Squelch—
In the dim cellar, Saintess Lovene's heart was brutally pierced, her once-vibrant life rapidly fading away...
Hot blood splattered across Mia's stunned face.
She threw herself forward, kneeling by Lovene's side and pressing both hands over the still-bleeding wound.
Holy light surged from her palms, frantically trying to heal her, but the wound was like a dark abyss, swallowing all her power.
“Don't waste your strength...” Lovene whispered softly.
“Shut up!” Mia's tears fell onto her face, mixing with the blood and flowing down. “Why did you make a deal with her? Why didn't you tell me any of this?!”
Lovene looked at her, momentarily dazed.
She had looked at this face for over a decade. From the girl called a “monster” in the corner of the training grounds, to a silent, loyal hound, and now to this crying, miserable fool.
That intense, searing grief coming from Mia was continuously pouring into her, transforming into magic.
Next, Lovene only needed to wait for the Heart of the Saintess to help her reconstruct her physical body. Then, she could soar to the heavens, reaching the peak of this world, shattering the church's seal on her, and escaping the tragic fate of a Saintess!
...
In her past life, Lovene had been a progressive youth from Earth.
A few years after reincarnating as an orphan in this world, she was brought into the Church of the Morning Light by a nun. The church's Pope had raised his scepter before her young self, designating her as the next Saintess.
She had originally thought of it as an honor, until she witnessed the previous Saintess willingly dissolve into a pool of bloody water upon the magic circle meant to awaken the Lord of the Morning Light.
There was something wrong with this world.
The Saintess was merely a key of flesh, blood, and soul used to awaken the Lord of the Morning Light.
Lovene had only just realized this.
After that, she maintained a devout facade on the outside while constantly plotting her escape from the church in secret.
However, to prevent the Saintesses from apostatizing, the church did more than just brainwash them daily; they also branded a seal upon their souls, suppressing their internal magic and leaving them as ordinary as commoners.
But this was no obstacle for Lovene.
The moment she was designated as the Saintess, the faith of all living things fashioned the Heart of the Saintess within her soul. The function of the Heart of the Saintess differed for each generation, and hers was—
The touched emotions and pity others felt for her could be converted into magic power, raising her rank.
Simply put, as long as someone felt pained or worried for her, she would grow stronger.
Furthermore, the closer someone was to her, the higher the quality of the emotions they produced, and the more magic she would obtain. Not only that, but the Heart of the Saintess could also nourish her soul.
This meant that even if her physical body died, her soul could continue to exist in the world and, over time, reconstruct a new body of her own.
Thus, in order to break free from the church's shackles, the moment she learned all of this, she began grooming her own loyal hound—waiting for the right opportunity to die right before her eyes.
And Mia was the loyal hound she had found.
Lovene, whose silver hair and saintly aura usually shone so brightly, was now deathly pale. She tried to offer a gentle smile, but in her weakened state, she could no longer manage it.
“Live on... This is... your master's command...”
“I won't listen! I won't listen to your commands!”
“Then...” Her breathing grew weaker and weaker. “Then it's not a command. Consider it... a request...”
Lovene raised her hand, her blood-stained fingers gently brushing against Mia's cheek.
It was so cold. Her fingers had never been this cold before.
“Live on... Bring the news... back...”
“I don't want to! You stay alive! Bring it back yourself!”
“Promise me... live on...”
Lovene's voice grew fainter and fainter. She could see Mia's lips moving, but she could no longer hear what she was saying.
Her hand slipped from Mia's cheek and fell limply to the ground.
In the final instant as her life force slipped away, Mia hugged her tightly, her tears falling like rain, soaking Lovene's neck and collarbone.
Lovene's Heart of the Saintess beat faintly. She was waiting, waiting for her body to reconstruct.
However, the course of events began to drift from her expectations.
Mia carried her body out of the cellar.
Lovene's soul floated above her own body, following behind Mia.
Is she... planning to bury me?
Outside the cellar was a dilapidated village, and beyond the village lay a lush, dense forest.
Following behind her, Lovene realized for the first time just how fragile Mia's back looked.
Mia found a hill covered in wildflowers.
The wind blew down from the crest of the hill, carrying the scent of green grass and damp earth. Wildflowers swayed gently in the breeze as Mia carried Lovene's already stiff, cold body up the slope, step by step.
She dug a grave with her right hand. It was deep, but just long enough to fit a person's body.
Mia carefully lifted her and placed her into the grave with incredibly gentle movements. Then, she crossed Lovene's hands over her chest and brushed the loose strands of hair away from her face, tucking them behind her ears one by one.
Finally, Mia lay down inside as well.
She turned onto her side to face Lovene, gently caressing her cold cheek.
“Do you know, Lovene?”
She murmured in a daze:
“When I was little, I didn't understand what a 'harbinger of calamity' meant. I only knew that my parents died, the nun who adopted me died, and everyone hated me. It made me feel like this world was a pitch-black night.”
“But you shone in like a beam of light. You told me I wasn't a monster, and you invited me to be your knight. In that moment, I truly believed it. I believed that someone in this world was willing to be kind to me.”
Floating in the air, Lovene shook her head with a complex expression.
Kind to her?
That was merely to break herself free from the church's shackles. She, Lovene, was cold to the core and would use any means necessary to achieve her goals.
“These past ten-plus years have been the happiest of my life. I never thought the world could be so beautiful. You were the one who gave me everything.”
“But there's one thing you were wrong about.”
Her voice began to tremble.
“I really am a harbinger of calamity. I really am a monster.”
“My bad luck killed my parents, it killed the nun, and now, it has killed you.”
Her tears welled up and spilled over once more.
In the air, Lovene instinctively reached out her hand, wanting to offer words of comfort as she usually did. But every time she opened her mouth, she remembered that she was already “dead.”
A soul could not touch the living.
“Perhaps Mia really shouldn't have been born into this world.”
Mia drew a dagger from her waist and pressed the tip against her chest, right over her heart.
In that instant, Lovene truly panicked.
She instinctively lunged downward, reaching out to grab the blade, but her fingers passed right through the metal, through Mia's body, grasping nothing but air.
“Thank you for giving me over a decade of warmth. I am already content.”
“I'm coming to join you. Goodnight.”
No—!
Amid Lovene's brief, silent cry of horror, Mia turned her head to gaze at Lovene's face one last time, and then plunged the dagger down with all her might.
The sound of the blade sinking into her chest was very faint. Blood poured from the wound, soaking her robes and seeping into the soil beneath her, mixing with Lovene's already dried blood.
Mia did not close her eyes. Her gaze rested quietly on Lovene's face, filled with infinite, lingering affection, until her hand slowly slipped from the hilt and the light in her eyes faded completely.
Lovene froze completely in place.
Could a soul shed tears?
She didn't know.
She only knew that her heart felt as if it had been pricked by a needle, a dull ache blooming within.
Soon, cold and ruthless as she was, she chalked this feeling up to the discomfort of “losing a very useful tool.”
The loyal hound she had raised for over a decade was gone just like that. Finding a replacement would take a massive amount of time and effort, and a new hound might not possess emotions as pure as Mia's.
Yes, she was merely lamenting the loss of her loyal hound.
Yes, that had to be it.
Yet for some reason, the more Lovene tried to convince herself of this, the more Mia's face filled her mind.
Those eyes that had looked up at her for the first time on the training grounds, that hand that had clutched her sleeve when she was sick, those slightly reddened ear tips every time she handed her a cup of tea...
She shook her head, banishing these memories.
What a pain.
Even in death, she had to cause trouble.
She cast a glance at Mia's corpse, took a deep breath, and began to compose her thoughts once more.
The plan was still intact. She would still be reborn, and everything would return to its proper course.
It was just that... the dull, heavy ache in her chest refused to dissipate.
And at that very moment, the wind outside the grave came to a sudden halt.
The wildflowers froze in mid-air, remaining bent as they were by the wind. The wings of birds hung suspended in the sky, no longer flapping, and the sea of stars froze like a painted canvas.
Then, everything began to reverse.
Rate on N.U.
