“Alright, the priority now is to leave this place immediately… Stop clinging to me.”
‘Hehe, Hailey said she can’t live without me. As long as Hailey is here, it’s enough. Everyone else really should just be crushed into ashes…’
Idledra clung to Hailey’s side, unwilling to let go.
Since the villain had been eliminated, couldn’t their intimate time be extended a little longer?
Although Idledra’s nonchalant attitude left Hailey somewhat speechless, she noticed the beads of sweat dripping from her forehead.
“Are you alright? Running over here alone… and didn’t you give all your power to me…”
While there were cases where Idledra was energetic without her around, those only happened after the two of them were oversaturated at night.
Last night was a rare occasion where she hadn’t made any demands.
This morning, she had barely asked for a morning kiss…
Without a sufficient supply of mana, Idledra might not even be able to walk down the stairs, yet she had managed to appear by her side.
“Yeah, my body is so weak right now that I can only stand up if Hailey holds me more…”
“Cut the glib talk. Is this the time for jokes? I’m asking about your health.”
Although Idledra maintained a calm expression, the sweat on her forehead increased, and her body began to feel heavy.
Despite this, she forced herself to walk step by step toward the dying Temple Knight.
This man seemed to be a minor leader among the knights.
“You… I saw the power you used to kill Bishop Hydra. I can’t defeat you… Can you let them go?”
“When they were trying to kill my Hailey, why didn’t you come out and stop him?”
This fellow, though different from those hypocritical old dogs of the Holy See, was still one of them.
Showing mercy would only lead to greater trouble.
Seeing that there was no hope for mercy, the minor leader gave up and sat down against the corner of the altar.
Working under Priest Hydra all these years, he knew this day would come.
Whether it was against his conscience or not, he deserved it.
“Fine. Just make it quick. My brothers and I probably won’t make it to Heaven anyway…”
However, as he slowly closed his eyes and heard the sound of her moving, he expected the arrival of death, but it never came.
“I have placed a Black Magic Curse on you. Now, you are merely my slaves.”
Surprisingly, Idledra didn’t kill them but merely released a symbolic curse.
Not just the knight, but even Hailey was confused.
Someone who was an enemy from the start couldn’t possibly be reformed like this, could they?
“I am a man of the Holy See. I will not betray the Goddess.”
“I, too, am one blessed by the Goddess. Those I kill are only those who wish to kill me, aren’t they?”
Idledra displayed the ball of Holy Magic light that had returned to her hand.
The golden, fluffy ball of light flickered with a warm glow.
This pure Holy Magic made even his heart want to surrender, yet it flowed from a girl who was filled with black magic moments ago.
With the influence of the black magic faded, the knight saw that the girl and the Saintess behind her had almost the exact same face!
If one compared them closely, the girl in front of him actually possessed a trace more majesty and pressure than their Saintess.
“You… you are the Saintess Idledra, right…”
A person blessed by the Goddess yet possessing the most terrifying black magic.
Idledra’s existence caused the knight to doubt his faith for the first time.
The knight was speechless.
Idledra didn’t give him time to talk, pulling Hailey out of the altar and leaving the unconscious Temple Knights behind.
“Are we really going to let them go? If they report you to the Holy See…”
“Don’t worry, my little Hailey. As long as I’m here — “
Before she could finish, a wave of dizziness hit her, and she collapsed weakly into Hailey’s arms.
“You two! I finally found you… Has this lady finally reached her limit?”
Fran, who had been keeping watch outside, saw the moon disappearing into the clouds.
Idledra hadn’t returned, and she was getting worried.
If she accidentally led her clients into trouble, what would happen if their families came looking for her?
Hailey saw a familiar face and didn’t care about anything else, quickly asking Fran to lead them away.
Hailey carefully held Idledra, nearly dropping her.
Eventually, she chose to carry her on her back.
‘Damn it… why didn’t she feel this heavy when I held her before? Did she get fat from eating with me?’
“Hailey, it’s so cold…”
In her daze, Idledra curled up like a little girl, full of fear.
Hailey had no choice but to drape her clothes over her and gently hold her hand.
Even if it didn’t do much, the warmth from her palm should provide some comfort.
With Fran leading the way, they finally left the altar and reached the nearest village to rest.
Meanwhile, the soldiers guarding the altar woke up to see the miserable wreckage.
They had been attacked by something and blacked out.
“Heavens, what happened here… Captain, it’s great that you’re alright!”
The knight surveyed the area, finally seeing the surviving captain sitting by the wall.
As for the other companions, even if they hadn’t been killed, their spirits had been eroded by black magic, leaving only shells.
“Why has everyone become like this? Captain, are you okay? I’ll take you to rest!”
The captain stopped him and leaned against the wall alone.
“After a long time…”
“Nothing happened. The Grand Priest forcibly used black magic, and everyone was harmed by him.”
“Then what about the culprit… I mean, what happened to the Saintess?”
The captain dazed for a moment, seemingly coming up with a new excuse or perhaps feeling conflicted.
“I don’t know. Maybe she saved me…”
—
On the other side, though three strangers knocking on the door in the middle of the night was strange and dangerous, it was different for the Saintess.
An old woman living alone in the village went to cook soup for them.
Hailey looked at Idledra lying on the bed in pain, filled with worry.
“Because she forcibly used black magic, her body has been completely eroded. In severe cases, her eyes might…”
Fran hesitated.
Idledra’s eyes might suffer permanent blindness.
“Stop the nonsense. How do I save her?”
“As long as she can be supplied with enough mana to restore the Holy Magic in her body…”
‘I get it. She’s low on mana again, right? Honestly, you’re getting off lucky…’
“Slowly transfer mana through the palm… You don’t need to use mouth-to-mouth!”
‘Damn. You should have said that earlier.’
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