A Saintess's Forbidden Craving and the Fading Seed
The house stood empty now, with even Min-su—the nominal landlord and saintess of the home—gone, along with Rijette and Idaine. Lucia wandered through the hollow, echoing interior, a pang of emptiness gnawing at her.
What had started as a modest one-room apartment had been expanded through [Darkness] into a sprawling mansion rivaling Yu-bin's family estate.
"...Maybe I should've gone with them."
She was her sister's apostle, but she barely knew the woman. Earth was still so foreign to her, so she'd chosen to stay home. Big mistake.
As Lucia passed down the hallway, she slipped into the bathroom and showered, washing away the day's grime.
"So warm..."
Just twisting the knob—no magic required—and perfectly tempered water poured out. It was technology beyond anything from her old world.
In her previous life, she'd been a saintess. The noble pillar upholding the world's fate. Knowing her absence or failure would doom everything, Lucia had endured. She never rested, not for a second, guarding the world to honor her sister's sacrifice.
But now, she was no longer a saintess. No burdens weighed on her shoulders. This world called Earth thrived without her intervention, and her sister had been revived as a constellation.
All the pressures that had choked her were gone. Peace flooded her heart—an leisure she'd never known since becoming a saintess. A cheerful tune escaped her lips unbidden, lalala~.
Lucia stepped out, dried off with a towel, and approached the laundry basket to drop it in.
"...Huh?"
One piece of underwear caught her eye. Boxy, oversized. Its size and shape screamed man.
"..."
As if entranced, Lucia picked it up. An act the old her would never have dreamed of. She had to remain pure, noble. She was a saintess, after all.
"Stinky."
It was buried in the basket, mingled with other laundry, reeking. Yet contrary to her words, Lucia pressed it to her face.
"Sniiff... haaah."
She inhaled deeply.
"Sniiff... haaah."
The scent filled her nostrils completely. Lucia's eyes rolled back in ecstasy.
"...Why isn't there more?"
Too much sniffing? The intensity had faded. It wasn't enough. She needed more. Where could she find a stronger whiff of this aroma?
Then she remembered the morning scene. Her sister and that woman Rijette, sharing a bed with him... There had to be more in that room!
Entranced, Lucia headed straight for Min-su's bedroom. Click.
As she entered, "Sniiiiff... aaah."
A rush of intense pleasure melted her brain. Lucia buried her face in Min-su's bed.
Blissful hours passed unnoticed. Lost in the moment, she never considered the aftermath.
This first-time thrill was enough to numb her reason completely.
Which was why, when the sharp beep beep beep beep!!! of the front door password echoed through the house, she couldn't even tend to the now-damp sheets.
Late into the night, in the grand mansion, Yu-bin's father, Shin Ho-seop, picked up the photo frame he'd slumped over on his desk. It was the one he'd flipped face-down when Yu-bin last visited; dust coated the glass now.
As his finger wiped it clean, the picture inside emerged.
"...Darling."
It showed Ho-seop beaming, his wife smiling brightly beside him, and little Yu-bin between them. A cherished time that could never return.
He'd wanted her back so badly he'd even considered remaking her. Why did I do it?
His mind had been clouded in a haze of smoke. Obsessed with one goal, willing to do anything... that mad rampage. Sacrificing his daughter to reclaim the past? Even he couldn't comprehend it now.
No matter how dogged his obsession had brought him this far, what he'd done to Yu-bin was unforgivable—even to himself.
"From now on, I'll live for you... Yu-bin-ah. ...Thank you, Min-su."
"That person isn't someone you can casually call by name."
"Wh-who's there?!"
Startled by the sudden presence behind him, Ho-seop whipped around.
"Y-you...!"
There stood Jeong-yeon in a sleek, form-fitting suit. First time meeting in person, but Ho-seop knew her instantly. She was Korea's most famous, most popular player right now.
"That suit... So you're one of His servants too."
She'd burst onto the scene like a comet, rocketing to S-rank, founding a guild, and turning it into Korea's top powerhouse. Many believed her an apostle blessed by the divine.
Ho-seop had thought the same... until now.
"To think you served the same master."
"Strictly speaking, my master is different now."
Jeong-yeon's cold expression was worlds apart from how she looked around Min-su.
"...Have you come to punish me?"
Ho-seop let out a hollow laugh, setting down the frame.
"I only feel remorse toward Him."
I'm sorry, Yu-bin. Looks like your father has to pay for his sins.
"I'd love to, but He forgave you."
"...What?"
"Be grateful to Min-su. He asked for your pardon."
"No way...!"
That man saved me again?
"Wh-what kind of person is Min-su... I mean, Min-su-nim?"
"Min-su-nim is His younger brother."
"...What!?"
What kind of identity makes a constellation treat a human like an equal, like property or a chess piece?
"I'm not here for something as trivial as disposal."
Jeong-yeon approached Ho-seop and placed a hand atop his head.
"...A wig?"
"W-wait a second!"
With ruthless efficiency, Jeong-yeon yanked off his wig, exposing his bald pate.
"M-my dignity...!"
As she pulled away, Ho-seop collapsed in despair.
"...Confirmed. Just as He said. Did you think everything you've done was your own choice?"
"What...?"
"Didn't you ever feel something was off about yourself?"
"...!"
Ho-seop's eyes widened. That unease he'd felt until Min-su cleared his mind!
"That's why. What did I tell Min-su-nim earlier about the 'unicorn'? Who tampered with your mind?"
Somewhere on Earth, deep underground, a woman seated in an ornate black chair groaned softly.
"...One seed is gone."
Her languid voice made the hologram contacts jolt in shock.
"Korea. The seed I planted in that doctor—it's gone without a trace."
"I don't get it either... Maybe a constellation intervened. He was an apostle, after all."
"Water under the bridge. One seed won't derail our grand undertaking."
The woman closed her eyes, leaning back.
The plan was progressing smoothly. A single fragment's loss wouldn't stop it.
"Oh? Korea, was it?"
The blessed were kin, comrades in forging the future.
"Someone who can't even handle monsters isn't ally material. Wasted blessing."
"Anyway, who's picking up the newbie?"
"The seventh... right?"
The hologram showed footage of a black knight unleashing sword energy.
"Ha. Ridiculous."
A mere summon. And barely S-rank caliber. No way it surpassed her.
"I'm the first chosen by Him. No one bears a stronger blessing, receives greater love than I."
Black energy swirled around her hand.
They acquiesced, knowing her power's extent. The grand plan, seeds included, relied on her strength.
"A summon, huh."
Her eyes locked on the footage: a youth conjuring a knight-like summon. She tried creating one with her own power.
Sizzle.
But against her will, she failed.
"...Hmph. Pathetic anyway."
Only I am...
the first apostle of [Darkness].