CH 79

“The Gods are with Illide!”

“Long live the Saintess!!”

“The Gods protect the lives of warriors!”

Although I was used to being in the spotlight, my mind went blank after receiving this amount of cheers.

Suddenly, Kyle’s eyebrows moved strangely. He drew his sword and threw it into the cave where the gate was.

Swoosh.

I thought I could hear a sharp cut through the air, but then I heard something getting pierced.

“…Kyaaaagh!”

He threw his sword like a spear into the darkness of the cave where the gate had been. And soon, the sound of a sword loaded with a strong aura piercing something was heard.

A spider monster, which I hadn’t noticed before, was sitting down with its stomach sliced.

It was a very fleeting moment.

The soldiers, who had been silent for a while, roared again.

“Long live the Crown Prince!”

“Long live the Crown Prince! Long live the Saintess!!”

Feeling like a munchkin with the Crown Prince as my assistant, I recalled what had happened earlier.

***

Inside the cave, I bit my lower lip.

No matter how I thought about it, there was only one decision I could make. Either die here, or sell my soul to him to get out of the situation and extend my life.

If I were a saintess full of faith, I would have chosen an honorable death without hesitation, but I also don’t want to die here.

And then Diego spoke to me in a calm voice.

“Become a real saintess. That is a condition of the contract.”

At his words, I stared at Diego Vester for a while with a bewildered expression.

…The terms of the contract aren’t my soul? Besides, the condition is to become a real saintess?

“You must have considered yourself a fake saintess until now. You must have thought of leaving your place and living a free life if Camilla, the real saintess, appears.”

Diego’s next words were very shocking.

“How do you know Camilla?”

After a while, his purple eyes shone coolly at my words.

“How can I not know bitch?”

In an instant, the Magi, that was violently swaying in the air, was terrifying enough to make me get goosebumps.

“Diego, you know the original story. No, did they say it was a prophecy?.”

I told him, recalling what Van and Ren had said.

The fear that had filled me faded, and in the meantime, a stuffy mind sprang out. The truth that neither Van, Ren, nor the Gods tell.

“What is the real content of that prophecy?”

The happy ending I read was half of the original one.

The remaining half contains catastrophic content. I didn’t get a proper explanation though.

“You seem to have a lot of questions, but I don’t feel like telling you.”

Diego’s eyes were cold.

Is there even a no-spoiler clause? Soon he went on.

“The more I think about it, the more disgusted I become.”

What is half of the prophecy about, why does Diego hate even mentioning it?

“Your job is to realize that you are a saintess and live as one.”

“…What do you gain from me doing that?”

Even if I didn’t know the true content of the prophecy, at least I had to know why he was offering this contract.

At my words, he paused for a while before opening his mouth.

“So where do we start? Do you know that my father opened the gate to kill you?”

“…The reason the Demon King opened the gate is because of me?”

I asked with my mouth wide open.

Diego nodded his head with a nonchalant expression.

“Yes, it is. This gate is covered with magic power so powerful that only a saintess can restore it, so you would have had to come.”

A little dazed as I felt stabbed on the back of my head, I came to my senses and asked him.

“Why?”

“Saintess Ariel gets in the way of the ‘prophecy’. To kill you.”

Diego’s purple eyes glowed dry.

“He’s trying to kill me for interfering with the prophecy? Could it be that your father, the Demon King Leto, wants the prophecy to be fulfilled?”

Diego nodded lightly and pursed his lips.

“And I don’t wish the fulfillment of that prophecy.”

I was in a moment of confusion, but calmly sorted things out.

So Diego is at odds with Demon King Leto.

Demon King Leto is trying to get rid of me who is in the way to fulfill the ‘prophecy’ of the original story.

On the other hand, Diego doesn’t want Camilla to fulfill the prophecy of becoming a ‘real saintess’.

That’s why he wants me to play the role of a saintess and disrupt the prophecy.

“…What is the deadline?”

At my words, Diego’s eyebrows twitched.

“Originally, every contract has a deadline.”

Although it was true that I felt fear, it was something that needed to be clarified.

It was a life-and-death situation, but I was desperate as I didn’t want to be tied down for the rest of my life because of this contract.

“As expected, you’re funny. Even in this situation.”

Diego’s lips twitched slightly.

After a while, his purple eyes glowed with a deep, hazy light.

“I never intended to tell you this, but I intend to rebel against my father, Leto.”

And a shocking plan flowed from his mouth.

A dread came over me at the thought that I was involved in something more far-reaching, yet I managed to keep my composure.

“Perhaps the point at which the contract is no longer necessary is after my work is over?”

“And the reason you tell me all these stories is because the role I play is so important.”

The corners of his lips twisted at my answer.

“You have a good understanding.”

In front of my eyes is the sharp blade of Queen Arachne. In front of her is Diego Vester.

‘There are countless people’s lives behind me.’

Ironically, those who wanted to protect the original story were trying to harm me, and those who wanted to destroy the original story offered me a chance to live.

I hesitated for a moment before opening my mouth.

“I will make a contract.”

When Van and Ren referred to the second part of the prophecy as ‘catastrophic content,’ I didn’t listen much. It’s a story about Camilla, and I, a supporting villain, thought I just had to find my own way to live.

Rather, I didn’t want the original story to be twisted. I was the only one trying to get out of this story.

However, as Diego said, if the Demon King actively tries to harm me for the sake of the prophecy…

I can’t help but cooperate with Diego.

And more than anything else, I had to live with the people behind me.

“It’s okay if I continue to hold out in the position of a saintess, right?”

“Alright. The contract is done.”

His eyes shone ferociously.

“Ah, I forgot to mention, if you break the contract, the price is your soul.”

As if he never wanted to be involved, he said threateningly with an evil expression.

“I don’t think you forgot.”

He must have said it intentionally after the contract.

At my words, Diego’s eyes narrowed strangely.

“I like it because you’re quick-witted.”

His voice continued.

“One thing to note, I can’t use much power in the temple.”

“In the end, I have to keep my seat on my own. That’s what you mean, right?”

At my words, he nodded lightly.

The original villain, Ariel, failed to push Camilla away or hurt her. Because, of course, she was a ‘fake’.

However, now I have become ‘real’, and even if another ‘real’ Camilla appears, I must keep my position as a saintess.

“Let’s do it. So please, get rid of those things in front of my eyes.”

I answered in a firm voice.

I don’t know if the Demon King and Camilla are related. Wasn’t she a real saintess?

Why does the Demon King want the fulfillment of the ‘prophecy’? A number of thoughts swirled in my head.

And then an unknown incantation in an ancient language came out of Diego’s mouth.

“Paetur.”

Diego’s purple eyes began to shine more intensely.

Time, which had stopped for an instant, began to flow again, and stones and soil poured down. Yet Queen Arachne’s sharp legs remained lifted.

His lips licked once more.

“Dominatuo.”

As the meaningless words flowed out, Queen Arachne’s eyes began to turn purple.

It was a power that was different from the mind control that he had previously displayed as the Guild Leader of the Deviamon Guild.

It occurred to me that if Diego had used this power then, I wouldn’t have been able to stop it even with the pendant. And gradually the monsters started to move.

Splash.

Squelch.

With a violent rupture that seemed to tear skin and leather, the floor began to get wet with a sticky liquid.

The monsters were advancing, but as soon as they passed through the gate, their eyes turned purple then they started attacking each other.

I covered my mouth with both hands while watching the scene of the fierce fratricide.

Diego Bester, the terrifying villain who is the mighty ruler of the Demon Realm.

Now he was helping me.

Diego raised his hand as the prepared legion was nearly annihilated. It looked like they were trying to restore the gate again.

I looked up at him and opened my mouth.

“Wait.”

Diego turned his gaze to me and stared at me.

“Please return the prisoners before closing the gate.”

I could see his eyebrows twitching at my words.

“If I want to gain a reputation as a real saintess and solidify your position, don’t I need the prisoners?”

Since I signed a contract with the demon, I also had something to get from him. The people who were dragged into the gate, including Dwayne.