Wait for Me

“Sister Tina, be good today as well, okay?”

The curse on her neck began to throb again. She couldn't tell if it was phantom pain or if Sathya was doing it on purpose.

Fortunately, the pain wasn't too intense, though it still made her want to cover her neck.

Shortly after, Sathya unlocked Tina's chains, allowing her to move around freely for a few minutes before locking her up again. She had to meet with a bishop and would be away from Tina's side for a while.

She couldn't move at all.

Tina tried several methods, only to discover upon closer inspection that this magic was actually a hybrid of chaos magic and regular magic. Sathya hadn't even bothered to hide it.

Unless she dismantled the bed itself, she was stuck.

The airship's takeoff and landing were accompanied by a deafening roar, but the flight itself was incredibly smooth. She could see the layers of clouds below through the window, and the protective barrier kept the airflow and temperature stable.

She stared out the window, watching the vessel slowly submerge into the sea of clouds.

Just then, Tina recalled a troublesome enemy.

Cardinal Morgan.

Tina had a very deep impression of this man.

The Pope had a total of four Cardinals under him.

These figures held even more power than the bishops, technically second only to the Pope.

Consequently, the Church was split into four factions, with each Cardinal controlling a quarter of it.

He was profit-driven and a fanatical psychopath.

He took pleasure in torturing others, even harboring a twisted desire to capture and torture a magical beast... Even though he would eventually be killed by the Deceptive Magical Beast, that was something that wouldn't happen until much later.

In the past, Sathya had also loathed Morgan. Thus, after she was chosen as humanity's hero and the Savior Saintess, she had immediately exiled this unstable element to a remote mountain town.

Yet Morgan's madness went far beyond her expectations. While he wasn't satisfied with his current situation, he didn't intend to defy the Saintess either; he was simply obsessed with researching magical beasts.

To this end, he had sacrificed fifty thousand commoners whom he deemed worthless in a blood ritual, strengthening himself to fight against two great magical beasts: the Heavenly Magical Beast and the Deceptive Magical Beast.

Wails had echoed across the mountains and plains. Under his sole, ruthless slaughter, the commoners he classified as “worthless” had virtually no place to hide.

A few months later, he died at the hands of the two magical beasts.

The power gained from sacrificing fifty thousand people was absorbed by the Heavenly Magical Beast, becoming yet another stepping stone toward the destruction of humanity.

But why him?

The Cardinal who was originally supposed to come wasn't Morgan, but another, weaker woman.

Did the Pope change her mind at the last minute?

But she had clearly been reduced to a figurehead, losing all control over the Church.

Driven by self-interest, the four Cardinals acted completely as they pleased.

Regarding this, Tina had an even bolder theory.

By the time Sathya returned to the room, the airship was already preparing to land.

“Sister Tina, I'm so tired today. Truly exhausted...”

“Sathya?”

Since coming to this world, this was the first time Tina had heard Sathya complain about such a thing.

She was exhausted.

“I am.”

Sathya didn't unlock the chains on Tina's wrists, and her attitude seemed somewhat different.

“Every day, people invite me out and flash hypocritical smiles when they see me. They all say they want to be my close friends and fight by my side.”

“...”

“But in the end, those are nothing more than masks. Flawed, imperfect masks. I've seen far too many of them. It pains me. Seeing those masks only makes me think of you, Sister Tina...”

Tina chose to remain silent.

She knew that, in the past, no one had truly loved Sathya.

It was only when Sathya truly realized that no one would love her unconditionally that she remembered Tina.

“I'm so afraid of history repeating itself. Every time I see them, I'm reminded of how you burned to death in the flames.”

“Little Ya?”

Tina's body began to tremble violently, her jaw dropping slightly.

Although she was in disbelief, she forced herself to stay calm, knowing Sathya might just be testing her.

“I don't understand.”

“Mm~ I don't want you to understand either, Sister Tina. It was a dream—a dream I never want to have again.”

I'm sorry.

This was also the reason Tina had always hated herself.

To achieve her goals, she had hurt Sathya too many times.

But she didn't dare to gamble. This approach was the safest.

Every time she hurt Sathya, she was filled with intense self-loathing.

Yet she didn't dare speak the truth.

“I...” Tina shifted her body, pulling slightly at the chains. “Is this why you bound me?”

“No, it isn't,” Sathya said with a smile. “It's because I never intended to let you enter the White Dusk Forest in the first place, Sister Tina.”

“What?”

“Don't worry, I'll resolve everything here very soon. When it's over, we'll go out on a date.”

Before Tina could even speak, Sathya closed the door and left.

The airship had already landed. Crowds of people poured out along dozens of ladders, heading toward the forest.

But Tina could only lean against the window, watching the white mist hovering over the forest.

Would she succeed?

What was Sathya's goal?

Was she also trying to absorb that chaotic power? Just like last time, to nurture her own magic core?

That door, located at the very heart of the ruins, was a place only Tina had ever reached.

Though she had never opened it, she could sense a powerful chaotic force residing within.

At that moment, an image flashed in Tina's mind—of Sathya revealing her true form, standing alongside Velrose to confront the two Cardinals.

Green flames and black tentacles clashing against holy light magic, colliding violently like two massive tsunamis.

The earth and sky would tremble, and the entire White Dusk Forest would be utterly destroyed.

Could Sathya survive?

No.

Even with Velrose's support, and even if the chaotic power here could provide significant help...

The Cardinals were powerful beings that ordinary people stood absolutely no chance against, existing at the very peak of humanity.

They represented the absolute pinnacle of magic and the Church in this world, and they were extremely dangerous.

They had even stripped the Pope of her power, plotting to divide and rule the world. In terms of both depth and authority, they were far beyond any enemy she had faced before.

Was that why she had locked me here? But why? Did she know I was the so-called Demon King, and that's why she wouldn't let me leave?

How could that be!

Tina clenched her fists.

She would absolutely not allow Sathya to fight the Cardinals. Such opponents should be handled by her, who possessed Immortality.

She possessed all the information on the Cardinals, knew their weaknesses, and, above all, could not die.

Tina's eyes turned into a pitch-black reminiscent of a lunar eclipse, leaving only a thin ring of azure blue at the very edges of her pupils.

What if Sathya got hurt?

What if... she even died there...

Just like last time.

In the end, she became almost certain that Sathya would die.

She wasn't an invincible Saintess; she was just an ordinary girl.

Tina reached out with her other hand, attempting to tear the chains apart.

“Wait for me...”