Chapter – 09
Without even having a moment to process the shock, another monster that we hadn’t dealt with yet stretched its hand back out toward the woman who had just returned to human form.
“Let’s turn that one back first and talk later!”
“Shouldn’t you refer to them as ‘that person’?”
“Is that really what matters right now?!”
Just like with the woman before, we used Sir Arden as bait and successfully purified the man, who appeared to be a villager.
Only then did I sit down with a thud next to the two unconscious villagers, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
“Cough!”
Sir Arden let out a weak cough while clutching his flank. It seemed his ribs were cracked from the crushing force of the monster’s grip.
Since he looked to be in quite a terrible state after repeatedly coming into direct contact with demonic energy twice, I immediately cast Heal and Purify on him simultaneously.
His ragged, panting breath gradually grew calm, and his skin, which had been stained pitch-black by the demonic energy, regained its original color.
A tremor passed through Sir Arden’s eyes, similar to the one when I had bestowed my blessing upon him at the entrance of the village.
“Could it be…?”
When I looked down at Sir Arden’s hand gripping my arm, he seemed even more startled than I was, hastily pulling his hand away in a flurry.
“What is it? Why do you keep reacting like that every time I cast holy power on you?”
“…It is nothing.”
Sir Arden, who had been about to ask me something, bit his lower lip tightly and shut his mouth. For some reason, he wore an expression that looked as if he wanted to punch himself.
What do you mean, ‘could it be’? You know, the number one way to infuriate someone is to stop talking mid-sentence.
“It’s monsterization. If a human is exposed to demonic energy for a long time, they turn into monsters like this. Seeing how they only transform like this at night when the eyes of the Gods cannot reach, it seems they can still be fully reverted back to humans for now.”
Sir Arden naturally shifted the subject, redirecting my attention to the two unconscious villagers.
Of course, I already knew all of this, but since there was no need to heighten Sir Arden’s suspicion and wariness any further, I nodded as if I were learning it for the first time.
‘No wonder. I was wondering how on earth the villagers had managed to survive until now when there were monsters around.’
Monsters have a habit of indiscriminately devouring anything alive, whether it be beast or human. The priests who had been martyred in this village previously were also highly likely to have been eaten by the villagers who had turned into monsters.
“This also explains why those holy relics were ineffective. After all, it is impossible to purify demonic energy with a healing relic.”
Furthermore, the symptoms of demonic contamination are very similar to the symptoms of an infectious plague.
It felt like the puzzle pieces were finally starting to fit together.
Of course, the puzzle board was still sparse and empty in places, but the remaining pieces could be gathered in earnest once daylight broke.
“Did the main temple really not know that demonic contamination was progressing in this village?”
Leaning his back against the wall, Sir Arden spoke quietly, his face dark.
“It would be stranger if they didn’t know.”
I countered as I stood up.
“You said the priests who returned to the main temple were quarantined and died of the plague. Sir Arden, you know by now that what is going around this village isn’t a plague.”
They were probably quarantined because they showed signs of monsterization due to the demonic contamination.
‘I don’t know if they actually died, or if they were just driven out.’
The more I learned about the inner workings, the more I realized anew just how malicious the temple that sent me to this village truly was.
If I hadn’t possessed the memories of my past life where I subjugated monsters, I would have absolutely ended up as a monster’s meal alongside Sir Arden.
You cannot kill a monster even if you slash it hundreds of times with a sword that has not been blessed.
And that was precisely the reason why the Caritas Order could wield such immense influence in the Arkenos Empire.
I inadvertently looked out at the scenery outside through the smashed window, only to scowl and take a couple of steps back.
“Dammit. If they were just normal monsters, I could at least hack them down by hammering blessings into an axe and a sword.”
A horde of monsters was flocking toward the inn.
Now that we knew those were villagers contaminated by demonic energy—and could be fully reverted through purification—the only option laid out before us was a difficult and arduous path.
Of course, the road ahead would be a bit more grueling for Sir Arden, who had to act as the bait, rather than for me.
“It looks like we’ll have to suffer quite a bit tonight, Sir Arden.”
At my half-joking, half-serious words, Sir Arden let out a short laugh.
“Is it not the rightful duty of a guard to assist a candidate with their trial?”
This was the first moment I felt this man, who was attached to me as my guard, was truly reliable.
Huff, pant—
As the number of people lying unconscious in the guest room increased, our breathing grew progressively rougher.
The darkness of the night sky, which had been as pitch-black as demonic energy, slowly began to be pushed away by the bluish light of dawn. At the same time, the monsters’ hands that had been ceaselessly tearing through the room also vanished.
“They are finally retreating.”
Sir Arden’s thoroughly exhausted voice echoed deeply.
In the far distance, several figures were moving to avoid the sunlight that was gradually brightening the sky. They dragged their massive, hideous bodies along, walking at a sluggish pace with their waists bent slouched over.
The sun we had awaited so desperately finally illuminated the world brightly. As if oblivious to the events of last night, the world returned to a quiet and peaceful state once more.
Listening to the even breathing of those stretched out on the floor of the room, the things we had experienced felt almost like a midsummer night’s nightmare.
“Sir Arden, are you okay?”
I hurriedly supported Sir Arden’s body as it suddenly collapsed like a marionette doll with its strings cut.
Because I had been using my holy power to heal his body from time to time so that he, who took on the role of the bait, could endure until the end, his current state was not purely due to demonic energy and physical injuries.
“…I am fine.”
Beneath the eyes of Sir Arden, who barely managed to answer, hung shadows of fatigue as dark as his hair color.
It was due to mental exhaustion.
And understandably so. Who wouldn’t be mentally exhausted after repeatedly experiencing their bones breaking and mending, their skin rotting away and regenerating, and being consumed by demonic energy only to be purified?
The fact that he hadn’t gone mad was practically proof that Sir Arden possessed an incredibly resilient mentality. Right now, he just needed to rest.
Dragging the limp Sir Arden along, I barely managed to prop him up to sit against the wall. His handsome face still shone even while showing obvious signs of exhaustion.
“You rest for a bit, Sir Arden. I’ll go check on the village.”
Of course, thanks to the experience from my past life, I was perfectly fine. If I got exhausted from consuming just this amount of holy power, I should quit being a saintess.
To head outside the room before the villagers woke up, I began moving the furniture that had been blocking the door.
At that, Sir Arden shook his head and staggered as he barely stood up to help move the furniture.
“I cannot send the candidate alone into such a dangerous village.”
“Right now, it looks less like you’re guarding me and more like I have to protect you. I told you to just rest.”
“I am fully capable of look after both myself and your safety, Candidate.”
No sooner had we moved the wardrobe that had been blocking the door head-on than the already smashed door turned into wooden shards and came tumbling down.
“Just how much did they pound on the door from the outside?”
I clicked my tongue, looking at the half-destroyed junk that was presumed to have been blocking the door from the outside. Priest Rufus was knocked out cold not too far from our room.
Accompanied by Sir Arden—who stubbornly persisted until the end just like his ancestor, proving he really was the descendant of my ex-boyfriend’s family—I walked out of the inn and pressed my palm against the ground.
‘Right, there was a reason why I didn’t notice it.’
I curled the hand that had touched the ground into a tight fist and let out a deep sigh.
The reason why I hadn’t realized it was demonic contamination even after seeing the villagers, and had kept thinking it was a plague.
The land of this village was completely fine, untouched by demonic contamination.
If the land had been contaminated by demonic energy in the first place, I would have noticed it the absolute moment I stepped foot into this village.
Turning around to look at Priest Rufus, who had followed us out—seemingly having finally come to his senses—I flashed a benevolent smile.
“Have you finally found the heart to tell us what has been happening in this village all this time?”
It didn’t matter if he still hadn’t found that heart. Because there were many ways to make a person open their mouth.
As a warm-up, I lightly cracked my knuckles. This sort of thing was also my specialty.
Back in my day, let me tell you, the Saintess doubled as the Inquisitor too.
