Chapter 133

EP.133 Intruder (2)

As I looked closer, it was a truly familiar sight.

Bronzed skin. Pure white hair. Even the eye patch covering her eyelids.

Her appearance perfectly matched the montage in my memory.

No doubt about it. She was one of the assassins who attacked the Hero before.

Crunch.

My grip tightened around the cutlass I’d grasped in reverse.

The opponent was a person who had previously pushed the Hero back, albeit temporarily, and was now accompanying someone significant.

I didn’t have the guts to loosen my tension against such an extraordinary being.

“Just surrender quietly. I’ve already called people here. It’d be best to give up any thoughts of escaping easily like last time.”

“Oh, really? That’s quite a big problem♪”

Her cheerful response to my ridiculous bravado was accompanied by an ominous smile that was horrifyingly delightful.

Although my earlier bravado had been somewhat diluted by being told and retold, it couldn’t be dismissed as mere nonsense.

Unlike the surprise attack last time, I was now armed and prepared, even though I was just a backup.

Moreover, I had even notified the infamous Inquisition of the intruder’s presence.

It was obvious that soon, all the protective priests at the monastery would gather here to eliminate the vile intruder.

It was her, not me, who was cornered. This was an indisputable fact.

“Could you stop glaring at me so menacingly? I’ll apologize for trying to kill the Hero last time! Okay? This time, I just want to talk! Really! And I’m not good at fighting like the others! I’m good at running away!”

Crack.

I unconsciously cracked my knuckles.

I couldn’t easily quell the rising anger.

Her nonchalant attitude towards human life contributed greatly, but I couldn’t contain my rage knowing that the target was none other than the Hero.

“But how did you survive taking that blade instead? The curse that even all priests in this system couldn’t heal was beaten down for you to keep?”

“I don’t think I have any obligation to answer that.”

I reluctantly responded, thinking she would keep blabbering if I left her alone.

Honestly, I didn’t even want to engage in conversation, let alone speak a single word.

“Ha-ha♪ You’re colder than you look! How about it? Want a hug?”

“I’ll pass····.”

“I didn’t say I was going to hug you though♬”

“!?”

Woosh!

Without warning, a strange presence attacked from behind, and I reflexively swung my sword.

Clang!

The harsh sound of metal clashing left a ringing in my ears, but my body, ready for battle, continued its next movement before my brain could issue any commands.

Soon, streaking weapons came from two totally different directions aimed at my head.

I twisted my body diagonally to barely evade the sudden ambush, then consecutively elbowed and kicked toward the source of the attack.

Thud! Crash!

The sounds of crushed bones and smashed walls followed sequentially.

But it was too early to let my guard down.

I hadn’t yet dealt with the assailant aiming a weapon at my head.

Hiss.

After a short breath, I grabbed the wrist of the unknown figure behind me and slammed them hard into the ground.

Bam!

Phew…

The haphazard whistling mixed with the fierce Pangongseong was indeed annoying, but it was a problem I didn’t need to concern myself with.

The most pressing issues I faced had been somewhat dealt with.

“Wow, so you’re not a complete pushover? I thought you were just a cute little thing who’d get beat up and keep quiet♪ You’re quite different from someone I know!”

Seeing me swiftly subdue all her subordinates, the woman muttered in astonishment.

It was undeniably true that I was a coward who outright avoided fights, but even I knew the time and place to draw the line.

I fully understood how arrogant it was to try and spare the lives of those who were deliberately aiming to harm others.

“By the way, it’s funny here too. You put up a scarecrow who can’t even handle a few armed rascals, while that entire crew gets easily taken down by a single priest. I wonder if there’s something wrong with your selection? Or are you just a special case?”

Hah…

I sighed, realizing her words weren’t worth responding to.

Me being special? Even a passing dog would laugh at such a claim.

“Once again, I insist, surrender quietly. If you don’t…”

It was then.

Just after catching a glimpse of the face of the assailant beneath me, my lips froze mid-judgment for a second.

“God···· smiles···· upon you····.”

“····!”

Even while bleeding from my mouth, the assailant kept repeating the same eerie phrase like a broken music box, and it was unmistakably one of the Inquisition members I had just spoken with.

Of course, I hadn’t seen their face directly, but their specific clothing and that familiar voice made it clear.

“No way!”

To confirm the ominous suspicion that suddenly flitted through my mind, I hurriedly scanned my surroundings.

And the suspicion was resolved all too quickly, in a form that I didn’t desire.

“I told you I don’t know how to fight♪”

The woman’s playful words punctuated the conclusion I had reached.

The assailants who had suddenly attacked me—every single one was part of the Inquisition.

Moreover, the woman before me was controlling them like her own limbs.

“This is····.”

My hand instinctively raised to cover my mouth, as if to stifle the horror escaping my lips.

A chilling sense of déjà vu washed over me.

From the moment I first encountered the woman who identified herself as Beta, a certain assumption had begun hovering in my mind, recurring like a tide.

This felt akin to the Saintess’s····.

Cough!

Someone’s pained moan pulled my consciousness back from the brink of thought.

As I shifted my gaze toward the sound, I saw the Inquisition member I had kicked earlier spitting out dark red blood.

I had adjusted my strength to not kill them, but since I usually didn’t fight, I couldn’t guarantee the precision of that control.

Their bones might be shattered; their insides might be damaged.

I had already used the Miracle of Healing once, but I needed to perform at least some form of emergency treatment.

Desperately, I lunged forward.

At that moment, I realized my wariness aimed at the suspicious woman in front of me had slightly eased.

“Such a fool~ Really~”

At that moment, the woman formed a sly smile reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat from a fairy tale, pinching my jaw to force me to look her in the eye.

The despair of not saving the lives I could have saved.

An intense disgust toward those who regarded human life as mere tools.

Mixed up in my chaotic thoughts was the clearest voice of the Sister who had just spoken to me.

“The incident that day was undoubtedly a scheme carried out by one of those rascals who attacked the monastery using some form of delayed effect on my body!”

The sudden silence didn’t last long.

“It was your doing····.”

“Oh, then whose doing did you think it was? Hahaha♪”

Her behavior, beliefs, actions.

Every little thing about her felt disgusting and unpleasant.

I had seen many irredeemable villains, but I had never seen someone so fundamentally off-kilter.

Her very existence triggered a deep-rooted feeling of aversion within me.

I couldn’t quite define the reason, but it was certain that the fact she resembled someone I knew played a significant role.

As much as I wanted to deny it, I had to admit it at this point.

Yes, she resembled the Saintess.

I wasn’t talking about her looks or personality.

There was something similar between them. Clunky as it was, that was the best way I could describe it with my limited vocabulary.

Still, if I had to make a futile attempt to define it:

It felt like I was looking at a broken version of her.

A broken Saintess.