Caron finally realized his folly.

Make the Black Fangs understand that there are certain foes in this world that one must never provoke?

It was him who needed to learn that lesson.

No matter how much it was the only way to maintain the power and fame he had built up over the years.

He should never have meddled.

Once he recognized the disparity between them, he should have given up on everything and fought just to survive.

But...

"Ah..."

Regret always comes too late, only when mistakes can no longer be undone.

'It' greedily devoured the divine power that swirled around Caron.

The immense power he had prepared for the showdown with the Black Fangs was being absorbed in an instant.

If 'It' consumed all of his divine power, the next target was obvious.

So Caron struggled.

The exit was still far away.

A terrible pain coursed through his entire body, contorting Caron's face in agony.

Yet, Caron did not stop moving forward.

Nothing else mattered now.

Honor, wealth, authority.

All of it lost its value in the face of the one thing that truly mattered—survival.

Power? Who cared about that?

He just wanted to live.

But... as if denying even that, 'It' clung to Caron.

His head spun.

Just being near it was eroding his sanity.

Yet still, Caron gritted his teeth.

And then... he looked at his left arm.

He had realized.

Why 'It' was dragging him down.

It was power.

'It' was greedily consuming only his divine power.

So, to survive... he had to give up everything.

The Holy Marks implanted from the talented children.

The marks, proof of divine favor, which allowed him to perform miracles.

It had taken the sacrifice of hundreds to barely acquire these marks, due to the issues arising during the implantation process.

But now was not the time to worry about such things.

The Holy Marks embedded in his spirit were slowly fading. Caron forcibly separated the marks from himself.

He desperately hoped that this would satisfy 'It' and make it release him.

But...

"Is it... still not enough...?"

He had offered up his most powerful asset.

Even if he returned to reality, the power of the vanished Holy Marks would not return.

Despite such a sacrifice, 'It' still refused to let Caron go.

A compulsion surged within him.

The urge to throw everything away and sing a hymn of praise to 'It.'

For now, Caron was barely protecting his mind with his remaining divine power, but that too was reaching its limit.

But he couldn't allow it. He couldn't die here.

He had to survive.

No matter the cost.

To do so... he had no choice but to discard everything.

The only way to survive was to relinquish all the power 'It' desired and flee.

Caron clenched his teeth once more and relinquished all the divine power he held.

All the strength he had accumulated to rise to the rank of Cardinal, he sacrificed to that monster.

The force holding him began to weaken.

But still...

'Why...?'

'It' would not release Caron.

It was not enough.

Just a little more... if he could just reach out a bit further, he could touch the exit.

The exit out of this hell was right in front of him.

But he was one step short.

Caron's face was painted with despair.

...He realized.

Why he was one step short.

He had already given up all his divine power.

Now, Caron was nothing more than an ordinary human.

But even so, if there was still something left, what could it be?

His life.

Even his last remaining shred of life was being devoured by that monster.

"Ah... ■■, I renounce my life as a heretic and offer everything to you."

His mouth moved on its own, uttering such words.

For some reason, an overwhelming sense of happiness washed over him.

The happiness of submitting to 'It.'

A smile crept onto his face.

A maniacal grin that threatened to tear his lips apart.

Even though that being wasn't even paying attention to him, just being near it was driving Caron mad.

This would be his last rational thought.

Soon, Caron's mind would completely shatter, and he would willingly choose to become one with 'It.'

In the end... there was only one decision left for him to make.

He let go.

Forty years of his life.

With that, Caron's hand finally touched the door.

...His vision shifted rapidly.

Caron managed to escape from that hellish place.

But...

There was no face filled with the joy of survival.

Only an old, decrepit man, so aged and worn that he was unrecognizable from his former self, stood there, shedding tears alone.

*****

I sat on the bed, propping my chin up, deeply contemplating a certain problem.

'When you possess someone, which sexual preference do you follow?'

...I know it's a stupid question.

It's even more pointless than debating whether a sword or a spear is stronger.

But even so, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Considering my current situation, it was only natural.

I'm sure of it.

If you dreamt of devouring a middle-aged man in his thirties, anyone would end up pondering something like this.

Especially if the detailed scenario of the dream involved the man crying alone while singing a hymn, only to transform into an old man at the end. Even more so.

SM.

BL.

Cannibalism.

Grandpas.

A hybrid.

The abyss of the abyss.

To be fair, the cannibalism part mostly involved sucking some sort of liquid? out of the old man, which makes it a bit ambiguous.

But that just makes it more horrifying.

If it had just been a regular guy, I could have just brushed it off, thinking, "Well, I guess this body has some peculiar tastes."

But what kind of twisted preference involves enjoying the taste of liquid coming from an old man so much that I couldn't stop licking it?

I come from a time when the idea that all preferences should be respected was prevalent, and I considered myself to have an open mind.

But there's a limit, no matter what.

If this is the sexual preference of the body I've possessed...

And if my mind, as it becomes more and more in sync with this body, ends up being tainted by such bizarre, perverted tastes...

'This is driving me crazy.'

Just imagining it is horrifying.

This is why, when I woke up from that dream with a strange sense of pleasure, I was plunged into deep anguish.

Thinking about how to verify my purity, and the fact that I'm even worried about something so bizarre, is giving me a serious reality check.

As I was sighing deeply, trapped in that cycle of thoughts, it happened.

"......?"

Suddenly, a familiar sound reached my ears.

Before I knew it, a message window had popped up in front of me.

Conditions have been met, initiating first transformation.

Due to the vast amount of absorbed divine power, the transformation process will take some time.

You have obtained the Holy Mark of the God of Light (Apostle Level).

The rank is too high, initiating rank degradation.

...Rank degradation has not occurred.

Investigating reason....

The obtained Holy Mark has undergone modifications, optimized for implantation.

The Holy Mark will be implanted in tandem with bodily transformations.

Advisory to the user.

I am not your enemy.

Follow the predetermined destiny. It is impossible to save everyone.

As always, dozens of messages flashed before my eyes in less than 0.01 seconds, only to vanish with a strange noise.

So, no information was left for me to digest.

'Well, I didn't expect anything different.'

At this point, it wasn't surprising.

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened.

If anything, it would've been stranger if the status window had worked perfectly.

'Looks like I'm not getting any sleep tonight.'

Though that strange issue about preferences had already been erased from my mind.

Now, I had something else to think about.

Why did this pop up now? Was it somehow related to that dream? There were so many things I needed to figure out.

It seemed that tonight wouldn't be a restful one. The world itself was conspiring to keep me awake.

I finally got up from the bed and turned on the light.

Where should I even begin investigating this?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't grasp anything, but I couldn't just leave it unattended.

After some deliberation, I reopened the status window.

It was the only thing I could investigate right now.

'As expected, it's still the same.'

I had hoped it would've recovered a bit by now, but the status window was still broken.

Maybe it would fix itself at some critical moment.

That was my gut feeling, but for now, it was just taking up space.

I was about to dismiss the status window from my view when...

I noticed it.

Something clearly out of place.

Amidst the jumble of broken text, there was one part that was relatively intact.

I carefully tapped on it.

And then, at that moment... a familiar yet unfamiliar traits window appeared.

■■'s Rank

The qualification to stand above everyone else in this world.

...Was this the original description?

Chapter 69: Is There Salvation Even for a Murderous Girl? (2)

I once again turned my gaze towards the peculiar status window.

Rank of ■■

A qualification to stand above anyone in the world.

This... was definitely different.

Where there should have been something written about immunity to mental attacks, there was now a bizarre phrase. And the first two characters had been replaced by some strange symbols.

'...This really works.'

As someone who had played the previous game, I had a feeling that if there were any hidden Easter eggs, this trait would be it. It had always been the most suspicious feature.

A trait that even worked against the final boss, the Demon Lord of Domination.

While playing, I had brushed it off as just part of the game. But if you think about it, this trait meant being superior to the final boss. That's the reason I chose this trait in the first place.

'Honestly, I wasn't even paying much attention.'

Even without hidden features, immunity to mental attacks was already an incredibly powerful ability. I was fine whether it worked or not, but now, suddenly, I hit the jackpot.

Although the description of the trait was vague, the fact that it had evolved was something to celebrate.

I didn't know exactly what had been enhanced or what benefits had been gained, but since it wasn't losing its original capabilities, there was no downside.

'...But why did it change?'

I'd seen traits evolve in the previous game once certain conditions were met. Unless the system had completely changed in this sequel, it was safe to assume a similar mechanic was in place.

Which meant that I must have unknowingly triggered something to evolve the trait.

But what could I have possibly done to...?

"...Ah."

Suddenly, memories started flooding through my mind.

Recruiting powerhouses like Siel, Lien, and Miss Rubia.

Killing the archmage's apprentice.

Illegally acquiring the fallen holy sword and other artifacts.

Hiding the revolutionaries.

Planting a spy within the Imperial army.

Creating and spreading the cult of the Black Fangs, a fraudulent religion, across the nation.

Even just the big events were piling up. Most recently, I had even declared my intention to destroy the Holy Church.

...Yeah, I had caused a lot of chaos.

It wasn't that I couldn't figure out the reason. It was that there were too many potential reasons.

As I was reflecting on my trail of destruction, I was interrupted by something unexpected.

"...?"

My head was already spinning with too many thoughts, but suddenly a strange light distracted me.

I looked down at the source of the light—an engraving on the back of my hand. A red, glowing, pulsing symbol.

I recognized this effect all too well. It was the tracking spell I had seen countless times in the previous game. A signal that something had gone wrong with the target. ŖÁＮȯ𝐁Еṥ

The important thing was...

I had only cast this tracking spell on one person.

Lucy.

The Empire's worst psychopath.

A human monster who found joy in murder. The blue-haired villainess I had encountered in the black market, the one I had seen in the spoiler threads.

If this signal was coming to me now, it meant something had happened to Lucy.

A strange intuition began to creep up on me.

It felt like something critical was happening just outside of my view.

There was only one thing I needed to do now.

I quickly threw on my robe and activated the tracking spell. The connection I had established with Lucy before—following that thread, I let my mana flow through it, and soon, her location settled into my mind.

And then... my face twisted with confusion.

'The Grand Temple?'

Why on earth was she at the Grand Temple?

*****

Caron staggered as he rose to his feet.

The once overflowing Fountain of Miracles, brimming with divine power, had completely dried up—just as expected.

As he feared, the monster had devoured all the holy energy in such a short time. But that wasn't all it consumed.

He could barely move his body. Even the slightest motion brought waves of excruciating pain.

Caron's skin was now wrinkled and shriveled, and his once dark hair had turned stark white. This was the price Caron paid for touching what should never have been touched.

Once, he had been a young and successful cardinal, with the papacy all but guaranteed to him. The future that once lay so promisingly ahead of him was gone. Now, only an old, decrepit man remained.

But—

'No...'

Caron grit his teeth. He knew he had been utterly defeated and that he had lost everything. He wasn't foolish enough to deny that.

Yet, even so, he couldn't let go of what he had grasped.

He refused to live out the rest of his days dying a slow death from old age.

Not after coming this far.

He couldn't die like this.

He needed another chance.

No matter what it took, he had to find a way to rise again.

"C-Cardinal, what... what happened to you...?"

Even if that meant—

"Come to me. There's something I need you to do."

—reaching out to the forbidden.

The subordinate's face turned pale with terror. He could tell from Caron's tone and expression that something was terribly wrong.

He could sense that his life was in danger.

But Caron didn't hesitate as he approached the man.

No matter how aged and decrepit Caron's body had become, resistance from the subordinate was impossible. After all, the Holy Church and the Empire were bound by mutual cooperation. If one side provided the Holy Grail, the other ensured efficient means of control.

"P-Please, spare me. I... I can't die here."

The subordinate muttered in a trembling voice, his face drained of color. In a panic, he even pulled out a picture of his newborn child from his coat, desperately holding it up as if it could save him.

But at that moment, his fate was sealed.

Had he tried proving his usefulness instead of appealing to sentimentality, his chances of survival might have improved. There was only so much ignorance Caron could tolerate.

After all the time the subordinate had spent serving him, he still hadn't learned a thing about Caron's nature.

"I'm genuinely curious," Caron interrupted the man's desperate pleas, his voice cold and indifferent. The subordinate's face contorted in shock.

Caron slowly stepped closer to him and asked,

"Did you really think I would care about your future or your brat's?"

He meant it.

None of it mattered.

What did it matter if a child grew up without a father? If it guaranteed his survival, Caron wouldn't hesitate to tear the man apart in front of the child.

As long as he could stay alive, other people's lives were meaningless.

And so, Caron reached out his hand towards the subordinate without a moment's hesitation, a grotesque smile spreading across his face.

At that moment, a flood of dark energy surged forth. Caron's form was now more akin to a demon than a human.

This was the result of secret experiments he and the Pope had conducted in the shadows. Ironically, the Holy Church, which claimed to fight against demons, was the perfect place to conduct forbidden research on them.

[Give me all that you are.]

The man in front of him stared blankly at Caron, tears streaming down his face. Moments later, the Imperial slave brand on his body began to glow.

Like a puppet on strings, the man moved unnaturally and responded eagerly, grasping Caron's outstretched hand.

A contract was sealed.

The man's body began to dissolve. Flesh and bone melted into shadows, vanishing entirely. All that remained was his life force, which flowed directly into Caron. A sinister energy, the dark essence of a demon, radiated from Caron's body.

Given that he was imitating a demonic contract using a human vessel, the outcome was inevitable.

Caron had always known about the potential power of such a contract, but the troublesome side effects had kept him from using it. Now, though, there was no time to worry about consequences.

There was no place for him in the Holy Church anymore. No matter how much the Pope had favored him, there was no way he would protect Caron after this.

Not only had Caron lost all the sacred relics, but he hadn't even finished covering up the mess he had made.

Soon, not just the Pope, but representatives from other branches of the Church would come for his head.

'I will survive. No matter what it takes.'

He would live and wait for the next opportunity, whenever it might come.

Caron moved towards the secret passage that led to the Grand Temple. With a twisted smile, he climbed the stairs, hopeful that by draining the life force of those at the top, he might restore his former self.

And then... his face contorted in shock.

What he saw before him was beyond belief.

The beautiful statues of the gods were drenched in red. The pungent smell of blood hung heavy in the air. The entire temple was defiled, stained with human flesh and blood.

An unthinkable sight.

Why? How?

Like a fleeting memory, a conversation from Caron's past flashed through his mind. A discussion he'd had with a man he had once disposed of:

"The gods are watching your vile deeds. One day, you'll face the consequences for what you've done."

"Haven't you realized yet? There are no gods. And without gods, there is no divine punishment."

Caron had laughed as he watched the man die. No matter what he did, divine retribution had never come.

There were beings that granted power in exchange for faith, but they didn't distinguish between good and evil.

If that was the case, then they weren't gods—they were machines. And machines existed to be used by humans.

That belief had allowed Caron to live with such confidence, convinced that no divine punishment would ever come for him.

But now...

"Found you."

Looking back, he realized that he had been half right and half wrong.

There was no benevolent god of light. No god had come to smite Caron for his sins.

But there was still punishment.

Footsteps echoed through the blood-soaked temple, announcing the approach of death.

"Now it's just you and me."

A blue-haired girl, soaked in blood from head to toe, stood before him, tears streaming down her face as she stared at Caron.

...Punishment had come for him.

Chapter 70: Is There Salvation Even for the Murderous Girl? (3)

The video that the Black Fangs spread across the Empire.

After watching it, Lucy was filled with doubts and immediately set off towards the Grand Temple.

However, the scene of Lucy bursting through the temple doors, declaring her intent to investigate what was truly happening, never came to pass.

"What am I supposed to do...?"

She simply lingered around the vicinity of the temple, heaving a deep sigh out of frustration.

In hindsight, it was the obvious outcome.

The Grand Temple wasn't exactly a place anyone could just walk into, and the Empire was in an uproar over the matters related to the Black Fangs.

In this situation, there was no way the Empire, which was already in turmoil, would let an apprentice knight with no real authority enter the Grand Temple.

And Lucy wasn't strong enough to ignore the heavily guarded entrance and barge in, either.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't find a solution.

Should she just turn back...?

'No. I can't retreat here.'

She had to confirm it.

She needed to know if the children were really doing okay.

The thirty children Lucy had delivered to the Holy Church, along with the others that her fellow knights had rescued as part of their duties.

The doubt that arose from seeing the video of the Black Fangs' commander.

The eerie feeling that the Holy Church might be using the children for something sinister—it gnawed at her, and she couldn't leave until she had answers.

Just as Lucy was pacing back and forth, struggling with what to do—

"...Huh?"

Her face flushed with surprise.

She had just caught a fleeting glimpse of a familiar face—a girl from the sibling pair she had once handed over to the Holy Church.

Given the situation, there was no time for hesitation.

Lucy immediately took off, chasing in the direction the girl had disappeared.

The scenery blurred past her as she sped ahead.

The girl, barely within reach, continued to slip out of Lucy's grasp, darting off toward an unknown destination.

At the end of the unexpected chase, Lucy found herself standing in front of a dead-end wall.

'Where could she have gone?'

Panicked, she quickly scanned her surroundings. But the girl was nowhere to be seen.

This was beyond strange.

There was no way the girl could have escaped from here.

Yet she had vanished like a ghost.

No—if she really thought about it, the strangeness didn't end there.

Lucy was considered a promising young knight, with enough potential that she could manipulate magic to some extent.

She had gathered magic into her legs to chase the girl at top speed.

But she still couldn't catch her.

It was something that defied all reason.

It made no sense that a child could run faster than Lucy.

'Am I just seeing things?'

That thought crossed her mind, but it didn't sit right.

Sure, she'd been under a lot of stress lately, but she wasn't at the point of having hallucinations.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't come up with an answer.

Exhausted, Lucy naturally leaned against the wall... and felt something strange.

It should have been just an ordinary wall.

But something was sticking out.

Almost like a doorknob.

Lucy touched the worn brick wall again.

It was certain.

This was an illusion created by magic.

Someone had carefully set up an enchantment here to conceal a passage.

But for what purpose?

Where did this passage lead?

Could that child have been guiding her here all along?

No, come to think of it—who was that child in the first place?

Lucy's mind swirled with questions.

She couldn't wrap her head around the situation.

But... what she had to do right now was clear.

Swallowing nervously, Lucy opened the door and stepped into the unknown space beyond.

*****

She descended a long staircase leading underground and continued walking down a damp, unsettling passageway.

The further she went, the more bewildered she became.

When she thought back on it, that secret passage had been oddly close to the Grand Temple. She hadn't considered it until now.

If she wasn't mistaken about the direction... this place should be beneath the Grand Temple itself.

"This is..."

Finally, she arrived at her destination.

What greeted Lucy was a space that felt entirely out of place.

Even more so because it was impossible to tell what it had been used for.

It wasn't a place where people could have lived—no sunlight reached here, and there wasn't even any lighting. This space was not designed for human habitation.

Yet, scattered across the floor were gospels and prayer books.

There were more than she had expected.

As if a large number of people had once lived here.

But if that was the case, where had those people gone? With that question in mind, Lucy began searching the area.

The more she searched, the deeper her confusion grew.

'Why on earth is something like this here?'

With sheer force, Lucy pried open the closed door, revealing a room filled with strange magic tech devices.

Tools that seemed to be used for cutting things apart.

Magitech machines that looked like they compressed something into a liquid.

"A slaughterhouse?"

That thought naturally crossed her mind.

As she observed the machines more closely, she noticed the blood and bits of flesh stuck in them.

Lucy didn't know much about magic tech, but it was clear these machines were used for something like that.

A place used for slaughtering meat...

'...That doesn't make any sense, does it?'

Her face filled with confusion as she thought about it. It was only natural.

Why would a slaughterhouse exist in a place like this? There was a limit to how much something could defy logic.

But then, why were these machines here? With the blood and flesh, it was clear they were used to cut and process 'meat.'

"......"

Cold sweat ran down Lucy's back. Her face turned pale, as if she were about to collapse.

The reason was simple.

A horrifying thought had crossed her mind. A deeply unsettling one.

But...

'N-no, that can't be right... can it?'

It had to be her imagination.

She was letting her thoughts spiral too much.

After all, that would be an extreme assumption, even for her.

In her time as a knight, she had dealt with countless criminals, punishing them for their wrongdoings, but none had ever committed something so heinous.

Even evil has its limits.

For the Holy Church, a place that served God, to commit such acts? Even conspiracy theorists wouldn't believe such wild stories.

Lucy calmed her pounding heart for a while, but the uneasy feeling wouldn't go away, no matter how much time passed.

Nervously biting her nails, Lucy paced around.

And then...

"...!"

The girl's face appeared before her again.

The same girl who had led her here.

For some reason, the girl had shown herself in front of Lucy once more.

"W-wait! Hold on!"

Lucy shouted at the girl as quickly as she could. But, like before, the girl ignored her and sprinted off somewhere.

Again, at an incredibly fast speed.

Lucy tried desperately to chase after her, but... she failed.

As always, the girl vanished as if she had evaporated into thin air.

All that greeted the panting Lucy was a black door.

[Contaminated Materials Storage]

A strange name for a room.

A sense of foreboding washed over her.

But she couldn't turn back now. Taking a deep breath, Lucy opened the door.

*****

The moment she opened the door, nausea hit her.

Her head spun.

A sharp, intense pain shot through her eyes.

A chilling energy filled the air.

There, in the room, was a black, ominous liquid being stored.

But that wasn't what made Lucy feel sick.

She saw something terrible.

Something she shouldn't be seeing.

It was as if hundreds...

No, thousands of human souls were twisted and fused into one grotesque mass, right before her eyes.

And it was exuding a horrifying curse.

This was dangerous.

This was definitely dangerous.

Lucy had no control over her ability to see souls.

At any moment, the influence of that thing could distort her mind or body.

Just as Lucy desperately tried to hold onto her fading consciousness and escape this place—

[Unnie.]

A voice called out.

It was the voice of the girl who had led Lucy here.

Only then did Lucy finally realize the girl's true nature.

Why had she been able to move faster than Lucy? Why had she been able to appear and disappear so mysteriously?

There was only one answer.

The girl wasn't a living human.

The girl's soul silently reached out its hand toward Lucy.

Her eyes were filled with a swirl of emotions as she looked at Lucy.

Why was it?

It was clear that running away was the right choice here.

Everything in this place was suspicious and dangerous. Threats to her life were everywhere.

So, fleeing would be the right decision.

And yet...

Despite knowing that, she felt like she couldn't ignore it. Like she couldn't turn away from this.

Lucy... took the girl's hand.

And the memories of what the girl had gone through flooded into Lucy's mind.

How the girl had wandered through the slums, met Lucy, and become close after sharing various conversations.

How she had been led by Lucy's hand and delivered to the Holy Church.

And then...

Everything that had happened afterward.

Once Lucy understood it all, she looked at the girl again.

But this time... she couldn't say anything.

Because Lucy had seen it.

The girl's limbs being cut off, while she was still alive, for not singing the hymn properly.

The girl being forced to tear open her own brother's body, all because they claimed she didn't sincerely revere God.

Lucy couldn't bring herself to say she was sorry after witnessing such horrors.

It would be shameless to ask for forgiveness after seeing such atrocities.

And then, the girl spoke to her.

She said she was full of resentment.

Resentment toward those who had committed such atrocities and still had the audacity to praise God.

With those words, the girl became part of that tangled mass of souls.

No—she had likely been a part of that soul mass from the beginning.

The thing the Holy Church called "contaminated material."

The cursed souls of children, left behind after their divine powers had been extracted.

They were the ones who had called Lucy here.

To make the sinners pay for their crimes.

Lucy's head spun.

She couldn't think straight.

Her legs began to move on their own, without her will.

With unfocused eyes, Lucy gazed at the black liquid.

The voices of the children echoed in her ears.

They were calling out to her.

Asking her for help.

And Lucy... did what she had to do.

The blue-haired girl slowly sank into the ominous black liquid.

Chapter 71: Is There Salvation Even for the Murderous Girl? (4)

Caron stared blankly at the sight unfolding before him.

A girl with blue hair, smiling with a twisted grin, yet sobbing sorrowfully at the same time.

She was walking toward him now.

Holding a blood-stained sword.

But what shocked Caron wasn't the sight of the blood-soaked girl.

It was his own body, transformed and twisted from mimicking a pact with the devil, which allowed him to see things that would have been invisible to him otherwise.

He could see the soul behind the girl.

The filthy residue that inevitably arises in the process of extracting divine power.

In other words, the souls of children.

Souls that had been carefully bound together and sealed to prevent them from causing harm, filled with deep resentment and curses toward the Holy Church.

And somehow, that very soul was now residing within this girl.

'Why... on earth...?'

His mind couldn't keep up with the situation.

Who was this girl? And why had the discarded residue of those souls fused with her?

He couldn't understand a thing.

But whether Caron understood the situation or not, what was happening before him remained unchanged.

Sin, quite literally, had come for Caron.

The result of all the things he had done, now seeking to end his life.

"Did you think we wouldn't find you just because you changed your form?"

Hundreds—no, thousands—of voices overlapped with the voice of the blue-haired girl.

Cold sweat trickled down Caron's back.

He could feel it, the overwhelming gap between them.

His divine power, his stigmata, almost all the strength he once had was now gone. The chances of him defeating this monster were slim.

But the monster didn't care about Caron's circumstances. The blue-haired girl kept walking toward him.

Slowly.

Step by step.

Each of her footsteps felt like the tolling of a bell signaling the end.

As if telling him that his life was over now, that a second chance wasn't meant for someone like him.

That it was time to say goodbye to this world.

'No...'

He couldn't accept that.

He would survive.

No matter what it took, Caron had resolved to survive.

Nothing else mattered anymore.

Just staying alive would be enough.

He didn't hope for success or glory. All he desperately wanted was to regain a normal life.

Yet, even as he pleaded silently within his heart, the girl kept coming closer, without fail.

He could see the souls behind her, sneering at him.

As if they were saying:

The survival you so desperately wish for—was what 'we' once wanted too.

And when we cried out for our lives to be spared, do you remember how you responded?

Did you really think we would listen to your pathetic begging for mercy now?

"St-stay away! I said stay away!"

Caron's body trembled uncontrollably with fear.

In a panic, he hurled curses wildly in every direction.

But... it was useless.

Even though his body had transformed into something resembling a demon, he had only absorbed a single life.

In the end, the curses Caron cast were pitifully weak.

The blue-haired girl didn't even feel the need to avoid them, calmly receiving the curses as she continued her approach toward Caron.

And then...

The moment he had desperately wanted to avoid, no matter the cost, had finally arrived.

That monstrous girl stood right in front of him.

The overwhelming presence of her murderous intent.

The curses and resentment that radiated from her.

Crushed beneath all of that, Caron collapsed onto the floor in a pathetic heap. He didn't even have the strength left to crawl backward.

The girl gazed down at him and grasped her sword.

In a blink, faster than Caron could even register, her blade slashed.

Caron's face twisted in agony.

Blood gushed from his abdomen. The pain was so excruciating that he felt as if he might lose consciousness at any moment.

But the girl didn't care about his suffering. With a smile on her face, she continued to tear through his insides.

Caron's mind began to fade.

His vision grew dim until everything in front of him was just a blur.

It seemed that Caron's life had come to a pitiful end. That should have been the conclusion.

But...

Caron's consciousness didn't fade. He was still alive.

His shattered body began to swell and soon returned to its original form. In the blink of an eye, Caron was back to how he had been.

However, there was no look of joy or relief on Caron's face.

He knew.

This wasn't some miracle born out of good fortune.

"This makes one soul's worth," the girl said with a smile.

Tears streamed down her face as she smiled.

A smile twisted with madness and despair.

What stood before Caron wasn't just a vengeful spirit—it was something he himself had created.

A revenge demon, born from his own sins.

"Aah..."

The weight of his transgressions crushed him.

All the sins Caron had accumulated over time were staring him down.

This was the punishment he had been dealt.

*****

Her mind was hazy.

Ever since she immersed herself in the black liquid, her consciousness had felt as if it were drifting in a dreamlike state.

The only thing she could hear were voices.

Voices filled with curses and resentment, echoing endlessly.

And so, Lucy moved according to those voices. As they guided her, she exacted vengeance.

The once-glorious cathedral.

A place that had exuded majesty and divine reverence now bore no resemblance to its former self.

Blood splattered across every surface, chunks of flesh scattered about. Corpses littered the entire hall.

And... standing before the girl was an old man.

The last remaining figure of the Holy Church.

So broken, he could no longer speak. Not even capable of begging for death.

Lucy stared at him for a moment... and then twisted his neck.

This time, she did not revive him.

The children's revenge had already been fulfilled.

And with that... the old man's life was snuffed out.

A man who had coldly sacrificed countless lives for his own gain, in the end, met his death at the hands of those very lives he had stolen.

Now, only Lucy remained in that blood-soaked cathedral.

The voices of the souls had vanished.

She had braced herself for this moment.

She had feared that perhaps one of the thirty children might not have been satisfied.

That one of them could still linger, remaining in this world to seek revenge on her.

But... the children didn't harm Lucy.

Once they confirmed that she hadn't cooperated with the Holy Church in orchestrating their abduction, they chose not to kill her.

Instead, all they asked was to borrow her body, as an act of atonement.

However...

That made it even more unbearable.

Had they resented her, had they blamed her and cursed her for everything—

It wouldn't have hurt so much.

She wouldn't have been crushed by this overwhelming guilt.

The children, who didn't seek revenge, who didn't curse her, only increased her torment.

She had stolen the future that those kind-hearted children deserved.

It was by her own hand that they were deprived of the lives they should have lived.

Lucy stood there, dazed, and slowly drew her sword from its sheath. There were no more enemies left. No one to defeat, no one to fight.

Tears rolled down Lucy's cheeks.

But a single tear couldn't wash away the blood that covered her.

Nor could it cleanse the sins she had committed.

Of course, it couldn't.

Ignorance can never be an excuse.

The thirty children Lucy had unknowingly led to the Holy Church—her ignorance had cast those thirty children into hell.

That was a sin no amount of apologies or repentance could ever erase.

No matter how deeply she regretted it, no matter how she atoned, the children who had already passed would never return.

'There's still someone who must pay for this.'

Tears continued to stream down Lucy's face.

But no matter how much she cried, the blood on her hands wouldn't be washed away.

She had lived with pride in her actions until now.

She had stripped others of their lives, completely, without hesitation. Yet she had shamelessly believed that she was carrying out justice.

Someone like her had no right to live.

She shouldn't live.

And so...

There was only one thing left for her to do.

It wasn't even a difficult task.

All she had to do was what she had always done.

She would simply rid the world of one more murderous monster.

Lucy closed her eyes.

She brought the blood-stained sword to her neck.

The sharp blade grazed her skin, and she could feel a small trickle of blood run down her neck.

But nothing changed.

After all, her body had already been soaked in blood for a long time.

It was the tainted, filthy body of a murderer.

Lucy was about to place the final period on her life.

...No.

She tried to.

But in an instant, the sensation of the sword vanished from her hands. Someone had taken it away.

"...Lucy Valierre."

A voice reached her ears.

A voice she had heard once before.

She opened her eyes and looked at the person who had called her name.

A boy with white hair, draped in a black robe.

His deep blue eyes stared straight into hers.

The leader of the Black Fangs stood before her.

Chapter 72: Is There Salvation Even for the Murderous Girl? (5)

"...Lucy Valierre."

Suddenly, the captain of the Black Fangs appears before her, calling out her name, though she had never told him.

But when she thought about it, it wasn't particularly strange.

That man had always been like that.

From the moment they first met, he saw through everything.

—You have no right to blame me.

—Did you think I wouldn't know the things you've done?

Only today had Lucy come to learn about the hideous side of the Holy Church. Their monstrous practice of collaborating with the Empire, gathering children to harvest divine power from them.

That man had known all along. That's why he had shown her such disdain when they first met—because she was a knight of the Empire.

'If only he had told me about the dark side of the Holy Church back then... No, that's far too selfish of me.'

Of course, it made sense.

This was only the second time Lucy had faced the Black Fangs directly.

When they crossed paths in the Black Market, neither Lucy nor that man had known each other.

To the captain, Lucy was nothing more than a knight of the Empire he was seeing for the first time.

Why would he trust her with such secrets?

The information he possessed could shake the Holy Church to its core if it were leaked.

And yet, was he supposed to reveal all of this to a stranger, an Empire knight, no less?

What if that knight reported it to her superiors?

If the Holy Church sensed the leak, they could destroy the evidence and suppress the truth entirely.

To waste such a crucial opportunity to topple the Holy Church for the sake of advising an Imperial knight? It would have been absurd.

In fact, if he had revealed the truth to her back then, that would've been even stranger.

'So those words back then...'

Lucy finally understood the meaning behind what the captain had said in the Black Market.

—Whether you're truly ignorant or just pretending, it doesn't concern us.

—I will simply fulfill my mission.

Whether Lucy, as the Empire's pawn, had her hands in this despicable business or not, it didn't matter.

The Black Fangs would do what needed to be done.

They would bring down the Holy Church in the name of the Black Fangs.

Had Lucy not committed these acts, the Black Fangs would have dismantled the Holy Church in their own way.

After all, the video they had released had already shattered the public's faith in the Holy Church.

What if, at the right moment, they had exposed the secret?

What if the horrific facilities, where children were sacrificed for divine power, were revealed to the world?

The Holy Church could never have survived.

As the captain of the Black Fangs had declared, the name of the Holy Church would have been erased from history.

"What are you doing right now?"

The man before her asks.

His voice is sharp, cutting.

Lucy could tell.

The man standing in front of her was genuinely furious.

And it was no wonder.

The massacre Lucy had just committed would inevitably be blamed on the Black Fangs.

It was clear that the Black Fangs had intended to bring down the Holy Church by exposing their secrets, not through a massacre.

But now that this had happened, the Black Fangs would inevitably be blamed for the slaughter.

Of course, with the atrocities committed by the Holy Church, public opinion might lean favorably towards them to some extent.

But this wasn't about public opinion.

The Black Fangs had a plan—to generate widespread criticism of the Holy Church and empower the people to overthrow them with their own strength.

It was a carefully laid foundation, designed to prepare the public for a future uprising against the Empire.

And yet, that intricate plan had been ruined by a fool like her.

...It would have been better if someone like her never existed in this world.

Not only had she driven children into the depths of hell, but she had also doubted, slandered, and obstructed those who were trying to make the world a better place. ℞αＮ𝘰𝐁Ê𐌔

That was why, when Lucy picked up the sword the captain had tossed aside...

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The man's voice cut through the air again, sharper this time.

Before she could even raise the blade to her neck, the captain grabbed her arm, stopping her.

And in that moment, Lucy realized the real reason the man was angry.

...He was worried.

He was worried about her.

Even for a wretch like her, a murderer who had wrecked his plans, he was still trying to save her.

But...

"Let go of me."

Lucy spoke.

She asked him to release her arm.

To let her finally pay the price for her sins.

She understood the depth of the ideals he held, the nobility in his desire to save people.

But even so...

There are people in this world who don't deserve to be saved. People who don't deserve to live.

Like her.

Her body was covered in blood and bits of flesh.

She had killed far too many.

There was nothing here worth saving.

As she said those words, Lucy looked at the captain.

And then...

He took off his mask.

The face of an enraged young man came into view.

He slowly stepped toward Lucy and... began to speak.

*****

My mind couldn't catch up with the situation at all.

In fact, if I could understand this situation, that would have been even stranger.

The tracking sigil had flashed like crazy, so I rushed to the cathedral.

Oddly enough, there wasn't a single guard in sight. Puzzled, I stepped inside and was immediately hit by the overwhelming stench of blood.

Corpses were scattered everywhere.

Before I could even process the grotesque scene, what I saw next was...

Lucy, suddenly trying to take her own life.

I rushed forward and snatched the sword from her hand, throwing it to the ground. I mean, if someone right in front of you is about to commit suicide, you stop them first, right?

With that immediate crisis averted, I asked her.

What the hell was going on?

Why was she trying to kill herself out of nowhere? What were these bodies? And why was she drenched in blood?

I had a million questions, but...

'What's up with her?'

Despite my asking, she didn't answer. I looked at her and realized something was definitely off.

I quickly started putting the pieces together.

Even if she wasn't talking, I could still figure out what might've happened here.

Let's start with the most important part.

Why had the cathedral ended up like this?

Who was the one responsible for all of this? If I could figure that out, then maybe I could understand the situation a bit better...

'...Wait a minute.'

Isn't it highly likely that Lucy's the culprit?

There's no one else who could have done this, right?

I don't see any other suspects.

It's also strange that she's the only one alive in this massacre.

And more importantly, in spoiler posts, Lucy was described as a horrific murderer.

If the named villain of this story, Lucy, had caused all of this, then the situation would make sense.

...But for some reason, something didn't feel right.

It didn't feel like this was it. Instead, I had a gut feeling that I was missing something.

And just as I was caught up in my thoughts, Lucy suddenly reached for the sword I had thrown on the ground. Panicking, I quickly grabbed her arm to stop her.

Instinctively, harsh words escaped my mouth.

Anything less would've been strange.

From my experience before reincarnation, I knew one thing for sure—I could never stand by and watch someone take their own life right in front of me.

But Lucy looked at me and spoke.

"Let go of me."

She asked me to release her arm.

To let her die.

...It was at that moment that I finally realized the truth behind all of this. It would have been stranger not to.

The last time I met Lucy, I had seen her behaving far too normally to be the murderer everyone described her as. That's when I had formed a few hypotheses.

One of them being... 'multiple personalities.'

If I applied that theory to this situation, everything made sense.

Why Lucy had done something like this.

Why she was wracked with guilt after killing all these people.

She was taking responsibility for something her other personality had done. And that's why she was trying to end her own life now.

In this moment, there was only one thing I needed to say.

I approached her slowly.

"You're just running away."

It was true.

I couldn't even begin to imagine the weight of her guilt.

Even if it wasn't her conscious intention, people had died because of her actions.

The crushing burden of that guilt must have been unimaginable.

But even so, death was never the answer. That was something I could never accept.

"You're just trying to avoid facing your sins because they're too heavy."

No matter how terrible the crime.

No matter how impossible it seemed to live with the burden.

I couldn't let her make that choice.

And so I declared.

"Don't run from your sins, Lucy Valierre."

Don't use death as an escape.

Chapter 73: Is There Salvation Even for the Murderous Girl? (6)

"Don't run from your sins."

Hearing those words, Lucy stares at me.

It was a long silence.

Lucy finally forces herself to speak.

"Are you telling me... to keep living?"

At her words, I nod.

I know she feels the weight of what she's done.

I also understand the desire to escape that guilt through death.

But even so, that's not the answer.

I couldn't condone such an idea.

"I've committed an unforgivable sin."

Lucy spoke with a face full of anguish.

That must be true.

No matter how much you beg for forgiveness, the dead don't return.

And because of that, the sin doesn't disappear either.

The girl would have to live with that sin forever. She had to carry that crushing guilt for the rest of her life.

"I pushed someone into hell with my own hands. I took away the life they should have had."

Her voice trembled.

I could feel the guilt weighing her down.

The responsibility for the life she had taken.

It was that which tormented her.

And so, she spoke again.

"You already know, don't you? You know everything."

Like she had already seen through my heart.

That she didn't want to live.

That she was terrified of living.

That she didn't have the strength to face each day burdened with such a heavy sin.

So she wanted it all to stop.

She wanted to run away from these painful things, to atone for everything through death.

And wasn't I the one who knew better than anyone what she wanted?

"Even so, you're still telling me... to live?"

The blood-soaked girl looks at me.

With tears in her eyes, she looks at me.

And I... nod.

Even though I knew her heart, even though I knew the answer she wanted, I nodded.

Seeing that, she asked me.

"Why are you telling me to live?"

The answer to that question had already been decided.

"Because you'll regret it."

Just looking at her now was enough to know that.

I had already let go of the hand holding her arm.

She could take her own life at any time, regardless of my will.

But even so, she didn't move.

There was nothing holding her back anymore. Yet she couldn't make a decision and hesitated.

There was only one reason for that.

"The truth is, you already know. Death is not atonement."

If she were a selfish person, she wouldn't feel this guilt and could go on living her life without a care.

If she were someone who knew how to compromise, she would've turned her back on her sins and run away, no matter what I said.

But the girl couldn't bring herself to do that.

It was clear that this girl, at her core, was an inherently righteous person.

And so, I spoke.

"If you truly want to atone, don't die. Live. Live, and save others."

Even if it's painful, keep living.

And along the way, save others.

Until the day you can forgive yourself. That's how you atone.

"But even if I do that..."

"Yes, the dead won't come back."

Of course.

No matter how many people you save, it doesn't erase the sin of the lives you took.

Washing away all your sins is impossible.

There's no guarantee that one day she'll be able to forgive herself.

Maybe she'll never forgive herself. Maybe she'll live days even more painful than dying under the weight of her guilt.

"To be honest, if you think about it logically, this is one of the stupidest choices you can make."

There's no reason to voluntarily walk such a difficult path.

If she shamelessly ignored the sins she committed, she could live without this suffering.

That would be far more efficient.

Compared to that, this was a truly foolish choice.

But still...

"Even so, this is the right path."

That much was certain.

A thorny road awaited her, a path of self-imposed suffering. But even so.

This was the right thing to do.

I looked at the girl again.

There was nothing more to say.

Everything now was up to her.

*****

Lucy stared blankly at the white-haired boy.

The boy, having finished speaking, was waiting only for her answer. The rest was up to her choice.

So, what should she choose?

Which path was the right one?

That was... something that needed no deliberation. She had known the answer all along.

The idea of atoning through death was just an excuse to run away.

The sin she had committed.

The guilt of throwing children into hell, of taking away the life they should have had.

It was just a way to escape from the weight of that responsibility.

The man's words were correct, from beginning to end.

Lucy had become a knight to be like the person who saved her when she was a child.

And if she wanted to truly be like that person, at the very least, she couldn't run from the sins she had committed.

But...

"I'm scared."

Those weak words slipped from her mouth. There was no helping it.

The sin was too heavy.

No matter how much she tried to escape it, it wouldn't let her go.

What if it happened again? What if, due to her carelessness, someone else died?

She didn't want to go through this again. She didn't want to commit such a terrible sin ever again.

But Lucy had been foolish.

Blinded by her pride in carrying out justice, she failed to see what truly mattered.

If only she had been more careful.

If only she had taken the time to doubt the Black Fangs, to listen to the captain, and investigate the strange activities of the Holy Church...

None of this would have happened.

The children wouldn't have suffered such horrific pain. They wouldn't have had to meet death at such a young age.

The lives those children were supposed to live wouldn't have been snuffed out so cruelly.

All of it was a result of Lucy's ignorance.

And so, Lucy was scared.

"I'm scared that one day, I'll make the same mistake again."

Scared that the same nightmare would repeat.

Scared that her actions might once again push someone into hell.

It was a fear so overwhelming that she couldn't bear it.

The captain, hearing Lucy's words, remained silent for a long while... before finally speaking.

"In that case... let me make you an offer."

A proposal she couldn't understand.

The captain slowly approached her as he spoke.

"If you stray again, I will stop you."

If, one day, she made another foolish decision. If she repeated the same mistakes.

He promised he would be there to stop her.

"Until the day you can forgive yourself, I will stay by your side."

He would help her atone, standing by her side as she walked the path of penance.

Until the day her atonement was complete, he would walk that painful road with her.

"If you truly want to atone, if you're ready to walk this thorny path to be righteous..."

Before she knew it, the captain was standing right in front of her.

His blue eyes fixed on hers.

"Then follow me."

The captain said this as he looked at her.

It was strange.

There was no reason for this man to make such an offer to her.

Lucy had done nothing for him.

In fact, she had doubted him, gotten in his way multiple times. Yet here he was, offering to help her.

Promising to stop her if she strayed again. Telling her not to worry.

He was even willing to try and save someone like her—a murderer.

"Of course, I'm not forcing you. The choice is yours."

As he spoke, the captain gazed at the girl.

Lucy instinctively knew. This choice would define the rest of her life.

This decision would turn her life completely upside down.

But... she didn't hesitate.

There was no need to hesitate.

Lucy knelt on the spot.

She wasn't kneeling before an emperor.

There was no sacredness in this place. No ceremonial sword in sight.

But that didn't matter at all.

A knighthood ceremony was, in the end, simply a vow.

A vow of eternal loyalty.

Unchanging devotion to a master, no matter how much time passed.

"I swear. As your sword, I will live to carry out your will."

In the distance, the sun began to rise.

Its bright light illuminated Lucy.

The long, seemingly endless day had finally passed.

And a new one had begun.

Thus, that day a girl became a knight.