IBWMD 81

~Chapter 81~

“Monster poison?”

I stared blankly at the liquid coming toward me.

“How can a human shoot out monster poison?”

Thanks to my time serving as a holy knight, I wasn’t completely clueless about monsters.

I knew that some of them could mimic humans.

But this guy—he’s not a monster. He’s human.

“A human shooting monster poison…?”

I’d never heard of such a thing.

“It’s too late to dodge it completely.”

Half resigned, I braced myself—if this really was monster poison, I had to know for sure.

Luckily, I had something to rely on.

“I have divine power.”

In most cases, that should be enough to purify it…

“Elaine!”

The next moment—

A strong arm reached out in front of me.

Everything moved in slow motion.

I slowly turned my head.

Karl, his face pale, was pulling me into his arms.

“I would’ve been fine.”

But Karl… he wouldn’t be.

Even if he’s a monster hunter, there’s a limit to how much poison someone can take…

“Grrraaghh!”

A scream rang out—almost like a monster’s cry.

Even more poison came spewing from the assassin’s throat than before.

Like it was his final act of desperation.

“No!”

If Karl got hit by that…

Bzzzzt.

A sharp ringing buzzed through my head.

All sound faded away, like the whole world had gone silent.

And then—

“AAAGHH! AAAAAHHH!”

BZZZZZT.

The assassin’s tortured scream shattered the silence like a knife to the ears.

Suddenly, time snapped back to normal.

I felt Karl’s burning heat as he wrapped around me tightly.

“Don’t listen.”

His voice whispered into my ear, shielding me from it all.

But what hit me harder was—

“Karl!”

The smell of burning flesh.

It was coming from Karl, who had taken the poison instead of me.

“Karl!”

“…I’m fine.”

“I’M NOT!”

His voice had dropped low with pain.

His chest, pressed against my temple, was heaving—proof of how much he was hurting.

His heartbeat was pounding so hard, it echoed through me like hammer blows.

“No… this can’t happen.”

Karl doesn’t have purification abilities.

This amount of monster poison… If I don’t treat him immediately, he could die.

I had no time to think about anything else.

“Elaine…?”

If I didn’t act now, he’d die.

“I can’t let that happen.”

Driven by that thought, my hand reached for his arm—already melting from the poison.

The moment I touched it, it wasn’t just burning—it felt like my skin was being shredded.

“Elaine! Let go!”

“No.”

From my fingertips, a soft white light began to rise.

I was pouring out every bit of divine power I had.

“…Elaine?”

Karl’s voice trembled with disbelief.

His tone carried a quiet shock.

A pang hit my heart.

“He must feel betrayed.”

I never told him I had divine power.

Never mentioned my connection to the temple.

“But I don’t care.”

From the moment I felt that sharp, deadly poison burrowing into my skin…

I only had one thought:

“Don’t die from something like this.”

If he took my first kiss, then he had to take all the rest of my “firsts,” too.

There were still so many things we hadn’t done.

“We haven’t even properly started.”

We haven’t even dated, held hands properly, kissed for real—

We’re just getting started.

So…

“You can’t die.”

With that one desperate thought, I released all the divine power I had left.

WHAM.

Something burst from Karl’s body, slamming against my divine energy like two magnets repelling each other.

Ugh!

A bitter taste rose in my throat. My brain felt like it was rattling in a blender.

It was like my whole insides flipped upside down.

“What is this?”

Every time I blinked, my vision was flooded with gold.

No—this wasn’t just golden light…

“…Lady! …Ma’am!”

BAM! The door flung open violently.

Jeremy’s voice—he hadn’t left after all.

“Jeremy…”

Take Karl. He needs help—he needs treatment… Quickly…

But why was my body tilting?

“Elaine!”

My vision went pitch black.

Someone grabbed me urgently—but that was the last thing I felt.

All my senses… shut down.

“Damn it. This damn cursed demon-dust village…”

“My toes are freezing off. Once I get back to the capital, I’m never even spitting in the direction of the North again.”

“Are we even in the right place?”

Deep inside the forests of the Grand Duchy—Saint Portu.

Harsh cursing echoed among the rough-looking men at the front.

Even the holy knights walking in a group behind them whispered among themselves.

“Those thugs seriously can’t talk without cursing, can they?”

“Why are we even with these kinds of people in the first place…?”

Grumbling and discontent started to spread among the knights.

A young knight near the back added with a confused expression:

“What exactly are we even looking for?”

“……”

“And why are the mages here too?”

“Shh!”

Someone quickly hushed him.

But the truth was, all the holy knights were wondering the same thing.

They glanced over at the mages stumbling along just ahead of the thugs.

‘Why would we ever need to work with mages?’

‘Let alone thugs?’

The holy knights of Saint Portu had been suddenly mobilized for this task just days earlier.

They’d grown lazy and complacent—until, out of nowhere, they were ordered to move.

‘Splitting into teams? A formal mobilization order? That hasn’t happened in over a decade…’

‘Is this because of Brother Zion?’

‘Don’t tell me… we’re being sent to the monster front lines?’

Remembering Zion—practically exiled to a library—they grew uneasy.

But when they’d arrived, dragging their feet in fear…

They were greeted by mages, shady thugs from who-knows-where, and—

“Why are we going through this hell out here…?”

“Do you dare complain about carrying out the will of God?”

A voice snapped back at the muscle-bound men.

It belonged to the Head Priest, who hadn’t shown his face in quite some time.

His strict tone scolded the rough men.

“Remember, God’s will is watching over you.”

It was only thanks to his presence that the holy knights hadn’t broken formation and walked off entirely.

“We’re not even believers. Stuff like God’s will means nothing to us.”

“Right. You work for God’s money, not His will.”

“……”

“If you’d done your job properly in the first place, this wouldn’t even be necessary.”

“That’s…”

“If you don’t like it, return the payment and go home.”

“Tch!”

That conversation raised even more suspicions.

It sounded like the Head Priest had hired these thugs for something.

‘There’s no way whatever job they’re doing is something holy.’

Even if the holy knights had been essentially demoted to Saint Portu, they were still servants of God.

So when those words started unsettling them further…

The Head Priest turned to them with a kind expression.

“Brothers, I understand the doubts and hardships weighing on your hearts.”

“Head Priest…”

“But God does not always choose only pure tools.”

“……”

“Even they were born into this world by His grace.”

He gently corrected their biases and quieted their growing doubts and resistance.

“God watches over everything. This too is part of spreading His love as quickly as possible.”

“We… believe.”

“And if it succeeds, you all will be properly rewarded.”

“……”

“The one directing this mission is far higher than someone like me—so your reward will be just as great.”

His final comment was aimed at worldly desires.

And it worked. These holy knights, lazy and less devout, had wandered here for similar hopes.

‘Someone even higher up…?’

‘Don’t tell me…’

A sense of expectation began to rise in their hearts.

Boom.

The ground shook.

Only for a split second—but everyone felt it.

“What the…!”

“Th-That just now…?”

While tension and panic spread, one of the mages—sweating and staggering along earlier—suddenly shouted:

“H-Here…!”

Everyone turned to where he pointed.

A space in the air shimmered and warped.

Everyone’s gaze locked onto the distortion.

The Head Priest strode forward.

“Break it.”

“B-But I need more time to restore my strength…”

“Now.”

The mage, already drained just from making it this far, forced out more magic with a whimper.

The earlier quake must have cracked the space just enough—his magic pushed it further.

Crack… crackle…

It shattered.

And what had been hidden behind it was revealed.

“This is…!”

Everyone’s faces filled with shock.