The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 259

A long time ago.

There was a woman with peculiar eyes.

A woman who could see the emotions within people’s hearts as colors and comfort them accordingly.

The woman had a deep fondness for the study of faith.

She adored the virtues of God, who poured out blessings and devotion without reservation. Because of this, she dedicated her entire life to God, as it was the greatest offering she could give.

With the desire to spread God’s love to more people, the woman became a Sister and shared her gifts with everyone.

Even on the battlefield.

Even in the darkest corners of human depravity.

She lived proclaiming God’s love.

People applauded the Sister, whose image was akin to the reincarnation of a Saintess, and asked her:

“Isn’t it difficult?”

They asked her what was so good about spreading God’s love, which offered no reward.

Born as a noble with blue blood, living a life others could only envy, why did she not enjoy it? People even mocked her for it.

To their questions, the woman always responded with a foolish smile and said:

-If I die someday, won’t the Lord recognize my sacrifice?

The nobles mocked her as foolish, while the commoners applauded her noble sacrifice.

They called her an angel without wings.

Thus, the woman’s sacrifice continued.

And it persisted to this day.

Though it had veered slightly onto a misguided path.

Her name was Elissia.

She was called the Saint of Gentleness.

*

Chartia looked at the woman before her with an expression of disbelief. It was something that should not have been possible.

“Why are you…?”

A Saintess.

It wasn’t a title bestowed by the Church.

People called her a Saintess, but she was not someone with divine authority like the Saintesses recorded in history books.

She merely possessed greater Divine Power than others.

And she made sacrifices without expecting anything in return.

She was just an ordinary Sister.

Chartia tightly closed her eyes and struggled to straighten out her confused thoughts.

She thought and thought again, tracing back where things had gone wrong and what had been twisted, reflecting on her own mistakes.

Normally, she would have doubted Rohan’s words right away. Now, realizing for the first time that things had been awry from the beginning, Chartia looked back on her memories with trembling eyes.

Even so, Chartia could not understand.

She had no connection to the woman before her.

Not at the Academy.

Not in the Dormitory. She had never met that woman, except for the one time she came to give a lecture at the Academy.

That was three years ago.

-Sacrifice is not something to be proud of. It should not be flaunted or boasted about.

The effects of magic should have long since disappeared by now.

Faced with an unbelievable situation, Chartia looked at Elissia with trembling eyes. Her thoughts offered no answers.

Elissia smiled gently and bowed her head. Even with the smallest movement, a sacred aura seemed to emanate from her. Strangely enough, it felt absurd.

“Such esteemed individuals have come to visit. So many faces rarely seen even in the Empire.”

Elissia met each of their gazes and recited their names.

“The Princess born of commoner blood, Chartia.”

“The young swordsman who achieved great feats at an early age, Mikhail.”

“The pitiful wizard lost in his pride, Ruin.”

Elissia clapped her hands and smiled brightly at the platinum-haired man.

“Oh my, even the Empire’s second-brightest Crown Prince is here. For such noble feet to grace this humble church, I, as a Cleric, am at a loss for words.”

Chartia knew the woman before her. And because of that, she could not help but feel terrified by this situation.

“Sister Elissia? Why is the Saint of Gentleness here…?”

“Oh my… I’m honored that you remember the name of such an insignificant Sister, Princess.”

“You…! Why is someone who was called a Saintess here?!”

At Chartia’s question, Elissia smiled brightly and shook her head.

“I am not the person you think I am, Princess. I am merely an opportunist waiting for the day when I will be rewarded in the heavens.”

“Then why…?”

“Because the God I believe in is here.”

Hugging the Bible tucked under her arm with affection, Elissia spoke to Chartia.

“This is my home. Is there a problem with that? Didn’t you also come to the Shepherd’s house to feed your lost soul, Princess?”

“…”

“When a sheep is lost, it is natural for the Shepherd to light the way. Just as I was guided by the Lord, you must have been led by fate to find me.”

Elissia began to unravel Chartia’s doubts with a small smile.

“You’ve often had unresolved matters return to you as burdens, haven’t you?”

“…”

“Unbearable fears have gnawed away at your hearts.”

“…”

“Such experiences are why you are struggling amidst hardships.”

Chartia glared and spat out harsh words, telling her to stop speaking nonsense.

“Was it you who did this?”

Elissia looked at Chartia with a faint smile.

“I’m not sure what you’re asking.”

“Was it you who orchestrated everything that brought us here?”

“I merely gave your hearts a nudge. I only provided the stimulus to act on the desires you already harbored.”

Moving her fingertips gently, Elissia drew a line in the empty space. As white light began to scatter from her fingertips, a familiar blueprint appeared in Chartia’s vision.

The Academy.

Elissia unfolded the blueprint of the Academy, where Chartia had spent four years, into the empty space.

“The most important thing in evangelism is creating an opportunity.”

Elissia placed a dot at the center of the blueprint and smiled. The spot she marked was the very center of the Academy—the location of the Barrier Stone.

Protecting the Academy.

Pointing to the source of the barrier created by the First Emperor, Elissia smiled.

“Where dissatisfaction brews, the wick is always ready to ignite. People need something to rely on, something to depend on.”

“…”

“I simply made you honest. Honest about your desire to seek faith and find God.”

Elissia added a few more drawings to the empty space.

Chartia working in her office.

Yuria crying in the bathroom.

And Ruin isolating himself in his room.

With a smile, Elissia spoke.

“The gift I received from God is planting the seeds of evangelism in people’s hearts.”

“…”

“I merely peek at the anxieties you hold within. You might ask how I did it… Well, who knows?”

Elissia closed her lips with a gentle smile.

“The God I believe in makes the impossible possible. All I do is bow down to Him in gentleness. That is why I love you and why I called you here.”

Elissia moved slowly.

“We call this kind of relationship a magnet.”

She ran her black-painted nails through Rohan’s hair at the forefront, wearing a pleasant smile.

“No matter how hard you try to pull away, you can’t escape the pull. That is what we call magnetism.”

Rohan was trembling.

Trembling like a leaf in the wind.

Rohan’s shoulders trembled in fear as Elissia’s faint breaths brushed against him. When her black-painted nails grazed his skin, he clenched his eyes shut and let out a ragged breath.

“Krrrgh…”

“Holy Apostle Rohan, do you remember now?”

“Ah… Aaaaargh!!!”

“I heard you had many conversations with Holy Apostle Yung, who specializes in healing painful memories.”

“Shut… up…!”

“Did you have a pleasant dream?”

“Shut up… you demon!”

“Hmph… My loyal tool, Holy Apostle Rohan, your words are quite harsh.”

Elissia’s hand began to glow. The light, which had been drawing patterns in the empty space, started to engulf Rohan’s head, swirling like a dance.

It moved with a menacing intensity, as if ready to devour him.

Slowly, it began to consume him, covering his eyes and mouth.

“A servant of God must live according to their purpose. That is the joy of being a servant, after all.”

“Kuhhh!”

“Let us cast away the unpleasant memories here and, as before, pray together.”

Evangelism.

“For I am an Evangelist.”

As the light in Elissia’s hand faded, Rohan turned to look at the frozen Student Council Members.

Chartia. Yuria. Ruin. Hanna. Mikhail.

As Rohan looked at them, tears streamed down his face, and he bit his lip.

“I’m sorry… everyone…”

Only now did Rohan recall the memories of the past.

When he sought the Heretics’ church and fled down to the village in haste, he encountered a man with severed hands.

-When did the church on the mountain appear?

-Yes, if you know anything, please tell me…

-Hmm… That was close.

-…!!!

-Ah, I am Archbishop of Oblivion, Yung.

-Archbishop…! I must escape…!

-Boom!

-But, Holy Apostle, you have such interesting memories.

He was led to the church by the man who introduced himself as the Archbishop of Oblivion.

And the moment the man’s hand touched his head, everything felt like it turned white.

It was as if his thoughts were being unraveled, implanting memories that this place was filled with success and hope.

And that woman.

-Yung, Holy Apostle.

-Apostle.

-Is this a new devotee?

-Yes, that’s correct.

-I see. Then, is this the Mikhail you mentioned?

-No, it is not.

-What a pity. Well then, shall we proceed with evangelism?

That woman was a demon.

With sweet words, she lured people into indulgence.

She made them confess their innermost thoughts, as if she knew all truths, and naturally assimilated them into this place.

Here, her words were law and truth. Yes, as if turning human beings into mere tools.

-Let us pray.

All emotions were sealed away.

Rohan moved. A tool must follow its master’s will. If the master decided to use it as a pen, it became a pen. If the master decided to use it as a rag, it became a rag. That was the reason for a tool’s existence.

Rohan drew the sword at his waist and charged at Chartia.

“L-let… us… p-pray together.”

Elissia spoke with a faint, twisted smile.

“Holy Apostles, let us pray.”

***

-Crunch…!

“Oh…”

A man watching this scene rummaged through a snack bag in his arms, munching on a treat.

“Fascinating.”

He muttered in admiration.

Ricardo.

A Possessor.

The man who considered himself the most handsome in the world.

I nodded with a pleased smile, observing the situation unfold exactly as it did in the novel.

When Rohan swung his sword, Mikhail blocked it.

-Clang!

Then counterattacked.

-Whoosh!

And behind them, Elissia laughed.

-Hahaha…

It was fascinating to see the events play out just as they were written in the novel. It always felt that way.

“They’ve grown a lot. Both Yuria and Mikhail could probably handle the Archbishop together now.”

While the two were already strong, there was now a sense of composure about them.

-Clear your mind… Clarisma!!

-Get a grip!

There didn’t seem to be much need for concern.

“They’re doing well.”

Reinforcements would arrive soon. It seemed like I could call it a day here.

This storyline was about briefly showcasing the Apostle’s strength.

Thankfully, no one died.

That woman wasn’t just any Crazy Woman, after all.

The Apostle of Gentleness, Elissia, lived solely with the goal of evangelism, so there was no need to fear meaningless deaths. Her only flaw was worshipping a false god, but her character was still commendable.

Unlike Olaf.

Compared to the Apostle of Compassion, Olaf, she could be considered moderately insane. While the gap in strength between the two wasn’t significant, Elissia was no less formidable.

Elissia’s ability allowed her to turn everything she saw into her will.

A truly troublesome ability.

In any case.

Elissia didn’t torment people through murder. Instead, she shattered their minds.

Ordinary mental strength couldn’t withstand Elissia. She could even reduce the awakened Hero, Mikhail, to a broken shell.

Honestly, defeating her was impossible.

For anyone but me, that is.

Anyway, this episode wasn’t complicated.

Once Chartia, freed from her restraints, shattered the Ring’s Gem and Rowen arrived, it would end.

The story concluded with Elissia retreating.

To put it simply, it was a game where the Student Council had to endure.

The key point was this.

-Aaaaaaah!!

Whether they could hold out until reinforcements arrived.