episode_0002

The question of why a saint known to be better than anyone else ended up in the worst prison did not last long. Because the continent is now under the feet of the Demon King. The saint who was the devil’s army’s greatest enemy would naturally have become a high traitor.

The ‘same execution date’ that Kelt was talking about means that she also has about a week left to live.

“Hey… Saint.”

“Tell me.”

The saintess’s voice was calm and detached. Am I not even afraid? Well, she is a saint who fought against the devil, so there is no way she would be afraid of an unknown prisoner.

Still, if possible, I would like to gain some dignity as a senior. All I can say in my current situation is just that.

“Please pick up some bread there.”

“… … .”

“Just walk seven steps to the right. That’s because the guard just threw it away.”

This is it.

Can not help it. I’m a senior, I’m a naval, and now I’m just a half-asshole who can’t even move my limbs.

The saintess who received the request looked a little surprised and then walked forward without any hesitation. To the right, one, two, three, four… … How far does he go?

Unlike her aloof voice, the saint’s gait was extremely uncomfortable. As if he were sick somewhere.

It didn’t take long to guess why. The saint was the last hero on the continent, and in the end, it was the Demon King’s army that won the war. There is no way that the body of a key figure in a defeated country could be intact.

“Even if you can’t see, your body looks unbalanced?”

“Please wait a moment. I’ll find it soon.”

“Both. Tsk tsk, how did the saint of the world become like that?”

Even though he spoke in a teasing manner, the saint was not upset. Only a blank expression without any hostility was written on his face.

There is no way to know whether it is a sincere expression or a mask to hide emotions.

“It’s because my love isn’t enough.”

With that, the saintess fumbled on the stone floor. After a while, her emotional voice pierced my ears.

The first emotion she showed was that.

“The bread you are looking for appears to have turned to ashes.”

It was a shame.

… Why?

Why is the saint sad that my bread has turned into ashes?

You said you would give it to me, but did you actually intend to eat it yourself? There is a possibility. Because I can’t do anything whether she takes it from me or not.

It was when the saint approached me that I realized that my doubts were meaningless.

“… What are you trying to do?”

I came here after hearing “, so I don’t know if I came to the right place. Is it true that you are in front of me now? If it is correct, please answer.”

“That’s true, but… What are you trying to do now?”

The saint bowed her waist. The once neat black nun’s robe fell gently. Even though the nun’s clothes are now dirty and torn in places.

Without saying a word, the saint took bread from her bosom and put it in my mouth. It was an excellent bread with a different texture than the usual food. There was even sweet cream inside the soft bread.

“It was given to me by Lord Celt. It won’t taste bad.”

There was no time to question it. It was the first time in a while that I had tasted high-quality food, enticing my five senses. My tongue and teeth ignored the will of my brain, chewing and tearing at the bread, greedily savoring its taste.

“How do you feel? Does it fit your mouth?”

The saint hinted a question.

A smile was on her lips. It was a simple smile, not flashy, but it was an infinitely pure smile.

It was also a smile whose intention was unknown. As a villain, I don’t believe in purity. In a world where everyone wears masks, such things can only be found in traditional fairy tales.

“It’s delicious. But why is the saint smiling?”

“Even though I was brought to a place like this, how could I not be happy because I can give something to someone.”

“Huh, what makes me happy about that?”

“Love swells like cotton candy. What I have given you is also love. Soon, this dark space called Tartarus will be filled with love.”

“The saint is good at saying things that catch the eye.”

She is a woman who is impossible to understand. Additionally, she is a woman that you don’t need to understand.

I came to that conclusion after five minutes of being in the same room as the saint.

Whether or not she knew how I felt, the saint smiled and sat down next to me.

“So what is your identity?”

“It’s not about money, so why are you asking about other people’s identities?”

Why? I don’t like the saint. Rejection wells up from deep inside.

That mysterious smile, the love and giving she speaks of.

These are all unfamiliar things that we have never encountered in our lives. Maybe that’s why. Because demons instinctively reject unfamiliar things.

This is why I respond crookedly to the saint.

“Aren’t you proud of your name?”

“… I can’t deny it. Honestly, I think they’ll kill me if I tell them my identity here.”

“You are saying ugly things. That’s why I don’t take other people’s lives.”

“That remains to be seen.”

Although I denied it with my mouth, I unconsciously nodded and agreed.

Because I remembered it unconsciously. Even during the war between the Demon King’s army and the Continental Alliance, the saintess never committed unnecessary killings with her own hands.

I also seem to have heard a rumor that they treated the captured Duke Seo of the Demon World and sent him back.

… But didn’t Celt say a few hours ago that the saint was defeated by the demon peacocks excluding me? So, Duke of West, did that demon take revenge with blood on the woman who showed mercy to him?

They are truly conscienceless demons. So I like it. It is an excellent example of a demon.

“Why was the noble saint brought here?”

“I committed a sin.”

“Only the worst criminals come here. Do you have that level of guilt?”

“They said it was lese majeste.”

“Puhaha! A saint who serves God is blasphemous! That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my life!”

“It is said to be an act of disrespect against demons, so if you think about it, it is not wrong.”

“You have a very positive mentality.”

The saintess was smiling brightly as if she was so happy. Until the first time I saw him, I kept an expressionless expression.

“But, why don’t you refrain from smiling? It doesn’t matter to me though.”

“If you smile, good luck will come to you.”

“Are you smiling because you want to be blessed? But you didn’t laugh until just now.”

“That’s… The current situation itself can be said to be a great blessing. I think so.”

I wonder why, her voice was obviously cracked and faded, but her voice was full of bright hope.

Truly, he is a human being made up of things that cannot be understood from the tips of his feet to the top of his head. The existence of a saint.

“How can being trapped in a fiery hell be a blessing?”

“I would have been lonely if I had been trapped alone, but I have you by my side.”

“We saw each other for the first time today, right? I didn’t even have a good relationship with them.”

“It’s okay. Since we entered Tartarus, we are all equal prisoners. What can you do by bringing in resentment from outside?”

The saint’s words did not contain an inch of pretense. Can something that comes from human sincerity be so positive?

At least, I’ve never seen one among the people I’ve killed so far.

“I don’t know how happy I am just sitting next to you and talking to you like this.”

“Well, I agree with that. I’m so bored when I’m alone.”

“That’s right. But why are you imprisoned here?”

“Why is that again? I’ve been so interested since a while ago.”

“That’s because I can alleviate your sins with my humble Jeju.”

The saint sat quietly next to me and chattered. Her knees touched the hot stone floor.

This woman is truly incomprehensible as to why she would relieve her of a sin that she never asked for and that did not even exist.

“Who wants to relieve me?”

“Giving grace is what an apostle of God should do.”

“… … .”

What a foolish person he is.

The reason I was brought here was ultimately due to the grace given to the Duke of Seo. You don’t know that. Or, is he stubborn even though he knows?

Whatever it is, I’ll say I’m foolish. If it’s the former, it’s stupid, and if it’s the latter, it’s stubbornness.

“So, please speak comfortably. People don’t go to church and confess for nothing.”

“This is not a cathedral. It’s a place close to hell.”

“If you have a sincere heart, wouldn’t that place be a cathedral?”

“The saint likes to hear nonsense.”

“How long are you going to avoid me?”

The saint raised her head towards me. It was clear that her eyes were covered with bandages, but I had the feeling that my insides were being pierced.

“Avoiding means avoiding something.”

For a moment, I felt dizzy. So I answered evasively.

Looking at her expression, I think it was a handshake. Serious handshake.

“Are you afraid of facing your own sins?”

“Is there any creature that is not afraid of that? Even if they are demons.”

“Were you a demon?”

“I guess you didn’t know. Since your eyes are damaged, do you think your sense organs are also damaged? Who did that? Devil? Did you drink it? Duke of Demon World?”

“You’re trying to tell another story.”

If I just let this go, I think it will continue to bother me in the future.

It’s not that I don’t mind it in Tartarus, where talking to saints is the only entertainment, but I still don’t want to risk the hassle.

“Ha, good. Since you ask so earnestly, I will tell you. The sin I committed… … .”

The moment I tried to speak, a terrible pain struck my throat.

Thick-!

Suddenly-!

This is because I spoke too much after meeting the saint. In addition, the pain of the seizure, which I had been holding back so hard to keep the conversation going, took advantage of the opportunity to attack me.

“Wow! Cluck, cluck… !”

Heavy breathing and rough coughing came out at the same time. It was a terrible feeling, as if a cough was being pulled from my intestines.

My whole body was shaking greatly. The pain of my limbs being cut off flared up again.

I inadvertently worried that I might never be able to speak from now on, and how I would survive the rest of the week when the saintess couldn’t even see my expression.

It’s a funny worry. It’s not even essential to talk to the saint. And anyway, isn’t it a futile fate that awaits me only to have my head cut off in a week?

At that moment, the saint bowed towards me.

She quickly unbuttoned my chest and placed her hands on it. I felt small but rough hands on my bare skin. These were hands that had been through countless battlefields. Nevertheless, it has the contradiction of being warm and cozy.

What are you trying to do?

“I pray to the good, merciful, holy and noble Lord.”

The saint’s voice became lower. She simply changed her voice, but her spirit completely changed in an instant.

“Please have mercy on this poor, pitiful sheep. Please heal this sheep with your overflowing lovingkindness. Please allow a clear singing voice to flow from my fully functioning throat again… … .”

Every time the saint uttered a word, white light began to erupt from her grasp. Shining incomparably brighter, it was divine power, a power unique to priests.

… Divine power?

Isn’t it divine power that is at its peak with me?

“Now, wait… !”

Piing-.

Is this woman crazy? You’re trying to infuse me with divine power to heal me, a demon!

What is more dangerous than injecting dark magic into a paladin is injecting divine power into a demon, but it is an idea that can never be achieved without someone deciding to kill me.

“I, I am a demon… Cough! Cough!”

Although she must have heard that she was a demon, the saint did not stop infusing her with divine power.

Could it be that you just forgot? No, that won’t be the case. It is clear that she is trying to taunt me.

They treated me well and made me feel safe, but then they extinguished my hope in an instant, and they did the dirty things that witches would do.

Damn it, I’m a fool to feel relief and let go of something like that.

“Even though they are sheep raised in a bad environment, all living beings are your children. Please embrace this little lamb warmly with a generous heart. We pray to the Lord who protects us, nurtures us, and loves us… … .”

Ugh-.

Wrong. Her divine power is already seeping into my heart. I don’t have the ability to reject the divine power flowing into me, so I will die without a move.

Ah, I never thought I would meet such a meaningless end! If possible, I wanted to be executed in style on the guillotine in the Imperial Square a week later!

She really is a fucking woman. A saint is a seed.

“… A lowly servant earnestly prays for rain.”

Woe!

“… … .”

Gradually-.

But.

Why do I hear a seizure when I’m dead?

I’ve never heard the rumor that you can hear sounds even after you die.

“You.”

Where did the pain in my throat go again?

For the rest of the week, I believed it was a curse that would never leave me.

“Are you feeling okay?”

Why is this woman smiling so innocently at me?

Seeing that the smile is directed towards the seat next to me, it is clear that he is a blind person, but why is he smiling so happily at a subject that he cannot even see?

I have never seen a smile like that. Even when I avenged my sister, which I consider to be the happiest moment of my life, I couldn’t smile that innocently.

Actually, I remember that I was half-fazed and crying at that time.

Do you really believe that laughter will bring you good luck? If that is really the case, then I would say she is truly a foolish woman.

A foolish but innocent and pure woman.

“Then would you like to tell me now?”

She is truly a foolish, blind, foolish, and stupid woman.

Otherwise, how could he burn his remaining divine power for me, knowing that I am his enemy, a demon?

He’s a fanatic. It’s perfect to be used by someone. Those who call such a woman wise make me seriously doubt whether she has oak-colored eyes.

“Sin you committed. I will listen with you.”

“… … .”

hate. I feel a horrifying feeling of rejection. It gives me chills.

Stupidity, stupidity, foolishness, foolishness.

Purity, purity, positivity, nobility.

I hate it so much. As a demon, I cannot possibly understand her. Besides, I don’t even want to understand.

“… Before that, I ask you one thing.”

By the way, what on earth did the saintly woman do? What method did they use to heal my vocal cords so completely?

“You change your mind again… Hehe, feel free to speak.”

“Demons are a conglomeration of sins, and I have never even heard of a divine power that can heal even such demons.”

“Hehe, it’s worth it. This power is very, very special and the most noble thing in the world.”

“What exactly is that power?”

In response to the curious question, the saint responded with a pure smile. Words that I could not relate to flowed from her parted and cracked lips.

“It’s love.”