I Will Definitely Save You

“Hold on,” Lovene said as she stepped forward. “There must be a way to have the best of both worlds.”

“No, there won't be.”

Marcus coughed, his voice turning strangely distorted.

“I can feel it taking over my body. It's merging with me, and it's almost finished... If you don't kill me now, I'll completely lose consciousness and become a true monster.”

His body swayed, as if something had violently tugged inside him. The glow on the surface of the black crystal pulsed erratically, and tiny whirlpools rippled across the water around him.

“...Please, I beg of you, kill me.”

Lovene took her final step, knelt down, and reached out with both arms, cupping his cheeks in her hands.

His skin was cold and damp, as if he had just emerged from the deep water. Beneath her fingers, she could feel the sharp, bony contour of his jaw, covered by only a thin layer of flesh.

It felt as though he was being eaten away, bit by bit, by the black crystal.

“Trust me, Marcus. As long as you remember their names, as long as you remember those eyes, you can still hold on.”

Marcus shuddered. He looked up at Lovene, only to find that she had already stood up and was stepping backward, away from him. Seeing this, panic seized his heart.

“...Saintess? Lady Saintess?”

“I'm here.”

Lovene looked at him and smiled gently.

“You can still hear me, and you can still recognize me. That is enough. Hold on just a little longer, even if it is only for a brief moment.”

“I will definitely save you.”

Having said that, she turned around.

The white mist parted before her. She took one step, then another, her figure gradually swallowed by the fog. Seeing this, Marcus roared in desperation:

“No, no! Don't leave! Kill me, quickly! Kill me!”

“You cannot purify me! I will get you all killed! I will get you all killed!”

Sadly, Lovene had long since vanished from his sight, leaving his desperate cries to echo uselessly in this blank space of consciousness.

“You can't save me... You can't save me...”

He lowered his head weakly, his gaze growing increasingly vacant.

...

The mist began to thin, fading from a thick, milky white to a translucent gray, before finally dispersing to reveal the reefs, the sea, and the massive, chain-bound silhouette.

When Lovene regained her footing, she found herself standing in the same spot, though her Holy Light magic used to purify the contamination had stopped.

Believing the purification was complete, Gale eagerly stepped up to her side and asked, “How is it?”

His brow was furrowed with tension, and he had already prepared himself for the worst-case scenario.

After all, he had never trusted this Saintess from the start, nor did he believe she possessed the ability to purify Marcus. In his eyes, she had to be plotting something.

Lovene withdrew her hand and turned to face him.

Her face was pale, as if she had depleted a great deal of mana.

“The source of contamination is massive, but it isn't impossible to purify. I just need to perform the purification several more times.”

“Really?”

Gale cast an incredulous look at her. Catching the confidence in her eyes, he muttered, “Does that mean... Marcus can actually be saved?”

“Of course.”

Clement's expression also grew excited. He and Marcus were old friends who hadn't seen each other in years. Seeing a glimmer of hope that Marcus could be freed from the contamination naturally made him overjoyed.

“Daybreak is approaching. Everyone should leave this place for now. I will return tomorrow night to continue the purification.”

Lovene turned her head toward the horizon, where the mist was beginning to thin, its edges tinged with a faint, grayish-blue light.

Dawn was fast approaching.

No one opposed her suggestion. Until Marcus's contamination was fully purified, they still didn't dare venture into the white mist. After all, no one knew if Marcus was the only danger lurking within it.

Upon returning to the lord's manor, Lady Elena was overjoyed to learn that Marcus could be saved. She immediately ordered the servants to prepare a sumptuous feast to welcome Lovene and the others.

At dinner, Lady Elena, who had usually been quite reserved, became exceptionally talkative. After downing several glasses of wine, her posture, which was normally stiff and upright, began to slouch.

“Lady Saintess!”

Elena raised her eyes, her gaze drifting a bit slower than usual, heavy with intoxication.

“Once my husband returns, our territory will make sure to reward you handsomely! When that time comes, gold, silver, treasures, magic tools—just say the word, and we will get them for you!”

A drunken Elena was incredibly uninhibited, a stark contrast to her usual demeanor as a refined noble lady. Lovene, however, found this quite understandable. According to the information she had gathered, Marcus and Elena had met during an adventure.

In her youth, the lord's wife had also been a free spirit.

“You are too kind, Lady Elena.”

“No, no kindness needed! Money and treasures are nothing compared to family! Once my husband is back, I... hic... I'm going to take revenge on the church. That bastard church... bunch of absolute bastards...”

As she spoke, she raised her wine glass to take another sip, but her wrist wobbled, spilling a few drops of wine onto the table.

Dorothy quickly stood up, dabbing at the spill with a napkin while using her other hand to steady Elena's arm.

“Mother, you're drunk! Let's go back to your room and rest!”

The waiting maids rushed forward to help support Elena. Guided by Dorothy, they escorted the thoroughly intoxicated lady back to her chambers.

Seeing this, a maid remaining in the dining room couldn't help but whisper, “In all these years, this is the first time I've ever seen the mistress drunk.”

“Yeah, and she even said she wanted to take revenge on the church right in front of us.”

Clement took a sip of wine and shook his head helplessly.

Lovene did not join the conversation. Her gaze remained fixed on Dorothy's face. The tiny, light-red spots on the girl's skin had faded significantly. In a few more days, they might disappear completely.

It was a type of skin condition.

Due to the prolonged lack of sunlight, the skin would develop red spots and flaking. This condition wasn't unique to Dorothy; most of the residents in the territory suffered from similar symptoms.

This was the conclusion she had reached while treating patients throughout the territory.

After dinner concluded, everyone retired to their rooms to rest. Lovene made her way to the library, searching through the rows of bookshelves for the Oswell Territory Annals she had read before.

“Your Highness, it is so late. Aren't you going to rest?”

Mia's voice sounded somewhat abrupt in the quiet library.

Lovene stood before the bookshelf, her fingers sliding across the spines of the books before stopping on a thick volume.

It was a copy of the territory annals. The leather cover was worn, its corners polished smooth from being flipped through many times. She pulled the book out and opened it. The pages were yellowed, their edges curled, and the ink slightly faded.

“Do you remember the territory annals we read before?” Lovene said softly. “It was recorded there that the reason the original sea god demanded sacrifices from the villagers was because of an enemy from the sun that threatened to destroy them.”

“These monsters seem to be particularly terrified of the sun.”