Chapter 141 – The Saintess and Her Guardian (19)

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Moonlight poured through a gaping hole in one side of the room.

Amidst the swirling miasma of demonic energy and bloodlust, holy power clashed violently, sending sparks flying through the turbulent air.

Countless angel feathers fluttered in the chaos, and at the center of it all sat the Saintess, looking utterly lost.

The Guardian was nowhere to be seen—something must have happened to him.

“Mister…”

The Saintess called out for him with a vacant expression, her voice trembling.

Thanks to the angel’s power, she remained unharmed despite the explosion—save for a single wound: her split lip, from which blood trickled down.

The vampire inside the Guardian, starved of blood, shouldn’t have been able to act—so had the blood from her lip accidentally dripped into the Guardian’s mouth?

That must have been it. The vampiric entity within the Guardian, Vempir, had regained her strength and unleashed a catastrophic explosion of blood magic, demonic energy, and divine power—shattering the magic seals and escaping.

And now, with just a day left until the promised three days were up, she decided to cause trouble.

“This is perfect.”

A pure romance needed just the right amount of hardship to be truly delicious—and until now, things had been a little too bland.

The whole “witch food” facade and the hidden thrall condition hadn’t been enough.

Had I been alone, I might’ve played the villain myself—but with Edel here…

I didn’t want him to see me as some sharp-tongued, villainous witch, so I had been holding back. But now that Vempir had taken the initiative to stir things up, this couldn’t have worked out better.

A romance like the Saintess’s needed a Four Heavenly King-level obstacle to really shine!

“Perfect? What’s so perfect about this?!”

Just as I was silently thanking Vempir in my heart, the Saintess turned her wrath on me, her weak voice laced with fury.

“What did you do to him? Were you afraid I’d perform a miracle, so you did something to him?!”

With no way of knowing about Vempir, the Saintess glared at me with suspicion.

From her perspective, the Guardian’s behavior must have seemed like my doing.

“The three days aren’t up yet. I still have time. So why…?!”

Tears spilled from her eyes, mingling with the blood from her lips before splattering onto the floor.

If only she’d listened to me from the start.

If only I hadn’t fed into the whole “witch food” nonsense.

Would she have believed me if I’d told her the truth now? That her guardian had become Vempir’s thrall?

She had distrusted me from the beginning simply because I was a witch—so even if I told her the truth now, that the Guardian had become Vempir’s thrall, she wouldn’t believe me.

One lie begets another, they say.

At this point, I had no choice but to commit to the act.

It felt strange, taking the blame for Vempir’s actions—but for a witch like me, this was a small price to pay to witness the Saintess’s pure love unfold.

“Isn’t this when things get interesting? You weren’t showing any signs of performing a miracle, so I had to step in.”

I laughed mockingly, pouring as much venom into my voice as I could muster.

“Eeeek…! Witch, if only you weren’t here!”

Her two pairs of wings flared as she unleashed a concentrated blast of holy power.

I couldn’t help but admire it—this was the real thing, far purer and denser than the divine energy wielded by the Heresy Inquisitors I’d faced before.

I quickly deployed a magic circle to block it.

Unlike the trick Vempir had shown me, this was true holy power, like Leo’s—and it shattered my defenses with terrifying force.

I had layered five magic circles as a precaution, but four of them were obliterated in an instant.

This is why elemental matchups matter.

If this were a game, the level gap between me and the Saintess would be massive.

No matter how much dark magic I used, I couldn’t withstand true holy power…

“DIIIIEEEE!!!”

If she awakened a third pair of wings, dodging would be smarter than blocking.

Lost in thought, I barely noticed the last magic circle cracking—

If I let this continue, I’d end up making a fool of myself in front of Edel.

So I summoned my Triceratops.

As I channeled mana into it, the three horns sprouted forth, slicing the divine blast clean in half and redirecting its trajectory.

BOOM—!

The already unstable cathedral, weakened by Vempir’s earlier explosion, finally collapsed.

Debris rained down as the two-story structure crumbled.

I activated another magic circle to shield myself from the falling wreckage.

Dust clouded my vision.

I quickly dispersed it with a spell, clearing my sight—

Just in time to avoid a surprise attack that would’ve left a hole or two in my body.

As the dust settled, angel feathers fluttered in the wind—but the Saintess was nowhere to be seen.

“She ran.”

Edel emerged from the rubble, dusting off his clothes as he scanned the area.

“Ehehe. Well, this just got more interesting.”

Run wasn’t the right word.

If I were her, I’d ditch the witch and rush to find the Guardian—to perform a miracle no matter what.

Who would’ve thought she’d actually strategize instead of just screaming ‘DIE!’ and firing holy beams?

The way her halo had vibrated when I cut through her attack suggested her angel had advised her.

Hopefully, she doesn’t get herself killed playing hero.

If the Saintess—who believed the Guardian was cursed to become “witch food”—got bitten by Vempir, that would be a whole new mess.

A Heavenly King wielding the Saintess’s power?

The Guardian’s unstable divine energy had only caused explosions—but true holy power in Vempir’s hands would be catastrophic.

Angels weren’t blind—they’d recognize Vempir, and withhold their power… probably.

In the original game, it was said that Vempir had possessed a Saintess and wielded an angel’s strength.

Please don’t tell me this Saintess is that Saintess…

Or worse—what if she performed a miracle in my absence to save the Guardian?

After investing three whole days, missing the climax would be unbearable.

“Edel, do you sense any demonic energy nearby? She couldn’t have gone far.”

Well, I was planning to track the Guardian down anyway.

If Vempir had taken over, she’d be leaking demonic energy everywhere—and with Edel as my detector, I’d find the Guardian before the Saintess did.

“There’s a problem.”

“A problem?”

“Not one. Dozens.”

Dozens?!

Had Vempir set up some kind of decoy to throw us off?

I shot him a bewildered look, but Edel nodded with certainty.

“I’m sure. Unlike some, I don’t lie.”

“W-Why bring that up now?!”

Was he mocking me for lying to the Saintess?!

So what if a witch tells a few lies?!

“Anyway! Let’s go!”

If I let Edel distract me any longer, the Saintess might get bitten—and that would be a headache.

No matter how many demonic signatures there were, hunting them down one by one would lead me to Vempir eventually.

I mounted my broom, channeling mana to take off toward Edel’s coordinates.

 

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…Or so I thought.

After losing count of how many monster-infested demon stones we’d destroyed, neither Vempir nor the Saintess’s divine energy were anywhere in sight.

I was starting to feel like I’d been led on a wild goose chase.

“Next is that way.”

“Edel, wait. Can’t you sense where the Heavenly King is instead of these small fry?”

I stopped him as he pointed to the next destination, watching another demon stone crumble to dust.

At this rate, I’d be stuck fighting monsters all night.

The thought of wasting more time made me tap my foot impatiently.

“This is the best I can do. They all carry her aura. None are particularly strong—it’s evenly distributed.”

Somehow, Vempir had spread her presence across the horde of monster-controlling demon stones to throw off Edel’s detection.

I couldn’t just unleash a wide-range spell like I had during the Venetia harvest—not with the Holy Kingdom watching. If they got involved, things would get messy.

I knew Heavenly Kings could control demon stone-infested monsters—but using them as decoys like this?

Wait.

Heavenly Kings?

“Edel, you were a Heavenly King too, right?”

“Yes. Didn’t you ask me that before?”

He gave me a blank, slightly pitying look.

I-I can forget things sometimes!

With how he’d been acting more like a hormone-driven teenager than a legendary warrior, I kept forgetting Edel was a Heavenly King.

This is what I get.

Forget the Black Knight—Perverted, Oblivious, Sexual Harasser, Perverted Knight suited him better.

“Perverted” twice for emphasis.

“That’s not the point right now. Demon stones—you can control them, can’t you?”

“I’ve never tried, but it’s possible. I see. You want to draw them out instead of chasing them.”

Thankfully, he caught on quickly, his eyes gleaming as he grasped my plan.

“If you call them, the monsters should come running, right? The one that doesn’t obey would be the Heavenly King.”

Even if they were under another Heavenly King’s command, monsters would instinctively follow the stronger presence—Edel’s.

Especially since the demon stones amplified their instincts.

Edel closed his eyes, focusing.

Demonic energy swirled around him as he summoned the horde.

Despite calling him a pervert earlier, seeing him wield his power like this reminded me—he was a Heavenly King.

When we first fought, I hadn’t fully grasped it—but after facing the Cursed Doll and Vempir, I realized just how absurd Edel’s demonic energy was.

Pure, unrestrained power that didn’t just obliterate the surroundings—it devoured the ambient mana, recreating the demonic realm’s energy-devoid wasteland.

Okay, maybe he does seem a little like a Heavenly King.

Watching Edel wield his power not as the Black Knight, but as himself, felt like witnessing a protagonist unveil their hidden strength.

I found myself staring, mesmerized—

Until Edel opened his eyes and pointed.

“Just as you said—all but one are gathering.”

“R-Really? Let’s go! We can’t miss the climax of the first pure romance we’re witnessing together!”

I held out my hand, expecting him to take it—but Edel just stared at it, unmoving.

“What’s wrong? If we delay any longer, we might be too late.”

“Hmm… This is my first time doing this. If I move, I might lose focus. She could slip away in the meantime. You go ahead—I’ll catch up soon.”

What kind of excuse is that?!

I awkwardly lowered my hand, resting it on my hip as I frowned at him.

No matter how much I urged him, Edel showed no intention of moving.

He was more accustomed to brute-force demonic energy expulsion than fine control—so maybe manipulating demon stones was difficult for him.

With a sigh, I hopped onto my Triceratops.

If we waited any longer, the saintess might perform her miracle—or get bitten by Vempir.

Either way, I couldn’t afford to miss it.

Fine. I’ll scout ahead.