episode_0053

[──, You have gained Veronica’s favor. The quest has been completed.]

I stared blankly at the screen.

Her class was still hidden.

As if deliberately concealed.

‘This feels awful.’

There was a lot to think about.

That bizarre, demonic presence I had witnessed moments ago.

Volkan, who had been helplessly defeated by that demon.

And the Cradle, reduced to ashes.

It was said that the Cradle’s military strength was terrifying.

It wasn’t just the Guild Master and Volkan.

There were also monsters referred to as Level 9.

And those who had ventured into the depths of the labyrinth, known as the Abyss.

Yet, an existence capable of effortlessly destroying such a Cradle…

‘……My head hurts.’

Suddenly, there was too much to process.

The Cradle, engulfed in flames and collapsing.

A demon with six arms and wings of black fire.

……There was one person who came to mind with high probability.

Veronica.

The woman currently holding the title of Saintess in the Cradle. No less than the words of the Hao-Munju himself.

If she, who possessed such information, said it, it was likely true.

But.

‘Then, there’s no need to hide her class.’

What exactly do you want from me?

The reason her class was concealed—

Perhaps it was because she wasn’t the Saintess.

‘Honestly, it doesn’t make sense, but…’

A being called the Saintess.

And a demon that stood in contrast to her. There didn’t seem to be any connection between the two.

However, one thing was certain.

The Church was not to be trusted.

—Ah, by the way, just in case, don’t trust the Church. Do you know how sinister they are? Human experimentation is just the beginning—they even tried to create a Saintess…

Recalling those words, I grimaced.

‘Creating a Saintess…’

Before playing the game, I hadn’t fully grasped the meaning of that. But now, I understood how absurd it was.

In this world, the innate talent known as a Gift determined who became a Hero.

Yet, they were trying to force its creation?

Human experimentation and all sorts of atrocities were involved.

‘Are they trying to forcibly awaken or manufacture a Gift?’

If that were the case, then the Church was…

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of someone running echoed.

Wondering who was approaching from behind, I turned around—

“Where do you think you’re running off to?!”

A woman was charging toward me with fierce determination.

Fluttering silver hair, golden eyes that shimmered—it was the Saintess, Veronica.

‘……Why is she chasing me?’

I wore a bewildered expression.

“You’re just going to ignore my request, take the core, and run away?”

What exactly did I take?

Flustered, I quickly hid in the shadows.

Fortunately, the dim moonlight made it easy to conceal myself in the darkness.

‘The problem is…’

She was faster than me.

That Saintess, Veronica, was overwhelmingly quicker.

‘If I keep running in one direction, I’m done for.’

Outwardly, she seemed slower than me, despite holding the class of a clergy member.

‘Is it a level difference?’

She might have been at least Level 6.

As I fled, I found myself cornered in a dead-end alley.

“Haa, you’re making this difficult.”

Veronica smirked, confident she had caught me.

I attached a dagger to the end of my Shadow Reaper and embedded it into the top of the wall.

Thud.

Using it as leverage, I swiftly scaled the wall. Combined with the Parkour ability granted by the Thief’s Ultimate, I cleared the wall in the blink of an eye.

“Huh?”

Leaving behind a dumbfounded Veronica, I waved lightly and escaped.

‘But why am I even running?’

Well, I shook her off, so it shouldn’t matter, right?

Just as I thought that—

Whoosh!

A golden light erupted behind me.

Simultaneously, an overwhelming surge of divine energy was unleashed.

‘This is……’

I had seen Rosante cast spells on us using divine energy a few times.

Given her position as a Saintess candidate, I thought her divine energy was immense, but—

‘This……’

It was at least ten times greater than hers.

Now that I thought about it, I had heard something.

Hero candidates competed to level up, and once they reached Level 6, the Hero competition was practically over.

If that were the case—

‘At least Level 6……’

And judging by the sheer volume of divine energy she was releasing—

‘Isn’t this dangerous?’

She didn’t seem hostile.

But there was no reason to just take it.

I reached out. A sensation of my hand disappearing somewhere—

‘So this is divine energy.’

An incredibly warm power flowed through my hand.

However, I instinctively realized that wielding it for anything was beyond me.

—Divine energy is a force that exists above mana and aura.

Volkan’s words came to mind.

Unless I obtained something related to it, I wouldn’t be able to use it.

Or unless my level rose high enough to acquire those abilities.

Roughly dispersing the divine energy, I stepped back into the shadows.

“What the…?”

Only a dazed voice followed.

After the chase with Veronica,

I managed to return to the inn.

‘A bit late, but…’

Just in case, I took detours through alleys, and now that I was sure I wasn’t being followed, I finally arrived.

‘Suddenly, I feel exhausted.’

Too much had happened today.

My head was a mess.

The demon.

The fallen Cradle.

And Veronica.

With so much tangled together, I let out a deep sigh as I entered the inn.

The inn was as usual.

Adventurers drinking, others eating.

I trudged upstairs.

What exactly had I witnessed?

‘A demon…’

In this world, there existed a Demon King.

The Demon King was a being that threatened the world.

But not in this game’s setting. Humans had already slain the Demon King using only Heroes.

With the emergence of labyrinths, humanity had achieved tremendous growth.

‘There are a few concerning things, though.’

Many believed that defeating the Demon King now wouldn’t even be surprising.

Heroes were just tools for factions to secure their interests.

That was the perception among knowledgeable adventurers and people.

But.

‘Volkan said the Demon King had only appeared once in a thousand years.’

And had never been slain.

Ermei was the same. She spoke as if wary of the Demon King.

Her tone suggested it was still too distant a matter to worry about.

Lost in thought, I eventually dozed off.

The next morning.

Tonight was important.

The day the labyrinth party members had agreed to gather.

‘Originally, this should’ve been done right after returning alive, but…’

The elves had kept me too preoccupied.

—……You really know how to hit a sore spot.

‘Well, it’s in the past now.’

I felt nothing about it anymore.

If that ambush hadn’t happened, something else would have. And Liciel had subtly helped me more since then than during the attack.

—That’s true. More importantly…… Hm?

Liciel cut herself off mid-sentence.

She was looking outside. I followed her gaze and froze. There was someone there I shouldn’t have seen.

—That’s a bit much, but… I can’t help but agree somewhat.

Liciel nodded quietly.

A woman stood there.

Silver hair glowing with benevolence.

“What’s the matter?”

“Friend, I apologize for interrupting your intimate moment.”

“What’s the matter?”

“Th-that sinister woman is outside.”

“Sinister woman?”

“Ah, yes. The so-called ‘hero’ your human race has already decided on.”

“Hero? What are you—”

My face stiffened.

From behind Burkan, a woman emerged with a sly smile.

Golden eyes that radiated holiness, silver hair.

Even now, looking at her, I couldn’t associate her with that demon.

Yet, all evidence pointed to her.

‘……In times like these.’

A head-on confrontation was the answer.

But.

‘This woman…’

She followed me here.

In that short time, she had figured out my identity and tracked me to the inn.

……In other words, I was quite well-known in this city.

Then again, my violet eyes were already quite distinctive.

“If you run away this time, I’ll really get angry, okay?”

A mix of formal and informal speech.

The Saintess, Veronica, clenched her fists as she spoke.

I quietly stood up.

“……What brings the Saintess here?”

“Oh my, if it isn’t Lucia, renowned in the [Cradle]. Pleased to meet you.”

Veronica smiled sweetly.

But to me, it sounded like:

—Oh, the infamous Executioner Princess of the Cradle~ How scary.

“The revered Saintess of the Church, visiting a man at this hour… And what exactly are the two of you planning to do alone at this late hour?”

“Is that important? Even if it is, it’s none of your— Oh-ho.”

Veronica’s expression turned amused.

Her lips curled into a smirk.

“Well, this is fun, but I’ll borrow him for a bit. It’s not like you’re losing anything.”

With that, Veronica grabbed my hand and pulled me into an alley.

Fine, good.

Let’s settle this.

At that moment, I truly believed that.

To be honest.

I still don’t get it.

Stealing souls is a demon’s ultimate technique.

It takes what I intend to steal, but…

Sometimes, it acts on its own.

In other words, this situation had nothing to do with my will.

I stared at the golden gem now in my hand.

[The Saintess’s Purity]

“…….”

Why the hell did I steal this?

No, I shouldn’t call it that, but…

I felt like crying. Suppressing the urge to bury my face in my hands, I looked at Veronica.

‘……This isn’t what I wanted.’

What am I even supposed to do with this?

“……Wh-what are you planning to do with that?! D-don’t tell me you’re going to blackmail me with it?!”

Veronica gasped, covering her chest with both hands.

In the end, I did bury my face in my hands.

‘Please, don’t do this to me.’