Taming the Evil Saintess

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It was a one-sided battle.

The shield made of magic could not keep up with Albrecht’s changing weapons. The diverse and dazzling attacks continued to rain down, leaving deep wounds on Aaron as he barely managed to parry them with his single sword.

It was a miscalculation.

While he had been honing his magic, the Sword Saint had learned weapon techniques beyond just the sword.

“Ugh! That’s cowardly!”

The mark of the Sword Saint.

Anything with a blade could become a weapon, and for a warrior, it felt like the most unreasonable mismatch—a true nightmare.

“Aaron, you still misunderstand.”

Albrecht pressed in closer.

He held a dagger in his hand.

I can block this. Aaron shortened his grip on the sword and pulled it inward.

The swords clashed, and behind him, the magic spear aimed at Albrecht, but without even a glance back, he deflected it with the sword in his other hand. It was at a level that made one wonder if he had eyes on the back of his head.

“In the end! Are you relying on something as trivial as a mark?”

“And weren’t you relying on magic? Besides…”

Though it was just a short dagger,

The dagger, which can never break, pushed Aaron’s sword away easily. The spear of magic continued to aim at Albrecht but was only repelled ineffectively.

What he felt behind him was a cold wall.

“I’m not angry that you used magic.”

“Shut up!”

“Your words are entirely correct. Focusing solely on one sword can make you forget other precious values. Perhaps that’s why you disliked me.”

The dagger glowed white and suddenly transformed into the silver thin sword that Albrecht usually wielded, pressing down on Aaron.

In a state of being pushed back, he couldn’t muster strength.

He had no energy to retort. With pain enough to shatter his spine, Aaron gritted his teeth. Albrecht calmly continued.

“What I’m reproaching you for isn’t that you used magic or sided with the Demon King’s Army.”

“…Ugh!”

“Was it enjoyable to slay comrades you once shared meals with? Did you live a new life alongside possessors? Whatever it may be…”

Albrecht smiled wryly as he poured strength into his sword.

The balance of power was collapsing. Aaron’s sword, pushed helplessly by Albrecht’s, began to dig into its owner’s chest.

Crimson blood dripped heavily. Blood streamed from his eyes as well.

“Let me just say one thing, the Aaron I remember as a lieutenant was a remarkable person. Even if it was all an act, I cannot deny that.”

“…”

“Then let me give you a farewell. Farewell.”

In the next moment, Aaron’s body was cleaved in half.

“…No.”

To feel such a thing was a delusion.

Aaron had not died.

As the wall crumbled, his body was flung away, narrowly escaping with his life.

His sword was discarded, and the sharp blade was deeply embedded in Aaron’s abdomen.

“…Sword Saint, Albrecht.”

Aaron spat out blood from the back of his throat and glared at the enemy before him.

Albrecht, holding his sword with a calm expression, finally showed a flicker of hesitation in his eyes.

“Aaron, you…”

“Shut up!”

The magic that had taken the shape of a shield and spear now transformed back into pure ether and seeped into his body. The sword that was deeply lodged in his abdomen was expelled, and the wound began to heal rapidly.

His body’s cells continued to divide, and he began to swell.

Magic flowed through his veins instead of blood, and his heightened senses discerned everything he felt.

“Ha, ha.”

Aaron exhaled.

The thick, toxic magic blended with his breath, making him feel faint, but at that moment, his mind was clearer than ever.

“Aaron.”

Albrecht dropped his sword in shock.

Before him stood a human who had become addicted to magic, no, one who had willingly embraced magic and forsaken humanity.

A taboo in the continent…

“Mine.”

Aaron had become a Mined Creature.

Albrecht felt considerable sorrow at that fact.

“Aaron, have you now abandoned both your humanity and the pride of being a swordsman?”

“That kind of pride!”

As he stomped his foot, an overwhelming shockwave obliterated everything around him.

Albrecht created a wide sword to protect himself from the debris.

Before him, the gargantuan Aaron stepped forward.

He felt power. Immense strength.

The magic coursing through him thrashed wildly, and though his insides were flipped upside down, he felt no pain.

“Sword Saint, do you understand?”

“What is it?”

“Right now, I am strong enough to defeat you.”

With no honorifics, Albrecht frowned.

Yet what Aaron said was true.

He could assure himself he was stronger than ever. Though his body was decaying from magic addiction, he had been endowed with the power capable of possibly defeating the Sword Saint.

“I will kill you.”

With that singular thought, his massive form lumbered toward the Sword Saint.

But Albrecht merely gazed at him with an oddly sorrowful expression, not showing any signs of caution.

Arrogance. Sympathy.

All things that Aaron despised.

Just as he was about to prepare an attack through gritted teeth, Albrecht suddenly spoke.

“Aaron, I heard this fortress was built over an ancient relic.”

“Humph. Trying to stall for time? It’s pointless…”

“And beneath the fortress, there are endless rivers and waterfalls. So large that without floating magic, it would be hard to ascend.”

Aaron lifted his fist, trying to ignore it.

Right now, he was stronger than anything else.

He was sure he could break even Albrecht’s sword.

But just before he swung his fist, Aaron’s eyes widened.

“Wha….”

Albrecht transformed his sword into a massive hammer.

The enormous hammer, bigger than his own body, was skillfully slung over Albrecht’s shoulder, who seemed to be gauging its weight by tapping the ground with his foot.

“The sound echoes. Perfect position.”

“Don’t tell me.”

“Are you starting to guess? What I intend to do?”

Albrecht slowly raised the hammer with both hands.

Yet his gaze was not directed at Aaron.

“If there’s an unreasonable game, just shatter the very game itself.”

“Stop! No!”

“It’s a method the Hero taught me. I still remember vividly how badly I was beaten by it.”

Albrecht chuckled softly as he drove the massive hammer down into the ground.

The horrifying power.

The attack from the continent’s greatest swordsman shattered the ground that supported the fortress in a single strike.

The earth split, causing the fortress to tremble.

A giant chasm appeared. Aaron was sucked into it. He grasped at the bricks with all his might to resist, but his swollen body and thick fingers worked against him.

“Ugh, Ahhh.”

In his core, Aaron detested sympathy, and as he was pulled into the darkness, the last thing he saw was Albrecht’s face filled with pity.

*

“Petinus is dead?”

“Yes. It seems he challenged the Saintess to a duel and then met his end.”

Plague Lord Vermina frowned upon hearing Oksana’s report.

Though heavily made up, she couldn’t hide her trembling eyelids.

“Aaron? The one who boasted he would kill the Sword Saint?”

“Aha! The recent tremor was actually…”

As Oksana relayed the news that Aaron had still been defeated even after becoming a Mined Creature, and that the fortress’s floor had collapsed, Vermina leaned against her palm with her elbow and sank into her chair.

I never should have trusted humans like this.

For a mere apprentice knight to think he could defeat the Sword Saint just because he learned magic was foolishness.

However, she had never considered that Lieutenant Petinus would die.

“Was the Saintess incapacitated?”

“I don’t know. But from what I saw in the game, it’s likely she won’t be able to fight any further.”

“Fine. That’s good enough.”

With the Saintess gone, they could fight sufficiently.

Vermina nodded, gesturing to Oksana.

Even though Lieutenant Petinus was dead, and Aaron along with his minion demons were all defeated, there were still nearly hundreds of monsters remaining.

“Gather all the monsters from the Erosion Zone. It’s an all-out war.”

“Aha! Well, the thing is…”

However, contrary to Vermina’s expectations, Oksana scratched her head and replied.

“They’re almost wiped out.”

“What?”

Though many monsters had diminished due to internal strife caused by supply shortages, those in the Erosion Zone had been solving their food chain on their own.

Monsters are drawn to strong magic. If gathered, they should easily reach into the thousands.

Wiped out?

“What are you talking about? Where did all those monsters disappear to?”

“Umm.”

“Why are you stalling?”

Unlike the relatively anxious Vermina, Oksana appeared quite at ease.

Well, she was also in the form of a puppet while her real self was watching the situation from a safe distance.

That cunning woman.

Vermina barely held back the curses that rose to her throat.

“There’s something I should mention. You might get angry.”

“I’ll be angry even if you don’t tell me, so spit it out.”

When she asked again, Oksana finally sighed deeply and answered.

“You saw it, right? The dragon.”

“Dragon? Which dragon? The one in front of the Demon King’s Castle?”

“No, that’s the true body. I’m talking about the dragon that was in the humans’ base.”

“Why?”

The following words weren’t hard to guess.

“That thing has been running all over the Erosion Zone, eating every visible monster since a while ago.”

“…”

“It’s been consuming hundreds every day, so naturally, there should be none left.”

That dragon.

Plague Lord Vermina was going out of her mind.