🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 4
“She didn’t bring a Saint, she brought a sickly woman.”
“Of all the women to pick, she had to choose one so frail. Pretending to be a Saint is clearly out of the question. Tell me, High Priest, wouldn’t it be better if I became the Empire’s Great Saint instead?”
“Standing like that, how could her beauty scheme possibly work? Hahaha.”
“Damn… I didn’t expect her to be this fragile…! Please bear with me, Saint. I will personally escort you out immediately.”
As Leno grasped her shoulders to lift her, he flinched at the expression on her face. The terrifyingly beautiful visage he remembered was gone; instead, her face resembled a demon filled with fury.
‘Forget good deeds… first, deal with these three insects.’
No one could dare call her a woman or mock her. No being could withstand her overwhelming power, the same power that had conquered the Demon Realm in an instant. And yet, humans…!
Once a Saint who had thrown the entire world into fear, she could have lifted everything in this room to the sky with a single finger.
And she did. Without the slightest hesitation.
“You want me to even hold your hand? Heh heh.”
Yet the problem was… only her finger twitched, just as before.
Nothing happened. The Saint despaired.
‘Damn that Ferdinando! How much more humiliation am I supposed to endure before I die?’
Flop. Her barely-held head fell to the cold floor, and her heart pounded madly.
‘Damn it. I’m really going to die now.’
How was she supposed to survive being released into the human world after being nearly killed? Some time to adapt would have been fair, you worthless son of a hoof-covered horse dung!
“Hey, girl. Saint, god, all lies, right? We’ve known for a long time that it’s just a tale made to win people over. You, with no power whatsoever…”
The tribal chief approaching her stopped mid-sentence. Eye contact with the panting, crouched Saint froze him instantly.
“What—!?”
Eyes as red as blood. Piercingly cold yet horrifyingly beautiful. No, ‘beautiful’ didn’t even begin to cover it.
The chief was completely captivated by the fatal charm of her crimson eyes, unable to look away.
A strange heaviness seemed to consume his entire body. What was this feeling? He was being pulled endlessly… sucked into her eyes… sucked in, utterly…
In an instant, the whites of his eyes turned a yellowish hue, like heavily greasy rinds.
“Saint.”
The low, burdensome voice slid and clung like buttered cheese.
“Will you tell me your name? Hah, no… what does a name matter?”
A blush appeared on his burst brown cheeks, thick lips betraying the words he shouldn’t have spoken.
“I love you.”
“…???”
“…?”
“…!!!”
“…!!”
The two brothers, Leno, and the guard all stared in shock. But the one who felt the most disgusted was, of course, the Saint herself.
‘This bastard… has gone mad.’
Her pupils sharpened like a cat’s in extreme sensitivity. If she had a tail, it would have shot straight up.
She felt disgusted, as if someone had stepped on something sacred—but oddly, her eyes snapped wide open.
Her previously shallow, gasping breath slowed, and she regained enough strength to lift her upper body.
‘What… is happening?’
Before she could make sense of it:
“Brother, hmm?”
“Yes, Saint. The moment I saw you…”
Thud.
A guard near the Saint kicked the chest of the chief who was leaning in, and he flew backward, rolling two and a half times.
Yet, even as he rolled, his laughter never ceased, sending shivers down everyone’s spine.
“Brother, didn’t you say that after provoking the palace, gathering private info could earn a fortune? What is this…?”
“Do you dare come to act as a spy in the Empire?!”
Leno’s shout silenced the brothers, but the damage was done.
“Guards! Capture them immediately!”
Soldiers approached, and the brothers lunged toward the Saint.
“This insane woman ruined everything!”
Seeing his elder brother’s madness, the second brother rushed forward, only to freeze mid-step when he made eye contact with the Saint, who had risen.
“Saint?!”
What was this exhilaration? The world around her looked stunningly beautiful. Ah… now she understood.
“It is love.”
The second brother’s declaration left her face twisted with rage, more so than ever.
“The Great Saint’s infinite love and God’s omnipotence—I swear allegiance to you, Saint!”
As the two men knelt, begging, the third finally intervened.
“You’ve all lost your minds! That woman is not a Saint, she’s a witch. Enchanting us? Unforgivable.”
The clever third brother drew a hidden dagger and lunged at the Saint.
“Die!”
Clang!
But the motion was so slow that the guard intercepted in a single move, causing the dagger to clatter to the floor.
Thud.
The third, sent flying by the guard’s shoulder, landed on the floor, glaring in frustration at the Saint.
I must find a way to defeat this witch… I can do it… I will…
But within three seconds, even the most cunning brother’s gaze succumbed to the same spell.
“This… dazzlingly beautiful…”
The Saint alone suffered under the reaction.
‘Stop already, you lunatics!!’
Three strong men were on their knees in moments, and the Saint was consumed with the desire to leave her body entirely.
She was truly magnificent.
Three pairs of massive, dark wings spanning the world, and a single pair of horns rising proudly above her head.
All who beheld her were overwhelmed, bowing in submission. Those who witnessed the might of the Demon Realm’s strongest willingly offered themselves as her eternal subjects.
Yet…
This great demon now wore a pristine white Saint’s robe, staring dumbly at a painting that dominated the reception hall wall.
‘Humans hang the funniest pictures.’
It depicted three terrified goats, covered in flour, being trampled by a ghostly mess. The goats looked so pathetic that even the Saint felt a twinge of pity.
“That painting shows the Demon King kneeling before the sacred power of Ferdinando, I suppose. He seems to like it very much.”
“….”
Leno smiled warmly. The Saint, however, felt a burning desire to obliterate the entire palace. But her attention was diverted by the sumptuous meal before her.
Whether Ferdinando had arranged it or not, the hunger she felt was unprecedented. And the quality of the food far surpassed anything she had eaten before.
With shrimp shoved into her mouth, instead of venting her rage, she glared murderously at a man standing by the bookshelf, flipping through books—a man who bore no resemblance to the pale ghost in the painting.
The Emperor frequently glanced at her, and each time, she made sure to glare back.
“So, how did you deal with the chief and his men?”
“They insulted God and the throne, entering the palace with impure intent. Their crime is severe, so by Imperial law, they were imprisoned. All of them were happy to go willingly.”
In truth…
‘Ah, just put me in a prison of love, please.’
‘No, put me in first. I’ll do better than my brother. Promise, Saint.’
‘Prison is fine… if our love can be eternal, we’ll go even to the ends of hell.’
Leno chuckled, recalling the brothers’ tearful words.
“You call that the Great Saint’s ability? I’ve never heard of it.”
“Yes. One of the great abilities that, with three seconds of eye contact, engulfs a person in infinite love. It’s called the Great Power of Love.”
“What?”
“The Great Power of Love.”
“….”
“….”
“Who came up with the name?”
“I don’t know… but it’s recorded in an old book. Probably named by one of our ancestral priests.”
“Truly… a remarkably great power.”
“Cough, your sarcasm…”
Thud. Raiden closed a thick book and placed it back on the shelf.
“I thought it was just for show, but a Saint sent by God is really different. Has any Saint in history used this power?”
The praise sounded faintly mocking.
“Only as legends in books. Even when our Empire was a kingdom, no Saint ever demonstrated this. Only a Saint sent directly by God could wield it.”
“Tell me more about this power.”
The Saint, with a shrimp tail sticking out of her lips, perked up. Though she seemed absorbed in her food, she was listening to every word Leno said.
