Chapter 27 – Episode 26 – Intentions Don’T Matter (3)

Episode 26 – Intentions Don’t Matter (3)

“Shut your vile mouth!”

Sir Jacob’s sharp sword stroke grazed ‘Mrs. Grunhild’s’ neck. After a brief flash, a red line was drawn on her pale neck, and soon her head rolled onto the floor.

“No!! No, no, no!!”

The sight of Grunhild, clutching the headless body of his wife and wailing, created a brief moment of solemnity, even though everyone knew his fault.

To love a woman so deeply. Even knowing he was the cause of this situation, the blind love and the sorrowful cries made one pause. That’s what humans are, beings of both reason and emotion.

“Cha Hyewon.”
“Got it.”

In the meantime, I made eye contact with Cha Hyewon.
That’s how it is for normal people, but for me and Cha Hyewon, who know the story and are trained by all sorts of mass media, it’s just a melodrama. Grunhild’s wailing? You see that all the time in dramas and movies. Well, it’s more real, I guess.

“Ah, Marie… Marie? Cough? Ah, ah? Marie?”
“Honey, I’m sorry. I’m so hungry. Can I eat you a little? Huh? You’d let me, right?”

The hand of ‘Mrs. Grunhild,’ whose head had been severed, pierced through Grunhild’s chest. Grunhild, alternating his gaze between the hand piercing his chest and the face of his wife, whose mouth was still moving despite being severed, smiled.

“Of course… if that’s what you want… I’ll do anything… for you.”
“Ah, thank you. I love you, Grunhild.”

The hand that had pierced Grunhild’s chest was pulled out, then lifted the severed head to his neck. Then, with a ravenous sound, it began to bite and devour his neck. In the meantime, I confirmed that Cha Hyewon had approached stealthily and taken her position.

“I told you, he’s not human, you idiot.”

In sync with Cha Hyewon’s movements, I unleashed the divine magic I had prepared.

“Rise Ability. Saint Benediction. Prayden.”

A massive amount of divine power was released in an instant.
It’s still okay. I can handle it.

I grabbed the released divine power again, combined it, and broke through the limit.
It always feels dirty when a chunk of divine power that was always overflowing is drained away. But I did it.

“Sanctuary.”

Sanctuary declaration.
A high-rank skill that can be used when intelligence is at least 71 or higher.

Normally, I, whose intelligence stat is only 59, wouldn’t be able to use such a high-rank skill, but the Saint trait made it possible. Of course, it was through a pre-prepared chain magic, so its power is weaker than the original skill, but still, it’s something.

A circle of light spread out from me in an instant, scattering divine power.
The divine power began to drop rapidly. It was a huge consumption that wouldn’t last long, but it was okay for a moment. Because Cha Hyewon had already arrived.

Cha Hyewon’s relentless sword strikes poured down on Grunhild’s body. Of course, ‘Mrs. Grunhild,’ who was holding him, was also slashed to pieces, but both Cha Hyewon and I knew that this guy, being a minion of the Undead Archduke, wouldn’t die from this.
The target isn’t that monster.

Crack!

The glass bottle hidden in Grunhild’s body shattered from the sword strikes, and the eyeball inside burst.

—Aaaaaah!

A cry of pain that wasn’t heard by the ears but transmitted to the soul.
The fragment of the Undead Archduke, whose soul was bound to gather magic through that eyeball, began to cry out in pain.

People’s souls shook from the Undead Archduke’s cry, which wounded their souls, and they all staggered. Even those with high stats looked pale, so if the Sanctuary hadn’t been declared, most of them would have died.

Since it was a skill that consumed a lot of divine power, I ended the skill as soon as I achieved the goal of ‘blocking the howling.’ The bright light that had been filled with divine power disappeared, and the basement darkened again.

“Ah, my king!”

‘Mrs. Grunhild,’ whose fragmented body was wriggling and sticking back together in a disgusting manner, crawled towards the demon, and people gasped at the grotesque sight.
This time, Sir Jacob’s sword shattered her again, but the fragmented pieces wriggled and stuck back together. Even Sir Jacob frowned at the sight.

“Sir Jacob! Don’t worry about that small fry! You must strike the main body of the Archdemon!”

In the game, he’s invincible while he’s waking up, but there’s no rule that it’s the same here, right?
Cha Hyewon and Sir Jacob’s attacks poured down on the Undead Archduke, who was standing there blankly. The attacks were so fast and flashy that it was hard to tell if they were hitting properly.

I observed the Undead Archduke with narrowed eyes. In this damn real world, neither allies nor enemies, not even myself, have health, mana, or divine power gauges displayed, so the player has to judge for themselves, which is a pain in the ass.

Especially for Cha Hyewon, a close-combat character, she has to make split-second decisions based on her intuition, so I can’t even imagine how stressful that must be. One thing is for sure, it’s a huge headache.

—Who is it? Who dares disturb my rest?

The trembling that shook the soul made people stagger again.

‘This line wasn’t there? Is the attack working?’

No, but seriously. Is he some kind of psychic? Who is who? I’m the player, you know.

“Buff!”

My short contemplation was broken by Cha Hyewon’s shout. It’s working!
I nodded to Diana and Irian, who were waiting for my instructions, and shouted to the remaining people.

“Pour it all on that demon bastard!”

The priests’ buffs and the dealers’ attacks poured down.
It was a piece of cake to unleash extreme damage on an opponent who was just standing there, especially against a demon, with the buffs from those with the ‘Saint’ and ‘Saintess’ traits, which are good against demons. The Archdemon’s body began to scatter even before he could revive.

—Who are you? I will remember this soul.

Just as I was about to rejoice that the boss fight had ended before it even started, I felt a strange, chilling sensation down my spine. At the same time, I instinctively felt it. A mark engraved on my soul.

‘This is bullshit. How can a guy who talks like a psychic leave a mark without even looking?’

I felt strangely drained, so I opened my status window, and sure enough.

【Yurian】 ● Priest

▼ Stats
[Strength: 8(-2)] [Agility: 10(-2)] [Knowledge: 59] [Wisdom: 52] [Luck: 55]

▼ Skills
▶[Heal]
▶[Detox]
▶[Bless]
▶[Sanctuary]
▶[Unique]

▼ Traits
[Saint] [Unparalleled Beauty] [Exceptional Stamina] [Well-Endowed] [Acting] [Clumsy]
◉ Status Ailment: Undead Archduke’s Mark (Physical Stats -20%)

This is bullshit.
My physical abilities are already low, and now this debuff?

I should have named my character ‘Yuri/An.’
But the good thing is that the damage was minimal except for me. According to the game, the ‘Sealed Fragment of the Undead Archduke’ would awaken and enter the boss fight phase, and the city would be destroyed.

As the demon disappeared, Mrs. Grunhild’s tenacious body also lost its power and returned to a corpse, and the situation was over.
I staggered from the mark, and Diana supported me. There’s no one like our Diana.

‘…It feels like I’ve missed something. Why do I feel so uneasy?’

I thought about it, but nothing came to mind. I left the cleanup to the remaining people and left the underground chamber with Diana’s support. Of course, I didn’t forget to make eye contact with Cha Hyewon beforehand.

“Diana. I think I’m okay now. You go help with the purification.”
“No. I’ll stay by your side.”

Seeing her stubbornly refuse while glancing at Cha Hyewon approaching, I didn’t think she would leave. Well… I guess it’s okay if she hears.

“You’ve worked hard.”
“Worked hard? It ended before it even started. Is this how it was supposed to be?”
“No. Originally, we would have fought the fragments like crazy.”

Cha Hyewon, who glanced at Diana sitting quietly next to me, adjusted her words. Actually, even if I talked about games and bosses, she wouldn’t understand, so it didn’t matter much… but it’s better to be careful.

“Did you call us because of the Apostle Church? It wasn’t a big deal, but if you’re curious, I’ll tell you.”
“Wait. Apostle Church? Come to think of it, where did they go?”

That’s what I was forgetting. That’s why I felt so uneasy. Lilith, that succubus. Where did she disappear to? I’ll have to finish talking with Cha Hyewon and then look for her.

“I heard you were looking for someone? A little kid with black hair and black eyes. She said she’d follow along to find someone, so I let her. Honestly, I also wanted to make her suffer a bit. Lily… well, that woman is a bit annoying.”
“A little kid with black hair and black eyes…? Carsilla! Damn it!”
“What? Carsilla? Where have I heard that… Ah, that disaster……”

I quickly got up. Sensing something was wrong, Cha Hyewon also shut her mouth, and Diana also looked around in surprise.

Where is Irian at a time like this! I should have heard where she hid Carsilla beforehand. As I was blaming myself, Irian and Carsilla appeared from a distance.

“What? Why are you like that? Are you welcoming Carsilla?”

Seeing her holding the red-haired knight’s hand and walking over with a carefree face, I felt relieved, but also angry that she had gone without saying anything.

Irian’s questioning expression as she approached with the black-haired, black-eyed kid. Fortunately, Carsilla was the same as usual.

“Carsilla, did anyone come looking for you?”
“Yes.”
“…Who?”
“Lilia unnie.”

Damn it. I hope nothing happened? I grabbed the kid’s shoulders, turned her around, and checked if she was hurt or if anything had happened, but Carsilla, with her grumpy expression, was the same as usual.

“That unnie didn’t do anything to you, did she?”
“No. We just talked.”

I was about to ask what they talked about, but I stopped myself. It felt like Carsilla was giving me a look. I’ll ask her later when we’re alone.
After taking a breath, I felt fatigue wash over me.

‘Diana is sticking to me, so I can’t say anything. There’s no whisper… huh?’

What is this cursor blinking in front of my eyes? …It’s a whisper! Wow, me. Damn, this function was hidden. I was so dumbfounded that I let out a hollow laugh.

▶ Can you hear me?

I sent a message. Cha Hyewon flinched, so it must be a whisper.

▷ Yeah, I can hear you fine.
▶ We can talk with this from now on. Sweet.
▷ Then I’ll go somewhere else?
▷ That saintess has been glaring at me since earlier, it’s so annoying. Why is she doing that?
▶ Okay lol I’ll contact you later.

I roughly finished the conversation with Cha Hyewon and took care of our group.
Starting with Diana, who seemed relieved that Cha Hyewon was gone, I led Irian and Carsilla to help with the cleanup, and helped Sir Jacob write the report.
After that, we had a late dinner, and after putting Diana to bed, I came out to find Irian leaning against the wall, as expected.

“You have something to say, right?”

Ah, I’m tired. Can’t we postpone it?

“Later. Diana’s not asleep yet.”
“…You little rat. I’m not letting it go.”
“Okay, later. I’m tired, so I’m going to bed?”
“Get lost.”

She answered curtly, so I ruffled Irian’s red hair a lot. I got a stomach punch in return, but I blocked it with my shield.

“Cough!”

Of course, I got hit again. There’s no way a paladin wouldn’t sense divine power. …But why does it hurt so much today? It really feels like my insides are damaged.

“Are you okay? Why are you spitting blood like this? You’re just kidding, right?”
“No, I’m not. I’ll tell you about this later, I’m really hurting. Can you support me?”
“U-uh. Sorry.”

Irian quickly supported me, but because of the height difference, it was almost like I was being hugged.

“Hey, hey. My feet are dragging. Hold me properly.”
“Okay!”

Huh? I felt my body being lifted, and suddenly I was in a princess carry position. And I, a man, was being carried.

“Put me down!”
“Stay still!”

No, something’s not right. This is not right! The roles have been reversed!
If I struggled here, I would feel so pathetic, so I quietly stayed in Irian’s arms. This girl is surprisingly… voluptuous. She usually wears tight clothes.
She must have forgotten to bandage herself since she was moving so much today and it was time to wash up and go to bed. Oh, she’s more stacked than I thought~

“Here. This is your room. You can walk now, right?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“…Ahem. Sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, give me your panties.”
“Get lost!”

I watched her back as she stomped away, then went into my room. The bed sheet wriggled, and a small black head popped out.

“You’re late.”
“Aww, is our baby still awake?”
“Yeah.”

I sat on the edge of the bed and stroked the head of my cute Carsilla, then asked what Lilith had said.

“She told me to tell you to meet again. She said it was fun pretending not to know. ‘Lilith’ did. She told me to tell you that.”
“…That unnie’s name is Lilia, Carsilla must have misheard.”
“No. I’m smart. She told me to say ‘Lilith.’”

…She said it was fun pretending not to know?
No, damn it. Does that mean we were both aware of each other?