TBV 01

Chapter 1

Second Possession

I was exorcised.

And by the original male leads, no less.

It happened right after I had fought through countless trials and tribulations, defeated the final mastermind, and saved a god-abandoned world from destruction.

As it turned out, the ones who had originally possessed me into the body of the saintess “Linzia” were those very same three male leads.

Come to think of it, I once heard a prophecy about a “hero from beyond the world” who alone could prevent the foretold apocalypse.

And that “hero” turned out to be me—who just so happened to die from overwork at the perfect timing.

…Hah. Now that I think about it, it makes sense. A few months ago, when I revealed I was a possessor, everyone reacted as if it was nothing unusual.

Back then, I was actually touched by their reaction.

If I could, I’d like to go back and slap my past self for that.

“Seriously, the more I think about it, the more ridiculous it gets. Exorcism? They exorcised me?!”

Doctor… no, author. What kind of worldbuilding is this?!

Even if I’m a soul from another dimension, I was still the saintess, right?

How does it make sense that they can just “exorcise” me?!

Did I commit corruption like other priests? Did I have an illegitimate child?

All I did was read some spicy forbidden romance novels before I got dropped into this world!

“Damn it.”

I called out the name of a destruction god from mythology and made a vow.

“At this point, all I have left is destruction and revenge.”

I will destroy everything I painstakingly saved from the mud.

I will throw this world—whom I struggled so hard to save—back into the abyss of ruin.

In a collapsing world, go ahead and try living happily with your “real saintess”!

“…But first, I need to get out of here.”

Right now, I was wandering a void dimension as a disembodied soul.

Being abandoned in this damn place twice already—what a miserable life.

While I was grumbling, something happened.

Chiiik—

A glitch flickered in the darkness before my eyes, followed by a faint pop-up.

[A possessable body has been detected nearby.]

It was the status window.

The same status window that had broken during the exorcism ritual performed by those damn male leads.

It now looked heavily degraded, as if digitally decayed, flickering with noise.

Still, it stubbornly displayed another message.

[Would you like to possess the body?]
YES / NO

“I’ll take it!”

At this point, the only thing I can trust is my status window!

Without hesitation, I selected YES.

Honestly, I didn’t care even if it was the body of the final boss I had defeated—I just needed out!

A strange sensation of my consciousness being pulled away filled me as I shut my eyes tightly.

[Synchronization Complete]

A notification echoed in my mind as I slowly opened my eyes.

The first thing I realized was that it was dark.

“Where am I? How much time has passed?”

A cold dampness crept up my back.

A basement?

I tried to push myself up from the ground—

…but something was wrong.

“Why can’t I reach the ground? Were my arms always this short?”

The overwhelming sense of wrongness made me freeze.

Cold stone floors and iron bars felt both familiar and strangely alien.

It was like wearing high-powered magnifying glasses and seeing everything enlarged tenfold.

“Ah! Right. It feels like I’ve been dropped into the underground prison of the central temple… magnified ten times.”

I nodded and crossed my arms.

At that moment, something rough and furry brushed against my fingers.

“…Huh? What’s this stuck on me?”

I slowly looked down.

Tiny fingers with sharp claws.

A small round body covered in shiny fur.

And beneath it—a long tail…

I jumped in shock.

“SQUEEEAK──?!”

And I was even more shocked by the sound that came out of me.

Squeak?!

No way.

No way.

As I struggled to accept reality, my vision adjusted to the darkness.

And I saw my reflection in a small puddle.

A rat.

Not just any rat—a hideous rat.

One that looked like it would laugh with a creepy “kekekeke” instead of anything cute.

Even in shock, I quickly regained my composure.

No. I can’t stay like this.

I need another body.

If I had to become a hamster that conquers the world with cuteness, fine—but a disgusting rat? No way I can destroy the world like this!

“Chirp! Chirp!” (Status window! Status window!)

But the status window did not respond.

[Critical system error detected.]
[System shutting down due to unrecoverable failure.]

That was it.

No response. No pop-ups. Nothing.

“…Squeak.” (…Ha.)

I facepalmed with my tiny paw, the sensation of fur on my hand both strange and disgusting.

Of all things… even my status window betrayed me.

What a miserable life.

Just as I was lamenting—

Roll… tap.

Something rolled to a stop at my feet.

A piece of bread.

Only then did I realize I was not the only living being in this prison.

‘Please don’t be another rat… or a cat…’

I nervously looked up.

And after straining my neck, I finally saw the face of the creature who had dropped the bread.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a rat or a cat.

It was a human.

The first thing I noticed was long black hair falling to his waist.

Blacker than the surrounding darkness itself—like a nightmare made real.

I sucked in a breath.

“No way… it can’t be… please don’t be…”

But when I saw his pale face beneath the black hair, I had no choice but to accept reality.

Calix Nepherto.

The final mastermind who had driven this world to the brink of destruction—only to be knocked out cold by my golden bat in a single hit.

I internally screamed at the status window.

‘You useless system! I said I didn’t mind if it was the final boss—but I did NOT agree to being cellmates with him!’

But the status window was already gone.

So it did not answer.

‘Tch. Fine. If that’s how it is, I’ll survive on my own.’

I decided to quietly find a way out.

Because this guy was known for killing anything—ally or enemy—without discrimination when provoked.

Even if he was bound by mana suppression restraints, he was still a monster.

Even a “rat” like me would be crushed with a flick of his finger.

I had already been exorcised and turned into a rat—I was NOT going to die here too!

“…Wait, is it rat death or dog death? No, just rat death…”

While I was preparing to sneak away—

Swish.

The man, who had been completely still like a statue, suddenly raised a long pale finger.

I stiffened and followed the direction of his hand.

I thought he might be attacking me—

But instead, he pointed at the piece of bread at my feet.

“…Eat it.”

His low voice cut through the prison silence.

It was calm, indifferent—

Yet strangely gentle.

“…Squeak?”

This made no sense.

The Calix Nepherto I knew was nothing like this.

He had always been ruthless, terrifying, and inhuman.

But now…

He was offering food to a rat?

I tilted my head in confusion.

And then our eyes met.

“…?”

I rubbed my eyes.

What I saw didn’t make sense.

The hollow, abyss-like black eyes he was known for were gone.

Instead, normal eyes sat in their place.

“Chirp…?” (How…?)

Clear violet eyes like amethysts looked at me quietly.

While I was still frozen in confusion, his soft voice came again.

“Don’t worry. It’s not poisoned.”

“….”

After a long pause, I came to a conclusion.

This guy…

Got hit in the head a little too hard by my bat.