Chapter 136

EP.136 I’m Going to Kill You

Following a voice that felt dreamy like a lullaby, yet somehow nostalgic, my gaze halted in front of a pure white specter shaped like a human.

An alien figure that seemed woven from hazy steam in the form of a mature woman.

It was hard to determine whether I should classify this bizarre being as a phenomenon or a living creature.

However, one thing I could confidently sense was that a certain will resided within the crimson gaze of the specter, glowing like a neon sign in the night.

”Saint·····?”

Even as I muttered those words, I momentarily questioned what I had just said.

I was unconsciously recognizing this bizarre being before me as the Saintess, even though nothing matched the image in my memory.

”Oh my·····. It’s been a while, Welna. You’ve changed so much. Did you cut your hair or something?”

The woman spoke softly.

Despite her seemingly relaxed demeanor, her facial muscles were noticeably more tense, a unique exhilaration hanging in the air as she faced a rival up close.

Yet, the specter, indifferent to the clear animosity aimed at her, seemed unconcerned about her presence here.

”O·h····? Ar····e····?”

The noise reminded me of a radio tuned to the wrong frequency.

A ambiguous voice, completely distorted and fragmented, making it impossible to gauge its original form.

Despite this, I could perfectly perceive the intent and emotions contained within that voice.

”What? We haven’t seen each other in forever, and you’re not even going to greet me? Hah, that’s quite hurtful·····. Or is it that the illustrious Saintess wouldn’t want to exchange words with a failed creation like me? Is that it!? Haha!”

It seemed that being ignored to such an extent had finally pricked the woman’s psyche.

But such a feeble change was nothing compared to the intense emotions that followed.

”Leaving your body behind and bringing just your mind here, you must have been in quite a hurry·····. So that man is so precious to you·····? You should have said so earlier! If I had known, I would have prioritized eating his lower half over killing your sister!”

The once warm smile of the woman boiled over with anger.

Even through the thick eye patch, her distorted expression was clearly evident, as the aura she emitted was tainted with unusual enmity and disgust.

”Alright! I’ve made my decision! I’ll take that man and make him my pet! A friend! A lover! Family! Erase all the memories filling his head! Make him drool and whimper like livestock whenever I call his name─”

Crack!

It happened right then.

With an ominous noise of flesh and bone shattering, my vision was splattered with scarlet blood, fluttering like cherry blossoms.

”Ku, Ke, Kugh!”

It was all too sudden.

The woman, who had been throwing mad declarations, suddenly vomited blood, and moonlight, once obscured by clouds, illuminated the countless white chains now piercing her abdomen.

”Ku, cough! Oh? Oh dear?”

The woman, seemingly the last to acknowledge the cruel chains that had ruthlessly pierced her, uttered a perplexed voice.

However, the relentless assault of chains upon her was only just beginning, the main event not even having started yet.

”I’m going to kill you.”

A chilling resonance reverberated through my being, making every hair stand on end.

Chwa-reul-leug!

Finally, countless chains of a variety that dwarfed the previous rapid attack sprouted from the back of the specter.

”I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you.”

The figure of the specter, desperately maintaining a human shape despite the fury boiling within, felt like a manifestation of pure rage.

”T-this is nothing─!!!”

Perhaps in an attempt to stand against that transcendent pressure.

The woman let out a roar reminiscent of a beast, stamping her feet wildly.

”You think you’re going to kill me!? Fine! If you can kill me, go ahead! Let’s settle once and for all who has the better qualities as a Saint here and now!”

Accompanied by tears of blood, the woman thrust her arms out wildly to the sides.

Chwa-reul-leug!

Immediately after that.

A multitude of black iron chains, matching the quantity of the specter’s attack, suddenly revealed themselves behind the woman.

”Let’s see how many exchanges we can have with such a half-baked authority separated from your body! Hahaha! I won’t ease up just because you’re burdened! Just know this~ it’ll be fun counting how many more holes pop up in your body later!”

It was hard to believe that someone with a bowling ball-sized hole in their abdomen could exude such bravado.

As my eyes subconsciously scanned downward in burgeoning doubt, I saw the woman’s grievous wound had inexplicably healed to the point where I could see the scenery beyond the hole.

I was left speechless.

Even when I’d seen one of her companions before, I felt the same—she could heal herself to such an extent without any catalyst or prayer; it was beyond human capability to explain.

The discomfort in my throat felt like having a fishbone lodged in it.

If only I could discover that small something I was overlooking, it seemed like the worry weighing on me could be resolved in an instant.

My unexpected musings were interrupted by the specter’s unexpected movement.

Snap.

Raising a finger high into the sky, the specter fell into an enigmatic silence, leading to a fit of incredulous laughter from the woman.

”Hah! What? You want me to cut off a finger? That’s not too har—”

Crack!

”Huh?”

The woman’s triumphant smile faltered for a simple reason.

Her confidence—the very source of it, the cluster of black chains—began to sway gently like reeds in the breeze, responding to the specter’s finger movement.

One had already embedded itself in the woman’s ear like an arrow, sending her thick ear to the ground with a splash of blood.

Witnessing the scene unfold as though entranced, the woman resembled a pitiful conductor who had suddenly lost control of the orchestra she once led.

”Th-this can’t····· be·····. D-don’t joke with me! This is my power! My power! The strength I struggled and endured through the agony of my bones dislocating and my insides twisting! But that·····! To have it taken so····· so easily·····!”

The woman seemed to murmur in a mix of despair and disbelief as if she had lost everything.

The specter dismissed all her efforts as futile, resolutely continuing its task.

It was the very black chains that had once been the woman’s authority and strength.

I became certain that they had now come under the specter’s control the moment the chains’ darkness was bleached into its pure white.

”Aah·····!”

Chiiiiiing!

How long had passed since the terrified expression of the woman was laid bare for all to see beyond her torn eye patch?

”W-wait···!”

”Tear.”

With the specter’s cold command, slaughter—no, divine punishment—began.

◈◈◈

The ensuing tragedy was so horrific that even I, who had traversed various dangers with my comrades, could hardly bear to witness it with my own eyes.

The relentless cycle of a human-shaped being being shattered, crushed, torn, and obliterated felt akin to glancing into the depths of hell, nausea swelling within me.

Having plugged my ears, I couldn’t hear the screams after a certain point.

But it didn’t take long for the woman’s threat of “I’ll kill you!” to morph into a plea of “Please, just kill me.”

”Hey, just a minute···. Could we stop there···? That’s enough···. Please, stop.”

The words urging the specter to halt slipped from my lips for that very reason.

Not out of sympathy for the woman, but because my own weakness wouldn’t allow me to keep witnessing this horrific bloodbath.

”·····!”

Just then, the specter turned to me, its face showing a hint of panic, as it looked at me.

The ruthless side that had mercilessly slaughtered a human was nowhere to be found; instead, it clasped its hands over its chest, anxiously seeking my approval.

”Is that you, Saintess·····?”

”·····!?”

At my casual question, the specter took a hasty step back.

Now that I noticed, the once steady crimson gaze was shaking violently as if an earthquake had struck.

”U, uuh·····.”

In place of an answer came a sorrowful sob.

Covered with its hands as if to self-reproach, the specter began to dissolve into soft wisps of smoke shortly after.

”W-wait a minute! Saintess!”

Suddenly, a memory from the past flashed through my mind.

It was when I had threatened the Saintess, trying to restrain her from going out of control again after the wedding fiasco.

‘If something like today happens again, don’t you ever think about seeing my face again.’

As the very moment that statement was punctuated resurfaced in my mind, the Saintess before me had already vanished into thin mist, leaving no trace behind.