I Am a Saintess

The sky was utterly dark, without a single cloud or star. No matter which way I turned my head, there was only black, black, black. The ground beneath my feet was so profoundly dark that it felt like I was standing on nothing but air itself. The only thing in this place that possessed any color was my own body. My bare skin, completely unclothed, gleamed a pure, dazzling white.

I reached out and touched that skin, which sparkled so unnaturally in a place untouched by even a single ray of light, and tried to dredge up my memories. How on earth had I gotten here? I was certain I had been fighting Noa after she became a Saintess, and then…

“...What was it again…”

I couldn’t remember. It felt like something urgent had happened, but more than that—had I really been fighting Noa? Why would I…?

Noa was definitely…

.....

‘It’s all thanks to you. I’m grateful.’

“Ugh—?!”

The moment I barely caught hold of that thread of memory, it felt like someone had viciously sliced it away. The unpleasant sensation was something I had never felt before. While I struggled to remain as calm as possible, a soft voice rang out from directly behind me.

I spun around, putting distance between ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠myself and the voice that had approached without the slightest hint of presence. A white figure came into view.

“...Identify yourself.”

‘You’ve grown up so beautifully. I’d almost forgotten what a crybaby that little brat was. Who would have thought she’d turn out this dignified? Hehe…’

A pure white silhouette drawn as if on black paper in an empty void. No facial features were visible—only the graceful outline of a feminine form. That something laughed aloud.

“I told you to identify yourself. And where the hell am I?”

‘You don’t even fear me anymore. When you were little, you used to tremble and scream, “Mommy! Daddy! Stop it! Please save me!”… Still, it’s nice to see you’ve become so brave~ I’m sure both your real father and your adoptive father would be proud.’

“...What…?”

The strength drained from my clenched fist. My mouth fell open and refused to close. A sparkling childhood memory flashed through my mind. My mother grabbing me as I struggled to escape, my father trying to force a mask onto my face. The thing that perfectly mimicked the desperate cry I had screamed that day while clutching at my last straw of hope now clutched its stomach and cackled.

Of the people who had been there that day, the only one still alive was me, and—

“You…!”

‘Exactly what you’re thinking. It’s been a while~’

“Uwaaaaaah!!”

The detestable silhouette, writhing while suppressing its sneer, brought forward the hand it had kept hidden behind its back. In those pure white fingers was a mask. It placed the old, stained wooden mask—white and worn—over its face and gave a polite bow.

A monstrous shriek that might have come from my own throat burst out as my body lunged forward. Before I could even finish the thought, I swung my fist at the mask—but—

“Ugh…! Uuuuugh!!!”

My fist froze in midair, just short of making contact, as if stopped by an invisible wall. I strained with all my might to push it aside, but my entire body had already gone rigid.

‘You asked where this is? This is inside your body. Inside your mind. So why can’t you move as you wish? Why am I inside your head~? Aren’t you curious? Shall I tell you? Hmm? Puhuhuhu…!’

The mask placed a finger on the back of my outstretched hand and gently stroked it. Tears of rage and resentment that had been building up for so long blurred my vision.

Why couldn’t I move my body? Why, why, why, why? That damned mask that had stolen everything precious from me was right in front of my eyes. I could almost touch it. So why?

‘You are currently transforming into a Saintess. Into the very monster you despised so much—the same kind of creature as your mother and your friends.’

“...What…”

All color drained from my face. The blue tongue that had licked my cheek. The eyes filled not with human emotion but with deep, bottomless desire. Those pitiful beings whose souls were harvested by their Master, capable of thinking only of pleasure and absolute obedience. I was becoming… one of them? A Saintess…?

A sudden wave of dread washed over me. I raised a hand to my face. Instead of the warm skin I should have felt, my fingertips met something cold and rough. This couldn’t be happening. Not already. It couldn’t be. If I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was going to become a Saintess, I would rather die as a human. I was scared, so scared…!

“Hiiik…! Ugh…! Kugh…! Please, pleeease!!”

I clawed at the mask with enough force to rip off my own nails, but it wouldn’t come off. Even when I yanked hard enough to tear the skin from my face, the mask that had already become part of my very flesh showed no sign of budging.

The tears that had welled up began to fall in heavy drops. Everything Isabelle Kang had built up until now was collapsing. The little girl named Isabelle was crying.

‘Don’t hate it so much. The new life might suit you perfectly, you know?’

“Shut up!! No… no… I hate it, anything but that…!”

‘You’re not even listening to me. Fine, I understand. Then I’ll only say what I need to. Listen or don’t, it’s up to you.’

The mask knelt in front of me as I collapsed to the ground, frantically scratching at my face, and brought its eyes level with mine. It smiled.

‘Thank you so much for killing my contractor’s friend.’

“...Eh…?”

‘An unbelievably pure and endless desire. A life force so vast that even I, who has spent an unfathomable amount of time squeezing desire from humans, have never seen its like. A human who is both completely new to me and the finest ingredient for brewing the ultimate liquor. That is the man you call Choi Woo-joo. He could have been the best for me… or the worst…’

“...‘Could have been the worst’… What does that mean…”

The story carried an ominous weight. I latched onto the past-tense phrasing at the end of the mask’s words.

‘That man was the finest liquor, yet also the most troublesome contractor I had ever met. A man who refused to lose his humanity no matter how much of his mind I consumed with the power I had barely recovered. A man who grew stronger even faster than I did. A man who made me fear that he might truly break our contract through sheer force of will and destroy me. You decided he was the worst, but he could have become the greatest for all of you. And now he is my contractor.’

My lower lip trembled violently. My teeth chattered against each other.

“...I, I…”

‘Yes. Thanks to you destroying what was precious to him, he accepted his desire. He accepted me. I came all this way just to say thank you to you in person. Hehe… It’s all because of you—’

“Ah, aah… Aaaaaah…!!”

Because of me, he had become the complete Master of the mask—no, no, no, no, no. I had only wanted to protect people. I hadn’t wanted to disappoint my father. I never meant to kill anyone. I was only carrying out my mission. It wasn’t my fault. I had worked so hard until now. It was a mistake. It wasn’t my fault. It was just an accident. I did nothing wrong. I only wanted to live an ordinary, happy life.

‘I’ve said what I needed to say, so I’ll be going now. It looks like things are about to start on that side as well. Ah, and you’ll forget this conversation soon. We can’t have you saying anything strange to the contractor. Well then—’

“No, no, no, no, no, no…”

I’m scared. It’s cold. It’s lonely. It’s dark. Please don’t leave me alone…

Left all by myself in the middle of the darkness, I hugged my knees to my chest and lowered my head. The surroundings were far too quiet.

The man who had crossed the lifeline and still kept his sanity. The man who had been fighting the mask. The man who might have become an unprecedented hope. I had destroyed what was precious to him. I had made him abandon his faith in humanity.

“...I have to apologize.”

The only way to set this situation right was something so obvious it was etched into my very bones. If you make a mistake, you apologize and ask for forgiveness. My sin could never be forgiven, but perhaps I could still save the others. No matter what happened to me, I could persuade him to believe in the people, in our organization.

“...Choi Woo-joo…”

I wiped away the flowing tears and stood up. Before me was the white silhouette of a man. Though it was only a faint outline of a body larger than my own, I knew it was Choi Woo-joo.

Swallowing my sobs, I barely managed to open my mouth.

“...I’m… sor——”

“——Ah…”

In an instant, strange jade-colored characters flooded my entire field of vision, radiating light. Among those impossible-to-read symbols, one of them slammed into my mind along with a voice that explained its meaning.

Oblivion. I had to forget. All the regret, all the determination, all the resolve I had felt just moments ago.

........

“...Where… am I?”

The sky was utterly dark, without a single cloud or star. No matter which way I turned my head, there was only black, black, black. The ground beneath my feet was so profoundly dark that it felt like I was standing on nothing but air itself. The only things in this place that possessed any color were my own body and the white man standing before me. Just where was this…?

“...You there. Where exactly is this place? Identify yourself immedia——”

“...Aah, so you’re the Master… Wait… but what is a Master? My head’s been feeling fuzzy for a while now… Is this your doing too? …Don’t just stand there with your mouth shut, answer me. This is your final warning. Where ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is——”

“Isabelle. Raise both hands above your head.”

“Understood.”

I obediently raised both hands above my head as the Master commanded. This position left my breasts completely exposed… I knew I shouldn’t care about something so trivial in front of the Master, but it was still a little embarrassing to show him my breasts jiggling so obscenely.

Hm? I felt like there was something I needed to ask the Master about… But it didn’t matter. The Master’s orders were the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠highest priority, after all…

.....

Something felt… off…

“Nnghoooooh?!♡”

The immense pleasure that seared my brain in an instant made me let out an ugly moan without meaning to. My legs shook uncontrollably. Love juices flowed down my thighs.

I… I understood now…♡

Obeying the Master’s commands felt this incredibly good. I had truly never experienced such happiness in my entire life. My mind was still sparkling… The corners of my mouth loosened…

While I was lost in the afterglow of pleasure, wearing an obscene smile, the Master—who had been staring intently at my body—began to move.

“...Hm? Master, where are you going? Why are you moving behind me… Hiiik…?!”

The Master, now standing behind me, wrapped his large hands around both of my breasts.

“W-wait…! No matter if you’re the Master, doing something like this is…!!”

“Agh… Hngoooooh—?!♡”

The instant the Master’s hands touched my breasts, pleasure raced up my spine and scorched my brain. It felt good. It felt so good. It felt so incredibly good. Those large, manly hands… so reliable… on a completely different level from me…♡

The rough touch on my breasts. The fingers mercilessly kneading them and pinching my nipples. I stared down at them, lost in unknown emotions and sensations.

“Ugh… Hoo…!♡ M-Master… if you keep doing it so roughly…”

“Isabelle. From now on, when your left nipple is pulled, pleasure will accumulate inside your body. And when your right nipple is pulled, all the stored pleasure will rush into you at once.”

“...Understood…♡”