Ch.48Side Story: Once Again

Christine carefully stepped onto the transparent mirror. Splash—a circular ripple spread across the mirror’s surface.

A red dye slowly diffused through the transparent blue-tinged water. The tips of her feet began to sink into it.

Christine shivered slightly as cold water seeped between her stocking-covered toes. Droplets of blood occasionally fell onto the water’s surface from her slightly bowed head.

The sight of red blood spreading through water so clear that the pebbles on the bottom were visible was like a painting in itself. The droplets of blood scattered, forming various supernatural patterns.

Christine sat down at the water’s edge. Her calves were now submerged in the lake. She pushed her knees in and alternately moved her legs, brushing the lake’s surface with her thighs, making splashing sounds.

The garter belts adorning her thighs struck the water’s surface in turns. With each movement, the lake rippled and waves formed.

After playing in the water for a while, Christine placed her hands on the lakebed and fully entered the lake. The water instantly rose to her waist.

Despite having just entered, the water already reached her waist, giving her a rough estimate of how deep the center might be.

The red dye spread more intensely around her submerged waist. The area where Christine had immersed herself was now more appropriately described as red rather than transparent.

Christine slowly walked toward the center of the lake. As always, this was not her blood. It was the blood of flesh offerings sacrificed for her god.

She clasped her hands in front of her chest. Her large breasts were compressed and distorted against her arms. With closed eyes, she walked toward the center of the lake, offering prayers.

“My God, please watch over this lamb today as well…”

The bottom gradually deepened. The water that had reached her waist now passed her navel and approached her solar plexus. Despite the certainty that her head would soon be completely submerged, Christine showed no concern.

There was no hesitation in her steps. Prayers flowed continuously from her lips.

Behind Christine, who moved forward one step at a time but with certainty, a red trail formed.

Red dye streamed from her long brown hair, half-submerged and scattered in all directions, mixing with the transparent liquid.

Perhaps because the lake was hidden deep in the forest, the water was extremely cold. Christine paid no attention to this either.

The water rose past her solar plexus to the lower part of her chest, submerging her clasped hands in the cold, and even as her upper chest disappeared into the water, Christine walked without pause.

And finally, her head submerged into the lake.

Underwater, Christine quietly offered prayers. The black nun’s habit covering her legs fluttered with the gentle currents.

Each time the habit fluttered, the pure white skin of her inner thighs, not fully covered by the garter belt, was faintly revealed. The composition just barely concealed her undergarments.

How much time had passed? When the blood thoroughly soaked into her nun’s habit and hair had mixed back with the lake, creating a completely crimson landscape around her, Christine opened her eyes.

With her eyes open, Christine moved through the red-dyed water. She walked calmly, step by step, as if climbing stairs. With each step, her body gradually rose.

Amazingly, Christine was slowly walking up onto the surface of ordinary water.

It was neither magic nor illusion. It was possible simply because Christine believed it would be so. This was her belief, her faith.

An ordinary person would have called it a miracle. But for Christine, this was nothing more than what she naturally ought to do.

With her faith in her god, what could be impossible?

Christine, having returned to the lake’s surface, stood with both feet on the water. Pink-tinged liquid, a mixture of water and blood, dripped from her soaked hair and nun’s habit.

“Amen.”

Having finished her brief prayer, Christine unclasped her hands from her chest and opened her eyes. Droplets of water clinging to her eyelashes ran down her face.

The sight of the brown-haired beauty standing on the lake’s surface, completely soaked, was extraordinarily dreamlike. It could almost make one mistake her for an angel briefly descended to earth.

Regardless of what she herself thought, one could guarantee that any third party witnessing this would undoubtedly agree—though they would likely pay for the sight with their lives.

Breaking the silence, a growling sound came from somewhere. Christine, who had not missed the small sound, clenched her fist.

She had no time to waste on worthless beasts that weren’t even fit to be offerings. Christine recalled meeting her god two days ago.

It had been such a joyful and sweet experience. If her god had asked her to die for him, she could have offered her insignificant life without a moment’s hesitation.

She couldn’t guarantee how long it would take to offer a thousand sacrifices for that joyful and sweet experience again. And now something was interfering. An unpleasant feeling began to creep up.

From beyond a fallen tree, a monster revealed its hideous form. Saliva dripped from between its tightly closed lips. Its red eyes gleamed.

It was a beast that appeared to be at least 3 meters tall from foot to shoulder. Its head was positioned at twice Christine’s height.

Its overall body length seemed to exceed 10 meters. Including the tail attached behind, it was an enormously large monster beyond imagination.

The creature slowly circled the lakeside where Christine stood, scanning its opponent on all fours. Its feet trampled on several pieces of flesh.

All were pieces of flesh from the torn and crushed corpses of monsters.

Along with them were broken trees, blood mixed everywhere, and soil completely dug up and overturned. The area around the lake had been transformed into a complete mess.

Christine, the actual perpetrator of all this destruction, didn’t move at all. Now, she needed to offer a prayer of repentance to her god.

It was a prayer of repentance for wasting time on such useless acts when she should be seeing her god as soon as possible.

The monster opened its mouth and roared. Then it crouched down, leaped, and rushed toward Christine in one bound.

And it fell ungracefully into the lake.

This was only natural. Just because Christine could walk on water didn’t mean the monster could do the same.

The monster, having fallen into the lake, flailed about and let out a pain-filled scream. Christine merely watched.

The monster’s body, struggling with all its might in the water, began to dissolve instantly. Its skin burned away, revealing the muscle tissue underneath, and its black blood mixed with the water.

“So it was a beast with black blood.”

Christine offered a prayer of thanks to her god for guiding her to this wise decision, confirming that she had done well not to use it as an offering.

Meanwhile, the monster continued to dissolve without pause. Its fur fell out, muscles melted to reveal bones, and joints separated.

The sounds coming from the monster gradually subsided. Roars turned to screams, screams to groans, and finally, no sound was heard at all.

With bubbling bubbles and eyes sinking to the bottom, the massive monster completely dissolved and disappeared. It was an utterly futile end.

Suddenly, the lake began to purify the monster’s blood and flesh on its own.

The black blood turned transparent, and the flesh dissolved even more perfectly. The red liquid washed from Christine had already turned into clear water long ago.

Due to Christine’s brief immersion, the lake itself had transformed into powerful holy water overflowing with divine power, enough to dissolve even that massive monster in no time.

Despite being holy water of such quality that even a small perfume bottle of it could fetch dozens of gold coins, Christine showed not the slightest interest.

To Christine, money was nothing more than meaningless metal fragments. She simply accumulated it for her god who would someday come.

“Ah, my God.”

Instead, she took out a small skull hanging from her waist garter belt and licked it. This was one of her habits when her excitement reached its peak.

“You told me to come to you when a black-blooded monster appeared—”

Shudder—Christine’s body trembled. It had been only two days since she had seen her god. The thought that she could see that divine countenance again was too exciting to contain.

“—As quickly as possible, I shall receive your revelation…”