Chapter 248
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 248
The faces of the delegates turned deathly pale. They began to press the High Priests for answers.
“H-High Priests. What is that?”
“The Grand Temple has a long history. Even we do not know every corner of this place.”
“Perhaps it was an interrogation room used by the Heretic Inquisitors.”
“The door itself looks ancient…”
“…”
The High Priests answered calmly. Their composure was a mask of confidence.
It was loathsome.
I looked back and forth between the iron door and the High Priests before speaking.
“I see. So you’re saying this is a place the High Priests know nothing about.”
“Grand Princess. Even the bloodstains on that door are ancient. Do not use such things to mislead the Grand Temple.”
“If it’s a door you know nothing about, then I assume you don’t know how to open it either?”
“As I said, the history of the Grand Temple is as deep as the abyss. We cannot possibly oversee and care for every single inch of it.”
“Right.”
I walked toward the iron door.
“A hideous place that even the High Priests don’t know about. Since the delegations are here under Continental Law, it would be perfect for us to take a look together.”
“Grand Duke Frezier!”
One of the High Priests rebuked me sternly.
“Are you planning to force the door open? I repeat, that place could be where the Heretic Inquisitors operated hundreds of years ago! Do you believe you have the right to recklessly destroy the temple’s history?”
“I don’t have to break it, do I?”
“…?!”
I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket. To be precise, I pulled out ‘it,’ which was wrapped inside the handkerchief.
It was caked with dried blood and gave off a faint, metallic scent of iron…
“See? It’s a key.”
“…!”
“…!”
“What is this key, Ferdinand?”
“I found it while I was smashing the High Priests’ sacred relics.”
“It looks like something I really don’t want to touch…”
When I had said that with a shudder, Ferdinand had even taken off his own gloves and personally put them on my hands.
‘I told you, I’m always the one who finds the important things.’
That’s right!
I am the one and only female lead of this survival story!
“I hope the key fits.”
I smiled confidently at the High Priests. But then, I was momentarily taken aback.
‘…What? Why are they making those faces?’
I expected them to look shocked, angry, or at least like they’d been caught red-handed.
Instead, their gazes were defiant. No, they looked beyond defiant—they looked so wronged that I felt like the perpetrator.
Hmph.
‘I guess this key doesn’t belong to this iron door?’
Not that it matters.
Even if it doesn’t fit and won’t open, I’ll just use the Benefit ‘Kingdom-Toppling Beauty’ to tear the door down.
I’ll blow up the whole temple if I have to!
Gritting my teeth inwardly, I inserted the key. I was certain it wouldn’t fit.
‘Huh?’
Creeeeeak.
Screeech.
With a skin-crawling sound that grated on the ears, the lock clicked open.
“…?”
Stunned, I stared blankly at the lock before giving the door a hard kick.
Of course, the iron door was too heavy to budge from just a kick. Several Frezier knights rushed forward and pulled the door open for me.
Creeeeeak.
The ungreased hinges let out a bone-chilling shriek.
And inside the iron door…
“Look, Grand Princess Frezier.”
“This is the result of your actions.”
“Do you realize now just how much commotion and damage you have caused the entire continent?”
There was nothing.
It was just an empty cave. It was vast enough to stack thousands—no, tens of thousands—of corpses, but that was it.
Aside from its immense size, there was nothing there.
“Grand Princess.”
An angry voice drifted from behind me.
“Have you seen enough now?”
“That there is nothing foul within this holy land.”
“The Grand Temple will formally lodge a protest with the Grand Ducal House of Frezier and the Brillant Imperial Family.”
“This was a clear attempt to destabilize the peace of the entire continent.”
Their heavy voices were laced with a subtle tone of threat.
I glanced back. The High Priests were looking at me with eyes full of anger and sorrow, while the delegations glared at me with icy contempt.
“…”
How long had it been since I was this genuinely flustered?
And how long had it been…
Since I was this excited to screw ‘them’ over?
I looked the High Priests up and down and smirked.
“Nothing foul, you say?”
To be precise, I was reading the text that filled my entire field of vision.
[System] Break it
[System] Throw
[System] Me
[System] Break and throw me
[System] Break me and throw me
.
.
.
[System] Throw me and break it [System] Throw me and break it [System] Throw me and break it [System] Throw me and break it [System] Throw me and break it [System] Throw me and break it [System] Throw me and break it [System] Throw me and break it
[System] Throw me and break it.
“Kim Ddong-byul.”
This was likely the first time.
The first time I had ever called out that trashy name in front of others.
Since I had no idea how to summon Kim Ddong-byul—meaning I had never physically summoned him before—the voice just popped out reflexively.
And Kim Ddong-byul did not disappoint.
I snatched Kim Ddong-byul as he appeared before me.
The people around me looked at me strangely as I suddenly gestured at thin air, but that was all. Neither the High Priests nor the delegates followed Kim Ddong-byul with their eyes.
This confirmed it. Kim Ddong-byul was still invisible to others.
‘Good.’
Following the system window’s instructions, I spun around and threw Kim Ddong-byul with all my might toward the empty cave.
KABOOM!
“A-Aaah!”
“W-What is that?!”
“H-High Priests! That! What on earth is that?!”
“Knights! Summon all the knights immediately!”
“Oh, God…! Dear God!”
The cave, which had been completely empty, began to reveal its hidden form as if virtual puzzle pieces were falling away.
The clean, empty space was gone.
In that unknown space where Kim Ddong-byul had torn down all the veils, there was a thick stench of death.
Massive bloodstains.
Countless corpses lying with their hollow eyes wide open.
Bone fragments and hair rolling down stairs that looked like they were made of stacked flat stones…
But what was most horrific and mysterious of all…
Starting from the high altar and flowing down the jagged stairs all the way to the floor…
Was an impossibly long trail of…
Pink hair.
Despite the horrific sight, I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh. It wasn't because I was taking the situation lightly.
‘It’s exactly the same.’
The color was identical to Tulia’s hair…
It was then.
“Count! Strange monsters have appeared outside the temple!”
“What?”
The urgent cries of the knights rang out. The delegates scrambled toward the hallway in a panic, and soon, horrific screams filled the air.
My eyes widened as well.
‘That’s it! Creatures! They’re creatures!’
The same monsters that would have killed me if Ferdinand hadn’t saved me before!
“Tulia! Get over here!”
“Okay!”
I did as Leon Frezier said and stuck close behind his back.
People poured out of the horrific, eerie cave one after another.
I quickly looked toward the High Priests, but I couldn't see their expressions. The Holy Knights, though looking confused, were already escorting them away.
‘Hmph. Didn’t the High Priests summon the creatures in the first place?’
It was likely a staged performance, but the current situation was chaotic nonetheless.
“Leon, you’re not going to die, right?”
“Why would I die? Just make sure you don’t die.”
“Right, right.”
“But Tulia.”
Leon Frezier asked as he adjusted his grip on his sword.
“What was that star earlier?”
“…Huh?”
“That star that suddenly appeared in front of you… what was that?”
“…?”
I blinked, momentarily dazed.
‘He saw it? Leon Frezier saw it?’
It seemed like no one else had noticed, so why?
‘Is it because Leon Frezier was one of the male leads?’
But this isn't a game anymore.
It’s not something like The Milk Bread!
What is going on?
“…Uh?”
Just then.
I looked down at the pink hair wrapped around my body. What? My hair isn't this long…
“Tulia… Tulia!”
With a scream, I was dragged into the cave in an instant. Simultaneously, the iron door slammed shut.
And then.
“Ah…”
A voice that made my spine tingle echoed in my ears.
“I’ve waited so long…”
The ‘woman’ who had been lying on the altar sat up. Like a marionette pulled by strings, or like a zombie.
Her face was completely obscured by a cobweb-like mess of hair, making it impossible to distinguish her features.
What happened next was even more terrifying.
The woman who had risen suddenly opened her mouth. She opened it so wide that even though her features were indistinguishable, it was clearly a mouth.
“…!”
At the moment the mouth, torn wide enough to see down her throat, was about to swallow me whole—
‘Benefit…!’
[System] Using Protective Barrier (1 use remaining)!
The last remaining barrier repelled the monstrous woman. At the same time, the barrier tore and vanished.
“Ahahaha! Ahahaha! You’re still trying so hard to protect her!”
The woman cackled. Her mouth remained torn open, exposing the deep mucous membranes inside. I was frozen like a stone statue from the sheer horror.
Pink hair, stiff as thick thorns, poured toward me as if to pierce me through.
I reflexively closed my eyes, but I felt no pain. I hurriedly lifted my eyelids and—
“…No.”
Before I knew it, I had scrambled to my feet and was running.
Toward the altar. Toward the place where the bizarre woman who had tried to eat me was.
“No!”
The floor was covered in messily hacked pink hair. And there was a massive hole in the monstrous woman’s stomach.
“Ahahahaha! Hahahahaha!”
Not a single drop of blood spilled from the woman’s body as she laughed maniacally. Yet, her face was splattered with red blood.
The owner of that bright red blood was…
“Klaus… Klaus!”
It was Klaus.