Chapter 374

“…”

The Saint’s face was blackened and decayed.

A foul stench assaulted my nose.

Why hadn’t I noticed it before?

My gaze trembled as I looked at her covered left eye.

The pupil had vanished, and the eye was filled with an inky blackness.

I clenched my fists unconsciously.

This…

What was this?

Who could believe that this was the face of the most sacred being in the world?

This rotten, corrupted face.

“I’m sorry. Did I surprise you?”

Her casual tone made my heart sink even further.

“I… I don’t understand…”

I barely managed to speak.

“That’s understandable. It’s only natural.”

She muttered and reached for something on the bedside table.

I realized it was a cigarette.

“Huh?”

“May I smoke?”

“Y-Yes, of course…”

*Snap*

She lit the cigarette with a flick of her finger and took a drag, exhaling a plume of smoke.

“Phew.”

“…”

I had never heard of the Saint smoking, let alone seen her do it.

I stared at her in shock, and she looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, “What’s the big deal?”

“What are you looking at? You know there’s no rule against smoking in the Holy Church’s doctrines, right?”

“Y-Yes, of course…”

“Even priests are human. And so is the Saint. We need ways to relieve stress.”

“…”

Her words made me realize the immense burden she carried.

It must have been the same a thousand years ago when she saved the world from ruin, and it must be the same now, as she faced another impending apocalypse.

She should have been able to live a peaceful life as the hero who had saved the world, surrounded by the blessings and mourning of all.

But now I realized that she was still alive because of some heavy responsibility, not out of her own volition.

Knowing about the cruel and ruthless measures she had taken against heretics during her reign, I had judged her to be a person with a cold and ruthless side hidden beneath her benevolent and gentle facade.

But now… I was starting to think that maybe that wasn’t her true nature.

What if the Saint, the Miracle of God, had known about the future crisis that would befall the world?

What if she was someone who would do anything to save the world?

Everything started to make sense.

Why she was still alive, why she had so ruthlessly suppressed heretics, why she had sealed all the dangerous powers in the secret library…

Maybe she had been carrying the heaviest burden in the world all her life…

“Phew.”

As she exhaled another plume of smoke, I spoke in a serious tone.

“I’m sorry, Saint. It must have been hard for you.”

“Pfft?!”

She spat out the cigarette instead of smoke.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

She even started coughing.

“What are you talking about?”

She even slipped into informal speech, which meant she was flustered.

…Honestly, even I thought it was a cheesy thing to say.

I had gotten caught up in the moment.

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.

“I just… felt empathy for you.”

“Empathy? Why are you looking at me like I’m a lost lamb?”

“Gasp, was I?”

“Do you think you’ll live forever?”

“No, I never said…”

“…”

“…”

“Oh my, I got you there.”

She smoothly brushed her hair back, as if she hadn’t just lost her composure.

“I got a little carried away by your attempt to test my patience.”

…I would never do such a pointless thing.

But I decided not to argue.

“Well, you can think that if you want.”

“Heh, I didn’t live this long for nothing.”

“…”

I decided to keep my mouth shut.

It seemed like I needed to revise my judgment of the Saint.

…She had her flaws too.

Anyway, thanks to my unintentional blunder, the heavy atmosphere had lightened somewhat.

I picked up the cigarette butt from the floor and threw it in the trash can, like a good student.

“You’re such a good student.”

“Ah, yes, it’s my duty to respect my elders.”

“Pfft!”

She spat out the cigarette again.

Ugh, another cigarette butt.

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Because you hate cigarette smoke! Alright, alright! I won’t smoke! It’s disgusting!”

“…”

I had a lot to say, but I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Like a good student, I picked up the unsmoked cigarette and handed it to her.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

What was this awkward silence?

Why were we suddenly having a staring contest?

“This isn’t… another act of respecting your elders, is it?”

“…No, it’s not. Really, it’s not.”

“Phew.”

Why was she sighing in relief?

“Anyway, I’ll just tell you, alright?”

She put the cigarette away obediently, as she had promised.

She was a woman of her word.

“Yes, please.”

“Then I should start by explaining the truth about what happened in the past.”

She began her explanation, her expression turning serious.

* * *

“The will of God has already been decided. Both in the past and now.”

“What do you mean…?”

“To destroy this world, which is stained with sin and corruption, and create a new one.”

“Ah, I saw it on the last floor of the underground. That the Dark God is actually God’s agent of judgment…”

I recalled the memory.

“Then that makes things easier.”

She continued without hesitation.

“Evil will be destroyed by evil. But the agent of judgment is neither light nor holy. It’s a manifestation of calamity. A conglomeration of slaughter, destruction, plague, darkness, and all things negative. So it’s not wrong to call it the Dark God.”

It was the first time I had heard this.

I had a feeling that most of what I was about to hear would be new to me.

So I listened intently to her words.

“Anyway, I was the first human to learn about God’s calamity. Because I was the Saint, born with God’s blessings. Naturally, God wanted me to participate in the cleansing of the world. But how could I, a mere human, do such a thing?”

“…”

The heavy burden she had carried all her life…

The story of its origin had begun.

I didn’t offer any empty words of comfort.

I knew that it was better to just listen silently.

“I refused to eat or drink and begged God until I was on the verge of death. I begged him not to abandon this world, to forgive us, to give us one more chance. I couldn’t give up. I thought it was my duty as the Saint, as a human. And did my desperate plea reach God? He spoke to me. He said that if the world could stop the calamity with its own power, he would give us one more chance.”

“…You were the one who gave the world a chance, Saint.”

“It was a relief.”

Her gaze seemed distant, as if she was looking at the past.

A thousand years ago.

“But there was no time to celebrate. A time of terrible struggle awaited us. The calamity had already begun. People were dying from the plague.”

The Great Plague that had brought death to countless people a thousand years ago.

I knew what she was talking about.

“I soon realized that there was no cure. It was God’s calamity. A calamity that couldn’t be stopped unless we eliminated the root cause. So I traveled the world and told everyone. That we had to gather a force to defeat the Dark God. But,”

“…”

“No one listened to me. It was futile.”

“Why…?”

“Back then, I wasn’t revered as the Saint. I was just an unknown girl from the countryside.”

“Ah.”

I understood the situation and let out a short gasp.

The Saint had only become a hero and a revered figure after playing a decisive role in defeating the Dark God.

Before that, she had been a nobody.

“Then how…?”

“That’s when I met him. The wisest, most brilliant, and greatest mage in the world.”

“Him? Who is he?”

If I knew him, he must have been a famous person.

Like…

“The Great Sage?”

“That’s right. You’re a smart student.”

“Thank you.”

The Great Sage must have been a renowned figure even back then.

With his help, she would have been able to…

“But you don’t know his other identity, do you?”

Her unexpected words interrupted my thoughts.

“He had another identity? I had no idea. It doesn’t seem like something that’s widely known…”

“Of course not. Only a handful of people know. Like the executives of the organization, his confidants, and me.”

Huh?

Why was she suddenly talking about an organization?

Had the Great Sage founded some kind of secret organization?

“What organization are you talking about?”

“Red Rain.”

“…Huh?”

I was taken aback by her unexpected answer.

I thought I had misheard her.

But,

“The Heavenly Lord of Red Rain is him. The Great Sage.”

Her next words made my jaw drop.

“W-What?!”

* * *

“I told you, didn’t I? I know the Heavenly Lord of Red Rain.”

“…”

I remembered her saying that.

…But who could have imagined that it was him?

One of the two greatest heroes who had saved the world alongside the Saint.

The legendary hero who had saved the world was now trying to destroy it by resurrecting the Dark God?

It was absurd.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

Then please explain it to me.

“But let’s put that aside for now.”

Why…?

“You need to hear the rest of the story to understand.”

…Alright.

“Let’s continue. I told the Great Sage everything. I was worried that he would dismiss me as a crazy person, but he was different.”

As expected of the Great Sage.

“He had already sensed the world’s crisis in his own way. So he was surprised when he heard my story. And…”

Her voice was filled with emotion.

“We decided to join forces and save the world.”