Ch. 131 🔒 The Saintess and Her Guardian (9)
by Afuhfuihgs
Chapter 131 – The Saintess and Her Guardian (9)
“An intruder?”
Edel frowned and drew his demonic sword.
The sudden appearance of the Saintess clearly didn’t sit well with him.
Perhaps his instincts recoiled at the clash between his demonic energy and her holy power—natural opposites.
“Edel. Wait.”
I stopped him before he could swing his sword at the Saintess.
Her faded blonde hair and golden eyes, reminiscent of Leo’s Holy Eye. A petite frame that reminded me of Josie at fifteen. With only one pair of wings manifested—far from the three she could awaken as her power grew—she posed no real threat.
Vempir had been a bit troublesome to seal, but this Saintess? A single swing of Triceratops would finish her off.
And yet…
My hand hovered, neither striking nor firing a spell.
Because…
“Hold on, Gray. I’ll get revenge and follow you soon.”
Her desperate plea, like a puppy trying to protect its master from a tiger, was pitiful.
From calling her Guardian by his name to the way her halo pulsed red, warning her of the danger Edel and I posed, yet she refused to back down.
It was obvious she had come to save someone she loved.
‘Cough… Kid…’
And that thrall who had clung to me earlier—even unconscious, he must have been calling out to her.
Less than five minutes in, and my pure love sensor—no, my Witch of Love intuition—was ringing loudly.
Agnes and Floria, the protagonists of Aria Chronicle’s third arc, had also been a Saintess-Guardian pair. But to witness such devotion 200 years early…
I barely caught myself before drooling, quickly wiping my mouth with my sleeve.
Haa… What do I do?
Should I ignore the Saintess, seal the thrall, and head to the ocean? Or… indulge in the pure love my instincts were screaming about?
[What if Vempir wakes up again? Doesn’t matter how sweet this is—just seal them and go. Agnes and Floria will be waiting in 200 years anyway.]
That was Angel Estelle speaking—rational and practical.
[Who cares about Vempir? If the Saintess uses her Ulti to undo the thrall curse, Vempir won’t have a body to transfer into. Sealing a Heavenly King is fine, but are you really gonna walk away from free, delicious pure love? What’s the point of being a witch then?]
That was Devil Estelle—impulsive but persuasive.
…The ocean could wait a little longer, right?
In the end, Devil Estelle won.
After all, I became a witch for moments like this.
If the Saintess used Ulti to perform a miracle, even Vempir’s thrall curse wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Angel! We have to kill the witch to avenge Gray! Why aren’t you listening to me?! Are you messing with me? I’m the Saintess! You’re supposed to obey me!”
The Saintess clearly hadn’t mastered controlling her angel yet.
Despite her frantic efforts to attack us, the angel deemed it too dangerous and only hovered threateningly—not even launching a minor strike.
It probably wasn’t because of me… Was she scared of Edel? But as natural enemies, they should’ve been at each other’s throats.
…Was it Triceratops?
I channeled mana into the weapon, its blood-red horns gleaming. The halo trembled.
…Oh.
Of course. Angels would recognize it instantly.
Either way, I should clear up the misunderstanding first.
“Seems like there’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t do this to him. And he’s not dead—I don’t plan on killing him either.”
I spoke carefully to the flustered Saintess, who was still reeling from her angel’s disobedience.
I hadn’t attacked her Guardian, after all.
“Shut up! You think I’d believe a witch?! Gray told me witches enchant people with lies!”
See? This is why I hate the Holy Kingdom. They dismiss everything a witch says as deception.
“If you don’t trust me, why not ask your angel?”
The angel who bestowed Leo’s Holy Eye and the one serving this Saintess were different.
Leo’s was crafted directly by God, while hers was a coalescence of divine fragments that gained sentience.
Though weaker in raw power, it stayed by her side constantly, growing stronger as she did—unlocking more wings until it rivaled Leo’s.
Like a growth-type sentient weapon.
Even with just one pair of wings, it should easily sense that her Guardian was still alive.
“Angel… is the witch telling the truth? Is Gray… still alive?”
Bzzzt…
The halo vibrated, relaying the answer.
“Really…? Gray’s alive. Thank goodness…”
The angel’s response was no different from mine—yet the trust she placed in it was worlds apart.
“See? Now will you listen—”
“Angel! If we’re not fighting, let’s go back to the capital!”
A pulse of radiant light erupted from the Saintess. Her coarse language aside, the wild fluctuations of holy energy made me wince.
It coalesced into massive wings, enveloping her and the Guardian.
Dimensional Shift.
A skill Floria used in Aria Chronicle’s third arc—different from my teleportation. As long as holy energy existed at the destination, a Saintess could go anywhere. Seeing it in person was as dazzling as in the game.
As I admired the spectacle, Edel gently gripped my shoulder.
“Estelle… Is it alright to let them go?”
He watched them with concern. If they left now, they’d reach the Holy Capital—and we’d lose our chance to seal Vempir’s thrall. Worse, they might execute him upon realizing he’d been corrupted.
Vempir would lose her vessel, but I’d also miss out on the Saintess’s pure love.
“It’s fine. They won’t make it.”
I calmly observed the Saintess’s failed escape.
“Why…?! Angel, why can’t we go?! You won’t attack, you won’t move—what can you do?!”
That skill—Dimensional Shift—had a one-week cooldown with just one pair of wings.
Since she’d already used it to come here, she couldn’t cast it again so soon.
Unfamiliar with back-to-back attempts, the Saintess panicked, lashing out at her helpless angel.
As the dazzling light fizzled into scattered feathers, I stepped forward slowly.
“Stay back! You just want to devour Gray, don’t you?!”
“Me? Why would I want some scruffy old man?”
“I heard it from Carté! Witches eat people!”
The Saintess was gone—only a bristling, cornered animal remained.
A normal Saintess would pray to God in this situation… Yet instead of praying, she glared like she’d bite if I got closer.
“Grr… Hisss—!!”
When I reached out experimentally, she actually bit me.
Ironically, where Vempir had failed, this Saintess succeeded spectacularly.
Now what?
With my credibility in the gutter, no amount of sweet-talking would work…
Fine. If she wanted a witch, I’d act like one.
“Ahem! You’re right. Saw through my plan, didn’t you? I was just about to enjoy a human snack when you interrupted.”
I deepened my voice, leaning into the menace.
Finally convinced the witch had shown her true colors, the Saintess bit down harder.
“I cursed him. A delicious curse. Even if you take him back, the Holy Kingdom will execute him for being tainted by a witch.”
“I’m the Saintess! You think I’d let that happen to Gray?!”
She released my hand to retort.
“Then take him. Want me to escort you to the capital? You know how they are—anyone linked to a witch gets purged. Even the Saintess’s beloved won’t be spared.”
The Heresy Inquisitors were infamous. Her Guardian would end up on a pyre, no matter how much she begged.
“Carté said Lucia too…”
Muttering to herself, the Saintess slumped.
If my Pure Love Sensor was right, she’d never let her Guardian die. Hell, she’d bit me to protect him.
The fact she’d ventured into a dungeon alone for him said everything.
Using Dimensional Shift just to find him? That was devotion.
“So? Be eaten by me… or watch him burn by the Inquisitors. Either way, he dies. What a shame—you came all this way for nothing.”
I whispered the final blow, and fat tears rolled down her face.
“Uu… I don’t want Gray to die. He’s all I have… Why does everyone bully me?”
Ah… This.
A sugar-sweet warmth flooded my mouth.
Stay calm, Estelle. Don’t lose it now.
“Well… There is a way. I’ll give you three days to perform a miracle strong enough to break the curse. If he’s blessed, he’ll be too gross to eat anyway.”
“R-Really?”
She grabbed my sleeve, looking up with tear-filled eyes—now sparkling with hope.
After refusing to believe me earlier, she clung to my words like gospel.
Even if reviving the dead required three pairs of wings… True love could awaken miracles.
Just like Saintess Floria in Aria Chronicle.
“But if you fail… You know what happens, right?”
The tighter the deadline, the sweeter the love. There’s a reason tragic romance sells.
“Even if I die… I’ll save Gray.”
She wiped her tears, steeling herself.
“Oh? Then I’ll look forward to it.”
If she performed the miracle, Vempir’s thrall curse would break.
Even if Vempir had already transferred her soul, losing the thrall would force her back into her sealed body. All I had to do was keep her contained.
And for three days, I’d savor the Saintess and her Guardian’s bittersweet, doomed love story.
Two birds with one stone.
Sorry, Edel.
The ocean can wait three days.
My heart raced—this would be the sweetest love I’d tasted in ages.
Lucent
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