A saintess? She's just a bad woman.

Page 99

In the deep darkness, the dog-beast, fully aware that it was being burned, was blasted to its death.

186. The Omniscient Reader's Perspective

"So what if you gang up on someone? I can do that too!"

A phantom image also appeared behind Saint Karina. This goddess was not Eris, the evil god, but a triune goddess.

Three goddesses dressed similarly stand side by side. The woman in the middle holds a torch in each hand, while the two women beside her hold torches in their left or right hands respectively.

The three women initially ruled over the three realms of the sky, earth, and sea. Later, they turned to the dark side and became the great goddesses who managed the underworld and darkness, even the god of war was wary of them.

The Triad Goddess is very easy to identify; her most prominent feature is her "three aspects," with three heads and three bodies representing the crossroads of fate.

Then, the phantoms began a righteous brawl against the goddess phantom behind the Fire Seed Girl.

If Saint Karina hadn't been there, no one would have thought to use the goddess's phantom as a physical damage dealer, using all three heads and six arms to slap its face. Then, this process was accelerated twentyfold, with hundreds or even thousands of punches hitting the other goddess's phantom every second.

Having previously lost her beloved dog, and now lacking any help, she was outnumbered and could only suffer a beating.

"Bang bang bang!"

The overwhelming barrage of fist shadows landed on the Fire Seed Girl and the goddess phantom behind her. Looking around, there were countless overlapping fist shadows within a two-meter radius.

The entire area was filled with heavy punches, countless fist shadows creating thunderous sounds and flashes of fire. When Saint Karina's command of the Triad Goddess phantoms tired out, only a deep pit remained on the ground.

"Impossible... How could I be with a human..."

The Fire Seed Girl was on her deathbed, barely breathing.

Then, the holy sword pierced her heart.

It has no flesh and blood; when it is extracted, it is a ball of platinum-gold energy.

"Evil God, this is what you wanted, isn't it?"

"Honestly, my proxy, you are always so cold-hearted towards your God."

"Enough with the nonsense, just tell me how to use the fire."

"Just press it into your heart, and that will do."

The evil god's words echoed in his mind.

"That's it?"

Saint Karina looked at the divine, indescribable ball of light and hesitated.

The steps are very simple and easy, but can an evil god really be trusted? She always felt that she was going to become a Jinchūriki.

Why would I lie to you? We are bound by fate, you are my agent.

The evil god Eris also noticed Saint Karina's hesitation and continued to persuade her in his mind.

"And if you don't hurry, this spark will soon be recalled by the divine kingdom, and it won't be easy to find it again then."

"I see."

Saint Karina has no choice but to gamble; she's died twice already, so she has nothing to fear anymore.

Pushing the flame towards my heart, a strange warmth surged into my body. It wasn't scorching; there was no burning sensation. Instead, it was a warm and gentle feeling.

Along with that came memories—memories that didn't belong to her, but were transferred into her head by other people.

But the memory seemed to belong to someone she knew, Saint Karina had a premonition. Snapping out of her daze, Saint Karina patted her face, as if to encourage herself.

—The moment I turned the doorknob, I was inexplicably certain that I had guessed correctly.

Walking around the house like this, your consciousness will suddenly be drawn to the door. So you walk towards that door, touch the doorknob, and the feeling of unease you had before turns into certainty.

Accept the fact that "this is the place," and look behind the opened door—

"Hey, it's been a long time, Abner Ernest."

The Forbidden Library, unchanged from before, appeared before Saint Karina as she gently raised her hand.

The large room, buried under bookshelves, was filled with the unique scent of old books. The lack of windows made the room dark, but the tranquil atmosphere remained unchanged. This wasn't just true of the room's appearance, but also of the caretaker of this library.

A girl named Abner sits on a step stool that serves as a chair, looking at a book placed on her lap.

She was none other than Ernest VII, who appeared to be a literary young woman, yet was a woman who had betrayed Saint Karina.

"I was wondering why the house was so noisy, but it turns out it's you who's back."

Abner slightly raised his eyes, his blue eyes reflecting Saint Karina's figure as he spoke. His tone was utterly bored, before his gaze immediately returned to the book.

"Now that you're back, we can consider this the end of the commotion."

"I'll just leave it at that for now, since you assigned it to me."

Although it is a memory, Saint Karina has lost control of her body and instead observes everything that happened from the perspective of an omniscient reader.

So, she casually grabbed a stool and sat down next to Abner, looking determined not to leave.

"Abner, take a look at this."

—It was a black book with a cover and contents stained with blood.

The book was previously infamous and considered problematic. Its contents were rendered unreadable by a strange spell. It is deemed useless if one is not qualified to possess it.

"——???????"

Abner, whose attention had been drawn, stared in shock at the book in Saint Karina's hand.

Her face showed disbelief, her lips trembled slightly, and the words that came out were unspeakable and unheard.

"Why...of all people, it had to be you holding this book..."

"...It's spoils of war that I stole. I got it from the leader of the group that asked me to do that."

"And what about the holder?"

"—He's dead. I killed him."

Faced with Abner's detailed questions, Santa Karina did not look away and answered truthfully.

Strictly speaking, that creature wasn't human, but rather an evil spirit that parasitized other people's bodies and manipulated them at will. Therefore, it might be inaccurate to consider his death as murder.

But Saint Karina herself delivered the correct equation, taking his life.

That's how you defeat him. The soul understood this, and then, with murderous intent, killed him.

She stared at the black book in Saint Karina's hand and murmured to herself—

"You also left behind...?"

More indescribable words came out, as if her memory had become disordered. Abner's expression was somewhat sad. Even if Saint Karina tried to recall this memory, she could not remember anything more than what she saw now.

"...It's alright. Let's not talk about that. Since you killed...??????, what happened to the Demon God Factor?"

"Demon God Factor...?"

It seems to be a matter of physical compatibility; since she isn't Saint Karina of the Demon Clan, the enhancement from the Demon God's factor isn't very noticeable on her.

Although she is a demon god more powerful than the Demon King, Saint Karina is completely unable to wield power at that level. At most, she can use a fraction of the Demon King's authority, but she is far from reaching even a tenth of the Demon King's power, let alone that of a demon god.

"It's barely usable, I suppose. But I don't want to use this power anyway. Everyone else has left, and I came here to take you away from here, Abner."

"Take me away from here...?"

"Seeing Saint Karina come in and announce this," Abner said, puzzled.

She was still sitting on the same step stool, clutching a black book tightly to her chest.

187. The Awkward Princess

"Mind your own business. Who asked you to do that?"

“I expected your answer, but there’s no room for negotiation. I will definitely get you out of here.”

"Acting on one's own initiative..."

"In short, do you know what's happening outside?"

"...I know that the mansion has been broken into. But I don't intend to get involved in this dispute. Let whoever wants to fight fight."

"Unfortunately, the current situation is far from cute like fighting. You may think you've dealt with your most formidable enemy, but your siblings are afraid of you and want to conspire to kill you."

Shaking her head in response to Abner's words, Saint Karina mentally sketched out the distribution of combat power within the mansion.

"All that's left is you and me. Everyone else has either betrayed us, died, or run away for various reasons... Is that what you mean?"

"That's all I wanted to say. Then, I'll take you out. If you don't like holding hands, I can carry you on my back or hug you, it's up to you. Let me make it clear, I absolutely will not back down."

“You’re really stubborn. I don’t care whether the others stay or go, live or die. I’m enough as long as I’m here. My foolish brothers and sisters are just a rabble. They can’t shake me or hurt a hair on my head. So, I don’t need your help at all.”

Abner whispered a rejection to Saint Karina, who was getting closer and closer.

She turned her head to show the entire library of forbidden books, and said to Saint Karina:

"This is a forbidden library under my control, isolated from the world. No matter what threats there are outside, they have nothing to do with this place. Your worries are just unfounded."

"No, it's not that simple. Your forbidden library is indeed very powerful, but it has a fatal flaw. And your opponent is quite aware of this."

Abner raised an eyebrow unhappily as the source of his confidence was denied.

The Forbidden Library certainly has an unparalleled advantage in terms of concealment. However, it is not omnipotent. Whether the mansion is destroyed or all the doors are pushed open, Abner inside the Forbidden Library will be discovered and forced to reveal himself.

"Your spell only works on closed doors. So, all you have to do is open all the doors in the mansion..."

Finally, we will be able to reach the Forbidden Library.

Therefore, the forbidden library is definitely not a safe place. Just as Saint Karina was about to convince her of this—

"Why would the enemy know about this weakness?"

Abner asked, and Saint Karina held her breath.

"My people betrayed me, and taught the enemy... Is that right?"

Abner drew a conclusion immediately, leaving Saint Karina no room for explanation.

Saint Karina's astonished expression only strengthened her belief.

"That's just human nature... You don't need to comfort me, I understand perfectly."

After stating his conclusion, Abner let out a soft sigh.

Having grown up in the inner palace and learned the ways of emperors, how could she not understand this principle?

That natural and reassuring sigh provoked Saint Karina.

"You...! Why do you sigh... why do you show a face that seems acceptable!"

"...Now that things have come to this, you should know by now. I'm all alone. Why do you still want to stay by my side? Is it because you trust me, or do you feel that you've already staked so much on me, and it's not worth withdrawing now? Or perhaps you think that because you're the Holy Maiden of the Eternal God Church, even if you lose your bet on me, you can still walk away in the end, because my brothers and sisters will come to curry favor with you. To become emperor, they need the power of the church."

"What nonsense are you talking about... Do you think I'm the kind of person who craves power? Or do you think I'm afraid of death, or that I'm a traitor who serves anyone and our relationship doesn't matter anymore?!"

She hated the occasional mocking expression on Abner's face. It was an expression that said he had seen through everything, trusted no one, and that people's hearts could be manipulated at will, requiring only a little bit of leverage to push things along.

In order to shatter Abner's "mask," Saint Karina remembered that Abner, when she was still a princess, was not so "perfect" either. She "disguised" herself as if she were made of paper in front of people who knew her, such as Saint Karina.

In fact, as long as the method is right, it can be broken. So she pointed to the black book that Abner was holding all alone, like a tattered rag doll that had been abandoned, in this quiet environment.

This library was also left to her by her maternal mother, just as she had long known the truth: Abner's black book was completely blank, and her birth mother was the only "memorial" left to her by her maternal mother, apart from paternal mothers like the emperor.

Occasionally, Abner would reveal a stubborn and rebellious side, not the ambitious, wise, and calm woman she usually was, but rather like a hurt child, deliberately throwing a tantrum. Even when there were countless optimal solutions, she would deliberately choose the worst, most undesirable option instead.

"Don't hold that book anymore. Your mother left that book so that you could write your own life story."

At Saint Karina's call, Abner lowered his eyes and slowly opened the book in his arms, then turned it toward Saint Karina—sure enough, there were only blank pages.

"Nothing was written on it. Just like before, my fate is a blank sheet of paper."

"If that's the case! If that's the case, what reason do you have to do what your brothers and sisters want! Just like before, decide what you want and do what you want to do!"

"...like before, letting myself decide what to do?"

Abner murmured.

The words were devoid of emotion, leaving Saint Karina speechless.

Her striking blue eyes gradually filled with a sense of emptiness and sorrow.

"In the past, what decision did I make on my own?"