Taming the Evil Saintess

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Hell Duke Derabilice made a run for it. All he left behind were a few artifacts. I picked up the arm that had fallen in the spot he vanished from. I shook off the bracelet on the severed arm and the rings on his four fingers.

Each one was an incredibly rare artifact. They were as vital as the Star of Dawn Ring in a build. I was pleased with this haul, yet I still felt a nasty sensation in the pit of my stomach.

“Tch.”

It was a golden opportunity to catch him.

I had thought about fleeing too, but I never dreamed the Hell Duke would have even implanted a Mark onto his own body. Cecilia, indignant, spoke to me.

“Knight Elliot, shouldn’t we pursue him?”

“I’d love to, but if he escaped through the Mark, chasing after him wouldn’t be easy. Besides, we don’t seem to have the resources for that right now.”

I surveyed the situation.

The squad seemed reinforced with the addition of Sword Saint Albrecht, but Azar was in rough shape, continuing to spit out black mist due to the effects of possession, and the state of the mercenary group was dire.

Barton seemed to have a knife stuck in his gut. Had Ophelia not cast Healing Magic in time, he would have surely breathed his last this time around.

The others weren’t in good shape either. Although the Demon Knights took off with their tails between their legs after Derabilice fled, the Knights of the Saint were still around.

The main reason for that was the Imperial Knight Order, waiting at the south gate of the Cathedral. It would be our job to clean up after them.

My head began to throb.

The effect of the Mark was almost depleted. This time, having cut off my own neck, the aftereffects would be severe.

“Damn.”

I tossed the artifacts left by the Hell Duke to the recovering Barton.

“Keep these safe. I’ll come back for them later. If you lose any, you’re dead.”

“Hey, Captain, would I ever do that?”

“I’m saying that because you would.”

I sighed. The number of embezzlements he committed during his days as a mercenary was not something to take lightly.

As I turned my head with a sigh, Ophelia was there, staring at me with a distressed expression.

She probably wanted to interrogate me about my attempted suicide—the insane act of self-decapitation.

I raised my arms in a gesture of surrender, bowing my head.

“Sorry, Ophelia. That was the only method I had. The Hell Duke was possessed, and to incapacitate him quickly…”

“…That’s enough.”

However, Ophelia did not seem angry. While her face was flushed, it wasn’t due to rage…

“You, what you said to me earlier… what was that?? You promised you’d tell me once it was all over.”

Cecilia covered her mouth, looking like she was watching a morning drama.

Somehow, it seems this girl has caught some sort of strange sentiment from Emily.

Looking into Ophelia’s teary eyes, I smiled faintly.

“…Ophelia.”

“Yeah?”

“The fight isn’t over yet.”

“…”

I put my arm around Ophelia’s shoulder and pointed toward the Holy See, towering in the middle of the Cathedral.

“There are things that need to be settled. This is about you.”

“…”

“I’ll go with you.”

“…Okay.”

Feeling forced, Ophelia nodded.

This was between Pope Yudor Meredein and Ophelia.

It was the resolution of the relationship between stepfather and daughter.

*

On the way to the Holy See, fallen Demon Knights and exhausted mercenaries lay sprawled everywhere.

When Laila caught my gaze, she grinned and gave me a thumbs-up. It looked like there were no fatalities after all.

Relieved, I took Ophelia’s hand and walked.

“Hey.”

As we climbed the stairs to the Holy See, Ophelia took a deep breath and spoke.

“I did cut off that bastard Pope’s… but I’m still scared?”

“Because of memories from your childhood?”

“That’s part of it… it’s hard to explain… it’s different from just being scared.”

Ophelia wrapped her arms around herself, casting a shadow over her face.

“Like it or not, it’s part of what makes me who I am. To cut that away… can I really say I’m not scared?”

Ophelia showing weakness wasn’t like her.

I wanted to give her a head pat for saying such things, but the effect of the Mark had ended, so I held back.

Instead, I added one more thing.

“You just have to fill in the empty space with something new.”

“Something new?”

“You’ve gained new friends.”

“Are you talking about yourself?”

“…Well, that might be the case.”

With that, Ophelia smirked and stuck her tongue out at me.

“Forget it. I don’t want friends like you.”

Ophelia said this gruffly while stealing glances at me.

“Since friends are out of the question, I want something else.”

“Something else?”

“Um, well… there’s something like that.”

“Something like that?”

“Ah, come on! I’ll tell you later!”

In the midst of such trivial chatter, we reached the top floor.

The path had already been paved by Rowan. The Cathedral Knights, seeing Ophelia walk with the aura of a Sanctuary, gasped in awe and stepped aside.

Upon opening the massive door, the sight that met us was the audience chamber filled with the foul artifacts of Hell Duke.

In the center of the room sat an elderly man with a troubled expression, not on a throne, but on some ambiguous chair.

Pope Yudor Meredein looked at us with trembling eyes.

“Oh… Ophelia.”

His first words were spoken in a nervous voice, and the following words were just as expected.

“I… I think I’ve fallen victim to the Demon King’s Dark Magic. Thanks to that, I was able to break free from my control.”

“…”

As Ophelia gazed at Yudor with cold eyes, he wiped his cold sweat and rambled on.

“Ah, yes! Ophelia! The moment I saw your Divine Power, that golden light… it felt like the brainwashing spell melted away like snow….”

“Hey.”

“…”

Ophelia’s expression went ice cold.

Stepping away from the altar, Ophelia moved forward with a look of disgust. I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword, just in case Yudor might do something foolish, but it seemed I didn’t have to worry about that.

The Sanctuary Ophelia displayed seemed capable of blocking any attack at this moment.

As she approached, the Pope fumbled and nearly fell off his chair. Ophelia slowly opened her mouth.

“I… found it difficult to deal with you. Isn’t that right? Before you were an idiot, before I was a bad girl, you were the biggest part of my being. I’ve always heard nothing but ‘the Pope’s daughter, the Saintess’ wherever I went. That alone was a shackle.”

“Child, I…”

“Shut up. I’m talking here.”

With a clap, the Pope’s face turned.

Ophelia sighed and said.

“Before I was a Saintess, I was your adopted daughter… So no matter how screwed up your behavior was, I still felt a burden to a certain extent.”

“…O, Ophelia. As your father…”

“You never acted like a father to me; what do you mean? Have you ever saved me? When I was wandering in the Catacombs, caught by those wretched academy girls, returning half-naked with my Holy Garment torn? You just scolded me for being unfit for your position. And the punishments were a given.”

Ophelia smirked as she pulled out the Branch of the World Tree from her bosom. It was just a branch, but it was sharper than any legendary sword.

“So now I’m going to cut you off completely. I don’t need your pity. There’s no need for it, and even if you desired compassion, I’m not interested. I won’t even ask why you allied yourself with the Demon King’s army or what your plans were for me. I figured knowing would just give me a headache. So…”

Yudor, realizing the conversation was heading down a dangerous path, cried out in panic.

“Op, Ophelia! Please listen to me, you don’t…!”

“You don’t get to call me that!”

Ophelia shouted, raising the Branch of the World Tree.

“You have no right to call me by name. No matter how much I became a Saintess, I was never your daughter. I was a tool, not a person.”

“…”

“Of course, I’m not going to call you by name either. That’s how our relationship has been, right? So I’m cutting things here. I won’t be the one to end your life; that will be left to the Imperial National Church. Watching that happen while having a drink or two would surely be satisfying, but still, if I don’t do it myself, I might lose sleep over it.”

“…A, ah. Please…”

“…”

I contemplated if I should intervene, seeing that abominable scene.

No matter how much of a bastard he was, it wouldn’t sit well to see his adopted daughter kill him.

Watching Ophelia’s trembling hand, I thought it might be better to act as a mediator here. Just as I was about to speak up…

“Elliot, stay still.”

“Yes.”

Receiving her sharp glare, I sank back down to my seat.

After all, this was their problem.

I had no right to interfere.

Thus, I locked eyes with Ophelia. Attempting to wink at her, she approached Pope Yudor with the Branch of the World Tree held horizontally.

“…Ophelia, Meredein!”

With those final words, the Pope ceased to exist in this world.

He was cleanly killed. The Branch of the World Tree had severed his carotid artery in one strike.

“…Ophelia.”

After the deed was done, I approached Ophelia, who had slumped into a pool of spreading blood.

As she took my outstretched hand with difficulty, she muttered with a despairing smile.

“Killing demons feels so different from this…”

“…”

“The flesh was all soft. The feeling in my grasp reminded me of rotten fruit. There’s a fishy smell too… This is really the worst. Even when I killed the Dark Mage, it didn’t feel like this… It’s just… it’s inhumane.”

“You don’t need to get used to murder.”

“I know. I don’t plan to, nor do I want to, you fool.”

Then, she collapsed, cradled in my arms.

Looking at the Pope’s corpse, Ophelia leaned her face against my chest. However, my body was smeared with the blood of demons from slaying Negilus, so her face became stained a dark red.

“I’m glad.”

“What is?”

“That I can hide my red face.”

“…”

Ophelia said this with a small smile.

Showing her adorable fangs, she spoke to me.

“So, I settled everything, so you’ve got to tell me what you promised.”

“…”

Was she being serious about this?

Ophelia’s eyes were quivering. The transparent tears gathering at the corners of her eyes trickled down her cheeks, mixing with the blood.

It appeared she was indeed shaken by killing her stepfather, even if she didn’t show it.

“…Ophelia.”

“Yeah?”

So, on a comforting note, I decided to speak up.

To speak the truth, I had been waiting for the right moment to say it.

“I like you.”

That confession had been held back for almost a year.