

Alec quickened his pace to stand beside Yona.

As Alec was returning to the center of the hall, Yona whispered softly in his ear.

“Don’t talk to other women. Not without my permission. Got it?”