102 – Those who did not become saints (2)

”Father! Not outside!”

That roaring drool was enough to instantly soften the air around it, which was full of sharp edges.

A humble silence, as if a taut rubber band had been mercilessly snapped, mingled with the cold night air.

The big team and the assailant, who were on the verge of suffocating each other right now. Even the sharp eyes of the two people, who had a strong intent to kill like flames, were caught up in the strange air current and gradually became blurry.

”Hut! What a dream! I thought something was strange halfway through! Think about it! It was nothing but a dream! The always pliable priest covets my body so wildly! but! Even if it was just a dream, I could see such a wild priest! This is a boon! It must be an indescribably great harvest!”

It seemed that he hadn’t woken up yet, and his big eyes were still twitching without fully opening them, but his innate voice was still there even in his sleep.

Charleuk!

It was then.

The black chains that flew from outside the field of vision attacked the warrior again, who was staggering in his sleep.

”yes?”

Pacan!

That unexpected attack was stopped so helplessly by the sword that the warrior-sama wielded lazily.

”·····”

For the first time, a slight bewilderment crept across the face of the usually relaxed assailant.

A stiff expression made by a person whose organs have been completely destroyed, which has never been seen through.

It was a very familiar expression that you would see if you were going around with talented colleagues.

”what? Big team?”

Even though he had been attacked as soon as he opened his eyes without even a single thread on, he could only sigh at the hero’s carelessness as he paid attention to his younger brother standing in the room first rather than the culprit who attacked him.

Infernal fire in all poisons. Although I was fully aware of how absurd it was to warn the hero, who possesses the physical ability not to worry about getting hurt, to be nervous.

Still, since I was born as a woman, it was my slightest wish that I would have some sense of crisis.

”oh. Are you up already? I made you have a good dream after a long time…”

”Hmm?”

Right after the assailant uttered dark words, the warrior-sama, who seemed to have fully acknowledged the existence of the intruder, suddenly tilted his head.

In the corner of my mind, a whitish doubt was swelling up little by little.

said the monster.

that you made me dream

From the series of actions the assailant had shown so far, it was not difficult to guess that her purpose was the hero’s life.

This thick curse wriggling inside my body was so severe that I thought it could reach even the warrior’s strong vitality.

It’s a shame because I was a cleric who could store divine power in my body, but if I were an ordinary person, I would die instantly as soon as the sword touched my body.

If the assassination had been thoroughly prepared to this extent, it would not have been strange at all if the assailant had prepared some kind of mysterious tactic to neutralize the hero who was resistant to all kinds of abnormal conditions.

This meant that the fact that the hero and I got mixed up, no, that the reason why I had such a dream might have been purely the work of that assailant.

Then where the hell did the dream come from?

They were conscious until the moment they kissed.

However, after that, I had no ability to classify the sticky skinships we shared as dreams or realities.

It was out of the question to ask the person in charge, the warrior, to confirm.

Aside from whether I had the courage to do so, even deciding how to ask was a struggle.

‘Excuse me, can I check the warrior’s hymen?’ You can’t just say crazy words like that, can you?

As soon as this commotion is over, let’s touch the prominence of chastity first.

It was the one and only accident that currently popped into my head.

Someone might say something like this to me.

Is it okay to have such carefree thoughts in this serious situation?

However, for me now, there was no agony that surpassed whether or not the hero and I had a physical relationship.

It was to the point where I thought that even if my life was at an end, I would only be able to die comfortably if I knew that.

Perhaps it was the effect of the curse that came up through the wounds and reached the brain.

”Poem, Father!? What the heck is this place… Il… Ro…”

The identity of the vivid ripple that shook my consciousness in the midst of agony was the voice of the warrior who carefully called me.

She slightly knelt down, eye level with me who was lying on the floor.

Those bright eyes shook for a moment as she confirmed the blood gushing out of my forearm and the black spots that spread from there and slowly gnawed away all over my body.

Eventually, like when a wolf smelling blood finds its prey, the warrior’s languid gaze followed the scent of blood rising from my arm and turned to the assailant.

creak.

The warrior with an expressionless face without saying a word and gently tilting his head. The intent behind that action was clear.

What did you do?

Horrible.

”·····!”

Even the big team, which was fully prepared for battle, was clearly shaken in a cramped room, enough to make them inadvertently step back.

However, even though he was inhaling murderous blood at a level that would not be strange to a normal person fainting, the assailant’s slender body did not show even the slightest movement.

The sneering drawn on the corner of his mouth made it seem as if he was laughing at the hero’s outrageous murder, as if he were watching a child’s complaint.

”Nope. I am, after all, an agent of God. So, the death of the man who was stabbed by my sword instead of you was not my will, but God’s will. All of this is as the Almighty and Noble God wants—”

Awesome!

It was right after that the flash of sword strikes, which were swift enough to drown out the sound, slashed the assailant’s neck without hesitation.

Bloodstains from the detached head splattered everywhere, and the body of the assailant, who had been standing upright for a while even after losing his head, clearly showed how quickly such a tragedy had occurred.

However, no one who watched the process, even the warrior himself who wielded the sword, was in a situation where he was unsure of victory.

That would be too.

It was because the head that had fallen off the body and was soon rolling on the floor was notifying everywhere that this bloody battle was not over in a form that would never have been possible under normal circumstances.

shit.

◈◈◈

A memory that will never be forgotten.

It can be the focal point of someone’s life, and to someone else, it can be a nuisance that they can’t do even if they want to root it out of their body.

Beltane’s was clearly the latter.

divine selection.

It is a noble act of gathering faithful girls who have the potential to become saints from all over the country and selecting one by one those who are qualified to receive the power of God through baptism.

It is said that just being nominated is enough to qualify to be a part of the history of the system, so it is a kind of annual event for parents with daughters of the right age to donate a huge amount of money to the Holy See every time it is time for selection. It was about to be treated.

Because of that, the day I was nominated for a holy woman alongside my younger sister. Beltane felt as if he were flying in the sky.

The mother shed tears and hugged her and her younger brother affectionately, and even the father, who was usually stingy with praise, did not spare any praise for his children that day.

The younger brother, ignorant of the world, must have been sad that he had to be separated from his parents, but he was busy shedding tears.

Beltane, who was much smarter than his peers, uttered rather elated words, drunk with anticipation of the first rave reviews he had ever received.

‘Hold on to worry! mom! Dad! Well, I will take responsibility and take care of it! I will definitely become a saint! I’m going to become a saint and make my mom and dad happy!’

The appearance of his parents, who were thrilled by the bold declaration, was one of Beltane’s precious treasures.

Because that was the last time she saw her parents’ bright smiles.

A handful of girls.

The number of saint woman candidates, commonly referred to as a handful, initially numbered close to 70.

However, only one of them was chosen as a candidate to become a saint.

No one knows what future awaits the unchosen women.

No, no one remembers exactly.

”Ugh!”

Beltane, who fell asleep briefly in the office, suddenly got up.

Sweat beaded on my forehead. Her rough breathing, which could hardly be smoothed out, clearly showed how disturbed her thoughts were now.

”Heo-eok… Huh memory… Dream, dream…”

Beltane, who carefully placed his hand on his forehead, trembled in fear that he could not shake off.

Candidates who are not chosen as saints go through several examinations, receive a huge amount of bonuses, and return to their families safely.

Such was the claim made officially by the Holy See.

But Beltane knew.

That it is an ugly, heinous, hateful lie.

No, to be precise, only Beltane remembered.

The fact that they had existed in this world for a while, only Beltain remembered in a relatively intact form.