Something Sweeter Than Victory

– Keueueo….

A groan, as if in pain, flowed from beneath the rubble of the collapsed cave.

Eventually, the Archbishop, having barely clawed his way out of the pile of rocks, was already a complete wreck.

It was as if his entire body had been offered as food to an eagle, with holes gouged out here and there.

It was only because he was no longer human that it was somewhat less grotesque; if it had been a human body, the entrails spilling from his abdomen and the brain matter pouring from his head would have added to the horror.

Kyle slowly approached him, who looked as if he was barely clinging to life.

“…You look like shit. Are you still thinking of doing more in that state?”

– You heinous heretic…! How dare you speak!

“Unfortunately, I’m not one to believe in gods.”

Kyle, shrugging his shoulders and smoothly deflecting the rebuke, looked at the Archbishop, who was still struggling, not completely free from the pile of rocks.

Anyone could see that he was in no condition to continue the battle.

The fact that he was maintaining his physical form despite being directly hit by the most powerful magic Kyle could use, an 8th circle spell, was astonishing.

If it weren’t for that body, fused with powerful magic power and divine power, he would have been reduced to dust long ago without a trace.

– God isiyeo. Please grant me the power to destroy these heretics again…!

Even though he was corrupted, was he still a believer?

Kyle felt a pang of pity at the sight of him steadfastly seeking God even in this situation, driven to the edge of a cliff.

Had those who embraced the Eyes of Dawn all been ruined like this because of a mere being called God?

If so, it was a truly regrettable story.

Jiiiiing.

“……!”

“Kyle! Step back!”

But at that moment, as if in response to his call, a pure white light enveloped the Archbishop’s body.

Kyle’s eyes widened at the sight, and Vermillian urgently grabbed his shoulder, trying to pull him back.

In contrast, the Archbishop’s mouth, with its gaping holes, formed a deep arc.

‘So, God hasn’t abandoned me yet!’

Feeling as if an unknown being was dwelling in his body, the Archbishop intuitively knew that God was trying to manifest here, borrowing his body.

If that were the case, he resolved that he could sacrifice this body as much as necessary.

Even though he had gone as far as he could, as someone bestowed with the position of Archbishop, he had a twisted sense of pride that he had to sacrifice his life to destroy the heretics.

But unfortunately, it seemed that it was not God who answered his call.

Kwajik.

– Ah…?

Cracks suddenly appeared in the body that had somehow managed to maintain its form.

At that moment, the Archbishop felt that something was wrong and looked down.

There, he saw his body, buried in the rocks, slowly scattering into dust from below.

Why?

Before he could even utter the words, his mouth moved on its own, as if being controlled by someone.

– It’s truly regrettable. Archbishop. Despite receiving as many as three opportunities, you ultimately failed to prove yourself.

“……!?”

“This… Whose voice is that?”

Then, a strange female voice, not the bizarre voice of the Archbishop, echoed in the minds of those around, like scratching a chalkboard.

Although the voice itself sounded quite thin and frail, the atmosphere was cold and frigid, so sharp that it felt like being cut by a blade.

Sylvia, startled by this, looked around, but there was no one else.

The only ones present were the Archbishop and themselves.

– Still, it was quite an enjoyable spectacle. So, I’ll at least send you off on your way with my own hands.

“Apostle-nim…! Why? How can you be so heartless to me, who has dedicated my entire life to you…!”

From that moment on, a truly bizarre situation unfolded.

Each time the Archbishop’s mouth moved, the strange female voice and his original voice alternated.

However, the voice that had been directly transmitted through their minds, as before, was no longer the Archbishop’s.

Kyle felt that the strange phenomenon was as if the Archbishop had lost control of his body.

The Archbishop, in a voice filled with resentment, pleaded to the unidentified woman, but the response was nothing but cold.

– An entire lifetime, you say. That’s right. I’ve used you for a long time. So, I’m just going to replace you with something new.

“Ah, aah…!”

The woman replied to an old man’s loyalty with a voice as if discarding a toy she had used for a long time.

As the Archbishop cried out in despair, her voice continued again.

– It was something I had planned from the moment I sent you there in the first place. Did you really believe that I lent you the divine artifact without any reason?

“……!”

Only then did the Archbishop belatedly realize that the ceremonial robe, which he had thought she had lent him out of kindness, had been tampered with.

He certainly believed that her kindness was a reward for his loyalty.

He firmly believed that she also pitied him and gave him one more chance.

But that was not the case.

For her, this mission was just a process of amusement, something to enjoy before discarding the toy, whether it succeeded or failed.

– It was fun. Archbishop. Farewell.

“Apostle-nim! Apostle-nim…! Don’t abandon me! Please, this old man…! Ah, Light isiyeo….”

Like a woman who coldly turns away after a one-night stand with a man she met at a party.

With that voice as the end, the Archbishop urgently shouted when no more words followed, but that voice also did not last long.

Without even uttering a final death cry, without even putting a painful groan into words.

The Archbishop’s voice abruptly cut off, and his body, which had been struggling to escape from the pile of rocks, also stopped abruptly like a stone statue.

And soon.

Paseuseu….

The cracks that slowly formed from the bottom of his body gradually became clearer, and he began to crumble with a faint sound.

The Archbishop disappeared completely, leaving not even dust behind.

Only the rubble of the collapsed cave told what had happened here.

The four people, watching the utterly futile scene, could not bring themselves to say anything.

It was as if someone was saying that even the life-or-death struggle they had just waged was nothing more than a trivial matter not worth remembering.

＊＊＊

After the battle, the four returned to Anise’s house.

Fortunately, although there were traces of them rummaging through the house, they hadn’t broken anything to the point where it couldn’t be called a house anymore.

No one could easily open their mouths after such an unsettling victory.

In any case, they had succeeded in achieving their initial goal, so the atmosphere was not too depressed.

“Come to think of it, Vermillian. Who are these people? I haven’t even heard their names yet.”

And as Anise stepped forward to change the atmosphere, Vermillian realized that he had forgotten the most important thing and introduced the two with an ‘ah!’

“This is Kyle Lyerde, my friend. He followed me this time as well, in case of an emergency.”

“I apologize for the late introduction. I’m Kyle Lyerde.”

“And this is Sylvia Eleanor-yang. She is currently the head of the Eleanor family.”

“I’m Sylvia Eleanor. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Anise was dumbfounded as she looked at the two who bowed politely.

She was quite surprised when she heard that Vermillian was a descendant of the Drake family, but seeing the people who came with him made it even harder to tell whether this was reality or not.

“You’re all amazing people. I apologize for the late introduction. I’m Anise Blanc. I will never forget the debt of saving my life today.”

“You don’t have to think too much about it. We just saved a friend’s lover.”

“Huh? L, lover, you say…?”

“C, countess…! What are you saying!”

Sylvia dropped a meteor out of the blue, and Anise and Vermillian’s faces turned red in an instant.

In particular, Vermillian was even more embarrassed to hear such words when he hadn’t even conveyed his feelings yet.

However, on the contrary, only Anise showed a slightly embarrassed look at first, but soon wore a faint smile and blushed. She didn’t deny it in particular.

Kyle, noticing the subtle atmosphere, chuckled and gently grabbed Sylvia’s hand, rising from his seat.

“Sylvia, since we’re here, let’s go see the river. It’s your first time at the Brick River, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. Then, excuse us for a moment. You two.”

“Yes….”

“I, if you leave us two alone like this….”

Sylvia, realizing his intention, also smiled and rose from her seat.

In the end, an awkward yet sweet atmosphere continued between Vermillian and Anise, who were left alone in the house.

“Um….”

“I….”

Ah. As if they had made a promise, the voices of the two people trying to speak overlapped, and they both widened their eyes in surprise.

“Y, you go first.”

“Ah, no. Anise first….”

After yielding the right to speak to each other, Anise took the floor first under the pretext of ‘ladies first’, and she opened her mouth with a determined face, without the shy expression she had had until just now.

“Actually… Vermillian. I, I realized it only after you left.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That I care so much about you.”

“Ah….”

Vermillian let out a low exclamation.

It was exactly the same as what he wanted to say, without a single word out of place.

“So, if it’s okay with you, can you accept me? I will never cause you any trouble.”

Vermillian was startled and waved his hands at her action of suddenly sitting on the bed and bowing forward.

“O, of course. Rather, that’s what I wanted to say.”

“Does that mean… that Vermillian also cares about me?”

“Yes.”

As he nodded, a bright smile finally formed on Anise’s face.

“Even though we were apart, our hearts were in sync.”

“That’s what it seems like.”

“Then, I look forward to working with you as lovers in the future.”

“I am lacking, but I look forward to working with you as well. Anise.”

Meanwhile, Kyle, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation from outside, sighed and shrugged his shoulders as if the game was over.

“…Seriously, do I have to spoon-feed them like this? Blanc-yang will have a lot of trouble in the future.”

His mutter, as if complaining.

Sylvia, who heard this, glared at Kyle and suddenly poked his waist with her finger, making a sound.

“Ouch…! S, Sylvia? Why all of a sudden….”

“Hmph.”

Kyle asked the reason with bewildered eyes, but Sylvia turned her head away and walked towards the river with her hands behind her back.

Who wants to say that to whom?